Bidirectional airflow attachment hose and methods of use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vacuum cleaner and air blower attachment hoses face issues such as inability to accommodate various nozzle sizes and shapes, flimsiness leading to collapse, detachment during use, high-pitched shrieking noise, lint clogging, and motor burning due to overwork, necessitating a flexible and self-sealing connector that remains affixed to nozzles.
Innovation Solution
A bidirectional airflow connector assembly with an elastomeric connector and rigid compression fitting, allowing for a slip-on-slip-off attachment to a wide range of nozzle sizes and shapes, self-sealing, and preventing detachment and noise, while maintaining flexibility and avoiding lint clogging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid connector is used to maintain hose stiffness, then the hose can be directed to particular areas, but the hose collapses upon itself and cannot maneuver in tight spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible hose with an internal support structure rather than a completely rigid connector. The hose material itself provides flexibility while the internal structure prevents collapse, resolving the contradiction between needing stiffness for directionality and flexibility for maneuvering in tight spaces like dryer vents.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector assembly combines different materials - a rigid or semi-rigid connector portion with a flexible hose portion. This composite structure allows the connector to maintain its shape and connection while the hose provides the necessary flexibility for navigation around obstacles and into hard-to-reach areas.
2Device complexity
If a single-size connector is used, then the device structure is simple, but it cannot accommodate various nozzle sizes and shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is designed with a universal interface that can accommodate multiple nozzle sizes and shapes. The connector portion acts as an adapter that interfaces with different nozzle types, allowing a single connector design to work with various vacuum cleaner nozzles including crevice tools, upholstery tools, and standard nozzles of different diameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector is divided into distinct functional portions - a connector portion that interfaces with the nozzle and a hose portion that connects to the vacuum. This segmentation allows the connector portion to be designed specifically for universal nozzle compatibility while the hose portion handles the connection to the vacuum cleaner.
3Ease of operation
If a simple slip-on connector is used, then the attachment is easy to affix, but the connector detaches when suction is lost or nozzle moves
Solution Approach 1:
The connector incorporates a pre-designed sealing mechanism and attachment feature that engages automatically upon insertion. The connector portion is shaped to fit snugly over the nozzle with a retention feature that engages before the user releases the connector, ensuring secure attachment even when suction varies or the nozzle is moved during use.
4Ease of operation
If a narrow hose is used to access hard-to-reach areas, then the hose can maneuver in tight spaces, but high-pitched shrieking noise occurs during suction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies particular dimensional parameters for the connector and hose to optimize airflow characteristics. The connector opening size, hose diameter, and wall thickness are carefully selected to prevent turbulent flow that causes shrieking noises while still allowing the hose to be narrow enough for maneuverability in tight spaces like dryer vents.
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 provides a quiet, flexible, and reliable attachment hose that maintains connection to nozzles during use, preventing noise, collapse, and lint accumulation, and allows access to hard-to-reach areas without additional components.
Implementation Method 1
an elastomeric connector material having a proximal end that self-seals about a periphery of an existing nozzle and allows airflow through the nozzle and the elastomeric connector
Implementation Method 2
a connector made from an elastomeric connector material having a proximal end that self-seals about a periphery of an existing nozzle
Data Source
AI summary
A bidirectional airflow attachment hose may include an elastomeric connector and a rigid compression fitting having an opening aligned with the opening of the elastomeric connector. Related methods include attaching the bidirectional airflow attachment to a nozzle.