Abstract: A height adjustment system for an upright vacuum cleaner comprises a cam member with a cam surface. The cam member is mounted within a base and includes rollers which facilitate the sliding lateral movement of the cam member within the base. The rollers roll within a channel within the base. Notches are formed in the side walls of the channel and receive a resiliently deformable indexing member which locates and fixes a cam follower at discrete points along the cam surface. A secondary height adjustment system comprises a ledge located on a housing which is attached to a handle. When the handle of the vacuum cleaner is rotated from a use position to an upright locked position, the ledge on the housing displaces a finger which pushes against a fulcrum plate attached to an axle connected to the front wheels of the vacuum cleaner.

Abstract: A vacuum cleaner comprises a base which has a surface cleaning nozzle and a wheel housing which is moveable between a raised position and a lowered position. Wheels are rotatably mounted on the wheel housing. An abutment arm is attached to said wheel housing at a fixed position relative to said wheels. A handle structure is pivotally mounted on the base and moveable between an upper storage position and a lower operating position. A protrusion, which is attached to the handle, structure, is positioned and ad to engage the abutment arm. A spring is provided which bias the wheel housing to its raised position. As the handle structure is pivoted from the lower operating position to the upper storage position, the abutment arm engages the protrusion moving said wheel housing to its lower position and consequently raising said nozzle.

Abstract: There is disclosed herein an upright vacuum cleaner comprising a main body having a suction opening, and a handle body pivotally attached to the main body. A lifting assembly for the main body comprises a pair of wheel assemblies pivotally attached to the handle body. These wheel assemblies support the vacuum cleaner in a manner to raise its suction opening and brush assembly from the floor when the vacuum cleaner is in its full upright or idle condition. The wheel assemblies are suitably attached to receptacles in the handle body to allow these assemblies to move out of the way when the vacuum cleaner is used in the normal cleaning fashion, but to engage the floor when the handle body is moved to the full upright position.

Abstract: A low cost mechanism for disengaging the brush which agitates the surface over which the vacuum cleaner nozzle moves by lifting the portion of the nozzle having the brush mounted therein above the surface. The lift mechanism is reciprocably mounted in the nozzle housing rearwardly of the brush and extends outwardly from the nozzle housing to lift the forward end of the housing which contains the brush by pivoting the housing about the rear wheels. The lift mechanism is implemented by a stanchion having posts with upper ends extending from a bar. The bar has a trough facing the surface over which the cleaner moves. A roller having a width about at least one-third the width of the nozzle housing is journaled in the trough and extends out of the base. The roller is mounted with its axis generally paralleling the axis of rotation of the brush. The stanchion is also located adjacent to the body or canister portion of the vacuum cleaner for engagement with a surface at the bottom of the body.

Abstract: An appliance provided with a base which has a working end and a handle structure provided with a lower barrel portion which is pivotally attached to the base. The barrel portion is provided with a pair of peripheral slots that cooperate with the pivotally mounted arms of a lift-off mechanism so that the working end of the appliance is selectively raised and lowered by the user pivoting the handle structure. An end of the barrel is provided with a pair of spaced-apart recesses which cooperate with the detent on a locking plate so that the handle structure may be locked into its storage position and provided with a maximum pivot limit in its operative range.

Abstract: A power driven vacuum sweeper for thoroughly and rapidly removing padding and glued particles which remain attached to a floor after a worn-out carpet has been removed therefrom. The sweeper is characterized by having a cylindrical metal broom mounted on the front end of a frame and arranged for clockwise rotation to bite into and remove the padding and glued particles from the top surface of the floor as a pair of handlebars attached by a lever to the frame of the sweeper is moved forward and in and upward direction about a pair of wheels. The sweeper is further characterized in that the pair of wheels are mounted for a rocking sidewise movement about the frame when either wheel engages irregular high or low floor surfaces thereby allowing the thorough horizontal cleaning position of the entire width of the broom to be maintained under these adverse operating conditions.

Abstract: There is disclosed herein an upright vacuum cleaner comprising a main body having a suction opening, and a handle body pivotally attached to the main body. A relatively simple cam, which may be made from sheet metal in the form of a box, is disposed in the main body and pivoted with respect thereto. The cam is engaged by a cam actuator of the handle body when the handle body is moved to its upright vertical position to cause the cam to pivot in a manner to raise the suction opening of the main body from the rug or carpet.

Abstract: A portable extractor according to the teachings of the present invention is taught including a tool assembly pivotally mounted on a main body assembly. The portable extractor is supported on the floor by a set of wheels on the tool assembly and by a set of wheels on the main body assembly. The tool assembly applies a cleaning solution to the floor, with the cleaning solution being drawn from a supply tank of the main body assembly. The tool assembly also extracts the cleaning solution from the floor, with the extracted cleaning solution being deposited in a storage tank of the main body assembly. In a preferred form for cleaning carpeted floors, the tool assembly further includes a powered rotary brush for agitating the carpet. In operation, the tool assembly pivots with respect to the main body assembly between working and transport modes automatically when the portable extractor is pulled or pushed on the floor.

Abstract: A walk-behind scrubber is provided with mechanism for lowering a squeegee assembly when the scrubber is moved forwardly and for raising the squeegee assembly when the scrubber is moved rearwardly. The scrubber includes front wheels which are driven by a motor which is connected to the wheels by belts and pulleys when a moveable handle at the rear of the scrubber is pushed to move the scrubber forwardly. The motor is connected to the wheels by friction discs when the handle is pulled to move the scrubber rearwardly. When the handle is pushed, mechanism including a switch is operated to lower the squeegee assembly and when the handle is pulled, the mechanism including the switch is operated to raise the squeegee assembly.

Abstract: A carpet cleaning apparatus is disclosed which includes a new and improved auxiliary cleaning device arrangement incorporated in a conventional vacuum cleaner. The auxiliary cleaning device is movable into a carpet engaging position for frictionally engaging a carpet surface and simultaneously distributing cleaning material thereon which emulsify, rub, and thereby cause release of dirt, dust and other foreign particles from carpet fibers and allow their removal and collection by agitator and suction cleaning elements of the apparatus. A retraction means is provided for automatically retracting the auxiliary cleaning device in response to handle assembly movement to a storage position, and a retaining means is provided to lock the device in the retracted position. The retaining means selectively either permits movement of the device to a carpet engaging position or maintains the device in a retracted position independently of subsequent handle assembly movement.

Abstract: An upright type electric cleaner including a main body case (1) and a suction port body (1), wherein when the main body case is brought to an upright position as the machine is inoperative, a rotary brush extending downwardly from the bottom of the suction port body (1) is released from contact with the surface to be cleaned. The suction port body includes a single switching knob which, when manipulated, enables the speed of operation of the rotary brush and the distance between the rotary brush and the surface to be cleaned to be adjusted simultaneously. A part of exhaust air of the cleaner released through a blower is led through a sound absorbing duct located in a bag compartment into a cord reel chamber to thereby greatly reduce the noise level of exhaust and preventing cord overheating of a power cord of the cleaner.

Abstract: A sanitizing hand-manipulated vacuum cleaning apparatus embodying a floor-engaging suction head including a front squeegee and a rear abrasive pad establishing a suction chamber therebetween which is adapted to be connected to a source of sub-atmospheric pressure. The suction head is rigidly connected by a horizontal beam to a rear caster supported carriage, while an elongated handle has its lower end connected by a universal joint to the beam adjacent the rear end of the latter. The suction head, beam and carriage, by reason of their position relative to one another, and by reason of the universal joint connection to the beam, are capable of traversing the floor so that they will follow the guiding movements of the handle in a manner similar to that which obtains when the trailing absorbent strings of a conventional mop follow and are guided by manipulation of the mop handle.

Abstract: An upright vacuum cleaner comprising a main body having a suction opening in the lower surface of its front portion and a handle body connected to a rear portion of the main body and extending upward. The main body is pivotally movable in the form of a seesaw as supported by contact portions on the main body positioned to the rear of the suction opening. The handle body is pivoted to the main body shiftably between an upright position and an inclined position and is provided on its lower end with propelling wheels which are positioned rearwardly away from a line perpendicular to a floor surface and passing through the pivot point. The main body front portion, namely the suction opening, is held raised from the floor surface while the handle body is in its upright position but comes into contact with the floor surface when the handle body is inclined through an angle suitable for use.

Abstract: An internal combustion engine is mounted on a frame supported by a set of wheels and has a shaft connected to drive a blower impeller. An annular plate is mounted on the engine surrounding the engine shaft, and a blower housing has a support ring which is secured to the plate by a releasable band clamp to provide for rotating the blower housing on the axis of the engine shaft. The blower housing has a center inlet and a laterally projecting tangential outlet, and a movable air deflector is mounted on the housing adjacent the outlet. The air deflector is actuated by an elongated control rod which extends from a handle assembly projecting rearwardly and upwardly from the frame, and the control rod permits the operator to actuate the air deflector when the blower outlet and deflector are located at either a high position on one side of the frame or a low position on the opposite side of the frame.