Method and apparatus for attaching a floor tool to a vacuum frame

Abstract

An apparatus is provided for attaching floor tools to a wheeled vehicle. The apparatus includes a mounting frame configured to secure to a frame of the wheeled vehicle and a floating frame rotatably attached to the mounting frame. The apparatus also includes pickup tubes attached to the floating frame. The pickup tubes are configured to attach to the floor tools. The floating frame is configured to move relative to the mounting frame based on undulations in a floor surface over which the floor tools travel. In other embodiments, a method is provided for assembling the apparatus. In still other embodiments, a method is provided for using the above apparatus with the wheeled vehicle. In still other embodiments, a wheeled vehicle is provided that includes the above apparatus and the one or more floor tools attached to the wheeled vehicle with the apparatus.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for attaching at least one floor tool to a wheeled vehicle including a vacuum, said apparatus comprising:
 a mounting frame configured to secure to a frame of the wheeled vehicle;   a floating frame movably attached to the mounting frame; and   at least one pickup tube attached to the floating frame, said at least one pickup tube configured to attach to the at least one floor tool;   wherein the floating frame is configured to move relative to the mounting frame based on undulations in a floor surface over which the at least one floor tool travels.   
     
     
         2 . An apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one floor tool is a plurality of floor tools and wherein the at least one pickup tube comprises a plurality of pickup tubes configured to attach to the plurality of floor tools. 
     
     
         3 . An apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the mounting frame includes a member that is sized and shaped to hook around a step at a base of the frame of the wheeled vehicle. 
     
     
         4 . An apparatus as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of pickup tubes are configured to attach to the plurality of floor tools such that the plurality of floor tools are independently rotatable about respective axes of rotation based on the undulations in the floor surface. 
     
     
         5 . An apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising a locking mechanism to secure the floating frame to the mounting frame when the apparatus is moved to a raised position from a lowered position where the floating frame is configured to move relative to the mounting frame based on the undulations in the floor surface. 
     
     
         6 . An apparatus as recited in  claim 5 , wherein the locking mechanism comprises:
 a spring inserted into a spring retainer tube of the floating frame;   a pair of balls positioned at opposing ends of the spring in the spring retainer tube; and   a pair of ball pockets defined by the mounting frame;   wherein in the raised position the spring retainer tube is aligned with the pair of ball pockets such that the pair of balls are configured to slide into the respective pair of ball pockets to secure the floating frame to the mounting frame.   
     
     
         7 . An apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the floating frame is pivotally attached to the mounting frame based on a pivot frame tube of the floating frame being aligned with pin inserts of the mounting frame and a pin inserted through the pin inserts and into the pivot frame tube such that the floating frame is pivotally attached within the mounting frame about an axis defined by the pivot frame tube. 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of pickup tubes is a pair of pickup tubes including a respective pair of floor tool adapters configured to attach to the plurality of floor tools, and wherein the pair of floor tool adapters include a longitudinal offset in a direction of travel of the floor tools over the floor surface and a lateral offset in an orthogonal direction to the direction of travel of the floor tools over the floor surface. 
     
     
         9 . An apparatus as recited in  claim 8 , wherein the longitudinal offset is greater than a minimum spacing and wherein the lateral offset is less than a length of the floor tool. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of pickup tubes merge to a single junction tube and wherein the single junction tube is connected to the vacuum. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 4 , wherein the respective axes of rotation of the plurality of floor tools are approximately parallel to a direction of travel of the wheeled vehicle over the floor surface. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of pickup tubes are configured such that;
 the plurality of floor tools are configured to rotate about the respective axes of rotation to an inwardly inclined position based on a trough in the floor surface between the plurality of floor tools; and   the plurality of floor tools are configured to rotate about the respective axes of rotation to an outwardly inclined position based on a peak in the floor surface between the plurality of floor tools.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 8 , wherein the pair of floor tool adapters are positioned between the pair of pickup tubes and the plurality of floor tools and configured to attach to the plurality of floor tools. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 8 , and wherein the pair of pickup tubes have varying length such that the pair of floor tool adapters include the longitudinal offset in the direction of travel of the floor tools over the floor surface. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 8 ,
 wherein the pair of floor tool adapters are positioned between the pair of pickup tubes and the plurality of floor tools and configured to attach to the plurality of floor tools; and   wherein the pair of pickup tubes have varying length such that the pair of floor tool adapters include the longitudinal offset in the direction of travel of the floor tools over the floor surface.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the wheeled vehicle is configured to be pushed by a user over the floor surface as the user walks over the floor surface. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the mounting frame is configured to be attached and detached from the frame of the wheeled vehicle without tools. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the wheeled vehicle comprises at least one of:
 the vacuum including a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter;   a pre-separator; and   the vacuum and the pre-separator connected such that the vacuum is downstream of the pre-separator.   
     
     
         19 . An apparatus for attaching a plurality of floor tools to a wheeled vehicle including a vacuum, said apparatus comprising:
 a mounting frame configured to secure to a frame of the wheeled vehicle;   a floating frame movably attached to the mounting frame;   a plurality of pickup tubes attached to the floating frame, said plurality of pickup tubes configured to attach to the plurality of floor tools;   wherein the plurality of pickup tubes merge to a single junction tube and wherein the single junction tube is connected to the vacuum; and   wherein the floating frame is configured to move relative to the mounting frame based on the undulations in the floor surface over which the at least one floor tool travels.   
     
     
         20 . A wheeled vehicle comprising:
 the apparatus of  claim 19 ; and   the plurality of floor tools attached to the wheeled vehicle with the apparatus;   wherein the wheeled vehicle includes the vacuum with a minimum suction capability of 150 cubic feet per minute (CFM).