Patent Application
20170246666
This disclosure generally relates to a cleaning product, and particularly to a cleaning device adapted to melt off dirt and/or stain in a microwave oven.
Microwave oven cleaning is very common in people's daily life. Up to now, there are no specialized cleaning products adapted for the microwave oven, except pouring water and vinegar into a bowl or a container, however. Water and vinegar have been proven to be able to clean the microwave oven of their dirt and stain off effectively, while the sauces, for instance, are usually very hard to clean because they are not soft and melted. When using the bowl or the container for cleaning, they cannot cover the splash created while being heated up by the microwave oven (or radiation). The bowls and the containers do not have any handles; or even they have, the handle will be extremely hot after being heated. Besides, covering a lid or a seal thereon may have a chance of explosion. Therefore, there is great need to provide a cleaning device especially adapted for the microwave oven.
In one aspect, a cleaning device adapted for a microwave oven can be provided. The cleaning device can include a body part, a head cap and an intermediate part. The body part can be provided with an inner chamber for accommodating a cleaning liquid and a first opening communicating with the inner chamber. The head cap can surround the body part along a length direction of the body part, and the head cap can cover the first opening of the body part. A portion of the head cap, which portion corresponds to the first opening of the body part, can be provided with multiple through holes, where the first opening and the multiple through holes form a gas passage for venting steam of the cleaning liquid within the inner chamber. The intermediate part can also surround the body part, where the intermediate part can be located between the body part and the head cap in the length direction of the body part.
In another aspect, a cleaning device adapted for a microwave oven can also be provided, which can include a body part and a head cap connected with each other. The body part can be provided with an inner chamber for accommodating a cleaning liquid and a first opening communicating with the inner chamber. The head cap can cover the first opening of the body part when the two are connected together. A portion of the head cap, which portion corresponds to the first opening of the body part, can be provided with multiple through holes, where the first opening and the multiple through holes form a gas passage for venting steam of the cleaning liquid within the inner chamber.
In some embodiments, the body part can be provided with one or more handle(s) for gripping the cleaning device. The handle(s) may be made of non-heat material, such that it can maintain cool after being heated up in the microwave oven.
Following detailed descriptions of respective embodiments in this disclosure can be understood better when combining with these figures, in which the same structure is represented by the same reference sign. In the figures:
A cleaning device adapted for a microwave oven is provided in various embodiments of this disclosure. A head cap of the cleaning device that covers a body part of the cleaning device can include multiple through holes. When using those cleaning devices, users may simply pour one or more cleaning liquid into the body part, and then screw to close the head cap which has lots of through holes for venting. This arrangement can not only prevent splash from creating mess, but more importantly, steam coining out from the through holes can be higher in speed and more concentrated. As compared with the cleaning method by virtue of a bowl or a container, the steam can move quicker, and hence it will be more effective. While the cleaning device is rotating during microwave oven's operation, the steam can cover a whole inner space of the microwave oven. The cleaning device of this disclosure is a splash proof and effective product for cleaning the microwave oven.
Here, the head cap 3 can cover the first opening 14 of the body part 1, such that the cleaning liquid will not splash during the heating process. Moreover, a portion of the head cap 3, which portion corresponds to the first opening 14 of the body part 1, can be provided with multiple through holes 31. In this case, the first opening 14 and the multiple through holes 31 can form a gas passage for venting steam generated by heating up the cleaning liquid within the inner chamber 13. According to this cleaning device, the steam vented from those through holes 31 can move quickly to cover the whole microwave oven, and also there will be no mess caused by the splashing of the cleaning liquid.
Preferably, the through holes 31 are in a shape of inverted cone. For this reason, the steam passing through those holes 31 can be sprayed in a faster way. It is mentioned that the cleaning liquid is not limited to be a solution formed by water and vinegar; alternatively, any other cleaning liquid, such as a solution formed by water and lemon juice (or lemon powder), can also be used as long as it can be heated to generate steams for cleaning the microwave oven.
In a further example, the body part 1 can be provided with one or more handle(s) 15 for gripping the cleaning device 10. The handle(s) 15 can be made of non-heat material, so that after the cleaning device 10 is heated during the cleaning process, the user can directly pick up the cleaning device 10 through the handle(s) 15 without any overheat experience. As shown in
The handle(s) can fixedly connect with the body part like that in
The head cap 3 and the intermediate part 2 are connected with the body part 1 in a removable way. Their detailed configurations are described in combination with
As shown in
A first protrusion 21 (
Moreover, the intermediate part 2 is provided with multiple positioning bars 22 extending along the length direction, where the multiple positioning bars 22 can press against an outer surface of the body part 1 so as to position the intermediate part 2 on the body part 1 through contact friction. An annular flange 23 can further be arranged on the inner wall of the intermediate part 2 along a circumferential direction. The annular flange 23 can also press against the outer surface of the body part 1 so as to further enhance the positioning effect. In an example, one end of each positioning bar 22 is connected to the annular flange 23.
In some other embodiments, the body part 1 can also be divided into the upper portion and the lower portion, while there is no stepped design along its length direction. In this case, the intermediate part 2 can also be positioned with respect to the upper portion 11. For example, such positioning bars and annular flange can still secure the intermediate part 2 to the body part 1 in this case; or else, the intermediate part 2 can be screwed onto the upper portion 11 and so on.
As shown in
Further referring to
Also, a ridged structure 1121 is disposed within the locking part 1124 substantially perpendicularly to an extending direction of the locking part 1124. The second protrusion 32 is a protruding block with a recess 321 in its middle position. When the second protrusion 32 is clamped within the locking groove 112, the second protrusion 32 slides into the locking part 1124 with the recess 321 and the ridged structure 1121 to be engaged with each other. In this way, the head cap 3 and the body part 1 can be further secured together.
The head cap 3 further comprises a second annular wall 35 surrounded by the first annular wall 33. Both the first and the second annular walls 33 and 35 extend downwards from an internal top surface 34 of the head cap 3. The first annular wall 33 and the second annular wall 35 are concentrically arranged with respect to each other, while a gap is formed between the first annular wall 33 and the second annular wall 35. A longitudinal dimension of the first annular wall 33 is smaller than that of the second annular wall 35. Under this configuration, the second annular wall 35 is inserted into the body part 1 through the first opening 14 of the body part 1, and the first annular wall 33 partially surrounds the upper portion 11 of the body part 1 with its lower edge to be rested against the upper end 24 of the intermediate part 2.
In another embodiment, the second annular wall 35 is in interference fit with the inner wall of the body part 1 after the second annular wall 35 is inserted into the body part 1. Specifically, at least two open slots are arranged on the second annular wall 35. During the assembling, the second annular wall 35 can be deformed to be inserted into the body part 1 due to the existence of the open slots, and a restoring force is generated to overcome the deformation so that the second annular wall 35 is pressed onto the body part 1.
In some other embodiments, a sealing ring is further provided on an end face of the upper portion 11 so as to form a gas-tight connection between the body part 1 and the head cap 3. By virtue of the gas-tight connection, the steam can be better guided to be vented from the through holes 31.
The body part 1 described above can also be at least partially translucent or transparent. As such, the user can determine whether the cleaning liquid has been used up without disassembling the head cap 3 from the body part 1.
Although specific structures are described above, it should be noted that this disclosure is not limited to those descriptions, while any other modifications or changes can occur to the person skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this disclosure.
According to another embodiment of this disclosure, the intermediate part can be removed, and thus a cleaning device here can include the body part and the head cap connected with each other. The body part can be provided with an inner chamber for accommodating a cleaning liquid and a first opening communicating with the inner chamber. The head cap can cover the first opening of the body part when the two are connected together. A portion of the head cap, which portion corresponds to the first opening of the body part, can be provided with multiple through holes, where the first opening and the multiple through holes form a gas passage for venting steam of the cleaning liquid within the inner chamber. The multiple through holes can be in a shape of an inverted cone to improve the venting effect. The body part is provided with one or more handle(s) for gripping the cleaning device, where the handle(s) is/are made of non-heat material. The head cap can be connected with the body part in the same way as in the first embodiment, which will not be repeated here.
The head cap includes a first annular wall and a second annular wall that respectively extend downwards from the internal top surface of the head cap. The first annular wall and the second annular wall are concentrically arranged with respect to each other, and a longitudinal dimension of the first annular wall is smaller than that of the second annular wall. The first annular wall surrounds a portion of the body part, and a gap is formed between the first and the second annular walls. The second annular wall is inserted into the body part through the first opening of the body part, the first annular wall partially surrounds the upper portion, and the upper portion is located within the gap between the first and the second annular walls. A sealing ring is further provided at an end face of the upper portion so as to form a sealing arrangement between the body part and the head cap. In this case, the steam can be better guided to be vented from the through holes.
The cleaning devices in various embodiments of this disclosure cater for cleaning usage. It takes into consideration of liquid heated up in the microwave oven and addresses all problems including splashing or explosion that may possibly happen. By usage of the cleaning devices above, a better and more convenient cleaning operation can be achieved aiming at the microwave oven.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
Many other changes and modifications may be made to this disclosure without departing from the spirit thereof. The scope of these and other changes will become apparent from the appended claims.
