1956 COMPACT Model C-4 Owners Manual

[charles~richard]

I'm kinda surprised Compact wasn't sued for patent infringement by Electrolux for the "flip-over" rug tool. Clearly it's the same idea -- flipping over the tool to bring into play a concentrated force of suction.

Anyone who has studied Electrolux history knows that every single feature, even the most minor and insignificant ones, were patented by the company. And it does seem likely that Electrolux came first with this feature, inasmuch as it is described in the very first version of the Model XXX instruction booklet, copyrighted 1937.

And, for that matter, the 1935 version of the XII also introduced a flip-over rug tool with what was, at that time, called "The Gleaner." However, that feature, while illustrated in the manual, is not discussed or described. (Later on, the term "Gleaner" was applied to the long, toothed bar that the user could engage by flipping a lever at one end of the rug tool.)

Granted, G.E. also had a flip-over tool, however, its purpose in going from side to side was for changing from bare floors to carpets, not for bringing a "Lint-o-lator" into play!

 

[camelotshadow]

That does look like a 40's photo

Hey, I didn't know you could use that tool upside down

I washed all the attachments from the great vac day
but haven't gotten to use much lux tools except did try the blue floor tool from I think a 1205.

Charles I am not familar with the design of both these tools but seems to me the concept of flipping over a tool is more of an general idea that I would not think lends itself to patent. I would think a case for patent infringment would be questionable unless they really copied something unique in the design other than just the flipping...

Hey just took out ye too in the pic
Wow didn't realize it could be used either way

I have to try it!

Now I got to vacuum...

Thanks

 

[charles~richard]

Yes, but the thing is, the top of the Compact rug nozzle is so similar (nearly identical) to the top of the Electrolux rug nozzle. Look at both of them side by side and you'll see what I mean.

That's the sort of thing that Electrolux would have patented -- the swirling thingie that concentrates and intensifies the airflow to snap up strings and lint.

 

[camelotshadow]

I do see your point
the neck swivel design that closes off air to top or bottom is identical
top of compact is a hole where as lux is slit

Actually don't know how that compacr hole would work
See the channels that converge into it
where as lux is a long slit

while design is related in neck the tops are different in airflow

Tested the lux & its hard to keep it level with a wand
seem the newer style pick up better

will have to try the compact

Still waiting to get the bags cloth & dis & motor filter for the compact

Don't know if the flipped compact rug tool would really be good for anything
the surface area is a scant 3 inches & it looks like it would be unstable on the rug

Did quickie test
the lux head wide when it sets right seems to pull up on the carpet the most
The compact has the extended brush which is good to agitate
but it also diminishes suction as the tool never sits flush to the carpet

OOOH well

All nice attachements

 

[danemodsandy]

Perhaps a Licence?

Since patents can be and are licenced, perhaps Interstate thought enough of the Electrolux concentrator feature to licence it. I well remember how useful it could be on our C-2. We're all rather spoiled today; power nozzles get up everything pretty easily, even pet hair. In the old days, you had to work at it a little harder, and features like the concentrator really did help.

 

[normvac]

Vacuuming with a suction carpet tool !

You are correct about having to work harder with a stright suction cannister or tank in the "old" days. I can remember
every one had half warn out, short pile wool rugs. It would be so hard to make make the suction nozzles work. I remember
vacuuming a whole rug with the lux nozzle flipped over on the
top. As the poor ole rug was almost threat bear. I also remember housewives using the floor brush. So the cleaner would get the rug cleaner. Now talk about WORK, I have done
that a few times in my life. I have also seen people using
the upholstery tool to cleaner carpet as it would concentrate
more suction to get the job done.
Norm

 

[normvac]

One thought I forgot about, was my former mother in law had a 1953/4 Revelation. I help clean one time, asked where the carpet tool was for the living room carpeting (501 Nylon, at the time) They had NO idea where to look, as they had not used it since the carpet was a few months old. The brush in the carpet nozzle and the hard floor brushes were almost totally gone!
Norm

 

[danemodsandy]

Norm:

"You are correct about having to work harder with a stright suction cannister or tank in the "old" days. I can remember
every one had half warn out, short pile wool rugs. It would be so hard to make make the suction nozzles work."

Ah, someone else who remembers the '50s and '60s accurately! People who watch "Mad Men" or old Rat Pack movies have no idea what it was really like to live in that world. People didn't have nearly as much as they have today. Air conditioning was a luxury; many people experienced it only when they went to the movies or a restaurant. Of those who had it at home, many had it only in the bedroom, to promote better sleep.

The lack of A/C meant that most people lived with their windows wide open in summer. That brought in dust and grit galore, which helped to wear out fabrics and rugs with appalling rapidity. Using window fans for cooling only accelerated the rate at which schmutz came into the house. The smoking habits of the era (anytime, anywhere, as much as you pleased) contributed nicotine stains. The paint colours of the time- usually greyed-down blues and tans instead of clear, bright colours- were designed to hide the ravages of smoking. Upholstery fabrics were generally dark, to hide soiling.

In spite of the cheery, "can-do" tone of magazine advertising of the period, some tasks were nearly impossible to accomplish. One of the biggies was upholstery cleaning. Most methods were based on laying down detergent foam, letting it dry, and vacuuming up the residue, which- it was hoped- would contain the dirt. It was only somewhat effective, and detergent left in the fabric attracted more dirt.

Cleaning an oven was a task so dreadful, it really could be used in Hell as an eternal punishment for particularly grievous sins. You had a glass jar of Easy-Off with a little brush clipped to its cap; the brush was maybe three-quarters of an inch wide. Painting the oven cleaner evenly onto the entire inner surface of an oven took forever.

People today don't understand how hard it was to do things like washing dishes in summer heat. You'd have been hot all day, you were tired from it, and here you were, facing an hour over a hot, steamy dishpan.

It really was difficult to keep a house truly clean, if you were in a major city. Not until the later '60s, when central air became a possibility for more people, did you begin to see life take the form we know today. With air, you could have light-coloured paint and carpeting. You could pick white-and-gold damask for the living room sofa, and know that it would survive for a while.

Don't get me started about '50s cars. For all that glamour and all those tailfins, those cars were old at 75,000 miles, all but worn out, because they were so cheaply built, and because oil and gasoline were so poorly refined by today's standards.

A different time.

 

[camelotshadow]

I remember trying to sleep in the heat of NY in the summer
I remember the old black antique fan I had
blowing in my eyes all restless night
I remember waking up tired & bloodshot
LOL

We had no AC for a long time
Think first one we got was my grandparents old 50's be clunker.
It was in the LR window were we all hovered with sheets on the kitchen & hallway doorways to try to keep one 12 X 18 room cool.

OOOh the kitchen
Yep washing dishes after cooling in 90 plus
My mom bbq' almost every night & we ate out back under the huge pear tree we had.

That was great!
but not everyone in those days lived in a house
there were the apt dwellars

That was worse.

Having AC wasn't the only probelm in our house
Even if we wanted AC's in a few windows
there was the electrical problem as the house was over 100 years old & I think still only 15 Amp
These days thats a hairdryer

LOL

But that was life for us even in the 70's & we had to live with it...

 

[camelotshadow]

Looks like early C4 toyed w cover design

this one listed at tristar has a different cover with no high protrusion for the hose connection.

Perhaps the early 55 C4's were different?

Think thats all one piece so it had to be made that way & not missing anything.

Aerodynamically it looks like it wouldn;t be as efficient as the original.

The opening angle is not as good & its also lower which to me would set up a different airflow & perhaps more resistance



http://www.tristarclean.com/about/zoom.cfm?p=7

 

[danemodsandy]

Christine:

That bag door design has always been a mystery to me. I cannot see how it served any functional purpose, and as a bit of styling change, it would have been expensive, requiring a complete re-tooling of the bag door die.

On the other hand, Interstate did seem willing to mess about with the styling, even when it didn't really accomplish anything. The C-2 was very sleek, with no extraneous "character lines" to spoil its superb surface development. But beginning with the C-4, a raised design of character lines was added to the sides of the canister. It still made for a handsome vacuum, but the extraordinary purity of the C-2's design was sacrificed in the process. As a journalist whose field is architecture and design, it's my opinion that the C-2 was one of the best industrial designs of the 20th century. Subsequent Compacts (and TriStars, including my own beloved CXL), are not quite so good from a design standpoint, being just that little bit over-ornamented.

Where Interstate's styling changes really get mysterious is that the Compact was sold door-to-door. It wasn't as if people had been seeing the same design in stores year-in-year-out, making it necessary to refresh the design somehow. (There was a retail version of the Compact called the Revelation, it's true). But most people's first sight of the Compact was when the salesman brought it into their house- the styling could have been brand-new or ten years old, and they wouldn't have known the difference.

 

[camelotshadow]

I see it as an inbetween design

I like the C2 machine
it does seem to flow complete
except I noticed the door sides are flatter & lower than in the later models.

that early c4 was the first to introduce a raised dome to the lid
but did away with the angled neck

They must have realized the flaw & then continued with the raised dome hood & then adding the orig angled neck.

That to me would create the most efficient whirlwind flow into the bag.

The later C4 then would be the prototype that continued after that basically unchanged.

Subtle difference not at first easy to see