Dual-purpose rotating brush for vacuum cleaner
First Claim
1. A floor tool for a vacuum cleaner comprising:
- a brush mounted for rotation upon a brush spindle;
first and second support wheels;
cooperating means in said first and second support wheels and said brush spindle for supporting said brush spindle;
said first and second support wheels each including a hub extending axially therefrom in a first direction;
said floor tool including a support surface upon which said hub is supported against displacement in a first direction;
said floor tool further including a resilient locking tab affixed at a first end to said floor tool;
a second end of said locking tab being free;
said second end being disposed to contact said hub for locking said hub against motion in a second direction opposite to said first direction and to maintain said hub in contact with said first support surface; and
a resilience of said locking tab permitting said second end to be deflected out of locking contact with said hub, whereby said support wheel and said spindle can be installed in and removed from said floor tool.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A cylindrical power brush for a vacuum cleaner includes two types of bristle tufts. One type of bristle tuft is short and stiff for contacting and agitating a carpeted surface. The other type of bristle tuft is longer and softer for contacting a hard surface. In addition to the differences in length and bristle stiffness, the tufts for the hard surface contain substantially fewer bristles, whereby catching and rolling of carpet edges is avoided. One embodiment alternates types of bristle tufts in a row of bristle tufts. Another embodiment employs multiple rows of bristle tufts arranged such that a point on a surface being cleaned is contacted alternately by the two types of bristle tuft. Winding up of thread and hair on the axle of the rotating brush is avoided by overlapping annular extensions on a support wheel and a brush spindle. The brush support wheel is locked in place in the floor tool by a resilient locking tab integrally formed with one of the halves of the floor tool.
-
Citations
13 Claims
-
1. A floor tool for a vacuum cleaner comprising:
-
a brush mounted for rotation upon a brush spindle; first and second support wheels; cooperating means in said first and second support wheels and said brush spindle for supporting said brush spindle; said first and second support wheels each including a hub extending axially therefrom in a first direction; said floor tool including a support surface upon which said hub is supported against displacement in a first direction; said floor tool further including a resilient locking tab affixed at a first end to said floor tool; a second end of said locking tab being free; said second end being disposed to contact said hub for locking said hub against motion in a second direction opposite to said first direction and to maintain said hub in contact with said first support surface; and a resilience of said locking tab permitting said second end to be deflected out of locking contact with said hub, whereby said support wheel and said spindle can be installed in and removed from said floor tool. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
-
-
6. A rotatable brush and mounting for a floor tool of a vacuum cleaner, comprising:
-
a floor tool housing having first and second spaced wall portions, each wall portion having a first support surface and a resilient tab connected at its proximate end to said wall portion and having its distal end extending in the direction of and spaced from said first support surface; a brush spindle having a plurality of bristle tufts of a first type and of a second type extending outwardly therefrom, said first tufts having a length dimension and a stiffness and said second tufts having a length dimension greater than the length dimensions of said first tufts and a stiffness less than the stiffness of said first tufts, said spindle having an annular longitudinal extension at each end thereof; a longitudinally extending spindle shaft upon which said brush spindle is mounted for relative rotation, the opposite ends of said spindle shaft extending outwardly of each end of said brush spindle; and a mounting wheel at each end of said brush spindle, each mounting wheel having an outside diameter surface and, on one side thereof, a hub supported on said first mounting surface of said wall portion and held in place thereon by the distal end of said resilient tab, and, on the other side thereof, a central bore for receiving an end of said spindle shaft and an annular groove for receiving said annular extension of said brush spindle in an overlapping relationship. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
Specification