U.S. patent number 3,628,211 [Application Number 04/823,570] was granted by the patent office on 1971-12-21 for carpet sweeper.
Invention is credited to Hiroshi Fukuba.
United States Patent |
3,628,211 |
Fukuba |
December 21, 1971 |
CARPET SWEEPER
Abstract
A carpet sweeper to be moved back and forth by operating a
handle is provided with a rotary cleaning brush adapted to be moved
in contact with the floor by means of drive wheels on a sweeper
body. The frame cover of the sweeper body is of a double-wall
structure made of a thin, lightweight synthetic resin plate. The
sweeper body further comprises dust receptacles covering the under
portion and positioned to the front and rear of the rotary brush,
means for elevating the drive wheels and comb members to clean the
rotary brush. The operating members for opening or closing the dust
receptacles and for elevating means are disposed on the upper
surface of the frame cover.
Inventors: |
Fukuba; Hiroshi (Nagareyama,
Chiba Prefecture, JA) |
Family
ID: |
12350806 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/823,570 |
Filed: |
May 12, 1969 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
|
|
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May 15, 1968 [JA] |
|
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43/32148 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
15/42; 15/45;
15/48 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L
11/4013 (20130101); A47L 11/33 (20130101); A47L
11/4072 (20130101); A47L 11/40 (20130101); A47L
11/4041 (20130101); A47L 11/4058 (20130101); A47L
11/4069 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47L
11/00 (20060101); A47L 11/33 (20060101); A47l
011/33 () |
Field of
Search: |
;15/41-48,49,79 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Roberts; Edward L.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A carpet sweeper including a rotary brush supported in the lower
center portion of a frame cover with dust receptacles rotatably
supported adjacent the front and rear of said rotary brush, said
frame cover being adapted to be reciprocally moved on the floor by
means of an operating handle attached in a recessed groove in the
top center portion of said frame cover so as to be raised or
inclined so that drive wheels provided at the opposite sides of
said frame cover may be driven on the floor, a follower wheel being
thereby rotated by frictional contact with said drive wheels to
rotate a rotary brush, a second inner closure wall formed by side
walls and end walls vertically extending from said frame cover and
positioned at inner portions slightly spaced apart from the lower
end of said frame cover, an end of each of said dust receptacles
being held in pressing contact with the lower edge of said vertical
end walls, a stay member positioned slightly under the top center
portion of said frame cover and extending through said vertical
sidewalls up to the outer sidewalls wherein said drive wheels are
supported by the opposite ends of said stay member to be moved
upward and downward, and lateral supporters carrying said drive
wheels said lateral supporters being moved upward and downwardly by
means of cam means mounted on the opposite ends of said stay member
and guided for vertical movement along the outer sidewalls of said
frame cover.
2. The carpet sweeper as claimed in claim 1 additionally including
leg means supporting said drive wheels and connected by a
horizontal portion engaged with groove means in said lateral
supporters so that said leg means depend beneath said lateral
supporters.
Description
The present invention relates to a carpet sweeper, more
particularly to a cordless carpet sweeper which does not require
electrical power for operation.
A carpet sweeper has conventionally been proposed which is not,
unlike in electric cleaners, provided with a long cord troublesome
to cleaning operation and which comprises drive wheels adapted to
be driven on the carpet when the sweeper is moved thereon, a rotary
brush rotated by the rotation of the drive wheels and a dust
receptacle to receive the dust removed from the carpet by the
rotary brush. The carpet sweeper of such type is made compact so as
to enable the user to operate it readily in standing position.
However, such a compact sweeper is defective in that the dust
receptacle therein, being small in capacity, becomes full of dust
even when used for a short period. In order to overcome this
defect, a sweeper of a larger size has also been produced, but with
a large-size device there are disadvantages that the machine is not
only heavier and difficult to operate and to carry about for the
disposal of dust but it is also difficult to provide therein a
convenient means for the dust disposal.
An object of the present invention is to eliminate the
above-mentioned disadvantages and to provide a carpet sweeper which
is made lighter in weight by forming the frame cover with a thin
plate of synthetic resin which has a frame cover of a double wall
structure to prevent the rattle of the dust receptacles that is
attributable to the flexibility of the frame cover made of a thin
synthetic resin.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a carpet
sweeper in which component members are minimized by utilizing a
stay member serving to reinforce the frame cover for the provision
of an operating handle and of a mechanism for elevating or lowering
the drive wheels.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a carpet
sweeper in which a long recessed portion is formed by cutting in
the upper plate of the frame cover with a long finger member to
cover the recessed portion extending continuously from a side pate
of the dust receptacle so that the dust receptacle can be pivotally
moved by the finger member on the frame cover for the dust
disposal, the operation of dust receptacle thus being ensured.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a carpet
sweeper in which a pair of brush cleaning comb members is disposed
to the front and rear of the upper half portion of the rotary brush
in relation with each other, one of the comb members being adapted
to move into the brush while the other tends to be pushed outward
due to the rotation of the brush so that dust on the brush can be
removed and sent into the dust receptacles irrespective of the
direction of rotation of the brush.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a carpet
sweeper in which corner brushes are mounted in the four corners of
the sweeper body for the prevention of forward or backward
inclination of the body, the brushes being mounted by improved
means so as to facilitate the replacement when the brushes are
deformed or worn out.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a
carpet sweeper which employs improved drive wheels made of rubber
slightly harder and high in wear resistance than conventional
wheels made of soft rubber, a number of flexible spokes having a
width equal or nearly equal to that of the wheel being provided
between the boss and rim of the wheel so as to prevent the wear of
the drive wheels and to enhance the service life. This aims to
ensure moderate and quiet movement of the sweeper during operation,
to protect the carpet surface rolled on by the drive wheels and to
improve the contact between the carpet surface and the rotary brush
which carries out sweeping operation while being rotated between
the front and rear wheels.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent from the following description with reference to the
accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a carpet sweeper of the
present invention in its entirety;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same with part of a fender broken
away;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main body with part of frame cover
broken away, parts being omitted along the length thereof;
FIG. 4 is a side elevation in vertical section taken along the line
IV--IV in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a side elevation in vertical section taken along the line
V--V in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a side elevation in vertical section taken along the line
VI--VI in FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a front view partly in vertical section taken along the
line VII--VII in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view along the line VIII--VIII in FIG.
4.
Referring to FIG. 4, the main body of the sweeper is rectangular in
plan and the upper surface is formed with an arched frame cover 1.
In the top center portion of the frame cover 1 there is provided a
slender handle 2 by which the user in standing position can operate
the main body on a carpet in reciprocating movement. The frame
cover 1 is made of a lightweight, thin synthetic resin plate with
bottom portion open. In the center, a rotary brush 3 is supported
on outer sidewalls 7 of the frame cover 1. When the main body is
reciprocated on the floor, the rotary brush 3 is rotated in
accordance with the reciprocating movement as described later and
at this time the dust on the floor is taken up in sweeping manner.
The rotary brush 3 is driven by the rotation of four drive wheels 4
in contact with the floor which are mounted on the opposite sides
in the front and rear of the body by means to be later described.
That is, when the drive wheels 4 are rotated in frictional contact
with the floor in accordance with forward or backward movement of
the main body, a pair of drive wheels 4 in the front and rear
drives a follower wheel 5 in frictional contact therewith, the
follower wheel 5 being mounted on the shaft of the rotary brush 3,
and accordingly the rotary brush 3 is rotated. As seen in FIGS. 3
and 7, the brush portion of the rotary brush 3 is partitioned from
the drive wheels 4 and follower wheel 5 by means of an inner
vertical sidewall 10 which is in parallel to the sideplate 7. As
indicated in a dotted line in FIG. 4 the bottom portion of the
vertical side wall 10 is so formed as not to interfere with other
members.
The opposite sidewalls 10 are connected to end walls 11 which
extend from the frame cover 1 at a slightly inner position in the
front and rear portion of the frame cover 1 serving as a first
enclosure wall. That is to say, along inner side of the frame cover
1 serving as the first enclosure wall, the sidewalls 10 and end
walls 11 made of a thin synthetic resin plate are formed into a
rectangular second enclosure wall integrally with the frame cover
1. The drive wheels 4, follower wheel 5 and other members to be
described later are disposed between the sidewall 7 of the frame
cover 1 and the vertical sidewall 10. Symmetrically disposed to the
front and rear of the rotary brush 3 and located under the frame
cover 1 are dust receptacles 17, each having a sawtoothlike bottom
plate 17b so as to guide the dust toward the end and a dust guide
18 located close to the lower half portion of the rotary brush 3.
The sidewalls 19a and 19b of the dust receptacles 17 are mounted on
pivots 20 disposed on the respective vertical sidewalls 10 at
positions slightly away from the rear and front portion of the
brush 3. As shown in FIG. 6 the sidewall 19a low in height and the
other side wall 19b extends toward the frame cover 1 so as to be
utilized as a release means to be hereinafter described.
Accordingly, the dust receptacle 17 is adapted to be rotated on the
pivots 20 as is seen in virtual line in FIG. 4 and the dust
collected therein is discharged from an end opening 17a formed at
the end opposite to the dust guide 18. In order to keep the end
portions of the bottom of the dust receptacles 17 closed relative
to the vertical end walls 11, the opposite ends of an inverted
U-shaped wire spring 26 are engaged with both of sidewalls 18a of
dust guides 18 of the receptacles 17, so that unless subjected to
an external force the receptacles 17 are kept in the position shown
in FIG. 6 under the action of the spring 26. Thus dust-receiving
compartments are formed with the upper part closed by the frame
cover 1 and the end portions by the end walls 11.
To remove the dust attached to the rotary brush 3, cleaning combs
31 are provided to the front and rear of the upper half portion of
the brush. As seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the opposite ends of the combs
31 are fixed to an angle-shaped lever plate 42 pivotally mounted on
a stay member 41 transversely supported at the top portion of the
frame cover 1. Since the tips of the combs are kept in contact with
the front and rear of the upper half portion of the brush 3 at a
slightly greater angle than in tangential contact, the dust on the
brush can be removed by either one of the combs 31 depending upon
the direction of rotation of the brush 3. For instance, when the
comb 31 on the right tends to be pushed outwardly of the brush 3
due to the rotation as shown in FIG. 6, the comb 31 on the opposite
side is allowed to be brought deeper into the brush. In order to
regulate the inward or outward movements of the combs relative to
the brush, stoppers 43 are disposed inside the partition wall 10
and the movement of the lever plate 42 is limited by these stoppers
43.
The stay member 41 extends through the opposite sidewalls 10 up to
the opposite plates 7. In the frame cover 1 above the middle
portion of the stay member 41, a recessed groove 50 is formed at a
right angle with the stay member 41. To a portion of the stay
member 41 which is exposed through the recessed groove 50 is linked
the lower end of a handle 2 which has a plane 2a at the end
portion. Due to the elastic force of a plate spring 80 provided at
the center of the groove 50, the handle 2 can be retained in
upright position when it is brought to the vertical position and
released from the hand.
FIGS. 4, 5 and 7 show drive wheel elevating or lowering means by
which the level of the drive wheels 4 relative to the rotary brush
3 can be adjusted. Except for the operating portions, these means
disposed on the opposite sides are of the same structure and
therefore description will be given with respect to one of these
means. A pair of front and rear drive wheels 4 is supported by legs
12 connected to the opposite ends of a supporter 60 which is made
of a semihard synthetic resin and which has a pair of vertical
projections 61 formed on the outer side. It will be noted in FIG. 3
that the projections 61 are fitted in grooves 62 formed in the
inner surface of the side wall 7 of the frame cover 1, the
supporter 60 thus being adapted for upward or downward movement
along the grooves 60. The supporter 60 is further provided with a
bearing portion 63 having a hole 64 in which an eccentric ring 45
is rotatably inserted. The stay member 41 extends through the
eccentric ring 45 and is fixed thereto by a key 46. As shown in
FIGS. 3, 5 and 7, the stay member 41 is disposed at a right angle
with a recessed groove 51 formed in the upper surface of the frame
cover 1 on one side. Integrally attached to the eccentric ring 45
is a lever 65 which is positioned in the groove 51 as seen in FIG.
5.
When the end of the lever 65 is caught by the finger and turned by
180.degree. in the direction of an arrow in FIG. 5, the stay member
shaft 41 and eccentric rings 45 on the opposite ends thereof are
also turned. The portion 45a of the eccentric ring which has a
greater radius now comes to a position lower than that of FIG. 4
with the result that the supporters 60 beside the opposite sides of
the frame cover 1 are lowered by the extent of eccentricity. The
hole 64 is formed in elliptical shape with side clearances so that
the eccentric ring 45 may be rotated to lower the supporters 60
without shifting the supporters 60 sidewise. The leg 12 connecting
the drive wheel 4 to the supporter 60 is formed with a horizontal
portion 12b at its upper end. The horizontal portion 12b is forced
from under into the support hole 67 through a downwardly widening
narrow cutout groove 66 to fix the leg to the supporter 60, so that
the assembly or disassembly of these members can be readily carried
out. The lower end of leg 12 is attached to the drive wheel 4 with
the horizontal portion 12a inserted into the shaft hole and the
extension of the leg end is projected into a vertical hole 13
formed in the under edge of the sideplate 7 as shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 4 shows the drive wheels 4 as they are in the elevated
position to which they are adjusted in the foregoing manner. When
the wheels are thus positioned, the sweeper is suitable for the
cleaning of a carpet with short piles. However, if they are
employed in sweeping a carpet with long piles, the drive wheels 4
get in among long piles of the carpet with the tips of bristles
also wedging in deeply among the piles to prevent the smooth
rotation of the brush 3, whereas the drive wheels 4, when brought
to the lower position by operating the lever 65, enable the bristle
tips to come into light contact with the surface of the carpet
having long piles.
The dust collected by the rotary brush 3 in the dust receptacle 17
when the sweeper is used is taken out of the receptacle as it is
turned on the pivots 20 as indicated in a broken line in FIG. 4.
The operating member to turn the dust receptacle 17 is positioned
on the frame cover 1 as in the case of the foregoing lever 65 for
elevating or lowering the drive wheels. It will be seen in FIGS. 1,
3, 4 and 7 that one of the sideplates 19 of each dust receptacle 17
is extended upward along the vertical side wall 10 which supports
the side plate on the pivot 20 and the top portion of the plate is
bent outwardly along the arched upper surface of the frame cover 1
to form each of finger members 70, 71. Since the members 70 and 71
are symmetrically the same with respect to the dust receptacles 17,
one of them will be described. The finger member 70 is positioned
in a long, narrow recessed portion 72 formed in the upper surface
of the frame cover 1. Further in order to exposed the finger member
70 on the frame cover 1, the side plate 19a of the dust receptacle
passes through a slit 74 formed in the bottom 73 of the recessed
portion. When the receptacle 17 is in normal closed position, the
slit 74 receives the finger member 70 therein, but when the
receptacle 17 is opened the finger member 70 is also withdrawn into
the frame cover 1. The angle of rotation of the dust receptacle 17
is so restricted as to facilitate the returning of the receptacle
17 to the original closed position. A stopper 75 at one end of the
recessed portion serves as a restricting member for this purpose. A
portion 76 proximate to the top part of the finer member 70 which
is arched in approximately the same form as the arch form of the
frame cover 1 is adapted to be held in engagement with the stopper
75 which projects downwardly at the end of the recessed portion 72
as indicated in broken line in FIG. 4. It will also be seen in FIG.
4 that the bottom 73 of the recessed portion 72 is formed deeper
toward the body end as indicated in broken line so as to facilitate
the rotation of the finger member 70. Furthermore, to show the
direction of release movement, the finger member 70 is provided
with a mark 77 or some other indication on the surface.
Close to the ends of sideplates of the dust receptacles 17 and in
proximity with the vertical side plates 7 of the frame cover 1 are
disposed brush supporters 78 to which downwardly directed corner
brushes 79 are attached so as to support the body also by the
brushes 79. Each of the corner brushes 79 is mounted on a
rectangular brush base 79a with bristles implanted in the under
surface. In the opposite ends of the brush base 79a, vertical
grooves 79b are formed. The corner brush supporter 78 is formed
with a pair of dovetail groove guides 78a to be fitted with the
opposite ends of the brush base 79a. The back end of the dovetail
groove guides is reinforced by a bridge 78b and vertical
protrusions 78c are formed near the entrance of the dovetail
grooves. When the brush base 79a is inserted from the opening end
of the dovetail groove guides 78a, the distance between the guides
78a is slightly extended by the width of the brush base 79a,
whereupon the grooves 79b of the brush base 79a are brought into
fitting engagement with the protrusions 78c. The brush base is now
held tightly by the supporter against release therefrom unless it
is force to be drawn out.
The respective brushes 79 thus mounted on the corners of the dust
receptacles 17 sweep the carpet surface which is outside the
sweeping range of the rotary brush 3. In addition, the brushes
serve to keep the body horizontally on the floor as nearly as
possible, preventing possible forward or backward inclination of
the body during reciprocating movement which is attributable to the
fact that the rolling wheels 4 are disposed in the center of the
body. In case where a corner brush is deformed or worn out, the
dust receptacle 17 which carries the corner brush is turned to a
position indicated in broken line in FIG. 4 and the relevant brush
base 79a is pulled out for replacement.
The rolling wheel 4 may preferably be formed, for example, with
fine grooves or a rough surface in its outer circumferential
surface. As shown in FIG. 7 in section and in other figures, a
desired number of spokes 4a are formed around the boss 4b of the
wheel 4 with a suitable distance apart from each other, the width
of each spoke being such that the spoke retains flexibility. The
boss portion, spokes and wheel are all integrally formed of
wear-resisting rubber into the rotary wheel 4. Since the spoke is
formed in plate form extending widthwise, hardly any widthwise
deformation takes place, whereas it can be flexibly bent in radial
direction of the wheel, so that any great force, when applied on
the handle, causes the spokes 4a to bend flexibly in response to
the force to effect flexible operation. In addition, due to the
bending, the sweeper body is brought slightly closer to the carpet
surface, with the result that the dust even in the deep part among
the piles can be removed by applying a greater force on the handle
intentionally.
In accordance with the present invention, the opening or closing of
the dust receptacle 17 can be effected by moving the long finger
member 70 exposed on the recessed portion 72 along one side of the
frame cover 1 and accordingly, there is no need to turn the body
upside down every time the receptacle is to be opened or closed,
the dust receptacle thus being made easy to handle. Moreover, the
long finger member 70 serves to reinforce the side plate 19b to
strengthen the dust receptacle in its entirety.
Along the outer periphery of the bottom of the frame cover there is
provided a fender supporter 81 connected thereto by a short flange
portion and covered with a fender 82 which is made of a shock
absorbing material such as rubber and whose side portion is
outwardly expanded. When in use, the sweeper may bump against
various articles of furniture in the room, but the fender 82 around
the frame cover 1 serves to absorb the shock impact. In addition,
even when the bottom portion of the frame cover 1 made of a thin
synthetic resin plate is subjected to instantaneous deformation
such as torsion or indention upon hitting some other article, such
deformation is prevented from developing beyond the bottom of the
outer side wall 7 and the vertical wall 11 is therefor kept intact.
As a result, the end of the dust receptacle 17 is held in pressing
contact with the lower edge of the vertical wall 11 against
release, and the dust collected can be retained therein.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment above, but
it may be embodied in other alterations and modifications.
* * * * *