Wet Mop Module of Cleaner

The present disclosure relates to a cleaner, more specifically, to a wet mop rag module for a cleaner configured to discharge water to a mop rag such that the mop rag sucks in or wipes dust or debris present in a cleaning target area.

A cleaner is a device that performs cleaning by suctioning or wiping dust or debris located in a cleaning target area.

Such cleaners may be classified into a manual cleaner that a user moves in person for cleaning and an automatic cleaner that automatically moves for cleaning.

In addition, manual cleaners may fall into, depending on the types, a canister cleaner, an upright cleaner, a handy cleaner, and a stick cleaner.

Methods of cleaning floors are broadly classified into a dry-cleaning method and a wet-cleaning method. The dry-cleaning method refers to a method of wiping up or sucking dust, and a vacuum cleaner in the related art uses the dry-cleaning method. The wet-cleaning method refers to a method of performing a cleaning operation by wiping up the dust with a wet mop rag.

In the related art, a dry-cleaning dedicated cleaner is used to perform the dry-cleaning method, and a wet-cleaning dedicated cleaner is used to perform the wet-cleaning method. However, a user is inconvenienced because the user needs to purchase the two types of cleaners to clean various types of floors. To solve the above-mentioned problem, research has been conducted on a cleaner including a single main body, a dry-cleaning module, and a wet-cleaning module and configured such that the dry-cleaning module is mounted on the main body to perform the dry-cleaning method and the wet-cleaning module (wet mop rag module) is mounted on the main body to perform the wet-cleaning method.

However, when conducting wet cleaning, if debris are stuck to the floor, the debris may still remain even if wiping the floor with a mop rag which absorbed water.

In addition, there is a limitation that a case in which the microorganism cannot be fully sterilized, even if wiping the floor up with a rotating mop rag which absorbed water, may occur.

To solve the above-mentioned problem, a method of heating water through a heater and supplying water or steam at a high temperature to the mop rag may be thought of.

At this time, the wet mop rag module includes a water tank configured to store water inside, a heater configured to generate water or steam at a high temperature by heating water, and a mop rag receiving the water or steam to wipe a floor up. Here, it is preferable that each components are configured to be one assembly so as to ease replacement. For example, if the water tank or the heater is disposed in a main body, there is a problem that cleaning becomes inconvenient because of a weight of the water tank or the heater due to unnecessary parts when conducting dry cleaning. Therefore, in terms of easing the cleaning operation, replacement of a module, or use of a space, it is preferable that the water tank or the heater is disposed in the wet mop rag module, not in the cleaner's main body.

The U.S. Pat. No. 9,420,933B2 (2016 Aug. 23) discloses a heater being used for a steam mop cleaner.

The steam mop cleaner has a configuration that receives water of a water tank, generates steam through a steam generator, and supplies the steam to a cleaning pad.

The steam generator in this disclosure is configured to heat water through a heater in a state in which water is stored therein, and to discharge steam which is heated and flows upward through a discharge hole, provided at an upper side of the steam generator, to a cleaning pad.

In addition, Korean Patent No. 1609444B1 (2016 Mar. 30) discloses a wet cleaner having a steam generator.

The wet cleaner has a configuration that a water supply hole and a steam discharge hole are both disposed at an upper side of the steam generator, and the water supply hole and the steam discharge hole are connected through a U-shaped pipe.

In such a conventional steam generator, a discharge hole configured to discharge steam is disposed at an upper side of the steam generator, in general.

In addition, it is configured that a volume of water held in the steam generator is filled by operating the water pump for a plurality of times.

Therefore, there is a limitation that the water held in the steam generator is discharged before sufficiently being heated.

Further, there is a limitation that a time for the cleaning operation is short in a state in which the water held in the steam generator is heated due to a limited battery capacity.

The present disclosure is derived to solve problems of the a wet mop rag module of a conventional cleaner described above, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a wet mop rag module of a cleaner which may improve effects of sterilization and removal of debris by supplying water at a high temperature to a mop rag.

In addition, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a wet mop rag module of a cleaner which may heat water introduced into the heating generator to a target temperature.

Moreover, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a wet mop rag module of a cleaner which may maintain an amount of water supplied to a pair of mop rags to be the same.

One embodiment is a wet mop rag module for a cleaner configured to clean by wiping debris on a floor surface, including: a module housing; a water tank coupled to the module housing and configured to store water inside; at least one or more rotary cleaning units disposed at a lower side of the module housing and to which a mop rag is couplable; a heating generator configured to heat water provided from the water tank; and a water pump configured to supply water stored in the water tank to the heating generator.

In this case, an amount of water accommodated by the heating generator may be equal to an amount of water that the water pump supplies to the heating generator.

The heating generator may include: a heating chamber in which a flow path through which water flows is formed; a heater configured to supply heat to the heating chamber; a water inlet port formed in the heating chamber and into which water being introduced from the water tank; and a pair of moisture discharge ports formed in the heating chamber and through which heated moisture being discharged.

The flow path may communicate the water inlet port and the pair of moisture discharge ports to each other, and may be formed symmetrically with respect to the water inlet port.

In the heating chamber, a height of the water inlet port and a height of the moisture discharge port may be formed to be equal.

The heating generator may include: a heating chamber having a flow path in which moisture flows; a heater in contact with the heating chamber and configured to supply heat to the heating chamber; a lower cover disposed at a lower side of the heater and configured to cover the heater; a sealer disposed at an upper side of the heating chamber and configured to seal the upper side of the heating chamber; and an upper cover disposed at an upper side of the sealer and configured to cover the sealer.

The heating generator may further include an insulation member disposed between the heater and the lower cover.

The water pump may supply water at a preset water supply interval.

The water pump may be operated for a preset water supply time, and an amount of water that the water pump supplies during the water supply time may be equal to a product of the water supply time and an amount of moisture discharged to the mop rag per unit time.

The water pump may be operated for a preset water supply time, and an amount of water that the heating generator accommodates may be equal to a product of the water supply time and an amount of moisture discharged to the mop rag per unit time.

As explained above, according to a wet mop rag module of a cleaner according to the present disclosure, it is advantageous that effects of sterilization and removal of debris may be improved by supplying water or steam at a high temperature to a mop rag by using a heater.

Further, it is possible to heat a certain amount of moisture for a certain time by making an amount of the water held, by the heating generator be the same as an amount of water supplied by a water pump and supplying the water at a preset water supply interval. Therefore, there is an effect of supplying a constant amount of moisture at a constant temperature to the mop rag.

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is explained by referring to accompanying drawings.

The present invention may be modified variably and may have various embodiments, particular ones of which will be illustrated in drawings and described in detail. However, it should be understood that the following exemplifying description of the invention is not meant to restrict the invention to specific forms of the present invention but rather the present invention is meant to cover all modifications, similarities and alternatives which are included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

is a perspective view of a cleaner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,is a perspective view of a wet mop rag module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure in a coupled state, andare views for describing a wet mop rag module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure in a state in which an upper housing is removed from the wet mop rag module.

In the present disclosure, it is understood that “a floor surface” means not only a floor surface of a living room or a room, but also, a surface to clean up such as a carpet and the like.

Referring to, the cleaneraccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a cleaner main bodyhaving a suction motor configured to generate a suction force, a wet mop rag moduleconnected to the cleaner main bodyand configured to suck in air and debris on a floor surface and to wipe up the floor surface to clean the floor surface, and an extension tubeconnecting the cleaner main bodyand the wet mop rag moduleto each other.

The wet mop rag module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a module housing, and a connection tubewhich is movably connected to the module housing.

The wet mop rag module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be connected to a handy cleaner or a canister cleaner to be used.

That is, the wet mop rag modulemay be removably connected to the cleaner main bodyor the extension tube. Therefore, as the wet mop rag moduleis connected to the cleaner main bodyor the extension tube, the user may use the wet mop rag moduleto clean up the floor surface. At this instance, the cleaner main bodyconnected to the wet mop rag modulemay separate dust contained in air from the air in a multi-cyclone method.

The wet mop rag modulemay be operated by being supplied with electric power from the cleaner main body.

Because the cleaner main bodyconnected to the wet mop rag moduleincludes the suction motor (not illustrated), a suction force generated by the suction motor (not illustrated) may be applied to the wet mop rag module, and the wet mop rag modulemay suck in debris and air on the floor surface.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the wet mop rag modulemay serve to suck debris and air on the floor surface and guide the debris and air to the cleaner main body.

The connection tubemay be connected to a central portion of a rear side of the module housingand guide the introduced air to the cleaner. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The directions according to the present embodiment will be defined to assist in understanding the present disclosure. A portion of the wet mop rag module, which is connected to the connection tube, may be defined as a rear portion (rear side) of the wet mop rag module, and a portion of the wet mop rag module, which is opposite to the portion of the wet mop rag moduleconnected to the connection tube, may be defined as a front portion (front side) of the wet mop rag module. Further, a direction in which the front and rear sides are connected may be referred to as a forward/rearward direction.

In addition, based on a state in which an intake portis viewed from the connection tube, a left side of a flow path forming partmay be defined as a left side of the wet mop rag module, and a right side of the flow path forming partmay be defined as a right side of the wet mop rag module. Further, a direction in which the left and right sides are connected may be referred to as a leftward/rightward direction. The leftward/rightward direction may mean a direction perpendicular to the forward/rearward direction on a horizontal plane.

In addition, based on a state in which the wet mop rag moduleis placed on the floor surface, i.e., a state in which mop ragsare placed on the floor surface and may wipe the floor surface, a direction toward the floor surface may be defined as a lower or downward side, and a direction away from the floor surface may be defined as an upper or upward side.

The wet mop rag modulemay further include rotary cleaning unitsrotatably provided at a lower side of the module housing.