BRUSH AND ROTATING BRUSH

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a brush and a rotating brush.

Patent Document 1 discloses a raised fabric roller for a vacuum cleaner. The raised fabric roller of Patent Document 1 includes a roller core, a short-fiber raised fabric piece, and a long-fiber raised fabric piece. The roller core is rotationally supported in the main body of a suction tool of a vacuum cleaner. The short-fiber raised fabric piece and the long-fiber raised fabric piece are made of spun fabric with cut pile, and are alternately and continuously attached to the outer circumferential surface of the roller core along a longitudinal and helical direction. The length of fibers of the short-fiber raised fabric piece is set such that the distal ends contact a surface to be cleaned, and the length of fibers of the long-fiber raised fabric piece is set such that the fibers are largely bent by the surface to be cleaned and that the sides of the fibers contact the surface to be cleaned. When the suction tool main body cleans the surface to be cleaned with the roller rotating, the fiber distal ends of the short-fiber raised fabric piece rub against the surface to be cleaned, and operate like a scrubbing brush (scraping performance). Subsequently, the sides of the fibers of the long-fiber raised fabric piece rub against the surface to be cleaned, and operate like a sweeping broom (mopping performance). As compared to a conventional suction tool with only a long-fiber raised fabric piece on the outer circumference of the roller, the above-described suction tool reliably removes dust in small recesses on the surface of a wooden floor and dust in the mat rush of a tatami mat.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT
Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-16182

SUMMARY

However, the raised fabric roller disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires that the short-fiber raised fabric piece and the long-fiber raised fabric piece be separately manufactured and attached to the roller core in order to deliver the scraping performance and the mopping performance. It is thus difficult to finely adjust the arrangement of the short-fiber raised fabric piece and the long-fiber raised fabric piece. That is, it is difficult to finely set the balance between the mopping performance and the scraping performance.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a brush and a rotating brush that are capable of flexibly setting the balance between scraping performance and mopping performance.

To achieve the foregoing objectives, a brush includes a fabric base formed by weaving warp and weft, and a brush portion that includes bristles, which are formed by pile. The pile is woven into the fabric base to project upright from an outer surface of the fabric base. The brush portion includes two or more types of the bristles between which at least one of a length, a diameter, or a density is different. The two or more types of the bristles are arranged to be adjacent to each other in a direction in which the warp extends.

In a typical brush, in proportion to an increase in the length of bristles, an increase in the diameter of the bristles, and an increase in the density of the bristles, the performance of scraping dust by the brush (hereinafter, scraping performance) is improved, while the performance of wiping off fine dust and droplets (hereinafter, mopping performance) is reduced. From the opposite point of view, in accordance with a decrease in the length of bristles, a decrease in the diameter of the bristles, and a decrease in the density of the bristles, the mopping performance is improved. The balance between these performances is significantly important in order to efficiently collect various types of waste such as dust and droplets.

With the above-described configuration, the two or more types of bristles between which at least one of the length, the diameter, or the density is different are arranged to be adjacent to each other in the direction in which the warp extends. Thus, at least one of the length, the diameter, or the density of the bristles changes without a gap in the direction in which the warp extends. This allows for flexible setting of the balance between the scraping performance and the mopping performance.

In the above-described brush, the two or more types of the bristles between which at least one of the length, the diameter, or the density is different may be adjacent to each other in a direction in which the weft extends.

With the above-described configuration, at least one of the length, the diameter, or the density of the bristles changes without a gap in the direction in which the weft extends. This allows for further flexible setting of the balance between the scraping performance and the mopping performance.

In the above-described brush, the brush portion may include a first section that includes first bristles, and second sections that include second bristles. At least one of a length, a diameter, or a density of the second bristles may be different from that of the first bristles. The second sections may be adjacent to opposite sides of the first section in the direction in which the warp extends.

With the above-described configuration, the second sections are adjacent to the opposite sides of the first section in the direction in which the warp extends. Thus, if the brush is formed such that the direction in which the warp extends agrees with the sliding direction of the brush, one of the second sections, the first section, and the other second section successively slide against the floor surface. This configuration is capable of continuously changing the balance between the scraping performance and the mopping performance when the brush slides against the floor surface.

With the above-described configuration, the second sections are adjacent to the opposite sides of the first section in the direction in which the weft extends. Thus, if the brush is formed such that the direction in which the warp extends agrees with the sliding direction of the brush, the first section and the second section, which are arranged side by side in the direction in which the weft extends simultaneously slide against the floor surface. It is thus possible to easily adjust the resistance generated when the brush slides against something by changing at least one of the length, the diameter, or the density between the first bristles, which form the first section, and the second bristles, which form the second section.

In the above-described brush, the first bristles may be shorter than the second bristles. With the above-described configuration, the first section and the second sections on the opposite sides of the first section form a recess. The recess readily holds waste such as dust scraped off by the second sections. Since the waste is held by the recess in a concentrated manner, the waste can be removed easily.

In the above-described brush, the fabric base and the pile may be formed by jacquard weaving.

The brush portion of the above-described configuration easily achieves a configuration in which the two or more types of bristles between which at least one of the length, the diameter, or the density is different are adjacent to each other in the direction in which the warp extends.

To achieve the foregoing objectives, a rotating brush includes a rotor, and the above-described brush that is arranged on an outer surface of the rotor.

With the above-described configuration, the two or more types of bristles between which at least one of the length, the diameter, or the density is different are arranged to be adjacent to each other in the direction in which the warp extends. Accordingly, at least one of the length, the diameter, or the density of the bristles changes without a gap in the direction in which the warp extends. This allows for flexible setting of the balance between the scraping performance and the mopping performance.

The present invention allows for flexible setting of the balance between the scraping performance and the mopping performance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a bottom view of a head of a vacuum cleaner equipped with a rotating brush according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a brush of the rotating brush.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3a-3a of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the brush of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a brush according to a modification.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a rotating brush according to another modification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, a rotating brush 20 according to the present embodiment includes a rotor 21 and a brush 30. The rotor 21 is rotationally supported in a case 11 of a head 10 of a vacuum cleaner. The brush 30 is attached to the outer surface of the rotor 21. The rotor 21 is cylindrical and is made of hard plastic or metal. Any suitable method may be selected to attach the brush 30 to the rotor 21. For example, the brush 30 may be bonded to the outer circumferential surface of the rotor 21 with adhesive or double-sided tape. Also, if the circumferential wall of the rotor 21 has a net-like structure, the brush 30 may be sewn to the rotor 21.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A, the brush 30 includes a fabric base 31, and brush portions 34, which are arranged on the outer surface of the fabric base 31.

Each brush portion 34 includes a first section 36 and second sections 37 adjacent to the opposite sides of the first section 36 in a sliding direction X of the brush 30. The first section 36 formed by first bristles 51. The second sections 37 are formed by second bristles 52, which are longer than the first bristles 51. FIGS. 2 and 3A schematically illustrate the bristles 51, 52. In the present embodiment, the sliding direction X of the brush 30 agrees with the up-down direction of FIG. 2. An axial direction Y of the rotating brush 20 agrees with the left-right direction of FIG. 2.

The first section 36 and the second sections 37 each have a constant width in the sliding direction X of the brush 30 (measurement in the up-down direction of FIG. 2), and extend in a zigzag manner in the axial direction Y of the rotating brush 20. Therefore, the second sections 37 are adjacent to the opposite sides of the first section 36 in the axial direction Y of the rotating brush 20.

As shown in FIG. 3A, each first section 36 and the second sections 37 on the opposite sides of the first section 36 form a recess 38. In the present embodiment, the second sections 37 have a width greater than that of the first section 36.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A, the brush portions 34 are arranged with spaces in between in the sliding direction X of the brush 30. A constant clearance 35 exists between the brush portions 34. The bristles 51, 52 do not exist in the clearance 35.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the fabric base 31 is made of a woven fabric that is formed by weaving warp 32 and weft 33, which are made of, for example, polyester. The material for the warp 32 and the weft 33, which form the fabric base 31, is not limited to polyester, but may be selected from synthetic resins such as polyethylene, polyamide, polypropylene, acrylic resin, and urethane resin. In the present embodiment, the direction in which the warp 32 extends (hereinafter, a warp direction X) agrees with the sliding direction X of the brush 30. The direction in which the weft extends (hereinafter, a weft direction Y) agrees with the axial direction Y of the rotating brush 20.

The first bristles 51 are formed by first pile yarns 41a, 41b, which are woven into the fabric base 31 to project upright from the outer surface of the fabric base 31.

The second bristles 52 are formed by second pile yarns 42a, 42b, which are woven into the fabric base 31 to project upright from the outer surface of the fabric base 31.

The pile yarns 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b correspond to the pile of the present invention.

The first pile yarns 41a, 41b are formed by bundling fibers, for example, of heat-shrinkable polyester and are pile-woven into the fabric base 31 so as to project upright. Heat-shrinkable polyester fibers have excellent durability and elasticity.

The second pile yarns 42a, 42b are formed by bundling fibers, for example, of polyamide and are pile-woven into the fabric base 31 so as to project upright. Having excellent abrasion resistance and restorability, polyamide fibers are suitable for the purpose.

A heat applying process (for example, a coating process described below) is performed after the pile-weaving, so that the first pile yarns 41a, 41b, which are made of heat-shrinkable polyester fibers, shrink to reduce the projecting amount of the first bristles 51. The polyester fibers used in the present embodiment shrink by approximately 40% in terms of the fiber length by heating.

In some cases, the surface of the fabric base 31 from which the pile yarns 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b project upright is referred to as an outer surface, and the opposite surface is referred to as a back surface.

The fabric base 31 and the pile yarns 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b are formed by jacquard weaving.

When forming the pile yarns 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b on the fabric base 31, two fabric bases 31A, 31B are arranged such that the front surfaces face each other. At this time, the lengths of the bristles 51, 52 change depending on the distance between the fabric base 31A and the fabric base 31B.

Subsequently, the first pile yarns 41a, 41b are woven into the warps 32 of the fabric bases 31A, 31B in an alternately bridging manner. The first pile yarns 41a and the other first pile yarns 41b are respectively woven into the fabric base 31A and the fabric base 31B on the opposite sides at predetermined positions in the warp direction X.

Also, the second pile yarns 42a, 42b are woven into the warps 32 of the fabric bases 31A, 31B in an alternately bridging manner. The second pile yarns 42a and the other second pile yarns 42b are respectively woven into the fabric base 31A and the fabric base 31B on the opposite sides at predetermined positions in the warp direction X.

Then, the middle sections of the pile yarns 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b, which bridge the two fabric bases 31A, 31B are cut, so that the fibers forming the pile yarns 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b spread to form the bristles 51, 52 made of pile as shown in FIG. 3B. That is, the brush portions 34 are cut pile that are formed by cutting the pile yarns 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b, which bridge the wefts 33 of the two fabric bases 31A, 31B. Accordingly, two brushes 30A, 30B are formed simultaneously.

Thereafter, a synthetic resin material having an adhesion function is applied to the back surfaces of the fabric bases 31A, 31B using an application device (not shown). The synthetic resin material in the present embodiment may be a water-soluble synthetic resin material such as an acrylic resin emulsion, a urethane resin emulsion, or a vinyl acetate resin emulsion. The synthetic resin material is selected considering the compatibility with the fibers forming the fabric bases 31A, 31B. After the synthetic resin material is applied, the fabric bases 31A, 31B are passed through a drying device (not shown) to dry the synthetic resin material so that coating layers (not shown) are formed to join the roots of the bristles 51, 52 and the fabric bases 31A, 31B (the coating process). The drying step in the coating process applies heat to the first bristles 51, so that the fiber length of the first bristles 51 is reduced by 40%. The first bristles 51 are thus shorter than the second bristles 52. That is, the projecting amount of the first bristles 51 is smaller than that of the second bristles 52.

In the first section 36, the first pile yarns 41a, 41b are alternately woven into the two fabric bases 31A, 31B such that the first bristles 51 project upright. In each second section 37, the second pile yarns 42a, 42b are alternately woven into the two fabric bases 31A, 31B such that the second bristles 52 project upright. In the present embodiment, the second sections 37 are arranged adjacent to the opposite sides of the first section 36 in the warp direction X as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

In the first section 36, the second pile yarn 42a is woven into only the fabric base 31B on the lower side as viewed in FIG. 3B, and the other second pile yarn 42b is woven into only the fabric base 31A on the upper side as viewed in FIG. 3B.

In each second section 37, the first pile yarn 41a is woven into only the fabric base 31A on the upper side as viewed in FIG. 3B, and the other first pile yarn 41b is woven into only the fabric base 31B on the lower side as viewed in FIG. 3B.

In each clearance 35 between the first section 36 and the corresponding second section 37, the first pile yarn 41a and the second pile yarn 42a are woven into only the fabric base 31A on the upper side as viewed in FIG. 3B, and the other first pile yarn 41b, and the other second pile yarn 42b are woven into only the fabric base 31B on the lower side as viewed in FIG. 3B.

In the brush 30 of the present embodiment, the pile yarns 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b are arranged to be adjacent to each other in the weft direction Y.

The present embodiment has the following advantages.

(1) The brush 30 of the rotating brush 20 includes the fabric base 31 and the brush portions 34. The fabric base 31 is formed by weaving the warp 32 and the weft 33. Each brush portion 34 includes the bristles 51, 52, which are formed by the pile yarns 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b. The pile yarns 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b are woven into the fabric base 31 to project upright from the outer surface of the fabric base 31. Each brush portion 34 also includes the first section 36 and the second sections 37, which are respectively formed by the two types of bristles 51, 52 having different lengths. The first section 36 and the second sections 37 are adjacent to each other in the warp direction X, which is the direction in which the warp 32 extends.

With the above-described configuration, the two types of bristles 51, 52 having different lengths are arranged to be adjacent to each other in the warp direction X. Thus, the lengths of the bristles 51, 52 change without a gap in the warp direction X. This allows for flexible setting of the balance between the scraping performance and the mopping performance.

(2) The two types of bristles 51, 52 having different lengths are arranged to be adjacent to each other in the weft direction Y, which is the direction in which the weft extends.

With the above-described configuration, the lengths of the bristles 51, 52 change without a gap in the weft direction Y. This allows for further flexible setting of the balance between the scraping performance and the mopping performance.

(3) Each brush portion 34 includes the first section 36, which has the first bristles 51, and the second sections 37, which have the second bristles 52. The second bristles 52 are longer than the first bristles 51. The second sections 37 are adjacent to the opposite sides of the first section 36 in the warp direction X. The warp direction X of the brush 30 agrees with the sliding direction of the brush 30.

With the above-described configuration, the second sections 37 are adjacent to the opposite sides of the first section 36 in the warp direction X (the sliding direction X of the brush 30). Thus, one of the second sections 37, the first section 36, and then the other second section 37 successively slide against the floor surface. This configuration is capable of continuously changing the balance between the scraping performance and the mopping performance when the brush 30 slides against the floor surface.

(4) The second sections 37 are adjacent to the opposite sides of the first section 36 in the weft direction Y.

With the above-described configuration, the second sections 37 are adjacent to the opposite sides of the first section 36 in the weft direction Y. Thus, the first section 36 and the second sections 37, which are arranged side by side in the weft direction Y simultaneously slide against the floor surface. It is thus possible to easily adjust the resistance generated when the brush 30 slides against something by changing the lengths of the bristles 51, 52 between the first section 36 and the second sections 37.

(5) The first bristles 51 are shorter than the second bristles 52.

With the above-described configuration, the first section 36 and the second sections 37 on the opposite sides of the first section 36 form a recess 38. The recess 38 readily holds waste such as dust scraped off by the second sections 37, which is formed by the second bristles 52. Since waste such as dust is held by the recess 38 in a concentrated manner, the waste can be removed easily.

(6) The fabric base 31 and the pile yarns 41a, 41b, 42a, 42b are formed by jacquard weaving.

The above-described configuration readily achieves the above-described advantages (1) to (5).

The above-described embodiment may be modified as follows. The above-described embodiment and the following modifications can be combined as long as the combined modifications remain technically consistent with each other.

The width of the clearance 35 between the brush portions 34 is not limited to the one in the above-described embodiment, but may be changed. It is also possible to omit the clearance 35. The sliding resistance and the waste scraping performance of the rotating brush 20 can be adjusted by properly adjusting the width of the clearance 35.

The first section 36 and the second sections 37, which form the brush portion 34, do not necessarily extend in a zigzag manner in the axial direction Y (the weft direction Y). For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each first section 36 may have the shape of a rhombus, and the second section 37 may be located both on the opposite sides of the first section 36 in the warp direction X and on the opposite sides of the first section 36 in the weft direction Y. In this case, the first sections 36 are spaced at even distances both in the warp direction X and the weft direction Y as shown in FIG. 4.

The density of the first bristles 51 may be less than that of the second bristles 52. The diameter of the first bristles 51 may be less than that of the second bristles 52. Even in this case, the first section 36, which is formed by the first bristles 51, readily holds waste such as dust scraped off by the second sections 37, which are formed by the second bristles 52. Accordingly, an advantage equivalent to the advantage (5) of the above-described embodiment is achieved.

The first bristles 51 may be longer than the second bristles 52.

In the above-described embodiment and modifications, the warp direction X of the fabric base 31 and the sliding direction X of the brush 30 agree with each other, and the weft direction Y and the axial direction Y of the rotating brush 20 agree with each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the weft direction of the fabric base 31 may agree with the sliding direction of a brush, and the warp direction of the fabric base 31 may agree with the axial direction of a rotating brush. Also, a brush having a rectangular shape may be helically attached to the outer surface of the rotor 21.

FIG. 6 illustrates a rotating brush 120, which includes a brush 130. The brush 130 includes a brush portion 134 having a first section 136 formed by first bristles 151, a second section 137 formed by second bristles 152, and a third section 139 formed by third bristles 153. The diameters of the bristles (fiber diameters) decrease in the order of the first bristles 151, the second bristles 152, and the third bristles 153. In this case, the edge of the second section 137 is inclined such that the center in the axial direction Y is located forward in the sliding direction X. The first section 136 is adjacent to the trailing side in the sliding direction X of the second section 137. The third section 139 is adjacent to the leading side in the sliding direction X of the second section 137.

The brush 30 may be attached to the outer surface of the rotor 21 in order to be used as the rotating brush 20 as in the above-described embodiment. Alternatively, the brush 30 may be attached to a plate-shaped portion to be used as a non-rotating brush. The non-rotating brush can be used to clean the filter of, for example, an air conditioner, an air cleaner, or a ventilator.

The fabric bases and the pile are not limited to those formed by jacquard weaving. If the pattern of the bristles in the brush portion is simple, the fabric bases and the pile may be formed by dobby weaving.

BRUSH AND ROTATING BRUSH

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