Turbine brush

Abstract

A turbine brush for a vacuum cleaner comprises a brush body having an upper casing and a lower casing, and the lower casing having a suction slot through which air is drawn in from a surface being cleaned, an agitator unit having bristles at predetermined intervals, a turbine unit rotatably supported within the lower casing and being rotated by the air drawn into the turbine brush by suction force generated by the vacuum cleaner, and a power transfer unit to cause the agitator unit and the turbine unit to rotate in association with each other. When cleaning surfaces having loose material, such as a blanket or other fabric, the suction slot of the lower casing includes a plurality of ribs to inhibit the blanket or other fabric from being drawn into the brush body by the suction force generated by the vacuum cleaner. The bristles are in contact with the surface being cleaned by passing through apertures in the suction slot defined by the plural ribs. The turbine brush enables a user to conveniently clean surfaces having loose material by inhibiting the blanket or fabric from being caught by the turbine brush. Preferably, the upper casing comprises a transparent material.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A turbine brush for a vacuum cleaner comprising: 
 a brush body including an upper casing and a lower casing, the lower casing having sidewalls and a suction slot through which air is drawn in from a surface being cleaned;    an agitator unit rotatably supported at the lower casing and having bristles at predetermined intervals;    a turbine unit rotatably supported adjacent the lower casing and being rotated by the air drawn into the vacuum cleaner by suction force; and    a power transfer unit connecting the agitator unit and the turbine unit so as to rotate the agitator unit in association with the turbine unit,    wherein the suction slot of the lower casing has a plurality of ribs to prevent the surface being cleaned from being drawn in to the brush body by the suction force generated by the vacuum cleaner, and the bristles are positioned at the predetermined intervals between the ribs of the suction slot so that at least a part of the bristles is passes through the suction slot and comes into contact with the surface being cleaned, whereby the ribs inhibit any loose material of the surface being cleaned from being drawn into the turbine brush.    
     
     
         2 . The turbine brush of  claim 1 , wherein the upper casing is transparent, thereby allowing for the observation into the brush body by a user.  
     
     
         3 . The turbine brush of  claim 1 , wherein the upper and lower casings include a configuration for attachment to each other, comprising at least one first tab formed at a front portion of the upper casing and at least one second tab formed at a rear portion of the upper casing, and a slot corresponding to the first tab formed at a front portion of the lower casing and a locking member corresponding to the second tab formed at rear portion of the lower casing.  
     
     
         4 . The turbine brush of  claim 1 , wherein the agitator unit further comprises an agitator and a connecting member fixed at each of the sidewalls of the lower casing to support the agitator.  
     
     
         5 . The turbine brush of  claim 4 , wherein the connecting member comprises a bearing to support a rotating shaft of the agitator and a first retainer surrounding the bearing, and at each of the sidewalls of the lower casing is formed a guide wall to removably support the first retainer.  
     
     
         6 . The turbine brush of  claim 1 , wherein the turbine unit comprises a turbine, a turbine shaft, and a second retainer to support the turbine shaft.  
     
     
         7 . The turbine brush of  claim 6 , wherein the power transfer unit further comprises a first pulley disposed around a shaft of the turbine unit, a second pulley disposed around a rotating agitator shaft of the agitator unit, and the connection includes a belt connecting the first pulley and the second pulley.  
     
     
         8 . The turbine brush of  claim 1 , wherein each of the ribs is shaped and configured to increase in width from the middle toward one end.  
     
     
         9 . A turbine brush for a vacuum cleaner comprising: 
 a brush body in fluid communication with the vacuum cleaner comprising a lower casing having a suction slot through which air is drawn into the brush body from a surface being cleaned, and an upper casing being made from a transparent material;    an agitator unit rotatably supported at the lower casing and having bristles at predetermined intervals;    a turbine unit rotatably supported at the lower casing and rotating by action of the air drawn into the brush body by the suction force generated by the vacuum cleaner,    a power transfer unit connecting the agitator unit and the turbine unit so as to rotate the agitator unit in association with the turbine unit, and    a discharging pipe connected to a rear portion of the brush body,    wherein the suction slot of the lower casing has a plurality of ribs to prevent the surface being cleaned from being drawn into the brush body by the suction force generated by the vacuum cleaner, and the bristles are positioned at predetermined intervals between the ribs of the suction slot so that at least a part of the bristles passes through the suction slot and comes into contact with the surface being cleaned.    
     
     
         10 . The turbine brush of  claim 9 , wherein the discharging pipe includes a locking unit to connect the discharging pipe with an extended pipe of the vacuum cleaner.  
     
     
         11 . The turbine brush of  claim 10 , wherein the locking unit comprises a hooking member and a pressing button removed from the hooking unit.  
     
     
         12 . The turbine brush of  claim 9 , wherein at least one first tab is formed at a front portion of the upper casing and at least one second tab is formed at a rear portion of the upper casing, and a slot corresponding to the first tab is formed at a front portion of the lower casing and a locking member corresponding to the second tab is formed at rear portion of the lower casing.  
     
     
         13 . The turbine brush of  claim 9 , wherein the agitator unit further comprises an agitator and a connecting member fixed at each of the sidewalls of the lower casing to support the agitator.  
     
     
         14 . The turbine brush of  claim 13 , wherein the connecting member comprises a bearing to support a rotating shaft of the agitator and a first retainer surrounding the bearing, and a guide wall to removably fix the first retainer at each of the sidewalls of the lower casing.  
     
     
         15 . The turbine brush of  claim 9 , wherein the turbine unit comprises a turbine, a turbine shaft, and a second retainer to support the turbine shaft.  
     
     
         16 . The turbine brush of  claim 9 , wherein the power transfer unit further comprises a first pulley disposed in the turbine unit, a second pulley disposed in the agitator unit, and a belt connecting the first pulley and the second pulley so that rotation of the turbine causes rotation of the agitator.  
     
     
         17 . The turbine brush of  claim 9 , wherein each of the ribs are shaped and configured to increase in width from the middle toward one end.  
     
     
         18 . The turbine brush of  claim 1 , wherein said loose material of the surface to be cleaned is a blanket or other fabric.  
     
     
         19 . The turbine brush of  claim 9 , wherein said loose material of the surface to be cleaned is a blanket or other fabric.