Bladed disk brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner
A brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner includes a rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion. A first airflow enhancing device (“AED”) is positioned, by being molded onto or operationally attached to, the first end of the rotatable spindle. The first AED includes a central portion, which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the first AED is positioned on the first end of the rotatable spindle. The first AED includes at least one fan blade projection outwardly extending from the periphery of the central portion of the first AED. The fan blade projection facilitates the movement of debris directly or indirectly from the first end of the rotatable spindle toward the central portion of the rotatable spindle. A second AED device may be positioned on the second end of the rotatable spindle, wherein the second AED has similar structure to and attaches in similar fashion as the first AED. In one embodiment, the housing has a hole in the bottom to enable air to enter the housing, travel down the longitudinal axis and towards the central portion of the rotatable spindle. In another embodiment, the housing may have openings in the sidewalls that promote airflow directly from the outside of the housing to the ends of the rotatable spindle. In yet another embodiment, a pressurized fan is attached to the housing or the rotatable spindle to increase forced airflow.
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A. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to new and novel improvements in a bladed disk brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bladed disk brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner which generates direct and/or indirect force that moves debris, such as dirt and dust, away from the ends of the brush roller assembly including but not limited to the bearing assemblies toward the middle of the brush roller assembly where it is removed from the brush roller assembly by the suction of the vacuum cleaner.
B. Description of Related Art
Brush roller assemblies for vacuum cleaners are well known and have been described in numerous references, including a number of issued United States patents. A typical brush roller assembly includes a rotatably mounted and motor driven spindle having a brush on a cylindrical or non-cylindrical outer surface thereof and a non-rotatable mounting structure at each end to mount the brush roller assembly to a vacuum cleaner housing. While the mounting structure may vary considerably, one type of known mounting structure includes end assemblies at each end of the spindle, the end assemblies including a rotatable stub shaft, a bearing and an end cap member which is fixedly secured to the vacuum cleaner housing.
Certain problems are known to exist with known prior art of brush roller assemblies for vacuum cleaners. In particular, debris, such as dirt and dust, tends to collect in such known prior art brush roller assemblies. This is thought to be due, at least in part, to the lack of movement of air from the ends of the brush roller assembly to the central portion of the brush roller assembly where debris, such as dirt and dust, can be removed from the brush roller assembly by the vacuum of the vacuum cleaner.
II. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, an object of the present invention is the provision of an airflow enhancing device (“AED”), which includes, but is not limited to, bladed disks, fans, impellers, and other mechanical structures that increase air flow. The AED brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner, which facilitates the movement of debris from the ends of the brush roller assembly to the central portion of the brush roller assembly where it can be removed from the brush roller assembly by the vacuum of the vacuum cleaner assembly.
This and other objects of the present invention are attained by a brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner which includes a rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion, a first AED positioned on the first end of the rotatable spindle, the first AED including a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the first AED is positioned on the first end of the rotatable spindle and at least one fan blade (impeller or similar mechanical structure) projection outwardly extending from the periphery of the central portion of the first AED, the one or more fan blade projections being oriented to facilitate the movement of debris from the first end of the rotatable spindle toward the central portion of the rotatable spindle, a first end cap attached to the first end of the rotatable spindle, a second AED (impeller or similar mechanical structure) positioned on the second end of the rotatable spindle, the second AED including a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the second AED is positioned on the second end of the rotatable spindle and at least one fan blade projection outwardly extending from the periphery of the central portion of the second AED, the one or more fan blade projections being oriented to facilitate the movement of debris from the second end of the rotatable spindle toward the central portion of the rotatable spindle and a second end cap attached to the second end of the rotatable spindle.
Other advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
III. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which, in conjunction with this detailed description, illustrate and describe a preferred embodiment of an AED brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner in accordance with the present invention. Referring to
AED brush roller assembly 10 also includes two (2) AEDs 28 positioned on each end portion 16 of rotatable spindle 12. It should be noted that the AEDs 28 may be attached to any area along the rotatable spindle 12. AEDs 28 include central portion 30 which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of rotatable spindle 12 when AEDs 28 are placed on end portions 16 of rotatable spindle 12 and at least one fan blade projection 32 outwardly extending from the periphery of central portion 30 of AEDs 28. More specifically, the periphery is a lip 31 extending from the central portion 30, wherein the lip has a first side 31a adjacently located to the central portion and a second side 31b, which is distally located from the first side 31a. The one or more fan blade projections 32 of AEDs 28 are preferably oriented at an angle relative to central portion 30 of AEDs 28 to facilitate the movement of outside air from end portions 16 of rotatable spindle 12 toward central portion 18 of rotatable spindle 12 where outside air, as well as any debris 70, such as dirt and dust, carried with the outside air, is removed from AED brush roller assembly 10 by the air flow of the vacuum cleaner. Each blade projection 32 has a top 54 and a bottom 56. Further each blade 32 has a first face 58, which is flush with the second side 32b of the lip 31. Each blade 32 also has a second face 60, which may extend approximately midway across the lip 31. The angle of one or more fan blade projections 32 of AEDs 28 relative to central portion 30 of AEDs 28 is preferably in the range of zero (0) to ninety (90) degrees and is most preferably approximately twenty (20) degrees. Each blade projection 32 may have substantially the same cross sectional shape from the top 54 of the blade 32 to the bottom 56 of the blade 32. The angle of the top 54 and bottom 56 of the blade projections 32 relative to the central portion 30 may be equal. AEDs 28 are preferably fabricated from a plastic material, or alternatively, are fabricated as sheet metal stampings, although, if desired, other materials may be used.
As previously described, the airflow enhancing device (“AED”) may take the form of a bladed disk. Alternatively, the AED may take the form of any structural device that increases airflow, including, but not limited to fans and impellers.
AED brush roller assembly 10 also includes two (2) end caps 34 attached to bearings 26 in such a manner as to permit rotation of rotatable spindle 12 and AEDs 28. End caps 34 preferably include at least one opening, and more preferably a plurality of openings 36 elongated in a radial direction positioned in a circular configuration approximately corresponding to the position of one or more fan blade projections 32 on AEDs 28, to facilitate the movement of outside air from end portions 16 of rotatable spindle 12 toward central portion 18 of rotatable spindle 12 where outside air, as well as any debris 70 (
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
Accordingly, although the present invention has been described above in detail, the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention. It is apparent to those having a level of ordinary skill in the relevant art that other variations and modifications in AED brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner in accordance with the present invention, as described and shown herein, could be readily made using the teachings of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope and content of the present invention are to be defined only by the terms of the appended claims.
Claims
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a housing having a first opening and a second opening;
- a rotatable spindle positioned within the housing, the rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion, the first end being laterally spaced from the first opening of the housing, the second end being laterally spaced from the second opening of the housing;
- an airflow enhancing means having a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the airflow enhancing means is placed on one of the ends of the rotatable spindle, wherein debris is mechanically acted on directly or indirectly and travels along the longitudinal axis towards the central portion of the rotatable spindle wherein said airflow enhancing means is driven by the rotatable spindle.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the airflow enhancing means further comprises at least one blade extending radially therefrom, the blade having a base and top.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the airflow enhancing means is integrally molded into said rotatable spindle.
4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the airflow enhancing means is physically attached to said rotatable spindle.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the airflow enhancing means is attached to said rotatable spindle by screws.
6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the airflow enhancing means is attached to said rotatable spindle by being pressed onto a stub shaft.
7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the blade is angled relative to said central portion of the airflow enhancing means to facilitate the movement of outside air from said first end of said rotatable spindle toward the central portion of said rotatable spindle.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the airflow enhancing means comprises at least one blade oriented at an angle between zero (0) degrees and ninety (90) degrees relative to the central portion of the airflow enhancing means to facilitate the movement of debris toward the central portion of said rotatable spindle.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second airflow enhancing means having a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the second airflow enhancing means is placed on one of the ends of the rotatable spindle, wherein debris is acted upon to travel along the longitudinal axis towards the central portion of the rotatable spindle.
10. A brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner, the brush roller assembly comprising:
- a housing having a top, a bottom, and sidewalls, each of the sidewalls having at least one opening, the bottom having an aperture defined therein;
- a rotatable spindle positioned within the housing, the rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion, the first end and second ends being laterally spaced from the opening of the sidewalls;
- an airflow enhancing means for increasing the flow of air toward said central portion of said rotatable spindle, said airflow enhancing means having a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the airflow enhancing means is placed on one of the ends of the rotatable spindle, wherein air is adapted to enter the housing through the aperture defined in the bottom of the housing and the openings in the sidewalls so as to travel along the longitudinal axis towards the central portion of the rotatable spindle to increase air flow and wherein said airflow enhancing means is driven by the rotatable spindle.
11. The brush roller assembly of claim 10, wherein said airflow enhancing means is a bladed disk.
12. The brush roller assembly of claim 11, wherein the disk further comprises at least one blade extending radially therefrom, the blade having a base and a top.
13. The brush roller assembly of claim 11, wherein the airflow enhancing means further comprises a plurality of blades extending radially therefrom, each of the blades having a base and a top, wherein two adjacent blades have a space defined between them to facilitate the movement of outside air and/or debris from the first end of said rotatable spindle toward the central portion of said rotatable spindle.
14. The brush roller assembly of claim 13, wherein the top and the base of at least one blade of the airflow enhancing means is oriented at an angle between zero (0) degrees and ninety (90) degrees relative to the central portion of the airflow enhancing means to facilitate the movement of outside air and debris from the first end of said rotatable spindle toward the central portion of said rotatable spindle.
15. The brush roller assembly of claim 11, further comprising a second airflow enhancing means, said second airflow enhancing means being a second disk having a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when said second airflow enhancing means is placed on one of the ends of the rotatable spindle, wherein air is adapted to enter the housing through the at least one openings and travel along the longitudinal axis towards the central portion of the rotatable spindle so as to increase air flow toward said central portion of said rotatable spindle.
16. A brush roller assembly for a vacuum cleaner, said brush roller assembly comprising:
- a housing having a top and first and second sidewalls;
- a rotatable spindle positioned within the housing, the rotatable spindle having a longitudinal axis, a first end, a second end and a central portion;
- an airflow enhancing means for increasing the flow of air toward said central portion of said rotatable spindle, said airflow enhancing means having a central portion which is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotatable spindle when the airflow enhancing means is placed on one of the ends of the rotatable spindle, wherein the housing has at least one adjustable opening defined in the first sidewall of the housing to facilitate the movement of outside air through the opening and directly to one of the ends of the rotatable spindle toward the central portion of the rotatable spindle and wherein said airflow enhancing means is driven by the rotatable spindle.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 8, 2005
Publication Date: Nov 10, 2005
Applicant:
Inventors: William Kimmerle (Hudson, OH), Carl Sauers (Barberton, OH)
Application Number: 11/177,198