Patent ID: 9504366
Filing Date: 2016-11-29
CPC Classification: A47L

Claim Text:
1. A bare floor cleaner comprising: a base housing which is movable along a surface to be cleaned; an upright housing pivotally mounted to the base housing; a universal joint between the base housing and the upright housing; a steam generator mounted in one of the base housing and the upright housing; a mop cloth plate removably mounted to the base housing; a mop cloth removably mounted to the mop cloth plate and positioned for contacting the surface to be cleaned; and a fluid distributor mounted in the base housing and connected to the steam generator to distribute steam to the mop cloth; a retention mechanism releasably retaining the mop cloth plate on the base housing, wherein the mop cloth is configured to be removably retained on the mop cloth plate so that the mop cloth plate and the mop cloth can be simultaneously removed from or mounted to the base housing as a unit, wherein the retention mechanism is a locking mechanism comprising: a catch configured to engage the mop cloth plate for retaining the mop cloth plate on the base housing; a release latch operably coupled with the catch for selectively releasing the catch from the mop cloth plate when the release latch is actuated, and a detent mechanism for releasably retaining the catch in a released position when the mop cloth plate is removed from the base housing, and the detent mechanism further is adapted to reset the catch to releasably retain the mop cloth plate on the base housing when the mop cloth plate is replaced on the base housing.