ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 13 -- United States Patent no. 12,520,976, issued on Jan. 13, was assigned to TECHTRONIC FLOOR CARE TECHNOLOGY Ltd. (Tortola, British Virgin Islands).
"Surface cleaning apparatus" was invented by Robert McRorie (Huntersville, N.C.) and Douglas Rukavina (Concord, N.C.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A surface cleaning apparatus comprises a brushroll that rotates about an axis. The brushroll defines a cylindrical portion and the axis extends centrally through the cylindrical portion. The brushroll also includes a rib that extends in a direction away from the axis. The rib includes a face extending along a line that is collinear with a secant through the cylindrical portion....