Vacuum intake safety means

Claim 1

In combination with a vacuum cleaner having means defining a suction opening and sectionalized tube means fixed to said opening, a coupling for joining sections of said tube means together comprising a male connector member at the end of one tube section and a female connector member at the end of a cooperating tube section, said members being designed for sliding fit with each other to be held together solely by friction, each section of said tube means comprising an open-ended vacuum intake element terminating at its intake end in one of said connector members, said one connector member forming a vacuum intake mouth for said vacuum intake element, a plurality of notches formed in said one connector member at said mouth, each of said notches being of sufficient width and depth to substantially eliminate the pressure drop which otherwise occurs when the vacuum cleaner is running and said intake mouth is pressed or held or positioned against a child''s or adult''s eye, ear, or other body part, said notches defining axially projecting tongues between each circumferentially attached notch pair, each tongue having axially extending, substantially parallel side edges anD having a smoothly curved projecting end edge, said end edge comprising a semicircle, said notches being substantially closed off by insertion of the male connector member into the female connector member.