EP0163772B1 - Vacuum cleaner nozzle - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a vacuum cleaner mouthpiece which is pivotally articulated with its housing outside the effective suction surface of its mouthpiece sole on a roller support body arranged in relation to the working direction behind the mouthpiece sole and resting on the surface to be cleaned, and which has at least one height-adjustable brush strip on which mouthpiece furthermore at least one thread lifter is arranged.

Such a vacuum cleaner mouthpiece is known from DE-A-2 846 847. The mouthpiece is tiltably attached to a pair of wheels so that the sole of the mouthpiece can rest freely on the surface to be cleaned. When vacuuming, the sole of the mouthpiece is raised in accordance with the height-adjustable brush strips on this mouthpiece sole by means of height-adjustable brush strips arranged on its two longitudinal sides and guided over the hard floor at a short distance. In addition to this lifting of the mouthpiece sole, there is no further possibility in the known vacuum cleaner mouthpiece to bring it into a suction position adapted to the particular nature of the base surface to be extracted.

From GB-A-729 508 a vacuum cleaner mouthpiece is also known in which a support surface is rigidly connected to a mouthpiece sole containing a suction channel. In the suction channel of this mouthpiece, a thread lifter is arranged such that it can be adjusted in height so that it can be brought into and out of engagement with the surface to be suctioned off. The thread lifter can be locked in either of the two positions.

In a vacuum cleaner mouthpiece known from FR-A-1 553 846, skids are provided as a support surface on the two narrow sides of the mouthpiece within the contour of the mouthpiece housing. A height-adjustable brush is arranged inside the mouthpiece housing behind the suction channel, which brush can be extended and retracted by actuating an adjusting lever. Through the actuation mechanism of the brush, a thread lifter attached in front of the suction channel can also be adjusted in height. The brush and thread lifter are adjusted in opposite directions.

The invention has for its object to design a vacuum cleaner mouthpiece of the type described above so that it can be adjusted according to the nature of the floor surface to be cleaned in such a way that the best possible cleaning effect is achieved.

The solution to the problem is achieved according to the invention in that a brush strip is provided only in front of the front working edge of the mouthpiece sole and a support surface or several separate support surfaces lying laterally to one another are arranged in a height-adjustable manner between the mouthpiece sole and the roller body, in addition that the thread lifter with or the support surfaces can be uncoupled and can be locked in a raised position relative to the support surface or surfaces by means of a locking member. The fact that, in addition to the brush strip, the support surfaces and the thread lifter are height-adjustable, the suction behavior of the mouthpiece can be varied to a greater extent, so that good cleaning results can be achieved with one and the same mouthpiece on different floor surfaces.

The height adjustment of the brush strip arranged in front of the front working edge of the mouthpiece sole is achieved in a structurally simple manner in that the brush strip is arranged on a rocker arm pivotally mounted in the rear region of the mouthpiece housing, which can be pivoted by means of an adjusting element provided on the mouthpiece housing and can be locked in the respective position .

A simple, height-adjustable arrangement of the support surfaces and a decouplable connection of the thread lifter with these support surfaces is provided in that the support surfaces are guided vertically by means of a rod-shaped or tubular extension in a correspondingly designed receptacle of the mouthpiece housing and their height is adjustable by means of an adjusting member provided on the mouthpiece housing are that, furthermore, a bar carrying the thread lifter is held by spring force in abutment on a back surface of the support surfaces and can be lifted from this back surface against the spring force by means of a locking member which can be actuated from the outside.

The adjustment of the brush strip, the support surface and the thread lifter can be carried out with a single adjustment element if this is coupled to an adjustment shaft on which axially offset eccentric elements for adjusting the rocker and support surfaces and for locking the thread lifter are arranged.

The adjustment and locking of the brush strip in the respective position is carried out with simple means in that the rocker is assigned an eccentric element consisting of two axially offset eccentric disks, the first eccentric disk with a first stop plate arranged above the adjusting shaft on the rocker and the second eccentric disk interacts with a stop plate arranged below the adjusting shaft on the rocker. A separate manufacture and assembly of the stop tabs can be avoided in that a window-like opening is provided on the rocker arm through which the adjusting shaft is guided, with a first stop bracket and protruding on one side of the rocker arm protruding from the edge of this opening above the adjusting shaft on the edge below the adjusting shaft there is a second protruding to the other side of the rocker Stop tab is bent.

The height adjustment and locking of the support surfaces at the respective height is achieved by assigning each support surface to an eccentric arranged on the adjusting shaft, which has two eccentric cams offset in the circumferential direction by 90 ° and in the plane of a vertical side wall connected to the respective support surface provided opening is located, the lower and upper boundary are designed as engagement points for the eccentric cam.

The thread lifter is uncoupled from the support surfaces in that a single eccentric cam on the adjusting shaft is axially offset relative to the eccentric for the support surfaces and is arranged in the circumferential direction opposite one of the two eccentric cams of the eccentric for the support surfaces and on the bar carrying the thread lifter one with the individual Eccentric cam interacting axial projection is provided.

A fixed assignment of the different positions of the brush strip, support surfaces and thread lifter is achieved in that the adjusting shaft can only be actuated in one direction of rotation by means of the adjusting element, that the first eccentric disc has two eccentric cams opposite each other by 180 ° and the second eccentric disc one by 90 ° with respect to the eccentric cams of the first eccentric cam offset cam that further, with respect to the direction of rotation of the adjusting shaft, the two eccentric cam of the eccentric for the bearing surfaces lag the eccentric cam of the second eccentric disk by 180 ° and 270 ° and the single eccentric cam forming the locking member for the thread lifter the eccentric cam of the second Eccentric disc lags 90 °. In this way, the vacuum cleaner mouthpiece is pre-programmed for several different settings. The corresponding settings can be selected by actuating the adjustment element.

Characterized in that the pivotally mounted on the mouthpiece housing and resiliently resettable adjusting element is connected to a gear segment which is in engagement with a toothed pinion arranged on the adjusting shaft and freewheeling in the direction of rotation with respect to the adjusting shaft, actuation of the adjusting element with the foot is made possible because the adjustment element only has to be pressed down. This also results in an adjustment of the adjusting shaft in only one direction of rotation.

The taking of an intermediate position of the adjusting shaft in the event of incomplete depression of the adjusting element is prevented in that the adjusting shaft is designed as an equilateral square at one point on its circumference and a leaf spring lies flat on at least one side of the square.

A common guide for the height-adjustable support surfaces and the likewise height-adjustable thread lifter results from the fact that the rod-shaped or tubular extension of the support surfaces is guided inside in a pipe socket provided on the mouthpiece housing and the bar of the thread lifter with a hollow socket molded onto it on the outside of the pipe socket and a helical spring which is supported at one end on the mouthpiece housing and at the other end on the bar is arranged on the hollow connector. Through the pipe socket provided on the mouthpiece housing, both the contact surfaces and the thread lifter are guided during vertical adjustment.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the height adjustment of the brush bar, the thread lifter and the support surfaces can also be carried out by providing a first, assigned to the brush bar and a second, assigned to the thread lifter, each extending vertically, horizontally adjustable control slide, each of which at least has a control slot, the control path of which runs between an upper and a lower height, that in the control slot of the first control slide a pin provided on a support tab connected to the brush strip and in the control slot of the second control slide a pin provided on a support link connected to the thread lifter is that the support surfaces are also connected to a horizontally extending, vertically adjustable support bar, on which at least one control path extending between an upper and a lower height is provided, with which this is under spring force on a control cam of a third, horizontally adjustable control slide. With such a constructive design of the mouthpiece, the horizontal displacement path of the individual control slides is converted directly into a vertical adjustment path.

In such a mouthpiece, the different positions of the brush bar, thread lifter and support surfaces can be predetermined to one another by combining the three control spools by means of connecting parts to form a single control part, the first control spool on one and the second control spool on the other long side of the third Control spool are arranged and the control part is horizontally displaceably guided by provided on the connecting parts and on the mouthpiece housing, interlocking guide grooves and rails and adjustable by means of an adjusting element arranged on the mouthpiece housing. By adjusting the control part, the individual functional parts of the vacuum cleaner mouthpiece are each brought into a position which is determined by the geometry of the individual control slides connected to one another.

The control part can be adjusted by means of a sliding key connected to it or also by the fact that a rotary knob is provided which arranges one with one on the control part th rack interacting gear.

A tilt-proof arrangement of the support bar bearing the support surfaces results from the fact that on both sides of the support bar in the longitudinal direction of the support bar spaced control tracks are provided and a control cam is arranged on the third control slide for each control track.

The fact that two control slots spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the control slides are provided on the first and second control slides means that any further fastening and guide elements for the brush strip and the thread lifter are eliminated.

• Fig. 1 eine Ansicht der Unterseite eines Staubsaugermundstückes nach der Erfindung,
• Fig. 2 eine Draufsicht dieses Mundstückes bei abgenommener Abdeckung,
• Fig. 3 einen Querschnitt des Mundstückes entlang der Linie lll-lll in Fig. 2,
• Fig. 4 die Anordnung eines Verstellelementes am Mundstückgehäuse in einem Teilschnitt entlang der Linie IV-IV in Fig. 2,
• Fig. 5 die verschwenkbare Anordnung einer die Bürstenleiste tragenden Schwinge in einem Teilschnitt entlang der Linie V-V in Fig. 2,
• Fig. 6 die Anordnung nach Fig. 5 in einem Teilschnitt entlang der Linie VI-VI in Fig. 5,
• Fig. 7 die verschwenkbare Anordnung der Schwinge in einem Teilschnitt entlang der Linie VII-VII in Fig. 2,
• Fig. 8 die senkrechte Führung der höhenverstellbaren Auflageflächen und des Fadenhebers in einem Teilschnitt entlang der Linie VIII-VIII in Fig. 2,
• Fig. 9 die Führung nach Fig. 8 im Schnitt entlang der Linie IX-IX in Fig. 8,
• Fig. 10 die Anordnung einer Blattfeder an der in einem Teilbereich als Vierkant ausgebildeten Verstellwelle im Schnitt,
• Fig. 11 ein Staubsaugermundstück im Querschnitt, bei dem zur Höhenverstellung der einzelnen Elemente Steuerschieber vorgesehen sind,
• Fig. 12 einen Teilschnitt dieses Mundstückes entlang der Linie XII-XII in Fig. 11,
• Fig. 13 einen Teilschnitt dieses Mundstückes entlang der Linie XIII-XIII in Fig. 11,
• Fig. 14 einen Schnitt dieses Mundstückes entlang der Linie XIV-XIV in Fig. 11.

The subject of the application is described in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments shown in the drawing. It shows

• 1 is a view of the underside of a vacuum cleaner mouthpiece according to the invention,
• 2 is a plan view of this mouthpiece with the cover removed,
• 3 shows a cross section of the mouthpiece along the line III-III in FIG. 2,
• 4 shows the arrangement of an adjusting element on the mouthpiece housing in a partial section along the line IV-IV in FIG. 2,
• 5 shows the pivotable arrangement of a rocker arm carrying the brush strip in a partial section along the line VV in FIG. 2,
• 6 shows the arrangement according to FIG. 5 in a partial section along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5,
• 7 shows the pivotable arrangement of the rocker in a partial section along the line VII-VII in FIG. 2,
• 8 shows the vertical guidance of the height-adjustable support surfaces and the thread lifter in a partial section along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 2,
• 9 shows the guide according to FIG. 8 in section along the line IX-IX in FIG. 8,
• 10 shows the arrangement of a leaf spring on the adjusting shaft designed as a square in a partial area, in section,
• 11 a cross-section of a vacuum cleaner mouthpiece in which control slides are provided for height adjustment of the individual elements,
• 12 is a partial section of this mouthpiece along the line XII-XII in Fig. 11,
• 13 is a partial section of this mouthpiece along the line XIII-XIII in Fig. 11,
• 14 shows a section of this mouthpiece along the line XIV-XIV in FIG. 11.

With 1 the housing of a vacuum cleaner mouthpiece is designated, which has a suction channel 2 on its mouthpiece sole. Two height-adjustable support surfaces 3 are provided on the mouthpiece, which are arranged behind the suction channel 2 with respect to the working direction of the mouthpiece. Outside the mouthpiece sole, a pair of rollers 4 is rotatably mounted behind it as a support body on the suction nozzle 5 connected to the suction channel 2. In front of the front working edge 6, a brush strip 7 is arranged such that it can be adjusted in height. The brush strip 7 is designed as a thread lifter 8 over part of its length. On the rear longitudinal side of the mouthpiece there is also a height-adjustable thread lifter 9 which extends over the entire length of the mouthpiece and which only has cutouts for the bearing surfaces 3.

The brush strip 7 is fastened to a rocker 10 which is pivotably mounted in the rear region of the mouthpiece housing 1. The rocker arm 10 and thus the height adjustment of the brush strip 7 are adjusted by means of an eccentric element 11, which is arranged on a twist-proof shaft 14 and has a first and second eccentric disk 12 and 13, which are axially spaced on the adjusting shaft 14. A window-like opening 15 is stamped on the rocker arm 10, on the longitudinal edge of which the rocker arm 10 is adjacent, a first stop tab 16 is bent in the axial direction of the adjusting shaft 14, which is guided through the window-like opening 15. On the opposite longitudinal edge of the window-like opening 15, a second stop plate 17 is bent axially opposite to the first stop plate 16. The two eccentric discs 12 and 13 are arranged on the displacement shaft 14 in such a way that the first eccentric disc 12 with its eccentric cams 12a and 12b cooperates with the first stop lug 16 and the second eccentric disc 13 with its eccentric cam 13a with the second stop lug 17. Such eccentric discs can also be assigned to the other arm of the rocker 10, so that tilting of the rocker 10 as a result of one-sided actuation is avoided.

5 and 7 show, two eccentric cams 12a and 12b are arranged opposite one another on the first eccentric disk 12. In contrast, only one eccentric cam 13a is provided on the second eccentric disk 13, which is offset by 90 ° in the circumferential direction with respect to the eccentric cams 12a and 12b of the first eccentric disk 12. It is assumed that the adjustment shaft 14 is rotated by 90 ° each time it is actuated. 5, the first stop tab 16 rests on one flat part of the first eccentric disk 12. This allows the rocker 10 to tilt down and the brush strip 7 protrudes downward from the mouthpiece housing 1. The brush strip 7 is due to its own weight or possibly also by the force of a spring acting on it on the surface to be extracted and can be lifted up against its own weight or against the spring force at any time, since between the lower longitudinal side of the window-like opening 15 and the the two eccentric discs and 13 connecting the middle part 18 there is a distance 19 by which a swinging of the rocker 10 is made possible.

The adjustment shaft 14 is by means of an adjustment element designed as a step button 20, on which there is a toothed pinion 21 which is arranged on the adjustment shaft 14 and is freewheeling in the direction of rotation engaging gear segment 22 is formed, adjusted by 90 ° clockwise, then the eccentric cam 12a of the first eccentric disc 12 abuts the first stop plate 16 and presses the rocker 10 upward. The brush bar 12 is thus raised and kept out of engagement. With a further rotation by 90 °, the eccentric cam 13a of the second eccentric disk 13 abuts the second stop plate 17 and presses the rocker 10 downward. The brush strip 7 is thereby in its extended position and is held rigidly in this position by the eccentric cam 13a abutting the second stop lug 17. After a further 90 ° rotation, the rocker 10 is pressed upwards again by the eccentric cam 12b of the first eccentric disk 12 and the brush strip 7 is thus held in its raised position. The starting position is reached again with the next 90 ° rotation.

The adjustment by 90 ° each time the pedal button 20 is actuated is achieved by a corresponding transmission ratio between the pinion 21 and the gear segment 22 connected to the pedal button 20. If the adjustment angle of the step button 20 is 45 °, for example, an adjustment angle of 90 ° on the adjustment shaft 14 is achieved by a ratio of 1: 2. In order to avoid an intermediate position of the adjusting shaft 14 when the kick button 20 is not fully depressed, it is designed as a square 23 at least at one point and a leaf spring 24 is brought into abutment on one side of the square 23. Through this leaf spring 24, the adjustment shaft 14 in case of insufficient operation of the Trittaste 20 either back into the old STEL ^- lung back or forwarded to the new position depending on whether the adjusting been more displaced than 45 ° when actuating the Trittaste 20 less or is.

The height adjustment of the support surfaces 3 and of the thread lifter 9 arranged behind the suction channel 2 can be carried out by means of separate adjusting elements or also in combination with the adjusting shaft 14. In the exemplary embodiment shown, further eccentric elements for adjusting the height of the support surfaces 3 and the thread lifter 9 are provided on the adjusting shaft 14. When the adjusting shaft 14 is actuated, these parts of the mouthpiece are thus simultaneously adjusted with the brush strip 7.

The contact surfaces 3 are provided with a rod-shaped or tubular extension 25 which is guided vertically in a pipe socket 26 which is formed as a receptacle and is molded onto the mouthpiece housing 1. The pipe socket 26 can have a round or square cross section. In the vertical side walls 27 and 28 of the support surfaces 3, an opening 29 is provided, in the plane of which an eccentric 30, which is connected to the adjustment shaft 14 and is associated with the relevant support surface 3, is arranged in a rotationally fixed manner. The opening 29 is designed so that the eccentric 30 with its eccentric cam 31 comes to rest against the upper or lower edge of the opening 29, so that the bearing surfaces 3 are either raised or pressed down. In the illustrated embodiment, the eccentric cam 31 is designed as a double cam, i. H. two cams immediately follow one another at a distance of 90 °. When the support surfaces 3 are pressed downwards, they are adjusted downwards from the level of the mouthpiece sole and protrude above this level. The mouthpiece sole is therefore no longer on the surface to be suctioned off, but is kept at a short distance above this surface by the contact surfaces 3.

The two vertical side walls 27 and 28 are connected to one another via a back surface 32, on which the tubular extension 25 is also molded. In the area of the back surface 32 protruding laterally from the tubular extension 25 there is a bar 33 carrying the thread lifter 9. On the bar 33, a hollow socket 34 is provided, which is pushed over the pipe socket 26. The pipe socket 26 thus also serves for the vertical guidance of the thread lifter 9. By means of a compression spring 35, which is supported with its one end 35a on the mouthpiece housing 1 and with its other end 35b on the bar 33, the bar 33 is in contact with the back surface 32 held.

In addition, an axial projection 36 is formed on the strip 33, to which a single eccentric cam 37, which is also connected non-rotatably to the adjusting shaft 14, is assigned. This single eccentric cam 37 is axially offset relative to the eccentric 30 for the bearing surfaces 3 on the adjusting shaft 14 and lies opposite one of the two eccentric cams 31 in the circumferential direction. This ensures that in the one position, in which the bearing surfaces 3 are adjusted downward, the thread lifter 9 is raised by the individual eccentric cam 37, which in this position is then in engagement with the axial projection 36. In the other positions, the thread lifter 9 assumes the position of the support surfaces 3, since it rests freely on the back surface 32 and thus carries out the respective adjustment movement of the support surfaces 3.

• Stellung I :
  • a) Bürstenleiste 7 federnd ausgefahren, d. h. die Bürstenleiste kann nach oben zurückschwingen,
  • b) Auflageflächen 3 starr ausgefahren,
  • c) Fadenheber 9 federnd ausgefahren, d. h. gegen die Kraft der Druckfeder nach oben beweglich.
• Stellung 11
  • a) Bürstenleiste 7 angehoben,
  • b) Auflagefläche 3 starr ausgefahren,
  • c) Fadenheber 9 angehoben.
• Stellung 111 :
  • a) Bürstenleiste 7 starr ausgefahren,
  • b) Auflageflächen 3 angehoben,
  • c) Fadenheber 9 angehoben.
• Stellung IV :
  • a) Bürstenleiste 7 angehoben,
  • b) Auflageflächen 3 angehoben,
  • c) Fadenheber 9 angehoben.

As already mentioned, the various eccentric cams for actuating the brush strips 7, the support surfaces 3 and the thread lifter 9 are arranged on a common adjusting shaft 14. Through the appropriate arrangement of these eccentric cams in the circumferential direction, a fixed program can be provided for the adjustment of the individual parts. In the mouthpiece described in the exemplary embodiment, the following four position combinations of brush strip 7, contact surfaces 3 and thread lifter 9 are possible:

• Position I:
  • a) brush strip 7 is extended in a resilient manner, ie the brush strip can swing back upwards,
  • b) support surfaces 3 extended rigidly,
  • c) thread lifter 9 extended, ie movable upwards against the force of the compression spring.
• Position 11
  • a) brush strip 7 raised,
  • b) support surface 3 extended rigidly,
  • c) Thread lifter 9 raised.
• Position 111:
  • a) brush strip 7 extended rigidly,
  • b) contact surfaces 3 raised,
  • c) Thread lifter 9 raised.
• Position IV:
  • a) brush strip 7 raised,
  • b) contact surfaces 3 raised,
  • c) Thread lifter 9 raised.

The individual positions of the vacuum cleaner mouthpiece are selected according to the nature of the surface to be vacuumed, in order to achieve the best possible cleaning result with the respective nature.

In position I, in particular, fluff and threads are released from the carpet surface to be vacuumed, the pushing force being kept relatively low by the movable suspension of the brush strip and thread lifter.

Position 11 allows vacuuming with minimal pushing force and position 111 is used for vacuuming hard surfaces.

An intensive suction effect is achieved with position IV, since the suction channel lies directly on the carpet surface to be vacuumed and can therefore penetrate the carpet pile.

In the exemplary embodiment of a vacuum cleaner mouthpiece shown in FIGS. 11 to 14, axially adjustable control slides are provided, the axial adjustment of which is implemented by means of corresponding control slots in a vertical adjustment of the parts coupled to them.

A first control slide 40 is arranged above the brush strip 7 on the front of the mouthpiece housing 1. As the view of this first control slide 40 shown in FIG. 12 shows, it has two control slots 41 spaced apart in its longitudinal direction. The control path of these control slots 41 runs between an upper and lower height 42 and 43. Four control positions of the control slide 40 are indicated by A, B, C and D. In the control position A, the control path runs in the vertical direction through a slot-like configuration 44 of the control slot 41. In each control slot 41 a pin 46 provided on a support bracket 45 connected to the brush strip 7 protrudes, so that the brush strip 7 is suspended on the control slide 40. The brush strip 7 is guided in a shaft 47 of the mouthpiece housing 1, so that the pins 46 cannot slip out of the control slot 41.

In the control position A, the pins 46 are at the lower height 43 of the control track. The brush strip is thus extended downwards out of the mouthpiece housing 1. Your lower edge protrudes downwards beyond the level of the mouthpiece sole. As a result of the elongated hole-like configuration 44, the pins 46 can deflect upward, so that the brush strip 7 is pushed upwards when the mouthpiece is placed on the surface to be extracted and then rests on the surface to be extracted due to its own weight or, if appropriate, also by spring force and spring back upwards can.

In control position B, the control path of the control slots 41 reaches the upper height 42. The brush strip 7 is thus raised when the control slide 40 is moved and no longer touches the surface to be extracted. The pin 46, the diameter of which is adapted to the width of the control slot 41, can now no longer perform vertical movements, so that the brush strip 7 is held rigidly in the respective position.

In the control position C, the control path of the control slots 41 runs at the lower height 43. In this position, the brush strip 7 is extended downward from the mouthpiece housing. Since the pins 46 are guided in the control slots 41 without any significant play, the brush strip 7 is held rigidly in the extended position. The soleplate sole is thus raised somewhat by the brush strip 7 in relation to the surface to be suctioned off. This position of the brush strip 7 is selected when vacuuming hard floors.

In the control position D, the control path of the control slots 41 is guided upwards again to the upper height 42. In this control position, the brush strip 7 is raised again as in the control position B.

A second control slide 48 (FIG. 14), which has two control slots 49 spaced apart from one another in its longitudinal direction, is arranged in the mouthpiece housing 1 behind the suction channel 2. In these control slots 49, pins 51 provided on the support tabs 50 connected to the thread lifter 9 engage, so that the thread lifter 9 is carried by the control slide 48. The control path of the control slots 49 likewise runs between an upper and lower height 52 and 53, wherein in the control position A the control path again runs in the vertical direction through an elongated hole-like configuration 54 of the control slot 49. In the other control positions B, C and D, the control path of the second control slots 48 runs uniformly at the upper height 52, so that the thread lifter is always raised in these control positions, i. H. is out of engagement with the surface to be extracted. In the control position A, on the other hand, the thread lifter is extended downward, but can move upward as a result of the slot-like design 54 of the control slots 48. The thread lifter 9 rests resiliently on the surface to be extracted.

In this vacuum cleaner mouthpiece, the contact surfaces 3 are connected to a support bar 55 which extends horizontally in the mouthpiece housing 1. On both long sides of this support bar 55 are each in the longitudinal direction of the support bar 55 spaced apart control tracks 56 formed. These control tracks 56 in turn run between an upper and lower height 57 and 58. Above the support bar 55 there is a third control slide 59, on which control cams 60 associated with the control tracks 56 of the support bar 55 are formed. By means of helical springs 62 arranged between the support bar 55 and a wall 61 fixed to the housing, the support bar 55 with its control tracks 56 is pressed against the control cam 60, so that, depending on the course of the control tracks 56, the support bar 55 and thus the contact surfaces 3 are moved up and down.

In the two control positions A and B, the control tracks 56 run at their upper height 57. The support bar 55 is thus pressed down by the control cams 60 in these control positions. As a result, the contact surfaces 3 are extended downward in these control positions and are held rigidly in this position by the control cams 60 resting on the control tracks 56.

In control positions C and D, the control tracks 56 run at their lower height 58. The helical springs 62 now push the support bar 55 upward, so that the control tracks 56 continue to bear against the control cams 60. In these two control positions, the contact surfaces 3 are thus raised and no longer lie on the surface to be extracted.

The three control slides 40, 48 and 59 can each be separately displaced in the mouthpiece housing and thus the brush bar 7, the thread lifter 9 and the contact surfaces 3 can be adjusted in height independently of one another. In the exemplary embodiment shown, however, the three control slides are connected to a single control part by connecting parts 63 and 64. The first control slide 40 is coupled via the connecting part 63 to the one long side of the third control slide 59. The connecting parts 63 and 64 have guide grooves 65 and 66, with which they are plugged onto corresponding guide rails 67 and 68 provided on the mouthpiece housing 1. As a result, the complete control part is slidably guided in the horizontal direction and thereby enables the horizontal adjustment of the three control slides 40, 48 and 50.

For the adjustment of the control part, a knob 69 is arranged on the mouthpiece housing 1, which is provided with a ring gear 70. With this ring gear 70, the rotary knob 69 engages in a rack 71 provided on the control part. The rotary movement of the rotary knob 69 is thereby converted into a sliding movement of the control part.

By combining the three control slides 40, 48 and 59 into a single control part, different positions of the brush strip 7, the support surfaces 3 and the thread lifter 9 are permanently assigned to one another. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the assignment corresponds to the positions to IV already described. By changing the course of the control tracks, other combinations are also possible, and the number of combinations is likewise not limited to four.

The difference between the upper and lower heights 42.43 52, 53 and 57, 58 of the scattering slots 41 and 49 and the control tracks 56 can be the same or different. Likewise, different upper or lower heights can be selected in the different control positions A to D for the individual control positions. There are thus many possible variations which enable the vacuum cleaner mouthpiece to be adjusted in such a way that the best possible cleaning result can be achieved with it, depending on the nature of the surface to be vacuumed.

Claims (19)

1. Vacuum cleaner nozzle which is articulated in a swingable manner with its housing (1) outside the effective suction surface of its nozzle base on a roller support body (4), which, in relation to the working direction, is arranged behind the nozzle base and rests on the surface to be cleaned, and which nozzle has at least one brush strip (7) arranged in a vertically adjustable manner and on which nozzle there is arranged, furthermore, at least one thread lifter (8 or 9), characterised in that a brush strip (7) is only provided in front of the front working edge (6) of the nozzle base, and one supporting surface (3) or several separate supporting surfaces (3) lying laterally in respect of each other are arranged in a vertically adjustable manner between the nozzle base and the roller support body (4), in that furthermore the thread lifter (9) is connected in a detachable manner with the supporting surface of surfaces (3) and can be fixed by means of a holding member in a position raised in respect of the supporting surface or surfaces (3).

2. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 1, characterised in that the brush strip (7) is arranged on a rocker (10) which is pivoted in the rear region of the nozzle housing (1), can be swung by means of an adjusting element (20) provided on the nozzle housing (1) and can be held in the respective position.

3. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 1, characterised in that the supporting surfaces (3) are guided vertically by means of a rod-or tube-like attachment (25) in a correspondingly formed receiving part of the nozzle housing (1) and are adjustable in terms of their height by means of an adjusting member (20) provided on the nozzle housing (1), in that, furthermore, a strip (33) supporting the thread lifter (9) is held by spring force against a rear surface (32) of the supporting surfaces (3) and can be lifted from this rear surface (32) in opposition to the spring force by means of a holding member which can be actuated from outside.

4. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 2 and 3, characterised in that the adjusting element (20) is coupled with an adjusting shaft (14) upon which there are arranged, axially displaced, eccentric elements (11 ; 30 ; 37) for the adjustement of the rocker (10) and of the supporting surfaces (3) and also for holding the thread lifter (9).

5. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 4, characterised in that associated with the rocker (10) there is an eccentric element (11) consisting of two eccentric discs (12,13) axially displaced in respect of each other, the first eccentric disc (12) cooperating with a first stop lug (16) arranged above the adjusting shaft (14) on the rocker (10) and the second eccentric disc (13) cooperating with a second stop lug (17) arranged below the adjusting shaft (14) on the rocker (10).

6. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 5, characterised in that on the rocker (10) there is provided a window-like opening (15) through which the adjusting shaft (14) is guided, in which case there is bent back at the edge of this opening (15) lying above the adjusting shaft (14) a first stop lug (16) projecting to the one side of the rocker and at the edge of the opening (15) lying below the adjusting shaft a second stop lug (17) projecting to the other side of the rocker (10).

7. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 4, characterised in that associated with each supporting surface (3) there is an eccentric (30) which is arranged on the adjusting shaft (14), has two eccentric cams (31) displaced in respect of each other in a peripheral direction by 90° and lies in the plane of an opening (29) which is provided in a vertical side wall (27 or 28) connected with the respective supporting surface (3) and the lower and upper limiting edge of which are formed as engagement locations for the eccentric cams (31).

8. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 7, characterised in that arranged on the adjusting shaft (14) there is a single eccentric cam (37) axially displaced in respect of the eccentric (30) for the supporting surfaces (3) and in the peripheral direction lying opposite one of the two eccentric cams (31) of the eccentric (30) for the supporting surfaces (3) and in that provided on the strip (33) bearing the thread lifter (9) there is an axial projection (36) cooperating with the single eccentric cam (37).

9. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 4 to 8, characterised in that the adjusting shaft (14) can be actuated by means of the adjusting element (20) only in one direction of rotation, in that the first eccentric disc (12) has two eccentric cams (12a and 12b) lying opposite each other by 180° and the second eccentric disc (13) has an eccentric cam (13a) displaced by 90° in respect of the eccentric cams (12a and 12b) of the first eccentric disc, in that, furthermore, in relation to the direction of rotation of the adjusting shaft (14) the two eccentric cams (31) of the eccentric (30) for the supporting surfaces (3) run behind the eccentric cam (13a) of the second eccentric disc by 180° and 270° and the single eccentric cam (37) forming the holding member for the thread lifter (9) runs behind the eccentric cam (13a) of the second eccentric disc (13) by 90°.

10. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 9, characterised in that the adjusting element (20) which is mounted in a swingable manner on the nozzle housing (1) and which can be restored by spring force is connected with a toothed wheel segment (22) which is engaged with a pinion (21) arranged on the adjusting shaft (14) and running freely in the return direction of rotation in respect of the adjusting shaft (14).

11. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 10, characterised in that the adjusting shaft (14) is formed at one point of its periphery as an equal- sided quadrilateral (23) and a leaf spring (24) rests in a planar manner against at least one side of the square (23).

12. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 3, characterised in that the rod- or tube-like attachment (25) of the supporting surface (3) is guided internally in a tube connection piece (26) provided in the nozzle housing and the strip (33) of the thread lifter (9) with a hollow connection piece (34) preformed thereon is guided externally on the tube connection piece (26) and on the hollow connection piece (34) there is arranged a compression spring (35) bearing with its one end (35a) against the nozzle housing (1) and with its other end (35b) against the strip (33).

13. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 1, characterised in that there is provided a first control slide (40) associated with the brush strip (7) and a second control slide (48) associated with the thread lifter (9), each of which control slides extends vertically, can be adjusted horizontally and has at least one control slot (41 or 49), the control path of which runs between an upper and a lower level (42, 43, or 52, 53), in that a peg (46) provided on a supporting lug (45) connected with the brush strip (7) is guided in the control slot (41) of the first control slide (40) and a peg (51) provided on a supporting lug (50) connected with the thread lifter (9) is guided in the control slot (49) of the second control slide (48), in that, furthermore, the supporting surfaces (3) are connected with a supporting strip (55) which extends horizontally, can be adjusted vertically and in which there is provided at least one control path (56) which runs between an upper and a lower level (57 and 58) and with which the latter rests under spring force against a control cam (60) of a third control slide which can be adjusted horizontally.

14. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 13, characterised in that the three control slides (40, 48 and 59) are combined by means of connecting parts (63 and 64) to form a single control part, in which case the first control slide (40) is arranged on the one longitudinal side of the third control slide (59) and the second control slide (48) is arranged on the other longitudinal side of the third control slide (59) and the control part is guided in a horizontally displaceable manner through interlocking guide grooves (65, 66) and guide rails (67, 68) provided on the connecting parts (63 and 64) and on the nozzle housing (1) and is adjustable by means of an adjusting element (69) arranged on the nozzle housing (1).

15. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 14, characterised in that a sliding key connected with the control part is provided as an adjusting element.

16. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 14, characterised in that a turning knob (69) is provided as an adjusting element, which knob has a toothed ring (70) cooperating with a toothed rack (71) arranged on the control part.

17. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 13, characterised in that helical springs (62) pressing the supporting strip (55) with its control path (56) against the control cams (60) are arranged between the supporting strip (55) connected with the supporting surfaces (3) and corresponding support surfaces (wall 61 fixed in respect of the housing) provided on the nozzle housing (1).

18. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 13 and 17, characterised in that, in each case, control paths (56) at a distance from each other in the longitudinal direction of the supporting strip (55) are provided on both sides of the supporting strip (55) and a control cam (60) is arranged on the third control slide (59) for each control path (56).

19. Vacuum cleaner nozzle according to claim 13, characterised in that, in each case, two control slots (41 or 49) at a distance from each other in the longitudinal direction of the control slides (40, 48) are provided on the first and second control slide (40 and 48).

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