Patent Publication Number: US-2007114741-A1

Title: Steamer for beauty purpose

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED ART  
      The present invention is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/170,148, filed on Jun. 30, 2005, entitled “Beauty Cart”, now pending. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to steamers and more particularly, to a steamer for beauty purpose that can be used in a beauty cart.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      A steamer for use in a beauty-parlour generally comprises a housing, and an electric heater mounted inside the housing for heating water into steam for application. A steamer of this design is an independent product. After other beauty works, the beautician must push the beauty cart away and then carry the steamer to the workplace for treating the client. It is inconvenient to frequently carry the steamer from place to place and to use the steamer in this manner.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. According to one aspect of the present invention, a steamer for beauty purpose comprises housing holding an electric heater on the inside, a mounting assembly pivoted to the housing for locking a water container to the inside of the housing for enabling the electric heater to heat water in the water container, and a rotary steam output unit pivoted to the top side of the housing and having a swivel steam nozzle for output of steam from the water container.  
      According to another aspect of the present invention, the mounting assembly comprises a pivot member pivotally provided at one side of the housing, a U-bar, a connecting rod connected between the pivot member and the U-bar to hold the U-bar in horizontal, a screw rod vertically mounted in the top side of the U-bar, a clamp provided at the top end of the screw rod, and a knob fastened to the bottom end of the screw rod above the bottom side of the U-bar for rotation by the user to adjust the elevation of the clamp.  
      Further, the housing has a bottom stem, which has the bottom end provided with a wheel or stand for supporting the steamer on the floor. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a steamer according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a schematic drawing of a part of the present invention, showing the mounting assembly secured the water container in position.  
       FIG. 4  is an elevational view showing the steamer fastened to a beauty cart.  
       FIG. 5  is an elevational view of an alternate form of the steamer according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a steamer in accordance with the present invention is shown comprised of a housing  1 , a rotary steam output unit  2 , and a mounting assembly  3 .  
      The housing  1  has a pivot holder  11  at the top, an electric heater  12  provided on the inside, and a steam tube  13  provided on the inside and upwardly connected to the pivot holder  11 .  
      The mounting assembly  3  comprises a pivot shaft  31  pivotally provided at one side of the housing  1 , a U-bar  33 , a connecting rod  32  connected between the pivot shaft  31  and the U-bar  33  to hold the U-bar  33  in horizontal, a screw rod  34  vertically mounted in the top side of the horizontally disposed U-bar  33 , a clamp  35  provided at the top end of the screw rod  34 , and a knob  36  fastened to the bottom end of the screw rod  34  above the bottom side of the horizontally disposed U-bar  33 .  
      Further, a stem  14  is vertically fixedly provided at the bottom side of the housing  1 , having a wheel  15  pivotally mounted on the bottom end.  
      The rotary steam output unit  2  has a tubular bottom pivot shaft  21  pivoted to the pivot holder  11  of the housing  1  and connected to the steam tube  13 , and a swivel steam nozzle  22  coupled to the tubular bottom pivot shaft  21 .  
      Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the steamer is fastened to one side of a beauty cart  5 . When in use, the pivot shaft  31  is rotated through an angle relative to the housing  1  to move the horizontally disposed U-bar  33  into the inside of the housing  1 , and then a water container  4  is inserted into the inside of the housing  1  and supported on the clamp  35  of the mounting assembly  3 , and then the knob  36  is rotated to move the screw rod  34  and the clamp  35  upwards and to further lock the water container  4  to the inside of the housing  1 , keeping the electric heater  12  and the bottom end of the steam tube  13  dipped in water contained in the water container  4 . The electric heater  12  can then be started to heat water in the water container  4  into steam, enabling the steam to go through the steam tube  13  and the tubular bottom pivot shaft  21  of the rotary steam output unit  2  to the outside of the rotary steam output unit  2  via the swivel steam nozzle  22  for application.  
       FIG. 5  shows an alternate form of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the stem  14  is supported on a stand  16  that supports the steamer stably on the floor.  
      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.