Bare floor cleaner
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A bare floor cleaner comprising:
- a base housing which is movable along a surface to be cleaned;
an upright housing pivotally mounted to the base housing;
a universal joint between the base housing and the upright housing;
a steam generator mounted in one of the base housing and the upright housing;
a mop cloth plate removably mounted to the base housing;
a mop cloth removably mounted to the mop cloth plate and positioned for contacting the surface to be cleaned; and
a fluid distributor mounted in the base housing and connected to the steam generator to distribute steam to the mop cloth;
a retention mechanism releasably retaining the mop cloth plate on the base housing, wherein the mop cloth is configured to be removably retained on the mop cloth plate so that the mop cloth plate and the mop cloth can be simultaneously removed from or mounted to the base housing as a unit, wherein the retention mechanism is a locking mechanism comprising;
a catch configured to engage the mop cloth plate for retaining the mop cloth plate on the base housing;
a release latch operably coupled with the catch for selectively releasing the catch from the mop cloth plate when the release latch is actuated, anda detent mechanism for releasably retaining the catch in a released position when the mop cloth plate is removed from the base housing, and the detent mechanism further is adapted to reset the catch to releasably retain the mop cloth plate on the base housing when the mop cloth plate is replaced on the base housing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A bare floor cleaner with an upright assembly pivotally mounted to a base assembly, a steam generator, a fluid distributor which distributes steam onto the surface to be cleaned, and a mop cloth provided on the base assembly. The mop cloth is mounted to the base assembly by a mop cloth plate that is removable from the base assembly.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A bare floor cleaner comprising:
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a base housing which is movable along a surface to be cleaned; an upright housing pivotally mounted to the base housing; a universal joint between the base housing and the upright housing; a steam generator mounted in one of the base housing and the upright housing; a mop cloth plate removably mounted to the base housing; a mop cloth removably mounted to the mop cloth plate and positioned for contacting the surface to be cleaned; and a fluid distributor mounted in the base housing and connected to the steam generator to distribute steam to the mop cloth; a retention mechanism releasably retaining the mop cloth plate on the base housing, wherein the mop cloth is configured to be removably retained on the mop cloth plate so that the mop cloth plate and the mop cloth can be simultaneously removed from or mounted to the base housing as a unit, wherein the retention mechanism is a locking mechanism comprising; a catch configured to engage the mop cloth plate for retaining the mop cloth plate on the base housing; a release latch operably coupled with the catch for selectively releasing the catch from the mop cloth plate when the release latch is actuated, and a detent mechanism for releasably retaining the catch in a released position when the mop cloth plate is removed from the base housing, and the detent mechanism further is adapted to reset the catch to releasably retain the mop cloth plate on the base housing when the mop cloth plate is replaced on the base housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A bare floor cleaner comprising:
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a base housing which is movable along a surface to be cleaned; an upright housing pivotally mounted to the base housing by a universal joint; a fluid distribution system comprising; a fluid distributor mounted in the base housing for distributing fluid to the surface to be cleaned; a water tank mounted to the upright housing and adapted to hold a quantity of water; a conduit between the water tank and the fluid distributor and extending through the universal joint to convey fluid from the water tank to the fluid distributor; and a heating element in the conduit for heating the water from the water tank to steam, whereby the steam is distributed to the surface to be cleaned by the fluid distributor; a mop cloth plate mounted to the base housing; a mop cloth removably mounted to the mop cloth plate and positioned for contacting the surface to be cleaned; and a foot operated release mechanism releasably mounting the mop cloth plate to the base housing, the release mechanism comprising; a pivot member having a catch configured to engage the mop cloth plate for retaining the mop cloth plate on the base housing; and a release latch configured to be operated by the foot of a user operably coupled with the pivot member for selectively releasing the catch from the mop cloth plate when the release latch is actuated; wherein the mop cloth is configured to be removably retained on the mop cloth plate so that the mop cloth plate and the mop cloth can be simultaneously removed from or mounted to the base housing as a unit. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification