Vacuum cleaner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10610072-B2
Application number	US-201715583347-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 1, 2017
Priority date	Jan 11, 2013
Publication date	Apr 7, 2020
Grant date	Apr 7, 2020

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner for removing debris from a surface to be cleaned includes a suction chamber having a suction nozzle opening, a source of suction in fluid communication with the suction chamber, a brushroll provided within the suction chamber, and a roller provided in a roller chamber in front of the brushroll.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vacuum cleaner for removing debris from a surface to be cleaned, comprising:
a base comprising a suction chamber, wheels rearward of the suction chamber, a roller chamber forward of the suction chamber, and a passageway through the base fluidly connecting the roller chamber to the suction chamber, wherein the roller chamber is defined by a curved wall and comprises an open forward portion, a passageway inlet is defined in the curved wall of the roller chamber or at the curved wall of the roller chamber;
a suction source fluidly connected to the suction chamber for generating a working air stream through the suction chamber;
a suction nozzle opening disposed in the base and in fluid communication with the suction chamber and defining an inlet to the suction chamber;
a rotatable brushroll provided in the suction chamber for rotation about a brushroll axis; and
a rotatable roller mounted in the roller chamber for rotation about a roller axis
wherein the rotatable roller is in engagement with the curved wall of the roller chamber and a portion of the rotatable roller protrudes through the open forward portion of the roller chamber; and
wherein the roller axis is located vertically between the suction nozzle opening and the brushroll axis, wherein the suction nozzle opening defines a generally horizontal plane.

2. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the roller axis is parallel to the brushroll axis.

3. The vacuum cleaner of claim 2 wherein a diameter of the rotatable roller is smaller than a diameter of the rotatable brushroll.

4. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein a lower rear portion of the roller chamber is open to the passageway.

5. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the suction nozzle opening is separate from the passageway.

6. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the rotatable roller defines a debris chamber between the surface to be cleaned and the roller chamber, and forms a seal between the passageway and the surface to be cleaned such that the debris chamber is fluidly coupled to the suction chamber and debris in the debris chamber can be ingested through the passageway.

7. The vacuum cleaner of claim 6 wherein the rotatable roller is in sealing engagement with the curved wall to form the seal.

8. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the curved wall of the roller chamber separates the roller chamber from the suction chamber.

9. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the curved wall of the roller chamber comprises a curved top wall and a curved rear wall defining the roller chamber, wherein the curved rear wall faces the suction chamber.

10. The vacuum cleaner of claim 9 wherein the rotatable roller is in engagement with the curved top wall and the curved rear wall.

11. The vacuum cleaner of claim 9 wherein the passageway inlet is formed by a gap between the curved rear wall and a sole plate of the base.

12. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the portion of the rotatable roller that protrudes through the open forward portion of the roller chamber defines a forward-most portion.

13. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , further comprising a roller mounting housing provided on the base in front of the suction nozzle opening, wherein the roller mounting housing defines the roller chamber.

14. The vacuum cleaner of claim 13 wherein the rotatable roller is rotatably mounted on an axle fixed within the roller mounting housing and extending through the roller chamber.

15. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the rotatable roller is coupled to the base for free rotation about the roller axis.

16. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the rotatable roller comprises a molded polymeric component.

17. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the wheels and the rotatable roller are configured to support the base on the surface to be cleaned for rolling movement.

18. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the rotatable roller comprises a body defining the rotational axis of the rotatable roller and having paddles that extend radially from the body.

19. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the rotatable roller is substantially co-extensive with the suction nozzle opening.

20. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the rotatable roller extends across an entire front side of the suction nozzle opening.

21. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , further comprising a brushroll motor provided in the base and coupled with the rotatable brushroll.

22. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , further comprising a headlight assembly provided on the base above the suction chamber and the roller chamber for illuminating the surface to be cleaned in front of the suction nozzle opening.

23. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , further comprising a height adjustment mechanism provided on the base for adjusting a height of the suction chamber and the roller chamber relative to the surface to be cleaned.

24. The vacuum cleaner of claim 23 wherein the height adjustment mechanism comprises a rotatable carriage attached to the base, a pair of carriage wheels mounted on the rotatable carriage for maneuvering the vacuum cleaner over the surface to be cleaned, and a rotatable knob for actuating the height adjustment mechanism.

25. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , further comprising an upper housing pivotally mounted to the base, wherein the suction source is provided in the upper housing.

26. The vacuum cleaner of claim 25 wherein the upper housing has an elongated handle that is provided with a hand grip at one end.

27. The vacuum cleaner of claim 25 , further comprising a separator for separating contaminants from a dirt-containing air stream, wherein the separator is in fluid communication with the suction nozzle opening and the suction source, and wherein the separator is provided in the upper housing.

28. A vacuum cleaner for removing debris from a surface to be cleaned, comprising:
a base comprising a suction chamber, wheels rearward of the suction chamber, a roller chamber forward of the suction chamber, and a passageway through the base fluidly connecting the roller chamber to the suction chamber, wherein the roller chamber is defined by a curved wall and comprises an open forward portion, and the passageway is at least partially defined by the curved wall of the roller chamber;
a suction source fluidly connected to the suction chamber for generating a working air stream through the suction chamber;
a suction nozzle opening disposed in the base and in fluid communication with the suction chamber and defining an inlet to the suction chamber;
a rotatable brushroll provided in the suction chamber for rotation about a brushroll axis; and
a roller rotatably mounted in the roller chamber for rotation about a roller axis wherein the roller is in engagement with the curved wall of the roller chamber and a portion of the roller protrudes through the open forward portion of the roller chamber.

Assignees

• Bissell Homecare Inc

Inventors

• Kasper Gary A

Classifications

• A47L9/0477 Primary

  Rolls · CPC title

• A47L9/06

  with fixed, e.g. adjustably fixed brushes or the like · CPC title

• A47L9/04

  with driven brushes or agitators · CPC title

• A47L9/0488 Primary

  Combinations or arrangements of several tools, e.g. edge cleaning tools · CPC title

• A47L9/1683

  Dust collecting chambers; Dust collecting receptacles · CPC title