Upright vacuum cleaner having latch mechanism with replaceable stop

Abstract

An upright vacuum cleaner includes a housing having a nozzle assembly and a canister assembly. The nozzle assembly and canister assembly are pivotally connected together. A suction inlet is provided on the nozzle assembly. A dirt collection vessel and a suction generator are both carried on the housing. A latch mechanism secures the canister assembly in an upright or storage position relative to the nozzle assembly. The latch mechanism includes an activator and a replaceable stop.

1 .) An upright vacuum cleaner, comprising
 a housing including a nozzle assembly and a canister assembly, said nozzle assembly and said canister assembly being pivotably connected together;   a suction inlet carried on said nozzle assembly;   a dirt collection vessel carried on said housing;   a suction generator carried on said housing; and   a latch mechanism for securing said canister assembly in an upright position relative to said nozzle assembly;   said vacuum cleaner being characterized by said latch mechanism including (1) an activator having a first cam surface and (2) a replaceable stop wherein said activator is carried on one of said canister assembly and said nozzle assembly and said replaceable stop is carried on the other of said canister assembly and said nozzle assembly.   
   
   
       2 .) The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein said activator is carried on said nozzle assembly and said replaceable stop is carried on said canister assembly. 
   
   
       3 .) The vacuum cleaner of  claim 2 , wherein said canister assembly includes a receiver and said replaceable stop is held in said receiver. 
   
   
       4 .) The vacuum cleaner of  claim 3 , further including a fastener securing said replaceable stop in said receiver. 
   
   
       5 .) The vacuum cleaner of  claim 4 , wherein said replaceable stop includes a second cam surface. 
   
   
       6 .) The vacuum cleaner of  claim 5 , wherein said nozzle assembly and said canister assembly pivot about a first pivot axis. 
   
   
       7 .) The vacuum cleaner of  claim 6 , wherein said activator is pivotably mounted to said nozzle assembly about a second pivot axis offset from said first pivot axis. 
   
   
       8 .) The vacuum cleaner of  claim 7 , wherein said activator includes a spring biasing said activator into a first position wherein said first cam surface engages said second cam surface to secure said canister assembly in said upright position. 
   
   
       9 .) The vacuum cleaner of  claim 8 , wherein said activator includes a pedal portion whereby said activator is engaged to pivot said first cam surface about said second pivot axis out of engagement with said second cam surface so as to allow said canister assembly to pivot relative to said nozzle assembly about said first pivot axis. 
   
   
       10 .) The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein said second cam surface of said replaceable stop is made from a material selected from a group consisting of metal, die cast metal, powder metal, reinforced plastic, fiberglass filled nylon, reinforced polycarbonate and combinations thereof. 
   
   
       11 .) The vacuum cleaner of  claim 10 , wherein said first cam surface of said activator is made from a material selected from a group consisting of metal, die cast metal, powder metal, reinforced plastic, fiberglass filled nylon, reinforced polycarbonate and combinations thereof. 
   
   
       12 .) The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein said nozzle assembly includes at least one wall defining an opening having a width W to receive said canister assembly, said at least one wall further including an engineered flex wherein said opening expands to a width of W+F to allow said replaceable stop to pass said first cam surface when said canister assemble is forced from said upright position without disengaging said latch mechanism.