Patent Description:
It is well known that wet floor cleaning apparatuses are known, for example, in the form of a floor cleaning apparatus or a floor scrubbing apparatus. Some of the apparatuses use one or more cleaning rollers rotating about one or more horizontal axes as cleaning tools; some use a pair of scrubbing trays that rotates about a vertical axis perpendicular to a horizontal plane as cleaning tools; and some use a pair of scrubbing sheets that is configured to reciprocally move in a front-rear direction or a left-right direction as cleaning tools. These cleaning tools contact with floors to be cleaned and clean them with the aid of a cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid is stored in a cleaning liquid supply container and applied to the floors during the cleaning process. Subsequently, some apparatuses suck the applied cleaning liquid together with cleaned dirt (which may include dirt, dust, stain, mud, hair and other debris) from the floors under the action of the cleaning roller and a suction unit and convey them to a dirty liquid storage container; and some apparatuses only recover the dirt on the surface to be cleaned. This recovery may be performed by using a suction source for suction, or the dirty liquid and/or dirt may be recovered in a manner similar to that of a sweeper.

Most of the aforementioned floor cleaning apparatuses have the following problems: during the cleaning process, the liquid applied to the floor is not recovered completely; there is residual dirty liquid on the cleaned floor; and a user has to wait for a long period of time (about <NUM> minutes) before he or she walks on the cleaned floor so that the dirty liquid on the floor may evaporate naturally.

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, in the prior art, it is proposed to add an absorbent cloth or a dry cleaning roller to the back side of the cleaning roller. Such a solution may solve the problem of the residual dirty liquid on the floor to a certain extent but, at the same time, bring another problem: after the absorbent cloth or the dry cleaning roller is used, the user has to manually disassemble and clean or dry it, which increases the workload of the user and leads to poor user experience.

Therefore, although great progress has been in all aspects of the wet surface cleaning apparatus, consumers still expect to improve the surface cleaning apparatus, so that the time spent in waiting for the surface to dry after the wet cleaning is completed is shortened and not too much or no excessive workload is increased, thereby improving user experience.

A surface cleaning apparatus according to the preamble of claim <NUM> is disclosed in document <CIT>.

In view of the above technical problems, the purpose of the present invention is to improve the above-mentioned generic surface cleaning apparatus to provide a surface cleaning equipment that has both shortened waiting time and no extra workload.

In order to achieve the object of the invention,, the present invention provides a surface cleaning apparatus, comprising: a suction source; a cleaning head adapted to move along a surface to be cleaned, the head including a housing and a cleaning roller, the housing provided with a roller chamber having an opening in a lower portion of the housing and a front suction mouth in fluid communication with the roller chamber, the roller positioned in the roller chamber in such a way as to be able to rotate, at least a portion of the cleaning roller extending through the opening configured to contact the surface to be cleaned, and the front suction mouth in fluid communication with the suction source; a cleaning liquid supply tank adapted to store cleaning liquid; a steam generator in fluid communication with the supply tank and configured to heat liquid to generate steam; a first fluid delivery unit including at least one cleaning liquid outlet for applying the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supply tank to the cleaning roller and/or the surface to be cleaned; a second fluid delivery unit including at least one steam outlet for applying the steam generated by the steam generator to the surface to be cleaned; and a dirty liquid recovery tank configured to accept dirty liquid and dirt, the dirty liquid recovery tank being in fluid communication with the front suction mouth; wherein the at least one steam outlet is arranged at the lower portion of the housing and configured to heat the surface by overflowing the steam to the surface to accelerate the evaporation of residual cleaning liquid on the surface.

The at least one steam outlet is preferably configured to spray the steam directly to the surface to be cleaned.

Preferably, the at least one steam outlet is at least partially positioned behind the opening to enable the surface cleaning apparatus to heat a surface cleaned by the cleaning roller with the steam overflowing from the at least one steam outlet.

The cleaning head preferably includes a flexible partition arranged between the at least one steam outlet and the opening.

The cleaning head preferably includes a rear suction mouth provided at a rear portion of the housing, the rear suction mouth is positioned behind the at least one steam outlet, and the rear suction mouth is configured to be in fluid communication with the suction source. Further preferably, the cleaning head includes a flexible flat suction nozzle arranged at the lower portion of the housing, wherein the flexible flat suction nozzle comprises a pair of flexible scraper lips arranged relatively front and back to each other , and the rear suction mouth is formed at the flexible flat suction nozzle; and at least one of the flexible scraper lips interferes with the surface to be cleaned when the cleaning head moves along the surface.

The cleaning head preferably includes a flexible liquid-scraping strip positioned behind the at least one steam outlet, and the strip interferes with the surface to be cleaned when the cleaning head moves along the surface to be cleaned.

The at least one steam outlet is preferably plural in number.

The cleaning head preferably includes a steam diffuser for diffusing steam generated by the steam generator is provided at the lower portion of the housing, and the plurality of steam outlets are located at a lower portion of the steam diffuser.

In a preferred embodiment, the steam diffuser comprises a steam bottom plate, and the plurality of steam outlets are arranged on a lower surface of the steam bottom plate.

The surface cleaning apparatus preferably comprises a body, the body having a handle on the top, and the cleaning head is rotationally coupled to a lower portion of the body. The dirty liquid recovery tank and the cleaning liquid supply tank are preferably both detachably positioned on the body.

The first fluid delivery unit preferably comprises a first pump arranged between the cleaning liquid supply tank and the at least one cleaning liquid outlet.

The second fluid delivery unit preferably comprises a second pump arranged between the cleaning liquid supply tank and the steam generator.

The cleaning head preferably includes a cleaning cloth for scrubbing the surface to be cleaned is provided at the lower portion of the housing, the cleaning cloth is made of a steam-permeable material, and the steam outlet is configured to spray the steam to the cleaning cloth.

The cleaning head preferably includes a brush for scrubbing the surface to be cleaned is further provided at the lower portion of the housing.

In a preferred embodiment, , the at least one steam outlet is at least partially arranged on the front side or left and right sides of the opening.

The steam is introduced on the basis of wet cleaning with the cleaning liquid in the surface cleaning apparatus of the present invention, and the surface is heated by the steam. It can accelerate the evaporation of the residual liquid on the surface, thereby shorten the time the user waits for the surface to dry; and because of the high temperature of steam, it can also be high temperature sterilization of the surface when in contact with the surface, so as to achieve a deeper level of cleaning of the surface.

In order to describe in detail the technical content, structural features, achieved objectives and effects of the invention, the present invention will be described below in detail through embodiments in combination with accompanying drawings.

<FIG> shows a schematic diagram of a surface cleaning apparatus <NUM> according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The surface cleaning apparatus <NUM> is a vertical surface cleaning apparatus and includes a body <NUM> and a cleaning head <NUM>. A lower portion of the body <NUM> is articulately connected to the cleaning head <NUM>, and the body <NUM> can be movable between an upright parked position and a backwardly reclined using position relative to the cleaning head <NUM>. During the cleaning process of the surface cleaning apparatus <NUM> along the surface to be cleaned, the cleaning head <NUM> is supported on the surface to be cleaned and guided by the body <NUM> to move along the surface to be cleaned. The apparatus can be held upright after being used.

For the purpose of description related to the drawings, positional relationships defined by the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", "vertical", "horizontal", "internal", "external" and their derivatives are determined on the basis that a user stands on a surface to be cleaned and at a rear side of a surface cleaning apparatus. When being used, the surface cleaning apparatus of the present invention is pushed from back to front to move forwards or pulled from front to back to move backwards. As used herein, the term "rear side" refers to a position behind at least another component, but does not necessarily mean behind all other components, and the same applies to terms "front side" and "upper side"; and the term "lower portion" refers to a position at or near the bottom of a component. However, it should be understood that various alternative orientations may be used in the present invention unless the opposite orientation is explicitly indicated.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, a cleaning liquid supply system, a steam supply system, and a dirty liquid recovery system are arranged on the surface cleaning apparatus <NUM>. The cleaning liquid supply system is used to store a supply of cleaning liquid and deliver the cleaning liquid to the cleaning head, and the cleaning liquid supply system includes a cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> which is used to store the cleaning liquid. The steam supply system is used to heat and convert the cleaning liquid into high-temperature steam by a steam generator <NUM> and distribute the steam to the surface to be cleaned. The dirty liquid recovery system is used to remove the dirty liquid converted by the used cleaning liquid and dirt on the surface to be cleaned from the surface to be cleaned, and store the dirty liquid and dirt within a certain amount of time. The dirty liquid recovery system includes a dirty liquid recovery tank <NUM> for accepting dirty liquid and dirt for a certain period of time and a suction source <NUM>.

A handle <NUM> for the user to hold is mounted on the top of the body <NUM>. The operator may use the handle <NUM> to hold the surface cleaning apparatus <NUM> with one hand and then push the cleaning head <NUM> of the surface cleaning apparatus <NUM> to move frontwards and backwards on the surface to be cleaned when the surface cleaning apparatus is at the backwardly reclined using position. In other embodiments, the handle can also include a user interface assembly consisting of one or more operating elements. The elements can be such as but not limited to buttons, flip-flops, triggers, switches or the like, operably connected to systems in the apparatus to affect and control function. The operation of all controlled components in the surface cleaning apparatus can be controlled with these operating elements, for example, the surface cleaning apparatus is switched on or off for the cleaning operation, and the delivering of the cleaning fluid and the power of a suction apparatus are adjusted. In other embodiments, the user interface assembly can also be provided in other places of the surface cleaning apparatus, such as on a top wall or side wall of the body under the handle.

The body <NUM> further comprises a housing <NUM>. The housing <NUM> is a main supporting part of the body <NUM> and mainly plays a role of accommodating or carrying the rest of the components on the body <NUM>, such as carrying the suction source <NUM>, the handle <NUM>, the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM>, the steam generator <NUM>, the dirty liquid recovery tank <NUM> and the like.

The suction source <NUM> is a suction force forming component of the dirty liquid recovery system and is used for generating a working airflow. The suction source <NUM> of the present embodiment comprises a suction motor which is arranged in the housing <NUM> and constituted by a motor/ fan assembly. The suction motor is capable of providing a fluid flow force extending to the cleaning head.

The cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> comprises at least one chamber for holding the cleaning liquid. In other embodiments, the cleaning liquid supply tank can comprise a plurality of chambers. In the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid is water. In other embodiments, the cleaning liquid may be other types of cleaning liquids. The cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> is detachably mounted on the housing <NUM>. The user can replenish the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> with the cleaning liquid at any time as required.

The dirty liquid recovery tank <NUM> is detachably mounted on a front portion of the housing <NUM>. With such a structure, the user can conveniently empty the dirty liquid recovery tank <NUM> at any time as required. In other embodiments, the dirty liquid recovery tank can be mounted at other locations, even anywhere on the housing <NUM>.

The steam generator <NUM> is a steam conversion component which is capable of heating the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> to at least <NUM>, and convert it into high-temperature steam output.

The cleaning head <NUM> comprises a housing <NUM> which is pivotally mounted the lower portion of the body <NUM> via a rotating joint <NUM>. The rotating joint <NUM> enables the body <NUM> to rotate between the upright parked position and the backwardly reclined using position.

<FIG> shows and describes an internal structure of the cleaning head <NUM>. A roller chamber <NUM> with an opening <NUM> is defined on the housing <NUM>, a cleaning roller <NUM> is positioned in the roller chamber <NUM> in such a way as to be able to rotate, and a driving arrangement (not shown in the figure) which drives the cleaning roller <NUM> to rotate is arranged inside the housing <NUM>. In the present embodiment, the opening <NUM> is formed in a lower portion <NUM> of the housing <NUM>, and a lower portion of the cleaning roller <NUM> protrudes downwards from the opening <NUM> to contact the surface to be cleaned. A front suction mouth <NUM> is arranged in the housing <NUM> and communicates with both the roller chamber <NUM> and the suction source <NUM>.

With reference to <FIG>, the cleaning head <NUM> is also provided with, inside the roller chamber <NUM>, a cleaning liquid outlet <NUM> located around the cleaning roller <NUM>, and the cleaning liquid outlet <NUM> communicates with the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> and can deliver the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> to the cleaning roller <NUM>. In other embodiments, the cleaning liquid outlet may also be arranged to deliver the cleaning liquid toward the surface to be cleaned without the aid of the cleaning roller, but to directly apply the cleaning liquid directly to the surface to be cleaned or to simultaneously deliver the cleaning liquid to both the cleaning roller and the surface to be cleaned. For example, the cleaning liquid outlet may be positioned in a front side of the cleaning roller.

In the present embodiment, an outside surface of the cleaning roller <NUM> is covered with cleaning materials such as bristles, fabrics, or the similar, and these cleaning materials are configured to be wetted by the cleaning liquid such as water.

As shown in <FIG> again, the lower portion <NUM> of the housing <NUM> is further provided with a flexible partition <NUM>, a steam bottom plate <NUM> and a flexible flat suction nozzle <NUM> from front to back in sequence at the rear side of the opening <NUM>. The flexible flat suction nozzle <NUM> is located behind the steam outlet <NUM> and communicates with the suction source <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the steam bottom plate <NUM> plays a role of diffusing the steam so as to apply the steam to the surface to be cleaned on the lower side of the steam bottom plate <NUM> as evenly as possible. In the present embodiment, the steam bottom plate <NUM> is rectangular, and is provided with a plurality of steam outlets <NUM> on the lower surface thereof. In the present embodiment, the steam bottom plate <NUM> and the lower portion <NUM> of the housing <NUM> are provided in separate members. In other embodiments, both the steam bottom plate <NUM> and the lower portion <NUM> can also be formed in one body. The steam outlet <NUM> can spray high temperature steam generated by the steam generator <NUM> to the surface to be cleaned to heat the surface to be cleaned. In the present embodiment, the steam outlet <NUM> is configured to spray high-temperature steam directly to the surface to be cleaned. The outlet opening of the steam outlet <NUM> is not limited to being perpendicular to the surface to be cleaned and may also be inclined to a certain degree relative to the surface to be cleaned as long as the structure may overflow steam to the surface to be cleaned. In other embodiments, some cleaning components made of steam-permeable materials, such as steam-permeable cleaning cloths and brushes, may also be provided at the steam outlet. The cleaning components should be configured to ensure that the steam cannot be prevented from being delivered to the surface to be cleaned. When the cleaning head is designed, no matter the steam output from the steam outlet is directly applied to the surface to be cleaned or delivered to the surface to be cleaned after passing through the cleaning component made of the permeable material, it must be ensured that the temperature of the steam is still high enough, preferably the temperature reaches <NUM> or above, when the steam contacts with the surface to be cleaned.

As shown in <FIG> again, the flexible partition <NUM> is arranged between the opening <NUM> and the steam bottom plate <NUM> and may prevent steam from escaping from the steam outlet <NUM> to the opening <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the flexible flat suction nozzle <NUM> is configured to be superior to the structure sucking the liquid and small particles. In the present embodiment, the flexible flat suction nozzle <NUM> comprises a front lip <NUM> and a rear scraper lip <NUM> which are relatively front and back to each other, and a rear suction mouth <NUM> is formed between the front scraper lip <NUM> and the rear scraper lip <NUM>. The flexible flat suction nozzle <NUM> can suck the liquid remaining on the surface to be cleaned. The liquid may be water droplets condensed from steam overflowing from the steam outlet <NUM> and remaining on the surface to be cleaned, or residual liquid not being removed from the cleaned surface after the cleaning roller passes by. Likewise, in order to prevent the rear suction mouth <NUM> from directly sucking away the steam escaping from the steam outlet <NUM>, a component similar to the aforementioned "flexible partition <NUM>" should also be provided between the rear suction mouth <NUM> and the steam outlet <NUM>.

In other embodiments, the flexible flat suction nozzle and the rear suction mouth may also be cancelled. Instead, a liquid-scraping strip capable of scraping the liquid on the flat surface is used. Under the circumstance that the flexible flat suction nozzle and the rear suction mouth are cancelled, all the liquid on the surface to be cleaned is sucked in through the front suction mouth in the front portion of the housing. In this case, in order to suck all the liquid on the surface to be cleaned, the cleaning head should reciprocate on the surface to be cleaned time and time again.

With reference to <FIG>, the suction source <NUM> is in fluid communication with the dirty liquid recovery tank <NUM> through an upper suction passage <NUM>. The dirty liquid recovery tank <NUM> communicates with the front suction mouth <NUM> in the cleaning head <NUM> through a lower suction passage <NUM>. The rear suction mouth <NUM> of the flexible flat suction nozzle <NUM> communicates with the lower suction passage <NUM> through a suction bypass <NUM>. A first cleaning liquid output pipeline <NUM> is arranged between the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> and the cleaning liquid outlet <NUM>, and a pump <NUM> is arranged on the first cleaning liquid output pipeline <NUM>. The cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> may be directly delivered to the cleaning liquid outlet <NUM> by starting the pump <NUM>. A second cleaning liquid output pipeline <NUM> is arranged between the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> and the steam generator <NUM>, and a pump <NUM> is provided in the second cleaning liquid output pipeline <NUM>. The cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> can be delivered to the steam generator <NUM> by starting the pump <NUM>. A steam output pipeline <NUM> is arranged between an output end of the steam generator <NUM> and a steam outlet <NUM>, and the cleaning liquid is converted into high-temperature steam in the steam generator <NUM> and delivered to the steam outlet <NUM> through the steam output pipeline <NUM>. Due to the presence of the pumps <NUM> and <NUM>, the user can freely choose to deliver the cleaning liquid and/or steam to the outside as required. As shown in <FIG>, the pump <NUM> and the pump <NUM> of the present embodiment are both provided on the body <NUM>. In other embodiments, a single pump and a plurality of valves can be used in combination to replace the solution of the two pumps in the present embodiment.

In this way, a portion of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> can be delivered downwards from the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> to the cleaning liquid outlet <NUM> through the first cleaning liquid output pipeline <NUM> and applied to the cleaning roller <NUM>. Another portion of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supply tank <NUM> is delivered to the steam generator <NUM> through the second cleaning liquid output pipeline <NUM> and converted into high-temperature steam. The high-temperature steam is delivered to the steam outlet <NUM> through the steam output pipeline <NUM> and applied directly to the surface to be cleaned.

As shown in <FIG> again, when the surface cleaning apparatus <NUM> of the present embodiment works, the cleaning liquid outlet <NUM> continuously applies the cleaning liquid to the cleaning roller <NUM> as the cleaning roller <NUM> rotates around the direction R, and the surface to be cleaned <NUM> undergoes wet scrubbing during the contacting process of the cleaning roller <NUM> loaded with the cleaning liquid with the surface to be cleaned <NUM>. After the surface to be cleaned <NUM> is scrubbed, the used cleaning fluid is contaminated by the dirt on the surface to be cleaned and becomes dirty liquid mixed with the dirt, and the dirty liquid and the solid waste on the surface to be cleaned are removed upwards from the surface to be cleaned at the opening <NUM> by a centrifugal force generated when the cleaning roller <NUM> rotates and the suction action of the suction source <NUM>, and conveyed to the roller chamber <NUM>, and then conveyed to the dirty liquid recovery tank <NUM> through the front suction mouth <NUM> and the lower suction passage <NUM> in sequence. The dirty liquid and solid waste will be trapped in the dirty liquid recovery tank <NUM>, and the clean air will flow from the upper suction passage <NUM> to the suction source <NUM> and finally escape to the outside. As the cleaning head <NUM> is pushed to move forwards, the surface <NUM> subjected to wet cleaning by the cleaning roller <NUM> will be heated by the steam overflowing from the steam outlet <NUM>. As the temperature of the steam is high, the steam not only heats the surface but also sterilizes the surface with high temperature after being applied to the surface. If there is residual liquid on the surface before the surface is heated by the steam, the residual liquid will be evaporated quickly as the temperature of the surface rises. If there is still residual liquid (or water droplets condensed by steam) on the surface heated by steam, then the residual liquid will be sucked up when the flexible flat suction nozzle <NUM> passes here and conveyed through the suction bypass <NUM> to the lower suction passage <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A surface cleaning apparatus, comprising:
a suction source (<NUM>);
a cleaning head (<NUM>) adapted to move along a surface to be cleaned, the head including a housing and a cleaning roller (<NUM>), the housing provided with a roller chamber (<NUM>) having an opening (<NUM>) in a lower portion of the housing and a front suction mouth (<NUM>) in fluid communication with the roller chamber, the roller positioned in the roller chamber in such a way as to be able to rotate, at least a portion of the cleaning roller extending through the opening configured to contact the surface to be cleaned, and the front suction mouth in fluid communication with the suction source;
a cleaning liquid supply tank (<NUM>) adapted to store cleaning liquid;
a steam generator (<NUM>) in fluid communication with the supply tank and configured to heat liquid to generate steam;
a first fluid delivery unit including at least one cleaning liquid outlet (<NUM>) for applying the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supply tank to the cleaning roller and/or the surface to be cleaned;
a second fluid delivery unit including at least one steam outlet (<NUM>) for applying the steam generated by the steam generator to the surface to be cleaned; and
a dirty liquid recovery tank configured to accept dirty liquid and dirt, the dirty liquid recovery tank being in fluid communication with the front suction mouth;
characterized in that
the at least one steam outlet (<NUM>) is arranged at the lower portion of the housing and configured to selectively work simultaneously with the at least one fluid outlet (<NUM>) so as to heat the surface by overflowing the steam to the surface during the process of cleaning the surface with the cleaning liquid to accelerate the evaporation of residual cleaning liquid on the surface.