US20020144374A1

US20020144374A1 - Steam cleaner

Info

Publication number: US20020144374A1
Application number: US09/828,916
Authority: US
Inventors: Samson Tsen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-04-10
Filing date: 2001-04-10
Publication date: 2002-10-10
Also published as: DE20106868U1

Abstract

A steam cleaner includes a steam boiler having a steam outlet, a control valve having a plug rod moved to close/open the steam outlet, a hose holding a steam tube and a steam nozzle head at one end of the steam tube for steam output control, a push bar pivoted to the steam boiler and turned between a first position where the plug rod is moved forwards to open the control valve and a second position where the plug rod is returned to close the control valve, a return spring adapted to hold the push bar in the second position, and a pull cable inserted through the hose and connected between one end of the push bar and a trigger at the steam nozzle head for pulling the push bar from the second position to the first position upon pressing of the trigger.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus and, more specifically, to a steam cleaner, which uses a pull cable and a trigger to pull a push bar, causing the push bar to open a control valve for letting steam to be delivered out of the steam boiler to a steam nozzle head for application, and a return spring to automatically return the push bar after releasing of the trigger.

In order to effectively remove dirt and oil stains from the furniture and kitchen apparatus, a housekeeper may use boiling water with detergent to clean the furniture and the kitchen apparatus. However, it is dangerous to use boiling water. One may scald oneself with boiling water accidentally when using it. Further, the boiling water becomes cool quickly when carried in a container for washing. In order to eliminate these problems, various steam cleaners have been developed. These steam cleaners commonly comprises a steam boiler, and a steam tube adapted to guide out steam from the steam boiler for application. However, these steam cleaners have no means to automatically control the output of steam from the steam boiler. Even if the power switch of the steam cleaner has been switched off, residual steam is still continuously delivered out of the steam tube to wet the surroundings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished to provide a steam cleaner, which eliminates the aforesaid problems. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a steam cleaner, which has means to automatically control the output of steam from the steam boiler. According to the present invention, a control valve is provided to control the output of steam from the steam boiler, and a push bar is controlled by a trigger through a pull cable to move the plug rod of the control valve between the open position and the close position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a steam cleaner constructed according to the present invention. [0004]
FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of a part of the present invention. [0005]
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a part of the present invention, showing the structure and arrangement of the control valve and the push bar. [0006]
FIG. 4 is a top view in section of a part of the present invention showing the movement of the push bar and the plug rod. [0007]
FIG. 5 is a side view in section of a part of the present invention showing the steam passage of the control valve closed. [0008]
FIG. 6 is a side view in section of a part of an alternate form of the present invention, showing the reciprocating valve rod of the electromagnetic valve connected to the plug rod of the control valve. [0009]
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a part of the alternate form of the present invention showing the control switch installed in the handle of the steam nozzle head.[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. from [0011] 1 through 5, a steam cleaner in accordance with the present invention is shown comprising a housing 1 injection-molded from heat-resisting plastics, a steam boiler 2 mounted inside the housing 1, the steam boiler 2, a control valve 3 installed in the steam outlet 21 of the steam boiler 2, a push bar 4, a mount 5 fixedly fastened to the steam boiler 2, and a hose 6 connected to the control valve 3 and extended out of the housing 1. The steam boiler 2 comprises a steam outlet 21 for output of steam, a water filling hole 24 for the filling of water, an electric heating element 22 controlled to heat water in the steam boiler 2 into steam, a temperature control device 23 adapted to detect the temperature of water in the steam boiler 2 and to control the operation of the electric heating element 22 subject to the detected temperature condition, a safety valve 25, which automatically releases the steam from the steam boiler 2 when the inside pressure of the steam boiler 2 surpasses a predetermined high value. The mount 5 comprises a mounting hole 51 aimed at the steam outlet 21 of the steam boiler 2 and adapted to receive the control valve 3, two flat cut faces 511 bilaterally disposed in the mounting hole 51, and an upright support 52. The control valve 3 comprises a T-shaped casing formed of a horizontal shell 31 and a vertical shell 33, the horizontal shell 31 having a front end 311 and a rear end 312, a gasket ring 32 fixedly mounted in the front end 311 of the horizontal shell 31, a plug rod 35 axially movably mounted in the horizontal shell 31 and extended out of the rear end 312 of the horizontal shell 31, the plug rod 35 having a front end inserted through the gasket ring 32 and a stopper 354 and screwed up with a nut 355 and a neck 351 near a rear end thereof, a plurality of O-rings 352 respectively mounted on the neck 351 and disposed in contact with the inside wall of the horizontal shell 31, and a spring 353 mounted on the plug rod 35 and stopped against a part of the horizontal shell 31 to impart a backward pressure to the plug rod 35, causing the nut 355 to press on the stopper 354 against the gasket ring 32 and to close the steam passage of the control valve 3. The vertical shell 33 of the control valve 3 comprises an outer thread 34 mounted with an O-ring 342 and inserted through the mounting hole 51 of the mount 5 and the steam outlet 21 of the steam boiler 2 and screwed up with a lock nut 343 inside the steam boiler 2, and two flat cut faces 341 bilaterally disposed on the periphery thereof and respectively forced into engagement with the flat cut faces 511 of the mount 5. A connector 36 is threaded into the front end 311 of the horizontal shell 31 of the control valve 3. A heat-resisting high tensile steam tube 37 is inserted through the hose 6, having one end connected to the connector 36 and an opposite end connected to a steam nozzle head 61 at the front end (the end remote from the housing 1) of the hose 6. The steam nozzle head 61 comprises a handle 62 and a trigger installed in the handle 63. The push bar 4 is disposed in contact with the rear end of the plug rod 35, having one end (the fixed end) made with a pivot hole 41 pivotally coupled to the upright support 52 of the mount 5, and an opposite end (the free end) connected to a steel cable 38 by a connector 382. Further a return spring 42 is connected between the free end of the push bar 41 and a part (for example, a screw rod) of the mount 5 to hold the push bar 41 in position. The steel cable 38 is peripherally covered with a protective sleeve 381, having one end connected to the push bar 4 and an opposite end inserted through the hose 6 and connected to a trigger 63 at the handle 62 of the steam nozzle head 61. When pressing the trigger 63, the push bar 4 is pulled by the steel cable 38 and turned about the upright support 52 to push the plug rod 35 forwards, thereby causing the stopper 354 and the nut 355 to be moved with the plug rod 35 forwards from the gasket ring 32 to open the steam passage of the control valve 3, and therefore steam passes from the steam boiler 2 through the control valve 3, the steam tube 37, and the steam nozzle head 61 for application. When releasing the trigger 63, the push bar 4 is immediately returned to its former position by the return spring 42, enabling the spring 353 to pull the plug rod 35 back to its former (close) position, and therefore the nut 355 is pressed on the stopper 354 against the gasket ring 32 to close the steam passage of the control valve 3.
Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, an [0012] electromagnetic valve 7 may be used and installed in the mount 5 to control the operation of the control valve 3. The electromagnetic valve 7 comprises a reciprocating valve rod 71 connected to the rear end of the plug rod 35. A control switch 72 is installed in the handle 62 of the steam nozzle head 61, and connected to the electromagnetic valve 7 by an electric wire 721. When pressing on the control switch 72, the electromagnetic valve 7 is energized to extend the reciprocating valve rod 71, thereby causing the plug rod 35 to be moved forwards to open the steam passage of the control valve 3. On the contrary, when releasing the control switch 72, the electromagnetic valve 7 is off, the reciprocating valve rod 71 is retrieved, and the steam passage of the control valve 3 is closed.
A prototype of steam cleaner has been constructed with the features of FIGS. [0013] 1˜7. The steam cleaner functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims. [0014]

Claims

What the invention claimed is:

1. A steam cleaner comprising:

a housing injection-molded from heat-resisting plastics;

a metal steam boiler, said metal steam boiler comprising a steam outlet disposed in a top cover thereof for output of steam, an electric heating element controlled to heat water in said steam boiler into steam, and a temperature control device adapted to detect the temperature of water in said steam boiler and to control the operation of said electric heating element subject to the detected temperature condition;

a control valve installed in the steam outlet of said steam boiler and adapted to control output of steam from said steam boiler;

an electromagnetic valve installed in the top cover of said steam boiler adjacent to said control valve and controlled to close/open said control valve; and

a control switch connected to said electromagnetic valve by an electric wire and adapted to control the operation of said electromagnetic valve.

2. The steam cleaner of claim 1 wherein said control valve comprises a T-shaped casing formed of a horizontal shell and a vertical shell disposed in communication with said steam outlet of said steam boiler, a plug rod axially movably mounted in said horizontal shell and moved between a first position to close said steam outlet and a second position to open said steam outlet; said electromagnetic valve comprises a reciprocating valve rod connected to one end of said plug rod and adapted to move said plug rod between said first position and said second position.

3. The steam cleaner of claim 1 wherein said housing comprises a detachable hose disposed on the outside, said detachable hose having one end connected to the horizontal shell nozzle head for output of steam from said steam boiler.

4. The steam cleaner of claim 2 further comprising a connector fixedly fastened to one end of the horizontal shell of said control valve, and a heat-resisting high tensile steam tube inserted through said hose, said heat-resisting high tensile steam tube having one end connected to the connector at the horizontal shell of said control valve and an opposite end connected to said steam nozzle head for guiding steam from said steam boiler and said control valve to said steam nozzle head for application.

5. The steam cleaner of claim 1 wherein said control valve and said electromagnetic valve are mounted on a mount being fixedly fastened to said steam boiler by screws, said mount comprising a mounting hole disposed in communication with said steam outlet of said control valve and two flat cut faces bilaterally disposed in said mounting hole; said vertical shell of said control valve comprises an outer thread mounted with an O-ring and inserted through the mounting hole of said mount and the steam outlet of said control valve and screwed up with a lock nut inside said steam boiler, and two flat cut faces respectively forced into engagement with the flat cut faces of said mount.

6. The steam cleaner of claim 4 wherein said control switch is installed in said steam nozzle head for operation by hand to control said electromagnetic valve.

7. A steam cleaner comprising a housing, a metal steam boiler mounted in said housing, said steam boiler comprising a steam outlet disposed in a top cover thereof for output of steam, an electric heating element controlled to heat water in said steam boiler into steam, a hose extended out of said housing, a steam nozzle head fixedly fastened to one end of said hose remote from said housing, a control valve mounted on a mount at said steam boiler and connected to said steam outlet of said steam boiler, a connector connected to said control valve, a steam tube inserted through said hose and connected between said connector and said steam nozzle head for guiding steam from said steam boiler and said control valve to said steam nozzle head for application, and control means controlled to close/open said control valve, wherein:

said control valve comprises a T-shaped casing formed of a horizontal shell and a vertical shell disposed in communication with said steam outlet of said steam boiler said horizontal shell having a front end and a rear end, a gasket ring fixedly mounted in the front end of said horizontal shell, a stopper, a plug rod axially movably mounted in said horizontal shell and extended out of the rear end of said horizontal shell, said plug rod having a front end inserted through said gasket ring and said stopper and screwed up with a nut and a neck near a rear end thereof, a plurality of O-rings respectively mounted on said neck and disposed in contact with an inside wall of said horizontal shell, and a spring mounted on said plug rod and stopped against a part of said horizontal shell to impart a backward pressure to said plug rod, causing said nut to press on said stopper against said gasket ring and to close said control valve;

said control means comprises a push bar disposed in contact with the rear end of said plug rod and controlled to move said plug rod to close/open said control valve, said push bar having a fixed end provided with a pivot hole pivotally coupled to an upright support of said mount and a free end, a trigger mounted on said steam nozzle head, a pull cable controlled by said trigger to move said push bar, said pull cable having a first end connected to the free end of said push bar and a second end inserted through said hose and connected to said trigger, and a return spring connected between the free end of said push bar and a part said mount to hold said push bar in position.