Multi-operational battery powered vacuum cleaner
First Claim
1. A multi-operational battery powered vacuum cleaner comprising:
- (a) a hand held vacuum cleaner comprising a nose cone air flow inlet and a handle;
(b) a support caddy comprising a support member to which the hand held vacuum cleaner can be detachably secured, and a floor cleaning head attached to the support member; and
(c) an upper handle portion that can be detachably secured to the support caddy;
wherein the vacuum cleaner system can operate;
(i) in a first mode as the hand-held vacuum cleaner alone;
(ii) in a second mode with the hand-held vacuum cleaner secured to the support caddy and operating in concert with the floor cleaning head;
or (iii) in a third mode as in (ii) but further with the upper handle portion secured to the support caddy; and
wherein the support member includes a first latch member biased by a spring, the spring of the first latch member being movable from an uncompressed state to a compressed state.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-operational battery powered vacuum cleaner (1) comprising a hand held vacuum cleaner (1) releasably mounted within a caddy (15) which has a detachable handle (51) and a floor engaging head (19). The hand held unit (1) may be released from the caddy to be used in a first hand held operation. It may alternatively be mounted within the caddy with the handle attached for use as an upright vacuum cleaner in a second operational mode. In a third operational mode the handle (51) may be removed from the caddy while the hand held unit remains mounted in the caddy to provide a compact vacuum cleaner system with a floor engaging head (19). The cleaner further comprises a first spring biased latch member (27) mounted within the caddy (15) to releasably restrain the hand held unit therein A second latch member (53) is mounted within the handle (57) for releasably connecting the handle to the caddy (15).
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A multi-operational battery powered vacuum cleaner comprising:
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(a) a hand held vacuum cleaner comprising a nose cone air flow inlet and a handle;
(b) a support caddy comprising a support member to which the hand held vacuum cleaner can be detachably secured, and a floor cleaning head attached to the support member; and
(c) an upper handle portion that can be detachably secured to the support caddy;
wherein the vacuum cleaner system can operate;
(i) in a first mode as the hand-held vacuum cleaner alone;
(ii) in a second mode with the hand-held vacuum cleaner secured to the support caddy and operating in concert with the floor cleaning head;
or (iii) in a third mode as in (ii) but further with the upper handle portion secured to the support caddy; and
wherein the support member includes a first latch member biased by a spring, the spring of the first latch member being movable from an uncompressed state to a compressed state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A battery powered vacuum cleaner system comprising:
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a hand held vacuum cleaner comprising an air flow inlet at a first end and a handle at a second end;
a support caddy comprising a support member including a latch member biased by a spring to which the hand held vacuum cleaner can be detachably secured in a nesting fashion;
said support caddy including a floor engaging head at a first end thereof adapted to fluidly communicate with said first end of said hand held vacuum cleaner, said support caddy further including a second end spaced apart from said first end;
an upper handle portion that can be detachably secured to said second end of said support caddy; and
wherein said system can operate in a plurality of operating modes including;
a first cleaning mode wherein only said hand held vacuum cleaner is used for cleaning purposes; and
a second cleaning mode wherein said hand held vacuum cleaner is secured on said support caddy and said upper handle portion is secured to said support caddy and is grasped by a user to allow said system to function as an upright vacuum cleaner. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 28)
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23. A battery powered vacuum cleaner system comprising:
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a hand held vacuum cleaner comprising an air flow inlet at a first end and a handle at a second end;
a support caddy comprising a support member including a latch member baised by a spring to which the hand held vacuum cleaner can be detachably secured in a nesting fashion;
said support caddy including a first end at which is coupled a floor engaging head adapted to fluidly communicate with said first end of said hand held vacuum cleaner, said support caddy further including a second end spaced apart from said first end;
an upper handle portion that can be detachably via a spring biased latching system secured to said second end of said support caddy; and
wherein said system can operate in a plurality of operating modes including;
a first cleaning mode wherein only said hand held vacuum cleaner is used for cleaning purposes;
a second cleaning mode wherein said hand held vacuum cleaner is secured on said support caddy and said upper handle portion is secured to said support caddy and is grasped by a user to allow said system to function as an upright vacuum cleaner; and
a third cleaning mode wherein the hand held vacuum cleaner is operated while mounted on said support caddy but without said upper handle portion. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. The vacuum cleaner system of claim 33, further comprising a release member for urging said latch member into an unlatched condition, whereby said hand held vacuum cleaner can be removed from said support caddy.
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27. A method for forming a vacuum cleaning system, comprising:
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using a hand held, battery powered vacuum cleaner to directly clean a surface, thereby forming a first operational mode;
using a support caddy having a floor engaging head and a support member including a latch member biased by a spring to support said hand held vacuum cleaner thereon, wherein said vacuum cleaner includes a nose cone in airflow communication with said floor engaging head such that a suction airflow from said hand held vacuum cleaner is directed through said floor engaging head, thereby forming a second operational mode; and
using a handle detachably coupled to said support caddy via a spring biased latching system to enable a user to use said support caddy and said hand held battery powered vacuum cleaner secured to said support caddy as an upright vacuum cleaning device, in accordance with a third operational mode, to thus form said vacuum cleaner system.
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Specification