Bagless Auxiliary Vacuum System for Surface Maintenance Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surface maintenance machines lack an effective auxiliary waste removal system, often relying on disposable bags that are costly and environmentally harmful, and fail to efficiently collect waste outside their primary cleaning path.
Innovation Solution
A surface maintenance machine equipped with a primary waste removal system and an auxiliary waste removal system featuring a vacuum wand, bagless waste collection container, and vacuum source, allowing for efficient suction and collection of waste without disposable bags, with the vacuum wand being collapsible or extendable for versatile use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If disposable bags are used for waste collection, then waste can be collected effectively, but operational cost increases and environmental harm worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive disposable bags with a reusable bagless waste collection container. The container has a simple open-top design that allows direct deposit of waste without requiring any consumable bags, eliminating ongoing operational costs and environmental waste associated with disposable bag systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The bagless container enables direct disposal of waste into the collection system without intermediate disposable components. The container itself is permanently retained and reused, while waste material is directly discarded into it, eliminating the need to discard reusable bags along with the waste.
2Device complexity
If a fixed vacuum wand is used, then structure is simple, but adaptability to different cleaning areas is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum wand is replaced with a telescoping spine assembly that can extend and retract. This dynamic structure allows the wand to adjust its length based on the cleaning requirements, enabling operators to reach waste in various locations while maintaining operational simplicity when retracted.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescoping spine is divided into multiple telescoping segments that can independently extend and retract. This segmentation allows the structure to achieve extended lengths when needed for versatility while maintaining a compact form factor when retracted, effectively resolving the contradiction between complexity and adaptability.
3Volume of stationary object
If waste collection container is positioned away from longitudinal centerline, then space utilization improves, but vacuum flow efficiency may decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the waste collection container along the longitudinal axis of the machine body rather than laterally offset. This longitudinal positioning optimizes the vacuum flow path by aligning the container with the direction of waste transport, minimizing flow resistance and energy loss while effectively utilizing the available space within the machine's longitudinal profile.
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
The system enables efficient and cost-effective waste removal with reduced environmental impact by eliminating the need for disposable bags and allowing operators to collect waste outside the primary cleaning path, promoting sustainability and operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a vacuum source fluidly coupled to the bagless waste collection container. The vacuum source can generate a vacuum flow from an inlet of the vacuum wand toward an exhaust port
Data Source
AI summary
An auxiliary waste removal system for a surface maintenance machine, having a vacuum wand for removing waste from the floor surface, a reusable bagless waste collection container removably coupled to the vacuum wand, and a vacuum source fluidly coupled to the bagless waste collection container, the vacuum source generating a vacuum flow from an inlet of the vacuum wand to a vacuum outlet, the vacuum outlet being positioned downstream of the bagless waste collection container and the vacuum source such that the waste suctioned from the floor surface by the vacuum wand travels along the vacuum flow path and is directly received in the bagless waste collection container.