IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,622,553
Granted Patent B2
US 12,622,553 · App. 17/869,439 · Granted May 12, 2026

Agitator for a surface treatment apparatus and a surface treatment apparatus having the same

Inventors: Devan Schappler (Bedford, NH); Max P. Lacoma (Huntington, NY); Xavier F. Cullere (Newton, MA); Daniel R. Der Marderosian (Westwood, MA); Charles S. Brunner (Stockton, NJ); Jeffery Zhang (Shenzhen, CN)
Assignee: SharkNinja Operating LLC
A47L9/0477A46B9/005A46B9/026A46B9/06A46B13/006A46B13/02A46D1/0207B32B3/30B32B25/10B32B25/20A46B2200/3033B32B5/022B32B5/024B32B2262/0276B32B2432/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,622,553
App. No.
17/869,439
Granted
May 12, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An agitator for a vacuum cleaner includes an agitator body and a resiliently deformable flap. The resiliently deformable flap includes a front face, a rear face, and one or more protrusions extending outwardly from the front face. An agitator for a vacuum cleaner includes an agitator body and a bristle strip and/or a plurality of tufts arranged in one or more rows along the agitator body. The bristle strip and/or a plurality of tufts includes a first bristle group including a plurality of nylon bristles and at least a second bristle group including a plurality of para-aramid bristles.

Claims (37)

1 . An agitator for a vacuum cleaner comprising:

an agitator body; and

a resiliently deformable flap extending outwardly from the agitator body, the resiliently deformable flap including:

a front face;

a rear face; and

one or more projections extending outwardly from the front face, wherein the one or more projections includes a raised portion that extends outwardly from the front face and a recessed portion that extends inwardly from the front face;

wherein the resiliently deformable flap includes a polyester layer and a silicone layer, the polyester layer forming the front face and the silicone layer forming at least a portion of the rear face.

2 . The agitator of claim 1 , further comprising a first bristle strip and/or row of tufts disposed adjacent to the first deformable flap.

3 . The agitator of claim 1 , wherein the one or more projections includes a first plurality of projections arranged in a first row.

4 . The agitator of claim 3 , wherein the one or more projections includes a second plurality of projections arranged in a second row.

5 . The agitator of claim 4 , wherein the first row and the second row are substantially parallel to each other.

6 . The agitator of claim 4 , wherein the first plurality of projections in the first row are offset left-to-right relative to the second plurality of projections in the second row.

7 . The agitator of claim 1 , wherein the one or more projections are formed only in the polyester layer.

8 . An agitator for a vacuum cleaner comprising:

an agitator body; and

a resiliently deformable flap extending outwardly from the agitator body, the resiliently deformable flap including:

a front face;

a rear face;

one or more projections extending outwardly from the front face, wherein the one or more projections includes a raised portion that extends outwardly from the front face and a recessed portion that extends inwardly from the front face; and

a facing layer coupled to a backing layer, the facing layer forming the front face and the backing layer forming the rear face.

9 . The agitator of claim 8 , wherein at least a portion of the facing layer is melted to at least partially form the one or more projections.

10 . The agitator of claim 9 , wherein the melted facing layer forms the one or more projections having a localized hardness.

11 . The agitator of claim 9 , wherein a portion of the melted facing layer flows away from the facing layer to form the raised portion and the recessed portion.

12 . The agitator of claim 9 , wherein only a portion of the facing layer is melted to form the one or more projections.

13 . An agitator for a vacuum cleaner comprising:

an agitator body; and

a resiliently deformable flap extending outwardly from the agitator body, the resiliently deformable flap including:

a front face;

a rear face;

one or more projections extending outwardly from the front face, wherein the one or more projections includes a raised portion that extends outwardly from the front face and a recessed portion that extends inwardly from the front face; and

a facing layer coupled to a backing layer by way of one or more intermediate layers, wherein at least a portion of the intermediate layer is melted to at least partially form the one or more projections.

14 . The agitator of claim 13 , wherein at least a portion of the facing layer is melted to form at least a portion of the one or more projections.

15 . The agitator of claim 3 , wherein the first row is disposed 1.75 mm+0.50/ −0.60 mm away a cleaning edge of the resiliently deformable flap.

16 . The agitator of claim 1 , wherein the one or more projections include a raised portion that extends outwardly from the front face having a generally annular shape.

17 . The agitator of claim 1 , wherein the one or more projections include a raised portion that extends outwardly from the front face having a generally annulus shape.

18 . The agitator of claim 17 , wherein the one or more projections have an outer diameter of annulus of 2.20 mm+/−0.30 mm.

19 . The agitator of claim 3 , wherein the first plurality of projections have a projection center to center distance of 5.00 mm.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 1, 2024
From: SCHAPPLER, DEVAN; LACOMA, MAX P.; CULLERE, XAVIER F.; DER MARDEROSIAN, DANIEL R.; BRUNNER, CHARLES S.; ZHANG, JEFFERY
To: SHARKNINJA OPERATING LLC
Reel/Frame 068748/0720 →
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded Jul 20, 2023
From: SHARKNINJA OPERATING LLC
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 064600/0098 →
Continuity (5)
Continuation In Part PCTCN2022101881 · Jun 28, 2022
Continuation In Part 17466242 · Sep 3, 2021
Continuation In Part 16656930 · Oct 18, 2019
Provisional Application 63074719 · Sep 4, 2020
Related Publication 20220354323A1 · Nov 10, 2022
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