US20220287522A1 - Vacuum cleaner brush roll - Google Patents

Vacuum cleaner brush roll Download PDF

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Publication number
US20220287522A1
US20220287522A1 US17/635,769 US201917635769A US2022287522A1 US 20220287522 A1 US20220287522 A1 US 20220287522A1 US 201917635769 A US201917635769 A US 201917635769A US 2022287522 A1 US2022287522 A1 US 2022287522A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
roller
bristles
cleaning robot
autonomous cleaning
robot according
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
US17/635,769
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Jens Leffler
Magnus Wennerström
Andreas Klintemyr
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Electrolux AB
Original Assignee
Electrolux AB
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Electrolux AB filed Critical Electrolux AB
Assigned to AKTIEBOLAGET ELECTROLUX reassignment AKTIEBOLAGET ELECTROLUX ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: KLINTEMYR, Andreas, LEFFLER, Jens, WENNERSTRÖM, Magnus
Publication of US20220287522A1 publication Critical patent/US20220287522A1/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/02—Nozzles
    • A47L9/04—Nozzles with driven brushes or agitators
    • A47L9/0461—Dust-loosening tools, e.g. agitators, brushes
    • A47L9/0466—Rotating tools
    • A47L9/0477—Rolls
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46B—BRUSHES
    • A46B13/00—Brushes with driven brush bodies or carriers
    • A46B13/001—Cylindrical or annular brush bodies
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46B—BRUSHES
    • A46B13/00—Brushes with driven brush bodies or carriers
    • A46B13/02—Brushes with driven brush bodies or carriers power-driven carriers
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46B—BRUSHES
    • A46B9/00—Arrangements of the bristles in the brush body
    • A46B9/02—Position or arrangement of bristles in relation to surface of the brush body, e.g. inclined, in rows, in groups
    • A46B9/026—Position or arrangement of bristles in relation to surface of the brush body, e.g. inclined, in rows, in groups where the surface of the brush body or carrier is not in one plane, e.g. not flat
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46B—BRUSHES
    • A46B2200/00—Brushes characterized by their functions, uses or applications
    • A46B2200/30—Brushes for cleaning or polishing
    • A46B2200/3033—Household brush, i.e. brushes for cleaning in the house or dishes
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L2201/00—Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L2201/00—Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
    • A47L2201/04—Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection

Definitions

  • the present inventive concept relates to the field of vacuum cleaners, and in particular to autonomous vacuum cleaner robots, and especially for household use.
  • Autonomous vacuum cleaner robots are a type of cleaning devices that navigate across a floor surface while removing dirt, such as dust, debris and other particles, from the floor surface.
  • the robot typically comprises a chassis provided with wheels and a brush roller that is rotated for the purpose of brushing the dust and particles towards a suction opening, from which the dust and particles are conveyed through a suction channel to an interior of the robot by means of a suction airflow.
  • an autonomous cleaning robot comprising a body, a driving means configured to move the robot in a forward direction over a surface being cleaned, a suction opening arranged at an underside of the body, and a roller arranged at the underside of the body and in front of the suction opening, relative the forward direction.
  • the roller may be configured to define a front air passageway at the surface, and comprise bristles arranged to form an air barrier restricting an air flow in the front air passageway.
  • the air barrier may be substantially uniform over an entire turn of the roller, and the bristles may be arranged to direct the air flow towards a particle passing by the roller, and further into the suction opening.
  • the present inventive concept involves the realisation that it is desirable to direct as much as possible of the airflow in the front air passageway towards the surface to be cleaned, since the dust pick-up generally tends to increase with increasing flow and/or speed of the air that passes over the surface.
  • the present inventive concept is associated with several advantages—firstly, the bristles are arranged to form an air barrier that restricts the airflow in the front air passageway. This allows for a general reduction in power consumption and noise, since the fan that generates the suction airflow can operate on a reduced power level. Secondly, the bristles are arranged to direct the air flow towards a particle passing by the roller.
  • This may for example be achieved by the bristles being bent or pushed aside by the particle as the roller passes over the particle, such that a gap or passage is formed in the barrier, allowing for a local flow passageway to be formed at the location of the particle, through which the airflow may be concentrated and passing with a relatively high speed that facilitates transport of the particle towards an interior of the robot.
  • the bristles may be arranged to form an air barrier that is substantially uniform over an entire turn of the roller. This may for example be achieved by distributing the bristles uniformly over the envelope surface of the roller, or at least such that the number of bristles pointing towards the surface is substantially constant during the entire turn of the roller.
  • a uniform barrier allows for the performance of the robot, and the suction conditions under which it operates, to be constant while the roller is rotated.
  • this allows for a smooth operation and reduced noise—especially compared to prior art rollers comprising bristle rows and/or rubber vanes that tend to whip the surface during the rotation.
  • air barrier which also may be referred to as a “sealing”, is meant a feature that prevents a substantial amount of air from passing towards the suction channel, but does not require an air tight seal.
  • the air barrier may be characterised by the flow resistance in the air passageway through which the air passes on its way to the suction channel.
  • the flow resistance may, in turn, be defined by the density by which the bristles are arranged on the roller, the length of the bristles, and any gap between the bristles and the surface to be cleaned.
  • Increasing the density of the bristles i.e., the number of bristles per unit area of a core of the roller, may increase the flow resistance experienced by air passing between the bristles.
  • reducing the length of the bristles may result in a narrower passageway and hence an increased flow resistance, while introducing a gap between the roller and for example the surface to be cleaned may reduce the flow resistance.
  • the term “restricting an airflow” therefore refers to the bristle's capability of forming an air barrier, or seal, with an adjacent surface, such as the floor surface, during operation of the robot—preferably by engaging the surface such that most of the air passing through the front air passageway has to pass through the roller, i.e., between the bristles.
  • a particle may interact with the roller in several ways depending, inter alia, on the size of the particle in relation to the spacing and length of the bristles.
  • the particle is sufficiently large, relative the length of the bristles and the spacing of neighbouring bristles, to push or bend them away from each other, thereby forming a local passageway in which an airflow may be passed to entrap the particle.
  • the particle is sufficiently small to fit in the front air passageway, i.e., to be pushed into the bristles and further towards the suction opening. Generally, this requires the particle to be of a size that does not exceed the length of the bristles and/or the spacing between a core of the roller and the floor surface.
  • a device as described in the context of the present disclosure is often referred to as an autonomous cleaning robot due to the fact that the device can automatically move around on a work surface according to, for example, a predetermined or randomised pattern.
  • the device may generally be used to clean the surface from dust, debris, gravel, sand, hair, and other particles.
  • the bristles may be arranged in a non-uniform manner over an envelope surface of the roller.
  • the bristles may for example be arranged to cover only a part of a length portion facing the surface as the roller is rotated.
  • the bristles are arranged to form an air barrier that extends along a substantial part of the length portion facing the surface.
  • the bristles may be distributed such that the number of bristles pointing towards the surface are distributed over a length portion of the roller that corresponds to at least 50%, such as at least 75%, of a total length of the roller so as to provide an increased sealing and less noise.
  • the bristles may be uniformly distributed over the entire envelope surface of the roller or substantially the entire envelope surface of the roller.
  • the bristles which may be formed as short hairs or whiskers, may be fastened to a core of the roller such that they stand substantially upright from the surface of the core, pointing in a radial direction of the roller.
  • the bristles Preferably, the bristles have a length of 3-15 mm, such as 3-10 mm or 3-7 mm. In a specific example, the bristles may have a length of 5.5 mm.
  • the bristles may be arranged with a density of 1 000-20 000 bristles per cm 2 , such as 10 000-18 000 or 12 000-17 000 per cm 2 .
  • the bristles may have a density of 2 000 per cm 2 (for harder brush rolls) and 13 200 per cm 2 (for softer brush rolls), or a mix of lower and higher density bristles.
  • the bristles may further have a diameter of 0.03-0.15 mm, such as for example 0.05 mm.
  • the core i.e. the roller without the bristles
  • the robot may further comprise a sealing edge arranged behind the suction opening, relative the forward direction.
  • the sealing edge may be arranged spaced from the surface to define a rear air passageway between the surface and the sealing edge.
  • the air that is sucked into the robot and forms the suction air flow may take at least two different ways—either the front air passageway through the roller, or the rear air passageway behind the roller.
  • the flow resistance is higher in the rear air passageway than in the front air passageway to force the air to pass through the front air passageway and thereby increase dust-pickup. This may be achieved by reducing the clearance between the sealing edge and the surface to be cleaned. In case the robot is operating mainly during its forward motion, the clearance between the sealing edge and the surface may be even further reduced.
  • the robot may further comprise a roller housing with an inner surface that is arranged to partly surround the roller, along a portion of the roller facing away from the surface being cleaned, to form an upper air passageway with the roller.
  • the air that is sucked into the robot may take at least three different ways, i.e., the front air passageway, the rear air passageway, and the upper air passageway.
  • the flow resistance in the upper air passageway is higher than in the front air passageway so as to force most of the air to pass through the latter. This may be accomplished by reducing a distance between the inner surface and the roller, and further by increasing the length of the upper air passageway by increasing the circumferential distance of the roller over which the inner surface extends.
  • the roller is rotatable such that a portion of its envelope surface facing the surface to be cleaned is moved towards the suction opening.
  • the roller may be rotatable in the same direction as the rotation of the wheels of the robot when the robot is moving in the forward direction.
  • the roller is rotated at a speed allowing it to brush dust and particles towards the suction opening, rather than merely rolling over them.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of an autonomous cleaning robot according to an embodiment
  • FIG. 2 is a cross section of an autonomous cleaning robot according to an embodiment
  • FIG. 3 is a cross section of a roller of an autonomous cleaning robot according to an embodiment.
  • FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a roller of an autonomous cleaning robot according to an embodiment.
  • FIG. 1 is a top view of an autonomous cleaning robot 100 for household use according to an embodiment, comprising a body 110 , a driving means 120 , 121 , a suction opening (not shown), a suction unit 112 and a roller 140 .
  • the body 110 may form a chassis having an outer cover for protecting and enclosing functional units, such as control electronics, dust box and fan unit, arranged in the interior of the robot.
  • the chassis may provide support for the driving means 120 , which in the present example is represented by two driving wheels 120 and a support wheel 121 arranged at the underside of the chassis.
  • the driving of the drive wheels 120 may be performed by separate motors for improved navigation and movement control.
  • the roller 140 may be arranged at the underside of the chassis, and such that it engages a surface of the floor during operation.
  • the roller 140 is arranged in the front third of the body, as seen in the forward direction.
  • the roller 140 may comprise a core and a plurality of bristles, which will be described in more detail in connection with the following figures.
  • the robot 100 may move autonomously over the surface to be cleaned, and preferably in a forward direction indicated by the arrows in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
  • debris, dust and other particles may be engaged by the bristles of the roller 140 and sucked into the interior of the robot 100 by means of an airflow that is passing over the surface.
  • the roller 140 may preferably rotate in the same direction as the wheels 120 , and with a speed that allows the bristles to brush the particles towards the suction opening 132 in the body 110 of the robot 100 .
  • FIG. 2 is a cross section of a cleaning robot 100 according to an embodiment, which may be similarly configured as the cleaning robot discussed in connection with FIG. 1 .
  • the robot 100 may comprise a body, or chassis 110 , accommodating a suction unit 112 for generating a suction airflow and filtering out dust and particles from the same.
  • the suction airflow passes through the suction opening 132 and into the suction channel 130 , leading into the interior of the robot 100 .
  • the suction opening 132 may be arranged at least slightly behind the roller 140 as seen in the forward travel direction indicated by the arrow.
  • the roller 140 may be arranged for facilitating transport of dust and particles into the suction channel 130 .
  • the roller 140 may comprise an air impermeable core 144 , which may be substantially cylindrical, onto which a plurality of bristles 142 may be attached.
  • the bristles 142 may be attached with one end to the core such that the other end points away from the core 144 , along a radial direction of the roller 140 .
  • the bristles may be arranged to form an air barrier that restricts the air flow in a front air passageway F between the core 144 and the surface.
  • the roller 140 is arranged to engage the floor surface during operation, such that the air in the front air passageway passes through the bristles 142 on its way towards the suction channel 130 .
  • the bristles 142 sufficiently dense in terms of number of bristles per unit area, a sealing against the surface may be accomplished that prevents a substantial amount of air from passing through the front air passageway F.
  • the chassis 110 may further comprise a sealing edge 150 arranged at the underside of the chassis 110 and behind the suction opening 132 , relative the forward direction.
  • the sealing edge 150 may be provided to reduce a clearance between the chassis 110 and the surface and thereby define a rear air passageway R for the air entering the suction opening 132 and passing towards the suction channel 130 .
  • the clearance between the chassis 110 and the surface is smaller behind the roller 140 than in front of the roller 140 , to provide a flow resistance in the rear air passageway R that is higher than in the front air passageway F.
  • the clearance behind the roller 140 may for example be 0-7 mm.
  • the sealing edge 150 is arranged to abut the surface to provide a flow resistance in the rear air passageway R that is higher than in the front air passageway F and hence force most of the air passing into the interior of the robot 100 to pass through the front air passageway F rather than the rear air passageway R.
  • a further air passageway may be defined at the upper side of the roller 140 .
  • This air passageway may hence be referred to as an upper air passageway U, and may be defined between an inner surface of a roller housing 160 .
  • the flow resistance along the upper air passageway U may be increased by increasing the length of the passageway and/or reducing a spacing between the inner surface and the roller 140 . It is advantageous to use an upper air passageway that has a higher flow resistance than the front air passageway F, which allows it to restrict most of the airflow to the front air passageway F and thereby force the flowing air towards the surface to be cleaned.
  • FIG. 3 is a cross section of a roller according to an embodiment, which may be similarly configured as the embodiments discussed above in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2 .
  • the roller 140 may comprise a substantially cylindrical core 144 that can be mounted in the chassis such that it is rotatable around its length axis A, and spaced apart from the floor surface during operation. Further, the roller 140 comprises a plurality of bristles 142 arranged in a protruding manner on the air impermeable core 144 . The bristles may be distributed such that the number of bristles that for a given point in time are directed towards the surface is constant.
  • the bristles 142 may be evenly distributed along the length axis A of the core 144 such that the number of bristles pointing towards the surface are distributed along the entire length of the roller 140 .
  • the bristles may be formed of nylon, polypropylene or hair.
  • the bristles 142 may be arranged such that they give way for a particle P passing under the roller 140 . More specifically, the bristles 142 may be bent or pushed aside by the particle P such that an opening is formed in the barrier, allowing a flow of air to be directed towards the particle P and further into the suction opening. As indicated in the present figure, the particle P is small enough to pass through the gap defined by the clearance between the core 144 and the surface, and large enough to bend the bristles 142 to the side to create a local airflow through the barrier.
  • FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a roller 140 according to an embodiment, which may be similar to the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 .
  • the bristles 142 are distributed substantially uniformly over the entire roller 140 , with the exception of one or several helical regions 146 wound around the length axis A of the roller 140 .
  • the helical region 146 forms a local gap in the air barrier, which due to the helical arrangement moves along the length axis A as the roller 140 rotates.
  • the gap may for example be provided in order to provide a slight increase in the air flow through the front air channel. It may be desired to increase the air flow depending on the characteristics of the surface and to reduce the friction generating vacuum between the robot and surface.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Nozzles For Electric Vacuum Cleaners (AREA)
  • Electric Vacuum Cleaner (AREA)
US17/635,769 2019-09-04 2019-09-04 Vacuum cleaner brush roll Pending US20220287522A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/EP2019/073503 WO2021043391A1 (en) 2019-09-04 2019-09-04 Vacuum cleaner brush roll

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20220287522A1 true US20220287522A1 (en) 2022-09-15

Family

ID=67902500

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US17/635,769 Pending US20220287522A1 (en) 2019-09-04 2019-09-04 Vacuum cleaner brush roll

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US20220287522A1 (zh)
EP (1) EP4025104A1 (zh)
JP (1) JP2022547441A (zh)
KR (1) KR20220054618A (zh)
CN (1) CN114375171A (zh)
WO (1) WO2021043391A1 (zh)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN114472286A (zh) * 2022-02-11 2022-05-13 北京京运通科技股份有限公司 高效光伏发电装置

Family Cites Families (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
KR100492582B1 (ko) * 2002-12-13 2005-06-03 엘지전자 주식회사 청소기용 브러시 구조
EP2091401B1 (en) * 2006-12-13 2013-02-20 Aktiebolaget Electrolux A vacuum cleaner nozzle, a roller as well as a vacuum cleaner
JP2008194329A (ja) * 2007-02-15 2008-08-28 Solotex Corp 電気掃除機用回転ブラシ
US11278171B2 (en) * 2015-10-21 2022-03-22 Sharkninja Operating Llc Surface cleaning head with dual rotating agitators
CN105982621B (zh) * 2016-04-14 2019-12-13 北京小米移动软件有限公司 自动清洁设备的风路结构和自动清洁设备
GB2550180B (en) * 2016-05-11 2018-05-02 Lupe Tech Limited Cleaner head
CN106073636A (zh) * 2016-08-15 2016-11-09 天佑电器（苏州）有限公司 地刷组件

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
KR20220054618A (ko) 2022-05-03
CN114375171A (zh) 2022-04-19
EP4025104A1 (en) 2022-07-13
JP2022547441A (ja) 2022-11-14
WO2021043391A1 (en) 2021-03-11

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