Steamer

Abstract

A steamer is provided having a novel steam generation assembly. The steam generation assembly includes a flow chamber positioned adjacent to a film heating element. The flow chamber is generally a flat plate having a fluid pathway for liquid to flow through, where the fluid can be heated by the adjacent film heating element. The steam generation assembly may further include one or more liquid inlets for receiving water into the fluid pathway and one or more steam outlets. The heating assembly may further include a temperature control regulator for regulating the temperature of the film heating element.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a steamer and in particular, a steamer having a thick film heating element for heating the liquid to create steam.

BACKGROUND

Steamers are appliances designed to remove wrinkles from, to clean, and to deodorize fabrics, such as clothing garments, draperies, upholstery, and other items. Steamers typically include a handheld wand for applying the steam. More recently, especially for use with garments, portable steamers have become more desirable. Portable steamers offer users with a hand-held source of steam.

Portable steamers are particularly useful when the steamer is a garment steamer, which is a type of steamer commonly used for cleaning and/or sanitizing clothes, textiles, or fabrics. Portable handheld garment steamers are desirable as they more easily allow a user to manipulate the steamer and control the direction that steam is projected by the steamer. Portable handheld garment steamers are particularly useful in taking wrinkles out of crumpled clothing, especially clothing crumpled by traveling in suitcases or travel bags. The more compact the steamer, the easier the steam is to manipulate and to pack for travel.

Portable handheld steamers are generally configured in a number of different ways. In most all cases, water is placed in a reservoir and heated to produce steam and that is emitted through nozzles that a user directs toward the fabric. Most all portable handheld steamers include nozzles at the end of the steamers to project steam onto clothes. Typical garment steams usually have more than one or multiple nozzles (i.e., steam outlet openings) to form aggregate steam output. Such designs usually have relatively low pressure steam emissions over a relatively wide steam output area, which results in a relatively short distance of travel of the emitted steam and a relatively low-pressure stream of steam.

Heating elements are commonly positioned near the nozzles to heat water in a reservoir to produce the steam. In compact configurations, the heating element and/or steam may be positioned near a handle of the portable steamer, and thus to the hand of the user. Care needs to be taken to avoid positioning the heating element or steam too close to the handle to avoid burning a user. It has continued to be a design challenge to make portable steamers as portable and as compact as possible.

SUMMARY

To address the foregoing problems, in whole or in part, and/or other problems that may have been observed by persons skilled in the art, the present disclosure provides methods, processes, systems, apparatus, instruments, and/or devices, as described by way of example in implementations set forth below.

According to an implementation of the present disclosure, a steamer for heating a liquid, such as water, is provided. The steamer includes a steam generation assembly that includes a flow chamber positioned adjacent to a film heating element, such as a thick film heating element known in the art. In one example of present invention, the flow chamber is a generally flat metal plate having a fluid pathway for the liquid to flow through as it is heated by the adjacent film heating element. In this manner, heat is exchanged between the film heating element and liquid flowing through the fluid pathway of the chamber. A more compact steamer design may be achieved.

The steam generation assembly may further include a temperature control regulator for regulating the temperature of the film heating element. Power is also provided to the heating assembly to provide power to the film heating element through electrical contacts that receive power from a power source.

The steamer further includes a reservoir for holding the liquid used to create steam. The steam generation assembly may include one or more liquid inlets with multiple steam outlets. In one example, a single inlet with seven (7) outlets is provided. An integrated circuit and/or controller is also provided to control the operation of the steamer, and to respond to user control inputs.

In another example of an implementation, a steam generation assembly is provided that includes a film heating element and a flow chamber positioned adjacent to the film heating element. The flow chamber further includes fluid pathways through which the liquid from the reservoir flows and is heated by the adjacent film heating element and converted to steam. The steam generation assembly in this example may further include a temperature control regulator for regulating the temperature of the film heating element, at least one liquid inlet for receiving liquid from the reservoir, and multiple steam outlets. The flow chamber may be a generally flat metal plate having a fluid pathway stamped into the plate, and the steam generation assembly may further include electrical contacts for receiving power from a power source.

In another example of an implementation, a steamer is provided for creating steam from a liquid. The steamer includes a reservoir for storing the liquid, a steam generation assembly, a controller and a power supply. The steam generation assembly includes at least one liquid inlet for receiving liquid from the reservoir and multiple steam outlets for discharging steam from the steam generation assembly. The steam generation assembly further includes a film heating element and a flow chamber positioned adjacent to a film heating element. The flow chamber includes fluid pathways through which the liquid from the reservoir flows and is heated by the adjacent film heating element and converted to steam. The steam generation assembly further includes electrical contacts for receiving power from a power source and a temperature control regulator for regulating the temperature of the film heating element. The flow chamber of the steam generation assembly may be a generally flat metal plate having a fluid pathway stamped into the plate.

In all the examples set forth above, the steam generation assembly may optionally include a sheet of silicone positioned on at least one side of the steam generation assembly to reduce or prevent heat loss and to prevent excessive heat transfer to the handle or the user. For example, the use of silicon can prevent heat transfer from the steam generation assembly to a handle of a steamer. The thin sheets of silicone could also be added to more than one side of the assembly, such as two, three, four, five, six . . . or all sides of the steam generation assembly.

Other devices, apparatus, systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood by referring to the following figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an example of a steamer according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of an example of the steamer of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of an example of the steamer of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an example of the steamer of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-section of the steamer of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a steam generation assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the steam generation assembly of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the steam generation assembly of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the steam generation assembly of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this disclosure, all “aspects,” “examples,” “embodiments,” and “implementations” described are considered to be non-limiting and non-exclusive. Accordingly, the fact that a specific “aspect,” “example,” “embodiment,” or “implementation” is explicitly described herein does not exclude other “aspects,” “examples,” “embodiments,” and “implementations” from the scope of the present disclosure even if not explicitly described. In this disclosure, the terms “aspect,” “example,” “embodiment,” and “implementation” are used interchangeably, i.e., are considered to have interchangeable meanings.

In this application, the term “substantially,” “approximately,” or “about,” when modifying a specified numerical value, may be taken to encompass a range of values that include +/−10% of such numerical value. Further, such as “communicate,” and “in . . . communication with,” or “interfaces” or “interfaces with” (for example, a first component “communicates with” or “is in communication with” a second component) are used herein to indicate a structural, functional, mechanical, electrical, signal, optical, magnetic, electromagnetic, ionic or fluidic relationship between two or more components or elements. As such, the fact that one component is said to communicate or interface with a second component is not intended to exclude the possibility that additional components may be present between, and/or operatively associated or engaged with, the first and second components.

For purposes of reference and description, the steamer 100 is considered to have horizontal (x-axis) and vertical device axis (y-axis) and a z-axis, as shown in FIG. 1 along which the components of the steamer are positioned relative to each other. Terms such as “axial” and “axially” are assumed to refer to the respective axis or any direction or axis parallel to the device axis, unless indicated otherwise or the context dictates otherwise. For convenience, movement relative to a device axis may alternatively encompass movement relative to an axis that is parallel to the device axis that is specifically illustrated in FIG. 1, unless the context dictates otherwise. Thus, linear translation “along the device axis z” is not limited to translation directly on (coincident with) the device axis, but also encompasses translation parallel to the device axis z, depending on the context. Similarly, rotation “about the device axis y” also encompasses rotation about an axis that is parallel to the device axis y, depending on the context.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an example of a steamer 100 according to an implementation of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the steamer 100 is an electrical steamer 100 receiving power from the electrical power cord 120. The steamer 100 includes a steamer housing 102 having a handle 103 with a reservoir 104 positioned at the bottom of the steamer housing 102. Near the top of the housing 102 are steam outlets 106, which in the present example include seven (7) steam outlets 106. Those skilled in the art will recognize that any number of steam outlets 106 may be provided without departing from the scope of the invention.

For a portable handheld garment steam, it is desirable for the steamer to operate at a voltage of approximately 100˜120V, power of approximately 1100-1200 W, a flow rate of approximately 20-22 g/min and to output steam of approximately 100-110° C. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these operational parameters may vary without departing from the scope of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of an example of the steamer 100 of FIG. 1. Here, the handle 103 of the steamer housing 102 is illustrated having a steam release button 110 and user controls 108 to turn the steamer on and off and to call for different steam settings. In the present example, the internal electronics of the steamer 100 may allow for the steamer 100 to operate in any number of settings, for example, the steamer 100 may provide one to four (1, 2, 3 or 4) different steam settings, or one to three, or one to two, or operate at a single setting.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of an example of the steamer 100 of FIG. 1. Here the controls 108 on the top of the steamer 100 are more visible to show the inclusion of the on/off button and user controls for the one to four (1, 2, 3 or 4) different steam settings. Power is also supplied to the steamer 100 by the electrical power cord 120.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an example of the steamer 100 of FIG. 1. As best shown here, the steamer outlets 106 are positioned opposite the handle 103 and steam release button 110 to direct the steam produced by the steamer 100 away from the hand of the user. The liquid/water reservoir 104 is positioned below the housing 102 opposing the user controls 108 (FIGS. 2 and 3). The steam release button 110 may, for example, be used to cause bursts of steam to be released while the steamer 100 is operating in a continuous mode.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-section of the steamer 100 of FIG. 4. As shown, the steamer housing 102 is a generally hollow member, providing room for housing component parts of the steamer 100. As further shown, the housing 102 has a central opening for creating a handle 103 on one side of the steamer 100. Opposing the handle 103 is a longitudinal or vertical compartment, represented by the longitudinal or vertical rectangle 500. This longitudinal compartment 500 may house a steam generator assembly 600 (FIG. 6) for generating the steam to be output by the steamer 100. A small pump (not shown) is also required within the housing 102 to move the liquid from the reservoir 104 to the steam generator assembly 600. The small pump may, for example, be positioned with the longitudinal compartment 500 with the steam generator assembly 600.

In this example, the overall dimensions of the longitudinal compartment are approximately 85 mm×75 mm×15 mm. While the longitudinal dimensions may vary, to maintain a compact design, it is desirable to maintain similar overall dimensions to those that have a similar or smaller overall volume.

The horizontal compartment, represented by the horizontal rectangle 502 may house all the remaining required components, including electrical components, PCBA and a controller which interfaces with the user controls 108, the steam generator assembly 600 and power source. A fuse may also be positioned within either the horizontal or vertical compartment (or other location in the housing 102) to control overheating of the steamer 100.

While the illustrated example shows the steam generator assembly 600 positioned in the longitudinal or vertical compartment, represented by the longitudinal or vertical rectangle 500, those skilled in the art will recognize that the steam generator assembly 600 may also be configured to be positioned in the horizontal compartment, represented by the horizontal rectangle 502. The remaining required components, including electrical components, PCBA and a controller which interfaces with the user controls 108, the steam generator assembly 600 and power source, may be housed in either or both the vertical compartment or the horizontal compartment.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a steam generation assembly 600 of the present invention. The steam generation assembly 600 includes a flow chamber 602 and a film heating element 604 positioned adjacent to the flow chamber 602. The film heating element 604 may be a thick film heating element of the type known in the art. The flow chamber 602 includes fluid pathways 616 through which the liquid from the reservoir 104 flows and is heated by the adjacent film heating element 604 to convert the liquid to steam. The flow chamber 602 includes a generally flat metal plate having a fluid pathway 616 stamped into the plate. The flow chamber 602 further includes multiple assembly steam outlets 608 for outputting the steam generated by the steam generation assembly 600.

The film heating assembly 604 is mounted to the flow chamber 602. The steam generation assembly 600 further includes a mounting member 606 to which the film heating assembly 604 is mounted. The steam generation assembly 600 may further include a jack 612 having electrical contacts 614 for receiving power from a power source, and for supplying electricity to the film heating assembly 604.

The steam generation assembly 600 in this example may further include a temperature control regulator 610 for regulating the temperature of the film heating element 604 and at least one liquid inlet 620 for receiving liquid from the reservoir 104. The temperature control regulator 610 is secured against the mounting member 606 opposite the film heating assembly 604. In one example, the temperature control regulator 610 may be a temperature sensor (such as a thermocouple) to control/regulate the outlet temperature. The liquid inlet 620 is also positioned on the mounting member 606 on the side opposing the film heating assembly 604. The pump (not shown) then pumps the liquid in the reservoir 104 to the liquid inlet 620 on the steam generator assembly 600 and through the fluid pathways 616 in the fluid flow chamber 602.

The steam generation assembly 600 is housed in the longitudinal compartment 500 (FIG. 5) of the housing 102 of the steamer 100 such that the assembly steam outlets 608 are generally aligned with the steam outlets 106 of the steamer 100. In this example, the jack 612 with electrical contacts 614 is positioned near the base of the housing 102. Accordingly, the steam generator assembly 600 should be designed to fit within the volume of the longitudinal compartment 500 of the housing 102. Further, the steam generator assembly 600 should be designed such that the range of the temperature controller for the steam in the steam chamber is 145˜150° C. (resulting in an outlet temperature of approximately 110-130° C.)

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the steam generation assembly 600 of FIG. 6. In this view, the fluid pathways 616 of the flow chamber 602 and the internal assembly steam outlets 608 are best shown. The fluid pathways 616 may be spiral or winding pathways that extend the contact surface for the water within the fluid pathway 616 to increase the total volume for steam generation.

The heating plate area is also increased to enhance the heat-absorption of the liquid from the heating element 604. The heat transfer equation Q=hAΔT, appropriate steam tables for determining the steam volume, and the basic equation for water heating to generate steam are all used to determine the ability of the design to generate steam at desired temperatures and flow rates. Given the small area of water in communication with the heating element 604, heat transfer efficiency of the material used to construct the fluid pathway is important. While other metals, such as stainless steel may be used, the heat transfer rate of stainless steel is low. For the flow chamber and fluid pathways, aluminum is the suggested materials as the heat transfer rate is 10 times faster than stainless steel, allowing for the design of a smaller steam generation assembly 600.

The variables in the assembly are generally outlet temperatures, flow rate and wattage of the thick film element, measured against the volume of liquid flowing through the fluid pathway 616 at a given rate of flow. Another design consideration is noise. While the fluid pathway 616 may be sufficient to generate the steam/steam-rate desired, if the fluid pathway 616 is too thin, the flow rate increases and creates undesired noise (i.e., noise from high speed flow). Accordingly, the thickness of the fluid flow pathway 616 is also a system variable to avoid undesired noises. The goal in the design is to find a combination of temperature, flow rate and wattage that reduces the occurrence of spitting (water spitting out with the steam) and a fluid pathway 616 thickness that decreases noise.

As mentioned previously, it is desired to have an outlet temperature of approximately 110° C. to 130° C. Temperatures that are too low result in an increased occurrence of spitting and too high of temperatures cause the steamer to surge. The use of the temperature controller 610 (such as a thermocouple) can allow the system to control/regulate the outlet temperature. The wattage of the thick film element used is highly dependent upon the design of the fluid pathway 616. In the current example, an approximate 1040 W thick film element performed well. However, if the design produces steam at too high of temperature the wattage of the thick film element may need decreased. If the steam temperatures are too low, the wattage should be increased. The wattages can vary for example by approximately 200 W or more depending upon the design without departing from the scope of the invention. While flow rates of approximately 20-22 g/min are desired, flow rates as high as approximately 28 g/min or more may also be used in the present invention, without spitting. For example, in the present invention, an outlet temperature of approximately ˜108° C., with a flow rate of 28 g/min and wattage of 1040 W used with the illustrated design, sized to fit in the enclosure (as set forth above), performed fairly well without spitting and only surging related to the peristaltic pump.

The fluid flow pathway 616 of the present invention can be a single pathway or dual pathways. The flow pathway 616 may further take the form of a spiral or a back-and-forth pathway similar to that shown. In the present illustration, a dual flow pathway is used. Fluid is fed into a centralized inlet where the fluid flows in opposing directions along right and left pathways, both producing steam that exits near the top. The present illustration is in no way limiting the invention to a particular path design or is it in any way limiting the invention to the use of a single or dual pathway.

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the steam generation assembly 600 of FIG. 6. As previously described, the temperature control regulator 610 is secured against the mounting member 606. The liquid inlet 620 is also positioned on the mounting member 606 to feed liquid from the reservoir 104 to the fluid pathways 616 in the fluid flow chamber 602. The jack 612 with electrical contacts 614 is also shown at the base of the steam generator assembly 600 in communication with the film heating element 604.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the steam generation assembly 600 of FIG. 6. As illustrated, the steam generation assembly 600 includes a flow chamber 602 and a film heating element 604 positioned adjacent to the flow chamber 602 and a mounting member 606. The mounting brackets are used to secure the elements to one another.

A method for creating steam for a steamer 100 and for operating the steamer 100 is also provided. The method includes providing a heating film 604 positioned adjacent to a fluid flow pathway 616 to heat the fluid flowing through the fluid flow pathway 616. The pathway is designed to maximize the surface area of the fluid to transfer heat from the heating film to the water at a temperature that will create steam. The method further includes providing a pump for pumping liquid, such as water, to the fluid flow pathway. The method also includes providing a temperature controller for monitoring the outlet temperature of the steam and for controlling the amount of heat produced by the heating film 604. The steamer 100 may be operated at a preset (or pre-existing, or current) settings.

In one implementation, one or more steps of the method just described may be controlled or performed by a controller. For this purpose, a controller may include a processor, memory, and other components as appreciated by persons skilled in the art as may be provided to control the performance of one or more components of the steamer 100.

The controller for the steamer 100 may be one or more modules, control units, components, or the like configured for controlling, monitoring, analyzing and/or timing the operations of various devices or components of the steamer 100, as well as controlling or executing one or more steps of any of the methods disclosed herein (such as, for example, controlling the temperature output of the steam from the steamer 100 based upon the selected settings of user controls 108 or in response to signals received from the temperature control regulator 610. In addition to the components of steamer 100 described above, the steamer 100 may include alternative electrical power (voltage) sources, timing controllers, fuses, clocks, processors, integrated circuits, logic circuits, memories, databases, etc. One or more modules of the controller may be, or be embodied in, one or more devices located outside or separate from the steamer 100, for example, a computer workstation, desktop computer, laptop computer, portable computer, tablet computer, handheld computer, mobile computing device, personal digital assistant (PDA), smartphone, remote control, etc. One or more modules of the controller may communicate with one or more other modules via one or more busses or other types of communication lines or wireless links, as appreciated by persons skilled in the art.

In the illustrated implementation, the controller may include one or more electronics-based processors, which may be representative of a main electronic processor providing overall control, and one or more electronic processors configured for dedicated control operations or specific signal processing tasks (e.g., a graphics processing unit or GPU, a digital signal processor or DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit or ASIC, a field-programmable gate array or FPGA, etc.). The controller also includes one or more memories (volatile and/or non-volatile types, e.g. RAM and/or ROM) for storing data and/or software. Stored data may be organized, for example, in one or more databases or look-up tables. The controller may also include one or more device drivers for controlling one or more types of user interface devices and providing an interface between the user interface devices and components of the controller communicating with the user interface devices. Such user interface devices may include user input devices (e.g., buttons, switches, keyboard, keypad, touch screen, mouse, joystick, trackball, and the like) and user output devices (e.g., display screen, printer, visual indicators or alerts, audible indicators or alerts, and the like). In various implementations, the controller may be considered as including one or more of the user input devices and/or user output devices, or at least as communicating with them.

In some implementations, the controller may also include one or more types of computer programs or software contained in memory and/or on one or more types of non-transitory (or tangible) computer-readable media. One or more devices of the controller may be configured to receive and read (and optionally write to) the computer-readable media. The computer programs or software may contain non-transitory instructions (e.g., logic instructions) for controlling or performing various operations of the steamer, such as, for example, temperature measurement and control. The computer programs or software may include system software and application software. System software may include an operating system for controlling and managing various functions of the controller, including interaction between hardware and application software. In particular, the operating system may provide a graphical user interface (GUI) displayable via a user output device, and with which a user may interact with the use of a user input device. Application software may include software configured to control or execute various operations of the steamer 100, and/or some or all of the steps of any of the methods disclosed herein.

The controller may also include a pump controller configured to control the operation of the pump that pumps water from the reservoir 104 to the steam generator assembly 600 and a temperature regulator controller configured to control the operation of the steam generator assembly 600. The controller may also include one or more sensor interfaces configured to receive and process feedback (e.g., measurement) signals received from the temperature regulator controller. For example, the sensor interfaces may be embodied in different pieces of firmware or other electronic circuitry that are part of a microcontroller of the controller.

It will be understood that one or more of the processes, sub-processes, and process steps described herein may be performed by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of two or more of the foregoing, on one or more electronic or digitally-controlled devices. The software may reside in a software memory (not shown) in a suitable electronic processing component or system such as, for example, the system controller. The software memory may include an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions (that is, “logic” that may be implemented in digital form such as digital circuitry or source code, or in analog form such as an analog source such as an analog electrical, sound, or video signal). The instructions may be executed within a processing module, which includes, for example, one or more microprocessors, general purpose processors, combinations of processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate array (FPGAs), etc. Further, the schematic diagrams describe a logical division of functions having physical (hardware and/or software) implementations that are not limited by architecture or the physical layout of the functions. The examples of systems described herein may be implemented in a variety of configurations and operate as hardware/software components in a single hardware/software unit, or in separate hardware/software units.

The executable instructions may be implemented as a computer program product having instructions stored therein which, when executed by a processing module of an electronic system (e.g., the system controller), direct the electronic system to carry out the instructions. The computer program product may be selectively embodied in any non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as an electronic computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that may selectively fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is any non-transitory means that may store the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may selectively be, for example, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of non-transitory computer readable media include: an electrical connection having one or more wires (electronic); a portable computer diskette (magnetic); a random access memory (electronic); a read-only memory (electronic); an erasable programmable read only memory such as, for example, flash memory (electronic); a compact disc memory such as, for example, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW (optical); and digital versatile disc memory, i.e., DVD (optical). Note that the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program may be electronically captured via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory or machine memory.

It will also be understood that the term “in signal communication” or “in electrical communication” as used herein means that two or more systems, devices, components, modules, or sub-modules are capable of communicating with each other via signals that travel over some type of signal path. The signals may be communication, power, data, or energy signals, which may communicate information, power, or energy from a first system, device, component, module, or sub-module to a second system, device, component, module, or sub-module along a signal path between the first and second system, device, component, module, or sub-module. The signal paths may include physical, electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, electrochemical, optical, wired, or wireless connections. The signal paths may also include additional systems, devices, components, modules, or sub-modules between the first and second system, device, component, module, or sub-module.

It will be understood that various aspects or details of the invention may be changed without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the foregoing description is for the purpose of illustration only, and not for the purpose of limitation—the invention being defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A steamer is provided for creating steam from a liquid, the steamer comprising: a reservoir for storing the liquid;a steam generation assembly, the steam generation assembly comprising a flow chamber positioned adjacent to a film heating element, where the flow chamber includes fluid pathways through which the liquid from the reservoir flows where it is heated by the adjacent film heating element and converted to steam;a temperature control regulator for regulating the temperature of the film heating element; anda power supply.

2. The steamer of claim 1, where the steam generation assembly further including at least one liquid inlet for receiving liquid from the reservoir.

3. The steamer of claim 1 where the steam generation assembly further includes multiple steam outlets.

4. The steamer of claim 1 where the flow chamber is a generally flat metal plate having a fluid pathway stamped into the plate.

5. The steamer of claim 1 where the steam generation assembly further includes electrical contacts for receiving power from the power source.

6. The steam of claim 1 further including a handle and where the steam generation assembly further includes a sheet of silicone positioned on at least one side of the steam generation assembly to prevent heat loss and heat transfer to the handle of the steamer.

7. The steamer of claim 1 further including a controller for controlling the operation of steamer.

8. A steam generation assembly, the steam generation assembly comprising: a film heating element; anda flow chamber positioned adjacent to the film heating element, the flow chamber includes fluid pathways through which the liquid from the reservoir flows and is heated by the adjacent film heating element and converted to steam.

9. The steam generation assembly of claim 8 further including a temperature control regulator for regulating the temperature of the film heating element.

10. The steam generation assembly of claim 8 further including at least one liquid inlet for receiving liquid from the reservoir.

11. The steam generation assembly of claim 8 further includes multiple steam outlets.

12. The steam generation assembly of claim 8 where the flow chamber is a generally flat metal plate having a fluid pathway stamped into the plate.

13. The steam generation assembly of claim 8 further includes electrical contacts for receiving power from a power source.

14. The steam generation assembly of claim 8 further including a sheet of silicone positioned on at least one side of the steam generation assembly to prevent heat loss.

15. A steamer is provided for creating steam from a liquid, the steamer comprising: a reservoir for storing the liquid;a steam generation assembly, the steam generation assembly including at least one liquid inlet for receiving liquid from the reservoir and multiple steam outlets for discharging steam from the steam generation assembly, the steam generation assembly further comprising: a film heating element;a flow chamber positioned adjacent to a film heating element, the flow chamber including fluid pathways through which the liquid from the reservoir flows where it is heated by the adjacent film heating element and converted to steam;electrical contacts for receiving power from the power source; anda temperature control regulator for regulating the temperature of the film heating element;a controller for controlling the operation of steamer; anda power supply.

16. The steamer of claim 15 where the flow chamber is a generally flat metal plate having a fluid pathway stamped into the plate.

17. The steam of claim 15 further including a handle and where the steam generation assembly further includes a sheet of silicone positioned on at least one side of the steam generation assembly to prevent heat loss and heat transfer to the handle of the steamer.