Cleaning robot comprising a cleaning cloth and a cleaning agent
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cleaning robots with conventional cleaning agents fail to achieve satisfactory cleaning performance due to the surfactants not having sufficient time to lower the surface tension effectively during the automatic cleaning process, as they do in manual cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning robot using a cleaning agent with a surface tension of at most 40 mN/cm, preferably 35 mN/cm, measured dynamically at 23°C and 0.3 seconds, which ensures a strong reduction in surface tension shortly after film formation, even at high cleaning speeds, by diluting a concentrated cleaning agent within the robot.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional cleaning agents are used in cleaning robots, then the cleaning agent can be applied to the hard surface, but the surfactants do not have sufficient time to lower the surface tension effectively during automatic cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the cleaning agent to include surfactants that achieve rapid surface tension reduction (within 0.3 seconds) compared to conventional surfactants that require longer times. This parameter change in surfactant selection and concentration enables effective cleaning in the automated robot's short contact time window
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning agent is formulated in advance with pre-selected surfactants that have been optimized for rapid action. The surfactant mixture is prepared beforehand to ensure immediate and sufficient surface tension reduction upon contact with the surface, eliminating the need for extended preparation time that manual cleaning allows
2Productivity
If the cleaning robot operates at fast cleaning speeds, then productivity increases, but the surfactants have even less time to accumulate and reduce surface tension
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning agent formulation uses surfactants with optimized hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) values and molecular structures that enable ultra-rapid adsorption and surface tension reduction. The surfactant concentration and type are specifically tuned to achieve maximum effectiveness within the reduced time window imposed by high-speed robot operation
Solution Approach 2:
The surfactants act as intermediaries that rapidly mediate between the cleaning agent and the hard surface, facilitating immediate wetting and dirt removal. The surfactant molecules quickly accumulate at the air-liquid and liquid-solid interfaces, creating the necessary surface tension reduction even during the brief contact periods at high cleaning speeds
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 approach enhances the cleaning performance of the cleaning robot by ensuring effective surface tension reduction and improved cleaning efficiency, even at fast cleaning speeds, by using a concentrated agent diluted within the robot to achieve the desired surface tension levels.
Implementation Method 1
the cleaning agent has a surface tension of at most 40 mN/cm, preferably at most 38 mN/cm and particularly preferably at most 35 mN/cm, when measured dynamically at 23° C. at a surface age of 0.3 seconds
Implementation Method 2
The lowering of the surface tension is achieved by the accumulation of the surfactants on the surface
Implementation Method 3
by diluting a concentrated cleaning agent within the robot
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a cleaning robot having a cleaning cloth and a cleaning agent and also to the use of a concentrated cleaning agent in such a cleaning robot.