Patent Application
20050172447
The present invention relates generally to the floor care field and, more particularly, to a floor cleaning apparatus incorporating twin agitators having different diameters.
A vacuum cleaner is an electromechanical appliance utilized to effect the dry removal of dust, dirt and other small debris from carpets, rugs, fabrics or other surfaces in both domestic and industrial environments. In order to achieve the desired dirt and dust removal, a rotary agitator is provided to beat dirt and dust from the nap of the carpet and a pressure drop or vacuum is used to force air entrained with this dirt and dust into the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner. The particulate-laden air is then drawn through a bag-like filter, a dirt cup or a cyclonic separation chamber and filter combination which traps the dirt and dust, while substantially clean air is exhausted by an electrically operated fan that is driven by an on board motor. It is this fan and motor arrangement that generates the drop in air pressure necessary to provide the desired cleaning action. Thus, the fan and motor arrangement is commonly known as the vacuum or suction generator.
Many advanced, high performance vacuum cleaners incorporate a dual motor system. In such a system, a separate agitator drive motor is provided in addition to the motor of the suction generator. In most designs the separate agitator drive motor is mounted on the nozzle assembly adjacent the agitator. A gear drive or more commonly a pulley and belt arrangement transmits the power from the agitator motor drive shaft to the agitator.
It has also been determined that vacuum cleaners equipped with multiple agitators provide a performance advantage resulting in enhanced cleaning efficiency. The present invention relates to a multi-agitator floor cleaning apparatus such as an upright vacuum cleaner, canister vacuum cleaner, hand-held vacuum cleaner or extractor wherein the agitators are of different diameters. Such a floor cleaning apparatus provides maximum cleaning performance while also limiting the height of the nozzle assembly. As a consequence, the vacuum cleaner is easy to maneuver and has a relatively low profile so as to allow cleaning under beds, chairs and the like.
In accordance with the purposes of the present invention as described herein, an improved floor cleaning apparatus is provided. That floor cleaning apparatus comprises a nozzle assembly, a canister assembly and a suction generator carried on one of the nozzle assembly and the canister assembly. Additionally, the floor cleaning apparatus includes a dirt collection vessel also carried on one of the canister assembly and the nozzle assembly. Still further, a first agitator having a first diameter D1 is carried on the nozzle assembly. Additionally, a second agitator having a second diameter D2 is carried on the nozzle assembly. The first diameter D1 is greater than the second diameter D2. At least one agitator drive motor is carried on either the nozzle assembly or the canister assembly to drive the first and second agitators.
The canister assembly may be pivotally connected to the nozzle assembly. Further, the dirt collection vessel may take any of various forms including but not limited to a filter bag, a dirt cup and a cyclonic airflow chamber. Further, the cleaning apparatus itself may be a device selected from a group consisting of an upright vacuum cleaner, a canister vacuum cleaner, a hand-held vacuum cleaner and an extractor.
In a typical embodiment, the second agitator diameter D2 is between about 75 and about 90 percent of the first agitator diameter D1. More specifically, the first diameter D1 is between about 50 mm and about 63 mm while the second diameter D2 is between about 37 mm and about 57 mm.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a method is disclosed for providing an improved floor cleaning apparatus. The method includes the steps of equipping the floor cleaning apparatus with a first agitator having a diameter D1 and a second agitator having a diameter D2, where D1 is greater than D2, and driving those two agitators. The agitators may be driven at different speeds and/or in different directions.
Advantageously, the floor cleaning apparatus provides enhanced cleaning performance and a relatively low profile and compact nozzle assembly that is easily maneuvered over a surface to be cleaned and has the necessary clearance to be used under beds, chairs and the like.
In the following description there is shown and described a preferred embodiment of this invention, simply by way of illustration of one of the modes best suited to carry out the invention. As it will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
The accompanying drawing incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrates several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serves to explain certain principles of the invention. In the drawing:
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Reference is now made to
The overall basic design of the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is generally well known in the art. In the typical arrangement, the floor cleaning apparatus 10 includes a housing 14 that comprises the nozzle assembly 16 and the canister assembly 18. The canister assembly 18 further includes the handle 20 and the hand grip 22. The hand grip 22 carries a control switch 24 for turning the floor cleaning apparatus 10 on and off. Of course, electrical power is supplied to the floor cleaning apparatus 10 from a standard electrical wall outlet through a cord (not shown). Alternatively, the floor cleaning apparatus 10 could be powered by an onboard battery.
At the lower portion of the canister assembly 18, rear wheels (not shown) are provided to support the weight of the floor cleaning apparatus 10. A second set of wheels (also not shown) allow the operator to raise and lower the nozzle assembly 16 through selective manipulation of the height adjustment switch 28. Such a height adjustment mechanism is well known in the art and is exemplified, for example, by the arrangement incorporated into the Kenmore Progressive vacuum cleaner currently available in the marketplace. To allow for convenient storage of the floor cleaning apparatus 10, a foot latch 30 functions to lock the canister assembly 18 in an upright position, as shown in
The canister assembly 18 also carries an internal chamber 32 that houses a suction generator 33 (i.e. a state of the art fan and motor combination) and a dirt collection vessel 34 for removing dirt or dust entrained in the air stream as it passes from the nozzle assembly 16 to the suction generator. The canister assembly 18 may also carry a final filtration cartridge 48 to trap small particulates and prevent their reintroduction into the environment through the exhaust air stream.
The nozzle assembly 16 includes a nozzle and agitator cavity 36 that houses a first agitator 38a and a second agitator 38b mounted in parallel so as to substantially form a nip or slight gap N therebetween. In accordance with a novel aspect of the present invention, the two agitators 38a and 38b have differing diameters. Typically, the first agitator 38a has a first diameter D1 of between about 50 to about 63 mm. In contrast, the second agitator 38b has a diameter D2 of between about 37 to about 57 mm. Thus, the second agitator 38b has a diameter D2 of between about 75 to about 90 percent of the diameter D1 of the first agitator 38a.
The different diameters of the agitator 38a and 38b provide a number of benefits. First, the two agitators 38a and 38b have different footprints and, therefore, different cleaning characteristics as they beat dirt and debris from the nap of a rug or carpet. As a result, the two agitators 38a and 38b provide good cleaning action for a broader range of dirt and debris and, accordingly, provide overall enhanced cleaning efficiency. Further, the relatively small diameter of the second or forward agitator 38b allows the housing of the nozzle assembly 16 to be constructed with a lower overall forward profile. The lower clearance allows the nozzle assembly 16 to be freely maneuvered under low clearance overhangs such as commonly associated with beds, chairs, kitchen and bathroom cabinets and the like.
The agitators 38a and 38b are each independently and rotatably driven by a motor 40 and cooperating gear drive 42 housed within the agitator and described in greater detail below (see
As illustrated, the dirt collection vessel 34 takes the form of a dust or filter bag of a type well known in the art. Of course, it should be appreciated that the dirt collection vessel could also be a dirt cup or even a cyclonic separation chamber if desired. Essentially substantially any vessel capable of collecting dirt may be utilized.
Reference is now made to
The motor 40 drives a shaft 70 including gear teeth 72. The drive shaft 70 extends through a bearing 74 held in the hub 76 of the planetary gear set carrier 78. In the most preferred embodiment a fan 80 is keyed or otherwise secured to the distal end of the drive shaft 70.
The planetary gear set carrier 78 includes three stub shafts 82 that each carry a planetary gear 84. Each of the planetary gears 84 include teeth that mesh with the gear teeth 72 of the drive shaft 70. Additionally, the planetary gears 82 mesh with the teeth of an annular gear 86 that is fixed to the agitator motor housing 64 by pin or other means. Thus, it should be appreciated that as the drive shaft 70 is driven by the motor 40, the planetary gears 84 are driven around the annular gear 86, thereby causing the planetary gear set carrier 78 to rotate. Planetary gear set carrier 78 also includes a drive ring 88 and associated rubber drive boot 87 which includes a series of spaced channels 89 that receive and engage axial ribs 91 projecting inwardly radially from the inner wall of the agitator 38a. Thus, the rotation of the planetary gear set carrier 78 is transmitted by the drive ring 88 and drive boot 87 directly to and causes like rotation of the agitator 38a. The rubber drive boot 87 provides the necessary damping to insure the smooth transmission of power to the agitator. Simultaneously with the rotation of the planetary gear set carrier 78 and agitator 38, the drive shaft 70 also drives the fan 80 at a ratio of between 4-1 to 10-1 (e.g. 6-1) with respect to the agitator 38a. The resulting rapid rotation of the fan 80 helps to ensure proper cooling of the agitator motor 40 during its operation.
More specifically, the floor cleaning apparatus 10 of the present invention incorporates a novel air cooling system or circuit, which will now be described in detail. Specifically, air is drawn into the floor cleaning apparatus 10 through a vent 90 at the upper rear face of the nozzle assembly 16 by operation of the suction generator 33 (note action arrow A in
After passing over the windings and other internal components (not shown) of the agitator motor 40 for purposes of heat exchange and cooling, the air passes through the passageway 108 into the manifold 110 (note action arrow G). Manifold 110 includes an outlet (not shown) in fluid communication with the agitator cavity 36. Of course, as noted above, the agitator cavity 36 is in direct fluid communication with a suction inlet 44 that leads through the hose 46 into the dirt collection vessel 34 in chamber 32.
While only one agitator 38a has been illustrated and described in detail, it should be appreciated that both agitators 38a and 38b have identical structures: that is, each agitator 38a and 38b has its own drive motor, only the size of the two differs. As a result, the agitators 38a and 38b are independently driven. The agitators 38a and 38b may be driven by their individual, independent internal motors in different directions and/or even at different speeds as desired to provide the greatest cleaning efficiency. Thus, design flexibility and performance are all maximized.
While the agitators 38a and 38b may be independently driven by their own internal drive motors as described above, it should be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to such a drive arrangement. In fact, the present invention covers substantially any floor cleaning apparatus 10 incorporating dual agitators where those agitators have different diameters. Two possible alternative drive arrangements are illustrated schematically in
In the
In the
In summary, in any of the possible embodiments, it should be appreciated that the agitators 38a and 38b may be driven in the same or opposite directions so as to be co-rotating or counter-rotating. Further, the agitators 38a and 38b may be driven at the same or different speeds to provide the most effective and efficient cleaning efficiency. Since the agitators 38 and 38b are of different diameters and, therefore, present different geometries to the surface being cleaned and since their direction of rotation and speed of rotation may also be varied, overall cleaning performance of the vacuum cleaner may be tuned or customized to provide optimum cleaning efficiency for substantially any form of dirt and debris (e.g. light, heavy, granular, particulate, fine powder, dust, stringy). Accordingly, optimum cleaning performance may be achieved.
The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings.
The embodiment was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled. The drawings and preferred embodiment do not and are not intended to limit the ordinary meaning of the claims and their fair and broad interpretation in any way.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/541,989 filed on Feb. 5, 2004.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60541989 | Feb 2004 | US |
