Steam cleaning appliance
AssigneeSharkNinja Operating LLC
InventorsAlan L. Weeks, Kim C. Reeves, William Scott Hughes, Ognjen Vrdoljak
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments of the invention disclosed herein include steam appliances and methods which apply steam and a liquid containing a cleaning agent to the floor via separate outlets. In some embodiments, the liquid containing a cleaning agent is applied to an area of the floor that is physically separated from a steam application area. The steam may be applied to the floor through a steam-permeable fabric. The liquid containing a cleaning agent may be heated before being applied to the floor or being mixed with steam.
Claims16
A steam cleaning appliance for cleaning floors comprising:
- an appliance body;
- a handle attached to the appliance body;
- a liquid applicator to apply a first liquid to a floor;
- a steam source to generate steam;
- and
- a cleaning head to apply steam to the floor;
- wherein
- movement of the handle in a forward and/or backward motion to move the cleaning head on the floor operates a liquid delivery system to deliver a second liquid to the steam source;
- and further comprising
- a controller and a lock configured to automatically prevent delivery of the second liquid to the steam source in response to the steam cleaning appliance being disconnected from a power source.
A steam cleaning appliance for cleaning floors comprising:
- an appliance body;
- a handle attached to the appliance body;
- a liquid applicator to apply a first liquid to a floor;
- a steam source to generate steam;
- and
- a cleaning head to apply steam to the floor;
- wherein
- movement of the handle in a forward and/or backward motion to move the cleaning head on the floor operates a liquid delivery system to deliver a second liquid to the steam source;
- and further comprising
- a controller and a lock configured to automatically prevent delivery of the second liquid to the steam source in response to the steam cleaning appliance being disconnected from a power source and/or a temperature sensor detecting a sensed temperature of the steam source being below a threshold temperature, wherein the lock is configured to prevent pushing and/or pulling movement of the handle relative to the appliance body and/or cleaning head in response to the steam cleaning appliance being disconnected from the power source and/or the temperature sensor detecting the sensed temperature of the steam source being below the threshold temperature.
A steam cleaning appliance comprising:
- a handle;
- a liquid applicator fluidly coupled to a first reservoir and configured to dispense a first liquid;
- a steam generator fluidly coupled to a second reservoir and configured to generate steam;
- a cleaning head to dispense steam from the steam generator;
- a manually actuable pump to move a second liquid from the second reservoir to the steam generator in response to movement of the handle during pushing and/or pulling of the steam cleaning appliance;
- and
- a controller and a lock configured to automatically prevent delivery of the second liquid to the steam source in response to the steam cleaning appliance being disconnected from a power source.
A steam cleaning appliance comprising:
- a handle;
- a liquid applicator fluidly coupled to a first reservoir and configured to dispense a first liquid;
- a steam generator fluidly coupled to a second reservoir and configured to generate steam;
- a cleaning head to dispense steam from the steam generator;
- a manually actuable pump to move a second liquid from the second reservoir to the steam generator in response to movement of the handle during pushing and/or pulling of the steam cleaning appliance;
- and
- a controller and a lock configured to automatically prevent delivery of the second liquid to the steam source in response to the steam cleaning appliance being disconnected from a power source and/or a temperature sensor detecting a sensed temperature of the steam source being below a threshold temperature, wherein the lock is configured to prevent pushing and/or pulling movement of the handle in response to the steam cleaning appliance being disconnected from the power source and/or the temperature sensor detecting the sensed temperature of the steam source being below the threshold temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.