Vacuum cleaner and method
First Claim
1. A carpet vacuum cleaner comprising, in combination,a housing,a handle positioned at one end of the housing,a pair of wheels beneath and forward of the handle, said wheels being secured on flanking sides of the housing for rotation with regard to the housing,a recovery fluid tank,a cleaning fluid container positioned interiorly of the tank,means for dispensing cleaning fluid from the cleaning fluid container for cleaning, and a recovery fluid nozzle for returning recovery fluid to the tank, and positioned at the forward portion of the housing for engaging the carpet and applying a vacuum to the carpet,and a brush head assembly secured pivotally beneath the housing,said brush head assembly having a motor, a brush, and spray mechanism, in which the brush head assembly is pivotally secured to the housing resulting in a relatively constant weight on the brush while engaging the carpet,the mechanical components being positioned in a permanent location on the machine relative to each other such that combined they impart enough moment around the axle such that unit rests stable on the two wheels, the nozzle, and the brush,the cleaning fluid container and tank shapes being designed such that when either alone is being filled with fluid, the center of gravity of the fluid shifts in a direction away from the nozzle toward the axle as the cleaning fluid container or tank are filled with fluid.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a wet/dry carpet cleaner having a large tank assembly for fluids. A bladder containing fresh or cleaning water is positioned in the large tank for dispensing the cleaning water to a brush. A vacuum nozzle for vacuuming and returning soiled fluid to the recovery tank portion of the tank assembly is also provided. The present invention stems from the development of a brush head assembly which is pivotably secured to the chassis assembly and includes the driving motor, rotating brush, and spray mechanism. The pivotal securement results in the weight of the brush head assembly applying a constant force on the brush throughout the entire cleaning cycle, independent of the amount of fluid contained in the recovery tank or the bladder. Secondarily, the present invention is addressed to configurating and proportioning the bladder to insure a relatively constant load on the nozzle. By balancing the nozzle loading and, therefore, the downward pressure per square inch on the nozzle throughout the cycle to compensate for fluid loss or fluid re-distribution; with the brush loading remaining constant throughout the cycle, consistency is maintained during the entire period while the carpet is being cleaned.
27 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A carpet vacuum cleaner comprising, in combination,
a housing, a handle positioned at one end of the housing, a pair of wheels beneath and forward of the handle, said wheels being secured on flanking sides of the housing for rotation with regard to the housing, a recovery fluid tank, a cleaning fluid container positioned interiorly of the tank, means for dispensing cleaning fluid from the cleaning fluid container for cleaning, and a recovery fluid nozzle for returning recovery fluid to the tank, and positioned at the forward portion of the housing for engaging the carpet and applying a vacuum to the carpet, and a brush head assembly secured pivotally beneath the housing, said brush head assembly having a motor, a brush, and spray mechanism, in which the brush head assembly is pivotally secured to the housing resulting in a relatively constant weight on the brush while engaging the carpet, the mechanical components being positioned in a permanent location on the machine relative to each other such that combined they impart enough moment around the axle such that unit rests stable on the two wheels, the nozzle, and the brush, the cleaning fluid container and tank shapes being designed such that when either alone is being filled with fluid, the center of gravity of the fluid shifts in a direction away from the nozzle toward the axle as the cleaning fluid container or tank are filled with fluid.
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2. For use in a carpet vacuum cleaner, which vacuum cleaner includes a housing, a handle positioned at one end of the housing, controls positioned adjacent the handle for actuating the functions of the cleaner, wheel means beneath the housing in flanking relationship to the same, a fluid tank interiorly of the housing, a container positioned interiorly of the tank to dispense cleaning solution, means for diverting cleaning water from the container for cleaning to the carpeting and returning soiled water to the tank which surrounds the container, and having a vacuum nozzle positioned in the forward portion of the housing for engaging the carpeting and applying a vacuum to the carpet to recover soiled water, the improvement comprising, in combinations,
brush head assembly, pivotable means for mounting the brush head assembly beneath and to the housing, said brush head assembly having mounted therein a brush motor, a brush, a drive means from the motor to the brush, and a spray, resulting in said brush head assembly bearing on the brush with a constant weight throughout the carpet cleaning cycle, said brush head assembly being positioned between the wheel means and the vacuum nozzle for removing soiled fluid from the carpeting, the tank, container, housing, and nozzle being oriented and proportioned to shift the combined centers of gravity of remaining fluids in the container and tank toward the nozzle during the depletion of the fluid which is not recovered to urge a constant loading of the vacuum nozzle in its pivoting about the wheel means to engage the carpet.
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4. In a carpet wet/dry vacuum cleaner having a housing,
means for rollingly engaging said cleaner with the floor, means for storing fresh cleaning fluid interiorly of a tank for receiving soiled fluid, a pivotable power brush unit for securement beneath the vacuum cleaner housing, said pivotable power brush unit including a rotating brush, drive means for the rotating brush and means for applying a cleaning fluid, a vacuum nozzle secured to the housing positioned to flank the brush unit between the vacuum nozzle and the rollingly engaging means for supporting the vacuum cleaner, said means for storing fresh fluid being proportioned and oriented to cause the combined center of gravity of the cleaning fluids and soiled fluids to shift forwardly during the cleaning operation, whereby the load of the vacuum cleaning unit bearing down upon vacuum nozzle is shifted toward the vacuum nozzle as the cleaning fluid in the vacuum cleaner is applied in the cleaning operation.
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5. A wet/dry carpet cleaner having a chassis, tank assembly, and brush head assembly comprising, in combination,
wheel means secured to a rear portion of the chassis for pivotably mounting the chassis, a vacuum nozzle secured to the chassis at a forward portion thereof, said power brush assembly being pivotally secured to the chassis between the vacuum nozzle and the wheel means, said tank assembly including a recovery fluid outer tank and an inner mounted cleaning fluid bladder, vacuum means for applying a vacuum to the nozzle and delivering spent fluid recovered from the carpet to the recovery tank, a power driven brush rotating interiorly of the brush assembly, cleaning fluid spray means positioned interiorly of the brush head assembly for spraying fluid to be engaged by the brush and thereafter removed by the vacuum nozzle, each of said bladder and said recovery tank having a center of gravity of their respective cleaning fluids and recovery fluids, the shape and proportion of the bladder being such that as its fluid is dispensed, the center of gravity of the remaining fluid shifts forwardly to a position away from the wheels and toward the nozzle, whereby a constant load is applied to the brush due to the weight of the brush head assembly, and the load of the fluid is constantly shifted by an increasing moment arm of the centers of gravity to induce a consistent loading on the nozzle as cleaning fluid is dispensed from the bladder.
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6. In a carpet vacuum wet dry cleaner having means for dispersing cleaning fluid and recovering soiled fluid, a vacuum nozzle for recovering the soiled fluid, a cleaning fluid retaining means and a soiled fluid retaining means, a chassis having a pivotally mounted wheel assembly for movement of the cleaner and supporting the fluid containing means, and a rotating brush in spaced relationship to a spray for spraying cleaning fluid on the carpet prior to being engaged by the rotating brush after which the vacuum nozzle is positioned to recover the soiled fluid which has been agitated through the carpet by the brush, the improvement comprising:
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a chassis, a power brush assembly and spray dispenser, said power brush assembly being pivotally secured to the underneath portion of the chassis, said cleaning fluid dispensing means including the amounts of cleaning solution and soiled solution being proportioned so that as cleaning fluid is dispensed and soiled fluid not totally recovered, the center of gravity of the combined fluids shifts away from the wheel assembly and toward the nozzle, whereby a constant gravity loading is applied to the power brush, and whereby as cleaning fluid is lost from the cleaner due to the cleaning process not recovering all of the soiled fluid the center of gravity of the remaining cleaning and soiled fluids shifts toward the vacuum nozzle thereby maintaining a more constant load on the vacuum while at the same time maintaining a constant static load on the rotating brush.
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7. A wet/dry carpet cleaner having a chassis, tank assembly, and brush and spray assembly comprising, in combination,
wheel means secured to a rear portion of the chassis for pivotally mounting the same, a vacuum nozzle secured to the chassis at a forward portion thereof, said brush assembly being pivotally secured to the chassis between the vacuum nozzle and the wheel means, said tank assembly including a recovery fluid outer tank and an inner mounted cleaning fluid bladder, vacuum means for applying a vacuum to the nozzle and delivering spent fluid recovered from the carpet to the recovery tank, a power driven brush rotating interiorly of the brush assembly, cleaning fluid spray means positioned interiorly of the brush assembly for spraying fluid to be engaged by the brush and thereafter removed by the vacuum nozzle, each of said bladder and said recovery tank having a center of gravity of their respective cleaning fluids and recovery fluids, the shape and proportion of the bladder being such that as its fluid is dispensed, the center of gravity of the remaining fluid shifts forwardly to a position away from the wheels and toward the nozzle, whereby a constant load is applied to the brush due to the weight of the brush assembly, and the load of the fluid is constantly shifted by an increasing moment arm of the centers of gravity to induce a consistent loading on the nozzle as cleaning fluid is dispensed from the bladder.
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9. In a wet/dry carpet cleaner having a frame movable on a pair of wheels with a tank assembly including an outer recovery fluid tank and an inner bladder for fresh cleaning fluid and having means for spraying cleaning fluid onto a carpet, a brush assembly having a brush for agitating the carpet after it has been sprayed, and a nozzle for removing the cleaning fluid after agitation, the improvement comprising:
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a brush head assembly including said spray means, said brush, and drive for the brush, which assembly is pivotally secured to the frame resulting in a constant loading on the brush while cleaning, and, said cleaning fluid bladder being formed and proportioned so that as the contained cleaning fluid is dispensed the center of gravity of the fluid remaining shifts its position toward the nozzle, whereby a substantially constant load is maintained on the brush, and the shifting of the center of gravity of the fluid remaining in the bladder toward the nozzle assists to maintain a constant loading on the nozzle resulting in a consistent cleaning effort between the spray, brush, and nozzle. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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Specification