# US 10,117,554 B2 · Cleaner head for a vacuum cleaner

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- Number: US 10,117,554 B2
- Document ID: US10117554B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/909,390
- Filed: 2014-07-24
- Published: 2016-06-23
- Granted: 2018-11-06
- Earliest claimed: 2013-07-31
- Assignees: Dyson Technology Limited
- Applicants: Dyson Technology Limited
- Inventors: Heidi Williamson; Stephen Robert Dimbylow; Donald James McIntosh; Gerard Matthew Shevlin
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10117554B2

## CPC

- A47L 9/0477: {Rolls}
- A46B 9/02: Position or arrangement of bristles in relation to surface of the brush body, e.g. inclined, in rows, in groups
- A46B 13/00: Brushes with driven brush bodies {or carriers}(power-driven toothbrushes A61C17/16)
- A47L 9/04: with driven brushes or agitators
- A47L 9/0422: {driven by the rotation of the supporting wheels on which the nozzle travels over the floor}
- A47L 9/068: {Nozzles combined with a different cleaning side, e.g. duplex nozzles or dual purpose nozzles}
- A47L: DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING (brushes A46B; cleaning quantities of bottles or of other hollow articles of one kind B08B9/00; laundry D06F); SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL (cleaning in general B08)
- A46B: BRUSHES (handles not integral with brushware B25G)

## Abstract

A cleaner head for a vacuum cleaner including a housing, a roller and a wheel assembly arranged to support the cleaner head on a surface such that the roller is held out of pressing engagement with the surface. The roller is arranged to rotate with respect to the housing and the wheel assembly includes a first wheel which is arranged to drive the roller.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A cleaner head for a vacuum cleaner, comprising:
a housing;
a roller arranged to rotate with respect to the housing about a rotational axis; and
a wheel assembly arranged to support the cleaner head on a surface such that the roller is held out of pressing engagement with the surface, wherein the wheel assembly comprises:
a first wheel which is arranged to drive the roller as the cleaner head is moved across the surface, wherein a rotational axis of the first wheel is coaxial with the rotational axis of the roller, and
a second wheel spaced from the first wheel in a direction which is parallel with the rotational axis of the roller, wherein the second wheel is free to rotate relative to the roller and the housing.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The cleaner head of claim 1, wherein the roller extends in a lateral direction of the cleaner head and the first wheel is arranged to drive the roller as the cleaner head is moved forward and backward across the surface on which the cleaner head is supported.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The cleaner head of claim 1, wherein the roller is fixed for rotation with the first wheel such that the roller rotates in the same direction as the first wheel.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The cleaner head of claim 1, wherein the first wheel is formed integrally with the roller.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The cleaner head of claim 1, wherein the maximum diameter of the roller is not greater than the maximum diameter of the first wheel.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The cleaner head of claim 1, wherein an agitator is disposed within the housing.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The cleaner head of claim 1, wherein the rotational axis of the second wheel is coaxial with the rotational axis of the roller.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The cleaner head of claim 1, wherein the wheels are disposed at opposite ends of the roller.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The cleaner head of claim 1, wherein the second wheel is disposed between an end of the roller and the housing.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The cleaner head of claim 1, wherein the roller comprises a rigid tubular portion and the wheel assembly supports the cleaner head such that an outer radial surface of the rigid tubular portion is spaced away from the surface on which the cleaner head is supported.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The cleaner head of claim 10, wherein the roller comprises a deformable material which covers substantially all of the radially outer surface of the rigid tubular portion.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The cleaner head of claim 11, wherein the deformable material is a resiliently deformable material.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The cleaner head of claim 11, wherein roller is arranged such that, in use, the deformable material seals against the surface on which the cleaner head is supported.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The cleaner head of claim 1, wherein the roller extends along a trailing edge of the housing.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The cleaner head of claim 14, wherein the housing has a trailing edge which, in use, seals against the surface on which the cleaner head is supported and the roller is disposed rearwardly of the trailing edge of the housing.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

A vacuum cleaner comprising the cleaner head of claim 1.