Electric broom

• US 5,638,572 A
• Filed: 01/22/1996
• Issued: 06/17/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Techtronic Industries Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Brain Life LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Inventors: Canni Ferrari, Cesare Mario
• Primary Examiner(s): MOORE, CHRISTOPHER K
• Application Number:
  US08/586,727
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 15/344, 15/350, 15/398, 15/393, 15/323
• US Class Current: 15/323
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 13/512 Clamping devices for hanging the tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/24 Hand-supported suction cleaners

Abstract

The broom comprises a handle in the form of an elongated stick, a broom body fixed below to the handle, cleaning means born by the broom body and designed to collect dirt on a floor after dragging of the broom body on said floor. It is characterized in that it comprises a vacuum cleaner unit housed in the broom body provided with a suction mouth open at the bottom in a position adjacent to the cleaning means.

Claims

1. The broom comprising a handle in the form of an elongated stick, a broom body fixed below to the handle, cleaning means born by the broom body rigidly and designed to collect dirt on a floor after dragging of the broom body on said floor, and a vacuum cleaner unit housed in the broom body provided with a suction mouth open at the bottom in a position adjacent to the cleaning means, said suction mouth adapted to functionally cooperate with said cleaning means while said cleaning means is in operative contact with said floor.

6. The broom in accordance with claim 1 wherein the vacuum cleaner unit comprises an electric motor housed in the broom body, a suction fan mounted in the broom body and operated by the motor, a suction path in the broom body between the suction mouth and the fan, a filtering element in the suction path and a collection tank made in the broom body beside the suction path.

7. The broom in accordance with claim 6 wherein the broom body comprises two units, an upper unit fixed to the handle and provided with the motor and fan and a lower unit bearing the cleaning means and comprising the collection tank and the suction mouth, the two units being integrated in a removable manner by means of a peripheral groove and tongue joint between the two units and by means of a plurality of hooking means.

8. The broom in accordance with claim 7 wherein the peripheral groove and tongue joint is provided between a male portion made on the upper unit and a female portion made on the lower unit.

9. The broom in accordance with claim 6 comprising a rechargeable battery housed in the broom body for supply of the electric motor.

10. The broom assembly comprising a broom in accordance with claim 6 and a support for hanging the broom on a wall with said support including means of electrical connection of the rechargeable battery of the broom to a battery charger.

17. The broom of claim 1, wherein said cleaning means has a generally flat floor cleaning surface and said fan and said suction mouth are adapted to be able to vacuum dust on the floor when said flat floor cleaning surface rests on and parallel to said floor, said suction mouth being generally centrally located on a bottom of said broom body, such that a user can vacuum while continuing to sweep without having to interrupt the sweeping operation.

2. A broom, comprising:

a handle in the form of an elongated stick, a broom body fixed below to the handle,

cleaning means born by the broom body rigidly and designed to collect dirt on a floor after dragging of the broom body on said floor, and

a vacuum cleaner unit housed in the broom body provided with a suction mouth open at the bottom in a position adjacent to the cleaning means,

wherein the cleaning means comprise a pad of elastic material provided with at least one rectilinear cleaning lip.

3. The broom in accordance with claim 2 wherein the pad has elongated form and is provided with two parallel cleaning lips.

4. The broom in accordance with claim 3 wherein the suction mouth opens in an intermediate position between the two cleaning lips.

5. The broom in accordance with claim 4 wherein the two cleaning lips are each defined by two pad surfaces mutually inclined at an angle α

and filleted with a curvature radius r where α

is between 60° and

90° and

r is between 2 mm and 10 mm.

11. A cordless battery operated broom, comprising:

a broom body which is elongated horizontally in a first direction and which has a substantially narrower width in a second horizontal direction perpendicular to said first direction;

an elongated handle attached to said broom body;

a first depending soft floor brushing means extending along a bottom of said broom body along substantially the entire length of said body in said first direction located proximate a first side edge of said bottom in said second horizontal direction;

a second depending soft floor brushing means extending along a bottom of said broom body along substantially the entire length of said body in said first direction located proximate a side edge opposite said first side edge of said bottom in said second horizontal direction, and spaced from said first floor brushing means;

said broom body including two separable units, an upper unit including a fan and a motor, and a lower unit removably connectable to said upper unit and including a collection tank and a suction mouth, said suction mouth having a central opening located in a central region between said first and second depending soft floor brushing means, said handle being fixed to said upper unit, and said broom body including a filter for preventing particles from entering said upper unit during operation of said broom;

whereby the broom can be used to brush the floor by sweeping the brushing means across a floor surface back and forth in a normal manner in said second horizontal direction, and said central opening can be used in conjunction with said sweeping of the brushing means to vacuum particles, said central opening being elongated in said first horizontal direction.

12. The broom of claim 11, wherein said brushing means are made of an elastic material.

13. The broom of claim 11, wherein said brushing means are rectilinear lips of an elastic pad.

14. The broom of claim 13, wherein said first and second brushing means include cleaning lips which extend outwardly from the sides of said broom body in said second horizontal direction.

15. The broom of claim 11, wherein said first and second brushing means include cleaning lips which extend outwardly from the sides of said broom body in said second horizontal direction.

16. The broom of claim 11, wherein said bottom of said broom body has a plate member attached thereto which has a passage extending upwardly from said central opening directly vertically into a filter, the upper end of said passage delineating a wall between the passage and said collection tank.