US-12622553-B2 - Agitator for a surface treatment apparatus and a surface treatment apparatus having the same

Abstract

An agitator for a vacuum cleaner includes an agitator body and a resiliently deformable flap. The resiliently deformable flap includes a front face, a rear face, and one or more protrusions extending outwardly from the front face. An agitator for a vacuum cleaner includes an agitator body and a bristle strip and/or a plurality of tufts arranged in one or more rows along the agitator body. The bristle strip and/or a plurality of tufts includes a first bristle group including a plurality of nylon bristles and at least a second bristle group including a plurality of para-aramid bristles.

Inventors

• Devan SCHAPPLER
• Max P. LACOMA
• Xavier F. CULLERE
• Daniel R. Der Marderosian
• Charles S. Brunner
• Jeffery ZHANG

Assignees

• SHARKNINJA OPERATING LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220720

Claims (19)

1. 1 . An agitator for a vacuum cleaner comprising: an agitator body; and a resiliently deformable flap extending outwardly from the agitator body, the resiliently deformable flap including: a front face; a rear face; and one or more projections extending outwardly from the front face, wherein the one or more projections includes a raised portion that extends outwardly from the front face and a recessed portion that extends inwardly from the front face; wherein the resiliently deformable flap includes a polyester layer and a silicone layer, the polyester layer forming the front face and the silicone layer forming at least a portion of the rear face.
2. 2 . The agitator of claim 1 , further comprising a first bristle strip and/or row of tufts disposed adjacent to the first deformable flap.
3. 3 . The agitator of claim 1 , wherein the one or more projections includes a first plurality of projections arranged in a first row.
4. 4 . The agitator of claim 3 , wherein the one or more projections includes a second plurality of projections arranged in a second row.
5. 5 . The agitator of claim 4 , wherein the first row and the second row are substantially parallel to each other.
6. 6 . The agitator of claim 4 , wherein the first plurality of projections in the first row are offset left-to-right relative to the second plurality of projections in the second row.
7. 7 . The agitator of claim 1 , wherein the one or more projections are formed only in the polyester layer.
8. 8 . An agitator for a vacuum cleaner comprising: an agitator body; and a resiliently deformable flap extending outwardly from the agitator body, the resiliently deformable flap including: a front face; a rear face; one or more projections extending outwardly from the front face, wherein the one or more projections includes a raised portion that extends outwardly from the front face and a recessed portion that extends inwardly from the front face; and a facing layer coupled to a backing layer, the facing layer forming the front face and the backing layer forming the rear face.
9. 9 . The agitator of claim 8 , wherein at least a portion of the facing layer is melted to at least partially form the one or more projections.
10. 10 . The agitator of claim 9 , wherein the melted facing layer forms the one or more projections having a localized hardness.
11. 11 . The agitator of claim 9 , wherein a portion of the melted facing layer flows away from the facing layer to form the raised portion and the recessed portion.
12. 12 . The agitator of claim 9 , wherein only a portion of the facing layer is melted to form the one or more projections.
13. 13 . An agitator for a vacuum cleaner comprising: an agitator body; and a resiliently deformable flap extending outwardly from the agitator body, the resiliently deformable flap including: a front face; a rear face; one or more projections extending outwardly from the front face, wherein the one or more projections includes a raised portion that extends outwardly from the front face and a recessed portion that extends inwardly from the front face; and a facing layer coupled to a backing layer by way of one or more intermediate layers, wherein at least a portion of the intermediate layer is melted to at least partially form the one or more projections.
14. 14 . The agitator of claim 13 , wherein at least a portion of the facing layer is melted to form at least a portion of the one or more projections.
15. 15 . The agitator of claim 3 , wherein the first row is disposed 1.75 mm+0.50/ −0.60 mm away a cleaning edge of the resiliently deformable flap.
16. 16 . The agitator of claim 1 , wherein the one or more projections include a raised portion that extends outwardly from the front face having a generally annular shape.
17. 17 . The agitator of claim 1 , wherein the one or more projections include a raised portion that extends outwardly from the front face having a generally annulus shape.
18. 18 . The agitator of claim 17 , wherein the one or more projections have an outer diameter of annulus of 2.20 mm+/−0.30 mm.
19. 19 . The agitator of claim 3 , wherein the first plurality of projections have a projection center to center distance of 5.00 mm.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of PCT application PCT/CN22/101930, filed Jun. 28, 2022, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/466,242, filed Sep. 3, 2021, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/074,719 filed on Sep. 4, 2020, all of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. The present application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/656,930 filed on Oct. 18, 2019, which is fully incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a vacuum cleaner including a system to migrate and/or remove debris from an agitator. BACKGROUND A vacuum cleaner may be used to clean a variety of surfaces. Some vacuum cleaners include a rotating agitator (e.g., brush roll). While the known vacuum cleaners are generally effective at collecting debris, some debris (for example, elongated debris such as hair, fur, or the like) may become entangled in the agitator. The entangled debris may reduce the efficiency of the agitator, and may cause damage to the motor, bearings, support structure, and/or drive train that rotates the agitator. Moreover, it may be difficult to remove the entangled debris from the agitator because it is entangled in the bristles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying figures, in which like reference numbers indicate similar parts, and in which: FIG. 1 is a bottom view of one embodiment of a vacuum cleaner, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 taken along line II-II, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 3 generally illustrates one example of a hair migration system, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 generally illustrates a perspective cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a combing unit taken along lines IV-IV of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of the combing unit of FIG. 4 taken along lines IV-IV of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of the combing unit of FIG. 4 taken along lines VI-VI of FIG. 2; FIG. 7 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the combing unit taken along lines VI-VI of FIG. 2; FIG. 7A shows a perspective view of an example of a combing unit having teeth in a central region with a length that measures greater than teeth in a lateral (or end) region, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 8 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a plurality of sectioned agitator chambers of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 taken along line II-II; FIG. 9 is a side schematic view of an agitator capable of being used with the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 10 shows a schematic view of a plurality of ribs configured to engage (e.g., contact) the agitator of FIG. 9, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 11 shows a schematic view of a plurality of ribs configured to engage (e.g., contact) an agitator, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 12 shows a schematic cross-sectional end view of a surface cleaning head, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional perspective view of the surface cleaning head of FIG. 12, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of a surface cleaning head, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 14A shows a perspective view of an example of an agitator cover, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 14B shows a perspective view of a portion of a robotic cleaner having the agitator cover 14A coupled thereto, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 15 shows a perspective view of an agitator cover which is capable of being used with the surface cleaning head of FIG. 14, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 16 shows a bottom view of the agitator cover of FIG. 15, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 17 shows a perspective view of an agitator cover which is capable of being used with the surface cleaning head of FIG. 14, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 18 shows a bottom view of the agitator cover of FIG. 17, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 19 shows a side view of a rib, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 20 shows a schematic view of an agitator having flaps and bristles, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 21 shows a schematic view of an agitator having bristles, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 22 shows a schematic cross-sectional view