Deformable Sole Plate Floor Nozzle for Adaptive Carpet Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing floor nozzles for vacuum cleaners struggle to maintain effective contact with surfaces, particularly long-pile carpets, due to design limitations, leading to inefficient dust pick-up and increased energy consumption, as they either lift the carpet or fail to adapt to floor contours, resulting in suboptimal cleaning and higher energy use.
Innovation Solution
A deformable sole plate with rear and lateral portions allows the floor nozzle to adapt to floor contours, ensuring better contact and efficient dust pick-up even at low volumetric flow rates, achieved through the use of elastic or segmented plastic materials with pivotable segments and elastomer hinges, which maintain sealing and adaptability during movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a flat sole plate is used, then the structure is simple, but the carpet is partially lifted during backward movement, reducing floor contact and cleaning efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The sole plate is designed with a curved contour instead of a flat surface, allowing it to adapt to the natural curvature of carpets and floor surfaces. This curvature enables the sole plate to maintain contact with the floor during both forward and backward movements, preventing carpet lifting and ensuring consistent cleaning performance without increasing structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The sole plate incorporates movable segments that can dynamically adjust their position and angle in response to different floor conditions and movement directions. This dynamic adaptation allows the sole plate to maintain optimal floor contact during bidirectional movement, resolving the contradiction between simple structure and cleaning efficiency
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a slightly curved sole plate is used, then carpet lifting is reduced, but the sole plate does not optimally rest on the surface during forward movement, reducing vacuum contact
Solution Approach 1:
The sole plate is divided into multiple segments that can independently adjust to different floor conditions. This segmentation allows the rear portion to prevent carpet lifting during backward movement while the front portion maintains optimal contact during forward movement, thereby resolving the contradiction between reducing carpet lifting and maintaining cleaning efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The segmented design enables dynamic adaptation of different sole plate regions to their respective functional requirements - the rear segments prevent carpet lifting while the front segments ensure optimal resting contact during forward movement, thus maintaining high cleaning efficiency in both directions
3Use of energy by moving object
If volumetric flow rates are reduced to save energy, then energy consumption decreases, but flow velocities at the floor nozzle decrease, reducing dust pick-up capability
Solution Approach 1:
The curved sole plate design improves airflow distribution and maintains higher flow velocities at the suction opening by reducing turbulence and improving air attachment to the floor surface. This allows the system to maintain effective dust pick-up capability at lower volumetric flow rates, thereby reducing energy consumption without sacrificing cleaning performance
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the sole plate (curvature, segmentation) to optimize airflow characteristics and velocity distribution. This allows the system to achieve effective dust pick-up at lower flow rates by improving the efficiency of air utilization, thus reducing energy consumption while maintaining productivity
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 deformable sole plate enhances dust pick-up efficiency on various surfaces, reduces energy consumption by allowing lower flow rates, and optimizes cleaning performance without increasing push forces, enabling effective cleaning with more economical fan designs and reduced flow losses.
Implementation Method 1
the rear portion and the lateral portions of the sole plate are deformable
Implementation Method 2
a vacuum cleaner, the floor nozzle comprising: a housing including a sole plate which faces a floor surface when in a working position
Data Source
AI summary
A floor nozzle for a vacuum cleaner includes a housing including a sole plate which faces a floor surface when in a working position, the sole plate having provided therein a suction opening, the suction opening being surrounded by a rear portion of the sole plate, a front portion of the sole plate, and lateral portions of the sole plate. The rear portion and the lateral portions of the sole plate are deformable.