FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a vacuum cleaner nozzle, and to a vacuum cleaner provided with a vacuum cleaner nozzle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The design of a vacuum cleaner is subject to two conflicting boundary conditions. Obviously, the vacuum cleaner should ensure that the floor is cleaned well, so that no dirt remains on the floor. On the other hand, the vacuum cleaner should consume an ever decreasing amount of energy to clean the floor, so that prior art high-wattage vacuum cleaners can no longer be sold.

One way to ensure that vacuum cleaners optimally meet the conflicting boundary requirements, is to reconsider the design of the vacuum cleaner nozzle.

US3069186 discloses a suction nozzle avoiding the disadvantages of prior constructions and which prevents leakage of air at its swiveling coupling and assures a more effective flow of air into its suction inlet. The inlet rim of the suction nozzle is provided with a continuous seat having side and top walls which lie at right angles to one another. The seat seats a pair of brushes or bristle strips, each having a U-shaped metal strip holding bristles clamped about a rigid core member. One straight bristle strip extends the full length of the forward edge of the nozzle inlet, whereas the other strip is bent into a generally U-shaped configuration dimensioned to nest snugly against the similarly shaped portions of the seat extending along the rear edge and across the ends of the nozzle inlet. The adjacent ends of brushes or bristle strips are slightly spaced to provide narrow openings at the opposite forward comers of the nozzle, the size of these openings being reduced somewhat under operating conditions by the tendency of the bristles to flare toward one another across the opening. However, this flaring is insufficient to close the opening, and with the nozzle connected to a source of suction, a high velocity jet of air flows inwardly through each opening. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, inter alia, an object of the invention to provide an improved vacuum cleaner nozzle. The invention is defined by the independent claims. Advantageous

embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

One aspect of the invention provides a vacuum cleaner nozzle for cleaning a surface. The nozzle has a first brush along a first side of the vacuum cleaner nozzle, the first brush having a first brush holder, and a second brush along a second side of the vacuum cleaner nozzle, the second brush having a second brush holder. The second side of the vacuum cleaner nozzle is adjacent to the first side of the vacuum cleaner nozzle. According to one aspect of the invention, the second brush holder is at a larger distance from the surface than the first brush holder. Preferably, the second brush is at an angle of less than 30° with regard to a vertical. The invention also provides a vacuum cleaner having such a vacuum cleaner nozzle.

The invention is based on the recognition that in order to cope with reduced power requirements, leakage openings should be reduced to the maximum extent possible, so that openings at comers where two different bristles meet should be minimized. As the bristle holders take some space, putting the bristle holders as close as possible to one another still leaves an opening between the bristles. If, however, one bristle holder is arranged higher than the other bristle holder, the bristles themselves can be made to closely adjoin one another, without leaving a gap between the bristles.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figs. 1 and 2 show different views of the brushes for use in a vacuum cleaner nozzle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Figs. 1 and 2 show different views of brushes for use in a vacuum cleaner nozzle N in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The vacuum cleaner nozzle N has a first bmsh FB, and a second bmsh SB. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the first bmsh FB is located at a front of the vacuum cleaner nozzle N while the second bmsh SB is located at a side of the nozzle, but in another embodiment, it may be the other way around. The first bmsh FB has a first bmsh holder FBH, and the second bmsh SB has a second bmsh holder SBH. If the first bmsh holder FBH and the second bmsh holder SBH were positioned on the same level, a gap would arise between the first brush FB and the second brush SB, because the brush holders are larger than the respectively corresponding brushes. To ensure that the first brush FB and the second brush SB sit tightly against each other without leaving a gap between them, the invention provides the solution that one brush holder SBH is at a larger distance to the surface to be cleaned than the other brush holder FBH. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, one brush holder SBH sits on top of the other brush holder FBH.

Preferably, the second brush SB is at an angle of less than 30° with regard to a vertical, as is shown most clearly in the embodiment of Fig. 2. The reason for doing so is that without this measure, a nozzle housing that encompasses the brush holders FBH and SBH would cause a gap at surface level between the second brush SB and a bottom of a wall of a room. By mounting the second brush SB at a small angle with regard to the vertical, the second brush SB can touch the wall even though the second brush holder SBH creates some distance between the top of the second brush SB and the wall. The performance of a vacuum cleaner provided with such a vacuum cleaner nozzle is thereby improved.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. For example, the feature that the second brush holder SBH is at a larger distance from the surface than the first brush holder FBH, may be implemented by molding the first and second brush holders as separate components which are then mounted in such a way that the second brush holder SBH is at a larger distance from the surface than the first brush holder FBH, or by molding the first and second brush holders as one component in which the second brush holder SBH is at a larger distance from the surface than the first brush holder FBH. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. In the device claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims that do not refer to one another does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.