Vacuum cleaner having a controllable cleaning brush

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner comprises a suction port assembly having a suction inlet, a rotatable drum, a driving pulley that drives the rotatable drum, a driven pulley that is driven by a motor and a free-wheeling idler pulley that can rotate irrespective of the driven pulley. A drive belt between the motor and the driven pulley can be moved off the driven pulley and onto the free-wheeling idler pulley. When the drive belt from the motor rides on the idler pulley, the rotatable drum is disconnected from the motor, allowing it to stop. The drive belt is move onto and off of the idler pulley by a user-operable two-position guide member. In a first position, the drive belt is connected to the driven pulley. In the second position, the drive belt is directed onto the free-wheeling idler pulley. A user of the vacuum cleaner can selectively activate and deactivate the rotatable drum during cleaning thereby saving power, reducing wear on the rotating drum and its bristles and reducing noise.

1 . A vacuum cleaner comprising: 
 a suction port assembly body having a suction inlet for drawing in dust on a surface being cleaned and connected to a body of the vacuum cleaner such that the suction inlet is fluidly communicated with the cleaner body;    a rotatable drum mounted in the assembly body;    a driven pulley that is connected to and drives the rotatable drum;    a free-wheeling idler pulley that rotates freely with respect to the driven pulley;    a driving source that supplies rotational power;    a first drive belt that delivers the rotational power from the driving source to at least one of the driven pulley and the free-wheeling idler pulley;    a guide member that moves between a first position and a second position, said guide member first position directing the first drive belt onto the driven pulley, said guide member second position directing the first drive belt onto the free-wheeling idler pulley.    
   
   
       2 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , further comprising a cam member, rotatably mounted in the suction port assembly body to move the guide member between said first and the second positions.  
   
   
       3 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 2 , further comprising a return unit for biasing the guide member toward at least one of the first position and the second position.  
   
   
       4 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 3 , wherein the return unit comprises a resilient spring.  
   
   
       5 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 4 , wherein the resilient spring member extends from the guide member to an inner wall of the suction port assembly body.  
   
   
       6 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 5 , wherein the guide member and the resilient spring member are plastic and integrally formed by molding.  
   
   
       7 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , further comprising a rotation knob which includes: 
 a handle part rotatably mounted in a mounting hole of the suction port assembly body and exposed to the outside of the suction port assembly body; and    a cam member disposed in contact with the suction port assembly body.    
   
   
       8 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 7 , wherein one of the mounting hole and the rotation knob comprises at least two fixing grooves, and the other one of the mounting hole and the rotation knob comprises a fixing projection elastically inserted in one of the at least two fixing grooves when the rotation knob is rotated to a predetermined position.  
   
   
       9 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a middle shaft having an axis and being rotatably mounted in the suction port assembly between the rotatable drum and the driving source, said driven pulley and said free-wheeling idler pulley rotating about the axis of said middle shaft; and    a second drive belt delivering a rotational power of the driven pulley of the middle shaft.    
   
   
       10 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 9 , wherein the guide member is slidably mounted within the suction port assembly body to enable the guide member to move between the first and the second positions.  
   
   
       11 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 10 , further comprising: 
 a cleaner body pivotably connected to the suction port assembly body;    a projection protruded from a portion of the cleaner body, the portion adjacent to the suction port assembly body; and    an auxiliary guide member for moving the guide member between its first and second positions when the cleaner body moves between its own first and second positions.    
   
   
       12 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 11 , wherein the auxiliary guide member comprises: 
 an auxiliary guide body slidably mounted within the suction port assembly body; and    an auxiliary guide projection projected from a side of the auxiliary guide body to come into contact with the guide member when the cleaner body is substantially upright.    
   
   
       13 . A suction port assembly connected to a cleaner body for fluid communication to draw in dust on a surface being cleaned upon driving of a vacuum cleaner, the suction port assembly comprising: 
 a suction port assembly body having a suction inlet for drawing in dust on a surface being cleaned and connected to the cleaner body such that the suction inlet is fluidly communicated with the cleaner body;    a rotatable drum mounted in the assembly body to rotate;    a driven pulley, operatively connected to the rotatable drum;    an idler pulley rotating irrespective of the driven pulley;    a driving source for supplying rotation power to the rotatable drum;    a first drive belt for coupling rotational power from the driving source to one of the driven pulley and the idler pulley;    a guide member having a guide part moved between a first position and a second position, the first position being where the first drive belt rides over the driven pulley and the second position being where the first drive belt rides over the idler pulley; and    a cam, operatively coupled to the the suction port assembly body, said cam operating to move the guide member between the first and the second positions.    
   
   
       14 . The suction port assembly of  claim 13 , further comprising a resilient spring member for biasing the guide member toward at least one of the first and the second positions.  
   
   
       15 . The suction port assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the resilient spring member is extended from the guide member and contacts an inner wall of the suction port assembly body.  
   
   
       16 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 13 , further comprising a rotation knob which includes: 
 a handle part rotatably mounted in a mounting hole of the suction port assembly body and exposed out of the suction port assembly body; and    the cam disposed in contact with the suction port assembly body.    
   
   
       17 . The suction port assembly of  claim 13 , further comprising: 
 a middle shaft rotatably mounted between the rotatable drum and the driving source in the suction port assembly body and comprising the driven pulley and the idler pulley;    wherein, when the driven pulley is driven in connection with the first drive belt, the rotatable drum is driven by rotational power at the middle shaft transmitted through a second drive belt.    
   
   
       18 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 17 , wherein the guide member is slidably mounted within the suction port assembly body to enable the guide part to move between the first and the second positions.