Display for vacuum cleaner

Abstract

A vacuum appliance 10 with a display 24 to indicate status information relating to the vacuum or components thereof. For example, the display 24 may indicate the status of the vacuum appliance's 10 motor 12 , airflow 16 and/or resulting suction, brush 20 , container 22 , or any combination thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vacuum appliance comprising:
 a motor within the vacuum appliance;   an impeller coupled to the motor, the impeller configured to induce airflow through the vacuum appliance when driven by the motor, thereby creating suction at a nozzle of the vacuum appliance to entrain debris in the airflow;   a container configured to contain the debris entrained in the airflow; and   a display configured to indicate status information relating to the motor, the suction, and the container.   
     
     
         2 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the vacuum appliance is a wet/dry vacuum with the container comprising a drum, the motor and impeller contained in a power head attached to the drum, and the display mounted to the power head. 
     
     
         3 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the vacuum appliance is a wet/dry vacuum with the container comprising a drum with a cover and the display mounted to the cover. 
     
     
         4 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 1 , the display comprising a plurality of multi-colored lights. 
     
     
         5 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 4 , wherein the display comprises green illuminated lights to indicate the suction is normal. 
     
     
         6 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 4 , wherein the display comprises red illuminated lights to indicate the container is at its capacity. 
     
     
         7 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 4 , wherein the display comprises flashing red lights to indicate the motor is overheated. 
     
     
         8 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 1 , further including a brush coupled to the motor, the brush configured to agitate the debris when driven by the motor, thereby assisting the suction in entraining the debris in the airflow. 
     
     
         9 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 8 , wherein the vacuum appliance is an upright vacuum with the container positioned above the motor, the brush and nozzle mounted to a floor-engaging power head positioned ahead of the motor, and the display mounted to the floor-engaging power head. 
     
     
         10 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 8 , wherein the display is further configured to indicate status information relating to the brush. 
     
     
         11 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 10 , the display comprising a plurality of multi-colored sequencing lights. 
     
     
         12 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 10 , wherein the display comprises green sequencing lights to indicate the suction and brush are normal. 
     
     
         13 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 10 , wherein the display comprises red sequencing lights to indicate the container is at its capacity and the brush is normal. 
     
     
         14 . A vacuum appliance comprising:
 a motor within the vacuum appliance;   an impeller coupled to the motor, the impeller configured to induce airflow through the vacuum appliance when driven by the motor, thereby creating suction at a nozzle of the vacuum appliance to entrain debris in the airflow;   a brush configured to agitate the debris, thereby assisting the suction in entraining the debris in the airflow;   a container configured to contain the debris entrained in the airflow; and   a display configured to indicate status information relating to the motor, the suction, the brush, and the container.   
     
     
         15 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 14 , wherein the vacuum appliance is an upright vacuum with the brush and nozzle mounted to a floor-engaging power head, and the display mounted to the floor-engaging power head. 
     
     
         16 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 14 , the display comprising a plurality of multi-colored lights positioned in a round pattern and configured to selectively illuminate red and green, the lights further configured to selectively flash in unison or sequentially, wherein sequential flashing appears to infer rotation about the round pattern. 
     
     
         17 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 16 , wherein the display comprises green sequential flashing lights to indicate the suction and brush are normal. 
     
     
         18 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 16 , wherein the display comprises red sequential flashing lights to indicate a problem with the container and the brush is normal. 
     
     
         19 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 16 , wherein the display comprises red lights flashing in unison to indicate a problem with the brush. 
     
     
         20 . The vacuum appliance of  claim 16 , wherein the display comprises red lights flashing in unison to indicate a problem with the motor.