Bladed disk brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner
First Claim
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a housing having a first opening and a second opening;
a rotatable spindle positioned within the housing, the rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion, the first end being laterally spaced from the first opening of the housing, the second end being laterally spaced from the second opening of the housing;
an airflow enhancing means has a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the airflow enhancing means is placed on one of the ends of the rotatable spindle, wherein debris is mechanically acted on directly or indirectly and travels along the longitudinal axis towards the central portion of the rotatable spindle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner includes a rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion. A first airflow enhancing device (“AED”) is positioned, by being molded onto or operationally attached to, the first end of the rotatable spindle. The first AED includes a central portion, which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the first AED is positioned on the first end of the rotatable spindle. The first AED includes at least one fan blade projection outwardly extending from the periphery of the central portion of the first AED. The fan blade projection facilitates the movement of debris directly or indirectly from the first end of the rotatable spindle toward the central portion of the rotatable spindle. A second AED device may be positioned on the second end of the rotatable spindle, wherein the second AED has similar structure to and attaches in similar fashion as the first AED. In one embodiment, the housing has a hole in the bottom to enable air to enter the housing, travel down the longitudinal axis and towards the central portion of the rotatable spindle. In another embodiment, the housing may have openings in the sidewalls that promote airflow directly from the outside of the housing to the ends of the rotatable spindle. In yet another embodiment, a pressurized fan is attached to the housing or the rotatable spindle to increase forced airflow.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a housing having a first opening and a second opening;
a rotatable spindle positioned within the housing, the rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion, the first end being laterally spaced from the first opening of the housing, the second end being laterally spaced from the second opening of the housing;
an airflow enhancing means has a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the airflow enhancing means is placed on one of the ends of the rotatable spindle, wherein debris is mechanically acted on directly or indirectly and travels along the longitudinal axis towards the central portion of the rotatable spindle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner, the brush roller assembly comprising:
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a housing having a top, a bottom, and sidewalls, each of the sidewalls having at least one opening, the bottom having an aperture defined therein;
a rotatable spindle positioned within the housing, the rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion, the first end and second ends being laterally spaced from the opening of the sidewalls;
airflow enhancing means having a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the airflow enhancing means is placed on one of the ends of the rotatable spindle, wherein air is adapted to enter the housing through the aperture defined in the bottom of the housing and the openings in the sidewalls so as to travel along the longitudinal axis towards the central portion of the rotatable spindle to increase air flow. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19)
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18. The brush roller assembly of 12, wherein the openings in the sidewalls of the housing enhance air flow within the vacuum.
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20. A brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner, said brush roller assembly comprising:
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a housing having a top and first and second sidewalls;
a rotatable spindle positioned within the housing, the rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion;
an airflow enhancing means having a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the airflow enhancing means is placed on one of the ends of the rotatable spindle, wherein the housing has at least one adjustable opening defined in the first sidewall of the housing to facilitate the movement of outside air through the opening and directly to one of the ends of the rotatable spindle toward the central portion of the rotatable spindle. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner, the brush roller assembly comprising:
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a rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion; and
,an airflow enhancing means having a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the airflow enhancing means is operatively connected to the rotatable spindle, the airflow enhancing means adapted to be disposed at any position along the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner, the brush roller assembly comprising:
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a housing having a first opening and a second opening;
a rotatable spindle positioned within the housing, the rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion, the first end being laterally spaced from the first opening of the housing, the second end being laterally spaced from the second opening of the housing;
an airflow enhancing means having a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the airflow enhancing means is operatively connected to the rotatable spindle, wherein air is adapted to enter the housing through the first and second openings and travel along the longitudinal axis towards the central portion of the rotatable spindle so as to increase air flow; and
,at least one airflow pressurization mechanism in communication with one of the ends of the rotatable spindle, the pressurization mechanism adapted to force air flow from outside the housing and down the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle towards the central portion of the rotatable spindle. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification