Vacuum cleaner brush roll

Abstract

An autonomous cleaning robot having a body, a driving means configured to move the robot in a forward direction over a surface being cleaned, a suction opening arranged at an underside of the body, and a roller arranged at the underside of the body and in front of the suction opening, relative the forward direction. The roller is configured to define a front air passageway at the surface, and comprises bristles arranged to form a front air barrier restricting an air flow in the front air passageway. The front air barrier is configured to be substantially uniform over an entire turn of the roller, wherein the bristles are further arranged to direct the air flow towards a particle passing by the roller, and further into the suction opening.

1 . An autonomous cleaning robot, comprising:
 a body;   a driving means configured to move the robot in a forward direction over a surface being cleaned;   a suction opening arranged at an underside of the body; and   a roller arranged at the underside of the body and in front of the suction opening, relative the forward direction;   wherein:   the roller is configured to define a front air passageway at the surface being cleaned; and   the roller comprises bristles arranged to form a front air barrier restricting an air flow in the front air passageway, the front air barrier being configured to be substantially uniform over an entire turn of the roller, wherein the bristles are further arranged to direct the air flow towards a particle passing by the roller, and further into the suction opening.   
     
     
         2 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 1 , wherein the bristles are distributed such that the number of bristles pointing towards the surface are distributed over a length portion of the roller corresponding to at least 50% of a total length of the roller. 
     
     
         3 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 1 , wherein the bristles are uniformly distributed over substantially an entire envelope surface of the roller. 
     
     
         4 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 1 , wherein the bristles are arranged with a density of 1 000-20 000 bristles per cm 2 . 
     
     
         5 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 1 , further comprising a sealing edge arranged behind the suction opening, relative the forward direction, and configured to be spaced from the surface so as to define a rear air passageway between the surface and the sealing edge. 
     
     
         6 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 5 , wherein the sealing edge is arranged such that a flow resistance of the rear air passageway is higher than a flow resistance of the front air passageway. 
     
     
         7 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 5 , wherein a clearance between the surface and the sealing edge is smaller than, or equal to, a clearance between the surface and the body in front of the suction opening, relative the forward direction. 
     
     
         8 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 7 , wherein the clearance between the sealing edge and the surface is 0-7 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 1 , further comprising a roller housing having an inner surface, wherein the inner surface is arranged to partly surround the roller, along a portion of the roller facing away from the surface being cleaned, to form an upper air passageway with the roller, the upper air passageway having a higher flow resistance than the front air passageway. 
     
     
         10 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 1 , wherein the roller is rotatable such that a portion of its envelope surface facing the surface to be cleaned is moved towards the suction opening. 
     
     
         11 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the bristles protrude from a surface of a core of the roller,   the core has a diameter in the range of 8-40 mm, and   the bristles have a length in the range of 3-15 mm.   
     
     
         12 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 1 , wherein the roller is arranged in the front third of the body, as seen in the forward direction. 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 11 , wherein the core has a diameter in the range of 15-25 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 11 , wherein the bristles have a length in the range of 3-10 mm. 
     
     
         16 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 11 , wherein the bristles have a length in the range of 3-7 mm. 
     
     
         17 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 1 , wherein the bristles are arranged with a density of 10 000-18 000 bristles per cm 2 . 
     
     
         18 . The autonomous cleaning robot according to  claim 1 , wherein the bristles are arranged with a density of 12 000-17 000 bristles per cm 2 .