Rotatable Brush for Surface Cleaning Apparatus

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/230,429, filed on Aug. 4, 2023, which itself is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/149,529, filed on Jan. 14, 2021 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,751,736 on Sep. 12, 2023, which itself is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/939,592, filed on Mar. 29, 2018 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,932,631 on Mar. 2, 2021, the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference.

This disclosure relates generally to rotary brushes for use with surface cleaning apparatus. More specifically, this disclosure relates to brushes (which may also be referred to as brush rolls) with one or more features for inhibiting or preventing hair, string, or other strand-like debris from becoming embedded or lodged within bristles mounted on the brush roll, and/or from becoming wound about the brush roll.

The following is not an admission that anything discussed below is part of the prior art or part of the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art.

A cleaning head of a vacuum cleaner or other surface cleaning apparatus may be provided with one or more rotating agitators to assist in dislodging debris from a surface being cleaned, and/or to assist in conveying debris towards a dirty air inlet of the vacuum cleaner. For example, a brush roll having a number of tufts and/or rows of bristles extending radially outwardly from the brush roll may be provided in a cleaning head. In use, the brush roll may be rotated so that the bristles are brought into and out of contact with the surface being cleaned, thereby agitating debris on the surface.

Brush rolls are often effective at dislodging dust and other particulate debris from a surface, and/or at directing such particulate debris towards a dirty air inlet. However, debris such as hair, string, or other strand-like material may become embedded or otherwise entangled in the bristles of a typical brush roll. If a significant quantity of hair, string, or other strand-like material becomes embedded in the bristles, the performance of the brush roll may be impaired. Once such debris becomes embedded in the bristles, it may be difficult to dislodge from the brush roll. For example, a user may have to manually cut and/or otherwise manipulate such debris in order to dislodge it from the bristles, which may be considered a time consuming and/or otherwise undesirable task.

The following introduction is provided to introduce the reader to the more detailed discussion to follow. The introduction is not intended to limit or define any claimed or as yet unclaimed invention. One or more inventions may reside in any combination or sub-combination of the elements or process steps disclosed in any part of this document including its claims and figures.

In accordance with one aspect of this disclosure, which may be used alone or in combination with any other aspect, a surface cleaning apparatus may be provided with a rotatable brush roll that has a plurality of bristles extending outwardly from its radial outer surface, along with leading and trailing hair blocking members, such as flexible elastomeric strips or segments, that are provided to inhibit or prevent hair, string, or other strand-like material from becoming embedded in the bristles. The hair blocking members are provided on opposite sides of the bristles, so that when the brush roll is rotated the forward hair blocking member precedes the bristles, and the trailing hair blocking member follows the bristles.

An advantage of this design is that the radial outer ends of the leading and trailing hair blocking members define a plane that may extend adjacent to or through the outer ends of the bristles. In this way, if a hair or other piece of strand-like debris contacts the ends of both the leading and trailing hair blocking members, the hair may extend and remain taut between the hair blocking members, and thereby be inhibited or prevented from becoming embedded deep in the bristles. For example, if the plane defined by the end of the hair blocking members extends through the outer end of the bristles, hair or other strand-like debris may be inhibited or prevented from migrating into the bristles beyond the intersection of the plane and the bristle ends.

Optionally, the hair blocking member is flexible. For example, it may be made from an elastomeric material. Accordingly, it may be resiliently deformable.

Optionally, the leading and trailing hair blocking members and the bristles may have similar heights or, alternatively, one may have a similar height and one may be shorter (e.g. the radial length of the trailing blocking member and the radial length of the bristles may be about the same, and the leading hair blocking member may be shorter than the bristles). An advantage of this design is that, when the ends of the bristles and the ends of the leading and trailing hair blocking members are in contact with a surface being cleaned, the outer ends of the leading and trailing hair blocking members may deform to essentially lie in the same plane as the ends of the bristles (i.e., they may all lie in the plane of the floor being cleaned). When the brush rolls continues to rotate such that the bristles and the leading and trailing hair blocking members are no longer in contact with the floor, then the leading and trailing hair blocking members may rebound to their non-deformed shape. If one, e.g., the trailing hair blocking member, is about the same height as the bristles, then once rebounded the leading and trailing hair blocking members may define a plane that extends adjacent to or through the outer ends of the bristles. In this way, if hair or other strand-like debris has migrated or otherwise become embedded into the bristles, when the bristle ends contacts the surface being cleaned, some or all of the embedded hair may be drawn taut between the hair blocking members, and thereby be partially or completely dislodged from the bristles, or at least migrated outwardly towards the ends of the bristles. Further, the action of the trailing hair blocking member rebounding to its non-deformed shape may not only pull hair out of the bristles but may possibly cause the hair to snap if the action of rebounding applies a tensile force greater than the yield strength of the hair.

In accordance with this broad aspect, there is provided a surface cleaning apparatus comprising:

In any embodiment, the leading hair blocking member may abut the forward rotational side of the bristles.

In any embodiment, the trailing hair blocking member may abut the rearward rotational side of the bristles.

In any embodiment, the leading hair blocking member may be spaced from 1 to 5 mm, optionally from 2 to 4 mm, forward of the forward rotational side of the bristles.

In any embodiment, the trailing hair blocking member may be spaced from 1 to 5 mm, optionally from 2 to 4 mm, the rearward rotational side of the bristles.

In any embodiment, the length of the leading hair blocking member may be smaller than the length of the bristles.

In any embodiment, the length of the trailing hair blocking member may be proximate the length of the bristles.

In any embodiment, the length of the trailing hair blocking member may be proximate the length of the bristles.

In any embodiment, the length of the trailing hair blocking member may be at least 80% the length of the bristles but may not extend outward of the outer end of the bristles.

In any embodiment, when the bristles and the trailing hair blocking member each contact a floor, the outer ends of the leading and trailing hair blocking members may define a plane that is adjacent the outer ends of the bristles.

In any embodiment, when the bristles and the trailing hair blocking member each contact a floor, the outer ends of the leading and trailing hair blocking members may define a plane that is adjacent the outer ends of the bristles.

In any embodiment, the leading and trailing hair blocking members may each comprise a flexible member that extends between the first and second axially spaced apart sides.

In any embodiment, at least one of the leading and trailing hair blocking members may comprise a plurality of abutting segments positioned axially along the rotatably mounted brush.

In any embodiment, at least one of the leading and trailing hair blocking members may extend continuously between the first and second axially spaced apart sides.

In any embodiment, the leading and trailing hair blocking members may be less flexible than the bristles.

In any embodiment, the trailing hair blocking member may be less flexible than the leading hair blocking member.

Also in accordance with this broad aspect, there is also provided a surface cleaning apparatus comprising:

In any embodiment, the length of the trailing hair blocking member may be at least 80% the length of the bristles but may not extend outward of the outer end of the bristles.

In any embodiment, the leading and trailing hair blocking members may be less flexible than the bristles.

In any embodiment, the trailing hair blocking member may be less flexible than the leading hair blocking member.

In accordance with a second aspect of this disclosure, which may be used alone or in combination with any other aspect, a surface cleaning apparatus may be provided with a rotatable brush roll that has a plurality of bristles extending outwardly from its radial outer surface, and at least one, optionally a plurality, and optionally all of the bristles are encased in a sheath to inhibit or prevent hair, string, or other strand-like material from becoming deeply embedded in the bristles encased by the sheath.

An advantage of this design is that as a piece of hair, string, or another piece of strand-like material migrates inwardly between sheathed bristles, once it contacts the radial outer end of the bristle sheath, the hair may be inhibited or prevented from further inward migration, and thereby prevented from becoming deeply embedded in the bristles. For example, where some or all of the bristles are provided in the form of bristle tufts, some or all of the bristle tufts may be individually sheathed to inhibit or prevent hair, string, or other strand-like material from becoming embedded in the sheathed bristle tufts.

Optionally, the sheath is flexible. For example, it may be made from an elastomeric material. An advantage of providing a flexible sheath is that the sheath may have a limited or negligible impact on the ability of the sheathed bristles to bend or flex, e.g. when they contact a floor surface. For example, a bristle sheath may have a radial length of at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90% of the length of the bristles encased by the sheath. By providing a flexible sheath, the entire length of the bristles may be able to flex, even though only about 50%, 25%, or about 10% of the length of the bristles may protrude radially outwardly from the sheath.

In accordance with this second aspect, there is provided a surface cleaning apparatus comprising:

In any embodiment, the rotatable brush may comprise a plurality of tufts wherein each tuft may comprise a plurality of bristles wherein at least some of the tufts are encased in a sheath.

In any embodiment, the tufts may be spaced apart from each other and extend along the length of the rotatably mounted brush.

In any embodiment, the sheath may be flexible.

In any embodiment, the sheath may be comprised of an elastomeric material.

In any embodiment, the sheath may extend along at least 75% of the length of the bristles.

In any embodiment, the sheath may extend along at least 90% of the length of the bristles.

In any embodiment, the sheath may be generally circular in cross-section in a direction transverse to a radial length of the tufts.

Also in accordance with this second aspect, there is also provided a surface cleaning apparatus comprising:

In any embodiment, the tufts may be spaced apart from each other and may extend along the length of the rotatably mounted brush.

In any embodiment, the sheath may be flexible.

In any embodiment, the sheath may be comprised of an elastomeric material.

In any embodiment, the sheath may be generally circular in cross-section in a direction transverse to a radial length of the tufts.

In any embodiment, the bristles have a bristle length from the radial outer surface to an outer end of the bristles, wherein at least some of the sheaths may extend at least 50% of the length of the bristles and may terminate prior to the outer end.

Also in accordance with this second aspect, there is also provided a surface cleaning apparatus comprising:

In any embodiment, the radial inner portion may be at least 50% of a length of the bristles from the radial outer surface to an outer end of the bristles, wherein the radial inner portion terminates prior to the outer end.

In any embodiment, the radial inner portion may be at least 75% of the length of the bristles.