GB2150422A - Suction cleaner agitators - Google Patents

Abstract

A suction cleaner agitator (10) has short beater bars (16) and brush strips (28, 30, 32, 34) extending spirally therealong, the direction of the spirals of the brush strips and the beater bars differing on each side of a plane (12A) lying normal to the axis of the agitator at a position which would normally be in line with a suction opening of the cleaner carrying the agitator such that dirt is moved laterally towards the suction opening from each side. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Suction cleaner agitators This invention relates to an agitator structure for a suction cleaner. The present invention has as its principal object the provision of an improved agitator arrangement, for use in a cleaner. According to one aspect of the present invention, an agitator for a suction cleaner has brush strips and short beater bars, in which the beater bars and brush strips each extend spirally around the agitator, the direction of the spirals all being the same on one side of an intermediate portion along the length of the agitator, but opposite to all those on the other side of the intermediate portion.

When the agitator is mounted on a suction cleaner and is rotated, the action of the brushes and beater bars tends to move any dirt towards the intermediate portion in a direction transverse to the direction in which the agitator rotates. If a suction nozzle is provided at the intermediate portion towards which all of the dirt is being driven, the cleaner will be working efficiently as it will be acting on the region generally containing the highest concentration of dirt.

Preferably the length of the beater bars is less than half the circumference of the agitator. This tends to limit the noise generated by the action of the beater bars on a carpet or other surface.

Advantageously, the angle at which the beater bars lie to a plane lying normal to the axis of the agitator is approximately one third of the angle which the brush strips lie to that plane. The steep angle of the brush strips ensures a maximum amount of brush area on the carpet at any one time to prevent the brushes acting as beater bars and generating unwanted noise.

Preferably one of the brush strips is displaced circumferentially from the oppositely spiralling brush strips at the intermediate portion to permit easy location of the beater bars on the agitator and allow the dirt to arrive at the intermediate portion at a more regular rate.

Advantageously the agitator and beater bars are integrally made of foamed plastics which allows the agitator to be easily moulded.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, an agitator has brush strips and small, short abbreviated beater bars including; a) said small, short beater bars disposed around said agitator and angled vertically, b) said brush strips having a chevron pattern, with said chevron pattern being offset at at least one of its peaks, c) said offset peak being located at the suction port of a cleaner, d) said small, short beater bars being paired in vertically angled, spiralling fashion, and e) said beater bars being angled towards the suction port.

The agitator may be contained in an agitator housing of a suction cleaner, the cleaner having a suction passage leading to a motor-fan unit from a suction opening in the agitator housing positioned at a point along the length of the housing corresponding to the position of the intermediate portion of the agitator.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways but one specific embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a development of an agitator body surface embodying the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-section of a beater bar of the agitator of Figure 1 taken on the line A-A of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective end view of one end of one of the beater bars of the agitator of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a plan view of an agitator formed in accordance with Figure 1; Figure 5 is a similar view to Figure 4 of a shortened agitator embodying part of the developed agitator body surface of Figure 1; Figure 6 is an underneath plan view of a suction cleaner embodying the elongated agitator of Figure 4;; Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but showing a narrower cleaner embodying a shorter agitator of the type shown in Figure 5; and Figure 8 is a cross sectional view of a pulley portion of the agitator of Figure 5 around which an agitator in accordance with the present invention is moulded.

Figure 1 shows a developed surface the whole of which represents an elongated agitator of the type shown in plan view in Figure 4 and incorporated in the suction cleaner of Figure 6. Thus a developed agitator body surface 10 is shown which includes also a showing of the form of the shorter agitator of Figure 5 and which is incorporated in the suction cleaner shown in Figure 7. The shortened agitator terminates at the transverse line 12A shown in Figure 1. The agitators are preferably moulded from foamed plastics material such as polypropylene. Each of the agitators embodies an integral series of beater bars 16 which are disposed angularly relative to the vertical i.e. the extend transversely of a plane extending at right angles to the axis of rotation of the agitator proper.Each beater bar is relatively short and as has been mentioned is moulded integrally into the agitator body 18 (see Figures 2 and 3). As shown in Figure 2 each beater bar has a truncated triangular cross section 20 with a slightly curved top 22. The ends of each of the beater bars 16 are equally curvilinear in nature having curvilinear sides 24 as shown in Figure 3 to furnish a final smooth contour to the beater bar. In designing the agitators according to this invention short beater bars were selected rather than elongate bars because of the general noise generated by elongate beater bars. The beater bars are also set at the angle referred to rather than placed parallel to the axis since a similar noise effect occurs with such positioning.Also although beater bars lying exactly in a transverse plane would generate low noise they would do very little working action on a carpet so that the angular positioning of the beater bar 16 was selected as ideal. This angle can be best be defined by an angle 26 in Figure 1 which is of between 200 and 250 with respect to the plane 26A. This angle permits moulding of the agitator body 18 but still provides a working action of beater bars on a rug or carpet floor covering.

A series of helically arranged brush strips 28, 30, 32 and 34 for an elongate agitator 14 are disposed on the agitator body surface 10 with these brush strips lying at an angle 36 in Figure 1 (left hand side) of 220 to the axis of the agitator body to provide a spiral of some steepness to ensure that a relatively large amount of brush strip is on the floor at any one time. This limits the beater bar action of these brush strips and lessens the noise generated by the agitator. The brush strips 28, 30, 32 and 34 are arranged somewhat in a pattern in the manner of a chevron since, as shown in Figure 4, the brush strips 32 and 34 spiral anticlockwise away from a viewer looking at the left-hand end of the agitator in Figure 4, whilst the brush strips 28 and 30 spiral clockwise as viewed from the same end.The brush strips 32 and 34 terminate at their right hand ends in Figure 4 at diametrically opposite points lying in a plane 34A extending transversely of the axis of the agitator. The brush strips 28 and 30 also terminate at diametrically opposite points in the same plane 34A but at positions disposed 900 from the terminations of the ends of the brush strips 32 and 34.

Figure 5 which shows the shorter agitator incorporates the same brush strips 28 and 30 but only short sections 320 and 340 respectively compared with the brush strips 32 and 34 of the elongate agitator of Figure 4.

Looking at it another way the brush strips 28 and 30 are offset respectively from the brush strip 32 or the brush strip 32', and the brush strip 34 or the brush strip 34', generally at a plane 34A which coincides with a suction opening 36 of the suction cleaner leading from a duct 38 which extends to a motor fan system (not shown) to provide suction to the opening 36 when the short agitator 12, or the long agitator 14, is disposed in an agitator chamber 42, or an agitator chamber 42' (in Figure 6) in the main body 40 or the main body 400 respectively. With an essentially offset peak in the chevron design of the brush strips of the agitators 12 and 14 located at the suction opening 36 there is a tendency for dirt to be moved along a carpet or other floor covering surface as the agitator 12 or 14 rotates during the cleaning process. This aids in the cleaning function for the cleaner for which the agitator 12 or the agitator 14' is a sub-assembly. At the same time the offset of the chevron design tends to permit easy location of the short beater bars 16, on the long portion of the agitator 12 or the agitator 14, angled towards the suction opening and with the beater bars 16 on the short portion of the agitator 12 or the agitator 14 also angled towards the suction opening. Again this tends to screw or move the dirt and entrained debris in the rug or floor covering being cleaned towards the suction opening 36.

A pulley section 44 (Figure 8) is formed as a moulded part and integrated into the agitator 12 or agitator 14 by either of these agitators being moulded around it.

Claims (6)

1. An agitator for a suction cleaner having brush strips and short beater bars, in which the beater bars and brush strips each extend spirally around the agitator, the direction of the spirals all being the same on one side of an intermediate portion along the length of the agitator, but opposite to all those on the other side of the intermediate portion.

2. An agitator as claimed in Claim 1 in which the length of the beater bars is less than half the circumference of the agitator.

3. An agitator as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the beater bars are arranged in pairs on the agitator.

4. An agitator as claimed in any preceding claim in which the angle at which the beater bars lie to a plane lying normal to the axis of the agitator is approximately one third of the angle which the brush strips lie to that plane.

5. An agitator as claimed in any preceding claim in which the beater bars are positioned between brush strips extending over a common part of the agitator.

6. A suction cleaner agitator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which said pair of brush strips terminate at a position intermediate the length of the agitator body, and a further pair of brush strips are provided which extend onward from that intermediate region, the direction of spiral of the further pair of brush strips being opposite to that of the first said pair to define at least one further channel between those further brush strips, which further channel has positioned in it one or more short beater bars angled in a direction opposite to the angle of the beater bars between the first pair of brush strips.

6. An agitator as claimed in any preceding claim in which the beater bars lie at an angle of between 200 and 250 to a plane lying normal to the axis of the agitator.

7. An agitator as claimed in any preceding claim in which the beater bars are integrally moulded with the agitator.

8. An agitator as claimed in Claim 7 in which the agitator and beater bars are made of foamed plastics.

9. An agitator as claimed in Claim 8 in which the plastics is polypropylene.

10. An agitator as claimed in any preceding claim in which at least one of the spirally extending brush strips is displaced circumferentially from the oppositely spiralling brush strips at the intermediate portion.

11. An agitator as claimed in any preceding claim in which there are two brush strips on one side of the intermediate portion, which strips terminate diametrically opposite each other at the other end of the agitator.

12. An agitator as claimed in Claim 11 in which there are two brush strips on the other side of the intermediate portion which terminate diametrically opposite one another at the other end of the agitator such that the lines connecting the diametrically opposite strips at the ends of the agitator are substantially perpendicular to each other.

13. An agitator as claimed in any preceding claim in which the brush strips are inclined at an angle of around 220 to the longitudinal axis of the agitator body.

14. An agitator having brush strips and small, short abbreviated beater bars including; a) said small, short beater bars disposed around said agitator and angled vertically.

b) said brush strips having a chevron pattern, with said chevron pattern being offset at at least one of its peaks, c) said offset peak being located at the suction port of a cleaner.

d) said small, short beater bars being paired in vertically angled, spiralling fashion, and e) said beater bars being angled towards the suction port.

15. An agitator substantially as herein specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

16. A suction cleaner having an agitator housing containing a rotary agitator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, a suction passage leading to a motor-fan unit from a suction opening in the agitator housing positioned at a point along the length of the housing corresponding to the position of the intermediate portion of the agitator.

Amendments to the claims have been filed, and have the following effect: (a) Claims 1-16 above have been deleted (b) New claims have been filed as follows: CLAIMS

1. A suction cleaner agitator having a rotary body from the surface of which brush strips and beater bars extend outwardly, the brush strips including a pair of strips extending spirally around the body over the same axial region thereof to define a spirally extending channel bounded by the brush strips and the surface of the body, and the beater bars including a number of short bars, each of a length which is less than the circumference of the agitator body, and positioned in and extending transversely of said channel, and being angled both with respect to the axis of the body and a radial plane thereof.

2. A suction cleaner agitator as claimed in claim 1 in which at least certain of the beater bars are arranged in pairs with the bars of a pair axially spaced but at substantially the same circumferential position on the surface of the body.

3. A suction cleaner agitator as cleaned in claim 1 or 2 in which the angle at which the beater bars lie to the radial plane is approximately 1/3 of the angle at which the brush strips lie to that plane.

4. A suction cleaner agitator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the beater bars lie at an angle of between 20 and 25 to the radial plane.

5. An agitator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the agitator body and beater bars are integrally moulded.