BARE FLOOR CLEANER

Abstract

A bare floor cleaner has a foot with a dry suction nozzle and a handle assembly pivotally connected to the foot assembly. A diverter mounted in the working air conduit between the foot assembly and the handle assembly is movable by movement of the handle assembly between a dry suction position and a wet mop position for selectively at least partially blocking working air flow from the dry suction nozzle to a collection assembly. A fluid delivery system includes a user operated trigger for actuating the fluid delivery system to distribute fluid in the wet mop position and deactivating a motor/fan assembly. A trigger lock prevents cleaning solution from being distributed when the handle is in dry mode position. The fluid delivery system includes a heating element to raise the temperature of the cleaning solution before it is distributed to the surface to be cleaned. Support glides on the foot reduce the surface area contact between the foot pad and the surface to be cleaned.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bare floor cleaner according to the invention, comprising a foot assembly and a handle assembly.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the bare floor cleaner handle assembly shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial front view of a lower portion of the handle assembly of the bare floor cleaner shown in FIG. 1 with a front enclosure removed for clarity.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the lower portion of the handle assembly shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a switch assembly of the base floor cleaner.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a solution delivery system of the bare floor cleaner shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the foot assembly of the bare floor cleaner shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a fluid distributor shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9A is a sectional view of a support glide shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9B is a sectional view of an optional pad for the foot assembly.

FIG. 10 is a partial view of the handle assembly of the bare floor cleaner of FIG. 1, illustrated in a dry suction mode configuration.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the foot assembly of the bare floor cleaner of FIG. 1, illustrated in the dry suction mode configuration.

FIG. 12 is a partial view of the handle assembly of the bare floor cleaner of FIG. 1, illustrated in a wet mop mode configuration.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the foot assembly of the bare floor cleaner of FIG. 1, illustrated in the wet mop mode configuration.

Claims

1. A wet/dry bare floor cleaner, comprising: a base;a handle pivotally connected to the base for movement between a dry mode position and a wet mode position;a recovery system for collecting dirt when the handle is in the dry mode position;a fluid delivery system comprising a source of cleaning fluid and a fluid distributor in fluid communication with the source of cleaning fluid for dispensing cleaning fluid onto a surface to be cleaned; andan interlock coupled to the fluid delivery system that prevents cleaning fluid from being dispensed to a surface to be cleaned when the handle is in the dry mode position.

2. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 1, wherein the interlock is a mechanical interlock.

3. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 2, wherein the mechanical interlock comprises a movable element that moves under gravity to a first position when the handle is in the dry mode position and to a second position when the handle is in the wet mode position.

4. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 1, wherein the handle is at an acute angle with respect to the vertical in a first direction in the dry mode position and the handle in at an acute angle with respect to the vertical in a second direction in the wet mode position.

5. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 1, wherein the recovery system includes a disabling mechanism for disabling the recovery system when the fluid distributor is dispensing cleaning fluid onto the surface to be cleaned.

6. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 5, wherein the recovery system comprises a motor/fan assembly mounted to one of the handle and the base, and the motor/fan assembly is deactivated when fluid is being dispensed.

7. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 5, wherein the recovery system includes a diverter valve movable between an open position when the handle is in the dry mode position and a closed position when the handle is in a wet mode position.

8. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 5, wherein the fluid delivery system includes a trigger operably connected to a switch that controls the supply of electrical energy to the motor/fan assembly.

9. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 8, wherein the trigger is positioned on one side of a hand grip for convenient operation by a finger of a user in the wet mode position and for inconvenient operation in the dry mode position.

10. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 9, wherein the hand grip is an elongated shaft that is gripped by the user by wrapping one hand around the shaft in both the dry mode and wet mode positions.

11. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 1 and further comprising a suction nozzle on one side of the base.

12. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 11, wherein the fluid distributor is positioned on another side of the base.

13. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 12 and further comprising a cleaning pad mounted to the underside of the base.

14. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 12, wherein the fluid distributor includes a spray nozzle for projecting cleaning fluid onto the surface to be cleaned laterally of the base.

15. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 1 and further comprising a heating element to raise the temperature of the cleaning fluid to be dispensed to the surface to the cleaned.

16. A wet/dry bare floor cleaner, comprising: a base;a handle pivotally connected to the base for movement between a dry mode position and a wet mode position;a recovery system for collecting dirt when the handle is in the dry mode position; anda fluid delivery system comprising a source of cleaning fluid and a fluid distributor in fluid communication with the source of cleaning fluid for dispensing cleaning fluid onto a surface to be cleaned;wherein the recovery system includes a disabling mechanism for disabling the recovery system when the fluid distributor is dispensing cleaning fluid onto the surface to be cleaned.

17. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 16, wherein the handle is at an acute angle with respect to the vertical in a first direction in the dry mode position and the handle in at an acute angle with respect to the vertical in a second direction in the wet mode position.

18. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 16, wherein the recovery system comprises a motor/fan assembly mounted to one of the handle and the base, and a deactivator mechanism coupled to the motor/fan assembly to deactivate the motor/fan assembly when fluid is being dispensed.

19. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 16, wherein the deactivator mechanism includes a trigger operably connected to a switch that controls the supply of electrical energy to the motor/fan assembly.

20. The wet/dry bare floor cleaner from claim 16, wherein the recovery system includes a diverter valve movable between an open position when the handle is in the dry mode position and a closed position when the handle is in a wet mode position.

21. A wet/dry bare floor cleaner, comprising: a base having a plurality of support glides to reduce the surface area contact between the base and the surface to be cleaned;a handle pivotally connected to the base;a recovery system for collecting dirt when the handle is in the dry mode position;a fluid delivery system comprising a source of cleaning fluid and a fluid distributor in fluid communication with the source of cleaning fluid for dispensing cleaning fluid onto a surface to be cleaned; anda cleaning pad mounted the base, between the support glides and the surface to be cleaned.

22. The wet/dry bare floor cleaning from claim 21, wherein the support glides include a plurality of bristles.