2. Background of the Prior Art Structures that have multiple levels must be cleaned and maintained just like their one story brethren. Carpets must be vacuumed and steam cleaned on a regular basis in order to keep the interior of the structure looking fresh and comfortable and to prevent the structure from developing"sick building"syndrome. However, the taller a structure is, the more difficult it is to accomplish this cleaning process.

Simple vacuuming can be accomplished at any level of a structure without undue difficulty. However, steaming cleaning a carpet (and upholstery, non-carpet surfaces, etc.,) is difficult at higher levels.

The typical process to steam clean a surface is to bring a vehicle-mounted cleaning system that contains the requisite cleaning apparatus to the location to be cleaned. The vacuum hose and the fluid hose are connected to the vacuum pump and the fluid pump respectively, an appropriate attachment is fitted on the other end of the hoses, and the cleaning process begins. Cleaning a building that has only a couple of levels, this process is relatively easy. However, a fifty story building presents an altogether different situation. The two

hoses, which are quite bulky and cumbersome, must be hoisted up to the fiftieth floor (and each other floor to be cleaned) by way of the stairs. This requires a great length of hose which must be transported and stored by the cleaning crew and also requires a large amount of hard manual labor to hoist the hoses up the stairs.

In order to overcome this problem, many building maintenance managers turn to small portable cleaning units, only to find that they are inadequate and inefficient. Some managers will simply skip the steam cleaning process altogether, resulting in a gradual deterioration of the non-cleaned surfaces.

Therefore, there is need in the art for a cleaning system that is used in multiple level structures that overcomes-the aforementioned needs in the art. Such a system must relieve the cleaning crew of having to transport a large amount of hosing to the job sight and up many flights of stairs. The cleaning system must be of relatively simple design and operation and must not be unduly taxing on manual labor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The cleaning system for multiple level structures of the present invention addresses the aforementioned needs in the art. The cleaning system does not require an inordinate amount of hosing to be carried by the cleaning crew. The crew needs only enough hosing to cover a single floor. The cleaning system is relatively easy to use, being only about as difficult to operate as a standard truck-mounted system.

The cleaning system for multiple level structures is comprised of a first conduit, having a plurality of first openings, and a second conduit, having a plurality of second openings, each of the first conduit and second conduit extending through some or all of the levels of the structure.

A holding tank is fluid flow connected to the first conduit, while a heat exchanger is fluid flow connected to the second conduit. A vacuum pump is operatively connected to the first conduit while a fluid pump is operatively connected to the second conduit. At least one engine is operatively connected to each pump. The vacuum pump and the fluid pump can be fixedly attached to their respective conduits or can be removably attached. A valve is attached to each one of the plurality of first openings while a cap is attached to each of the plurality of second openings. The valves, which are each coupled to their respective openings by way of an extension, can each be of any appropriate valve, such as a single faucet. However, using quick connect latches allows existing cleaning attachments to be efficiently coupled to the

remainder of the cleaning system while also providing a valving function. Each cap and valve can be held within a housing on their respective level of the structure. A lid can be attached to the housing for user access to the cap and the valve and the lid can be locked when the system is not in use.

The housing can be a separate structure or can simply be defined by the lid. A plurality of control panels are provided, one each is disposed within a respective one of the plurality of housings. Each control panel is operatively connected to the vacuum pump and to the fluid pump and allows control of these pumps. The control panels also have display lights that indicate if the cleaning system is being used by someone on another level. Alternately, a single master control panel can be located at any desired location, or control of the vacuum pump and the fluid pump can be located directly on the devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a partially sectioned front elevation view of the conduit subsystem of the cleaning system of the present invention installed within a building.

Figure 2 is a top cross-sectional view of the conduit subsystem of the cleaning system.

Figure 3 is a top view of the cleaning subsystem of the cleaning system.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a control panel used with the cleaning system Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, it is seen t-hat the cleaning system of the present invention, generally denoted by reference numeral 10, is comprised of a fluid subsystem 12 and a cleaning subsystem 14. The conduit subsystem 12 is comprised of a first conduit 16 and a second conduit 18. The first conduit 16 and the second conduit 18 extend through at least some levels of a multiple level structure or building B (it being understood that the present invention will work equally well in a large single story structure such as a shopping mall wherein each level is horizontally related to the other levels). The first conduit 16 is made from any appropriate material that can have a suction pulled therethrough, such as metal, PVC, etc., while the second conduit 18 is made from any appropriate material that can have a fluid pass therethrough, such as metal PVC, etc., although brass and copper are ideal candidates due to their longevity of operation. Insulation 20 surrounds at least the second conduit 18. The insulation 20, which can be made from a fire-resistant material, provides insulation capacity in order to keep heat within the second conduit 18 as well as preventing someone from being burned should they touch the second conduit 18 while hose fluid is flowing therethrough.

Advantageously, the first conduit 16 and the second conduit 18 will be positioned behind an appropriate interior wall 22 of the building B. The conduits 16 and 18 can be placed into any desired location within the building B such as

within a service duct that runs vertically through the building in similar fashion to placing standard plumbing through the structure or a separate duct can be created for the two conduits 16 and 18. The two conduits 16 and 18 can also be attached to the exterior of the building, although for aesthetic reasons and to protect the conduits 16 and 18 from the elements, this choice is not necessarily desirable. If necessary, appropriate elbows or other joints (neither illustrated) can be provided in order for the two conduits 16 and 18 to pass around any obstacles or to shift between a pair of level of the building B. A plurality of openings 26 are located along the length of the first conduit 16 and the second conduit 18, ideally but not necessarily one opening 26 for each conduit 16 and 18 on each level of the building B thereby defining an opening pair. A cap 28 is secured to each of the openings 26 of the first conduit 16 in order to seal that opening and prevent vacuum loss therefrom when that particular opening is not in use. A quick connect latch 30, of conventional design known in the art, has a valve portion and a latch portion, is attached to each of the openings 26 on the second conduit 18, either directly or via an extension 24.

A lid 32 defines a housing for each opening pair on each level of the building B. The lid 32, which may have a lock thereon to prevent unauthorized access to the opening pair, may be attached hingedly or otherwise to the any appropriate point proximate the opening pair, the exact point of attachment

being dependent on the location of the two conduits 16 and 18 relative to the building B.

The cleaning subsystem 14 is comprised of a vacuum pump 36 that is connected to the first conduit 16 and provides suction therethrough. A fluid pump 38 is fluid flow connected to the second conduit 18 and pumps fluid through the second conduit 18. The fluid pump 38 is also connected to a source of water. A motor 34 is operatively connected to the vacuum pump 36 and the fluid pump 38. A heat exchanger 40 is fluid flow connected to the second conduit 18 and heats the liquid that the fluid pump 38 pumps through the second conduit 18. A holding tank 42 is connected to the first conduit 16. The holding tank 42 has an access port 44 for removing collected items from the holding tank 42. The cleaning subsystem 14 can be stored on a base 46. This base can be a floor or foundation of the building B or can be a vehicle (trailer, van, etc.,) such that the cleaning subsystem 14 is removably attached to the conduit subsystem 12. In such an arrangement, the conduit subsystem 12 and the cleaning subsystem 14 would each be provided with appropriate fittings (such as quick latches) to couple the vacuum pump 36 to and decouple from the first conduit 16 and to couple the fluid pump 38 to and decouple from the second conduit 18. An appropriate control panel having a first switch 48 and a second switch 50 is provided. The first switch 48 controls the vacuum pump 36 while the second switch 50 controls the fluid pump 38. A control panel can be placed proximate each opening pair so

that the system can be operated by a user on the level that the user is servicing. A first light 52 monitors operation of the vacuum pump 36 and illuminates whenever the vacuum pump 36 is active while a second light 54 monitors operation of the fluid pump 38 and illuminates whenever the fluid pump 38 is active. It is recognized that other controls and monitors can be placed on the control panel.

In order to use the cleaning system 10 of the present invention, the first conduit 16 and second conduit 18 are installed within the building B, and opening pairs are provided at each desired level. If the building B has a large number of levels, one cleaning system 10 can be provided to cover some of the levels, say the first half and a second cleaning system 10 can be provided to cover the second half of the building B. The cleaning subsystem 14 of this second cleaning system 10 would be located on one of the second half levels of the building B. The vacuum pump 36 is coupled to the first conduit 16 and the fluid pump 38 is coupled to the second conduit 18. A user proceeds to the desired levels of the building B, and opens or otherwise removes the lid 32. An appropriate attachment, such as a cleaning wand, is appropriately connected to the first conduit 16 (after removal of the cap 28), the second conduit 18, or both. The latch portion of that particular quick connect latch 30 provides a mechanical connection between the attachment and the second conduit 18 and also opens the quick connect latches valve establishing fluid communication between the attachment and

the second conduit 18. This system prevents an opening 26 on the second conduit 18 on another level from being accidentally left open. If the quick connect latch is not used, then the attachment must be attached in an appropriate way to the extension 24, such as by threadable attachment and the particular valve that is used opened appropriately. All openings 26 which are not used are closed. The vacuum pump 36 and/or the fluid pump 38 is activated. If the first light 52 or the second light 54 are illuminated, the user knows that the system 10 is being used by someone on another level and will wait until the other person finishes. If the user is steaming cleaning, the fluid is pumped through the second conduit 18 by the fluid pump 18. The fluid passes through the heat exchanger 40 in order to heat the fluid with the fluid remaining hot during transport through the second conduit 18 due to the insulation 20. The heated fluid is discharged onto the surface to be cleaned by the attachment connected to the second conduit 18 and the deposited fluid is sucked up by the attachment that is attached to the first conduit 16 from the suction created by the vacuum pump 16. The sucked up dirt-laden fluid is brought down to the holding tank 42 through the first conduit 16.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to an embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.