IE44052B1 - Rotary brush for a cleaning appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

1533910 Rotary brushes; carpet sweepers LEIFHEIT INTERNATIONAL GUNTER LEIFHEIT GmbH 23 Dec 1976 [2 Jan 1976] 53743/76 Addition to 1447943 Headings A4F and A4K A rotary brush 10 for a carpet sweeper comprises a first part 25 carrying inclined driving bristles 15 on a peripheral head 32, and a second part 27 mounted for limited tilting and having a depending flange 31 carrying working bristles 16, the two parts being connected for co-rotation by corresponding non-circular boss 28 and aperture (29) Figs 3-5 (not shown) so that the free ends of bristles 15 lead the ends by which they are mounted in one direction of rotation of the brush thereby enabling first part 25 to rotate as it is moved over a surface to be cleaned resulting in the rotation of the second part 27 and bristles 16, the second part tilting in the direction of travel of the sweeper. The boss 28 and aperture (29) may be of rectangular, (Fig. 3), oval, (Fig. 4), or cruciform, (Fig. 5), cross-section.

Description

The invention relates to a rotary brush for a cleaning appliance and provides a modification and/or improvement of the rotary brush of British Patent Specification No. 1447943.

British Patent Specification No. 1447943 claims a rotary brush for a cleaning app?.iance, comprising a brush body having means whereby it can be mounted for rotation about an axis, bristles projecting from the brush body and having their free ends lying substantially in a common plane, the bristles including a ring of driving bristles so mounted in the brush body at an angle of inclination to 'said axis that their free ends lead the ends at which they are mounted in the brush body in one direction of rotation of the brush» Preferably the ring of driving bristles is an inner ring of bristles and sweeping bristles of said bristles, which sweeping bristles do not produce a significant rotational drive for tha brush body, are mounted in a peripheral zone of the brush body.

The rotary brush of British Patent Specification No. 1447943 leads to much more uniform working compared with previously known rotary brushes, because the sweepingbristles substantially perform a uniform sweeping action. Since however, the entire periphery of the sweeping bristles engages with the surface to be cleaned, when the cleaning appliance is used as a sweeper, a clearly defined sweeping direction of the sweeping bristle ring is not always obtained with the rotary brush. - 3 According to the invention there is provided a rotary brush for a cleaning appliance, comprising a brush body having means whereby it can be mounted for rotation about an axis, and bristles projecting from the brush body and having their free ends lying substantially in a common plane, the bristles including an inner ring of driving bristles so mounted in the brush body at an angle of inclination to said axis that their free ends lead the ends at which they are mounted in the brush body in one direction of rotation of the brush and an outer ring of sweeping bristles which in use do not produce a significant rotational drive for the brush body, the brush body being constructed in two parts and comprising a first part mounting the inner ring of inclined driving bristles and also mounted for rotation about said axis, said axis being in use perpendicular to the surface to be swept, and a second part mounting the outer ring of sweeping bristles, the second part being coupled with the first part to be driven for co-rotation therewith and being so mounted as to permit limited inclination relative to the first part.

Advantageously the first part of the brush body mounting the inner ring of inclined driving bristles is mounted for rotation about said axis by a spindle engaged in a vertical bore of a housing of the cleaning appliance and the second part of the brush body mounting the outer ring of sweeping bristles has a non-circular drive aperture in a central portion thereof, a non-circular drive boss of the first part being engaged in said drive aperture, the size of the drive boss and its location with respect to the housing permitting said limited inclination of the second part relative to the first part and also to the housing of the cleaning appliance. 4 0 5 3 Thus, when the rotary brush is being correctly used, the second part which has the bristle ring with the sweeping bristles is inclined in such a way that only the front area of the ring of sweeping bristles in the direction of movement engages with the surface to be cleaned, whilst the rear portion of the ring of sweeping bristles in the direction of movement is raised from the floor. Thus, a clearly defined sweeping direction is obtained for the ring of sweeping bristles. By selection of the direction of inclination of the driving bristles, according to the position of the rotary brush in the housing of the appliance, it is possible to determine the rotation direction so that the front portion of the sweeping bristles in the direction of movement, which front portion engages with the surface to be cleaned, always sweeps towards the middle of the housing. By means of the drive boss and co-operating drive aperture the second part having the bristle ring with the sweeping bristles can be connected simply and reliably in non-rotary manner with the first part having the driving bristles and can thereby effect the necessary inclination.

The non-circular drive aperture of the second part of the brush body is preferably larger than the corresponding non-circular drive boss of the first part having the driving bristles and the spacing between the first part of the brush body and the bottom of the housing is greater than the thickness of the second part of the brush body.

The second part of the brush body having the bristle ring with the sweeping bristles when correctly used can easily be positioned in such a way that the front portion having regard to the direction of movement always engages with the floor to be cleaned, whilst the rear portion of the bristle ring having regard to the direction of movement is raised from the floor to be cleaned.

The non-circular drive aperture of the second part of the brush body can have a rectangular, an oval or a cruciform cross-section and the corresponding non-circular drive boss of the first part of the brush body has a corresponding configuration. As a result of this construction, the second part of the brush body having the bristle ring with the sweeping bristles can be connected in simple and nonrotary manner with the first part of the brush body having the driving bristles.

Advantageously, the ring of driving bristles is mounted in a peripherally extending bead provided on the underside of the first part of th^ brush body. Thus, the driving bristles can be made relatively short, so that they have a considerable rigidity.

The underside of the first part of the brush body is preferably convex within the peripherally extending bead.

The second part of the brush body is preferably formed as a flat disc with a downwardly directed peripheral flange to form a downwardly open recess which receives the first part of the brush body therein, the sweeping bristles being mounted in the flange.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which:Figure 1 is a cross-section through a rotary brush according to the invention in a position of rest; Figure 2 is a cross-section through the rotary brush of Figure 1 in an operation position; Figure 3 is a section taken on line III-III of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a section corresponding to Figure 3 but with a different cross-sectional form; and 4 Ο 5 3 - 6 Figure 5 is a further section corresponding to Figure 3 but with a further cross-sectional form.

Referring to the drawings, a rotary brush lo for a cleaning appliance and in particular a carpet sweeper is located in a peripheral area of the sweeper, so that the dirt can be brushed thereby from the peripheral area towards the middle of the sweeper. In the middle area of the weeper, a brush roller is provided to sweep the dirt into a dirt container. The only parts of the sweeper shown in the drawings are the rotary brush 10 and a bearing 24 for mounting the rotary brush.

The rotary brush 10 has a two-part brush body 11, mounted to rotate about a rotation axis. A first part 25 of the brush body is mounted with a spindle 13 in the bearing 24 of the housing of the weeper. A bore 26 provided for the spindle 13 in the bearing 24 extends vertically. The first part 25 of the brush body 11 has a bristle ring 17 of driving bristles 15. The bristles 15 of the bristle ring 17 have an. inclination in one or other of the two rotation directions of the brush body 11. Due to this inclination, one part of the bristles 15 of the bristle ring 17 is always directed in the same way as any translatory pushing direction of the brush 10 over the surface to be cleaned. Thus, the pushing resistance of the brush on the surface to be cleaned differs in the various portions of the bristle ring 17 around the periphery thereof, whereby it is always greatest in that portion in which the bristles 15 are inclined in the pushing direction of the brush. The large variation in resistance to movement of the bristles over the surface between different points around the bristle ring causes the first part 25 of the brush body 11 to rotate about the spindle 44053 - 7 13 upon movement of the sweeper. This rotation is maintained throughout the displacement path, because the portion of greatest brushing resistance is continuously shifted due to the rotation. Thus, the bristles 15 of the bristle ring 17 inclined in one rotation direction bring about a drive of the rotary brush 10.

A second part 27 of the brush body 11 has a bristle ring 18 with drive-neutral sweeping bristles 16. The sweeping bristles 16 are inclined radially outwards and downwards so that they come into contact with the working surface to be cleaned.

The second part 27 of the brush body ll is connected with the first part 25 of the brush body 11 in a manner to prevent relative rotation therebetween. To this end, the first part 25 of the brush body 11 has a drive boss 28 with a non-circular cross-section. As can be seen in particular from Figure 3, the cross-section of the drive boss 28 can be rectangular. However, according to Figures 4 and 5, the cross-section of boss 28 can also be oval or cruciform.

The second part 27 of the brush body 11 is formed by a flat disc having a correspondingly constructed drive aperture 29 to receive the drive boss 28. Consequently, the second part 27 of the brush body 11 is connected in non-rotary manner with the first part 25 of the brush body 11. The non-circular drive aperture 29 of the second part 27 of the brush body 11 having the bristle ring 18 with the sweeping bristles 16 is somewhat larger than the corresponding drive boss 28 of the first part 25 having the driving bristles 15. In addition, the distance between the first part 25 of the brush body 11 and the bottom of the housing 30 of the sweeper is greater than the thickness of the second part 27 of the brush body 11. Consequently, the second part 27 of the brush body 11 with the bristle ring 18 having the sweeping bristles 16 can be tilted to a limited extent relative to the first part 25 of brush body 11. When the rotary brush is correctly used, the second part 27 of the brush body 11 is inclined relative to the first part 25 of brush body 11 due to the friction between the floor to be cleaned and the bristles 16. The second part 27 of the brush body 11 thereby assumes the position shown in Figure 2. An arrow at the right hand side of Figure 2 indicates the direction of movement of the sweeper. Thus, the portion of the bristle ring 18 with the sweeping bristles 16 which is located at the front in the direction of movement, engages with the floor to be cleaned, and the portion of the bristle ring 18 with the sweeping bristles 16 which is located at the rear in the direction of movement is raised from the floor. Upon reversal of the direction of movement of the sweeper, the second part 27 of the brush body 11 is correspondingly tilted the other way.

As has already been stated, the second part 27 of the brush body 11 with the bristle ring 18 having the sweeping bristles 16 is formed by a flat disc. The disc is provided with a downwardly directed peripheral flange 31 to form a downwardly open recess which receives the first part 25 of the brush body 11 and in which flange 31 are mounted the radially outwardly and downwardly directed sweeping bristles 16.

The driving bristle ring 17 is located in a downwardly directed peripheral circular bead 32 provided at the underside of the first part 25 of the brush body 11. Consequently, the driving bristles 15 can be made 44053 - 9 relatively short, so that they have a relatively high rigidity. The underside of the middle portion of the first part 25 of the brush body 11 having the driving bristle ring 17 is of convex form within the circular bead 32.

Claims (10)

1. CLAIMS:1. A rotary brush for a cleaning appliance comprising a brush body having means whereby it can be mounted for rotation about an axis, and bristles projecting from the 5 brush body and having their free ends lying substantially in a common plane, the bristles including an inner ring of driving bristles so mounted in the brush body at an angle of inclination to said axis that their free ends lead the ends at which they are mounted in the brush body in one 10 direction of rotation of the brush and an outer ring of sweeping bristles which in use do not produce a significant rotational drive for the brush body, the brush body being constructed in two parts, and comprising a first part mounting the inner ring of inclined driving bristles and 15 also mounted for rotation about said axis, said axis being in use perpendicular to the surface to be swept, and a second part mounting the outer ring of sweeping bristles, the second part being coupled with the first part to be driven for co-rotation therewith and being so mounted as 20 to permit limited inclination relative to the first part.

2. A rotary brush according to Claim 1, in which the first part of the brush body mounting the inner ring of inclined driving bristles is mounted for rotation about said axis by a spindle engaged in a vertical bore of a 25 housing of the cleaning appliance and the second part of the brush body mounting the outer ring of sweeping bristles has a non-circular drive aperture in a central portion thereof, a non-circular drive boss of the first part being engaged in said drive aperture, the size of the 30 drive boss and location with respect to the housing permitting said limited inclination of the second part relative to the first part and also to the housing of the cleaning appliance.

3. A rotary brush according to Claim 2, in which the non-circular drive aperture of the second part is larger than the corresponding non-circular drive boss and the spacing between the first part and the bottom of the housing is greater than the thickness of the second part.

4. A rotary brush according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which the non-circular drive aperture of the second part has a rectangular cross-section and the corresponding noncircular drive boss of the first part has a corresponding configuration.

5. A rotary brush according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which the non-circular drive aperture of the second part has an oval cross-section and the corresponding non-circular drive boss of the first part has a corresponding configuration.

6. A rotary brush according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which the non-circular drive aperture of the second part has a cruciform cross-section and the corresponding noncircular drive boss of the first part has a corresponding configuration.

7. A rotary brush according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, in which the ring of driving bristles is mounted in a peripherally extending bead provided on the underside of the first part of the brush body.

8. A rotary brush according to Claim 7, in which the underside of the first part of brush body is convex within the peripherally extending bead.

9. A rotary brush according to Claim 2 or any one of Claims 3 to 8 when appendant to Claim 2, in which the second part of the brush body is formed by a flat disc with a downwardly directed peripheral flange to form a downwardly open recess which receives the first part of 44053 the brush body therein, the sweeping bristles being mounted in the flange.

10. A rotary brush substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to Figures 1 and 2 5 and Figure 3, Figure 4 or Figure 5 of the accompanying drawing.