Cleaner head for a vacuum cleaner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cleaner heads for vacuum cleaners often push large debris across surfaces rather than drawing it in due to the close proximity required for effective pick-up performance.
Innovation Solution
A cleaner head design featuring a brush bar with radially extending bristles and a deformable sealing material between the bristles, which seals against the housing to restrict air flow and prevent debris from being flung upward, while also effectively picking up fine dust and large debris through a combination of bristle density and sealing material properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the cleaner head operates at close proximity to the surface, then fine dust pick-up performance is improved, but large debris is pushed across the surface instead of being drawn in
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaner head is segmented into distinct functional zones: a front opening for large debris intake, a brush bar region for agitating and lifting debris, and a rear suction opening for fine dust pickup. This segmentation allows different parts of the cleaner head to handle different sizes of debris appropriately, resolving the contradiction between handling fine dust and large debris effectively
Solution Approach 2:
The brush bar acts as an intermediary element between the front opening and the suction opening. It agitates and lifts large debris from the surface into the air stream, while the sealing material between the bristles prevents air leakage and maintains suction pressure, enabling both large debris and fine dust to be effectively picked up without pushing debris across the surface
2Productivity
If a brush bar is used to agitate and pick up debris, then dust pick-up performance is improved, but air may leak through the front opening reducing suction efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
A sealing material is positioned between the bristles of the brush bar, extending over substantially the entire circumferential and axial extent of the brush bar. This flexible sealing material prevents air from leaking through the front opening while allowing the brush bar to rotate and agitate debris effectively, thus maintaining both dust pick-up performance and suction efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing material is designed to be resiliently deformable, allowing it to flex and conform to the rotating brush bar and varying surface conditions. This dynamic sealing approach maintains effective sealing throughout brush bar rotation and operation, preventing air leakage while preserving the agitation function
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 design ensures effective pick-up of both small and large debris, maintaining sealing effectiveness and preventing debris from being pushed across the surface, while also discharging static electricity and improving dust pick-up performance on hard surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
the brush bar being supported for rotation with respect to the housing and arranged in the chamber such that the brush bar seals against the housing thereby restricting flow of air through the front opening
Implementation Method 2
The sealing material may be a deformable material. In particular, the sealing material may be a resiliently deformable material.
Implementation Method 3
The bristles may extend below the support. The sealing material may be arranged such that, in use, the sealing material is spaced away from the surface being cleaned by the support.
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaner head that includes an agitator in the form of a brush bar, the brush bar including a sealing material extending over the circumferential and axial extent of the brush bar, the sealing material including a tufted material, and a housing defining a chamber which at least partially surrounds the brush bar, a dirty air inlet in a lower part of the chamber and a front opening that exposes the brush bar at the front of the housing, the brush bar being supported for rotation with respect to the housing and arranged in the chamber, wherein a partition is arranged within the chamber between the brush bar and an outlet of the chamber, the partition extends transversely and divides the chamber into an agitating region and a settling chamber, and the partition includes a wall that extends tangentially to the brush bar and is inclined rearwardly.