Cleaner head for a vacuum cleaner

Abstract

A cleaner head for a vacuum cleaner has a housing, an agitator rotatably mounted within the housing, and first and second debris removal members. The first debris removal member is movable relative to the second debris removal member between a first position in which the first) and second debris removal members are spaced apart to define a debris collection channel, and a second position in which the first and second debris removal members are contiguous or overlapping. Movement of the first debris removal member from the first position toward the second position removes debris from the debris collection channel, and movement of the first debris removal member is governed by rotation of the agitator.

1 . A cleaner head for a vacuum cleaner, the cleaner head comprising a housing, an agitator rotatably mounted within the housing, and first and second debris removal members, the first debris removal member being movable relative to the second debris removal member between a first position in which the first and second debris removal members are spaced apart to define a debris collection channel, and a second position in which the first and second debris removal members are contiguous or overlapping, wherein movement of the first debris removal member from the first position toward the second position removes debris from the debris collection channel, and movement of the first debris removal member is governed by rotation of the agitator. 
     
     
         2 . The cleaner head of  claim 1 , wherein the first debris removal member is configured to be in the first position when the agitator rotates at a speed above a pre-determined threshold, and to be in the second position when the agitator rotates at a speed below the pre-determined threshold. 
     
     
         3 . The cleaner head of  claim 2 , wherein the cleaner head comprises a movement mechanism for affecting movement of the first debris removal member between the first and second positions, the movement mechanism affects movement of the first debris removal member from the second position toward the first position when the agitator rotates at a speed above the pre-determined threshold, and the movement mechanism affects movement of the first debris removal member from the first position toward the second position when the agitator rotates at a speed below the pre-determined threshold. 
     
     
         4 . The cleaner head of  claim 3 , wherein the movement mechanism comprises a weight attached to the first debris removal member. 
     
     
         5 . The cleaner head of  claim 1 , wherein the first debris removal member comprises a first debris removal edge, the second debris removal member comprises a second debris removal edge, and the first and second debris removal members are configured such that the first debris removal edge opposes the second debris removal edge when the first debris removal member is in the first position. 
     
     
         6 . The cleaner head of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the first debris removal edge and the second debris removal edge comprises a cutting edge. 
     
     
         7 . The cleaner head of  claim 1 , wherein the first debris removal member is biased toward the second position. 
     
     
         8 . The cleaner head of  claim 1 , wherein the first debris removal member is pivotally mounted to the second debris removal member. 
     
     
         9 . The cleaner head of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second debris removal members are mounted to the agitator at an end of the agitator such that the debris collection channel is located at the end of the agitator. 
     
     
         10 . The cleaner head of  claim 1 , wherein the agitator is configured to migrate debris toward the debris collection channel during rotation of the agitator. 
     
     
         11 . The cleaner head of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second debris removal members are mounted to a common base, and at least a portion of the common base is received within an end of the agitator. 
     
     
         12 . The cleaner head of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second debris removal members are removable from at least one of the cleaner head and the agitator. 
     
     
         13 . The cleaner head of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second debris removal members are removable from the cleaner head independently of the agitator. 
     
     
         14 . The cleaner head of  claim 1 , wherein the cleaner head comprises a first further debris removal member and a second further debris removal member, the first further debris removal member being movable relative to the second further debris removal member between a first position in which the first and second further debris removal members are spaced apart to define a further debris collection channel, and a second position in which the first and second further debris removal members are contiguous or overlapping. 
     
     
         15 . A vacuum cleaner comprising the cleaner head of  claim 1 .