CLEANING ROLLER AND DUST REMOVAL APPARATUS EQUIPPED WITH THE SAME

Abstract

A cleaning roller and a dust removal apparatus equipped with the same, the roller includes a roller member and a pivotal axle portion arranged inside the roller member. The roller member is of a cylindrical shape and includes a hollow space formed therein. A brush covers an outer surface of the roller member, and the pivotal axle portion is arranged inside the hollow space. The roller member is made of a soft material to allow the roller member to be compressed due to an external force exerted thereon and to generate a deformation together with the brush. Accordingly, tangled hair on the brush can be removed easily through the deformation of the soft material, thereby achieving the objective of cleaning.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

[0001] The technical field relates to a cleaning tool, in particular, to a cleaning roller and a dust removal apparatus equipped with such roller.

Description of Related Art

[0002] Interior cleaning is one of the routine household jobs performed daily nowadays. In addition to the general dust removal and cleaning, the removal of falling hair during cleaning typically requires greater effort, and cleaning rollers capable of picking up falling hair during cleaning are often used. Users may exert force manually or use mechanism to roll the cleaning rollers on areas, such as floor, desired for cleaning in order to pick up falling hair with the rollers, thereby achieving the objective of cleaning.

[0003] Nevertheless, since conventional rollers are mostly made of materials with certain rigidity and the hair attached thereon often tangle with each other, the cleaning of such rollers and removal of tangled hair thereon are extremely difficult. Consequently, after a period of time of use, the cleanness and hygiene of such cleaning tool cannot be maintained mostly due to extensive tangled hair attached thereon.

[0004] In view of above, the inventor seeks to overcome the aforementioned drawback associated with the currently existing technology after years of research and development along with the utilization of academic theories, which is also the objective of the development of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a cleaning roller and a dust removal apparatus equipped with the same. The cleaning roller is made of a soft material to allow hair attached or tangled thereon to be removed easily through the deformation of the soft material, thereby achieving the objective of facilitated cleaning thereof.

[0006] To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention provides a cleaning roller, comprising a roller member and a pivotal axle portion arranged inside the roller member. The roller member is of a cylindrical shape and includes a hollow space formed therein, and a brush covers an outer surface of the roller member. The pivotal axle portion is arranged inside the hollow space of the roller member. In addition, the roller member is made a software material to allow the roller member to be compressed due to an external force exerted thereon and to generate a deformation together with the brush.

[0007] To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention provides a dust removal apparatus, such as a vacuum cleaner, cleaning robot or any type of cleaning tool, equipped with the aforementioned cleaning roller installed thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of the roller and supports of the present invention;

[0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective assembly view of the roller and supporters the present invention;

[0010] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an internal structure of the roller and the supporters of the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line 4-4 shown in FIG. 3;

[0012] FIG. 5 is a perspective assembly view of the dust removal apparatus and the roller of the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the roller of the present invention after the use thereof;

[0014] and

[0015] FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the roller of the present invention after the cleaning thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] To facilitate the understanding of the technical features and technical content of the present invention, the following provides a detailed description of the present invention along with the accompanied drawings. However, it shall be understood that the accompanied drawings are provided for reference and illustrative purpose only such that they shall not be treated as limitations of the present invention.

[0017] Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, showing a perspective exploded view, a perspective assembly view and an internal structure schematic view of the roller and supporters of the present invention respectively. The present invention provides a cleaning roller and a dust removal apparatus equipped with such roller. The roller 1 can be applied to various cleaning tools or the aforementioned dust removal apparatus 2 (i.e. as shown in FIG. 5). The dust removal apparatus 2 can be a vacuum cleaner or a cleaning robot. The roller 1 comprises a roller member 10 and pivotal axle portion 11 arranged inside the roller member.

[0018] The roller member 10 is of a cylindrical shape and configured to perform rolling. In addition, the cylindrical roller 10 includes a hollow space 100 formed therein in order to allow a structure, such as a pivotal axle (not shown in the drawings), to be pivotally attached thereto in order to be used in various types of cleaning tools, or to be installed on the aforementioned dust cleaning apparatus 2. A brush 101 covers an outer surface of the roller member 10; therefore, when the roller member 10 is pushed or driven by an external force to roll on an area to be cleaned, the brush 101 is able to pick up dust or hair in order to achieve the objective of cleaning.

[0019] Accordingly, in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the brush 101 can consist of bristles having different softness depending upon the actual application needs. In other words, the brush can, at least, include a first brush portion 101a and a second brush portion 101b; wherein the first brush portion 101a can be softer than the second brush portion 101b. In addition, the outer surface of the roller member 10 can be reserved or formed of a slot 102 having no brush formed thereon in order to be used for the purpose of dust collection. Furthermore, the slot 102 can be of a "V" or "U" shape, or it can be formed of a wave shape or a plurality of spiral lines. Moreover, it can also be configured to match with the rolling direction.

[0020] Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. The pivotal axle portion 11 is arranged inside the hollow space 100 of the aforementioned roller member 10, and it can be pivotally attached onto any type of cleaning tool or the aforementioned dust removal apparatus 2. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the pivotal axle portion 11 can include an axle sleeve 110 and a plurality of connecting ribs 111 formed to extend from the axle sleeve 110 and connected to an internal of the roller member 10. Furthermore, the axle sleeve 110 can include at least one key groove 112 provided for the positioning and alignment of the pivotal axle pivotally attached thereon. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5, the roller 1 can then be installed onto a cleaning tool or device, such as the aforementioned dust removal apparatus 2 mentioned above.

[0021] After the roller 1 is used on the aforementioned dust removal apparatus 2 or a cleaning tool, as shown in FIG. 6, the brush 101 of the roller 1 is able to pick up dirt objects including dust and hair attached thereon. However, due to messy and tangled hair thereon, the brush 101 may not be cleaned easily. As the present invention mainly utilizes a roller member 10 made of a soft material, and such soft material can be, such as, rubber, the roller member 10 can be compressed with a deformation under an external force exerted thereon, and the brush 101 covering the outer surface of the roller member 10 can also deform accordingly. Consequently, the tangled hair on the brush 101 can be separated from the brush 101 easily in such way that when an external force is exerted onto the dirt objects, such as hair, along an axial direction of the roller member 10 thereon, such dirt objects can be removed from the brush 101 easily, thereby achieving the objective of facilitated cleaning. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 7, the present invention can also use a removal tool 13 to perform the dirt object removal. The removal tool 13 can be a cylindrical member, and it includes an insertion hole 130 provided to allow the roller 1 to be inserted therein. The aperture "d" of the insertion hole 130 is greater than an outer diameter of the roller 10 but smaller than an outer diameter of the brush 101. Accordingly, when the roller 1 is inserted into the insertion hole 130, it is able to remove the tangled hair on the brush 101.

[0022] In addition, please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3. The present invention can also further include a plurality of supporters 12 additionally formed inside the hollow space 100 of the roller member 10. The plurality of supporters 12 can also be made of a rubber or sponge material and can be arranged at two sides of the pivotal axle portion 11 respectively. In addition, the pivotal axle portion 11 can also be integrally formed with the roller member 10; in other words, the pivotal axle portion 11 can also be made of a soft material. Moreover, the connecting ribs 111 can have a bending profile in order to increase the extent of bending during the deformation caused by the external force exerted on the roller member 10.

[0023] In view of the above, with the aforementioned structure and configuration, a cleaning roller and a dust removal apparatus equipped with the same of the present invention can be achieved.

[0024] Accordingly, the preset invention is able to achieve the objectives of the present invention and overcoming the drawbacks of the known arts. Furthermore, the present invention is of novelty and inventive step such that it satisfies the patentability for an invention patent. Patent application is hereby filed according to the laws for the grant of the patent rights in light of protecting the rights of the inventor.

[0025] The above describes the preferable and feasible exemplary embodiments of the present invention for illustrative purposes only, which shall not be treated as limitations of the scope of the present invention. Any equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the claims of the present invention shall be considered to be within the scope of the claim of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cleaning roller comprising: a roller member having a cylindrical shape and a hollow space formed therein, and a brush covering an outer surface of the roller member; and a pivotal axle portion arranged inside the hollow space of the roller member; wherein the roller member is made a software material to allow the roller member to be compressed due to an external force exerted thereon and to generate a deformation together with the brush.

2. The cleaning roller according to claim 1, wherein the hollow space of the roller member includes a plurality of supporters formed therein and arranged at two sides of the pivotal axle portion respectively.

3. The cleaning roller according to claim 2, wherein the supporters are made a rubber or sponge material.

4. The cleaning roller according to claim 1, wherein the brush comprises a first brush portion and a second brush portion, and the first brush portion is softer than the second brush portion.

5. The cleaning roller according to claim 4, wherein the outer surface of the roller member includes a slot formed and reserved thereon.

6. The cleaning roller according to claim 5, wherein the slot is of a "V" or "U" shape, or is formed by a wave shape or a plurality of spiral lines.

7. The cleaning roller according to claim 1, wherein the pivotal axle portion is integrally formed with the roller member.

8. The cleaning roller according to claim 1, wherein the pivotal axle portion includes an axle sleeve and a plurality of connecting ribs formed to extend from the axle sleeve and connected to an internal of the roller member.

9. The cleaning roller according to claim 1, further comprising a removal tool, and the removal tool includes an insertion hole provided for the roller to be inserted therein; an aperture of the insertion hole is greater than an outer diameter of the roller member but smaller than an outer diameter of the brush.

10. A dust removal apparatus, comprising a cleaning roller according to claim 1.