Vacuum cleaner base with agitator drive assembly
AssigneeBISSELL Homecare, Inc.
InventorAlan J. Krebs
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An upright vacuum cleaner comprises a base assembly pivotally connected to an upright assembly. The base assembly comprises an agitator and an agitator drive assembly for selectively driving the agitator. The agitator drive assembly includes a drive disk coupled to a motor shaft, a driven disk which engages the drive disk, and a drive coupling between the driven disk to the agitator. The agitator drive assembly can further include a drive disengager for selectively interrupting the transmission of drive force to the agitator. The agitator drive assembly can further include a speed selector for adjusting the relative speed of rotation of the agitator.
Claims21
A vacuum cleaner comprising:
- a base assembly having a housing, a suction nozzle, and an agitator rotatably mounted to the housing;
- a motor comprising a motor shaft;
- and
- an agitator drive assembly between the motor shaft and the agitator for selectively driving the agitator, and comprising:
- a drive disk mounted to the motor shaft for rotation about a rotational axis and having a face in a plane perpendicular to the rotational axis;
- an actuator for selectively uncoupling the agitator drive assembly;
- a driven disk rotatably coupled to the actuator for movement therewith and selectively coupled with the drive disk for rotational contact with the face of the drive disk;
- and
- a drive coupling between the driven disk and the agitator;
- wherein the driven disk is laterally movable across the face of the drive disk to change the relative speed of the agitator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.