Abstract:
A light weight floor sweeper having a very low profile sweeper head that uses a sweeping brush and cleaning pad 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. A sweeping brush is mounted on the bottom of the sweeper head to provide sweeping action as the floor sweeper is moved in any direction. Furthermore there is a soft cleaning pad releasably mounted adjacent to the brush to entrap dust and particles that the brush does not pick up. The brush is powered by a small electric motor. A removable dust-receiving tray is mounted in the sweeper head to receive debris swept by the brush.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to handheld floor sweepers and more particularly to a hand held floor sweeper having a sweeping brush powered by an electric motor and a soft cleaning pad for picking up dirt and dust. The inventive sweeper is particularly well suited for cleaning hard floor surfaces such as wood, ceramic tile and marble. 
     Handheld sweepers have been used in the past to pick up dust and small items from hard surfaces such as wood or tile floors. 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. As the brushes rotate they 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. 
     Another problem not solved by this type of sweeper is that it does not have a cloth portion that removes very small dust particles from the floor. The dust remains either on the floor or suspended in the air to resettle on the floor after the sweeper is moved to another location. 
     Other sweepers have evolved that have the brushes powered by a motor such as illustrated in Applicant&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,267 issued on Dec. 26, 2006. This sweeper used several brushes mounted about the sweeper head to sweep the dirt into a dust tray. However, it does not solve the problem of catching and retaining small dust particles on a hard surface that were not swept into the dust tray by the brushes. 
     The invention disclosed herein is a floor sweeper which is extremely light and has a very low profile sweeper head. However as opposed to sweepers of the prior art, it has a brush mounted at the front underside of the sweeper head and also a dust pad mounted behind the brush. 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 brushes are rotated by a small electric motor. The motor drives the brushes to direct the dirt into the dust-receiving tray in the sweeper head. The cleaning pad contacts the surface to be cleaned and picks up and entraps small dust particles. The dust pad is removable and can be washed or disposed of and replaced by a clean pad. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a handheld sweeper that has a sweeper brush along at least one edge of the sweeper head and a cleaning pad to pick up dust. It is a related object to provide a handheld sweeper that has a cleaning pad that is easily removable for washing and replacement. 
     It is another object to provide a handheld sweeper that has the sweeper head with both a brush and cleaning pad, with the sweeper head attached to the handle by a universal pivot connection to allow the sweeper head to be moved in any horizontal direction on the floor. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the handheld sweeper with the cloth cleaning pad. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of the encircled area of  FIG. 1  of the sweeper head with portions removed to show the brushes. 
         FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of the handheld sweeper head with portions removed to show the electric motor and belt arrangement to drive the brushes. 
         FIG. 4  is a top plan view of the handheld sweeper head with portions removed to show the motor and belt arrangement. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the sweeper head with portions removed and the dust tray in a partially removed position. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross section view taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 5  showing the dust tray. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross section view taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 5  showing the brushes, dust tray and the flow of air from the brushes to the dust tray and out the air vent. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the sweeper head with the dust pad contacting the floor. 
         FIG. 9  is a front elevation view of the sweeper head adjacent to a wall. 
         FIG. 10  is a bottom view of the dust pad partially removed from the bottom of the sweeper head. 
         FIG. 11  is an alternative embodiment of the bottom view of the sweeper head showing the tapered front glides with the dust pad partially removed. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Turning first to  FIGS. 1 and 2  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 . The handle  14  is assembled from a series of interlocking pipes or tubes. Spring loaded pins or locks are placed in one end of each of the tubes which interlock with receiving holes in the next adjacent tube. One end of each of tubes has a reduced diameter to be received in the end of the next tube above it so that the receiving tube slides over the reduced diameter end of the inserted tube. 
     The universal pivot  16  is comprised of a pair of universal pivot supports  18  attached to the head  12 . A rotatable ball  20  is mounted on a shaft supported by the universal pivot supports  18 . A yoke  22  at the bottom of the handle  14  is rotatably mounted to the ball  20  in a conventional manner to form the universal pivot connection  16 . Other types of universal pivot connections can be utilized as will be apparent to those skilled in the art of mechanical pivot connections. It is important that the handle  14  freely rotates about the point of connection between the sweeper head  12  and the handle  14 . 
     At a top end of the handle  14  is a grasping portion  24  which the user holds to push, pull or otherwise move the sweeper  10 . A rechargeable battery  25  is mounted in a battery box  27  on the handle  14 . The battery  25  provides power to the sweeper head  12  as will be more fully described herein. 
       FIG. 2  also illustrates the outer design of the sweeper head  12 . The sweeper head  12  has a housing  26  comprised of a rectangular top  28 , short sides  30  and  31  and long sides  32  and  33 . Opposite the top  28  is a bottom  34 . Along one of the short sides  31  is a slide out dirt tray  36 . The dirt tray  36  extends from the side  31  into the sweeper head  12  to a position adjacent to the opposite side  30 . Although the sweeper head  12  is illustrated as rectangular in shape, it can also be formed in other shapes such as circular, triangular or other such shapes. 
     As seen in  FIGS. 2-4 , along the long side  33  which is at the front of the sweeper head  12  is a shaft  38  with brushes  40  mounted about the shaft. The brushes  40  are formed by radially extending bristles  42  that are designed to contact the floor surface to be cleaned and sweep the debris up from the floor surface. Opposite ends of the shaft  38  are mounted to the sweeper head  12  by means of bearings  44  so that the shaft  38  can freely rotate. 
     The sweeper head  12  has front glides  46  that have a soft cloth or soft brush  47  mounted to their undersides that allow the glides to easily slide over the floor without marking or scuffing the floor. These are positioned at the bottom  34  of the sweeper head and in opposite front corners. The front glides  46  may be tapered to direct dirt from the edges toward the brushes  40 . The sweeper head can be easily moved in any horizontal direction along the surface to be cleaned, and the arrangement of the brushes along the front does not inhibit movement of the sweeper or lessen the ability of the sweeper head  12  to sweep debris from the surface regardless of the direction of movement of the sweeper head  12 . In an alternate arrangement, the glides  46  are polished plastic sliders that allow the glides to easily move over the floor surface without marring or scuffing the floor. The glides may also have brushes or a soft cloth  49  extending out from the sides  30 ,  31  so that they protect an adjacent wall  51  or furniture from the sweeper head  12  should it contact the wall or furniture. This is more clearly illustrated in  FIG. 9 . 
     The slide out dust tray  36  is positioned behind the brushes  40  so that as the shaft  38  rotates it sweeps debris into the tray  36 . To remove the tray  36 , one needs to only grasp the edge of the tray  36  at a grasping indentation  48  in the top  28  of the sweeper head  12  and slide it out. As seen in  FIGS. 5-7 , sliding the tray  36  out from the head  12  allows it to be emptied and easily slid back into place for continued use. The tray  36  has a guide  53  in the bottom  34 . This is received in a complementary groove  57  in the bottom of the tray  36 . 
     The shaft  38  and brushes  40  are rotationally driven by an electric motor  50  mounted in a motor housing  52 . This is clearly illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . A pinion  54  is mounted on the output shaft of the motor  50 . At the long end  33  or front of the housing  12  is a gear  56  mounted to one end of the shaft  38 . A drive belt  58  is wrapped around the pinion  54  and gear  56  so that they are drivingly connected. As the motor drives the drive belt, it simultaneously drives the gear  56  and the shaft  38  with the brushes  40 . Regardless of which direction the sweeper head  12  is moved, the motor  50  causes the brushes to rotate in a direction “A” (as seen in  FIG. 7 ) such that the dust or loose material is swept into the sweeper head  12  where it is received in the tray  36 . 
     As seen in  FIG. 1 , the battery box  27  has a switch  29 . The switch  29  turns the motor  50  on and off. Electrical wires  71  pass through the handle  14 , through the universal pivot  16 , and connect the motor  50  to the battery  25 . The battery is removable from the battery box and can be recharged as needed. 
     Looking at the top of the sweeper head  12 , one can see ventilation holes  55  passing through the top  28  which are in fluid communication with the slide out dust tray  36 . This gives air which is forced into the dust tray  36  by the rotating brushes  40  an exit passageway. If it were not for the ventilation holes  55  the air which is trapped in the dust tray  36  provides a barrier from dirt and debris being swept into the dust tray  36 . This results in the dirt and debris merely being pushed around in front of the brushes  40  instead of being swept into the dust tray  36 . 
     Mounted below the sweeper head  12  on the bottom  34  is a soft, dust absorbing, cloth pad  60 . The pad  60  can be microfiber or other soft cloth material that retains dust within itself. As used in this application, cloth is defined to include all woven and non woven materials that are used for cleaning purposes and tend to accumulate dust, debris and particles inside or between the material&#39;s fibers. The cloth pad  60  is attached to the bottom  34  adjacent to the brushes  40  and extends from the brushes  40  to about ½ inch beyond the rear edge of the long side  32 . The cloth pad  60  also preferably extends beyond the short sides  30 ,  31  on both sides of the head  12  by approximately ½ inch. This allows the pad  60  to form a cushion between the sweeper head  12  and the walls. The pad  60  can be fastened to the bottom  34  by fastening means such as Velcro hook and loop fasteners  61  (as seen in  FIG. 10 ), adhesive, clips, snaps or other commonly known fastening means. It is preferably easily removed so that when it gets dirty it can be removed from the sweeper head  12  and washed. Alternatively it can be removed, discarded, and replaced with a clean pad. The clean or replacement pad  60  is easily attached to the bottom  34  by means of the chosen fastening means. In an alternate embodiment the pad  60  can be mounted on a cushion pad that provides an extra level of cushioning or absorbent material between the pad  60  and the bottom  34 . 
     The overall height of the sweeper head  12  including the brushes and cleaning pad  60  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 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. 
     The combination of the brushes  40  sweeping larger particles into the dirt tray  36  and the pad  60  lifting dust and smaller particles from the floor and retaining them in the pad, provides a new and unique combination cleaning implement. When the pad becomes dirty, it can easily be moved for washing and re-use or replaced if a disposable pad is selected. 
     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.