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EP-4740810-A1 - VACUUM CLEANER WITH DUAL ROTATING AGITATORS AND CORD GUARD

EP4740810A1EP 4740810 A1EP4740810 A1EP 4740810A1EP-4740810-A1

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner (10) includes a first agitator (36), a second agitator (38), a suction conduit (26), and a cord guard (40) that prevents large objects from being drawn into the suction conduit (26). The housing (14) can have a removable sole plate (62). Methods for user disassembly of a vacuum cleaner (10) with dual agitators (36, 38) are also provided.

Inventors

  • BROUWERS, Andrew James

Assignees

  • Bissell Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251104

Claims (15)

  1. A vacuum cleaner (10) comprising: a housing (14) having a front side (16F) and a back side (16B), the housing (14) defining an agitator chamber (24) and a suction conduit (26) with a suction conduit opening (28) on an underside (22) of the housing (14) between the front side (16F) and the back side (16B) and facing a surface to be cleaned, wherein the suction conduit (26) passes through at least a portion of the agitator chamber (24); a first agitator (36) rotatably mounted to the housing (14) within the agitator chamber (24) with at least a portion of the first agitator (36) extending through the suction conduit opening (28), the first agitator (36) rotatable about a first agitator axis (X); a second agitator (38) mounted to the housing (14) in front of the first agitator (36) and rotatable about a second agitator axis (Y); a sole plate (62) removably attached on the underside (22) of the housing (14), the sole plate (62) defining at least a portion of the suction conduit opening (28); and a cord guard (40) hinged to the housing (14), the cord guard (40) comprising a first end (86), a second end (88), and at least one crosspiece (90) extending between the first end (86) and the second end (88); wherein the first end (86) of the cord guard (40) is pivotally attached to the housing (14) and defines an axis of rotation (C) of the cord guard (40); wherein the second end (88) of the cord guard (40) is pivotable between a working position in which the at least one crosspiece (90) traverses the suction conduit opening (28) and an open position in which the first agitator (36) can be removed from the housing (14); and wherein the axis of rotation (C) of the cord guard (40) is intermediate the first agitator axis (X) and the second agitator axis (Y).
  2. The vacuum cleaner (10) of claim 1, wherein at least the second end (88) of the cord guard (40) is clamped between the housing (14) and the sole plate (62) to hold the cord guard (40) in the working position, optionally comprising a plurality of fasteners (64) attaching the sole plate (62) to the underside (22) of the housing (14), wherein the plurality of fasteners (64) comprises at least one fastener attached over the second end (88) of the cord guard (40) to distribute the fastening force of the at least one fastener to the cord guard (40).
  3. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the housing (14) comprises an accommodation groove (130) recessed in the underside (22) thereof, wherein the second end (88) of the cord guard (40) is received in the accommodation groove (130) in the working position, and wherein the accommodation groove (130) is covered by the sole plate (62) when the sole plate (62) is attached to the housing (14) to enclose the at least the second end (88) of the cord guard (40) within the accommodation groove (130), optionally wherein the sole plate (62) comprises an interior side (126) that confronts an interior (124) of the housing (14) when the sole plate (62) is attached to the housing (14) and a clamp (128) on the interior side (126), wherein the clamp (128) receives a portion of the second end (88) of the cord guard (40) when the sole plate (62) is attached to the housing (14) to clamp at least the second end (88) of the cord guard (40) between the housing (14) and the sole plate (62) to hold the cord guard (40) in the working position.
  4. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-3, wherein, the housing (14) comprises a wall (138) defining a rear wall of the agitator chamber (24), the rear wall is formed with at least one guard opening (140) for the cord guard (40), the suction conduit (26) passes through the rear wall, and the at least one crosspiece (90) passes through the guard opening in the rear wall.
  5. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the at least one crosspiece (90) extending between the first end (86) and the second end (88) comprises a plurality of crosspieces (90) extending between the first end (86) and the second end (88), optionally wherein the first end (86) comprises a first traverse segment (102) extending centrally between the plurality of crosspieces (90) and the second end (88) comprises a second traverse segment (104) extending centrally between the plurality of crosspieces (90).
  6. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the cord guard (40) comprises a first cord guard frame (106A) and a second cord guard frame (106B) lateral to the first cord guard frame (106A), wherein each cord guard frame comprises a plurality of crosspieces (90).
  7. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the cord guard (40) is formed at least partially of plastic coated rigid metal wire having a diameter of 2.0-3.0 mm.
  8. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the sole plate (62) comprises frame including a rear frame wall (66), a first side frame wall (68), a second side frame wall (70), the suction conduit opening (28) being bordered by the rear frame wall (66), the first side frame wall (68), and the second side frame wall (70), wherein the rear frame wall (66) comprises a leading edge (66L) that defines a rear peripheral edge of the suction conduit opening (28), optionally comprising a plurality of wheels (72, 74) rotatably coupled to an underside of the sole plate (62).
  9. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-8, wherein: the first agitator axis (X) has a first clearance (H1) from the surface to be cleaned when the housing (14) is supported on the surface to be cleaned; the second agitator axis (Y) has a second clearance (H2) from the surface to be cleaned when the housing (14) is supported on the surface to be cleaned; the axis of rotation (C) of the cord guard (40) has a third clearance (H3) from the surface to be cleaned when the housing (14) is supported on the surface to be cleaned; and the third clearance is greater than the first clearance and greater than the second clearance.
  10. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-9, comprising at least one hinge bracket (110) on the housing (14) pivotally connecting the first end (86) of the cord guard (40) to the housing (14), wherein the hinge bracket (110) is intermediate the first agitator (36) and the second agitator (38).
  11. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-10, wherein the axis of rotation (C) of the cord guard (40) has a first clearance (H3) from the surface to be cleaned when the housing (14) is supported on the surface to be cleaned, wherein the second end (88) of the cord guard (40) has a second clearance (H4) from the surface to be cleaned when the housing (14) is supported on the surface to be cleaned, and wherein the first clearance is greater than the second clearance.
  12. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-11, wherein the at least one crosspiece (90) wraps around a portion of a circumference of the first agitator (36) that is greater than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees.
  13. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-12, wherein the first agitator (36) has a plurality of bristles (92) that extend radially outward from a sidewall (94) of the first agitator (36), wherein the plurality of bristles extend beyond the at least one crosspiece (90) in the working position and the sidewall does not contact the at least one crosspiece (90) in the working position.
  14. The vacuum cleaner (10) of any one of claims 1-13, wherein the housing (14) comprises an agitator comb (154) configured to remove debris from the second agitator (38), wherein the first end (86) of the cord guard (40) is pivotally attached to the agitator comb (154), optionally wherein the agitator comb (154) has a leading side (164) facing the second agitator (38) and a trailing side (166) facing the first agitator (36), wherein the leading side (164) comprises a plurality of teeth (158) configured to contact to the surface of the second agitator (38) and the first end (86) of the cord guard (40) is pivotally attached to the trailing side (166) of the agitator comb (154).
  15. A vacuum cleaner (10) comprising: a housing (14) having a front side (16F) and a back side (16B), the housing (14) defining an agitator chamber (24) and a suction conduit (26) with a suction conduit opening (28) on an underside (22) of the housing (14) between the front side (16F) and the back side (16B) and facing a surface to be cleaned, wherein the suction conduit (26) passes through at least a portion of the agitator chamber (24); a first agitator (36) rotatably mounted to the housing (14) within the agitator chamber (24) with at least a portion of the first agitator (36) extending through the suction conduit opening (28), the first agitator (36) rotatable about a first agitator axis (X); a second agitator (38) mounted to the housing (14) in front of the first agitator (36) and rotatable about a second agitator axis (Y); and a sole plate (62) removably attached on the underside (22) of the housing (14), the sole plate (62) defining at least a portion of the suction conduit opening (28), the sole plate (62) comprising: a frame (172) comprising at least a rear frame wall (174) behind the first agitator axis (X); a bridge (176) intermediate the first agitator axis (X) and the second agitator axis (Y); and a cord guard (40) traversing the suction conduit opening (28) to block the suction conduit (26), the cord guard (40) comprising a plurality of crosspieces (90) extending from the rear frame wall (174) to the bridge (176) to traverse the suction conduit opening (28), wherein the plurality of crosspieces (90) pass below the first agitator axis (X); wherein removal of the sole plate (62) from the underside (22) of the housing (14) simultaneously removes the cord guard (40) from blocking the suction conduit (26).

Description

BACKGROUND Vacuum cleaners generally include a suction conduit with an opening on the underside of a surface cleaning base for drawing air and debris into and through the cleaning base. A goal with vacuum cleaner design is to effectively loosen debris and capture the debris in the flow of air into the suction conduit. Vacuum cleaners generally use an agitator to aid in this goal. An agitator is often used in the suction conduit of a cleaning base proximate a suction inlet to cause agitated debris to flow into the suction conduit. If the agitator is unable to loosen the debris or if the debris is too small, the suction conduit may pass over the debris without removing the debris from the surface. In other cases, the surface cleaning head may push or plow larger debris forward without ever allowing the debris to be captured in the flow into the suction conduit. To combat these issues, some vacuum cleaners have dual agitators, with a front or leading agitator configured to prevent plowing of larger debris without scattering smaller debris and a rear or trailing agitator located in the suction conduit. One of the challenges with dual agitator vacuum cleaners is accommodating two agitators within the cleaning base. The engagement of the suction conduit with a surface being cleaned is important to provide the desired amount of suction, but if the opening to suction conduit is too large, large objects (e.g., the power cord of the vacuum cleaner) may be drawn into the suction conduit. The vacuum cleaner may be damaged as a result. Cord guards have been proposed as one solution, but it remains challenging to implement a cord guard on a dual agitator vacuum cleaner. BRIEF SUMMARY A vacuum cleaner with dual agitators and a cord guard is provided herein. According to one aspect of the invention, a vacuum cleaner includes a housing defining an agitator chamber and a suction conduit with a suction conduit opening on an underside of the housing, a first agitator rotatably mounted to the housing within the agitator chamber with at least a portion of the first agitator extending through the suction conduit opening, the first agitator rotatable about a first agitator axis, a second agitator mounted to the housing in front of the first agitator and rotatable about a second agitator axis, a sole plate removably attached on an underside of the housing, and a cord guard hinged to the housing, wherein the cord guard is pivotally attached to the housing, wherein the cord guard is pivotable between a working position in which at least one crosspiece of the cord guard traverses the suction conduit opening and an open position in which the first agitator can be removed from the housing, and wherein an axis of rotation of the cord guard is intermediate the first agitator axis and the second agitator axis. In this and other aspects of the invention, the cord guard is clamped between the housing and the sole plate to hold the cord guard in the working position. In this and other aspects of the invention, the cord guard is formed at least partially of plastic coated rigid metal wire. In this and other aspects of the invention, the cord guard axis is spaced farther from the surface to be cleaned than the axis of either agitator. In this and other aspects of the invention, a hinge bracket on the housing pivotally connects the cord guard to the housing, and the hinge bracket is intermediate the first agitator and the second agitator. In this and other aspects of the invention, the housing includes an agitator comb configured to remove debris from the second agitator, and the cord guard is pivotally attached to the agitator comb. According to yet another aspect of the invention, a vacuum cleaner includes a housing defining an agitator chamber and a suction conduit with a suction conduit opening on an underside of the housing, a first agitator rotatably mounted to the housing within the agitator chamber with at least a portion of the first agitator extending through the suction conduit opening, the first agitator rotatable about a first agitator axis, a second agitator mounted to the housing in front of the first agitator and rotatable about a second agitator axis, and a sole plate removably attached on an underside of the housing. The sole plate includes a frame comprising at least a rear frame wall behind the first agitator axis, a bridge intermediate the first agitator axis and the second agitator axis, and a cord guard traversing the suction conduit opening to block the suction conduit, the cord guard comprising a plurality of crosspieces extending from the rear frame wall to the bridge to traverse the suction conduit opening, wherein removal of the sole plate from the underside of the housing simultaneously removes the cord guard from blocking the suction conduit. In this and other aspects of the invention, the rear frame wall comprises a leading edge that defines a rear peripheral edge of the suction conduit opening, and the plurality o