Abstract:
A light weight floor sweeper having a very low profile sweeper head that uses glides rather than rollers to slide across the surface to be cleaned. The floor sweeper head is mounted to an elongated handle by means of a universal pivot or universal joint which allows the floor sweeper head to easily pivot about the handle in any direction to pick up debris under over hanging cabinets or under furniture. The floor sweeper has sweeping brushes mounted around all sides of the sweeper head to provide sweeping action in any direction. Furthermore there are corner brushes extending out from the sides of the sweeper head that reach into corners to sweep debris toward the main sweeping brushes. All of the brushes are powered by a small electric motor. The motor drives the brushes to direct the debris into a dust-receiving tray in the sweeper head.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is based on and claims priority of provisional patent application 60/506,365 filed Sep. 25, 2003. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to handheld floor sweepers and more particularly to a hand held floor sweeper having a plurality of sweeping brushes powered by an electric motor.  
         [0003]     Handheld sweepers have been used in the past to pick up dust and small items from hard surfaces, such as wood or tile floors, and carpets having varying piles of various height. One type of handheld floor sweeper that has been used extensively in the past is a manually pushed floor sweeper that is not powered by a motor. The handheld sweeper has brushes mounted on a shaft located in the sweeper head that contact the surface to be cleaned. The brushes rotate as the sweeper is pushed and pulled across the floor surface. The brushes rotate and the bristles sweep the loose material up into a dust canister or similar dust-receiving portion in the sweeper head. A problem with this type of floor sweeper is that it only picks up material in the forward or rearward direction as the user pushes or pulls the sweeper across the floor as the sweeper is designed for movement in just the forward or reward directions. The sweeper head does not rotate about its handle for movement in the left or right directions, nor does it easily change directions for cleaning under low overhanging objects such as under cabinets or furniture.  
         [0004]     The invention disclosed herein is a new type of floor sweeper, which is extremely light and has a very low profile sweeper head. The floor sweeper head is mounted to an elongated handle by means of a universal pivot or universal joint. This allows the floor sweeper head to easily pivot about the handle in any direction for easily picking up loose materials under over hanging cabinets or under furniture. The floor sweeper also has brushes mounted around all four sides of the sweeper head. This provides cleaning action in any direction, not just in the forward or reverse direction. Furthermore there are brushes extending out from the sides of the sweeper head that reach into corners to sweep debris into the main brushes. All of the brushes are powered by a small electric motor. The motor drives the brushes to direct the dust or loose material into the dust-receiving canister in the sweeper head.  
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     It is an object of the invention to provide a handheld sweeper that has sweeper brushes along all four sides of the sweeper head to clean a surface regardless of which direction the sweeper is moved.  
         [0006]     It is another object to provide a handheld sweeper that has sweeper brushes that are mounted along the side edges of the sweeper head to clean along edges formed by an upstanding wall and floor.  
         [0007]     At is still another object to provide a handheld sweeper that has the sweeper brushes and a driving motor mechanically interconnected. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the handheld sweeper.  
         [0009]      FIG. 1A  is an enlarged perspective view of the battery pack shown in the encircled portion on  FIG. 1 .  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front elevation view with portions removed of the hand sweeper.  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a left side view of the sweeper with portions removed.  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the sweeper.  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4  showing the sweeper head.  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is a partially exploded view of the sweeper head.  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the sweeper head.  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  is a rear view of the sweeper head with the elongated handle removed.  
         [0017]      FIG. 9  is a fully exploded view of the sweeper head.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0018]     Turning first to  FIG. 1 a  sweeper  10  of the present invention is disclosed. There is a sweeper head  12  connected to an elongated handle  14  by means of a universal pivot  16 . Mounted on the elongated handle  14  is a battery box  18  that contains a rechargeable battery  20 . At a top end of the elongated handle  14  is a grasping portion  22  which the user holds to push, pull or otherwise move the sweeper  10 .  
         [0019]      FIGS. 2 and 3  illustrate the outer design of the sweeper head  12 . The sweeper head  12  has a housing comprised of a rectangular top  24 , short sides  26  and long sides  28 . The universal pivot  16  is attached to the top  24 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates the underside of the sweeper head  12 . Mounted along one of the long sides  28  at the front of the sweeper head  12  is a long brush  30 . Mounted along the other long side  28  at the rear of the sweeper head  12 , are a pair of rear brushes  32 ,  34 . Along one of the short sides  26  is a first side brush  36  and along the opposite short side is a second side brush  38 . Mounted to or integrally formed in the brushes  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  and  38  are radially extending bristles  39  that are designed to contact the surface to be cleaned and sweep the debris up from the surface.  
         [0021]     Corner brushes  40  are mounted with the plane of the bristles substantially parallel to the sides  26  at each of the four corners. However, the bristles of the corner brushes  40  are spread out in the plane parallel to the short side  26  so that the bristles actually extend out beyond the short sides  26 . This enables the bristles of the corner brushes  40  to contact and clean a corner formed between the floor and a wall or other upstanding surface. If the bristles do not extend at least under the short sides  26 , the short sides  26  contact the wall or other upstanding surface and will not allow the corners to be swept. All of the brushes are mounted on shafts so that the brushes can freely rotate.  
         [0022]     The sweeper head  12  slides on high gloss, high polished plastic slides or glides  42  as seen in  FIGS. 2-4 . These are positioned in each of the four corners of the sweeper head  12  and allow the sweeper head  12  to easily glide over both a hard surface and carpet. Rollers may replace these glides. Furthermore the sweeper head can be easily moved in any direction along the surface to be cleaned, and the arrangement of the rollers along the front, rear and sides result in the sweeping of debris from the surface regardless of the direction of movement.  
         [0023]     The sweeper head  12  has a top casing  44  as seen in  FIG. 6 . The brushes are mounted on a chassis  46 . The universal pivot  16  is also mounted to the chassis  46 . A dust receiving tray  48  is positioned below the chassis  46 . Locating and locking tabs  50  extend upwardly from the dust receiving tray  48 . These tabs  50  extend through receiving slots  52  in the chassis  46 . The slots  52  have locking means to engage and lock the tabs  50  within the slots  52 . Sliding tabs  54  on the chassis  46  can slide outward to engage indentations  55  in the top casing  44 . In this manner the chassis  46  is placed in locking engagement with the top casing  44 . When the dust receiving tray  48  is full and is to be emptied, the tabs  50  are pushed to one side which unlocks them for the slots  52  and the dust receiving tray  48  is released for emptying. Two plastic windows  56  mounted in the top of the chassis  46  allow the user to observe the inside of the dust receiving tray  48  so that it can be emptied when it is full of debris.  FIG. 7  illustrates the dust receiving tray  48  and chassis  46  attached to the casing  44 .  
         [0024]     As seen in  FIGS. 6 and 9 , each of the brushes  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  and  38  is mounted on shafts for rotation. The ends of the brushes are mounted in gear housings  58  comprised of a top housing  60  and a bottom housing  62 . The shafts  34 ,  36 ,  30 ,  38  and  32  are mechanically interconnected as described herein. One end  64  of shaft  34  is mounted in a motor housing  65 . Gear  66  is mounted on the one end  64  of shaft  34  and is driven by pinion  68  which, in turn, is mounted on drive shaft  70  of a motor  72 . The motor  72  is mounted in motor housing  65  and supported by a motor bracket  73 . Other end  74  of shaft  34  is mounted in the gear housing  58 . Bevel gear  76  mounted on shaft  78  is mounted to other end  74  of shaft  34  within the gear housing  58 . Shaft  78  extends out from the gear housing  58  and has a corner brush  40  mounted at its end opposite the other end  74 . A complementary bevel gear  80  is mounted on the shaft of first side brush  36 , which is an adjacent 90-degree shaft. Similarly bevel gear  82  is mounted at the other end of the shaft. Complementary bevel gear  84  mounted on shaft  86  engages bevel gear  82 . These gears are located in a second gear housing  58 . Shaft  86  is connected to one end of long brush  30 . In a similar arrangement the other end of long brush  30  has shaft  88  connected to it with bevel gear  90  mounted on it. Complementary bevel gear  92  engages bevel gear  90 . These gears are located in a third gear housing. Gear  92  in turn is mounted on one end of the second side brush  38 . Bevel gear  94  is mounted on the other end of the second side brush  38 . Complementary bevel gear  96  is mounted on shaft  98 , which in turn is connected to one end of the rear brush  32 . These gears are located in a fourth gear housing. The other end of the rear brush  32  is retained within the motor housing  65 . This gear arrangement drivingly interconnects brushes  34 ,  36 ,  30 ,  38  and  32  respectively such that all of the brushes rotate in unison.  
         [0025]     Shafts  78 ,  86 ,  90  and  98  have an end that extends out from its respective gear housing  58 . Securely mounted on the end of the shaft extending out from the gear housing is a corner brush  40 . Thus the corner brushes  40  rotate with the respective rotating long brush or rear brush to which it is connected. The corner brushes spread outward at their tips such that their bristles are under the bottom of the short side  26  of the sweeper head  12 . This is seen in  FIGS. 2, 4  and  5 .  
         [0026]     The elongated handle  14  is connected to the sweeper head  12  by means of the universal pivot  16 , which is more clearly shown in  FIG. 6 . The universal pivot connection allows the handle  14  to swivel from the front to the back and from side to side with respect to the sweeper head. This allows the sweeper head to easily rotate in any direction to easily move under furniture, ledges, shelves, etc. The universal pivot  16  is comprised of several components as seen in  FIG. 9 . There is a pivot ball top  100  and a pivot ball bottom  102  supported by a pivot ball support  104 . There are two cross arm yokes  106 , which receive the pivot ball top  100  and bottom  102  between the two yokes  106 . The pivot ball top and bottom allow the cross arm yokes  106  to rotate on the pivot ball support  104  from one long side  28  to the opposite long side  28 . This allows the elongated handle  14  to pivot about the sweeper head  12  as seen by the arrow A-A in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0027]     The yokes  106  have pins  108  at their bottom ends that are rotatably received in the pivot ball top  100  and bottom  102 . This provides a pivot point about which the handle  14  can rotate about the sweeper head  12  from one short side  26  to the other short side  26  as illustrated by the arrow B-B of  FIG. 2 . Other types of universal pivot connections can be utilized as will be apparent to those skilled in the art of mechanical pivot connections. The important point is to allow the handle  14  to freely rotate in all directions about the sweeper head  12 .  
         [0028]     The elongated handle  12  is assembled from a series of interlocking pipes or tubes  110 ,  112 ,  114  and  116 . Spring loaded pins or locks  118  are placed in one end of each of the tubes  110 ,  112 , and  114 , which interlock with receiving holes in the next adjacent tube. One end of each of tubes  110 ,  112 , and  114  has a reduced diameter to receive the end of the next tube above it so that the tube slides over the reduced diameter end.  
         [0029]     The rechargeable battery  20  is also mounted on the elongated handle  14  in the battery box  20 . The battery box  18  has a removable base  120 , which allows access to a switch  122 . The switch  122  turns the motor  72  on and off. Electrical wires  124  connect the motor  72  to the battery  20 .  
         [0030]     The motor  72  and gear drive mechanism cause each of the brushes to rotate in a direction such that the dust or loose material is swept into the sweeper head  52  where it is received in the dust receiving tray  48 . For example, as seen in  FIG. 9 , rear brushes  32  and  34  rotate in the direction of arrow C. Long brush  30  rotates in the opposite direction as illustrated by arrow D. This enables the sweeper  10  to pick up dust or debris when pushed or pulled in either a forward or backward direction.  
         [0031]     The first side brush  36  rotates in direction of arrow E and the second side brush  38  rotates in the opposite direction of arrow F. Each of the corner brushes  40  are connected to and driven in the same direction as brushes  30 ,  32 , and  34 . As the brushes  40  are mounted at the outer perimeter of the gear housing  58  and under the short sides  26  of the sweeper head top  24 , the corner brushes  40  can reach into tight corners and sweep the debris or dust out of the corners where it is directed into one of the first or second side brush  36  or  38 . Then the debris is swept by one of the side brushes into the dust-receiving tray  64 . In this manner the corner brushes always sweep the debris toward the center of the side brushes where it is swept into the receiving tray  64 .  
         [0032]     The overall height of the sweeper head  12  including the brushes and glides  42  is maintained as a very low profile sweeper to allow the sweeper to get under cabinets, chairs and low overhangs. The universal pivot  16  allows the sweeper head to easily rotate in any direction for ease in reaching tight spots and permits cleaning the entire floor surface. The battery  23  can be a conventional rechargeable battery that is recharged by plugging into a battery charger. The motor and battery are selected to provide adequate power to the brushes for enough time to perform a normal cleaning operation. All of the components can be easily and inexpensively manufactured from plastic or metal. Thus the weight of the sweeper  10  can thus be kept at a minimum for ease of maneuvering.  
         [0033]     In an alternative embodiment, the sweeper head is triangular is shape. There are side brushes mounted along each of the sides, which replace the brushes  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  and  38 . The side brushes extend substantially the entire length of the sides and are mounted for rotation just as the brushes  30 - 38  are mounted for rotation. Similarly the side brushes are driven by a motor and gear arrangement as in the preferred embodiment. There are also corner brushes places at each of the corners. There are two corner brushes on each side that sweep debris from the corners toward the center of their respective side brush. The corner brushes rotate in opposite directions so that they both direct debris toward the cent of the side roller. This allows the sweeper to pick up corner debris regardless if it moves in the forward or backward direction. In this configuration there are a total of six corner brushes, two for each side. The corner brushes are mechanically connected to the motor so that they are driven in unison with the side rollers.  
         [0034]     Thus there has been provided a floor sweeper that fully satisfies the objects set forth above. While the invention has been described in conjunction with a specific embodiment, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.