Garment steamer and method for the same

Abstract

A garment steamer (1) comprising a base body (10) accommodating a liquid water tank (26); a liquid water pump (32), having a water inlet (32a) and a water outlet (32b), wherein the water inlet (32a) is fluidly connected to the liquid water tank (26). The garment steamer also comprises a steam head (50) that is moveable with respect to the base body (10) and that accommodates a steam chamber (70), having a liquid water inlet and a steam outlet, wherein said steam outlet includes at least one steam nozzle (76); a heating element (72) that is provided in or adjacent said steam chamber (70), and configured to evaporate liquid water passing through said steam chamber. A liquid water tube (38b, 38c) fluidly interconnects the water outlet (32b) of the water pump (32) and the liquid water inlet of the steam chamber (70) in the steam head (50).

Claims

1. A garment steamer, comprising: a base body, the base body comprising: a liquid water tank; a liquid water pump, having a water inlet and a water outlet, wherein the water inlet is fluidly connected to the liquid water tank; a steam head moveable with respect to the base body, the steam head comprising a steam chamber, having a liquid water inlet and a steam outlet, said steam outlet including at least one steam nozzle; wherein the steam head comprises a housing, said housing defining: an elongate handle section having a first end and a second end, and configured to be gripped by a hand of a user; a nozzle head that is provided at the first end of the handle section, said nozzle head including said at least one steam nozzle; and a steam guard that is directly connected to the steam head including a connecting portion directly connected to the nozzle head and an extending U-shaped portion extending downwardly in a direction perpendicular to the direction of steam released through at least one steam nozzle, the extended U-shaped portion having a width greater than the width of the elongate handle section and positioned in front of a user's hand gripping the elongate handle section so as to protect the user's hand; the steam head further comprising: a heating element provided in or adjacent said steam chamber, and configured to evaporate liquid water passing through said steam chamber; at least one printed circuit board comprising power conversion electronics and a thermostat to power and control the heating element; a liquid water tube configured to fluidly interconnect the water outlet of the water pump in the base body and the liquid water inlet of the steam chamber in the steam head, a liquid water flow control valve disposed in one of a fluid connection between the water tank and the water inlet of the water pump and the liquid water tube, wherein a flow rate of the liquid water flow control valve is manually controlled, and a chemical dispenser that is included in the water tank.

2. The garment steamer according to claim 1, further comprising a flexible connection cord that interconnects the base body and the steam head, and that accommodates at least a portion of the liquid water tube, said connection cord having an outer diameter smaller than 10 mm.

3. The garment steamer according to claim 1, wherein the water tank has a volume in the range of 350-750 cubic centimeters.

4. The garment steamer according to claim 1, wherein the steam head has a dry mass smaller than 800 grams.

5. The garment steamer according to claim 4, wherein the steam head has a dry mass of 750 grams.

6. The garment steamer according to 1, further comprising a fastener that is attached to said base body, configured to enable a user to fasten the base body to the user's body.

7. The garment steamer according to claim 1, wherein the water pump is a diaphragm pump.

8. The garment steamer according to claim 1, wherein the base body defines a refill opening that provides direct access to the water tank.

9. The garment steamer according to claim 1, wherein the at least one steam nozzle is encircled by a spacer bracket that prevents a substantially planar object from direct contact with said steam nozzle.

10. The garment steamer according to claim 1, wherein the steam outlet of the steam chamber is always open.

11. The garment steamer according to claim 1, wherein the base body does not accommodate a heating element for evaporating liquid water.

12. The garment steamer according to claim 1, wherein the steam head does not include a liquid water reservoir with a volume larger than 15 cubic centimeters.

13. The garment steamer according to claim 1, the garment steamer being configurable to: fill the water tank with water via a refill opening in the water tank; power and control the heating element to a preset temperature by the power conversion electronics and the thermostat provided on the printed circuit board integrated within the steam head; activate the pump to draw liquid from the water tank through a tube section to force the liquid through the tube section at a rate determined by the manually controlled liquid water flow control valve to the steam chamber in the steam head, generate steam in the steam head using the drawn liquid; release said generated steam through the at least one nozzle of the steam head and move the steam head along a provided fabric.

14. The garment steamer according to claim 13, wherein releasing the steam through the at least one nozzle of the garment steamer steam head further comprises: pumping liquid water from the water tank through the liquid water tube to the steam chamber.

15. The garment steamer according to claim 1, wherein the chemical dispenser is configured to give off at least one chemical to passing water.

16. The garment steamer according to claim 15, wherein the chemical is one of a fragrance or an additive.

17. The garment steamer according to claim 1, wherein the base body includes: a back cover, further including a back wall with a first upstanding wall provided thereon, the first upstanding wall extending partially along and partially within a circumference of the back wall, a tank cover, including a front wall, and a second upstanding wall extending partially along and partially within a circumference of the front wall, a top cover, wherein the first and second upstanding walls are complementary shaped such that when the back cover and the tank cover are slid onto one another, the back wall, front wall and first and second upstanding walls define the liquid water tank.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a garment steamer according to the present invention, including a base body that is provided on a waist belt, and a steam head that is connected to the base body via a flexible connection cord;

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the base body of the garment steamer shown in FIG. 1;

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the steam head of the garment steamer shown in FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 4 is a schematic, partially exploded perspective view of the steam head shown in FIG. 3; and

(5) FIG. 5 is a schematic, simplified longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the steam head shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

(6) FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a garment steamer 1 according to the present invention. The garment steamer includes a base body 10, a steam head 50 that is connected thereto via a flexible connection cord 40. The garment steamer also includes a power cord 4 provided with a plug, which cord is connected to the base body 10 for supplying the garment steamer 1 with electrical power from the mains.

(7) In the depicted embodiment, the base body 10 is provided on a belt 2, e.g. a waist belt, that enables a user to strap the base body 10 to his body, e.g. around his waist. The base body 10 is relatively lightweight, so bearing it is in itself unlikely to present a physical burden to a user. However, holding the base body 10 manually would necessarily take up one of a user's hands. The waist belt 2 overcomes the need to hold base body 10 manually during use, thus freeing that hand, which may then be used for, for example, rearranging a garment being steamed. In an alternative embodiment, the garment steamer 1 may not include a (waist)belt; instead, an outer surface of the bottom or back cover 12 of the base body 10 (see FIG. 2) may be provided with an anti-slip provision, e.g. rubber studs, that allow the base body 10 to be positioned securely on a piece of furniture during use, thereby preventing the relatively light base body 10 from being drawn off its support due to motion of the connection cord 40.

(8) The base body 10 is illustrated in more detail in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 2. Here it can be seen that the base body 10 may include a back or bottom cover 12, a tank cover 18, and a top cover 28. The back cover 12 may include a back wall 14 with an upstanding wall 16 provided thereon, which wall 16 may extend partially along and partially within the circumference of the back wall 14. The tank cover 18 may likewise include a front wall 20, and an upstanding wall 22 that extends partially along and partially within the circumference of the front wall 20. The upstanding walls 16, 22 on the back and tank covers 12, 18 may be complementarily shaped, such that, when the two covers 12, 18 are slid onto one another, the back wall 14, the front wall 20 and the upstanding walls 16, 22 together define a water tank 26 between them for storing liquid water.

(9) The tank cover 18 may include an opening 30, which may be disposed in an upper portion of the front wall 20, within the area walled by upstanding wall 22. The front cover 28 may similarly include an opening 30′, which may register with that in the tank cover 18 when the base body is assembled, so as to define a refill opening. Since the water in the tank 26 will not be pressurized and the waist-borne base body 10 is expected to maintain its orientation during use, the refill opening need not be closable by means of a valve or the like.

(10) A normally dry side of the front wall 20 of tank cover 18 may define a recessed slot 21. At the end of the slot 21, the front wall 20 may further define a tube connector 23. The tube connector 23 may preferably be disposed in a lower portion of the front wall, within the area walled by the upstanding wall 22, and define a fluid passage through the front wall 20. Due to gravity, water in the water tank 26 will flow towards the tube connector 23, keeping it submerged for as long as there is water left in the water tank 26.

(11) The base body 10 may accommodate an electric (liquid) water pump 32. Within the base body 10, the pump 32 may be held in place by two clamp arms 24 that protrude from a back wall 19 of the tank cover 18, which back wall 19 may be disposed backward of the front wall 20 thereof. A flexible tube section 38a may fluidly connect a water inlet 32a of the pump 32 to the tube connector 23 on the tank cover 18, so as to enable the pump 32 to pump water from the water tank 26. The pump 32 may in principle be of any suitable type. In a preferred embodiment, however, the pump 32 is a diaphragm or membrane pump. Compared to most other pump types, e.g. plunger pumps, diaphragm pumps have good dry running characteristics, which may prevent damage to the garment steamer 1 in case the water tank 26 runs empty during use.

(12) In the depicted embodiment, the pump 32 may merely be switched on and off by means of a control button 66 on the steamer head 50 (to be discussed infra). That is to say that when the pump 32 is operating, it always pumps at the same rate. This advantageously reduces the structural complexity of the pump control mechanism. Still, other embodiments of the garment steamer 1 may feature an electronic pump control mechanism that facilitates an adjustable pump rate. The present embodiment provides for control over the flow rate of the water to be pumped from the water tank 26 by means of a manually operable flow control valve 34. The flow control valve 34 may generally be disposed anywhere in the portion of the water tube 38 extending from the water tank 26 to the steam generation section 70 in the steam head 50, and thus either upstream or downstream of the pump 32. In the implementation of FIG. 2, the valve 34 is accommodated by the base body 10. A flexible tube section 38b connects its water inlet end 34a to the water outlet 32b of the water pump 32. The flow control valve 34 is fitted with a manual control 36, for example in the form of a rotatable knob, that protrudes from the base body 10 in its assembled state (see FIG. 1). The control 36 may enable a user to increase or decrease the effective diameter of a flow passage within the valve 34, so as to regulate the flow rate of water there through.

(13) It is noted that the base body 10 of the garment steamer 1 according to the present invention does not include a heating element to evaporate water that is extracted from the water tank 26. Instead, the water is transported from the base body 10 to the hand-held steam head 50 in liquid form via flexible tube section 38c, which is connected to the water outlet 34b of the flow control valve 34. In between the base body 10 and the steam head 50, the flexible tube section 38c may be enclosed in a connection cord 40, which may also accommodate electrical power and signal cables.

(14) Transporting the water in the form of liquid instead of steam has a number of advantages. If, for example, the water were to be transported from the base body 10 to the steam head 50 in the form of steam, the tube section 38c would effectively represent a heat leak over the length of the connection cord 40. This is because, during use, the tube section 38c would form a steam line through an environment at room temperature, and steam flowing through the channel would necessarily cool and possibly even condense, a problem that is indeed encountered in known garment steamers. Heat loss associated with the transfer of steam may be limited by thermally insulating the tube section 38c, but this would typically lead to the use of thicker tubing, or require a thicker insulating jacket to be provided by the connection cord 40. As a consequence, the connection cord 40 would become thicker and heavier, and hence, less flexible, which would disadvantageously affect the manageability of the steam head 50. In this regard it deserves mention that, in practice, a steam carrying tube always requires at least some degree of thermal insulation to prevent a user from burning themselves thereon, which causes such tubes to be relatively stiff.

(15) Transporting the water to the steam head 50 in liquid form prevents these problems. Since there is no need for thermal insulation a liquid carrying tube 38 may have a relatively thin outer wall. In addition, the tube 38 may have a relatively small inner cross-section compared to a steam carrying tube suited for the same steam rate because liquid water has a higher density than steam, and may therefore be transported efficiently at low volumetric flow rates. In the garment steamer 1 according to the present invention, the liquid carrying tube 38, and in particular section 38c insofar as it extends between the base body 10 and the steam head 50, may preferably have an inner diameter smaller than 2 mm. The connection cord 40, which—as mentioned—may accommodate both (a portion of) the tube section 38c and electric power and signal cables, may preferably have an outer diameter smaller than 7.5 mm, and more preferably smaller than 6 mm.

(16) At its downstream end, the connection cord 40 connects to the steam head 50. FIGS. 3 and 4 schematically illustrate the steam head 50 in a perspective view and an exploded perspective view, respectively. FIG. 5 is a simplified longitudinal cross-sectional view of the steam head 50, showing only its most relevant inner components in relationship to each other.

(17) Referring now to FIGS. 3-5. The steam head 50 comprises a housing that includes a bottom cover 54, a top cover 52 and a nozzle head cover 58. The covers 52, 54, 58 may preferably be made of a thermally insulating material, such as poly-carbonate, acrylonitrile-butadienestyrene (ABS), poly-propylene. In its assembled state, the housing defines an elongate handle section 62 and a nozzle head 56. The nozzle head 56 is fixed to a first end of the handle section 62 opposite to a second end at which the connection cord 40 connects thereto. In the depicted embodiment, the housing also defines a steam guard 64 that is attached to and extends away from the nozzle head 56. The steam guard 64 serves to protect a user's hand gripping the elongate handle section 62 of the steam head's housing from direct contact with the hot steam released through the at least one steam nozzle. It may preferably be formed as a generally sheet- or plate-like collar or flange that extends away from, and at least partially around the nozzle head. In a preferred embodiment, as shown, the steam guard 64 may extend away from the nozzle head 56 in a direction having a positive component in a direction extending from the first end of the elongate handle section 62 to the second end thereof. This latter configuration may be particularly advantageous in case the at least one steam nozzle 76 is configured to release steam in a direction that extends at a non-zero angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the elongate handle.

(18) As can be seen best in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connection cord 40 carries the liquid water tube section 38c and an electric cable 42. Upon entering the steam head 50, the tube section 38c and the electric cable 42 fork. The wires of the electric cable 42 connect to a printed circuit board (PCB) 68. The PCB 68 may provide for a pump control button 66 that enables switching the pump 32 in the base body 10 on and off. In addition the PCB 68 may include power conversion electronics and a thermostat to power and control the operation of the steam head's heating element 72, which to this end may be electrically connected to the PCB. The tube section 38c may extend onwards, through the handle section 62 and along the PCB 68, to fluidly connect to the steam chamber 70 positioned in the nozzle head 56. The steam chamber 70 may generally be defined by a tube section, here a tub-shaped shell, which may be partially closed off with a nozzle plate 74 defining a plurality of nozzles 76. The tub-shaped shell may provide for a tube connector 71 to which tube section 38c may be connected, and electric connector passages, via which the electric connections of the heating element 72 may reach out the steam chamber to connect to the PCB 68. The heating element 72 may be disposed within or, alternatively, around the tub-shaped shell of the steam chamber 70, and be thermally coupled thereto.

(19) As may be inferred from the Figures, the steam chamber 70 of the garment steamer 1 according to the present invention is an open water passage, having an entrance in the form of the tube connector 71, and multiple exits in the form of the nozzles 76. Both the entrance 71 and the exits 76 are always open. Accordingly, the garment steamer 1 features an efficient, on the fly steam generation system that produces steam only on direct demand from the user (indicated via the pump control knob 66 on the steam head 50). As steam is produced immediately prior to its release, there is no need for the storage and accumulation of steam in a pressurized state, which simplifies the construction of the garment steamer 1.

(20) In an assembled state of the garment steamer 1, the nozzle plate 74 may abut the nozzle cover 58 of the steam head's housing, such that the nozzles 76 protrude through openings provided therein for that purpose. The nozzle cover 58 may further be provided with a spacer bracket 60 that protrudes from the plane of the steam nozzles 76, and encircles the nozzles 76. During use, the spacer bracket 60 serves to warrant a small distance between the steam nozzles 76 and a locally planar patch of fabric being treated.

(21) The operation of the illustrated garment steamer 1 is as follows. Prior to use, the water tank 26 is filled with water via refill opening 30′, and the plug on the power cord 4 is inserted in a power socket to provide the garment steamer with power. This will cause the heating element 72 to heat up to a preset temperature. When the user presses the steam button 66, the electronics on the PCB 68 will activate the pump 32 in the base body 10 via the electrical wires running through the connection cord 40. The pump 32 will then draw liquid water from the water tank 26 through tube section 38a, and force it—at a rate allowed by the control valve 34 through tube sections 38b, 38c to the steam chamber 70 in the steam head 50. Inside the steam chamber 70, the inflow of liquid water is instantly converted into steam, which is subsequently released through the steam nozzles 76.

(22) Although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described above, in part with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, it is noted that particular features, structures, or characteristics of one or more embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner to form new, not explicitly described embodiments.