Cleaning brush for a floor cleaner and floor cleaner with a cleaning brush

• US 9,750,383 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2015
• Issued: 09/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alfred Kã¤Rcher GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Alfred Kã¤Rcher GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Janzen, Jacob, Holzer, Annette, Schmidgall, Martin, Erbel, Guenther
• Primary Examiner(s): KARLS, SHAY LYNN
• Application Number:
  US14/740,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20150272414A1
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4041 Roll shaped surface treating tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4069 Driving or transmission means for the cleaning tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/00 Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0444 for conveying motion by endless flexible members, e.g. belts
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0455 Bearing means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0477 Rolls

Abstract

The invention relates to a cleaning brush for a floor cleaner, in particular, a self-propelled and self-steering floor cleaner, including at least one brush unit having a brush body defining a brush axis and being provided with cleaning bristles and having a first end and a second end, the at least one brush unit including at the first end or in the region of the first end a torque receiver device for coupling with a drive device of the floor cleaner. To provide such a cleaning brush which can be reliably mounted on a floor cleaner in a constructionally simple way, the at least one brush unit includes a bearing device for mounting on the floor cleaner, which is arranged between the first end and the second end. The invention also relates to a floor cleaner with a cleaning brush, in particular, a self-propelled and self-steering floor cleaner.

Claims

1. A floor cleaner, comprising a housing which forms a brush accommodating compartment, a cleaning brush arranged in the brush accommodating compartment with two separate brush units, and a drive device for the cleaning brush, the respective brush unit having a brush body defining a brush axis and being provided with cleaning bristles and having a first end and a second end, and the respective brush unit comprising at the first end or in the region of the first end a torque receiver device, the drive device coupling to the torque receiver device at the first end of the brush body of the respective brush unit and rotationally driving the respective brush unit, wherein the respective brush unit comprises a bearing device for mounting on the floor cleaner, which is arranged between the first end and the second end, the brush units being adapted to be connected to and released from the floor cleaner separately from each other.

2. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the respective brush unit is free of a bearing device for mounting on the floor cleaner at the second end.

3. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the bearing device is at a distance from the first end, which corresponds to approximately 50% to approximately 70% of the length of the brush body.

4. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the brush body is provided with cleaning bristles on both sides of the bearing device, and wherein cleaning bristles arranged on opposite sides of the bearing device and adjacent thereto are positioned at an axial inclination in relation to the brush axis in the direction of the respective other side of the bearing device.

5. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 4, wherein on a floor surface to be cleaned, sweeping patterns of cleaning bristles of the brush unit positioned at an inclination on opposite sides of the bearing device border on one another or overlap one another.

6. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein cleaning bristles of the brush unit at or near the first end and/or the second end are positioned at an axial inclination in relation to the brush axis and project beyond the first end and beyond the second end, respectively, of the brush body.

7. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the torque receiver device has a recess arranged at the first end in the brush body for a corresponding drive element of the drive device.

8. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the brush body is axially divided into a first brush body segment forming the first end and a second brush body segment forming the second end, the second brush body segment being connected to the first brush body segment.

9. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 8, wherein the brush body segments are connected to each other at the bearing device, and wherein the bearing device is arranged axially between the brush body segments.

10. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 8, wherein for connecting the brush body segments, the brush body comprises a torque transmitter member engaging these, in each case, in a rotationally fixed manner, and extending through the bearing device.

11. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the bearing device comprises a bearing body and, in relation to the brush axis, comprises or forms a radial bearing, and wherein the bearing body has a bearing section which is mounted by way of the radial bearing on the brush body, and a fixing section which is connected to the bearing section and on which at least one fixing member is arranged for fixing to the floor cleaner.

12. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 11, wherein the radial bearing is configured as ball bearing.

13. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 11, wherein the bearing body comprises at least one spring member by way of which the bearing section is supported in an axially and/or radially sprung manner on the fixing section.

14. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 13, wherein spring webs connecting the bearing section and the fixing section to each other are provided as spring members.

15. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 11, wherein the at least one fixing member comprises or forms a locking element for locking to a corresponding locking element of the floor cleaner.

16. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 11, wherein the at least one fixing member is configured to form a rotational lock with the floor cleaner.

17. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 11, wherein the bearing body is in one piece.

18. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least a section of the bearing body is of plate-shaped configuration.

19. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the two brush units, in relation to coinciding brush axes thereof, are configured symmetrically or substantially symmetrically relative to each other with respect to a plane of symmetry which is aligned perpendicularly to the brush axes of the brush units.

20. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the brush axis is a transverse axis aligned transversely to a main direction of movement of the floor cleaner.

21. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the drive device comprises a drive element which is rotationally drivable about the brush axis and engages a corresponding recess of the brush body.

22. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the drive device comprises a drive motor outside of the brush accommodating compartment and a torque transmitter device interacting with the drive motor, the torque transmitter device being arranged in the brush accommodating compartment and being coupled to the torque receiver device of the respective brush unit.

23. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the floor cleaner comprises or forms at or in the brush accommodating compartment at least one fixing member which interacts with a fixing member of the bearing device of the respective brush unit to fix the cleaning brush on the floor cleaner.

24. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 23, wherein the at least one fixing member of the floor cleaner is included in or formed by a wall of the brush accommodating compartment.

25. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 23, wherein the at least one fixing member of the floor cleaner comprises or forms a locking element for locking to a corresponding locking element of the cleaning brush.

26. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 23, wherein the at least one fixing member of the floor cleaner is configured to form a rotational lock with the bearing device of the respective brush unit.

27. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the brush axes of the brush units coincide, and wherein at least a section of the drive device is axially arranged between the brush units.

28. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 27, wherein cleaning bristles of the brush units arranged at or near the respective first ends are positioned at an axial inclination and project beyond the respective first ends in the direction of the respective other brush unit, and wherein on a floor surface to be cleaned, sweeping patterns of the cleaning bristles of both brush units border on one another or overlap one another.

29. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 27, wherein the housing comprises or forms brush covers which cover at least sections of the respective second ends of the brush bodies at the end face.

30. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 29, wherein at least one brush cover is constructed so as to be movable relative to the remaining housing and is transferable from a bristle covering position in which the brush cover projects along the brush axis laterally over cleaning bristles arranged at or near the second end of the brush unit facing it, to a bristle releasing position in which the cleaning bristles project along the brush axis laterally over the brush cover, and vice versa.

31. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 30, wherein the at least one movable brush cover is displaceable on the housing relative to the cleaning brush for transfer from the bristle covering position to the bristle releasing position and vice versa.

32. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 30, wherein the at least one movable brush cover is arranged on the outside of the housing and, in the bristle covering position, preferably also in the bristle releasing position, forms a section of the outer contour of the housing.

33. The floor cleaner in accordance with claim 1, wherein the floor cleaner is of self-propelled and self-steering configuration.