Patent ID: 7363679

Claim:
A vacuum system comprising: a cabinet adapted to be mounted to a wall; a hose extendable from the cabinet between a retracted position and an extended position and having a proximal end fixed within the cabinet; and a portable vacuum unit detachably mountable to the cabinet and having a tank, an inlet port in fluid communication with the tank, and a vacuum source to draw air from the inlet port into the tank, the portable vacuum unit being automatically connected to a power outlet in the cabinet for receiving power when the portable vacuum unit is docked with the cabinet, the portable vacuum having a power switch operable to actuate the vacuum source when the portable vacuum unit is detached from the cabinet and a bypass mechanism to bypass the power switch when the portable vacuum unit is docked with the cabinet; wherein the proximal end is automatically connected with the inlet port when the portable vacuum unit is docked to the cabinet, so that the hose can be used to vacuum waste into the tank when the portable vacuum unit is docked to the cabinet with the proximal end connected to the inlet port, and the portable vacuum unit can be used to vacuum waste into the tank when the portable vacuum unit is detached from the cabinet.