Vacuum cleaner including a removable canister assembly

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner including a pivot assembly having an interior, an exterior, and a pivot assembly electrical connector on the exterior of the pivot assembly. The pivot assembly electrical connector is electrically connected to an electrical component of a surface cleaning head. The vacuum further includes a cleaning wand having a cleaning wand electrical connector. The cleaning wand is received within the interior of the pivot assembly to removably couple the cleaning wand to the pivot assembly to place the cleaning wand in fluid communication with a dirty air inlet of a cleaning head and to removably electrically connect the cleaning wand electrical connector to the pivot assembly electrical connector. The cleaning wand electrical connector is electrically connected to the pivot assembly electrical connector to provide power to the electrical component of the cleaning head from a power source.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vacuum cleaner comprising:
 a surface cleaning head including a dirty air inlet and an electrical component;   a pivot assembly pivotally coupled to the surface cleaning head such that the pivot assembly is pivotable relative to the surface cleaning head, the pivot assembly including an interior, an exterior, and a pivot assembly electrical connector on the exterior of the pivot assembly, the pivot assembly electrical connector electrically connected to the electrical component of the surface cleaning head;   a canister assembly coupled to the pivot assembly such that the canister assembly is supported above the surface cleaning head, the canister assembly including an electrical source connector configured to connect to a power source, the canister assembly further including a dirt separation unit and a suction source electrically connected to the electrical source connector and in fluid communication with the dirty air inlet and the dirt separation unit; and   a cleaning wand in fluid communication with the dirt separation unit and removably coupled to the pivot assembly, the cleaning wand including a handle and a cleaning wand electrical connector, the cleaning wand received within the interior of the pivot assembly to removably couple the cleaning wand to the pivot assembly to place the cleaning wand in fluid communication with the dirty air inlet and to removably electrically connect the cleaning wand electrical connector to the pivot assembly electrical connector,   wherein the cleaning wand electrical connector is electrically connected to the pivot assembly electrical connector to provide power to the electrical component of the surface cleaning head from the power source.   
     
     
         2 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical component includes a motor. 
     
     
         3 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 2 , wherein the surface cleaning head includes a brush, wherein the motor is operable to move the brush relative to the dirty air inlet. 
     
     
         4 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical component includes a controller. 
     
     
         5 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical component includes a controller and a sensor. 
     
     
         6 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 5 , wherein the sensor is operable to sense an attribute selected from the group consisting of temperature, electrical current, electrical voltage, air flow, motor speed, optically whether there is an obstruction, sounds, and pressure. 
     
     
         7 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the pivot assembly electrical connector includes a power terminal, a ground terminal, and a communication terminal, and wherein the cleaning wand electrical connector includes a power terminal, a ground terminal, and a communication terminal. 
     
     
         8 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 7 , further comprising a flexible hose including a helical spring wire, and a power wire, a ground wire, and a communication wire helically arranged adjacent the spring wire. 
     
     
         9 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the pivot assembly includes a recess, wherein the pivot assembly electrical connector is located within the recess on the exterior of the pivot assembly. 
     
     
         10 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 9 , further comprising a support rib that extends across the recess. 
     
     
         11 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the pivot assembly includes an elongated projection and a longitudinal axis,   wherein the canister assembly includes an elongated recess,   wherein the cleaning wand is received within the interior of the pivot assembly by sliding the cleaning wand along the longitudinal axis,   wherein the canister assembly is removably coupled to the pivot assembly by sliding the canister assembly along the longitudinal axis to receive the elongated projection of the pivot assembly in the elongated recess of the canister assembly   
     
     
         12 . A vacuum cleaner comprising:
 a surface cleaning head including a dirty air inlet and an electrical component;   a pivot assembly pivotally coupled to the surface cleaning head such that the pivot assembly is pivotable relative to the surface cleaning head, the pivot assembly including an elongated projection and a pivot assembly electrical connector within the elongated projection, the pivot assembly electrical connector electrically connected to the electrical component of the surface cleaning head, the pivot assembly further including a longitudinal axis;   a canister assembly removeably coupled to the pivot assembly such that the canister assembly is supported above the surface cleaning head, the canister assembly including an electrical source connector configured to connect to a power source, the canister assembly further including a dirt separation unit and a suction source electrically connected to the electrical source connector and in fluid communication with the dirty air inlet and the dirt separation unit, the canister assembly further including an elongated recess and a canister electrical connector within the elongated recess; and   a cleaning wand in fluid communication with the dirt separation unit and removably coupled to the pivot assembly, cleaning wand including a handle, the cleaning wand received within the pivot assembly by sliding the cleaning wand along the longitudinal axis of the pivot assembly to removably couple the cleaning wand to the pivot assembly to place the cleaning wand in fluid communication with the dirty air inlet,   wherein the canister assembly is removably coupled to the pivot assembly by sliding the canister assembly along the longitudinal axis to receive the elongated projection of the pivot assembly in the elongated recess of the canister assembly to electrically connect the canister electrical connector and the pivot assembly electrical connector,   wherein the canister electrical connector is electrically connected to the pivot assembly electrical connector to provide power to the electrical component of the surface cleaning head from the power source.   
     
     
         13 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 12 , further comprising a latch that removably couples the canister assembly to the pivot assembly. 
     
     
         14 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 12 , wherein the elongated projection of the pivot assembly includes a plastic exterior and a metal support member at an interior of the elongated projection. 
     
     
         15 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 14 , wherein the metal support member includes a hollow aluminum support member. 
     
     
         16 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 14 , wherein the plastic exterior is integrally molded around the metal support member. 
     
     
         17 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 16 , wherein the pivot assembly electrical connector is positioned in the metal support member. 
     
     
         18 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 12 , wherein the electrical component includes a motor. 
     
     
         19 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 18 , wherein the surface cleaning head includes a brush, wherein the motor is operable to move the brush relative to the dirty air inlet. 
     
     
         20 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 12 , wherein the electrical component includes a controller. 
     
     
         21 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 12 , wherein the electrical component includes a controller and a sensor. 
     
     
         22 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 21 , wherein the sensor is operable to sense an attribute selected from the group consisting of temperature, electrical current, and pressure. 
     
     
         23 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the pivot assembly electrical connector includes a power terminal, a ground terminal, and a communication terminal, and wherein the canister electrical connector includes a power terminal, a ground terminal, and a communication terminal.