Curved Battery Pack Layout Around a Cyclonic Dirt Container
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery-powered vacuum cleaners have bulky components that make them less compact and ergonomic, leading to challenges in design and storage, particularly in hand-holdable models where space efficiency is crucial.
Innovation Solution
The integration of a curvilinear battery pack with the dirt container in a hand-holdable vacuum cleaner design, allowing for a smoother profile and improved ergonomics, with the battery pack being detachable for recharging and easy replacement, and featuring a cyclonic separation apparatus for efficient dust collection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If conventional battery-powered vacuum cleaners use separate battery pack and dirt container, then each component can be independently designed and maintained, but the overall device becomes bulky and less ergonomic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the battery pack and dirt container into a single integrated assembly where the battery pack is positioned within or adjacent to the dirt container structure. This merging reduces the overall device volume and improves ergonomics by creating a more compact, balanced form factor while maintaining independent accessibility of both components for maintenance and replacement
2Volume of moving object
If the vacuum cleaner is made more compact, then storage space is reduced and ergonomics improve, but component arrangement and heat dissipation become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a nested arrangement where the battery pack is positioned within the structural envelope of the dirt container, or components are layered in a compact configuration. This nesting allows efficient space utilization while maintaining proper separation for heat dissipation and manufacturing assembly, achieving compactness without sacrificing manufacturability
3Reliability
If a bag filter is used for dust collection, then dust and dirt can be collected, but the filter clogs progressively reducing volumetric flow rate and performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a disposable filter system where the filter element is designed to be replaced rather than cleaned and reused. This approach maintains consistent dust collection performance by ensuring a clean filter is always in use, while the discarded filter captures all accumulated dust and dirt. The system may include filter lifecycle monitoring to prompt timely replacement before performance degradation occurs
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 configuration results in a more compact, ergonomic, and efficient vacuum cleaner that is easier to store and use, with consistent dust collection performance and reduced need for frequent filter replacement, enhancing user convenience and space utilization.
Implementation Method 1
a cyclonic separation apparatus for separating dust and dirt from air flow
Implementation Method 2
a centrifugal fan, although it can be an impeller or a propeller
Data Source
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AI summary
A vacuum cleaner (602) comprising: a motor coupled to a fan for generating air flow; a body (604) with a handle (606); a dirty air duct (610) with a dirty air inlet (612); a battery pack (900) housing at least one rechargeable cell for powering the motor; and a dirt separating means (8) located in a path of the air flow generated by the fan, wherein the dirt separating means comprises: a hollow substantially cylindrical dirt container (120,130) with a longitudinal central axis; and an air inlet port to the dirt container, wherein the air inlet port is in communication with the dirty air duct and wherein the battery pack has a curvilinear or annular cross-sectional profile transverse to the central axis and a curvilinear inner wall embracing the dirt container.