US20160051111A1

US20160051111A1 - Cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat

Info

Publication number: US20160051111A1
Application number: US14/576,456
Authority: US
Inventors: Sungjin Lee
Original assignee: RAYCOP KOREA Inc
Current assignee: RAYCOP KOREA Inc
Priority date: 2014-08-21
Filing date: 2014-12-19
Publication date: 2016-02-25
Also published as: JP2016043239A; CN105361832A; KR101604798B1; HK1217163A1; KR20160023203A; EP2987442A1; JP6043781B2

Abstract

Provided is a cleaning device which can remove moisture utilizing exhaust heat, the cleaning device of the present invention includes a guide flow passage provided therein for outlet high-temperatured exhaust heat generated at the time of operating a motor to an object to be cleaned to remove moisture remaining in the object (for example, bedclothes, floor carpets, and the like) to be cleaned through recirculated exhaust heat, whereby the cleaning device cleans up a habitat for harmful materials such as germs and all sorts of harmful insects (for example, dust mites) in the object to be cleaned and can always keep the object to be cleaned clean and sanitary so that a satisfaction in terms of the cleaning device is raised.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0109148 filed on Aug. 21, 2014, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field
Embodiments of the inventive concept relate to a cleaning device, and more particularly, to a cleaning device which can remove moisture existing in an object to be cleaned (for example, bedclothes, floor carpets, and the like) utilizing high-temperatured exhaust heat generated at the time of operating the cleaning device, to clean up an environment in which harmful materials such as germs and all sorts of harmful insects (for example, dust mites and the like) can inhabit, from the object to be cleaned and to keep always the object to be cleaned clean and sanitary.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, bedclothes such as a blanket, a pillow, and a bed mattress, and a floor carpet are in contact with a human body for relative long time,
Therefore, it is inevitable that bedclothes or a floor carpet (hereinafter, referred to as “object to be cleaned”) are contaminated by ordinary foreign substances such as dust, excretions and corpse of dust mites which eat dead skin cells detached from the human body, and fine dust. In particular, the object to be cleaned is stained with sweat of the human body so that an environment which is suitable for germs and dust mites which are detrimental to the human body to inhabit, is created on the object to be cleaned.
Meanwhile, since the above-mentioned foreign substances contaminating the object to be cleaned can become a prey for germs and harmful insects, the object to be cleaned itself can become a habitat of germs and harmful insects so that an user utilizing the object to be cleaned can be damaged by germs and harmful insects.
For this reason, the user dusts frequently foreign substances from the object to be cleaned and dries the object to be cleaned in the sunlight or sprays germicide and insecticide onto the object to be cleaned to sterilize it.
However, since germs and harmful insects have a micro-size, and are parasitic on a surface and in deep inside of the object to be cleaned, although the user dusts foreign substances from the object to be cleaned and dries the object to be cleaned in the sunlight or sprays germicide and insecticide onto the object to be cleaned to sterilize it, a removal of germs and harmful insects is insufficient.
In order to solve the above problems, the present inventors have invented the cleaning device disclosed in Korean Patent Nos. 10-0661619 (issue date: Dec. 26, 2006) and 10-1302673 (issue date: Sep. 3, 2013).
In general, the above cleaning device includes a main body, a suction motor, a brush, a striker, and an ultraviolet lamp. In this cleaning device, when foreign substances on a surface of an object to be cleaned is sucked through an operation of the suction motor, the brush sweeps a surface of the object to be cleaned and the striker strikes a surface of the object to be cleaned. Therefore, the above cleaning device can easily remove foreign substances from the object to be cleaned and can sterilize a surface of the object to be cleaned through an irradiation of ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet lamp.
Due to sweat created from the human body, however, moisture may exist in the object to be cleaned, and the cleaning device disclosed in the prior art could not effectively remove moisture existing in the object to be cleaned. Therefore, the conventional cleaning device is disadvantageous in that the user dries the object to be cleaned in the sunlight by oneself.
In the conventional cleaning device, in other words, the striker strikes a surface of the object to be cleaned to allow all sorts of germs and harmful insects, which are detrimental to the human body, as well as all sorts of foreign substances to be scattered, and theses germs, harmful insects, and foreign substances are then vacuum-sucked. Also, the conventional cleaning device is not provided with a means for properly removing moisture from the object to be cleaned when moisture exists in the object to be cleaned due to the user's sweat. Therefore, the conventional cleaning device has a problem that, due to moisture existing in the object to be cleaned, all sorts of germs and harmful insects which are detrimental to the human body are increased.
In particular, in some of the cleaning devices, a steam device is applied to the cleaning device as a sterilizing means. In the steam method, however, after performing a sterilization treatment of the object to be cleaned, steam remaining in the object to be cleaned is converted into moisture by a difference between a temperature of steam and an atmosphere temperature, and this moisture in the object to be cleaned inevitably provides a habitat for the harmful materials.

SUMMARY

Therefore, the present invention is invented to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional cleaning device, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device which can remove moisture utilizing exhaust heat, and the cleaning device includes a guide flow passage provided therein for outlet high-temperatured exhaust heat generated at the time of operating a motor to an object to be cleaned to remove moisture remaining in the object (for example, bedclothes, floor carpets, and the like) to be cleaned through recirculated exhaust heat, whereby the cleaning device cleans up a habit for harmful materials such as germs and all sorts of harmful insects (for example, dust mites and the like) in the object to be cleaned and can keep the object to be cleaned clean and sanitary.
To achieve the above object, the cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat includes a main body in which a driving unit is provided; an exhaust heat distributing unit provided at a rear portion of the driving unit in the main body for distributing exhaust heat generated during an operation of the driving unit; an exhaust heat outlet port formed on a lower surface of the main body for outlet exhaust heat distributed from the exhaust heat distributing unit to allow moisture of an object to be clean to be removed; and a guide flow passage connecting the exhaust heat distributing unit to the exhaust heat outlet port for guiding a flow of exhaust heat.
In addition, the exhaust heat distributing unit has a first valve coupled thereto, the first valve being opened/closed for selectively outlet exhaust heat generated during an operation of the driving unit to the guide flow passage or an outside of the main body.
Also, a second valve is coupled to a joint portion of the exhaust heat distributing unit and the guide flow passage for outlet exhaust heat, which is distributed from the exhaust heat distributing unit, to the exhaust heat outlet port or blocking exhaust heat.
Furthermore, the first and second valves are a manual valve which has a knob and is manually opened/closed by an user's manipulation or a solenoid valve which is opened/closed by means of a control unit when an on/off switching operation of an operation switch included in an input unit is carried out.
In addition, the guide flow passage includes a heater unit provided at a side thereof adjacent to the exhaust heat outlet port for heating exhaust heat discharged from the guide flow passage to the exhaust heat outlet port so that a temperature of exhaust heat is increased to remove moisture in the object to be cleaned at a certain temperature.
And, the guide flow passage includes a temperature sensor provided at a side thereof adjacent to the exhaust heat outlet port for detecting a heating temperature of the heater unit.
In addition, the heater unit is turned on/off by the control unit when an on/off switching operation of the operation switch included in the input unit is carried out. Also, the heater unit is turned on/off by the control unit when the information on the heating temperature detected by the temperature sensor is output to the control unit.
In particular, the cleaning device of the present invention may further include a filter unit provided between the driving unit and the exhaust heat distributing unit for filtering fine dust in exhaust heat which is guided to the exhaust heat distributing unit.
Preferably, the exhaust heat outlet port may include a first outlet port formed at a front portion of the lower surface of the main body and a second outlet port formed at an intermediate portion or a rear portion of the lower surface of the main body.
In addition, the guide flow passage includes a first flow passage branched from the exhaust heat distributing unit and connected to the first outlet port and a second flow passage branched from the exhaust heat distributing unit and connected to the second outlet port, and the heater unit is coupled to portions of the first and second flow passages, which are adjacent to the first and second outlet ports.
Furthermore, the main body includes an ultraviolet lamp coupled thereto and irradiating ultraviolet rays to the object to be cleaned according to a control signal of the control unit for sterilizing the object to be cleaned when the driving unit is operated.
Preferably, the main body includes a harmful material detecting unit for detecting germs and harmful insects on the objected to be cleaned and output the detected signal to the control unit.
In addition, the harmful material detecting unit is provided on the lower surface of the main body or in a suction path of the main body.
Preferably, the harmful factor detecting unit has a motion detection function or a heat detection function.
Furthermore, the control unit includes a control program stored therein for adjusting an operating time or an operating magnitude of each of a brush, a striker, the driving unit, and the ultraviolet lamp in proportion to the detected information of the harmful material detecting unit and for adjusting an operating time or a heating magnitude of the heater unit according to the detected information of the temperature sensor.
The technical objectives of the inventive concept are not limited to the above disclosure; other objectives may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art based on the following descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the inventive concepts will be apparent from the more particular description of preferred embodiments of the inventive concepts, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the inventive concepts. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic transparent plan view illustrating a structure of a cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic transparent plan view illustrating a state in which exhaust heat generated according to an operation of a driving unit of a cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present invention is discharged to an outside;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic transparent plan view illustrating a state in which exhaust heat generated according to an operation of a driving unit of a cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present invention is discharged to an exhaust heat outlet port formed on a lower surface of a main body;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a control block diagram of a cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which some embodiments are shown. These inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough and complete and fully conveys the inventive concept to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the sizes and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.
It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it can be directly on, connected, or coupled to the other element or layer or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present. Like numerals refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or section from another element, component, region, layer, or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the present inventive concept.
Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element's or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations), and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may be interpreted accordingly.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present inventive concept. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Embodiments are described herein with reference to cross-sectional illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures). As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. For example, an implanted region illustrated as a rectangle will, typically, have rounded or curved features and/or a gradient of implant concentration at its edges rather than a binary change from implanted to non-implanted region. Likewise, a buried region formed by implantation may result in some implantation in the region between the buried region and the surface through which the implantation takes place. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shape of a region of a device and are not intended to limit the scope of the present inventive concept.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this inventive concept belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
Hereinafter, one preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 8, a cleaning device according to one embodiment of the present invention, which can remove moisture using exhaust heat, includes a brush 101 provided in a main body 100 for sweeping a surface of an object to be cleaned; a striker 102 provided in the main body for striking a surface of the object to be cleaned; a driving unit 104 provided in the main body for vacuum-sucking harmful materials from the object to be cleaned through a suction port 103; a control unit 106 provided in the main body for controlling operations of the brush 101, the striker 102, and the driving unit 104 according to the input information of an input unit 105; and an exhaust heat distributing unit 10, an exhaust heat outlet port 20, and a guide flow passage 30 formed in the main body. In addition to the above, a heater unit 40, a temperature sensor 41, a filter unit 50, and an ultraviolet lamp 60 may be provided in the main body.
The exhaust heat distributing unit 10 is provided at a rear side of the driving unit 104 in the main body 100 for distributing exhaust heat generated during an operation of the driving unit 104.
In order to remove moisture contained in the object to be cleaned through exhaust heat, at least one exhaust heat outlet port 20 is provided on a lower surface of the main body 100. Preferably, the exhaust heat outlet port 20 is constituted by a first outlet port 21 provided at a front portion of the lower surface of the main body 100 and a second outlet port 22 provided at an intermediate portion or a rear portion of the lower surface of the main body 100 so that exhaust heat distributed from the exhaust heat distributing unit 10 is discharged to the object to be cleaned through the exhaust heat outlet port 20.
The guide flow passage 30 connects the exhaust heat distributing unit 10 to the exhaust heat outlet port 20 for guiding exhaust heat, which is distributed from the exhaust heat distributing unit 10, to the exhaust heat outlet port 20. The number of the guide flow passages is determined by the number of the outlet ports constituting the exhaust heat outlet port 20. When the exhaust heat outlet port 20 is constituted by the first and second outlet ports 21 and 22, the guide flow passage 30 is constituted by a first flow passage 31 branched from the exhaust heat distributing unit 10 and connected to the first outlet port 21 and a second flow passage 32 branched from the exhaust heat distributing unit 10 and connected to the second outlet port 22.
Here, four (4) outlet ports may be formed at a front, a rear, and both sides of the lower surface of the main body 100. To suit the number of the outlet ports, in this case, the guide flow passage is divided at the exhaust heat distributing unit 10 into four flow passages extending in the four (4) directions and four flow passages are connected to the four outlet ports, respectively.
At this time, a first valve V1 is provided on the exhaust heat distributing unit 10 for selectively outlet exhaust heat, which is generated by an operation of the driving unit 104, to the guide flow passage 30 or an outside of the main body 100, and a second valve V2 is coupled to a joint portion of the exhaust heat distributing unit 10 and the guide flow passage 30 for outlet exhaust heat, which is distributed from the exhaust heat distributing unit 10, to the exhaust heat outlet port 20 or blocking exhaust heat. Therefore, any one of a valve (or a door) which is provided with a knob and is manually operated by a user's manipulation and a throttle valve or a solenoid valve which is opened/closed by the control unit 106 when an operation switch SW1 included in the input unit 105 performs an on/off switching operation may be employed as the first valve V1 and the second valve V2. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, any solenoid valve which can be opened/closed by an electrical signal may be selectively employed as the above valve.
In other words, when moisture is removed from the object to be cleaned by means of exhaust heat generated according to an operation of the driving unit 104, the second valve V2 is opened to guide exhaust heat to the first outlet port 21 and/or the second outlet port 22 of the exhaust heat outlet port 20. In a case where a removal of moisture from the object to be cleaned is not carried out, however, the first valve V1 is opened while the second valve V2 is closed so that exhaust heat generated from the driving unit 104 can be discharged to an outside of the main body 100.
The heater unit 40 is turned on/off by the control unit 106 when an on/off switching operation of the operation switch SW1 included in the input unit 105 is carried out or once the information detected by the temperature sensor 41 is transmitted to the control unit 106, and thus an operation of the heater unit 40 is determined by the control unit 106. The heater unit 40 is provided in the guide flow passage 30 adjacent to the exhaust heat outlet port 20 or in the first and second flow passages 31 and 32 constituting the guide flow passage 30, and heats exhaust heat guided from the exhaust heat distributing unit 10 to the guide flow passage 30 to increase the temperature of exhaust heat at the time of initial operation of the driving unit 104 or before terminating a cleaning work to process and to perform a removal of moisture from the object to be cleaned at a certain temperature (for example, 60 to 70° C.).
At this time, the temperature sensor 41 is provided in the first and second flow passages 31 and 32, which are adjacent to the exhaust heat outlet port 20, for detecting the temperature during an operation of the heater unit 40. The temperature sensor 41 transmits the information on the detected heating temperature of the heater unit 40 to the control unit 106 so that the control unit 106 controls a heating operation of the heater unit 40 on the basis of the detected information of the temperature sensor 41.
The filter unit 50 is provided between the driving unit 104 and the exhaust heat distributing unit 10 and filters fine dust contained in exhaust heat when exhaust heat is discharged from the driving unit 104 to the exhaust heat distributing unit 10.
The ultraviolet lamp 60 is provided in the main body 100 to irradiate ultraviolet rays to a surface of the object to be cleaned according to a control signal of the control unit 106 for sterilizing the object to be cleaned when the driving unit 104 is operated.
As described above, the technical characteristic of the embodiment of the present invention is that since exhaust heat having a certain temperature (for example, 60 to 70° C.) and generated according to an operation of the driving unit 104 is distributed in the exhaust heat distributing unit 10 and is then discharged to the object to be cleaned via the exhaust heat outlet port 20 or the first and second outlet ports 21 and 22 constituting the exhaust heat outlet port 20, sweat or moisture which exists in the objected to be cleaned after performing a steam cleaning work is removed so that a habitat suitable for the harmful materials is cleaned up.
Meanwhile, the main body 100 of the cleaning device according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a harmful material detecting unit 70 provided therein and having a motion detection function or a heat detection function for detecting germs and harmful insects in the object to be cleaned and transmitting the detected information to the control unit 106. This harmful material detecting unit 70 is placed on the lower surface of the main body 100 or in a sucking path in the main body 100. For this reason, the control unit 106 includes a control program stored therein for adjusting an operating time or an operating magnitude of each of the brush 101, the striker 102, the driving unit 104, and the ultraviolet lamp 60 in proportion to the detected information of the harmful material detecting unit 70 or for adjusting an operation time or a heating magnitude of the heater unit 40 in proportion to the detected information of the temperature sensor 41.
Here, the suction port 103 is provided on the main body 100 for facilitating a suction of external air into the main body 100 therethrough according to an operation of the driving unit 104. At this time, it is obvious that a filter (not shown) may be provided in the suction port 103 to filter foreign substances from external air sucked through the suction port 103. Any conventional filter which can remove foreign substances from external air may be employed as the filter provided in the suction port.
In the cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 8, first of all, once the driving unit 104 is operated by manipulating the input unit 105, external air is vacuum-sucked into the main body 100 via the suction port 103 in response to the operation of the driving unit 104.
Therefore, if the main body 100 is moved in a state where the lower surface of the main body 100 is in contact with bedclothes, that is, the object to be cleaned, since the foreign substances are sucked into the main body in the process of sucking external air, considerable portion of ordinary foreign substances and harmful materials such as germs and harmful insects can be removed from the object to be cleaned.
Subsequently, since the brush 101 which is continuously is rotated and the striker 102 which is continuously moved vertically are provided on the lower surface of the main body 100 adjacent to the suction port 103, if a rotation of the brush 101 and a stroke of the striker 102 are performed through a manipulation of the input unit 105, the foreign substances can be easily detached from the object to be cleaned and the detached foreign substances are sucked into the main body together with exterior air so that a removal of ordinary foreign substances and the harmful materials such as germs and harmful insects from the object to be cleaned can be more easily achieved.
At this time, since the ultraviolet lamp 60 provided on the lower surface of the main body 100 is operated and irradiates ultraviolet rays when the driving unit 104 is operated, if the cleaning device is moved in a state where the lower surface of the main body 100 is in close contact with the object to be cleaned, a surface of the object to be cleaned is sterilized by ultraviolet rays irradiated from the ultraviolet lamp 60 so that the removal of germs and harmful insects from the object to be cleaned can be more effectively achieved.
Meanwhile, in a state where the foreign substances or harmful materials are detached from the object to be cleaned and are vacuum-sucked into the main body through an operation of the cleaning device as described above, exhaust heat generated according to an operation of the driving unit 104 is discharged to the exhaust heat outlet port 20 provided on the lower surface of the main body 100 or the first and second outlet ports 21 and 22 constituting the exhaust heat outlet port 20 through the guide flow passage 30 branched from the exhaust heat distributing unit 10 or the first and second flow passages 31 and 32 constituting the guide flow passage 30.
Here, exhaust heat discharged via the exhaust heat outlet port 20 or the first and second outlet ports 21 and 22 is maintained at a certain temperature (for example, 60 to 70° C.) by an operation of the driving unit 104. However, if exhaust heat is not maintained at a certain temperature (for example, 60 to 70° C.), the heater unit 40 provided in the guide flow passage 30 adjacent to the exhaust heat outlet port 20 or in the first and second flow passages 31 and 32 is operated to increase a temperature of exhaust heat to a certain value (for example, 60 to 70° C.).
Then, exhaust heat, which has a certain temperature (for example, 60 to 70° C.) and is discharged to the object to be cleaned via the exhaust heat outlet port 20 or the first and second outlet ports 21 and 22, removes moisture remaining in the object to be cleaned (that is, user's sweat or moisture remaining in the objected to be cleaned after performing a steam cleaning work) so that it is possible to clean up the habitat which remains in the object to be cleaned and is suitable for the harmful materials.
In the embodiment of the present invention, in other words, in a case where moisture existing in the object to be cleaned is removed by means of exhaust heat generated according to an operation of the driving unit 104, since exhaust heat is guided to the first outlet port 21 and/or the second outlet port 22 of the exhaust heat outlet port 20 by opening the second valve V2, moisture remaining in the object to be cleaned can be effectively removed through exhaust heat which has a certain temperature and is generated according to an operation of the driving unit 104. Also, when the cleaning does not remove moisture from the object to be cleaned, the first valve V1 is opened to discharge exhaust heat generated in the driving unit 104 to an outside of the main body 100 while the second valve V2 is closed.
Meanwhile, since the harmful material detecting unit 70 having a motion detection function or a heat detection function is provided on the lower surface of the main body 100 or in the suction path in the main body 100 and the control unit 106 in which a control program is stored adjusts an operating time or an operating magnitude of each of the driving unit 104, the brush 101, the striker 102, the ultraviolet lamp 60, or the heater unit 40 in proportion to the detected information of the harmful material detecting unit 70, the cleaning device according to the embodiment of the present invention removes the harmful materials from the object to be cleaned, completely cleans up the environment in which harmful materials can inhabit, and can keep the object to be cleaned clean and sanitary
As described above, the cleaning device of the present invention includes a guide flow passage provided therein for outlet high-temperatured exhaust heat generated at the time of operating a motor to an object to be cleaned to remove moisture remaining in the object to be cleaned through recirculated exhaust heat, whereby the cleaning device cleans up a habitat for harmful materials such as germs and all sorts of harmful insects in the object to be cleaned and can always keep the object to be cleaned clean and sanitary so that a satisfaction in terms of the cleaning device is raised.
The foregoing is illustrative of embodiments and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although a few embodiments have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this inventive concept as defined in the claims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function, and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures. Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing is illustrative of various embodiments and is not to be construed as limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications to the disclosed embodiments, as well as other embodiments, are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat, comprising;

a main body in which a driving unit is provided;

an exhaust heat distributing unit provided at a rear portion of the driving unit in the main body for distributing exhaust heat generated during an operation of the driving unit;

an exhaust heat outlet port formed on a lower surface of the main body for outlet exhaust heat distributed from the exhaust heat distributing unit to allow moisture of an object to be clean to be removed; and

a guide flow passage connecting the exhaust heat distributing unit to the exhaust heat outlet port for guiding a flow of exhaust heat.

2. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust heat distributing unit has a first valve coupled thereto, the first valve being opened/closed for selectively outlet exhaust heat generated during an operation of the driving unit to the guide flow passage or an outside of the main body.

3. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 2, wherein the first valve is a manual valve which has a knob and is manually opened/closed by an user's manipulation or a solenoid valve which is opened/closed by means of a control unit when an on/off switching operation of an operation switch included in an input unit is carried out.

4. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 3, wherein the guide flow passage comprises a heater unit provided at a side thereof adjacent to the exhaust heat outlet port for heating exhaust heat discharged from the guide flow passage to the exhaust heat outlet port so that a temperature of exhaust heat is increased to remove moisture in the object to be cleaned at a certain temperature.

5. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 4, wherein the guide flow passage comprises a temperature sensor provided at a side thereof adjacent to the exhaust heat outlet port for detecting a heating temperature of the heater unit, and the heater unit is turned on/off by the control unit when the information on the heating temperature detected by the temperature sensor is output to the control unit.

6. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 4, wherein the heater unit is turned on/off by the control unit when an on/off switching operation of the operation switch included in the input unit is carried out.

7. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 1, further comprising a filter unit provided between the driving unit and the exhaust heat distributing unit for filtering fine dust in exhaust heat which is guided to the exhaust heat distributing unit.

8. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust heat outlet port comprises a first outlet port formed at a front portion of the lower surface of the main body and a second outlet port formed at an intermediate portion or a rear portion of the lower surface of the main body.

9. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 8, wherein the guide flow passage comprises a first flow passage branched from the exhaust heat distributing unit and connected to the first outlet port and a second flow passage branched from the exhaust heat distributing unit and connected to the second outlet port, and the heater unit is coupled to portions of the first and second flow passages, which are adjacent to the first and second outlet ports.

10. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 5, wherein the main body comprises an ultraviolet lamp coupled thereto and irradiating ultraviolet rays to a surface of the object to be cleaned according to a control signal of the control unit for sterilizing the object to be cleaned when the driving unit is operated.

11. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 10, wherein the main body comprises a harmful material detecting unit for detecting germs and harmful insects on the objected to be cleaned and output the detected signal to the control unit.

12. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 11, wherein the harmful material detecting unit is provided on the lower surface of the main body or in a suction path of the main body.

13. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 12, wherein the harmful material detecting unit has a motion detection function or a heat detection function.

14. The cleaning device capable of removing moisture utilizing exhaust heat according to claim 11, wherein the main body comprises a brush for sweeping a surface of the object to be cleaned; a striker for striking a surface of the object to be cleaned; and a control unit for controlling operations of the brush, the striker, and the driving unit according to the input information of the input unit, and

the control unit comprises a control program stored therein for adjusting an operating time or an operating magnitude of each of the brush, the striker, the driving unit, and the ultraviolet lamp in proportion to the detected information of the harmful material detecting unit and for adjusting an operating time or a heating magnitude of the heater unit according to the detected information of the temperature sensor.