Vacuum cleaner assembly

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner assembly includes an upright vacuum cleaner, a handheld accessory, and a battery. The upright vacuum cleaner includes a cleaning head, an upright frame, and a first battery mount. The upright frame is pivotably connected to the cleaning head. The first battery mount is connected to at least one of the upright frame or the cleaning head. The handheld accessory includes a secondary battery mount. The handheld accessory is removably coupled to the upright frame. The battery removably couples to the first battery mount to power the upright vacuum cleaner and removably couples to the second battery mount to power the handheld accessory.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vacuum cleaner assembly comprising:
 an upright vacuum cleaner including
 a cleaning head, 
 an upright frame pivotably connected to the cleaning head, and 
 a first battery mount connected to at least one of the upright frame or the cleaning head; 
   a handheld accessory removably coupled to the upright frame, the handheld accessory including a second battery mount; and   a battery configured to removably couple to the first battery mount to power the upright vacuum cleaner and to removably couple to the second battery mount to power the handheld accessory.   
     
     
         2 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein
 the upright vacuum cleaner includes a first operating component,   the handheld accessory includes a second operating component,   with the battery coupled to the first battery mount, the first operating component is electrically powered by the battery and the second operating component receives no electric power, and   with the battery coupled to the second battery mount, the second operating component is electrically powered by the battery and the first operating component receives no electric power.   
     
     
         3 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 2 , wherein
 the first operating component is a first motor and the second operating component is a second motor.   
     
     
         4 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 2 , wherein
 the handheld accessory includes a handle, and   the handle functions as the handle for both the handheld accessory and the upright vacuum cleaner when the handheld accessory is coupled to the upright frame.   
     
     
         5 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 1 , wherein
 the handheld accessory includes a handheld vacuum cleaner.   
     
     
         6 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein
 the handheld vacuum cleaner includes a nozzle, and   with the handheld vacuum cleaner coupled to the upright frame, the nozzle is substantially blocked.   
     
     
         7 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein
 the upright vacuum cleaner includes a dirt cup and a flow passage passing through the cleaning head and in fluid communication with the dirt cup, and   the flow passage of the upright vacuum cleaner is isolated from the handheld vacuum cleaner.   
     
     
         8 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein
 the handheld vacuum cleaner includes a handle, and   the handle functions as the handle for both the handheld vacuum cleaner and the upright vacuum cleaner when the handheld vacuum cleaner is coupled to the upright frame.   
     
     
         9 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein
 the handheld vacuum cleaner includes an elongate structural member having a nozzle end and a handle opposite the nozzle end, and   the nozzle end of the elongate structural member removably couples to the upright frame.   
     
     
         10 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 9 , wherein
 with the handheld vacuum cleaner coupled to the upright frame, the handle extends from the elongate structural member at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the upright frame.   
     
     
         11 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 9 , wherein
 the handle is a pistol grip style handle.   
     
     
         12 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 9 , wherein
 the upright frame includes a leading surface and a trailing surface opposite the leading surface, and   the elongate structural member removably couples to the upright frame nearer the leading surface than the trailing surface.   
     
     
         13 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 12 , wherein
 the elongate structural member further includes an outer surface, and   with the elongate structural member coupled to the upright frame, at least a portion of the outer surface of the elongate structural member is substantially aligned with the leading surface of the upright frame.   
     
     
         14 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein
 the upright frame of the upright vacuum cleaner includes a pivot end and a handheld end opposite the pivot end,   the cleaning head is pivotably connected to the upright frame adjacent the pivot end,   the handheld vacuum cleaner is removably coupled to the upright frame nearer the handheld end than the pivot end, and   with the handheld vacuum cleaner coupled to the upright frame, the handheld vacuum cleaner projects beyond the handheld end of the upright frame in a direction away from the pivot end of the upright frame.   
     
     
         15 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 14 , wherein
 the upright frame includes a longitudinal axis extending through the pivot end and the handheld end, and   the handheld vacuum cleaner projects beyond the handheld end of the upright frame in a direction along the longitudinal axis.   
     
     
         16 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 15 , wherein
 the battery is slidably received on the first battery mount in a direction extending along the longitudinal axis of the upright frame.   
     
     
         17 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 16 , wherein
 the battery is slidably received on the first battery mount in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the upright frame.   
     
     
         18 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 1 , wherein
 the first battery mount and the second battery mount are identical.   
     
     
         19 . A vacuum cleaner assembly comprising:
 an upright vacuum cleaner including a first battery mount;   a handheld accessory removably coupled to the upright vacuum cleaner, the handheld accessory including a second battery mount;   a battery configured to removably couple to the first battery mount and to removably couple to the second battery mount; and   wherein
 the battery powers only the upright vacuum cleaner when the battery is coupled to the first battery mount, and 
 the battery powers only the handheld accessory when the battery is coupled to the second battery mount. 
   
     
     
         20 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 19 , wherein
 the handheld accessory further includes a handle, and   the handle functions as the handle for operating the upright vacuum cleaner when the handheld accessory is coupled to the upright frame.   
     
     
         21 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 19 , wherein
 only the handheld accessory includes a handle.   
     
     
         22 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 19 , wherein
 the upright vacuum cleaner further includes a first airflow pathway,   the handheld accessory further includes a second airflow pathway, and   the first airflow pathway and the second airflow pathway are discrete from each other.   
     
     
         23 . A vacuum cleaner assembly comprising:
 an upright vacuum cleaner including
 a first operating component, and 
 a first battery connection terminal configured to electrically couple the first operating component to a battery; 
   a handheld accessory removably coupled to the upright vacuum cleaner, the handheld accessory including
 a second operating component, and 
 a second battery connection terminal configured to electrically couple the second operating component to a battery. 
   
     
     
         24 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 23 , wherein
 the first operating component is a first motor and the second operating component is a second motor.   
     
     
         25 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 23 , wherein
 the upright vacuum cleaner further includes a first battery mount having the first battery connection terminal,   the handheld accessory further includes a second battery mount having the second battery connection terminal, and   the first battery mount and the second battery mount are configured to interchangeably removably couple to a battery having a corresponding mount structure.   
     
     
         26 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 25 , wherein
 the first battery mount and the second battery mount are configured to receive one of the battery and a second battery.   
     
     
         27 . The vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 26 , wherein
 the battery has a different characteristic than the second battery, the characteristic selected from a group consisting of battery capacity, voltage, current, resistance, and number of cells.