Patent Publication Number: US-8528159-B2

Title: Steam cleaner with seal flap

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     N/A 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to cleaning equipment for treating surface area using a compressor, pressured water, and a water heating means. More particularly, it is related to the seal at the vacuum intake of the head assembly that makes contact with the treated surface area. The seal is placed to help the user hold the handle easily without trying to keep it at a certain angle respect to the ground level. 
     2. Description of Related Art Including Information Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     A number of different seal designs have been introduced in the field. U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,933 to Todd, Jr. introduces a disposable sanitary members formed of flexible material such as paper or the like adapted to be inserted to a head member connected to a source of vacuum. The head member is adapted to readily receive and retain the sanitary members in a novel way whereby force exerted by air entering the apparatus constantly urges retention of a sanitary member in the head member. RE. 34,325 to Rau reveals an adapter, mounted on the cylindrical sidewall of the vacuum cleaner tank, providing a receptacle for a rigid connector on which a flexible vacuum hose is sealingly mounted. The leading edge of the connector insert is beveled. A corresponding beveled surface is formed on the inner wall of the receptacle to engage and seal with the beveled leading edge of the connector to form a continuous, peripheral seal to the wall of the tank. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below. 
     The main steam cleaner unit usually comprises a compressor or an equivalent to create vacuum pressure and the vacuum pressure is directed to a first flexible tube means such as a hose, to a collector tube of a handle assembly, and to a vacuum collector head with an opening at the free end that collects used water on the floor. The collected water is routed back to the main steam cleaner unit in which a collector tank is usually placed to store the used water. The main unit also heats up and supplies fresh water usually mixed with a detergent through a second flexible means to a sprayer tube and eventually to a nozzle at the free end of the sprayer tube. When the water is sprayed on the surface area to be treated, a user moves the vacuum collector head toward the treated area to recollect the water back to the main unit. The open slot or opening of the vacuum collector head facing the floor must stay in full contact with the floor or sealed on the floor to keep the vacuum pressure strong enough to bring in the used water from the floor. However it is difficult for most users to keep the vacuum collector head at a perfect angle the whole time the unit is being used. For this reason a seal flap is installed on the vacuum collector head to provide sealing effect even if the vacuum head is not perfectly flat with the surface. The seal flap is movably attached to the collector head, moves along the surface of the collector head, and makes a contact with the floor all the time while the unit is being used; this way, when the collector head is making an angled contact with the floor with a gap the seal flap covers the gap to maintain the vacuum pressure to collect the used water. 
     A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a system having advantages not taught by the prior art. 
     Another objective is to provide such a device that provides an effective way to keep the suction pressure to bring in used water at the vacuum collector head. 
     Another objective is to provide such a system that provides a simple structure to direct the spray of water on to the target surface area. 
     Another objective is to provide such a system that is easy to use for a user when using the handle assembly by providing an automatic adjustment on seal flap. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention. In such drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a left perspective view of a handle assembly, a collector head, and a seal flap. 
         FIG. 2  is a left perspective view of the seal flap. 
         FIG. 3  is a left plan view of the head assembly with the seal flap touching the ground. 
         FIG. 4  is shows the head assembly, the handle assembly, the main steam cleaner unit, and a line representing a pair of hoses connecting the handle assembly and the main cleaner unit. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The above described drawing  FIGS. 1 through 4  illustrates the invention, a steam cleaner with seal flap  10 , comprising a collector head assembly  11 , a seal flap  40 , handle assembly  60 , and a main steam cleaner unit  100 . One end of handle assembly  60  is connected to a pair of hose lines  84  from the main steam cleaner unit, and the other end of handle assembly  60  is attached to collector head assembly  11 . Seal flap  40  is movably attached to collector head assembly  11 . 
     Collector head assembly  11  comprises a collector head body  12  that has a vacuum aperture  16  defined and surrounded by a vacuum aperture edge  14  at the lower end facing a floor surface  80 . Vacuum aperture  16  continuously extends to the top side of collector head body  12  where a collector top aperture  20  is placed to receive a handle assembly  60 . Collector head body  12  encloses vacuum chamber inside collector head assembly  11 , like a duct, to maintain the pressure between vacuum aperture  16  at the bottom side and collector top aperture  20  at the top. Collector head assembly  11  further comprises a set of screw mounting holes  18  on a surface substantially orthogonal to the bottom end surface defined by vacuum aperture edge  14 , such as a vertical surface  22  shown in  FIG. 1 . Vacuum aperture  16  surrounded by vacuum aperture edge  14  shown in the embodiment in  FIGS. 1-3  looks like a long elongated slot, but is not limited to the slot-like shape but can be a round opening, a rectangular opening, or even a triangular shape as long as the vacuum suction power is enough for the size of the opening. 
     Seal flap  40  is movably attached to collector head assembly  11  on vertical surface  22  by a set of screws  82  into screw mounting holes  18  on vertical surface  22  of the head assembly. The screws are not tightened against seal flap  40  such that seal flap  40  can move along vertical surface  22 . Seal flap  40  comprises a flap body  42 , a flap bottom edge  44  at the lower end of the flap body, a left guard  46  and a right guard  48  providing a surface area to direct water stream or spray to the target area being treated, and a set of elongated holes  54  to receive mounting screws  82 . In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , left guard  46  on the left side of flap body  42  and right guard  48  on the right side of the flap body are simply bent corners of flat material of flap body  42 , but they could be in other forms such as an attached part at each side as long as they have a surface area to direct the water stream on to the target area on the floor. Here elongated holes  54  of seal flap  40  are used to mount seal flap  40  on collector head body  12  using screws  82 . When screws  82  are inserted through elongated holes  54  and into mounting holes  18 , the screws are tightened against collector head body  12  but not tightened against seal flap  40  so that seal flap  40  has free movement in the direction of the major diameter of elongated holes  54  along the mounting surface on the head body. An alternative to elongated holes  54  to provide such free movement of seal flap  40  is a pair of tracks on the head body for seal flap  40  to ride on in the direction of the movement or a pair of holder bars attached to the head body and retain seal flap adjacent to the head body or other mechanical means to provide such motion can be employed for the same purpose. 
     Collector top aperture  20  of collector head assembly  11  is connected to handle assembly  60  comprising a collector tube  62  that is basically a tube to direct vacuum pressure to the head assembly with the main steam cleaner unit providing the pressure, a sprayer tube  64  that is another tube, adjacent to and along the collector tube, directing water to a sprayer nozzle  66  at a free end of sprayer tube  64  placed near and directed to the head assembly, a sprayer valve  68  which upon opening its orifice releases water through sprayer nozzle  66 , and a sprayer lever  70  placed on or near valve  68  to open the valve by a pulling or pushing action. Collector outlet  72  is an opening at the end of collector tube  62 , at the opposite side of the head assembly, and is connected to a first flexible tube means, such as a rubber hose or a plastic hose, that is also connected to the main steam cleaner unit. Sprayer inlet  74  is an opening at the end of sprayer tube  64 , at the opposite side of the head assembly, and is connected to a second flexible tube means, such as a rubber hose, that is also connected to the main steam cleaner unit. The first flexible tube means and the second flexible tube means are the pair of hose lines  84  as represented as a line shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     Main steam cleaner unit  100  usually comprises a compressor or an equivalent to create vacuum pressure and the vacuum pressure is directed to the first flexible tube means such as a hose, to collector tube  62  of handle assembly  60 , and to collector head assembly  11 . At the bottom end of the head assembly is vacuum aperture  16  through which the used water is collected by the suction power of the vacuum pressure, and the collected water is routed back to the main steam cleaner unit in which possibly a collection tank is placed. The main unit also heats up and supplies water through the second flexible means to sprayer tube  62  and eventually to nozzle  66  at the free end of the sprayer tube. The water is usually mixed with a detergent in the main unit to effectively remove the dirt from the surface area being treated. When the water is sprayed on to the surface area to be treated, a user moves vacuum aperture  16  of the head assembly toward the treated area to recollect the water back to the main unit. 
     The user holds handle assembly  60  and puts vacuum aperture  16  of head assembly  11  against the floor surface and actuates sprayer lever  70  to open sprayer valve  68  and to spray water through nozzle  66  onto the surface. To maintain a good vacuum pressure at the vacuum aperture, vacuum aperture  16  or vacuum aperture edge  14  should be flat against the floor surface to allow water to come into vacuum aperture  16 . So the user must hold the handle assembly at the optimum angle from the surface to keep such position, but it is difficult to maintain such position all the time while the unit is being used. For this reason, seal flap  40  is installed on collector head assembly  11  adjacent to vacuum aperture edge  14  to provide a secondary seal edge for the vacuum pressure against the floor. When vacuum aperture  16  or vacuum aperture edge  14  is not flat against the floor surface and the side near nozzle  66  is lifted up from the floor as shown in  FIG. 3 , seal flap  40  naturally comes down and makes a contact with the floor to help maintaining vacuum pressure under vacuum aperture  16 . Even though seal flap makes contact with the floor the water on the floor passes under the seal flap because of the characteristics of surface tension that water exhibits when the surface is wet or water basically tends to stick to the surface with a certain force. Seal flap  40  is relatively light in weight so it does not push away water from the treated surface area and yet provides a sufficient seal for the vacuum pressure. A left guard bottom edge  50  under left guard  46  and a right guard bottom edge  52  under right guard  48  are angled such that the main part or the middle part of seal flap is in contact with the surface when the head assembly is in the position of being used. From the side view shown in  FIG. 3 , the angled bottom edges  50 ,  52 , should not touch the floor surface such that the outer most part or tip of each of the left guard and the right guard does not touch the floor surface while the collector head assembly is in a proper position of being used. 
     Seal flap  40  may also be installed on the outer surface, the flat side facing away from spray nozzle  66 , of collector head assembly  11 . Or two seal flaps can be installed simultaneously: One flap on the surface head assembly  11  facing the spray nozzle as shown in  FIG. 1  and another flap on the outer surface facing away from the spray nozzle. 
     Although the invention has been disclosed in detail with reference only to the embodiments shown and described above, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various other embodiments can be provided without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is defined only by the claims set forth below.