Bissell Inc.

Bissell Homecare, Inc.

Amway Corporation

Gary L Steinberg

Kenneth L Roberts

Henry J Rosendall

Giovanni Pino

Gary L Smith

Richard L Norwood

Kenneth E Gibbs

David I Oreck

A vacuum cleaner having an improved structural handle/support assembly for supporting a vacuum cleaner module. The handle/support assembly has a primary support member, a secondary support member and a snap-in handle section. The primary and secondary support member cooperate to form an integrated support structure that reduces torquing of the vacuum cleaner module relative to the handle/support assembly during use. Further, the primary and secondary support members define an aperture to accommodate rearwardly extending vacuum hose. The handle section includes an open base portion that includes one or more slots therein. A handle mounting portion of the primary support member having one or more integral tabs formed therein is telescopically received within the base portion of the handle section. The one or more slots in the handle section receive the one or more tabs of the handle mounting portion in snap-fit engagement.

Vacuum cleaner with snap-fit handle and torque-reducing support

An upright vacuum cleaner includes a handle pivotally mounted to a base module, a lower portion of the handle mounts a lamp assembly which is hidden from view by the base module when the handle is in an upright, storage position and is visible above the base module when the handle is rotated to a use position. Between the front and back of the base module, a set of wheels or other projections that support the base module are mounted. The handle likewise has at a lower portion a set of wheels that mobilize the vacuum cleaner. In one embodiment, the pivot axis of the handle with respect to the base is selected so that rotation of the handle assembly from a use position to a storage position pivots a front end of the base module about the base wheels and thereby raises an agitation brush from contact with a surface to be cleaned. The rotation of the handle assembly with respect to the base module to its use position, moves the lamp assembly mounted therein from a hidden position behind a shroud in the base module to an exposed position above the base module for illuminating the surface to be cleaned immediately adjacent the front end of the base module.

Upright vacuum cleaner with handle-mounted lamp assembly and height adjustment

A vacuum cleaner having access panel selectively mounted thereto is shown. The access panel encloses a belt utilized to interconnect the agitation member and the drive shaft for the motor to rotate the agitation member. The access panel has a mounting flange provided on a portion of the edge of the panel which is slidably received in slots formed in the housing. The reception of the mounting flange in the slots in cooperation with a single mounting screw serves to secure the access panel to the housing. The belt can easily be accessed by removing the mounting screw and sliding the access panel laterally relative to the slots to remove the mounting flange from the slots.

Vacuum cleaner with agitation member drive belt access panel

A vacuum diverter valve for a vacuum cleaner is located in a generally cylindrical valve housing with a vacuum outlet and first and second inlets circumferentially placed thereabout. The valve slideably engages the valve housing, and an interior wall on the valve defines a passage to allow communication between the vacuum outlet, and the first inlet or second inlet, or combination thereof. The valve is preferably formed with a clear plastic outboard endwall for viewing.

Diverter valve for vacuum cleaner apparatus

A vacuum cleaner convertible between a hand-held vacuum and a stick-type vacuum including a housing having a rondure first end and narrowing to a generally oblate, low profile nozzle at a second end, defining an opening in fluid communication with an interior of the housing. A releasably extensible dirt cup is slidably disposed within the opening in the second end and adapted to move between a retracted position within the housing and an extended position from said housing. The free end of the dirt cup is adapted to detachably retain a floor cleaning tool having a pivoting cleaning head for use on floors or other surfaces to be cleaned. The housing contains means for drawing high velocity air into the elongate dirt cup through the floor cleaning tool and/or free end of the elongate dirt cup so as to entrain dirt and debris and capture it within the dirt cup. The dirt cup is cleaned by withdrawing it from the end of the nozzle and removing the spun-bonded filter assembly before pouring the dirt cup contents into a separate container. The low profile housing, together with the extensible dirt cup and detachable floor cleaning tool, easily adapts to a variety of cleaning needs while simultaneously providing a lightweight and ergonomically balanced cleaning tool.

Growing community of inventors

Jenison, MI, United States of America

Gary L Steinberg