Cleaning Pad Structure for Robot Floor Cleaning Without Swelling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional floor cleaning methods, such as using wet mops, can be cumbersome and exhausting, especially when cleaning large areas, as they require frequent dipping and bending, which can lead to injuries and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A surface cleaning pad with an absorbent core and a liner layer that absorbs and retains liquid and debris without expanding, allowing for effective cleaning by a compact mobile robot that applies downward force without impeding movement, featuring a design that includes cellulose fibers, polymer bonding, and a hydroentangled spunbond or spunlace layer to prevent sticking and drag.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a traditional wet mop is used to clean floors, then the person can remove dirt and smears from the surface, but the person must frequently dip the mop in water and perform back and forth scrubbing movements, which is cumbersome and exhausting
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning system is designed to be self-sufficient by incorporating an autonomous robot that performs cleaning operations without requiring continuous human intervention. The robot autonomously navigates, applies cleaning solution, and maintains the cleaning pad, eliminating the need for frequent manual dipping and scrubbing motions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the physically demanding tasks (dipping, scrubbing, kneeling) from the human operator and transfers them to an autonomous robotic system. The robot handles all mechanical cleaning actions while the human provides only high-level supervision or task specification.
2Quantity of substance
If a cleaning pad absorbs liquid material, then it retains fluid and debris effectively, but the pad may expand and raise the front edge of a lightweight robot, which would impede movement pattern and cleaning efficacy
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning pad utilizes a thin film structure that provides sufficient absorption capacity while maintaining flexibility and minimal thickness. This thin film design prevents significant expansion that would interfere with the robot's movement, allowing the robot to maintain its speed and cleaning pattern effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The pad's physical parameters (thickness, density, compression characteristics) are optimized to achieve the desired balance between absorption capacity and dimensional stability. By controlling the pad's compression and expansion characteristics, the system ensures adequate fluid uptake without excessive swelling that would impede robot mobility.
3Weight of moving object
If a compact mobile robot weighing less than 2.25 kg is used for cleaning, then the robot can maneuver easily across surfaces, but the robot applies limited downward force, requiring a pad that absorbs liquid quickly without expanding
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning pad employs highly porous materials with optimized pore structures that enable rapid capillary wicking of liquids. This porous structure allows the pad to absorb cleaning solution and debris efficiently at low pressure, compensating for the limited downward force available from the lightweight robot while maintaining compact dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The pad utilizes composite material construction combining different fiber types and structures (e.g., cellulose fibers, synthetic fibers, bonded networks) to achieve simultaneous optimization of absorption rate, retention capacity, and dimensional stability. The composite structure enables rapid liquid uptake without expansion, matching the requirements of lightweight robot operation.
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 cleaning pad efficiently absorbs and retains fluid and debris, allowing the robot to maintain maximum downward force and move smoothly, reducing fatigue and injury risks while maintaining cleaning efficacy across large areas.
Implementation Method 1
an absorbent core containing fiber material which absorbs and retains liquid material
Implementation Method 2
a liner layer in contact with and covering at least one side of the absorbent core, containing fiber material which retains and wicks liquid material through the liner layer
Data Source
AI summary
A pad particularly adapted for surface cleaning. The pad includes an absorbent core having the ability to absorb and retain liquid material, and a liner layer in contact with and covering at least one side of the absorbent core. The liner layer has the ability to retain and wick liquid material through the liner layer. Cleaning apparatus containing such pads and methods of using such pads are also described.