KR20030070470A - Vacuum cleaner having steam spray device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A vacuum cleaner having a steam spray device is provided to prevent a steam, generated in the vacuum cleaner, from being spouted to the outside of the vacuum cleaner. CONSTITUTION: A vacuum cleaner having a steam spray device comprises a casing(10) having a fixed space therein, a water tank(22) installed in the casing to get a supply of water from the outside, a heater(26) installed in the water tank to evaporate the water, an outer supply passage guiding the steam, formed in the water tank by the heater, to the outside of the casing, a suction force generating unit(30) installed in the casing to generate suction force, and a filtering unit(50) filtering foreign materials from an air inhaled by the suction force generating unit.

Description

Vacuum cleaner having steam spray device

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a vacuum cleaner having a steam spray device and configured to allow various types of cleaning by inhaling a portion which cannot be cleaned by general air suction only after steam spraying.

The vacuum cleaner is a device that sucks air containing foreign substances and performs cleaning through a filtering device installed therein. In a general vacuum cleaner, it is common to perform cleaning by simply inhaling foreign matter and filtering the inside by using a suction nozzle running in contact with a floor or the like.

However, in such a vacuum cleaner, only the foreign matter in inhalable state can be cleaned. That is, the dust or trash can be separated from the floor and the like to clean only the foreign matter that can be sucked into the vacuum cleaner body by a constant suction force. For example, foreign matter or contamination on the floor or the like has a disadvantage in that it cannot be cleaned using a general vacuum cleaner as described above.

In order to make up for the above disadvantages, a vacuum cleaner having a steam jet has been proposed. For example, according to the technique proposed in Korean Patent Publication No. 95-28729, a steam spraying device is installed on the bottom of a suction nozzle of a cleaner, and a cleaner which can be wiped with a mop provided on the bottom of the suction nozzle, such as steam injection, is disclosed. It is. However, according to such a vacuum cleaner, since steam cannot be sprayed intensively to a pollutant substantially, a limit is shown to steam cleaning. In addition, since the steam injection device is configured to be installed near the suction nozzle, a large number of structural and functional groups are followed in practical application.

In addition, the vacuum cleaner disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0110815 also has a steam injection device including a heater in the suction nozzle portion, and as described above, a certain limit is indicated in actual design and application, and at the same time, Inconvenience has been raised, which makes it impossible to concentrate injection.

In addition, the technology disclosed in the Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-0303875 is also configured to perform the operation of wiping the floor by the injection of steam and mop at the same time, these techniques also have the same problem as described above.

In addition, the above-described prior arts also have inconveniences such as burn or deformation due to hot steam coming into contact with a part of the body or other devices when steam is injected to the outside.

The present invention is to solve the conventional problems as described above, it is a basic object to provide a vacuum cleaner that is capable of intensive injection of steam, it is possible to suck the contaminants removed by the injection.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a safe and easy to use vacuum cleaner by preventing the steam generated inside the cleaner body to be ejected to the outside of the cleaner.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a vacuum cleaner of the present invention.

2 is a circuit diagram showing the electrical circuit configuration of the vacuum cleaner of the present invention.

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10 ..... Casing 12 ..... Handle

14a, 14b ..... Attachment hanger 20 ..... Steam generator

22 ..... Bucket 26 ..... Heater

30 ..... suction power generating unit 40 ..... dust collector

42 ..... Inlet hole 44 ..... Internal outlet

46 ..... Inlet 50 ..... Filter

52 ..... Filters

Vacuum cleaner according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a casing and a predetermined space is formed therein; A water tank installed inside the casing to supply water from the outside; A heater installed inside the bucket and capable of vaporizing water by generating heat by application of electricity; An external supply passage for guiding steam formed in the inside of the bucket by the heater to the outside of the casing; Suction force generating means installed in the casing to generate suction force; It comprises a filtering means for filtering the foreign matter in the air sucked by the suction force generating means.

According to the configuration of the present invention, in order to clean the contaminated parts, steam can be intensively sprayed on the parts, and furthermore, it is expected that the function of the vacuum cleaner to suction and filter foreign substances together will be further expanded. Could be.

The filtering means may include: first filtering means for filtering water contained in the inhaled air and foreign substances having a large load; An embodiment includes a second filtering means for filtering fine foreign matter in the air passing through the first filtering means.

According to a specific embodiment, the first filtering means; Allowing air introduced through the inlet to fall into the dust collecting container through the inner outlet; It is configured to allow only air to flow into the casing through the inner inlet formed in the casing on the upper side of the dust collector.

And according to another embodiment, the second filtering means; Air is introduced through the first filtering means, it is composed of a filter unit for removing fine foreign matter by a filter installed therein.

And on the external supply passage for supplying steam to the outside, an on-off valve that is opened and closed by an electrical signal is installed to selectively inject steam to the outside.

In addition, the opening operation of the on-off valve for supplying the steam to the outside and the driving operation of the suction force generating means are shown to be configured to be selectively controlled by a built-in selection switch.

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

1 shows a configuration inside the main body of the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention. The vacuum cleaner main body according to the present invention as shown, the outer shape is formed by the casing 10, the handle 12 for the user to grip the upper side of the casing 10, the user vacuum cleaner A plurality of attachment hook portions 14a and 14b to which a shoulder hook for carrying on a shoulder can be attached are formed.

The casing 10 has a steam generator 20 for generating steam for cleaning, a suction force generator 30 for sucking air containing foreign substances from outside, and water from steam among the foreign substances being sucked. And a dust collecting container 40 for collecting a relatively heavy foreign matter, and a filter unit 50 for filtering fine dust after the foreign matter is primarily filtered in the dust collecting container.

First, the steam generator 20 will be described. Steam generating unit 20 according to the present invention is installed in the casing 10, the water tank 22 for embedding the water for forming steam, and is installed in the water tank for heating the water The heater 26 is comprised. The bucket 22 is capable of storing a predetermined amount of water therein through the inlet 24 opened and closed by the cap 23. In addition, the heater 26 installed in the bucket 22 means a heating device capable of heating and steaming the water in the bucket 22 by applying power. Naturally, the heater 26 can be applied to any type of heater as long as it can boil water and steam it. The heater 26 may be made of stainless steel in consideration of contact with water.

The steam generated by being heated in the bucket 22 is supplied along the passage 28 inside the casing 10. The passage 28 is further divided into two parts, an external supply passage 29a and an internal passage 29b. An end portion of the external supply passage 29a is configured to communicate with the outside of the casing 10, and an injection hose (not shown) is provided outside the external supply passage 29a to inject steam to a predetermined place. Will be installed. The spray hose is most preferably formed of a flexible material for the user's convenience, so that the user can intensively spray steam to the desired portion.

An open / close valve 27a is provided in the middle of the external supply passage 29a. The on-off valve 27a is operated by an electrical signal, and the on-off valve 27a is substantially operated by the ON operation of the switch SWb (see FIG. 2) provided on the outside of the casing 10. It is opened and closed when power is supplied.

The inner passage 29b is provided with a dust collecting cylinder 40 provided on the inner lower end of the casing 10, and a check valve 27b is provided in the middle of the inner passage 29b. When the check valve 27b is heated inside the water tank 22 and reaches a constant pressure, the steam is not discharged to the outside by the external supply passage 29a. It is for discharging high pressure steam.

On the outer side of the casing 10 of the present invention, the inlet hole 42 through which the outside air containing foreign matter flows is formed by the suction force generated by the suction force generating unit 30. In the inlet hole 42, for example, an extension tube or a suction hose is connected to the inlet hole 42 so that air containing foreign matter is introduced therein. In addition, the air containing the substance introduced in this way is introduced into the dust collecting container 40 through the internal outlet 44 communicating with the inlet hole 42.

The dust collecting container 40 is detachably installed in the casing 10 of the vacuum cleaner, and is a container capable of collecting relatively large foreign matter or water. The dust collecting container 40 is detachably mounted to the casing 10. For example, as shown in the drawing, a thread 40a is formed at the upper outer periphery of the dust collecting container 40, and the dust collecting container is mounted. A screw thread 10a is also formed at the lower end of the casing 10, and both of them can be detachably configured by screwing. In addition, of course, many other modifications are possible with respect to the configuration in which the dust collecting container 40 is detachably configured to one side of the casing 10.

The air containing the foreign matter entering the inlet hole 42 falls into the dust collecting container 40 through the inner outlet 44. In this way, the foreign matter falling into the dust collecting container 40 is a foreign material having a relatively large weight and water that is sprayed to the outside through the external supply passage 29a from the steam generator 20 described above.

The air introduced into the dust collecting container 40 is supplied to the filter unit 50 inside the casing 10 through an inner inlet 46 formed to flow into the casing 10 again. In addition, a filtering net 47 is installed at the open end of the inner inlet 46 to prevent a relatively large foreign matter from entering the inner inlet 46 and to collect in the dust collecting container 40. .

In addition, the filter unit 50 inside the casing 10 is substantially formed in a predetermined space for collecting dust, and one side thereof is provided with a filter 52 for filtering foreign matter. Therefore, the air entering the filter unit 50 through the inner inlet 46 is filtered by the filter 52 so that fine foreign matter is collected in the filter unit 50.

In addition, the suction force generation unit 30 formed adjacent to the filter 52 has a built-in drive motor M for generating suction force, and the air filtered while passing through the filter 52 passes through the suction force generation unit ( Enter into the interior of 30). In addition, the suction force generating unit 30 is cooled while passing through the driving motor M, and then exhausted to the outside of the casing 10. As long as the filter 52 can filter out foreign substances contained in the air, it is natural to use a filter formed of any shape and material.

Next, a circuit configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

The external AC power input through the input terminal 100 passes through the noise filter 103 for removing the noise signal, thereby removing the noise signal. The power passing through the noise filter 103 is applied to the power switch SWa, and when the power switch SWa is turned on by a user's selection, the power is supplied to the heater 26. .

When power is supplied to the heater 26, the water inside the bucket 22 is heated. At the same time, in order to inform the user of the operating state of the heater 26, the light emitting LED 106 attached to the outside of the casing 10 is also operated.

The rear end of the power switch SWa is connected to a selection switch SWb for selecting one of steam, suction, and off states of the cleaner. The selection switch SWb is, for example, a three-stage switch, in which an off state is selected when connected to the center terminal b, a steam state is selected when connected to the terminal a, and connected to a terminal c. Suction condition is selected. That is, as each function of the cleaner is selected according to the operation state of the switch SWb, electrical control for performing each function is performed.

The steam state is selected when the selection switch SWb is connected to the terminal a. At this time, the power passing through the selection switch SWb is supplied to the on-off valve 27a to operate the on-off valve 27a. When the on-off valve 27a is operated, steam is injected to the outside through the external supply passage 29a. Like the steam operation, the light emitting LED 112 to inform the user of the steam operation state is turned on.

The suction state is selected when the selection switch SWb is connected to the terminal c. At this time, the power passing through the selection switch (SWb) is supplied to the drive motor (M) while the drive motor (M) is driven. In addition, the light emitting LED 109 for indicating the operation state of the driving motor is turned on even during the operation of the driving motor M to inform the user of the operation state of the current driving motor M.

The drive motor (M) is configured to operate for the generation of suction force. Therefore, when the driving motor (M) is operated, the filtered air is introduced into the suction force generating unit 30 via the filter 52 by the suction force generated by the drive motor (M). In addition, the suction force generating unit 30 is cooled while passing through the driving motor M, and then exhausted to the outside of the casing 10.

Next, the operation of the cleaner according to the present invention having the configuration as described above will be described.

In order to use the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, after the power switch SWa is turned on, an operation mode must be selected through the selection switch SWb. For example, in order to select a steam mode for cleaning, for example, when steaming, the process proceeds by connecting the selection switch SWb to the terminal a. At this time, the steam is concentrated to the desired portion through the external supply passage 29a and the steam supply hose connected thereto. And the parts that are severely polluted by the steam injected can be sufficiently cleaned.

And when the user selects the terminal (c) of the selection switch (SWb), due to the suction force generated while the drive motor (M) is operated, it contains foreign matter through the inlet hole 42 through a connection hose not shown. Air is introduced.

The air introduced in this way enters the inside of the dust collecting container 40 primarily through the internal outlet 44. These foreign matters are water (including contaminants) formed by steam injected in the steam mode and various foreign matters contained in the air.

Among such foreign matters, foreign matters that are relatively heavy with water, fall down from the inside of the dust collecting container 40, and the primary filtering is performed. In addition, the air supplied into the dust collecting container 40 passes through the inner inlet 46 again and enters the inside of the filter unit 50. The air supplied to the inside of the filter unit 50 may actually include relatively small foreign matter. In this way, the air supplied to the filter unit 50 exits to the suction force generating unit 30 through the filter 52. At this time, the filter 52 can be completely filtered to the relatively fine foreign matter, the foreign matter is substantially collected in the filter unit 50, only clean air passes through the filter 52 Suction force generation unit 30 is supplied.

The air guided to the suction force generating unit 30 passes through the driving motor M, cools the driving motor M generated by the operation, and then completely exits to the outside of the casing 10.

3 schematically shows an internal configuration of a vacuum cleaner according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the structure of the part where the air sucked including the foreign matter is guided to the dust collecting container is only slightly different from the above embodiment. Only this part will be described, and other parts are the same as in the above-described embodiment.

As shown in the drawing, air is introduced through the inlet hole 42 ′ by the driving motor M. According to this embodiment, the inner outlet 44 'and the inner inlet 46' are formed in a straight line. The outlet hole of the inner outlet 44 'is shaped to face downward, and the inner inlet 46'. The inlet hole of) is formed to face upward. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, among the foreign substances introduced through the inner outlet 44 ', the heavy one, that is, water or a large foreign substance, falls directly into the dust collecting container 40'. The fine foreign matter having a light load flows back into the filter part 50 'through the inner inlet 46'. The filtering structure thereafter is the same as in the above-described embodiment.

According to the present invention as described above, the basic technical idea that the device for generating steam and the device for generating suction force, respectively independently installed and configured to selectively drive the inside of the vacuum cleaner main body I am doing it.

Within the scope of the basic technical idea of the present invention, many other modifications are possible to those skilled in the art, and the present invention should be interpreted based on the appended claims.

According to the present invention as described above, it can be seen that the steam mode or the suction mode can be selectively selected. Therefore, the part that needs to be cleaned by steam can partially remove the old pollutants by intensively spraying steam, and use the normal suction mode to completely suck water and general foreign substances produced by the sprayed steam. You can expect the benefits of being able to.

In addition, the internal passage is configured such that steam generated in the vacuum cleaner is not sprayed to the outside, and there is no fear of burn due to the high temperature steam, thereby providing an advantage of providing a substantially safe driving state.

Claims (8)

A casing having a predetermined space formed therein; A water tank installed inside the casing to supply water from the outside; A heater installed inside the bucket and capable of vaporizing water by generating heat by application of electricity; An external supply passage for guiding steam formed in the inside of the bucket by the heater to the outside of the casing; Suction force generating means installed in the casing to generate suction force; Vacuum cleaner comprising a filtering means for filtering the foreign matter in the air sucked by the suction force generating means. The method of claim 1, wherein the filtering means, First filtering means for filtering water contained in the inhaled air and foreign substances having a large load; And a second filtering means for filtering fine foreign matter in the air passing through the first filtering means. The method of claim 2, wherein the first filtering means; The air introduced through the inlet port 42 falls into the dust collecting container 40 through the inner outlet 44; The vacuum cleaner, characterized in that only the air is introduced into the casing through the inner inlet (46) formed in the casing on the upper side of the dust collector. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein the second filtering means; A vacuum cleaner comprising: a filter unit (50) through which the air passing through the first filtering means is introduced to remove fine foreign matter by a filter (52) installed therein. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein an opening / closing valve is installed on the external supply passage to open and close by an electrical signal. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the opening operation of the on / off valve for supplying the steam to the outside and the driving operation of the suction force generating means are selectively controlled by a built-in selection switch SWb. . The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a handle is formed on an upper side of the casing. The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one pair of attachment hook portions (14a, 14b) are formed on an outer side of the casing.