Back to results
US 11,076,735 B2Granted
Surface cleaning apparatus
AssigneeBISSELL Inc.
InventorsJacob Resch, Jacob S. Boles
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure provides a surface cleaning apparatus that includes a housing including a base adapted for movement across a surface to be cleaned, a fluid delivery system, and a recovery system. The surface cleaning apparatus can be configured to clean multiple surfaces, including hard and soft surfaces, and for different cleaning modes, including wet cleaning, dry vacuum cleaning, and self-cleaning. Methods for self-cleaning a surface cleaning apparatus are also provided.
Claims20
A floor cleaning system, comprising:
- a surface cleaning apparatus comprising:
- an upright body comprising a handle and a frame;
- a base coupled with the upright body and adapted for movement across a surface to be cleaned;
- a moveable joint assembly mounting the base to the upright body, wherein the upright body is pivotable via the joint assembly between an upright storage position and a reclined use position;
- a fluid delivery system comprising a supply tank removable from the frame, a pump, and a fluid distributor;
- a recovery system comprising a recovery pathway, a recovery tank, a suction nozzle, and a vacuum motor;
- a brushroll within the recovery pathway of the recovery system;
- a brushroll motor operably coupled to the brushroll for rotating the brushroll, wherein the suction nozzle is configured to extract fluid and debris from the brushroll;
- a rechargeable battery selectively powering the pump, the vacuum motor, and the brushroll motor;
- a user interface disposed on the handle, the user interface comprising a power button and a cleaning mode button;
- a self-cleaning mode input control disposed on the upright body and configured to initiate an unattended automatic cleanout cycle for a self-cleaning mode of operation during which the pump, the brushroll motor, and the vacuum motor are energized, wherein the self-cleaning mode input control is separate from the power button and the cleaning mode button;
- and
- a controller controlling the operation of the fluid delivery and recovery systems, and operably coupled with the self-cleaning mode input control;
- a storage tray configured to dock the surface cleaning apparatus in the upright storage position for recharging the battery of the surface cleaning apparatus and for self-cleaning of the surface cleaning apparatus, the storage tray comprising at least one charging contact, a power cord, and a wall charger configured to be plugged into a household outlet;
- the surface cleaning apparatus comprises at least one corresponding charging contact configured to couple with the at least one charging contact of the storage tray when the surface cleaning apparatus is docked with the storage tray;
- wherein the controller is configured to execute the unattended automatic cleanout cycle for the self-cleaning mode of operation upon actuation of the self-cleaning mode input control, and wherein the self-cleaning mode is operable only when the surface cleaning apparatus is docked on the storage tray;
- and
- wherein the surface cleaning apparatus comprises a battery charging circuit controlling the recharging of the rechargeable battery, wherein the battery charging circuit is disabled by the actuation of the self-cleaning mode input control and remains disabled during the unattended automatic cleanout cycle.
15 more elements
A floor cleaning system, comprising:
- a surface cleaning apparatus comprising:
- a fluid delivery system comprising a supply tank, a pump, and a fluid distributor;
- a recovery system comprising a recovery pathway, a recovery tank and a vacuum motor;
- an upright body comprising a handle, the supply tank and the recovery tank;
- a base coupled with the upright body and adapted for movement across a surface to be cleaned, the base comprising the fluid distributor, a brushroll, a brushroll motor operably coupled to the brushroll for rotating the brushroll, and a suction nozzle configured to extract fluid and debris from the brushroll;
- a rechargeable battery selectively powering the pump, the vacuum motor, and the brushroll motor;
- a user interface disposed on the handle, the user interface comprising a power button disposed on a forward side of the handle and a cleaning mode button disposed on a forward side of the handle adjacent to the power button;
- a self-cleaning mode input control on the upright body which initiates an unattended automatic cleanout cycle for a self-cleaning mode of operation during which the pump, the brushroll motor, and the vacuum motor are energized, wherein the self-cleaning mode input control is separate from the user interface;
- and
- a controller controlling the operation of the fluid delivery and recovery systems;
- a storage tray configured to dock the surface cleaning apparatus for recharging the battery of the surface cleaning apparatus and for self-cleaning of the surface cleaning apparatus;
- wherein the controller is configured to execute the unattended automatic cleanout cycle for the self-cleaning mode of operation upon actuation of the self-cleaning mode input control, and wherein the controller is configured to lock-out the automatic cleanout cycle when the surface cleaning apparatus is not docked with the storage tray and prevent initiation of the automatic cleanout cycle;
- and
- wherein the surface cleaning apparatus comprises a battery charging circuit controlling the recharging of the rechargeable battery, wherein the battery charging circuit is disabled by the actuation of the self-cleaning mode input control and remains disabled during the unattended automatic cleanout cycle.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.