Power brush assembly for vacuum cleaners

• US 6,463,623 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2001
• Issued: 10/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Park, Jin Soo, Ahn, Jun Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Snider, Theresa T.
• Application Number:
  US09/832,847
• Publication Number:
  US 20020032948A1
• Time in Patent Office: 551 Days
• Field of Search: 153/64, 153/80, 153/89, 153/77, 310/12, 310/15, 310/266
• US Class Current: 15/389
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/30 with driven dust-loosening tools, e.g. rotating brushes

Abstract

A power brush assembly for vacuum cleaners is disclosed. In the power brush assembly, a casing is set in the suction part of a vacuum cleaner and defines a suction nozzle used for sucking dust-laden air under pressure into the suction part of the vacuum cleaner. A power brush is set within the casing such that the brush is rotatable and reciprocable to the left and right. This power brush is used for brushing dust and impurities on a target surface. A drive motor generates a rotating force for allowing the power brush to rotate and reciprocate to the left and right within the casing. A power transmission mechanism connects the drive motor to the power brush so as to transmit the rotating force of the drive motor to the power brush. In this power brush assembly, the brush body of the power brush performs a linear reciprocating action in addition to a rotating action, and so the brush assembly effectively and actively brushes a target surface at areas corresponding to the gaps between opposite ends of the brush body and opposite sidewalls of the casing. This brush assembly thus improves the dust cleaning effect of a vacuum cleaner.

Claims

1. A power brush assembly for vacuum cleaners, comprising:

a casing set in a suction part of a vacuum cleaner and defining a suction nozzle used for sucking dust-laden air under pressure into said suction part of the vacuum cleaner;

a power brush set within said casing such that the brush is rotatable and reciprocable to the left and right, said power brush being used for brushing dust and impurities on a target surface;

a drive motor generating a force for allowing said power brush to rotate and reciprocate to the left and right; and

a power transmission mechanism connecting said drive motor to said power brush and transmitting the rotating force of the drive motor to the power brush, wherein said drive motor comprises;

a motor shaft assembled with said casing such that the motor shaft is rotatable and reciprocable relative to the casing;

a rotor frame integrated with said motor shaft;

a rotation magnet and reciprocation magnet set at said rotor frame, said rotation magnet rotating the rotor frame and said reciprocation magnet moving the rotor frame to the left and right;

a stator positioned inside the rotor frame while being spaced apart from the rotation and reciprocation magnets;

a first stator core set on said stator and rotating said rotation magnet in response to an application of electricity thereto; and

a second stator core set on said stator and moving said reciprocation magnet to the left and right in response to an application of electricity thereto.

2. The power brush assembly according to claim 1, wherein said rotor frame comprises a sleeve body integrated with the motor shaft and a disc body extending outward from an end of said sleeve body in a radial direction, with said rotation magnet set around an inside portion of said disc body, said reciprocation magnet set around an outside portion of said disc body, and said stator set between said rotation and reciprocation magnets.

3. The power brush assembly according to claim 2, wherein an annular spring seat is defined between each end of said sleeve body and the motor shaft, with a coil spring set within said annular spring seat.

4. The power brush assembly according to claim 1, wherein said rotor frame is movably set within a motor housing, and wherein said motor housing is fixed to an interior surface of said casing, and said stator is fixed to said motor housing.

5. The power brush assembly according to claim 4, wherein a sleeve bearing and a radial bearing are set at the junction of the motor shaft and each sidewall of said housing.

6. The power brush assembly according to claim 1, wherein said power brush comprises:

a cylindrical brush body, with a plurality of spiral ridges regularly formed around an external surface of the cylindrical brush body and a plurality of brushing projections formed along each of the spiral ridges and used for actively brushing a target surface to separate dust and impurities from said surface; and

a first shaft formed at a first end of said cylindrical brush body, and a second shaft formed at a second end of said cylindrical brush body, said first and second shafts movably holding the brush body to first and second sleeve bearings provided at opposite sidewalls of said casing, respectively, such that the brush body is rotatable and reciprocable to the left and right within the casing,

whereby each end of said brush body is spaced apart from the first and second sleeve bearings, thus allowing the brush body to be reciprocable to the left and right within the casing, and said power transmission mechanism connects the drive motor to the opposite ends of said brush body.

7. The power brush assembly according to claim 6, wherein said power transmission mechanism comprises:

a first drive pulley fixed to one end of said motor shaft of said drive motor, and a second drive pulley fixed to an opposite end of said motor shaft;

a first driven pulley mounted to one end of said brush body, and a second driven pulley mounted to an opposite end of said brush body; and

a first transmission belt wrapped around said first drive pulley and said first driven pulley, and a second transmission belt wrapped around said second drive pulley and said second driven pulley.

8. The power brush assembly according to claim 1, wherein said drive motor is coaxially coupled to said power brush.

9. The power brush assembly according to claim 8, wherein said motor shaft of said drive motor is coaxially coupled to a rotating shaft of said power brush through a coupling.