Vacuum Cleaner

Abstract

An electric vacuum cleaner having a generally cylindrical brush roller positioned in the suction nozzle of the vacuum cleaner wherein the brush roller includes a wall positioned adjacent to and extending outwardly from portions of the brush bristles for causing the bristles to bend over when a carpet is sucked partially into the suction nozzle. This construction reduces the resistance of the bristles on the carpet pile thereby preventing the brush from stalling.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a vacuum cleaner having a suction creating means, and more particularly, to a unique brush roller positioned within the suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner for efficiently cleaning rugs which may be partially sucked into the suction nozzle.

As is well known in the electric vacuum cleaner art, brush rollers have been rotatably mounted in the nozzle or mouth of a vacuum cleaner and have been driven by a belt or pulley connected to the motor which drives the suction fan of the vacuum cleaner. While such brush rollers have taken various shapes and forms, many brush rollers have not been entirely satisfactorily since the bristles on the roller stall the brush and prevent it from being rotated by its pulley or belt when the carpet being cleaned is lifted or sucked partially into the suction nozzle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Correspondingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a brush roller which will efficiently clean rugs which are partially sucked into the suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner without stalling the brush.

In accordance with one of the aspects of my invention, a vacuum cleaner having a suction creating means and a suction nozzle connected to the suction creating means is provided with a unique brush roller mounted for rotation in the suction nozzle. The roller is generally cylindrical and includes a generally flat surface disposed approximately perpendicular to a radius of the roller. The trailing edge of the flat surface intersects the generally cylindrical outer surface of the brush roller and the leading edge of the flat surface terminates in a wall extending substantially perpendicular to the flat surface. A plurality of bristles are mounted on the brush roller and they extend outwardly generally perpendicular to the flat surface of the roller. The bristles are located relatively close to the generally perpendicular wall and are arranged generally parallel to the perpendicular wall. In addition, the generally perpendicular wall extends from the flat surface to the outer cylindrical surface of the brush roller. Thus, when the brush roller is being rotated by its pulley or belt and a carpet is being partially sucked into the suction nozzle the cylindrical surface of the roller at the leading edge of the flat surface contacts the carpet thereby partially deforming its nap and since the cylindrical surface is spaced radially outwardly from portions of the brush bristles it insures that the side surfaces of most of the bristles rather than the tips of the bristles initially contact the carpet being cleaned. By this arrangement, the bristles in contact with the carpet are bent toward the trailing edge of the flat surface, and thus, the friction between the carpet and the brush bristles is low enough so that the brush roller is not stalled and prevented from being rotated by its pulley or belt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and attendant advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner incorporating the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the brush roller of the vacuum cleaner shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation view of the cleaner shown in FIG. 1 with parts broken away to show my unique brush roller in contact with a carpet partially sucked into the vacuum cleaner nozzle; and

FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3 but shows the bristles of the brush roller in fuller contact with the carpet being cleaned.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings and especially to FIG. 1, there is shown a vacuum cleaner generally designated by the reference numeral 10 embodying my unique brush roller 12. The vacuum cleaner includes a base portion 14 having an electric motor and suction fan 15 positioned therein and an upwardly extending handle 16 having a conventional dust bag 18 attached thereto.

As shown more particularly in FIGS. 3 and 4, a conventional suction air inlet nozzle 20 is located within the forward portion of the base and is connected to the suction creating fan 15 located within the base portion of the vacuum cleaner.

The brush roller 12 which represents the preferred embodiment of my invention is rotatably mounted in any suitable manner in the nozzle 20 of the vacuum cleaner. As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, it is driven by means of an endless belt or pulley 22 which is preferably connected in driven relationship to the motor shaft of the vacuum cleaner in a conventional manner.

As illustrated more particularly in FIG. 2, my improved brush roller 12 comprises a cylindrical body member and conventionally the body member is made of wood or suitable plastic material. A plurality of tufts of bristles 24 are suitably positioned on the brush roller, and in the embodiment illustrated, two rows of bristles are positioned in diametrically opposite rows of bores which may be drilled or otherwise formed in the brush roller. As illustrated, the bristles are spirally arranged and spiral in the same direction so that any tuft of bristles of one of the rows of bristles located the same distance from the end of the roller as a bristle tuft of the other row of bristles is approximately 180.degree. apart from the first mentioned bristle tuft. This is a conventional arrangement to insure that one of the bristle tufts is always in a position to be in contact with the carpet.

In accordance with my invention, the bristle tufts are positioned on flat surfaces 26 which are cut or otherwise formed in the brush roller dowel for permitting the bristles to lie at least partially within the radius of the outer cylindrical surface 30 of the brush dowel when a carpet is sucked partially into the suction nozzle. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, two generally flat surfaces 26 are utilized, one surface for one of the rows of bristles and the other surface for the other row of bristles. As illustrated, the flat surfaces 26 are disposed approximately perpendicular to radii of the brush roller 12 and the trailing edges 28 of the flat surfaces intersect the generally cylindrical outer surfaces 30 of the brush roller. A unique outwardly extending wall 32 is positioned at the leading edge 34 of the flat surfaces 26. The wall 32 extends substantially perpendicular to the flat surfaces 26 and is positioned relatively close to the bristle tufts, it extends generally parallel to the bristle tufts and gently merges with the outer cylindrical surface 30 of the brush roller at a rounded corner 36.

In a preferred embodiment of my invention the generally perpendicular wall 32 is positioned approximately three-sixteenth inch from the base of the bristle tufts, the height of the wall is approximately one-fourth of the length of the bristles, and the distance from the base of the bristles to the trailing edges of the flats 26 is approximately equal to the length of the bristles. With these parameters the bristle tufts are readily deformed to lie close to the flat surfaces 26 and the brush is prevented from stalling when a carpet is sucked up into the suction nozzle 20.

OPERATION

With this unique construction, when a carpet being cleaner is sucked partially into the suction nozzle 20 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, and the brush roller 12 is rotated in the direction of the arrows, as shown in FIG. 3, the cylindrical surface 30 of the brush roller will be moved into contact with the carpet pile thereby deforming the pile and shaping it so that the side surfaces 38 of most of the bristles will be placed in contact with the carpet. It can be appreciated that the generally perpendicular wall 32 insures that only the radial outer portions 38 of the bristles will be placed in contact with the carpet thereby preventing the carpet pile from contacting the radial inner portions of the bristles. Thus, the bristles are readily bent over toward the trailing edges of the flat surfaces. Moreover, with this construction the flat surfaces 26 and the generally perpendicular walls 32 provides a substantial recess for receiving the deformed bristles when a carpet is sucked rather forcefully into the suction nozzle. During such a condition, the bristle tufts will lie somewhat flat against the flat surfaces 26 with the tips of the bristles being quite close to the trailing edges of the flat surfaces. Thus, at the points where the bristles contact the carpet being cleaned the distance from such point to the center of the brush roller is not much greater than the distance from the center of the brush roller to the outer cylindrical surface 28 of the brush roller. This is important since a mechanical advantage is achieved by having the load applied through a shorter lever arm. It can be seen that the load lever arm is reduced as the bristles are moved closer to the axial center of the brush roller 12.

With this arrangement, the brush bristles do not provide an excessive amount of resistance on the carpet being cleaned, and the brush is not stalled due to the resistance of the bristles on the carpet pile. It can also be appreciated that the smooth glossy surfaces of the sides of the bristles will naturally have much less frictional resistance than the cutoff tips of the bristles. Accordingly, with this unique brush roller construction for shaping the bristles and the carpet pile, a stalling resistance between the bristle tufts and the carpet being cleaned is prevented.

Claims

What I claim is:

1. An electric vacuum cleaner having a suction creating means comprising:

a. a suction nozzle connected to said suction creating means;

b. a generally cylindrical brush roller mounted for rotation in said suction nozzle, said roller including a generally flat surface disposed approximately perpendicular to a radius of said roller, the trailing edge of said flat surface intersecting the generally cylindrical outer surface of said brush roller and the leading edge of said generally flat surface terminating in a wall extending substantially perpendicular to said flat surface;

c. a plurality of bristles mounted on the brush roller extending outwardly from the flat surface of said brush roller, said bristles being located relatively close to said generally perpendicular wall;

d. said generally perpendicular wall being generally parallel to said plurality of bristles and extending from said flat surface to the generally cylindrical surface of said brush roller so that when a carpet being cleaned is sucked upwardly partially into said suction nozzle the cylindrical surface of said roller in the vicinity of said perpendicular wall contacts the carpet pile and the generally perpendicular wall prevents the carpet pile from contacting radial inner portions of the bristles whereby the radial outer portions of the bristles in contact with the carpet are bent toward the trailing edge of the flat surface thereby preventing the brush from stalling due to the resistance of the bristles on the carpet pile.

2. An electric vacuum cleaner brush roller as defined in claim 1 wherein the height of said generally perpendicular wall is approximately one-fourth the length of said bristles.

3. An electric vacuum cleaner brush roller as defined in claim 1 wherein said generally perpendicular wall is positioned approximately three-sixteenth inch from said brush bristles.

4. An electric vacuum cleaner brush roller as defined in claim 1 wherein the distance from the radial inner portions of said brush bristles to the trailing edge of said flat surface is approximately equal to the length of said brush bristles so that when said brush bristles are bent toward the trailing edge of the flat surface they tend to lie partially within the recess formed in said brush roller by said flat surface and said generally perpendicular wall.

5. An electric vacuum cleaner cylindrical brush roller as defined in claim 1 wherein a pair of generally flat surfaces are cut into the generally cylindrical brush roller, said pair of flat surfaces are spirally arranged, and a plurality of tufts of bristles are positioned in radial apertures drilled in the flat surfaces.

6. An electric vacuum cleaner construction as defined in claim 1 wherein the upper portion of said generally perpendicular wall and the generally cylindrical surface of said brush roller are rounded at the intersection of said generally perpendicular wall with the cylindrical surface so that a relatively smooth surface of the brush roller is moved on the carpet being cleaned when the carpet is sucked upwardly into contact with the brush roller.