US20070079465A1

US20070079465A1 - Cleaning station

Info

Publication number: US20070079465A1
Application number: US11/245,022
Authority: US
Inventors: James Hou
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-10-07
Filing date: 2005-10-07
Publication date: 2007-04-12
Also published as: CA2527336A1

Abstract

A cleaning assembly for providing in a single location, a water pressure washer unit and an air blower unit and having a stand providing upright members and a transverse member dividing the stand into upper and lower regions, a divider, dividing the upper region and lower region into a first pressure washer space and a second blower unit space, a first storage assembly for storing an elongate element, connectable to the pressure washer, and a second storage assembly for storing a second flexible element connectable to the blower unit.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the provision of a combined cleaning assembly for providing a set of outdoor cleaning equipment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various forms of outdoor or yard cleaning power equipment are available for various purposes. It is well known to provide blowers for blowing leaves and debris, for example, for clearing driveways, pathways and other areas around a dwelling. Usually, such equipment is operated either by a small fossil fuel motor. In some cases, the equipment is operated by means of an electrical motor requiring a power cord. Either form of operation is not particularly convenient. The fossil fuel motors eject emissions and create excessive noise. Electrical motors requiring cords can be inconvenient to use, unless the cord is fully controlled.
Cleaning equipment employing pressurized water jets is also known. This cleaning equipment usually requires a hose for the supply of domestic water, and some form of power either fossil fuel engine or electrical power. All of this equipment customarily requires storage of lengthy hoses, and power cords, if electrically operated. Each time it is required for use, these hoses and cords must be disentangled, connected and made ready for use. All of these factors can detract from the usefulness and appeal of this type of equipment to the average home owner. It can also add significantly to the storage problem and clutter around the home which usually interferes with the use of the garage.
In addition to all of these problems, the removal of debris, leaves and rubbish from around the exterior of the home usually requires some form of hand operation. The rubbish must be picked up and placed in bags for collection. In the case of small particulate rubbish, this is a particularly inconvenient problem.
It is possible to provide outdoor vacuum cleaners which solve this problem. This, however, requires the purchase, storage and use of yet another piece of equipment to complete the outdoor cleaning function.
Clearly, it would desirable to provide a compact complete installation for all of this equipment, so that it could be readily placed in a space such as the garage, stored compactly and safely out of the way, leaving the rest of the garage for use. Ideally, the equipment would be more or less permanently connected to the various supplies such as, water, electrical power and the like, so that it could be ready for use in a minimum of time.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With a view to dealing with these requirements, the invention seeks to provide a cleaning assembly for providing in a single location, a water pressure washer unit and an air blower unit and having a stand providing upright members and at least one transverse member dividing said stand into upper and lower regions, a divider, dividing one of said upper region and lower region into a pressure washer space and a blower unit space, a first rotary storage assembly for storing an elongate element, connectable to said pressure washer, a second rotary storage assembly for storing a second flexible element connectable to said blower unit, and said first and second rotary storage assemblies being located in the other of said upper and lower regions.
Preferably the cleaning assembly has first and second rotary storage assemblies located in said lower region and said pressure washer unit and said blower unit are located in said upper region.
Preferably the cleaning assembly includes a fluid connection for supplying fluid to said pressure washer unit, an electrical connection for supplying power to said second flexible element, for powering said blower unit, said stand being adapted to being positioned in a fixed location, with both pressure washing unit and said blower unit readily available for use.
Preferably the cleaning assembly includes a fluid coupling connecting said pressure washer unit to said flexible element on said first rotary storage assembly and wherein said flexible element is a hose.
Preferably the cleaning assembly includes a cleaning fluid supply connectable to said pressure washer unit, and supported on said stand.
Preferably the cleaning assembly has a rotary fluid coupling.
Preferably the cleaning assembly includes an axle for said first and second rotary storage assemblies, and supports for said axle on said stand.
Preferably the cleaning assembly includes upright bars defining side by side spaces and transverse bars for dividing said spaces into upper and lower regions.
Preferably the cleaning assembly includes a platform supported by said transverse bars.
Preferably the cleaning assembly includes supports for pressure washing accessories.
Preferably the cleaning assembly includes supports for blower accessories.
Preferably the cleaning assembly includes vacuum accessories for said blower unit, and a vacuum connection of said blower unit, whereby said blower unit

IN THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a general front perspective illustration of a cleaning stand assembly, illustrating the various features of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a rear perspective of the cleaning stand assembly shown;
FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of the cleaning stand assembly; and
FIG. 4 is an elevation of of the stand assembly with the components.

DESCRIPTION OF A SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT

Referring first of all to FIG. 1, the cleaning assembly stand illustrating the invention is shown generally as (10). Stand (10) defines a pressure water cleaner unit space indicated as (P), and a blower unit space indicated as (B).
The stand (10) will be seen to be formed, in this embodiment of, for example, metallic upright tubes (12) and transverse tubes (14). The metal tubing is shaped to define a space (P) for receiving the pressure water washer and space (B) for receiving the blower unit, located side by side with one another above the transverse tubes (14) 10 which form a shelf support. Upright tubes (12) are formed in a semi-arcuate shape, as shown.
Beneath the first and second storage spaces (P) and (B), are drum storage facilities consisting of a hose drum (16) for storing a pressure hose (18), and a power cord drum (20) for storing an electrical cable (22). The two drums are mounted on respective spindles (not shown) for rotation. The drums (16) and (20) may incorporate spring retraction mechanisms (not shown) of a type well known for rewinding the drums when the elements stored on them are no longer required. Domestic water may be supplied by a supply hose (24) which can be coupled to any suitable nearby main water supply 20 pipe. In order to supply high pressure water to the pressure hose (18) on the drum (16), a rotary hydraulic coupling (26) is provided, consisting of a cylindrical sleeve, fitting around a central supply conduit, and sealed with suitable 0-rings. Such a rotary hydraulic connection is well-known in the art and requires no special description or illustration.
A pressure water connection hose (28) is provided on the pressure washer unit (W) (FIG. 4), and may be releasably coupled to the hydraulic rotary coupling (26). In this way, when the pressure washer (W) is operated, high-pressure water can be directly supplied to the pressure hose (18) on the drum (16), while the pressure washer unit (W) itself remains in position on the stand (10). A suitable electrical power connection cable (30) extends from the pressure washer (W) and may be permanently plugged in to a wall receptacle. Alternatively, it may be released from the wall receptacle for reasons described below.
On occasion, it may be desirable to conduct pressure washing operations at a distance from the cleaning stand itself. In this case, the supply hose (24) may be disconnected from the main water pipe and reconnected to a water supply at the new location. The pressure hose (18) may also be disconnected, and a separate pressure hose (not shown) may be connected to the pressure water (W), of a type well-known in the art. The entire pressure washer unit (W) may thus be unplugged, removed from the cleaning stand (10) and carried to some other part of the house or property such as the back yard, where it may be again connected to a water supply such as a garden hose, and plugged into an electrical receptacle which is in a convenient location.
In this way, the pressure washer unit (W) can be used either in its location on the stand (10) or may be removed from the stand (10) and carried around to where ever it is required for convenient use.
The air blower unit (A) (FIG. 4) may also be provided for operation either connected on the stand (10) or removed to another location. It is electrically powered in a manner well known. The blower unit (A) itself is portable and carried conveniently on a typical shoulder strap (S). To render the air blower unit (A) mobile, the air blower unit (A) may be connected to the extendable electrical cable (22) mounted on the drum (20). Electrical power may be supplied through a rotary electrical coupling (not shown). Such a rotary electrical coupling is well known in the art and requires no special description. An electrical connecting cord (32) may be plugged into an adjacent wall receptacle, so that the electrical cable (22) on the drum (18) is permanently supplied with electrical power.
The electrical cable (22) on the drum (20) may be plugged into the air blower unit (A). The air blower unit (A) may thus simply be lifted away from the cleaning stand (10) and moved around to wherever it is required for operation. A variety of suitable accessories in the way of blower hoses and nozzles (N) may be provided and are well known in the art for delivering the air jet from the blower to where ever it is required for cleaning.
In this embodiment, the air blower unit (A) may also be used in reverse as a vacuum cleaner. For this purpose, the air blower unit (A) is provided with a suction nozzle connection (34), and the unit may be provided with a suction hose (36) which may be coupled to the suction nozzle. A collector bag (not shown) would be provided for collecting the debris picked up by the vacuum.
The hose drum (16) and the cord drum (20) are carried side-by-side on the stand (10) in drum space (D), located in this embodiment directly beneath the transverse tube (14), and the upper space (P) for the pressure washer unit (W).
In this embodiment, the transverse tubes (14) acts as cross bars for supporting a shelf (38), which extends across the two upright members (12), and divides the upper spaces from the lower spaces.
Suitable mounting brackets (40) are provided for fastening to a wall and the entire stand may be supported on such mounting brackets, to keep the entire assembly off the floor.
Accessories such as an elongated pressure lance and nozzle (42) and spray nozzle (44) may be provided, placed on the stand (10) so that all of the components are available in a common location, convenient for use, and may be returned to such location when not in use.
Support arms (46) are provided for supporting the shelf tubes (14) and (38). The pressure washer unit (W) and the air blower unit (A) may be stood on the shelf (38). A cover (48) may be provided which is attached to the upper end of the upright tubes (12) and protect the washer unit (W) and the air blower (A) unit from debris or dust which may accumulate.
In this particular embodiment, the pressure washer (W) may use a cleaning fluid in combination with the pressure water so as to more thoroughly cleanse, for example, an automobile. For this purpose, a cleaning fluid container (C) is provided, which is supported on the shelf (38). A connecting hose (not shown) can be provided on the pressure washer unit for receiving cleaning fluids from the container (C). Preferably, the pressure washer unit will be of such type that the cleaning fluid may be incorporated in the pressure washer water when desired, and switched off for purposes of rinsing with plain water. Such systems are well-known in the art and require no description.
The foregoing is a description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is given here by way of example only. The invention is not to be taken as limited to any of the specific features as described, but comprehends all such variations thereof as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A cleaning assembly for providing in a single location, a water pressure washer unit and an air blower unit and comprising;

a stand providing upright members and at least one transverse member dividing said stand into upper and lower regions;

a divider, dividing one of said upper region and lower region into a pressure washer space and a blower unit space;

a first rotary storage assembly for storing an elongate element, connectable to said pressure washer; a second rotary storage assembly for storing a second flexible element connectable to said blower unit, and, said first and second rotary storage assemblies being located in the other of said upper and lower regions.

2. A cleaning assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first and second rotary storage assemblies are located in said lower region and said pressure washer unit and said blower unit are located in said upper region.

3. A cleaning assembly as claimed in claim 1 including a fluid connection for supplying fluid to said pressure washer unit, an electrical connection for supplying power to said second flexible element, for powering said blower unit, said stand being adapted to being positioned in a fixed location, with both pressure washing unit and said blower unit readily available for use.

4. A cleaning assembly as claimed in claim 1 including a fluid coupling connecting said pressure washer unit to said flexible element on said first rotary storage assembly and wherein said flexible element is a hose.

5. A cleaning assembly as claimed in claim 1 including a cleaning fluid supply connectable to said pressure washer unit, and supported on said stand.

6. A cleaning assembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein said fluid coupling is a rotary coupling.

7. A cleaning assembly as claimed in claim 1 including an axle for said first and second rotary storage assemblies, and supports for said axle on said stand.

8. A cleaning assembly as claimed in claim 1 including upright bars defining side by side spaces and transverse bars for dividing said spaces into upper and lower regions.

9. A cleaning assembly as claimed in claim 8 including a platform supported by said transverse bars.

10. A cleaning assembly as claimed in claim 1 including supports for pressure washing accessories.

11. A cleaning assembly as claimed in claim 10 including supports for blower accessories.

12. A cleaning assembly as claimed in claim 11 including vacuum accessories for said blower unit, and a vacuum connection of said blower unit, whereby said blower unit may be used as a vacuum cleaner.