US Patent 7269877 Floor care appliance with network connectivity

A floor care appliance is provided with a microprocessor based control arrangement having a communications port for connection to a computer. Once connected to a computer, software updates for the microprocessor may be downloaded or diagnostic information stored in the microprocessor's memory may be uploaded for diagnostic purposes. In one embodiment of the invention, the communication port is configured to be connected to a local computer for possible further connection to a remote computer over a computer or telephone network. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the communication port is configured to connect to and dial up a remote computer over a telephone network.