Abstract:
A vacuum cleaner includes a nozzle defining a chamber, a suction source in fluid communication with the nozzle and operable to generate an airflow through the nozzle, and an agitator rotatably supported within the chamber. The vacuum cleaner further includes a belt, a drive member drivingly connected to the agitator by the belt, and a belt guard surrounding at least a portion of the agitator at an interface between the agitator and the belt, the belt guard partitioning the chamber into a first section and a second section. The belt guard includes an aperture extending from the second section to the first section to permit air to flow from the second section to the first section.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to vacuum cleaners, and more particularly to vacuum cleaners having a belt-driven agitator. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Rotary agitators are commonly incorporated into vacuum cleaner nozzles in order to agitate dust and dirt out of a surface to be cleaned. Many of these rotary agitators are driven by a belt that transmits power to the agitator from an electric motor or pneumatic turbine. In order to protect the belt from being unseated or damaged, a belt guard may be provided to cover the interface between the belt and the pulley. However, conventional belt guards may obstruct airflow and interfere with the suction performance of the nozzle. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    The invention provides, in one aspect, a vacuum cleaner including a nozzle defining a chamber, a suction source in fluid communication with the nozzle and operable to generate an airflow through the nozzle, and an agitator rotatably supported within the chamber. The vacuum cleaner further includes a belt, a drive member drivingly connected to the agitator by the belt, and a belt guard surrounding at least a portion of the agitator at an interface between the agitator and the belt, the belt guard partitioning the chamber into a first section and a second section. The belt guard includes an aperture extending from the second section to the first section to permit air to flow from the second section to the first section. 
         [0004]    Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a base assembly of the vacuum cleaner of  FIG. 1 , including a belt guard according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the base assembly of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a portion of the base assembly of  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
       [0010]    Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0011]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary vacuum cleaner  10 . The illustrated vacuum cleaner  10  is an upright vacuum cleaner  10  including a base assembly  14  and a handle assembly  18  pivotally coupled to the base assembly  14 . The base assembly  14  is movable along a surface to be cleaned, such as a carpeted or hard-surface floor. The handle assembly  18  extends from the base assembly  14  and allows a user to move and manipulate the base assembly  14  along the surface. The handle assembly  18  is also movable relative to the base assembly  14  between an upright position (illustrated in  FIG. 1 ) and an inclined position (not shown). 
         [0012]    The handle assembly  18  includes a maneuvering handle  22  having a grip  26  for a user to grasp and maneuver the vacuum cleaner  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, the maneuvering handle  22  is coupled to a wand  30 , and the maneuvering handle  22  and the wand  30  are removable together as a unit. The wand  30  may be used to clean above-floor surfaces (e.g., stairs, drapes, corners, furniture, etc.). An accessory tool  34  (e.g., a crevice tool, an upholstery tool, a pet tool, etc.) may be detachably coupled to the handle assembly  18  for storage and may be selectively coupled to the wand  30  for specialized cleaning 
         [0013]    With continued reference to  FIG. 1 , a canister  38  is supported by the handle assembly  18  and includes a separator  42  and a dirt cup  46 . The separator  42  removes dirt particles from an airflow drawn into the vacuum cleaner  10  which are then collected by the dirt cup  46 . The separator  42  may be a dual-stage cyclonic separator (not shown) with a plurality of second stage cyclones and a single first stage cyclone. In other embodiments, other separators can be used, such as single-stage cyclonic separators, filter bags, etc. The canister  38  may be removable from the handle assembly  18  to facilitate emptying the dirt particles from the dirt cup  46 . 
         [0014]    The vacuum cleaner  10  further includes a motor  50  ( FIG. 4 ) contained within a motor housing  54  ( FIG. 1 ) and a suction source (not shown) such as an impeller fan assembly driven by the motor  50 . The illustrated motor housing  54  connects the handle assembly  18  and the base assembly  14 . The motor  50  selectively receives power from a power source (e.g., a cord for plugging into a source of utility power, a battery, etc.) to generate the suction airflow through the vacuum cleaner  10 . 
         [0015]    Now referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the base assembly  14  includes a suction nozzle or floor nozzle  58  having an upper portion  62  and a lower portion  66  that collectively define a chamber  70 . Air and debris may be drawn into the chamber  70  through an elongate inlet opening  74  in the lower portion  66 . In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of cross bars  78  are positioned across the opening  74  inhibiting ingress of electrical cords and other objects into the opening; however, in other embodiments, the cross bars  78  may be omitted. After entering the chamber  70 , the air and debris is drawn through a nozzle outlet  82  of the floor nozzle  58  that fluidly communicates with the canister  38 . 
         [0016]    The base assembly  14  further includes a pair of rear wheels  86  and a pair of forward wheels  90  spaced from the rear wheels  86  and located generally adjacent the inlet opening  74 . The wheels  86 ,  90  facilitate movement of the base assembly  14  along the surface to be cleaned. In addition, the forward wheels  90  assist in positioning the inlet  74  of the floor nozzle  58  at a desired height above the surface to be cleaned. 
         [0017]    With reference to  FIG. 3 , a generally cylindrical agitator or brushroll  94  is rotatably supported at its ends within the nozzle chamber  70 . The agitator  94  includes an array of bristle tufts  98  or other protrusions that may extend through the opening  74  to agitate the surface to be cleaned. In addition, the illustrated agitator  94  has grooves  102  spaced along its length that receive portions of the respective cross bars  78 . 
         [0018]    The agitator  94  is rotatably driven by a first belt  106  that receives power from a drive member (e.g., the motor  50 ) via a pulley  110 . A second belt  114  transmits power from an output shaft  118  of the motor  50  to the pulley  110  ( FIG. 4 ). The motor  50  is configured to drive both the suction source and the agitator  94 . In other embodiments, the pulley  110  and the agitator  94  may be driven by a separate motor, an air turbine, or any other suitable drive means. 
         [0019]    With reference to  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  5 , the interface between the first belt  106  and the agitator  94  (i.e., where the first belt  106  wraps around the agitator  94 ) is covered by a belt guard  122  that inhibits objects or debris contacting the belt  106  during operation of the vacuum cleaner  10  ( FIG. 2 ). The belt guard  122  includes an upper or first portion  126  ( FIG. 3 ) and a lower or second portion  130  ( FIG. 5 ) that cooperate to surround at least a portion of the agitator  94 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the first portion  126  may be supported by the upper portion  62  of the nozzle  58 , and the second portion  128  may be supported by the lower portion  66  of the nozzle  58 . In the illustrated embodiment, the upper portion  126  and lower portion  130  cooperate to substantially surround the agitator  94 . Each of the portions  126 ,  130  includes first and second spaced walls  134 ,  138  between which the belt  106  extends. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper portion  126  of the belt guard  122  is integrally formed as a single piece with the upper portion  62  of the nozzle  58 , and the lower portion  66  of the belt guard  122  is integrally formed as a single piece with the lower portion  66  of the nozzle  58 . In other embodiments, the belt guard  122  may be formed separately from the nozzle  58  and subsequently assembled with the nozzle  58 . In yet another alternative, instead of forming upper and lower portions, the belt guard may include first and second spaced walls  134 ,  138  forming a left portion and right portion 
         [0020]    Referring again to  FIG. 2 , the belt guard  122  generally divides the chamber  70  into a first section  142  and a second section  146 . In some embodiments, the first section  142  has a width  150  greater than half an overall width  154  of the nozzle  58 , and the second section  146  has a width  158  less than half of the overall width  154  of the nozzle  58 . For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the width  150  of the first section  142  is greater than or equal to two-thirds of the overall width  154  of the nozzle  58 , and the width  158  of the second section  146  is less than or equal to one-third of the overall width  158  of the nozzle  58 . In other embodiments, the first and second sections  142 ,  146  may have any width  150 ,  158 , depending on the relative position of the belt guard  122 . 
         [0021]    In the illustrated embodiment, the first section  142  is adjacent to and in direct fluid communication with the suction opening or nozzle outlet  82 , whereas the second section  146  is separated from the nozzle outlet  82  by the belt guard  122 . Best illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the belt guard  122  has an aperture or window  162  that extends through the first and second walls  134 ,  138  in the lower portion  130  of the belt guard  122  to provide an airflow passage through the belt guard  122  (e.g., from the second section  146  to the first section  142 ) so that the second section  146  is in communication with the outlet  82  through the aperture  162 . Thus, the aperture  162  allows for a suction airflow along the full width  154  of the floor nozzle  58 . Alternatively, the second section  146  may be adjacent to and in direct fluid communication with the nozzle outlet  82 , with the first section  142  in communication with the outlet  82  through the aperture  162 . 
         [0022]    In operation, the motor  50  drives the fan assembly to generate an airflow through the vacuum cleaner  10 . The airflow enters the floor nozzle  58  through the inlet opening  74  and flows into both the first and second sections  142 ,  146  of the chamber  70 . As the airflow is drawn towards the suction opening  82 , air passes from the second section  146  into the first section  142  through the aperture  162  in the belt guard  122 . The airflow and any debris entrained therein then travels through the suction opening  82  and into the separator  42 . After the separator  42  filters or otherwise cleans the airflow, the cleaned airflow is directed out of the canister  38  and into the motor housing  54  (e.g., via an airflow channel extending through the handle assembly  18 ). The cleaned airflow is ultimately exhausted back into the environment through air outlet openings  166 . 
         [0023]    Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.