Expandable Mop Head Design for Efficient Cleaning and Compact Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cleaning tools have a limited mopping area due to fixed mop head designs, leading to low mopping efficiency and increased manufacturing and logistics costs when attempting to enlarge the mopping area.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning tool with a mop head that can expand and contract, featuring a rotary mop rod, transformation driving mechanism, and universal joint assemblies, allowing the mop head to change length and width for optimized mopping and efficient cleaning barrel use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the mopping area of the mop head is enlarged, then the mopping efficiency is improved, but the cleaning barrel has to be made larger which leads to increased manufacturing cost and logistics cost
Solution Approach 1:
The mop head is designed with movable plates that can change position relative to the base plate, transforming the fixed-size mop head into a dynamic structure that can adjust its dimensions. This allows the mop head to expand to a large mopping area during use and contract to a compact size for storage in the cleaning barrel, resolving the contradiction between mopping efficiency and barrel size.
2Productivity
If the mopping area of the mop head is enlarged, then the mopping efficiency is improved, but the manufacturing cost and logistics cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mop head is segmented into a base plate and multiple movable plates that can independently move and reposition. This segmentation allows the mop head to achieve a large mopping area when needed while maintaining a compact form factor for storage, avoiding the need to manufacture and ship a permanently large structure, thus reducing manufacturing and logistics costs.
3Device complexity
If the mop head is made fixed size, then the structure is simple, but the adaptability to different cleaning scenarios is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The mop head transforms from a fixed structure to a dynamic one with movable plates that can adjust their positions. This adds adaptability to handle different cleaning scenarios (large areas vs. small spaces) while maintaining reasonable structural simplicity through the use of straightforward sliding mechanisms guided by track mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The mop head's physical parameters (length and width) are made changeable through the movement of plates along tracks. This allows the mop head to adapt its dimensions to different cleaning scenarios, transitioning from a fixed-parameter design to a variable-parameter design that enhances versatility without excessive complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A cleaning tool capable of contracting to be cleaned and expanding to be used comprises a mop and a cleaning barrel. The mop comprises a mop head and a mop rod connected with the mop head. The mop rod is a rotary mop rod which is able to linearly move upwards or downward and be driven to rotate. A support site used for supporting the mop rod during rotation is arranged in the cleaning barrel. The mop further comprises a transformation driving mechanism. The mop head comprises movable plates and a base plate, wherein the movable plates are located on the same plane as the base plate and are able to rotate relative to the base plate. A track mechanism used for defining a movement track of the movable plates is arranged between the movable plates and the base plate. The mop rod is able to rotate relative to the base plate to drive the transformation driving mechanism to drive the movable plates to move so as to change the length and width of the mop head.