Cleaner head for a vacuum cleaning appliance

Abstract

This invention concerns a cleaner head for a vacuum cleaning appliance, the cleaner head comprising a main body supporting an agitator. The agitator comprises a rotatable cylindrical body bearing an elongate agitator formation for engaging a floor surface as the cylindrical body rotates. The elongate agitator formation includes a first agitator row extending around the cylindrical body from a respective first edge (L) of the cylindrical body towards its centre (C) in a first helical direction and a second agitator row extending around the cylindrical body from a respective second edge (R) of the cylindrical body towards its centre (C) in a second helical direction counter to the first helical direction, wherein the agitator rows meet to define an apex, the apex being positioned closer to the first edge (L) than the second edge (R) or being positioned closer to the second edge (R) than the first edge (L).

1 . A cleaner head for a vacuum cleaning appliance, the cleaner head comprising:
 a main body supporting an agitator, the agitator comprising a rotatable cylindrical body that bears an elongate agitator formation for engaging a surface as the cylindrical body rotates,   wherein the elongate agitator formation includes:   a first agitator row that extends around the cylindrical body in a direction from a respective first edge (L) of the cylindrical body towards a respective second edge (R) in a first helical direction, the first agitator row extending from a position proximate the first edge (L) towards or beyond a centre (C) of the cylindrical body, and a second agitator row that extends around the cylindrical body in a direction from the second edge (R) of the cylindrical body towards the first edge (L) in a second helical direction that is counter to the first helical direction, the second agitator row extending from a position proximate the second edge (R) towards or beyond the centre (C) of the cylindrical body, the first and second agitator rows extend axially along the cylindrical body such that they do not overlap with one another, wherein the first agitator row comprises agitators of a first material and wherein the second agitator row comprises agitators of a second material that is different to the first material;   wherein the first agitator row and second agitator row meet to define an apex; and   wherein the apex is positioned closer to the first edge (L) than the second edge (R) or the apex is positioned closer to the second edge (R) than the first edge (L).   
     
     
         2 . The cleaner head according to  claim 1 , wherein the apex points towards the direction of rotation of the agitator. 
     
     
         3 . The cleaner head according to  claim 1 , wherein the apex points away from the direction of rotation of the agitator. 
     
     
         4 . The cleaner head according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second agitator rows extend from the positions proximate the respective first and second edges (L, R) of the cylindrical body at substantially equal angular positions. 
     
     
         5 . The cleaner head according to  claim 1 , wherein the stiffness of the first material is greater than the stiffness of the second material. 
     
     
         6 . The cleaner head according to  claim 1 , wherein the first material is nylon. 
     
     
         7 . The cleaner head according to  claim 1 , wherein the second material is carbon fibre. 
     
     
         8 . The cleaner head according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second agitator rows circumferentially extend around the cylindrical body once. 
     
     
         9 . The cleaner head according to  claim 1 , wherein the elongate agitator formation comprises a third agitator row that extends around the cylindrical body in a direction from the first edge (L) of the cylindrical body towards the second edge (R) in the first helical direction, the third agitator row extending from a position proximate the first edge (L) towards or beyond the centre (C) and comprising agitators of the second material, and a fourth agitator row that extends around the cylindrical body in a direction from the second edge (R) of the cylindrical body toward the first edge (L) in the second helical direction, the fourth agitator row extending from a position proximate the second edge (R) towards or beyond the centre (C) and comprises agitators of the first material, the third and fourth agitator rows extend axially along the cylindrical body such that they do not overlap with one another. 
     
     
         10 . The cleaner head according to  claim 9 , wherein the third and fourth agitator rows meet to define an apex. 
     
     
         11 . The cleaner head according to  claim 10 , wherein the apex defined by the third and fourth agitator rows is positioned closer to the first edge (L) than the second edge (R) or the apex is positioned closer to the second edge (R) than the first edge (L). 
     
     
         12 . The cleaner head according to  claim 1 , wherein the elongate agitator formation is configured such that, during use, a single point of contact is formed between the floor surface and each of the first and second materials during rotation of the cylindrical body. 
     
     
         13 . A vacuum cleaning appliance comprising the cleaner head according to  claim 1 .