Bottle Brush with Elliptical Cavity for Straight Fiber Storage

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing bottle cleaning utensils face inefficiencies in cleaning wide-necked bottle teats due to the need for adapted teat brushes, which result in bent fibers and reduced cleaning effectiveness when stored in conventional bottle brush handles.

Innovation Solution

A bottle cleaning utensil with a grip handle and storage cavity of non-traditional geometry, such as elliptical, rectangular, or diamond-shaped cross-section, designed to accommodate a teat brush with radially oriented straight fibers, ensuring the fibers remain straight and maintain cleaning capacity while allowing for compact and ergonomic storage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the diameter of the teat brush is adapted to clean wide base teats, then the cleaning effectiveness of wide-necked bottle teats is improved, but the handle size increases and ergonomics deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecleaning effectivenessVSAvoidergonomics
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The cleaning utensil is divided into two separate brushes: a bottle brush with a standard-sized handle for ergonomic gripping, and a separate teat brush with a larger cleaning head for wide base teats. The teat brush can be stored in a cavity within the bottle brush handle, allowing each component to be optimized for its specific function without compromising the other.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The teat brush is nested within the bottle brush handle, specifically in a storage cavity. This allows the larger teat brush to be accommodated within the smaller bottle brush structure, maintaining compact overall size while preserving the cleaning capabilities of both brushes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Volume of moving object

If the teat brush is stored in the bottle brush handle, then the utensil remains compact, but the fibers of the teat brush become bent and cleaning effectiveness is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovecompactnessVSAvoidcleaning effectiveness
Core Design Contradiction:
Volume of moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The storage cavity in the bottle brush handle is designed with specific dimensional characteristics to accommodate the teat brush. The cavity has a cross-section with a major axis that matches the diameter of the teat brush cleaning head, allowing the brush to be stored without bending its fibers. This localized design ensures that only the minimal portion of the teat brush is stored, preserving the straightness and cleaning effectiveness of the majority of the fibers.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Device complexity

If a traditional cylindrical storage cavity is used, then the structure is simple, but it cannot accommodate teat brushes with wide base teats without bending fibers

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural simplicityVSAvoidfiber straightness
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The storage cavity in the bottle brush handle features an asymmetric cross-sectional geometry rather than a traditional cylindrical shape. The cavity has a major axis and a minor axis, creating an elongated space that matches the dimensional requirements of the teat brush. This asymmetric design provides sufficient space for the teat brush to be stored without bending its fibers, while maintaining relative structural simplicity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

Data Source

PatentEP2477520B1Utensil for cleaning feeding bottle and nipple thereof
Publication Date: 2015.01.21 DUWA BROSSES
  • EP2477520B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2477520B1 patent drawingFigure 2~5
  • EP2477520B1 patent drawingFigure 6~7

AI summary

Said cleaning utensil includes a bottle brush (2) having a gripping handle (4) that is combined with a bottle-cleaning head (5), the gripping handle (4) including a storage cavity (7) wherein is removably inserted a nipple brush (3), including a gripping handle (9) and a nipple-cleaning head (10) that has radially positioned, substantially straight fibers. Additionally, the storage cavity (7) has a transverse cross-section having a large axis and a small axis, and the cleaning head of the nipple brush (3) has, in the transverse cross-section thereof, a maximum size substantially equal to the large axis of the storage cavity (7) such that the fibers of the portion of the nipple-cleaning head (10) that are positioned in the storage cavity at the large axis remain straight.