Patent ID: 7257319

Claim:
An apparatus for cleaning small items such as jewelry using a jet of steam, said device comprising: a steam generator disposed within a housing means, said steam generator having a sealable canister for holding a heated water and steam mixture under pressure; heating means to heat said sealable canister; a manually operated valve which is attached to said sealable canister, wherein said manually operated valve provides selective communication of said steam from said sealable canister to; a generally rigid steam tube which is attached to said manually operated valve for communicating said steam to the terminating end of said steam tube, said terminating end of said steam tube is oriented vertically such that said jet of steam is adapted to be projected generally downward in direction, said terminating end is adapted to emit said jet of steam to the ambient environment, whereby the space defined by said jet of steam defines a cleaning zone whereby small items such as jewelry may cleaned by immersion therein; and, a catch basket which is disposed on said housing means, said catch basket having a screen member which is disposed underneath said terminating end of said steam tube and oriented to laterally traverse said jet of steam to trap small gems which may inadvertently become dislodged by said jet of steam during the cleaning operation while simultaneously allowing said jet of steam to pass freely therethrough; wherein said housing means comprises a front sidewall, said front sidewall having an aperture for receipt of said steam tube therethrough, said front sidewall being concave in shape in order to conform to the lateral space defined by said cleaning zone and to minimize the lateral distance which said steam tube projects beyond said front sidewall.