US 4,776,058 AGranted

Surface cleaning apparatus

AssigneeIona Appliances Inc./Appareils Iona Inc.

InventorsDavid P. Garner, Allan D. Millman, Michael N. Hetherington

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Abstract

A portable vacuum surface cleaning apparatus for taking up and recovering fluids such as liquids, and debris from floors or carpets that includes an elongated circuitous or convoluted passageway having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end adapted for communication with a vacuum source and communicating with the recovery chamber through a top access opening in a region thereof intermediately between the inlet and outlet, driven rotary brush associated with the apparatus and supported rearwardly thereof and projecting therebelow for contacting the surfaces to be cleaned; and a diluent or cleaning solution source associated with the apparatus including a discharge flow passage directed rearmost thereof to an outlet from an integral well or repository for the reception of a removable container or capsule having an integral displaceable dispensing valve for diluent or cleaning solutions.

Claims17

Dependent claims

In a vacuum surface cleaning apparatus for taking up and recovering liquids including the combination of a recovery chamber portion having a top opening therein and an extended passageway in convoluted form having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end and communicating with said recovery chamber portion through said top opening in a region intermediately between said inlet and said outlet, centrifugal fan means connected to said outlet for drawing air through said extended passageway to create a pressure drop between said passageway inlet orifice and outlet and so create a partial vacuum therewithin, motor means including motor shaft means extending therebeyond at either end, means for coupling said motor shaft means at one end to said centrifugal fan means, mounting means for supporting a rotary shaft means for rotation, one end of said rotary shaft means depending therebelow and being adapted for connection with a brush element at the lowermost end thereof, said mounting means including gear train means coupled at the end of said shaft means opposed to that of said coupling for said centrifugal fan means, and reciprocable clutch means operatively connected to said rotary shaft means for selectively engaging said gear train means to impart rotation to said rotary shaft means, and switch means for controlling the reciprocation of said clutch means and for energizing said motor means.

In a vacuum surface cleaning apparatus for taking up and recovering liquids wherein an elongated passageway having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end comprises at least several succeeding sections with a liquid recovery chamber portion having a top opening thereinto in communication with said second section thereof and disposed therebelow, a front end comprising a shell-like outer component which includes the first section of said elongated passageway and a mated hollow inner component nested within and separable from said shell-like outer component which includes the intermediate section of said elongated passageway and said liquid recovery chamber portion therewithin, said mated hollow inner component and said shell-like outer component having a configuration and extent so as to define when mated the succeeding third section of said elongated passageway therebetween;

a rear end including a shell-like enclosure interengaging with and separable from said shell-like outer component of said front end so as to expose said mated separable hollow component nested therewithin, said shell-like outer component and respective mated hollow inner component and said shell-like enclosure of said front and rear ends, respectively in their region of interengagement having a configuration and extent so as to define the succeeding fourth section of said elongated passageway therebetween;
said shell-like enclosure of said rear end including an upstanding forward housing portion and an upstanding rearward housing portion, said upstanding forward housing portion enclosing centrifugal fan means therein having an inlet and an outlet with said shell-like enclosure in said region of interengagement with said shell-like component of said front end including aperture means therethrough communicating with said outlet of said elongated passageway and said centrifugal fan means inlet, said shell-like enclosure in a region thereof remote from said region of interengagement having aperture means therethrough for communication between said centrifugal fan means outlet and the atmosphere, said upstanding rearward housing portion of said shell-like enclosure of said rear end including a walled recess formation opening upwardly therefrom for the reception therewithin of separable mating capsule means for containing fluids to be dispensed therefrom.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.