Field of the invention

The present invention generally finds application in the field of devices and appliances for cleaning and conditioning home environments and particularly relates to a vaporizer device for use in electric household appliances such as vacuum cleaners, atomizers and the like for environmental conditioning.

The invention further relates to an electric household appliance incorporating such device.

Background art

Electric household appliances are known which have a first dust and/or liquid suction line and a second high pressure steam delivery line.

Typically, these prior art appliances have a main case which houses both a motor unit and a solid or liquid waste collection container connected to the suction line and a boiler connected to the steam delivery line.

Both lines have an outlet pipe, usually removably connected to the case, which has the purpose of directing fluid jets in and out of the case, such pipe being generally configured to be manually held and moved by a user.

This allows room cleaning while ensuring highly sanitized surfaces as well as environmental conditioning through steam delivery, for air humidification.

A common drawback of these prior art solutions is that the steam delivery line is configured to emit a non nebulized steam jet, which is hardly diffused in air.

Furthermore, the outlet pipe shall be constantly held and directed by the user for proper jet orientation, which apparently involves the risk that the user might contact the hot jet.

In an attempt to obviate these drawbacks, certain accessories have been suggested for use with such electric household appliances at the outlets of the suction and delivery lines on the case.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)

i According to a particular solution, a vaporizer device is used, which has a main frame designed to be coupled to the case of the electric household appliance and a pipe adapted to be connected to the steam line and having a nozzle at its outlet for nebulized delivery.

The pipe may be also connected to a reservoir containing scent substances to be diffused in air along with the steam jet.

Nevertheless, a first drawback of this solution is that an external container shall be conveniently placed directly below the pipe outlet, for collecting the condensed liquid that comes out of the nozzle, otherwise such liquid would drip on the floor.

Furthermore, the collection chamber has to be manually emptied by the user.

As a result, constant care by the user or appropriate sizing of the chamber capacity is required to prevent condensed water leakages.

Therefore, this device has a rather complex and bulky configuration, which affects its cost effectiveness and practical use.

Also, this prior art device includes no feature to prevent the user from being impinged upon by the steam jet during mounted or removal of the device.

Disclosure of the invention

The object of this invention is to overcome the above drawbacks, by providing a vaporizer device that has a simple construction and is relatively cost-effective.

A particular object is to provide a vaporizer device for use with an electric household cleaning appliance that has a relatively compact configuration.

Another object of this invention is to provide a vaporizer device that allows automatic withdrawal and discharge of condensed water, so that it can operate continuously without requiring the presence of the user.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a vaporizer device that ensures high safety for the user by avoiding the latter to be impinged upon by the steam jet during mounting or removal of the device.

Another important object of this invention is to provide an electric household appliance for environmental conditioning whose operation may be programmed according to special user needs.

As used herein, the term "environmental conditioning" shall be intended to designate a process comprising one or more humidification, sanitization, deodorization, scenting steps, or any other process that helps to change the composition of air by the supply of nebulized or vaporized substances.

These and other objects, as better explained hereinafter, are fulfilled by a vaporizer device, for use with an electric household appliance for environmental conditioning of the type having a main case, that houses a suction line for sucking in dust and/or waste and a high pressure steam delivery line, which device, as defined in claim 1 , comprises a support frame susceptible of being removably connected to the case of an electric household appliance, a first conduit for the emission of a nebulized steam jet, said first conduit having a first inlet designed for fluid communication with said steam delivery line and an nozzle for emitting the steam jet into the environment to be conditioned.

The device is characterized by comprising a collection chamber for collecting the condensed liquid generated by said steam jet, said chamber being integral with said frame.

Thus, the device will have increased efficiency and will not require previous provision of additional collection containers, which are not always available or suitable to the specific needs.

Advantageously, the device may include a second conduit having an outlet designed for fluid connection to the suction line of the appliance and at least one second inlet in fluid connection with the collection chamber, for automatic suction of the condensed liquid by the electric household appliance that has the device attached thereto.

With this particular configuration of the invention, the collection chamber may be automatically emptied by actuating the suction line of the appliance that has the device attached thereto.

Conveniently, the frame has a front axial end portion with said collection chamber, whereas the outlet nozzle is placed within the collection chamber.

Accordingly, the device has a very simple construction and is composed of a relatively small number of parts, and has a very compact and pleasant appearance.

In a further aspect, the invention provides an electric household appliance for environmental conditioning, as defined in claim 8, which comprises such vaporizer device.

Advantageous embodiments of the device and appliance of the invention are defined in accordance with the dependent claims.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be more apparent upon reading the detailed description of a preferred, non-exclusive embodiment of a device and an appliance according to the present invention, which is described as a non-limiting example with the help of the annexed drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vaporizer device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front face view of the device of Fig. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a rear face view of the device of Fig. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the device of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is a broken away side view of a vaporizer device, as taken along the plane Vl-Vl of Fig. 2, in which the device is mounted to an electric household appliance of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a magnified side view of the area of attachment of the device to an electric household appliance, namely a vacuum cleaner, in a disconnection position;

FIG. 7 is a view like Fig. 6 in a position of connection of the device to a vacuum cleaner.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

Referring to the annexed figures, the vaporizer device of the invention, generally designated by numeral 1, may be mounted to an electric household appliance for cleaning and/or sanitization of rooms, or more generally for environmental conditioning.

Particularly, an electric household appliance, as shown in the sectional view of Fig. 5 and designated by numeral 2, which is designed to be associated with a vaporizer device 1 of the invention, may be a common vacuum cleaner appliance with a main case 3 that houses a fixed or removable container, not shown in these figures, for collecting liquid and/or solid waste, and a boiler 4 for containing the water to be converted to steam.

The apparatus 2 also contains a suction circuit, not shown, for withdrawing liquid and/or solid waste from the outside and a steam delivery circuit 5 at the exit of the boiler.

The suction circuit comprises a suction line with a waste withdrawal section in communication with the outside and a waste discharge section that can be connected to the container.

The steam delivery circuit comprises in turn a high pressure steam delivery line 9 at the exit of the boiler, which has a steam outlet section 10 for the steam to be delivered outside.

As is known, the apparatus 2 will have the motor unit and the normal power supply devices required for its automatic operation, which are not shown.

According to the invention, the vaporizer device 1 comprises a support frame 11 susceptible of being removably connected to the case of an electric household appliance 2, a first conduit 12 for the emission of a nebulized steam jet.

According to a peculiar feature of the invention, the device 1 has a collection chamber 13 for the condensed liquid generated by the steam jet.

Advantageously, the collection chamber 13 is integral with the frame 2, to increase efficiency and reduce the size of the device 1 , by avoiding the need for additional external containers, that might not be available or suitable for the purpose.

The first conduit 12 will have a first inlet 14 adapted to be in fluid communication with the steam delivery line 9 and a nozzle 15 for directing the steam jet into the environment to be conditioned.

Particularly, the first inlet 14 of the first conduit 12 will be adapted for fluid communication with the outlet section 10 of the steam delivery line 9.

According to a particularly advantageous configuration of the invention, the device 1 has a second conduit 16 with an outlet 17 adapted for fluid connection to the suction line of the apparatus 2, particularly to its withdrawal section.

The second conduit 16, which is partially indicated by broken lines in

Fig. 4, will further have at least one second inlet 18 in fluid connection with the collection chamber 13 of the frame 11 for automatic suction of the condensed liquid by the electric household appliance 2 that has the device 1 mounted thereto.

The frame 11 may have a substantially elongate configuration along a predetermined substantially longitudinal axis L.

Furthermore, the frame 11 also has a rear axial end portion 11' for attachment to the electric household appliance 2 and a front axial end portion 11" with the collection chamber 13.

The nozzle 15 of the first conduit 12 may be placed in the collection chamber 13 and be fully contained therein, as shown in Fig. 1.

With this combination of features, the device 1 will have a simplified structure, composed of a relatively small number of parts, for size minimization and more cost-effective manufacture. Also, the device 1 will also have a pleasant appearance.

In a preferred embodiment, which does not intend to limit the present invention, the second conduit 16 may be fully contained in the frame 11 and extend along a predetermined main direction X, substantially parallel to the axis of extension L thereof.

The second conduit 16 may have a starting axial section 19, which is indicated by broken lines in Fig. 4, with a cross section of substantially constant diameter, e.g. a cylindrical section, and an end section 20 divided into two axial portions 20', 20", as shown in Fig. 3, that may extend in a predetermined direction X substantially parallel to each other.

Conveniently, one of the axial portions 20' of the second section 20 may be in fluid connection with the collection chamber 13 by the second inlet 18, preferably a pair of second inlets 18, 18' formed on each side of the axis L.

The other axial portion 20" may be in fluid connection with the outside environment through at least one passage 21 , preferably a pair of passages 21 , 21', also formed on each side of the axis L.

The passages 21 , 21' have the purpose of assisting suction, by increasing the draft of the second pipe 16.

As more clearly shown in Fig. 2, the second inlets 18, 18' may be formed at the bottom wall of the collection chamber 13, thereby allowing suction of even the smallest amounts of condensed liquid.

In a further particularly advantageous aspect of the invention, the first conduit 12 may include, at the nozzle 15, an end section 22, also shown by broken lines in Fig,. 4, whose diameter decreases towards the nozzle 15 to act as a Venturi tube.

The device 1 may also comprise a third conduit 23, indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, with a third inlet 24 adapted for removable connection to a reservoir 25 for a liquid or volatile substance to be diffused by the steam jet and an outlet 26 in fluid connection with the end section 22.

The reservoir 25 may be a common bottle or similar container, containing scented or deodorizing substances, generally in liquid form, such as scents, essential oils and the like.

The vacuum effect created by the Venturi tube section 22 will cause the liquid or its volatile part to be sucked in through the third conduit 23 to the end section 22, thereby allowing the scented substance to be diffused along with the steam jet.

For the reservoir 25 to be connected by the third conduit 23, the frame 11 may have threads at the third inlet 24 of the third conduit 23, for removable screw connection thereof to the reservoir 25.

Otherwise, the connection may be obtained by equivalent means, such as a snap fit, a bayonet fit or the like, not shown.

If the steam jet is required to be diffused alone, the inlet 24 of the third conduit 23 may be closed by a plug, not shown, or an empty or water- containing reservoir 25.

Conveniently, safety valve means 26 may be provided along the steam delivery line 9 and/or along the first delivery conduit 12, which may be located next to the outlet section 10 of the delivery line 9 to block it when the device 1 is removed from the case 3.

For instance, the valve means 26 may comprise a non-return valve 27 or another one-way valve associated with the outlet section 10, as shown in detail in Figs. 6 and 7, in which the valve 27 is shown in a closed position and in an open position respectively.

The first conduit 12 of the device 1 may in turn have an actuator element 28 associated with the first inlet 14 and susceptible of interacting with the non-return valve 27 to open it when the first conduit 12 is in fluid connection with the delivery line 9 of the appliance 2.

The actuator element 28 may be, for instance, a substantially cylindrical segment, with a first section facing towards the collection chamber 13 and adapted to be fitted into the first conduit 12 and a second section opposite thereto, that projects out of the first inlet 14 so that, as the device 1 is mounted to the case 3, it can contact and push a closing member 29 that controls the steam outlet section 10 in the valve means 27.

As shown in detail in Fig. 6, the cylindrical segment 28 has an inner channel with two different diameters, namely a first section 30' facing towards the closing member 29 with a first greater diameter and a second section 30" opposite thereto, with a second considerably smaller diameter.

This arrangement prevents the user from being impinged upon by the whole steam jet generated by the boiler 4 during mounting or removal of the device 1.

In yet another advantageous aspect of the invention, the apparatus 2 may include electronic control means, not shown, for controlling the suction circuit and the delivery circuit 5.

The electronic control means may comprise an electronic card that can be programmed for selectively and alternately enabling/disabling the suction and delivery circuits.

For instance, the electronic card may be programmed for disabling the steam delivery circuit 5 after each predetermined interval of time and for enabling the suction circuit 4 for a predetermined time, which is long enough to allow suction of the condensed liquid from the collection chamber 13.

Thus, the user will be no longer required to be constantly present and follow the operation of the apparatus 2 to prevent condensed liquid from leaking out of the collection chamber 13.

The above disclosure clearly shows that the invention fulfills the intended objects and particularly meets the requirement of providing a vaporizer device and an appliance for environmental conditioning that have a very simplified construction and a safe and fully automated operation, for cyclically collecting the condensed liquids formed therein.

The device and appliance of this invention are susceptible to a number of changes or variants, within the inventive concept disclosed in the appended claims. All the details thereof may be replaced by other technically equivalent parts, and the materials may vary depending on different needs, without departure from the scope of the invention.

While the device and appliance have been described with particular reference to the accompanying figures, the numerals referred to in the disclosure and claims are only used for the sake of a better intelligibility of the invention and shall not be intended to limit the claimed scope in any manner.