The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 13, 2010
Filed:
Jan. 16, 2007
Nathan A. Gogel, Hustonville, KY (US);
Donald E. Proffitt, Ii, Richmond, KY (US);
Alan T. Pullins, Richmond, KY (US);
James Todd Crouch, Danville, KY (US);
Michael L. Fry, Danville, KY (US);
Eric J. Streciwilk, Perryville, KY (US);
Michael S. Yacobi, Lexington, KY (US);
Gary P. Charbonneau, Clifton Park, NY (US);
Nathan A. Gogel, Hustonville, KY (US);
Donald E. Proffitt, II, Richmond, KY (US);
Alan T. Pullins, Richmond, KY (US);
James Todd Crouch, Danville, KY (US);
Michael L. Fry, Danville, KY (US);
Eric J. Streciwilk, Perryville, KY (US);
Michael S. Yacobi, Lexington, KY (US);
Gary P. Charbonneau, Clifton Park, NY (US);
Panasonic Corporation of North America, Secaucus, NJ (US);
Abstract
A floor cleaning apparatus includes a housing and a dirt collection vessel carried on that housing. The dirt collection vessel includes a first air inlet, a second air inlet, a dirt collection chamber, a filter chamber and a clean air outlet. A filter is received in the filter chamber. A suction generator is carried on the housing. The floor cleaning apparatus also includes a flow control valve assembly. The flow control valve assembly is selectively displaceable between a first or home position wherein dirt and debris are captured in the dirt collection vessel and a second or filter cleaning position wherein clean air is drawn through at least a portion of the filter to clean the filter. An activator is provided for automatically displacing the flow control valve assembly between the first and second positions.