Surface cleaning apparatus with an arrester plate having a variable gap
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Solution Overview
Problem
In surface cleaning apparatuses with cyclone chambers, larger dirt particles can accumulate and reduce separation efficiency, as they cannot exit through the standard dirt outlet, leading to potential blockages and reduced performance.
Innovation Solution
A cyclone chamber with a stepped arrester plate at the dirt outlet, featuring varying gap sizes between the plate and the sidewall, allowing larger particles to exit while maintaining separation efficiency by creating an axially stepped or radially varying dirt outlet.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the size of the dirt outlet is increased to permit larger dirt particles to exit the cyclone chamber, then the likelihood of blockages is reduced, but the dirt separation efficiency of the cyclone chamber is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cyclone chamber employs a non-uniform gap structure where different portions of the gap have different sizes. Specifically, a first portion of the gap has a first size and a second portion of the gap has a second size that is larger than the first size. This local variation allows smaller particles to be separated efficiently in the first portion while larger particles can exit through the larger second portion, thereby resolving the contradiction between blockage prevention and separation efficiency.
2Productivity
If a standard uniform dirt outlet is used, then the dirt separation efficiency is maintained, but larger dirt particles accumulate in the cyclone chamber reducing performance
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a non-uniform gap structure with different sized portions to address the limitation of standard uniform outlets. The first portion maintains appropriate gap size for efficient separation, while the second portion provides enlarged clearance for larger particles, preventing accumulation and performance degradation.
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 solution enables the efficient separation and collection of larger dirt particles, reducing the likelihood of blockages and maintaining high separation efficiency by allowing larger particles to exit the cyclone chamber without compromising the cyclone's airflow pattern.
Implementation Method 1
a cyclone chamber with a stepped arrester plate at the dirt outlet
Implementation Method 2
dirt particles that are entrained in an air stream entering a surface cleaning apparatus and which are disentrained during the passage of air through the cyclone chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A surface cleaning apparatus has a cyclone chamber having a longitudinal cyclone axis of rotation wherein the dirt outlet is defined by a gap between the sidewall of the cyclone and a plate positioned at the dirt outlet end of the cyclone, which gap extends around all of the perimeter of the plate wherein the gap is variable.