Base station and system

Abstract

The invention relates to a base station for connecting to a wet-cleaning appliance, having - a clean-liquid tank (5) for storing clean liquid, - a dehumidifier (2), which is provided and designed to withdraw moisture from ambient air in the base station so that it collects in the form of clean water (4) in the clean-liquid tank (5), - a cooling body (6), which is provided and designed to heat air dehumidified by means of the dehumidifier (5) so that a wet mopping medium of a wet-cleaning appliance docked to the base station is dried by means of the heated air, wherein the dehumidifier (2) and the cooling body (6) are thermally connected to one another so that waste heat recovered by means of the dehumidifier (2) is used for heating the cooling body (6). The invention also relates to a system which comprises the base station and at least one wet-cleaning appliance.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Base station and system

[0003] The invention relates to a base station for connection to a wet cleaning device, as well as a system comprising the base station and the wet cleaning device. Handheld or automatic wet cleaning devices use wiping media that are wet and dirty after the cleaning process. However, the dirt and moisture provide an ideal breeding ground for microbes, which can lead to hygiene problems and unpleasant odors. The wet cleaning devices have a fresh-fluid tank and an optional dirty-fluid tank, which must be filled or emptied by a user almost every time they are used.

[0004] DE 202016 104 067 U1 describes a base station that collects fresh water from the ambient air of the base station into a fresh liquid tank using a condensation process, as well as a system comprising the base station and a wet cleaning device. The base station and / or the wet cleaning device comprises a liquid pump. The base station comprises the fresh liquid tank, a fresh liquid tank line, a dirty liquid tank, and a dirty liquid line. The wet cleaning device comprises another fresh liquid tank, another dirty liquid tank, and a connecting line connecting the another fresh liquid tank to the another dirty liquid tank.The base station and the wet cleaning device are configured to correspond to each other such that, when the base station and wet cleaning device are connected, the fresh liquid line connects the fresh liquid tank and the additional fresh water tank, and the dirty liquid line connects the dirty liquid tank and the additional dirty liquid tank, allowing liquid to be pumped from the fresh liquid tank of the base station through the wet cleaning device into the dirty liquid tank of the base station. Refilling the fresh liquid tank of the base station and the wet cleaning device by a user is therefore unnecessary. The wiping media can be dried manually by the customer.

[0005] WO 2021 / 218608 A1 describes a base station for a wet cleaning device which has a drying unit for the wiping medium in the form of a roller.

[0006] Manually drying the wiping medium therefore represents an additional step for the user, which a base station can perform. However, the drying process described in WO 2021 / 218608 A1 is very energy-intensive. If a dirty fluid tank is present, it must also be emptied regularly by the user.

[0007] The invention therefore addresses the problem of providing a base station and a system that automatically dries the wiping medium in the base station without requiring additional energy. Furthermore, it eliminates the need to regularly empty the optionally available dirty fluid tank of the base station.

[0008] According to the invention, this problem is solved by a base station having the features of patent claim 1 and a system having the features of patent claim 7. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention emerge from the following subclaims.

[0009] The advantages achieved with the invention include eliminating the need for the user to refill fresh water and automatically drying the wiping medium, which extends its service life and / or saves the user unpleasant cleaning tasks. Furthermore, the optional dirty liquid tank does not need to be emptied by the user. Drying the wiping medium and optionally emptying the optional dirty liquid tank only requires the heat energy generated as waste heat during the production of fresh water.

[0010] The invention relates to a base station for connection to a wet cleaning device, comprising a fresh liquid tank for storing fresh liquid, an air dehumidifier which is arranged and designed to extract moisture from the ambient air of the base station so that it collects as fresh water in the fresh liquid tank, and a heat sink which is arranged and designed to heat the air dehumidified by means of the air dehumidifier so that a wet wiping medium of a wet cleaning device docked to the base station is dried by means of the heated air, wherein the air dehumidifier and the heat sink are in thermal communication with one another so that waste heat obtained by means of the air dehumidifier is used to heat the heat sink.

[0011] The heat connection allows the waste heat generated by dehumidification to be used to dry the wet wiping medium without additional energy consumption. The fresh water tank supplies the wet cleaning device with fresh water. The base station and / or the wet cleaning device can have corresponding devices such as a fresh water connection line for connecting the base station's fresh water tank to another fresh water tank of the wet cleaning device, and possibly a pump.

[0012] The dehumidifier preferably has a condensation element for condensing the moisture from the ambient air. For example, the condensation element is designed as an additional heat sink. The condensation element is preferably designed to cool the ambient air to such an extent that the temperature falls below the dew point, producing fresh water that is collected in the fresh water tank. The thus cooled air is directed to the heat sink, which heats it, so that both dry and warm air is used to dry the wiping medium. The base station is preferably designed such that the wiping medium can remain on the wet cleaning device during drying.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the thermal connection is formed by a Peltier element, with one side of the Peltier element connected to the dehumidifier and the opposite side of the Peltier element connected to the heat sink. The side connected to the dehumidifier is cooler during operation than the opposite side connected to the heat sink. The drying of the wet wiping medium achieved by the Peltier element is very efficient.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the base station further comprises a fan designed to blow air heated by the heat sink out of the base station. The base station preferably comprises a flow channel in which the heat sink is arranged and which is designed to specifically direct heated air from the base station onto the wet wiping medium. A pressure side of the fan is preferably connected to the flow channel. The fan preferably has a flow connection to the dehumidifier. With the aid of the fan, the ambient air can be sucked into the base station and specifically directed onto the dehumidifier. The dehumidifier preferably has a further flow channel to which a suction side of the fan is connected and in which the dehumidifier is arranged.Preferably, the fan is designed to allow the ambient air to first flow into the further flow channel in which the dehumidifier is arranged and then to let it exit via the flow channel in which the heat sink is arranged.

[0015] The base station preferably further comprises a dirty liquid tank and a line configured to conduct dirty liquid from a wet cleaning device docked to the base station into the dirty liquid tank. The base station is configured to direct the air heated by the heat sink over the dirty liquid tank. This evaporates the dirty liquid, relieving the user of the task of emptying the dirty liquid tank. The base station is therefore preferably configured to transfer fresh liquid to a wet cleaning device and to receive dirty liquid from the wet cleaning device. The dirty liquid is preferably conveyed from the wet cleaning device into the dirty liquid tank of the base station by means of a pump or suction system, which can be part of the base station and / or the wet cleaning device.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the base station further comprises an odor filter arranged such that the air heated by the heat sink is passed through it before exiting the base station. The odor filter is preferably designed as an activated carbon filter.

[0017] The heat sink is preferably connected to the dirty fluid tank. This directly heats the dirty fluid in the tank, further supporting its evaporation.

[0018] The invention further relates to a system comprising a base station according to one or more of the previously described embodiments and at least one wet cleaning device. One wet cleaning device can be assigned to the base station. Alternatively, multiple wet cleaning devices can be assigned to the base station.

[0019] An embodiment of the invention is shown schematically in the drawings and is described in more detail below. It shows schematically and not to scale.

[0020] Fig. 1 is a sketched partial representation of a base station according to the invention;

[0021] Fig. 2 is a sketched partial representation of a system according to the invention;

[0022] Fig. 3 is a sketched partial representation of the base station shown in Fig. 1;

[0023] Fig. 4 is a sketched partial representation of a variant of the one shown in Fig. 3

[0024] Base station.

[0025] Fig. 1 shows a sketched partial representation of a base station according to the invention. The base station is designed for connection to a wet cleaning device (not shown) and has a fresh liquid tank 5 for storing fresh liquid, a dehumidifier 2, which is arranged and designed to extract moisture from the ambient air of the base station so that it collects as fresh water 4 in the fresh liquid tank 5, and a heat sink 6, which is arranged and designed to heat the air dehumidified by the dehumidifier 5, so that a wet wiping medium (not shown) of a wet cleaning device docked to the base station is dried by means of the heated air. The dehumidifier 2 and the heat sink 6 are thermally connected to one another, so that waste heat obtained by the dehumidifier 2 is used to heat the heat sink 6. The thermal connection is formed by a Peltier element 3.One side of the Peltier element 3 is connected to the dehumidifier 2, and a side of the Peltier element 3 opposite this side is connected to the heat sink 6. The side connected to the dehumidifier is cooler during operation than the opposite side connected to the heat sink 6. The heat sink 6 is arranged in one flow channel (not shown), and the dehumidifier 2 is arranged in another flow channel (not shown). The base station has a fan 7 designed to blow air heated by the heat sink 6 out of the base station. The fan 7 is designed to allow the ambient air of the base station to first flow into the further flow channel in which the dehumidifier 2 is arranged and then to exit via the flow channel in which the heat sink 6 is arranged, as indicated by arrows.

[0026] During operation, the fan 7 is activated so that ambient air of the base station flows through the further flow channel and moisture from the ambient air condenses on the dehumidifier 2 so that fresh water 4 collects in the fresh liquid tank, while the dry air continues to flow through the flow channel in which the heat sink 6 is arranged and is heated by it.

[0027] Fig. 2 shows a sketched partial representation of a system according to the invention. The system comprises the base station shown in Fig. 1 and a wet cleaning device 10, which has a wiping medium 9. The wet cleaning station is located above the base station in the normal operating position for drying its wiping medium 9. During operation of the base station, the wiping medium 9 is dried by the dry, warm air 8 flowing from the flow channel.

[0028] Fig. 3 shows a sketched partial representation of the base station shown in Fig. 1. The base station further comprises a dirty liquid tank 11 and a line 14 designed to conduct dirty liquid 12 from a wet cleaning device (not shown) docked to the base station into the dirty liquid tank 11. The base station is designed to conduct the air heated by the heat sink (not shown) over the dirty liquid tank 11. Furthermore, the base station has an odor filter 13 arranged such that the air heated by the heat sink 6 is conducted over it before exiting the base station.

[0029] Fig. 4 shows a sketched partial representation of a variant of the base station shown in Fig. 3.

[0030] The base station shown in Fig. 4 corresponds to the base station shown in Fig. 3 with the difference that the heat sink 6 is connected to the dirty liquid tank 11. List of reference symbols

[0031] 1 Ambient air

[0032] 2 dehumidifiers

[0033] 3 Peltier element 4 Fresh water

[0034] 5 Fresh fluid tank

[0035] 6 heat sinks

[0036] 7 fans

[0037] 8 heated, dehumidified air 9 wiping medium

[0038] 10 Wet cleaning device

[0039] 11 Dirty liquid tank

[0040] 12 Dirty fluid

[0041] 13 Odor filter 14 Line

Claims

Patent claims 1. Base station for connection to a wet cleaning device, comprising a fresh liquid tank (5) for storing fresh liquid, an air dehumidifier (2) which is arranged and designed to extract moisture from the ambient air of the base station so that it collects as fresh water (4) in the fresh liquid tank (5), and a heat sink (6) which is arranged and designed to heat the air dehumidified by means of the air dehumidifier (5) so that a wet wiping medium of a wet cleaning device docked to the base station is dried by means of the heated air, wherein the air dehumidifier (2) and the heat sink (6) are in thermal communication with one another so that waste heat obtained by means of the air dehumidifier (2) is used to heat the heat sink (6).

2. Base station according to claim 1, characterized in that the heat connection is formed by means of a Peltier element (3), wherein one side of the Peltier element (3) is connected to the dehumidifier (2) and a side of the Peltier element (3) opposite this side is connected to the heat sink (6), wherein the side connected to the dehumidifier (2) is colder during operation than the opposite side connected to the heat sink (6).

3. Base station according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by a fan (7) which is designed to blow air heated by the heat sink (6) out of the base station.

4. Base station according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by a dirty liquid tank (11) and a line (14) which is designed to conduct dirty liquid (12) from a wet cleaning device docked to the base station into the dirty liquid tank (11), wherein the base station is designed to conduct the air heated by means of the cooling body (6) over the dirty liquid tank (11).

5. Base station according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by an odor filter (13) which is arranged in such a way that the air heated by the cooling body (6) is passed through it before exiting the base station.

6. Base station according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cooling body (6) is connected to the dirty liquid tank (11).

7. System comprising a base station according to one of the preceding claims and at least one wet cleaning device.

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