This invention relates generally to vacuum cleaning systems, more particularly to an apparatus for the convenient storage of a length of vacuum cleaner hose when not in use.
Vacuum cleaners are well known to the art. One of the first power operated vacuum cleaners was devised by Hubert Cecil Brooks in 1901. A prototype machine was built in 1902 and it consisted of a powerful vacuum pump driven by a motor mounted on a four-wheel, horse-drawn van. The vacuum machine was parked outside a customer's house and the dust and dirt was sucked out of the house through a long hose into the vacuum cleaning machine.
The first portable electric vacuum cleaner for domestic use was marketed by Chapman & Skinner in San Francisco in 1905. The prototype of the modern portable vacuum system with a dust bag attached to a handle was built in 1907 by J. Murray Spangler. Spangler sold his rights in the device to W. H. Hoover and Hoover produced the first commercial model based on Spangler's design in 1908. Hoover's first commercial model was the prototype for generations of upright vacuum cleaners models.
Modern vacuum cleaners are of three general types. The traditional upright or vertical type which is light weight and moves across the surface to be cleaned. The upright model usually has a suction port to which a hose can be attached to facilitate the cleaning of furniture, draperies, and other objects apart from the flat surface of a floor. Cannister models, an alternative design, are generally more powerful than upright models. Cannister models are not moved across the surface but remain relatively stationary or moved in small increments across the floor on wheels or a cushion of air, while a long hose with a nozzle is moved to the area to be clean.
The third and most recent design of vacuum cleaners is the central vacuum system. In general, the central or built-in vacuum system is comprised of a fixed vacuum consisting of an electric motor capable of creating a powerful suction. The vacuum unit is mounted in the house or building, out of the way, generally in the garage, basement, utility room or the like. A network of hoses, mounted in the walls of the house, extends out from the central unit and terminate in the respective rooms of the house. Each room of a house, for example, will have an access outlet or receptacle. A portable hose, with a nozzle attached, can be carried from room to room and attached to the receptacle to provide access to the central vacuum unit. Generally, when the hose is attached to the receptacle, the central unit is activated to provide suction through the hose.
The central unit has several advantages over the upright and cannister modes. For example, the remote central unit is mounted out of sight. The unit can accommodate a more powerful motor than most portable models. The user merely carries the hose from room to room, inserts the hose into the receptacle, and vacuums the room.
There is one notable drawback to the central vacuum system. Since the user does not have a complete, mobile vacuum cleaner in the room, the central vacuum cleaner hose must necessarily be much longer than the conventional vacuum cleaner hose to reach from the receptacle to all corners of the room. A central system vacuum cleaner hose can be twenty-five (25) to thirty-five (35) feet long or more. Therefore storage of the hose, when not in use, creates a problem. It should be noted at this point that the storage of hoses used with conventional upright and cannister model vacuum cleaners presents similar problems and the present invention is applicable to those hoses as well.
To date, manufacturers and distributors of vacuum cleaning systems have not provided satisfactory storage systems or devices. One such device is a typical wall mounted hose rack consisting of a circular or semi-circular body. The hose is draped or wrapped in loops around the body. The rack must be mounted in a closet or on a utility room wall. The rack device is bulky, takes up closet: space, and requires the hose to be maintained in a wound or looped condition for extended periods of time between uses. Frequent winding and unwinding can lead to premature wear and deterioration of the hose.
If the user does not have room or does not desire to mount a rack on the wall, he or she has few options for storing the hose. One manufacturer of central vacuum systems suggests that the user obtain a large basket and wind the hose into tight loops and store the hose in a basket in a closet or corner of a room. This is an unsatisfactory procedure for obvious reasons.