Vacuum cleaner attachment having a concave vacuum head with a swivel joint that swivels only within a central plane of the vacuum head

1. An apparatus for attachment to a vacuum cleaner, the apparatus comprising:

a vacuum head, the vacuum head including:

a concave opening having a concave curvature corresponding to a convex curvature of a cylindrical surface to be vacuumed,

an arcuate slot opposite to the concave opening,

a circular track co-extensive with the arcuate slot, and

an inlet configured to be in fluid communication with both a source of vacuum suction and the concave opening so as to provide vacuum suction to the concave opening;

a flexible conduit connected in fluid communication at a first end with the inlet of the vacuum head; and

an attachment mechanism configured to swivelably support the vacuum head so as to swivel only within a central plane of the vacuum head, and configured to provide suction generated by the vacuum cleaner to the vacuum head, the attachment mechanism including:

a neck having a flange end configured to receive a source of vacuum suction, an inlet end configured to receive a second end of the flexible conduit, and at least one annular rail attached to the neck between the flange end and the inlet end, the annular rail configured to slidably engage with the circular track of the vacuum head such that movement of the annular rail along the circular track allows the neck to move through the arcuate slot of the vacuum head,

thereby enabling the concave opening of the vacuum head to be supported and swiveled around the convex curvature of the cylindrical surface to be vacuumed, while the vacuum head is also moved along the length of the cylindrical surface to be vacuumed.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the flange end of the neck is configured to receive a source of vacuum suction for providing suction to the vacuum head as the vacuum head is swiveled around the convex curvature of the cylindrical surface to be vacuumed.

3. An apparatus for attachment to a vacuum cleaner, the apparatus comprising:

a vacuum head that is symmetrical about a central plane that bisects the vacuum head, the vacuum head including:

a concave opening having a curvature that generally corresponds to the convex curvature of a surface to be vacuumed,

an arcuate slot opposite to the concave opening, and

a circular track co-extensive with the arcuate slot;

a swivel joint having a first section with an inlet in fixed engagement with the vacuum head, the inlet configured to be in fluid communication with both a source of vacuum suction and the concave opening so as to provide vacuum suction to the concave opening, the swivel joint also having a second section that is configured to be in swivelable relationship with the first section, the swivel joint being configured to swivel only through the central plane of the vacuum head, the second section of the swivel joint including:

a neck having a flange end configured to receive a source of vacuum suction, an inlet end configured to receive an end of a flexible conduit, and at least one annular rail attached to the neck between the flange end and the inlet end, the annular rail configured to slidably engage with the circular track of the vacuum head such that movement of the annular rail along the circular track allows the neck to move through the arcuate slot of the vacuum head; and

a flexible conduit extending from the first section to the second section, the flexible conduit being configured to provide suction generated by the source of vacuum suction to the vacuum head.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the neck has a second annular rail attached on an opposite side of the neck.