TW201808475A - Wet cleaning apparatus with dirty liquid tank including a cleaning element for performing wet cleaning, and a dirty liquid tank for collecting the dirty liquid - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wet cleaning apparatus (1) having a cleaning element (2) configured to perform wet cleaning on a to-be-cleaned surface, and a dirty liquid tank (3) configured to collect the liquid (31) used in the cleaning process. In order to advantageously empty the dirty liquid tank (3), the present invention provides an evaporation device (4) corresponding to the dirty liquid tank (3). The evaporation device is used to evaporate the liquid (31) contained in the dirty liquid tank (3). In addition, the present invention further provides a base (11) for the wet cleaning apparatus (1) and a method for operating the base (11) and/or the wet cleaning apparatus (1).

Description

Wet-type cleaning equipment with sewage tank

The present invention relates to a wet cleaning device having a cleaning element for performing wet cleaning on a surface to be cleaned and a dirty liquid tank for collecting liquid used in the cleaning process.

In addition, the present invention relates to a base for a wet cleaning device, the base having a dirty liquid tank for collecting dirty liquid from the wet cleaning device.

In addition, the present invention also relates to a method for operating a base and / or a wet cleaning device, wherein the liquid used in the cleaning process is collected in a dirty liquid tank.

In the prior art, wet cleaning equipment, a base, and a method of operating such a base or such wet cleaning equipment have been known to me.

Conventional wet-type cleaning devices have cleaning elements, such as a rotating cleaning roller or a cleaning element sleeved on a flat carrier, in particular a microfiber cloth. When the wiping operation is performed, the liquid is directly applied to the cleaning element, or the liquid is released onto the surface to be cleaned in the area of the cleaning element. During the wiping operation, the liquid, together with the dirt that may be collected, is transferred from the cleaning element to the dirt tank of the wet cleaning equipment. To this end, the cleaning element can be surrounded by a displaceable housing and the cleaning element can be dehydrated. The spin-off liquid enters the sewage tank of the wet cleaning equipment, and the user of the wet cleaning equipment must empty the sewage tank from time to time.

The disadvantage is that the user has to empty the sewage tank manually and during this period there is May be in contact with liquid.

In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a wet cleaning device, a base, and a method for operating the base, all of which can remove liquid containing dirt in a particularly convenient and hygienic manner.

To achieve the above object, the present invention first proposes a wet-type cleaning device, wherein the dirty liquid tank corresponds to an evaporation device for evaporating a liquid contained in the dirty liquid tank.

According to the present invention, the liquid contained in the dirty liquid tank is evaporated and separated from solid matter that may be contained in the process. In this way, the user of the wet cleaning device does not need to empty the sewage tank again, and the user may touch its contents when emptying. Evaporation refers to both the boiling process and the vaporization process. In the case of boiling, the liquid to be evaporated must be heated to the boiling point, which means that, for example, water must be heated to 100 ° C. Compared with vaporization, boiling is rapid evaporation, that is, a rapid phase change from liquid to gaseous. Alternatively, the liquid may be vaporized, where the liquid is ventilated and the liquid is preferably heated to improve the vaporization rate. Among them, the vaporization rate will be affected by many parameters, mainly affected by the ambient air temperature, air humidity, air movement, surface characteristics and similar parameters.

Regardless of whether the wet cleaning device is equipped with an evaporation device according to the invention, the wet cleaning device can be configured, for example, for wet cleaning of hard floor coverings such as tiled floors or parquet floors. In addition, the wet cleaning apparatus may be configured as an accessory capable of detachably connecting to the body, or may be configured as an integrated stand-alone apparatus. In addition, in addition to a wet cleaning device that is manually controlled by a user and moves on the surface to be cleaned, it can also refer to a self-moving wet cleaning device, especially a cleaning robot. Among them, the wet cleaning equipment related to this case is not limited to those that can only perform wet cleaning tasks. Equipment. In particular, the wet cleaning equipment referred to in this case may also be a device capable of performing both wet cleaning tasks and dry cleaning tasks, such as a suction-wiping device. In addition, in addition to ordinary floor cleaning equipment used to clean the floor, it also refers to wet cleaning equipment used to clean the area above the floor, such as used to clean window glass, shelf partitions, skirting boards, steps and so on.

The invention further proposes that the evaporation device has a heating element that relies on electricity and / or chemically works and / or a thermally conductive element connected to a heat source of the wet cleaning device, the heat source being in particular a fan, a drive or a printed circuit board. Accordingly, the heat required for evaporation is provided by an evaporation device, which is suitable for heating a liquid to effect a vaporization process or a boiling process. The evaporation device can have, for example, a heatable vaporization surface in the form of a heating plate or several individual heating elements arranged side by side. The heating element can, for example, be operated by electricity or chemically. The electric heating element may be, for example, a heating resistor, a Peltier element, or the like. Chemically operated heating elements can be operated, for example, with gas stored in gas cylinders inside wet cleaning equipment. In addition, the heat source that is originally present in the wet cleaning equipment can also be used for the evaporation device. For example, heat-generating components such as fans, drives (especially wet drives for wet cleaning equipment), or printed circuit boards used to control wet cleaning equipment are suitable choices for fans of wet cleaning equipment. The heat of these heat sources is advantageously directed to the evaporation device by a heat conducting element. The thermally conductive elements may advantageously comprise, for example, a thermally conductive metal in the form of a thermally conductive plate. In addition, heat pipes can also be used in principle. The evaporation process can be influenced by the temperature of the evaporation device or the heat-conducting element. If the evaporation device is operated at, for example, a temperature of 100 ° C, for example, the water system is evaporated through a boiling process. If the temperature of the evaporation device or the heat-conducting element is lower than this, for example, 50 ° C., evaporation is achieved through a vaporization process. The liquid contained in the sewage tank is evaporated in both cases, but at different evaporation rates.

According to a particularly advantageous solution, the evaporation device can be removably provided in the wet cleaning device. According to this, the evaporation device can be taken out of the wet cleaning equipment and replaced or cleaned. Furthermore, a coating can be advantageously provided on the evaporation device that prevents the deposition of dirt and / or vaporization residues such as lime. For example, a hydrophobic coating with a lotus effect is a suitable choice.

The invention proposes that a condensing device for condensing the steam is provided behind the sewage tank. In particular, the condensing device may be provided between the sewage tank and the new tank in the direction of the steam flow. According to this, the steam is not simply led out of the wet cleaning equipment, but is reliquefied inside the wet cleaning equipment by a condensation device, so that the liquid from which the solid matter has been removed can be used again by the wet cleaning equipment, for example to implement subsequent Wipe operation. In a particularly simple case, the condensing device may be a wall portion of a passage provided behind the sewage tank. This wall is particularly cooled to achieve a clear condensation at a very fast rate. The condensing device is preferably arranged in the flow path between the sewage tank and the new fluid tank, so that the steam leaving the sewage tank is liquefied by the condensation apparatus and then directly introduced into the new fluid tank as a liquid. It may also be advantageous to provide, for example, ribs, bumps, tips, or similar structures on the condensation device, which can form droplets, thereby further accelerating the condensation process.

The present invention proposes that the sewage tank has a dirt filter for separating solid substances contained in the liquid. According to this, the liquid contained in the sewage tank has at least been removed from the coarse solid matter before the evaporation process, so that the solid matter remains on the dirt filter, can be concentrated there, and is transported after drying. It is particularly advantageous that the dirt filter is spaced a clear distance from the bottom area of the dirt tank, so that when liquid flows into the dirt tank, it first passes through the dirt filter, during which solid matter remains on the dirt filter and subsequently Only the filtered liquid continues to flow into the sewage tank under the action of gravity, but it no longer contacts the dirt filter and the solid matter located on it. Solid matter is usually dirt particles, dust, plant residues Dandruff, hair and similar substances. The dirt filter can be particularly advantageously arranged in a sieve or grid pattern with a mesh width of less than 1 mm. Of course, as an alternative, a dirt filter may not be used, so that the solid matter contained in the liquid is left alone after the liquid contained in the sewage tank is evaporated, and can be dried and removed in the same place. .

In addition, it can be set as follows: the wet cleaning device has a dirt chamber that is connected to the sewage tank through a flow, and the solid matter separated during evaporation can be transferred to the dirt chamber. In particular, the wet cleaning apparatus may have a fan for transferring solid matter to a dirt chamber. In the dirt chamber, solid matter can be collected in ordinary filter bags or similar elements. In this case, the user of the wet cleaning device can remove the filter bag from the wet cleaning device and dispose of it without touching the solid matter. For this reason, the wet cleaning device is particularly preferably provided with a suction device commonly used in a vacuum cleaner, so that the wet cleaning device can perform both a wet cleaning task and a suction task. Therefore, the fan can also be used to transfer solid matter from the dirty liquid tank to the dirty cavity. As an alternative, solid matter can also be sucked out by the base used for the wet cleaning apparatus. Among them, the base can adopt either an active design or a passive design, which means that it has its own fan for sucking solid matter, or it can provide flow deflection for the fan of wet cleaning equipment, so that the wet The suction air from the fan of the cleaning device draws the contents of the dirt tank into the dirt chamber.

It can be set as follows: the dirty liquid tank corresponds to a humidity sensor, and the humidity sensor is configured to measure the humidity inside the dirty liquid tank, especially the humidity of the solid matter contained in the dirty liquid tank. Among them, the humidity sensor can send the detection result to, for example, the analysis and control device of the wet cleaning equipment, and the analysis and control device then automatically triggers the transfer of the solid substance from the sewage tank to the dirt cavity. The implementation method is, for example, Turn on the fan. The humidity sensor preferably advantageously continuously monitors the residual humidity during the period when the wet cleaning device is stopped, that is, when it is not in use, and sends the detection result to the analysis and control device. When low At the limit of humidity, solid matter can be advantageously transported from the dirty liquid tank to the dirty cavity by the fan of the wet cleaning equipment. The humidity sensor may advantageously be an optical sensor, which measures the reflection characteristics of solid matter related to humidity. In addition, the humidity sensor can also use other measurement methods, such as capacitance sensing, resistance measurement, and others.

In addition to the wet cleaning equipment proposed above, the present invention also proposes a base for a wet cleaning equipment, the base having a dirty liquid tank for collecting dirty liquid from the wet cleaning equipment, wherein the dirty liquid The tank corresponds to an evaporation device for evaporating (ie boiling or vaporizing) the liquid contained in the sewage tank, wherein the evaporation device specifically has a heating element that relies on electricity and / or works chemically and / Or a thermally conductive element connected to a heat source of the base, the heat source being in particular a fan or a printed circuit board. According to this technical solution, the base separate from the wet cleaning equipment is provided with a dirty liquid tank and an evaporation device, so as to process the liquid contaminated by the dirt from the wet cleaning equipment. When the sewage tank needs to be emptied, the wet cleaning equipment is connected to the base, and the liquid contained in the dirt tank of the wet cleaning equipment is transferred to the dirt tank of the base, where it is evaporated, and then used as a Clean liquid is available. Solid matter is separated from liquid and can be disposed of separately. The evaporation device can be configured as described above in connection with the wet cleaning device.

With regard to the base, the present invention also particularly proposes that a condensing device for condensing the steam is provided behind the sewage tank, specifically, between the sewage tank and the new fluid tank in the direction of the steam flow. According to this embodiment, the cleaned liquid is collected in a new liquid tank of the base, and can thereby be released again from the base to the wet cleaning apparatus for use there for the next wiping operation. The condensing device can be configured as described above in connection with the wet cleaning equipment.

The invention further proposes that the dirty liquid tank has a dirty filter for separating solid substances contained in the liquid, and / or the base has a presence with the dirty liquid tank The dirt chamber connected through the flow, and the solid matter separated during evaporation can be transferred to the dirt chamber by a fan in particular. Wherein, the dirt filter can be installed in the sewage tank and configured accordingly as described in connection with the wet cleaning equipment. The fan for transferring solids from the dirty liquid tank to the dirty cavity may be a fan of the base or a fan of a wet cleaning device.

In addition, the base can also have a humidity sensor, like the wet cleaning device, which corresponds to the sewage tank and can measure the humidity inside the sewage tank.

Finally, the present invention also provides a method for operating a base and / or a method for operating a wet cleaning device, wherein the liquid used in the cleaning process is collected in a sewage tank, and the sewage contained in the sewage is evaporated by an evaporation device Liquid in the tank.

In addition, the method may also include: condensing the steam by a condensing device provided behind the dirty liquid tank, and specifically conveying it to a new liquid tank.

The present invention further proposes that the liquid contained in the dirty liquid tank is filtered by a dirty filter, and / or the solid matter separated during evaporation is specifically transferred by a fan to a through-flow connection with the dirty liquid tank. The dirt cavity.

In addition, the method may include: a humidity sensor measures the humidity inside the sewage tank, especially the humidity of the solid matter contained in the sewage tank.

Among them, specific technical solutions and advantages of the method can be obtained from the foregoing embodiments of the wet cleaning device and the base.

1‧‧‧ Wet cleaning equipment

2‧‧‧ Cleaning Elements

3‧‧‧Sewage tank

4‧‧‧Evaporation device

5‧‧‧Heating element

6‧‧‧fan

7‧‧‧ new tank

8‧‧‧ Condensing device

9‧‧‧ Dirt filter

10‧‧‧ Dirt cavity

11‧‧‧ base

12‧‧‧Sewage tank

13‧‧‧Evaporation device

14‧‧‧Heating element

15‧‧‧fan

16‧‧‧ new tank

17‧‧‧Condensing device

18‧‧‧ liquid channel

19‧‧‧ Dirt cavity

20‧‧‧Equipment housing

21‧‧‧ ranging device

22‧‧‧Transfer Wheel

23‧‧‧Shell

24‧‧‧Shell

25‧‧‧Sewage channel

26‧‧‧new fluid channel

27‧‧‧Driver

28‧‧‧ slope

29‧‧‧Pump

30‧‧‧Liquid channel

31‧‧‧ liquid

32‧‧‧ solid matter

33‧‧‧Steam

34‧‧‧ Connect channel

The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the examples. Among them: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wet cleaning device of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of the wet cleaning device; FIG. 3 is a base of the wet cleaning apparatus according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section of the base and the wet cleaning apparatus of FIG. 3.

FIG. 1 shows a wet cleaning device 1 configured as a self-moving cleaning robot. The wet-type cleaning device 1 has a distance measuring device 21, and the wet-type cleaning device 1 can recognize the direction in the environment by itself. The distance measuring device 21 is provided inside the device housing 20 of the wet cleaning device 1 and is based on, for example, optical distance measurement.

FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section of the wet cleaning device 1. The wet cleaning device 1 has a travel wheel 22 (only one of which can be seen in the view) and a drive 27 for driving the travel wheel 22 to rotate, which is advantageously an electric motor. In addition, the wet cleaning device 1 has a cleaning element 2 in the form of a rotating cleaning drum. The cleaning element 2 is, for example, wrapped with a microfiber cover, by which the solid matter 32 and the liquid 31 on the surface to be cleaned can be collected. The cleaning element 2 is provided in the first casing portion 23 and the second casing portion 24. The two casing portions can move relative to each other and release the cleaning element 2 during the wiping operation of the wet cleaning device 1, so that the cleaning element can be placed on To be cleaned. During the regeneration operation, the housing parts 23, 24 form a complete housing, within which the cleaning element 2 can rotate and in the process shake off the solid matter 32 and the liquid 31. The housing portion 23 has a dirty liquid channel 25 and a new liquid channel 26. The dirty liquid channel introduces solid matter 32 and liquid 31 into the dirty liquid tank 3. Through the new liquid channel, unused liquid 31 can be transferred from the new liquid tank 7 to Cleaning element 2.

The sewage tank 3 corresponds to an evaporation device 4 which has several heating elements 5 arranged side by side, for example a heating resistor. The sewage channel 25 has a slope 28, and the liquid 31 contaminated by the solid matter 32 reaching the sewage tank 3 can flow along the slope to the evaporation device 4. A dirt filter 9 is provided in front of the evaporation device 4 in the dirt tank 3. The dirt filter 9 is a grid here, the liquid 31 can pass through its mesh under the action of gravity, and the solid matter 32 remains on the dirt filter 9. In this way, only the filtered liquid 31 reaches the evaporation device 4 and is evaporated there. The steam 33 starts from the evaporation device 4 and passes through a channel forming the condensation device 8. The steam 33 can be condensed on the wall portion of the channel. Then, the condensate (that is, the cleaned liquid 31) enters the new liquid tank 7 from the channel and can be transported to the cleaning element 2 again through the new liquid channel 26 from there.

The solid matter 32 filtered by the dirt filter 9 is dried by the fan 6 and transferred to a dirt cavity 10, which may have a filter bag, for example. In addition, the dirt chamber 10 may correspond to a humidity sensor (not shown) that measures the humidity of the solid matter 32 located on the dirt filter 9. The fan 6 may be activated according to the measured humidity, so that the solid matter 32 is displaced from the dirt filter 9 to the dirt cavity 10.

FIG. 3 shows the layout of the wet cleaning device 1 and the base 11 in a connected state.

FIG. 4 shows a longitudinal section of this layout, which shows in detail a wet cleaning device 1 having a cleaning roller-like cleaning element 2 and a traveling wheel 22, by which the wet cleaning device 1 can be moved. Move on the surface to be cleaned. The wet cleaning apparatus 1 includes a dirty liquid tank 3 and a new liquid tank 7. Unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the wet cleaning device 1 does not have an evaporation device 4 and a condensation device 8 for regenerating the sewage liquid.

Specifically, the base 11 has a dirty liquid tank 12, a new liquid tank 16, an evaporation device 13, a condensation device 17, and a dirt cavity 19. The liquid 31 and the solid matter 32 in the dirty liquid tank 3 of the wet cleaning device 1 are sucked out by a pump 29 provided in the base 11. To this end, the dirty liquid tank 3 of the wet cleaning device 1 is connected to the liquid passage 30 of the base 11. The pump 29 transfers the liquid 31 and the solid matter 32 into the sewage tank 12 of the base 11, and the liquid and The solid matter is guided in the dirty liquid tank above the heating element 14 of the evaporation device 13. The evaporated liquid 31 enters the new liquid tank 16 as a vapor 33 through a connection passage 34 and is condensed by a condensation device 17 provided there. The condensing device 17 is the inner wall of the new liquid tank 16. The liquid 31 separated from the solid matter 32 by evaporation is collected inside the new liquid tank 16 and can be transported there by the liquid channel 18 into the new liquid tank 7 of the wet cleaning device 1. The solid matter 32 left by the evaporation process inside the sewage tank 12 falls into the dirt chamber 19 of the base 11 from one of the zones of the sewage tank 12 under the action of gravity. The suction flow of the fan 15 supports this. The dirt chamber 19 can have, for example, a filter bag that is particularly convenient for a user to remove and dispose of.

As described above in connection with the wet cleaning device 1 in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the dirt tank 12 of the base 11 may also have a humidity sensor in principle. The humidity of the solid matter 32 is measured. For example, the fan 15 of the base 11 can be controlled accordingly.

In the embodiment shown here, the evaporation device 4 of the wet cleaning device 1 and the evaporation device 13 of the base 11 can work at different temperatures. Therefore, if the liquid to be evaporated does not pass through the boiling process, it is a vaporization process. And evaporated. For this reason, the heating elements 5 and 14 can be heated to different degrees. If the temperature of the heating elements 5 and 14 is lower than the boiling point of the liquid to be evaporated, a vaporization process occurs, and if the boiling point is reached, a boiling process occurs. If the evaporation devices 4, 13 use a heat source that is already present in the wet cleaning device 1 and the base 11 as a substitute or supplement for heating elements that rely on electricity and / or operate chemically, the achievable temperature depends on these Exhaust heat from the heat source. Such heat sources may be, for example, fans 6, drives 27, or similar elements. The heating capacity of such heat sources is usually insufficient to reach, for example, the boiling point of water, so vaporization is used here.

1‧‧‧ Wet cleaning equipment

2‧‧‧ Cleaning Elements

3‧‧‧Sewage tank

4‧‧‧Evaporation device

5‧‧‧Heating element

6‧‧‧fan

7‧‧‧ new tank

8‧‧‧ Condensing device

9‧‧‧ Dirt filter

10‧‧‧ Dirt cavity

20‧‧‧Equipment housing

21‧‧‧ ranging device

22‧‧‧Transfer Wheel

23‧‧‧Shell

24‧‧‧Shell

25‧‧‧Sewage channel

26‧‧‧new fluid channel

27‧‧‧Driver

28‧‧‧ slope

31‧‧‧ liquid

32‧‧‧ solid matter

33‧‧‧Steam

Claims (12)

A wet cleaning device having a cleaning element (2) for performing wet cleaning on a surface to be cleaned and a dirty liquid tank (3) for collecting a liquid (31) used in a cleaning process, characterized in that the dirty liquid The tank (3) corresponds to an evaporation device (4) for evaporating the liquid (31) contained in the dirty liquid tank (3). The wet cleaning equipment according to claim 1, wherein the evaporation device (4) has a heating element (5) relying on electricity and / or chemical operation and / or is connected to a heat source of the wet cleaning equipment (1) A heat-conducting element, in particular a fan (6), a driver (27) or a printed circuit board. The wet-type cleaning equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the condensing device (8) for condensing the steam (33) is provided behind the sewage tank (3), specifically in the direction of the steam (33). It is arranged between the dirty liquid tank (3) and the new liquid tank (7). The wet cleaning apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sewage tank (3) has a dirt filter (9) for separating a solid substance (32) contained in the liquid (31). The wet cleaning equipment according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is a dirt chamber (10) connected to the sewage tank (3) in a through-flow connection, and the solid matter (32) separated during evaporation can be specifically described. It is transferred to the dirt chamber by a fan. The wet cleaning device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sewage tank (3) corresponds to a humidity sensor configured to measure the inside of the sewage tank (3) Humidity, especially the humidity of the solid matter (32) contained in the sewage tank (3). A base for a wet cleaning device, the base having a dirty liquid tank (12) for collecting dirty liquid from the wet cleaning device (1), which is characterized by: The sewage tank (12) corresponds to an evaporation device (13) for evaporating a liquid (31) contained in the sewage tank (12), wherein the evaporation device (13) specifically has a relying power And / or a chemically operating heating element (14) and / or a thermally conductive element connected to a heat source of the base (11), the heat source being in particular a fan (15) or a printed circuit board. The base of claim 7, wherein a condensing device (17) for condensing the steam (33) is provided behind the sewage tank (12), specifically, the sewage (33) is provided in the sewage upward Between the liquid tank (12) and the new liquid tank (16). The base of claim 7 or 8, wherein the sewage tank (12) has a dirt filter for separating solid matter (32) contained in the liquid, and / or the base (11) has There is a dirt chamber (19) connected to the sewage tank (12) through flow, and the solid matter (32) separated during evaporation can be specifically transferred to the dirt chamber by a fan (15). A method of operating a base and / or wet cleaning equipment, in particular a base and / or wet cleaning equipment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the liquid (31) used in the cleaning process is collected in The sewage tank (3, 12) is characterized in that the liquid (31) contained in the sewage tank (3, 12) is evaporated by an evaporation device (4, 13). The method according to claim 10, wherein the condensing device (8, 17) behind the sewage tank (3, 12) condenses the steam (33), and specifically conveys it to the new tank (7, 16) . The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the liquid (31) contained in the dirty liquid tank (3, 12) is filtered by a dirt filter (9), and / or specifically by a fan (6) 15) The solid matter (32) separated during evaporation is transferred to a dirt chamber (10, 19) which is connected to the sewage tank (3, 12) through a flow.