Steam generating system with detachable cover

Abstract

The present application relates to a system for generating steam, the system ( 1 ) comprising: a wall structure ( 3 ) forming a steam chamber ( 3 A); an opening ( 4 ) formed in a wall portion ( 3 B) of said wall structure ( 3 ); and a cover member ( 5 ) cooperating with said wall portion ( 3 B) such that the cover member ( 5 ) can take a first position (P 1 ) where the cover member ( 5 ) covers the opening ( 4 ) and a second position (P 2 ) where the cover member ( 5 ) uncovers the opening ( 4 ); wherein said opening ( 4 ) has a cross-section surface being at least 50% of the cross-section surface of said wall portion ( 3 B). The invention allows easy access to an inside part of the steam chamber ( 3 A), thanks to the opening ( 4 ) provided in the wall portion ( 3 B) of the steam chamber ( 3 A), so that the user of the system ( 1 ) can clean the inside part of the steam chamber ( 3 A) of scale.

1 . A system for generating steam, the system comprising:
 a wall structure forming a steam chamber;   an opening formed in a wall portion of said wall structure; and   a cover member cooperating with said wall portion such that the cover member can take a first position where the cover member covers the opening and a second position where the cover member uncovers the opening;   wherein said opening has a cross-section surface being at least 50% of the cross-section surface of said wall portion;   wherein the cover member comprises a steam outlet and the system comprises a nozzle, such that when the cover member is in said first position, the steam outlet faces said opening and said nozzle fluidly couples the opening with the steam outlet to provide a passage configured to direct the steam from the steam chamber to the steam outlet.   
     
     
         2 . A system according to  claim 1 , wherein a seal gasket is disposed between the cover member and said wall portion. 
     
     
         3 . A system according to  claim 1 , further comprising a housing at least partly enveloping the steam chamber, and wherein the cover member cooperates with the housing to move the cover member between the first position and the second position, wherein the cover member comprises a first attachment element and the housing comprises a second attachment element, the first attachment element and the second attachment element being configured to engage and disengage with each other by manual action of the cover member relative to the wall portion. 
     
     
         4 . A system according to  claim 3 , wherein the first attachment element comprises a first elongate rail disposed on the cover member and the second attachment element comprises a corresponding second elongate rail disposed on the housing, wherein the first rail comprises a first ledge and the second rail comprises a second ledge, the first ledge and second ledge extending along at least a portion of the corresponding rail, so that when the cover member is in said first position, the respective ledges overlap and abut. 
     
     
         5 . A system according to  claim 3 , wherein the housing includes a further second attachment element comprising a sprung catch arranged so as to engage with the cover member when the cover member takes said first position. 
     
     
         6 . A system according to  claim 5 , comprising a release button moveably mounted on the housing and mechanically coupled to the sprung catch, such that when the release button is actuated the sprung catch is caused to disengage the cover member so that the cover member is free to move from the first position to the second position. 
     
     
         7 . A system according to  claim 5 , wherein the first elongate rail extends along one side of the cover member and the second elongate rail extends along a corresponding side of the housing, the sprung catch being disposed on the housing so as to engage the opposite side of the cover member to that side of the cover member where the first elongate rail is disposed. 
     
     
         8 . A system according to  claim 4 , wherein the cover member is slideable relative to the housing to engage and disengage the first attachment element and second attachment element to attach and detach the cover member to the housing, respectively. 
     
     
         9 . A system according to  claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first attachment element and second attachment element is resiliently deformable to enable engagement with and disengagement from the or each other attachment element. 
     
     
         10 . A system according to  claim 1 , wherein the cover member can be manually detached from the housing from said first position to said second position, and can be manually attached to the housing from said second position to said first position, without the use of a tool. 
     
     
         11 . A system according to  claim 4 , configured such that the first elongate rail and the corresponding second elongate rail are curved along their length, so that they may be moved into and out of engagement to attach and detach the cover member to the housing by rotational movement of the cover member relative to the housing. 
     
     
         12 . A system according to  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the first elongate rail and second elongate rail is tapered such that the thickness of the rail increases along the length of the rail, such that when the elongate rails are moved into engagement, the rotational movement of the cover member relative to the housing causes the cover member to be drawn towards the wall portion. 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A system according to  claim 12  wherein said cover member is adapted so that a water inlet may pass through the same wall of the steam chamber as the opening.