FLOOR CLEANING DEVICE

• US 20110219557A1
• Filed: 03/12/2010
• Published: 09/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SharkNinja Operating LLC (JS Global Lifestyle Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Euro-Pro Operating LLC (Euro-Pro Operating)
• Inventors: Gatchell, Stephen, Rosenzweig, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 8,813,297 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/144.1
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 13/22 with liquid-feeding devices
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 13/225 Steam mops
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/28 Suction cleaners with handles and nozzles fixed on the casings, e.g. wheeled suction cleaners with steering handle A47L5/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/322 for hand-supported suction cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: B25G 1/06 reversible or adjustable for position

Abstract

A floor cleaning device includes a floor cleaning head and a pole directly or indirectly connectable to the floor cleaning head. The pole includes two sections, and a joint for lockably positioning the two pole sections in at least two different angular orientations.

Claims

1. A floor cleaning device, comprising:

a floor cleaning head;

a pole connectable to said floor cleaning head, said pole including two sections;

a joint locatable between said two pole sections, said joint arranged to move said two pole sections between two different angular orientations;

said joint including a locking element that is biased into a locking position in two different angular positions corresponding to said two different angular orientations of said pole sections, and an opposed disengagement member that is selectively actuable against said locking element to move said locking element into an unlocked position, allowing angular adjustment of the joint between said two different angular positions.

2. The floor cleaning device of claim 1, wherein said pole is indirectly connectable to said floor cleaning head.

3. The floor cleaning device of claim 2, further including a component housing, said pole being connectable to said component housing and said component housing being connectable to said floor cleaning head.

4. The floor cleaning device of claim 3, wherein said pole is connectable to an active functional component in said component housing so that user forces on said pole actuate or interface with said active functional component.

5. The floor cleaning device of claim 1, wherein said two different angular positions of said two pole sections includes a substantially straight angular position and a folded angular position.

6. The floor cleaning device of claim 1, wherein said joint includes a pair of adjacent, relatively rotatable, curved walls and said locking element is located on one side of said pair of curved walls and said disengagement member is located on the other side of said pair of curved walls.

7. The floor cleaning tool of claim 1, wherein said disengagement member is controllable from a handle end of said pole.

8. The floor cleaning tool of claim 1, wherein said disengagement member includes a plurality of legs, with each leg corresponding to a different angular position of said joint.

9. A floor cleaning device, comprising:

a floor cleaning head;

a pole connectable to said floor cleaning head, said pole including two sections;

a joint locatable between said two pole sections, said joint including an inner curved sidewall, an adjacent outer curved sidewall and a pivot, said joint being rotatable between two different angular positions corresponding to two different angular orientations of said two pole sections; and

a locking element slidably mounted about said pivot and rotatable between said two different angular positions, said locking element reciprocatingly moveable through said outer curved sidewall at each of said two different angular positions to lock or unlock said joint.

10. The floor cleaning device of claim 9, wherein said pole is indirectly connectable to said floor cleaning head.

11. The floor cleaning device of claim 10, further including a component housing, said pole being connectable to said component housing and said component housing being connectable to said floor cleaning head.

12. The floor cleaning device of claim 11, wherein said pole is connectable to an active functional component in said component housing so that user forces on said pole actuate or interface with said active functional component.

13. The floor cleaning device of claim 9, wherein said two different angular orientations of said two pole sections includes a substantially straight angular orientation and a folded angular orientation.

14. The floor cleaning device of claim 9, further including a disengagement member for moving said locking element away from said outer curved sidewall to unlock said joint.

15. The floor cleaning device of claim 9, wherein said joint includes a first joint section and a second joint section, said first joint section being received within said second joint section.

16. The floor cleaning device of claim 15, wherein said locking element is located within said first joint section.

17. The floor cleaning device of claim 9, wherein said pivot limits the movement of said locking element through said inner and outer curved sidewalls.

18. A floor cleaning device, comprising:

a floor cleaning head;

a pole connectable to the floor cleaning head, the pole including two sections;

a rotatable joint locatable between said two pole sections, said joint including an internal locking system for locking said rotatable joint in two different angular positions that correlate to two different angular orientations of said two pole sections;

an actuator controllable at a handle portion of said pole to selectively disengage said internal locking system of said joint, allowing a user to adjust said rotatable joint between said two different angular positions.

19. The floor cleaning device of claim 18, wherein said pole is indirectly connectable to said floor cleaning head.

20. The floor cleaning device of claim 19, further including a component housing, said pole being connectable to said component housing and said component housing being connectable to said floor cleaning head.

21. The floor cleaning device of claim 20, wherein said pole is connectable to an active functional component in said component housing so that user forces on said pole actuate or interface with said active functional component.

22. The floor cleaning device of claim 18, wherein said two different angular orientations of said two pole sections includes a substantially straight position and a folded position.

23. The floor cleaning device of claim 18, wherein said actuator includes a linkage extending from said joint to a user control at said handle portion of said pole.

24. The floor cleaning device of claim 23, wherein said linkage is a reciprocating rod.

25. The floor cleaning device of claim 18, wherein said joint includes a locking element adapted to automatically lock said joint in said two different angular positions of said pole sections.

26. A floor cleaning device, comprising:

a floor cleaning head;

a component housing including at least one active functional component;

a pole connectable to said component housing to actuate or interface with said at least one active functional component, said pole including two sections;

a joint for moving said two pole sections between two different angular orientations, said joint adapted to lock automatically in each of said two different angular orientations; and

an actuator controllable at a handle portion of said pole to allow a user to selectively unlock said joint and move said two pole sections between said two different angular orientations.

27. The floor cleaning device of claim 26, wherein said joint includes an inner curved sidewall, an adjacent outer curved sidewall, said outer curved sidewall including first and second locking openings corresponding to two different angular positions of said joint

28. The floor cleaning device of claim 27, wherein said joint includes a pivot and a biased locking element reciprocatingly slidable about said pivot into and out of respective of said first and second locking openings.

29. The floor cleaning device of claim 28, further including a disengagement member for moving said biased locking element out of either of said first and second locking openings to unlock said joint.

30. The floor cleaning device of claim 26, wherein said at least one functional component is a pump.

31. The floor cleaning device of claim 26, wherein said component housing includes a water reservoir, a steam generator, and a pump for delivering water from said reservoir to said generator.

32. The floor cleaning device of claim 26, wherein said two different angular orientations of said two pole sections includes a substantially straight angular orientation and a folded angular orientation.

33. The floor cleaning device of claim 29, wherein said actuator includes a linkage that extends between a user control at a handle portion of said pole and said disengagement member.