Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – With air blast or suction
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-23
2001-07-17
Till, Terrence R. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
With air blast or suction
C015S351000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260233
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to vacuum cleaners. Particularly, the invention relates to vacuum cleaner hose and tool storage. Even more particularly, the invention relates to a hose and tool caddy which may be easily mounted on or removed from an upright vacuum cleaner.
2. Background Information
It is well known that vacuum cleaners typically fall into one of several categories, including uprights, canisters, and sticks. Upright vacuum cleaners are generally perceived as providing superior floor care. Canister cleaners are generally perceived as providing a certain degree of flexibility in use, accommodating both floor care and above-the-floor cleaning. Stick cleaners are generally perceived as providing for quick cleanup of floor surfaces and the like, and are appreciated for their ease of storage and ready availability.
To increase the popularity of upright cleaners and eliminate the perception that upright cleaners could only be used for floor care, or were difficult to change from floor care to above-the-floor cleaning, valve arrangements, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,750 assigned to a common assignee, were added to upright cleaners. These valve arrangements allowed upright cleaners to be easily changed between the floor care and above the floor cleaning modes. However, the above-the-floor cleaning mode typically requires an accessory hose and accessory tools, such as a crevice tool, dusting brush, furniture nozzle and extension wand.
The problem with including valve arrangements on upright cleaners then became storage of the hose and accessory tools. Typically, the hose and tools were stored in a closet or drawer and were not readily available when the vacuum cleaner was in use. Thus, on-board hose and tool storage, such as a tool caddy or a tool storage compartment, was developed allowing hoses and accessory tools to be stored directly on upright vacuum cleaners. Examples of on-board hose and tool storage are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,156, U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,722, U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,719, U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,447 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,714, assigned to a common assignee.
Although it is convenient to have the hose and accessory tools mounted directly on upright vacuum cleaners, there may be instances when upright cleaners are only being used in the floor care mode. In such a case, it may be undesirable to include the extra weight of the hose, accessory tools and tool caddy on the cleaner.
Therefore, the need exists for a hose and tool caddy which may be mounted on an upright vacuum cleaner allowing the hose and accessory tools to be easily accessed for above-the-floor cleaning, or which may be easily removed from the upright cleaner when the upright cleaner is only being used for floor care.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Objectives of the invention include providing an improved hose and tool caddy capable of storing a vacuum cleaner hose and/or vacuum cleaner accessory tools.
A further objective is to provide such a hose and tool caddy which may be mounted on an upright vacuum cleaner providing convenient access to the hose and accessory tools for above-the-floor cleaning.
Another objective is to provide such a hose and tool caddy which may be easily removed from the upright vacuum cleaner when the upright vacuum cleaner is being used only for floor care.
A still further objective is to provide such a hose and tool caddy which may be easily stored when the hose and tool caddy is removed from the upright vacuum cleaner.
A further objective is to provide such a hose and tool caddy which reduces the weight of the upright vacuum cleaner when the hose and tool caddy is removed therefrom.
These and other objectives will be readily apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In carrying out the invention in one form thereof, these objectives and advantages are obtained by providing an upright vacuum cleaner having a housing, and a removable caddy which may be mounted on and removed from the upright vacuum cleaner for storing vacuum cleaner accessories, said removable caddy including a base which removably mounts to the upright vacuum cleaner; a connector on the base for removably mounting the base on the upright vacuum cleaner; and an accessory retainer formed on the base for storing the vacuum cleaner accessories.
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Photographs of Sorma Commercial Upright Bag Door—Model 23791, Received Apr. 1981.
Photograph of Eureka Bravo II Powerline Plus Upright—Model 7680, Received Apr. 1996.
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Allgeier David M. J.
Bosyj Nick M.
Diehl Arne J.
King Douglass A.
Minton Keith G.
Kingsbury Thomas R.
Lowe A. Burgess
The Hoover Company
Till Terrence R.
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