EP-4056090-B1 - FLOOR CLEANING HEAD

Inventors

• Crichton, Scott
• GUO, Cang Hai
• ZHUANG, WEI
• YU, Shuai

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20220308

Claims (10)

1. A floor cleaning head (13) for a vacuum cleaner (10), the head (13) comprising: a housing (22) having a front, a rear, a top, a bottom and opposite sides; an elongate suction mouth (15) extending across the bottom of the housing (22) between opposite sides thereof through which dirt and dust is drawn into the vacuum cleaner (10) during use; an elongate agitator roller (16) mounted axially in the suction mouth (15); means for rotating the agitator roller (16) about its longitudinal axis to sweep and beat or abrade a floor surface during cleaning; an elongate cavity (56) extending across the bottom of the housing (22) between opposite sides thereof; characterized in that it comprises: a detachable elongate floor cleaning roller (30) mounted axially in the cavity (56) and extending in parallel with the agitator (16), the floor cleaning roller (30) comprising a tubular core (34) forming a dispensing container and a surrounding sleeve (33) of an absorbent material configured to wipe the floor surface during cleaning.
2. A floor cleaning head (13) as claimed in claim 1, in which the floor cleaning roller (30) comprises a first end for engaging a support at a first end of the cavity (56) and a second end defining a neck (43) of the container, wherein a clip (32) is rotatably mounted to the neck (43) of the container for detachably engaging the housing (22) of the cleaner (10) at a second end of the cavity (56).
3. A floor cleaning head (13) as claimed in claim 2, in which the clip (32) comprises an apertured body (37) for receiving the neck (43) of the container and a flap (39) having a closed position in which the aperture is closed, the flap (39) having a formation adapted to engage the housing (22) of the cleaner (10) when the flap (39) is in its closed position.
4. A floor cleaning head (13) as claimed in claim 2, in which a rotatable collar (36) is mounted on the neck (43) of the container, the clip (32) being adapted to engage the collar (36).
5. A floor cleaning head (13) as claimed in claim 1, in which the core (34) of the floor cleaning roller (30) comprises an apertured side wall.
6. A floor cleaning head (13) as claimed in claim 1, in which an elongate wiper (51) extends axially of the cavity (56), the outer end of the wiper (51) contacting the sleeve (33) of absorbent material surrounding the roller (30).
7. A floor cleaning head (13) as claimed in claim 1, in which the floor cleaning roller (30) is mounted rearwardly of the agitator (16) on the bottom of the head (13).
8. A floor cleaning head (13) as claimed in claim 1, in which the floor cleaning roller (30) solely rotates by frictional contact with the floor surface during cleaning.
9. A floor cleaning head (13) as claimed in claim 8, comprising means for intermittently inhibiting rotation of the floor cleaning roller (30) during cleaning.
10. A vacuum cleaner (10) comprising the floor cleaning head (13) of claim 1.

Description

This invention relates to a floor cleaning head for a vacuum cleaner and to a vacuum cleaner including the same. Hitherto, vacuum cleaners have generally been designed with cleaning carpets in mind. However, many people nowadays are favouring hard floors such as wooden floors, laminate floors and tiles over carpets. Also, the nature of hard floors is that vacuum cleaning alone is often insufficient to clean them properly and to provide a pleasing appearance. Thus, the object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner which is more adapted for cleaning hard floor surfaces than conventional vacuum cleaners, yet is not so mechanically complex that it is unaffordable for domestic users. EP 3454709 A2 discloses a cleaner head for a vacuum cleaner having a suction inlet defined in the lower face of a housing and a suction passageway through the housing. A rotatable sealing element is located at a front of the housing. The rotatable sealing element has a rotational axis which is parallel to the lower face of the cleaner head. An agitator is positioned rewards of the rotatable sealing element. The suction passageway is located between the agitator and the rotatable sealing element. With the foregoing objects in mind, we have now devised an improved floor cleaning head for a vacuum cleaner. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a floor cleaning head for a vacuum cleaner, the head comprising: a housing having a front, a rear, a top, a bottom and opposite sides;an elongate suction mouth extending across the bottom of the housing between opposite sides thereof through which dirt and dust is drawn into the vacuum cleaner during use;an elongate agitator roller mounted axially in the suction mouth;means for rotating the agitator roller about its longitudinal axis to sweep and beat or abrade a floor surface during cleaning;an elongate cavity extending across the bottom of the housing between opposite sides thereof; anda detachable elongate floor cleaning roller mounted axially in the cavity and extending in parallel with the agitator, the floor cleaning roller comprising a tubular core forming a dispensing container and a surrounding sleeve of an absorbent material configured to wipe the floor surface during cleaning. If desired, prior to use the detachable elongate floor cleaning roller can be detached from the floor cleaning head so that the dispensing container thereof can be filled with water or a liquid for cleaning, disinfecting, polishing or otherwise treating the floor surface. A vacuum cleaner in accordance with the present invention is simple and inexpensive in construction yet is able to carry out substantially improved cleaning of hard floor surfaces, due to the conventional sweeping action of the agitator combined with the washing, wiping or drying action provided by the floor cleaning roller depending on whether it is used wet or dry. The floor cleaning roller may comprise a first end for engaging a support at a first end of the cavity and a second end defining a neck of the container, wherein a clip is rotatably mounted to the neck of the container for detachably engaging the housing of the cleaner at a second end of the cavity. The clip may be detachable from the neck of the container. The clip may comprise an apertured body for receiving the neck of the container and a flap having a closed position in which the aperture is closed, the flap having a formation adapted to engage the housing of the cleaner when the flap is in its closed position. The body of the clip may have a peripheral channel for receiving a formation on housing. A rotatable collar may be mounted on the neck of the container, the clip being adapted to engage the rotatable collar. The agitator may be detachably mounted in the suction mouth, a clip being rotatably mounted to one end of the agitator for detachably engaging the housing of the cleaner and one end of the suction mouth. The core of the floor cleaning roller comprises an apertured side wall through which any liquid contained within the container is able to wet the surrounding absorbent material. An elongate wiper may extend axially of the cavity, the outer end of the wiper contacting the sleeve of absorbent material surrounding the roller. The wiper serves to clean the cleaning roller of any matter which it may have picked up from the floor. The floor cleaning roller may be mounted rearwardly of the agitator on the bottom of the head. On the forward stroke the cleaning roller applies any water or other liquid contained within onto the floor surface immediately after it has been cleaned by the agitator. On the rearward stroke any stubborn dirt or other matter that has been cleaned by the action of the cleaning roller is then picked up by the agitator. The floor cleaning roller may solely rotate by frictional contact with the floor surface during cleaning and thus the need to provide any complex motor or other drive mechanism is avoided. Rotation o