Patent Publication Number: US-2007094839-A1

Title: Cleaning apparatus with removable handle

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
      This application relates to vacuum cleaners.  
     BACKGROUND  
      A vacuum cleaner includes a base and different cleaning attachments and handles that are removably attachable to the base. The cleaning attachments include a vacuuming head for vacuuming a carpet, a shampooing head for shampooing the carpet, and an accessory hose for cleaning above-the-floor household surfaces. The handles include an upright handle for pushing the base over the carpet and a portable handle for lifting the base to above-the-floor surfaces.  
     SUMMARY  
      A cleaning apparatus includes a base, a cleaning head and a handle. The cleaning head is configured to be attached to the base and moved against a household surface to clean the surface. The handle is configured to be removably attached to the base for manually moving the base by the handle. The handle has an electronic user interface with which a user can control or monitor operation of the base.  
      Preferably, the user interface is a control for the user to control an operating condition of the base. The base is free of an electronic user interface. The cleaning head is a vacuuming head, and the base includes a fan for moving dirt laden air through the head into a dirt receptacle. The handle is configured to output a signal to the base indicating to the base which type of handle it is. A different handle is configured to be removably attached to the base for manually moving the base and has an electronic user interface with which the user can control or monitor operation of the base. The base and the handle have respective terminals that are interconnectable and through which the user interface communicates with the base. The terminals are configured for the terminal of the handle to be moved toward and into connection with the terminal of the base by movement of the handle toward and into an installed position removably attached to the handle. The base is configured to control an operating condition of the base based on which of the handles is attached.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner base and different cleaning attachments and handle assemblies that can be removably attached to the base;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the base, showing its external parts;  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the base, showing its internal parts;  
       FIGS. 4 and 5  are exploded views of an upright handle assembly shown in  FIG. 1 , taken from two different viewpoints;  
       FIG. 6  is a sectional view illustrating a procedure for attaching the upright handle assembly to the base;  
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view showing the upright handle assembly attached to the base to form an upright vacuum cleaner;  
       FIG. 8  is a sectional view illustrating operation of the upright vacuum cleaner;  
       FIG. 9  is a sectional view showing a blower hose attached to the upright handle assembly;  
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of parts of a handle portion of a portable handle assembly shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 11  is a sectional view illustrating a procedure for attaching the portable handle assembly to the base; and  
       FIG. 12  is a sectional view showing the portable handle assembly attached to the base. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION  
      Overview  
      The apparatus  1  shown in  FIG. 1  has parts that are examples of the elements recited in the claims. The apparatus thus includes examples of how a person of ordinary skill in the art can make and use the claimed invention. It is described here to meet the requirements of enablement and best mode without imposing limitations that are not recited in the claims.  
      The apparatus  1  is a cleaning system used for cleaning household surfaces, such as a carpeted floor  6 . The system  1  includes a base  10  and different cleaning attachments and handle assemblies that can be removably attached to the base  10 . The cleaning attachments include a vacuuming head  12 , a power head assembly  14 , an accessory hose  16  and a shampooing head  18 . The handle assemblies include an upright handle assembly  20  and a portable handle assembly  22 . Any of the attachments  12 ,  14 ,  16  and  18  can be installed on the base  10  with any of the handle assemblies  20  and  22 .  
      Base  
      As shown in  FIG. 2 , the base  10  has a housing  30  located on a horizontal longitudinal axis  31 . The housing  30  has a front face  40  with upper and lower inlet ports  46  and  48 . Two front wheels  50  and two rear wheels  52  are rotatable connected to the housing  30  for wheeling the base  10  over the floor  6 . The rear wheels  52  are fixed to a common axle  56 . The base  10  has two perch pins  60  and a bear claw latch  64  with a release button  66  for securing the cleaning attachments to the base  10 . It also has four electrical contacts  71 ,  72 ,  73  and  74 —respectively designated ground, 5VDC-out, 24VDC-out and resistance-sense. An attachment sensor  76  on the housing  30 , in this example a pushbutton switch, senses whether the upper inlet port  46  is covered by a cleaning attachment.  
      As shown in  FIG. 3 , the housing  30  encases a fan  80  that has an inlet  82  and an outlet  84  and is driven by a motor  88 . The motor  88  also drives a drive pulley  90  through a drive train that includes shafts  93 , belts  94 , pulleys  95 , a bevel gear  96  and an electrically actuated clutch  98 . A drive assist motor  99  rotates the rear wheels  52  to propel the base  10 .  
      A handle mounting bracket  100  is pivotally attached to the housing  30  by two prongs  102 . The bracket  100  has a flat top surface  104  with an outlet port  105 . The port  105  is connected to the fan outlet  84  by a flexible tube  106  that extends downward from a gasket  108  surrounding the port  105 . Two spacers  110  at the top surface  104  prevent over-compression of the gasket  108 . The bracket  100  has two pins  112  in respective notches  114  and a wedge surface  116 , for securing the handle assemblies to the bracket  100 .  
      An electronic position sensor  120  senses whether the bracket  100 , and thus the upright handle assembly  20 , is in an upright or inclined position. In this example, the sensor is a contact switch that is attached to the base  10  and contacts the bracket  100  when the bracket  100  is upright. A multi-contact electrical base terminal  124  is located at the top surface  104  of the handle bracket  100 .  
      A controller circuit  130  is electrically connected to the electrical components  71 - 74 ,  76 ,  88 ,  98 ,  99 ,  120  and  124  ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ) of the base  10  to monitor and control operation of the base  10 . The circuit  130  receives wall current through a power cord  132 . It generates a 5VDC and 24VDC supply that is output through the 5VDC-out and 24VDC-out contacts  72  and  73 . It senses electrical resistance applied across the sense contact  73  and ground contact  71  by whichever attachment is installed on the base  10 . Since each attachment applies a unique resistance, the controller  130  can determine which attachment, if any, is installed.  
      Cleaning Attachments  
      The four cleaning attachments  12 ,  14 ,  16  and  18  are shown in  FIG. 1 . They are described individually as follows.  
      The vacuuming head  12  has a brushroll  202 . When the head  12  is attached to the base  10 , the brushroll  202  is driven by the drive pulley  90  of the base  10  to rotate against the floor  6  to dislodge dirt from the floor  6 . The fan  80  generates an air flow that draws the dirt from the floor  6  through the head  12 . A headlight  210  is powered by electricity supplied by the base  10  through the ground and 5VDC-out contacts  71  and  72  ( FIG. 2 ).  
      The power head assembly  14  has a power head  300  with a brushroll  302  driven by a motor  304 . The assembly  14  further has a tube structure comprising a rigid tube  374 , a flexible tube  376  and a connector  378 . The connector  378  can be removably attached to the base  10 . In operation, the user grasps the rigid tube  374  by its handgrip  380  to push and pull the power head  300  over the floor  6 . The flexible tube  376  enables the power head  300  to move independently of the base  10 . The brushroll  302  rotates against the floor  6  to dislodge dirt. The fan  80  generates an air flow that carries the dirt from the floor  6 , through the power head  300  and the tubes  374  and  376  into the upper inlet port  46  of the base  10 . A headlamp  390  on the power head  300  illuminates the floor  6  in front of the power head  300 . The headlamp  390  and the motor  304  are respectively powered by 5VDC and 24VDC supplied by the base  10  through the electrical contacts  71 - 73  ( FIG. 2 ).  
      The accessory hose  16  includes a flexible tube  400  extending from a connector  410  that is attachable to the base  10 . In operation, the fan  80  draws air through the flexible tube  400  and the upper inlet port  46  of the base  10 .  
      The shampooing head  18  has front and rear brushrolls  501  and  502 , both driven by the drive pulley  90  of the base  10 . Shampoo is deposited onto the carpet  6  by a shampoo-dispensing device  504  of the head  18  and brushed into the carpet  6  by the brushrolls  501  and  502  to entrain dirt from the carpet  6 . The shampoo is lifted from the carpet  6  by the rear brushroll  502  and collected in a take-up tray  506  in the head  18 . The head  18  blocks air from entering the inlet ports  46  and  48 .  
      Upright Handle Assembly  
      The upright handle assembly  20  shown in  FIGS. 4-5  includes an upright handle  602  and a dirt receptacle  604 . It enables the base  10  and the vacuuming head  12  to be used together as an upright vacuum cleaner. This type of cleaner is configured for the user to stand upright while manually pushing the cleaner by its handle  602  over the floor  6  to clean the floor  6 .  
      The handle  602  has a handgrip  610  configured to be grasped by a user. A force sensor  612  in the handgrip  602  senses the direction and magnitude of the force applied by the user to push and pull the cleaner. The handle  602  further has a flat bottom  620  with an inlet port  622 . An exhaust tube  624  extends upward from the inlet port  622 . At the handle bottom  620 , a multi-contact electrical terminal  630  mates with the terminal  124  on the base  10  to enable the controller  130  to communicate with electrical components of the handle  602 . Two hooks  634  and a lever  638  with a wedge  639  are for attaching the handle  602  to the base  10 .  
      The handle  602  has a user interface panel  640 . The panel  640  has user interfaces  642  comprising controls and displays with which the user communicates with the controller  130 . The controls are for manually selecting operating conditions of the cleaner. They include membrane switches for powering the fan motor  88  ( FIG. 3 ), selecting motor speed, engaging the clutch  98 , and activating the drive-assist motor  99 . In contrast, the displays are for displaying operating conditions of the cleaner. They include lights for indicating fan motor speed, whether the brushroll is rotating, whether the drive-assist feature  99  is activated, and whether the dirt receptacle  602  is full. The base  10  is free of any operating controls and displays, because they are all on the handle  602 . The panel  640  also outputs a signal to the controller  130  indicating what type of handle it is—in this case identifying itself as an upright handle. The panel  640  is sufficiently close to the handgrip  610  to enable a finger of a user&#39;s hand to press the controls while the hand is grasping the handgrip  610 .  
      The dirt receptacle  604  includes a permanent outer filter bag  650 . The bag  650  is suspended from a mounting tab  652  that snaps into a clip  654  on the handle  602 . A rigid connector  656  at the bottom of the bag  650  has a hole  657  configured to receive the handle&#39;s exhaust tube  624 . Bayonet slots  658  around the hole  657  receive bayonet lugs  659  on the exhaust tube  624 . A fill tube  660  extends upward from the inlet port  657  into the outer bag  650 . A disposable inner filter bag  670  is inserted into the outer bag  650  through a zippered opening  672  and press-fitted over the fill tube  660 .  
      The handle  602  can be attached to the base  10  as shown in  FIG. 6 . First, the hooks  634  of the handle  602  are hooked onto the pins  112  of the base bracket  100 . Next, the handle  602  is pivoted (arrow  673 ) forward and downward into its installed position shown in  FIG. 7 . Then, the lever  638  is pivoted (arrow  674 ) and wedged under the wedge surface  116  to lock the handle  602  in place.  
      In the installation procedure illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the pivoting movement (arrow  673 ) of the handle  602  toward and into its installed position moves its bottom surface  620  toward and into sealing engagement with the gasket  108  and also toward and into engagement with the spacers  100 , and also moves the handle terminal  630  toward and into engagement with the base terminal  124 . As the handle  602  pivots forward (arrow  673 ), proper alignment of the handle&#39;s inlet port  624  with the base&#39;s outlet port  105  is ensured by each hook  634  being closely captured by and between the respective pin  112  and walls  675  ( FIG. 3 ) of the respective notch  114 .  
      The sequence of steps of 1) installing the inner bag  670  in the outer bag  650 , 2) installing the outer bag  650  on the handle  602 , and 3) installing the handle  602  on the base  10  can be performed in any order.  
      The handle  602  in  FIG. 7  can be removed from the base  10  by first pivoting the lever  638  out of engagement with the wedge surface  116  and then pivoting the handle  602  rearward about the pivot pins  112 . The hooks  634  can then removed from the pivot pins.  
      As shown in  FIG. 8 , a user can grasp the handgrip  610  to pivot (arrow  677 ) the handle  602  rearward and push/pull the base  10  over the floor  6 . When the user presses the power switch of the control panel  640 , the controller  130  powers the motor  88  to drive the fan  80 . The fan  80  generates an air flow (arrows  678 ) that carries dirt from the floor  6  through the vacuuming head  12 , the lower inlet ports  48 , the fan  80 , the outlet port  105  and the fill tube  660  into the inner bag  670 .  
      The controller  130  inputs operating parameters of the cleaner from various sensors and switches of the cleaner. Specifically, from the force sensor  612  in the handgrip  610 , the controller  130  inputs the direction and magnitude of force manually applied to the handle  602 . From the position sensor  120  in the base  10 , the controller  130  determines whether the handle  602  is in the upright or inclined position. Through the control panel  640 , the controller  130  determines which switch the user presses and the type of handle installed, and displays information to the user. No signal being received through the base terminal  124  indicates that no handle  602  is installed. From the attachment sense switch  76  ( FIG. 2 ), the controller  130  determines whether the upper inlet port  46  is covered by a cleaning attachment. By sensing the electrical resistance across the ground and resistance-sense contacts  71  and  74 , the controller  130  determines if a cleaning attachment, and which cleaning attachment, is installed.  
      The controller  130  controls operation of the cleaner based on the parameters input from the sensors and switches. For example, the controller  130  applies a higher default motor speed when the accessory hose  16  ( FIG. 1 ) is attached than when the vacuuming head  12  is attached. The controller  130  engages the clutch  98  ( FIG. 3 ), and thus engages the motor  88  to the drive pulley  90 , only when, concurrently, a handle is installed and either the vacuuming hear  12  or shampooing head  18  is installed. The controller  130  will not power the motor  88  if no handle is installed or no cleaning attachment is installed. The controller  130  powers the drive assist motor  99  ( FIG. 3 ) to rotate the rear wheels  52  in a direction and at a speed that correspond respectively to the direction and magnitude of the force manually applied to the handle  602 . The drive assist motor  99  thus assists the user in propelling the base  10  over the floor  6 . The controller  130  activates the drive-assist motor  99  ( FIG. 3 ) only when, concurrently, either the vacuuming or shampooing head  12  or  18  is installed, the upright handle  602  is installed and inclined, and a “drive-assist” switch on the control panel  640  has been pressed.  
      As shown in  FIG. 9 , in place of the dirt receptacle  604  ( FIG. 8 ), a blower hose  680  can be friction-fitted over the exhaust tube  624  of the handle  602  for use in blowing debris or inflating things.  
      Portable Handle Assembly  
      A portable handle assembly  22  shown in  FIG. 1  includes a portable handle  702  and a dirt receptacle  704 . It enables the base  10  and the vacuuming head to be used together as a portable vacuum cleaner. This type of cleaner is configured for the user to manually lift and move the cleaner by the handle  702  to clean vertical or above-the-floor household surfaces.  
      As shown in  FIG. 10 , the portable handle  702  has several parts that have the same functions as corresponding parts of the upright handle  602 . These include a handgrip  710 , a flat bottom  720  with an inlet port  722 , an exhaust tube  724  extending upward from the port  722 , an electrical terminal  730 , two hooks  734 , and a locking lever  738  with a wedge  739 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 11 , the dirt receptacle  704  has a permanent outer filter bag  750 . A rigid connector  756  at the bottom of the bag  750  is similar to the connector  656  of the upright handle assembly  20 . The connector  756  has an inlet port  757  and bayonet slots  758  secured to bayonet lugs  759  of the handle&#39;s exhaust tube  724 . A fill tube  760  extends from the inlet port  757  into the outer bag  750 . A disposable inner filter bag  770  is inserted into the outer bag  750  through a zippered opening in the outer bag  750  and press-fitted over the fill tube  760 .  
      The portable handle  702  can be installed in a manner similar to that of the upright handle  602 . First, as shown in  FIG. 11 , the hooks  734  are hooked onto the pins  112  ( FIG. 3 ) of the base bracket  100 . Then, the handle  702  is pivoted (arrow  775 ) into the installed position shown in  FIG. 12 , and the lever  638  is pivoted to wedge the wedge  739  against the wedge surface  116  of the bracket  100 .  
      The sequence of steps of 1) installing the inner bag  770  in the outer bag  750 , 2) installing the outer bag  750  on the handle  702 , and 3) installing the handle  702  on the base  10  can be performed in any order. In place of the bag assembly  704 , the blower hose  680  ( FIG. 9 ) can be friction-fitted over the exhaust tube  724  of the handle  702  for use in blowing debris or inflating things.  
      The portable handle  702  is different than the upright handle  602  in several ways. As shown in  FIG. 12 , the portable handle  702  projects forward over the base  10  instead of rearward away from the base  10 . This is to orient its handgrip  710  directly above the center of gravity of the cleaner. In place of the upright handle&#39;s control panel  640  ( FIG. 4 ), the portable handle  702  has a single rocker-type power switch  776  for powering the fan motor  88 , and no displays. Unlike the upright handle  602 , the portable handle  702  lacks a switch for activating the drive-assist, lacks a display for indicating whether the drive-assist is activated, and lacks the force sensor used for the drive-assist feature. Also unlike the upright handle  602 , the portable handle  702  has a pivot-preventing projection  780  ( FIG. 10 ) configured to be closely received in a groove (not shown) in the base  10  to prevent the handle  702  from pivoting.  
      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 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.