Steam mop with shuttling steam distributor
AssigneeBISSELL Homecare, Inc.
InventorAlan J. Krebs
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A surface cleaning apparatus, and in particular a steam mop, comprises a steam delivery system for generating and distributing steam onto a surface to be cleaned. The steam mop further comprises a handle assembly mounted to a foot assembly that has a shuttling plate slidably mounted beneath the foot assembly, wherein the shuttle plate is configured to selectively divert steam through one of a pair of steam distributors positioned at a forward and rearward portion of the foot assembly dependent on the cleaning stroke direction of the steam mop. In one embodiment, the surface cleaning apparatus further comprises a vacuum source mounted thereto and at least one suction nozzle connected to the vacuum source and adapted to contact the surface to be cleaned and to draw moisture and debris from the surface.
Claims13
A surface cleaning apparatus comprising:
- a foot assembly for movement along a surface to be cleaned;
- a handle assembly mounted to the foot assembly;
- a steam delivery system mounted at least in part to the foot assembly and including a steam generator and a forward and a rearward steam distributor connected to the steam generator, wherein the forward and rearward steam distributors are positioned at a forward portion and a rearward portion, respectively, of the foot assembly;
- and
- a shuttle plate mounted to the foot assembly for reciprocal movement between a forward position in registry with the forward steam distributor and a rearward position in registry with the rear steam distributor on an underside of the foot assembly, wherein the shuttle plate is configured to close off the forward steam distributor at the forward position and to close off the rearward steam distributor when the shuttle plate is in the rearward position, wherein the rearward steam distributor is open when the shuttle plate is in the forward position and the forward steam distributor is open when the shuttle plate is in the rearward position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.