Cordless Battery Operated Handheld Steamer and Methods of Operation

Abstract

A cordless handheld steamer comprising an interior chamber containing a steam generation unit and a water reservoir. The water reservoir generally encompasses the steam generation unit and the steam generation unit contains a heating element. A precise temperature control unit monitors the heating element's temperature to maintain an optimum steam producing temperature without overheating. The heating element is powered only by an on-board battery pack. A user determined amount of water is pumped from the water reservoir to the flash boiler chamber where the water is converted to steam and the steam travels through a plenum to a target area.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of priority to provisional application No. 61 / 074,667 filed on Jun. 22, 2008 by inventors Benjamin D. Tanner and Timothy R. Hillsamer, entitled “COMPACT CORDLESS STEAM CLEANER, POWERED BY ONLY BATTERIES.”FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The invention relates generally to steamers and more specifically to cordless handheld steamers.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Traditional steamers are well known in the art. Most steamers are used primarily for cleaning or for removing wrinkles from garments and other clothes. Steamers generally work by heating a heating element and passing water across the heating element such that the water is heated to the point of boiling and is therefore converted to steam. This steam is then directed towards a work area.[0004]Unfortunately, traditional steamers require large amounts of energy to generate meaningful amounts of steam. This large amount of energy is delivered to traditio...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015]Another technical advantage of the disclosed subject matter is efficiently and precisely heating and monitoring the temperature of the steam generation unit so as to not waste energy.

[0018]Yet another technical advantage of the disclosed subject matter is having a replaceable towelette to reduce steam loss, assist in the cleaning process, and / or for enhanced cleaning abilities by using additives to the towelette.

[0020]An additional technical advantage of the disclosed subject matter is having the cordless handheld steamer shaped in a generally half spherical shape so as to comfortably fit in a user's palm.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, traditional steamers require large amounts of energy to generate meaningful amounts of steam.

This severely limits the usability and utility of current steamers.

The cord limits the range of motion, is constantly interfering with the application of steam, and is otherwise cumbersome.

In addition to this limitation, there is no way to steam areas that lack an external power source.

This highlights a significant impediment of the prior art in its inability to deliver sufficient energy from an onboard battery pack to a heating element to create a meaningful amount of steam without the use of external power sources and / or docking stations.

The industry has repeatedly attempted to create a cordless handheld steamer but has been unable to create such a device that is capable of being powered solely by an onboard battery pack.

As shown by the above cited examples, although the industry has attempted to create a truly cordless steamer solution, the industry has continually failed to produce a completely battery operated truly cordless steamer, much less a handheld cordless steamer.

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