Indoor AC Filter Cleaning With Intermittent Self-Cleaning Brushes
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Solution Overview
Problem
The dust removing performance of rotating brushes in air conditioner indoor units degrades as the amount of trapped dust increases, leading to a failure in scraping dust when the maximum amount is reached, which limits the effectiveness of dust removal from air filters.
Innovation Solution
An indoor air conditioner unit with a brush member that scrapes dust from the air filter and a cleaning brush member to remove dust from the brush, allowing for intermittent movement and contact to maintain dust removal efficiency, and adjustable movement and rotation angles based on dust accumulation to prevent performance degradation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the brush member continuously scrapes dust from the air filter, then the dust removal area increases, but the dust removing performance degrades as the brush accumulates dust
Solution Approach 1:
The dust removal process is segmented into two distinct phases: a scraping phase where the brush member removes dust from the air filter, and a cleaning phase where the brush member itself is cleaned by the cleaning brush member. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high dust removing performance by periodically resetting the brush member's dust capacity, preventing the performance degradation that would occur with continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The drive section intermittently drives the air filter and brush member to perform scraping operations, followed by periods where the brush member is cleaned by the cleaning brush member. This periodic action pattern (scraping-cleaning-scraping-cleaning) ensures that the brush member maintains optimal dust removal performance throughout the entire air filter surface, rather than continuously degrading as dust accumulates on the brush.
2Productivity
If the brush member operates continuously to remove dust from the entire air filter, then productivity increases, but the brush member becomes saturated with dust and can no longer scrape effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning brush member serves the brush member by removing accumulated dust from it. This self-service mechanism ensures that the primary dust removal tool (the brush member) is continuously regenerated and maintained, allowing the system to sustain high productivity throughout the entire dust removal process without the brush member becoming saturated and ineffective.
Solution Approach 2:
The system alternates between dust scraping operations and brush cleaning operations in periodic cycles. During each cycle, the brush member scrapes dust from a portion of the air filter, then is cleaned by the cleaning brush member before the next scraping cycle begins. This periodic regeneration maintains scraping capability while achieving complete dust removal from the entire air filter surface over time.
3Area of stationary object
If the brush member is made larger to cover more area, then the dust removal area increases, but the amount of dust trapped by the brush increases, causing performance degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the dust removal function into two components: the brush member that contacts the air filter, and the cleaning brush member that contacts the brush member. This segmentation allows the brush member to be optimized for effective dust scraping from the filter surface without needing to be excessively large, while the cleaning brush member handles the dust accumulation issue by continuously cleaning the brush member itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning brush member acts as an intermediary that transfers dust from the brush member to a collection point. By introducing this intermediary cleaning element, the system can maintain a smaller, more effective brush member for filter cleaning while the cleaning brush member manages the dust accumulation problem, preventing the performance degradation that would result from using an oversized brush member.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration ensures high dust removal performance by alternately scraping and cleaning the brush member, reducing the area of dust removal and adjusting movement based on dust accumulation, thereby preventing performance degradation and ensuring efficient dust removal from the entire air filter.
Implementation Method 1
a brush member (51) configured to come into contact with the air filter (30) to scrape dust from the air filter (30)
Implementation Method 2
a cleaning brush member (52) configured to come into contact with the brush member (51) to remove dust from the brush member (51)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An air filter (30) intermittently rotates by a predetermined rotation angle at each time, while being in contact with a bristle portion (51b) of a rotating brush (51). Accordingly, dust on the air filter (30) is scraped by the bristle portion (51b). The brush member (51) rotates about an axial center of a shaft (51a) at each stop of the intermittent rotation of the air filter (30), to come into contact with a cleaning brush member (52). According, dust on the brush member (51) is removed by the cleaning brush member (52).