Flexible Sweeping Brush Arms for Obstacle Traversal and Lower Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Self-propelled cleaning devices with sweeping brushes face issues of increased wear and jamming on obstacles or elevations, leading to incomplete cleaning and higher maintenance costs due to the design of connecting arms that are not sufficiently flexible or adaptable.
Innovation Solution
A sweeping brush design featuring a base body with flexible, elongated cleaning arms that are inclined and can slide over elevations, combined with a detachable cleaning head with interchangeable filaments, allowing for improved mobility and reduced wear by adjusting the geometry to accommodate obstacles without tilting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional sweeping brushes with connecting arms are used, then cleaning performance is improved, but wear on sweeping elements increases and the brush becomes jammed on obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning arm is designed as a flexible, elastically deformable component that can dynamically adjust its position and orientation during operation. This allows the cleaning arm to bend and adapt to obstacles or raised areas on the cleaning surface, preventing jamming while maintaining contact for effective cleaning. The dynamic flexibility resolves the contradiction between maintaining cleaning performance and avoiding wear/jamming.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the cleaning arm by making it flexible rather than rigid, and by providing adjustability in its geometric orientation. The cleaning arm can change its angle and position relative to the base body and cleaning head, allowing it to adapt to different surface conditions. This parameter change enables the system to maintain cleaning effectiveness while reducing stress and wear on sweeping elements.
2Reliability
If connecting arms are made flexible to reduce wear, then wear resistance is improved, but the cleaning device may not traverse obstacles smoothly
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible cleaning arm with adjustable geometry provides dynamic adaptability that enables smooth traversal over obstacles. The arm can bend and reposition itself to navigate elevations and irregularities in the cleaning surface, converting potential jamming situations into smooth transitions. This dynamic behavior simultaneously improves wear resistance and mobility over obstacles.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning arm is divided into multiple segments or sections that can move relative to each other, allowing independent adjustment of different parts. This segmentation enables the arm to navigate complex obstacle profiles by bending at multiple points, improving both wear resistance through flexibility and ease of operation by enabling smooth obstacle traversal.
3Ease of operation
If the sweeping brush is made more flexible to overcome surface irregularities, then ease of operation is improved, but cleaning performance may be impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible cleaning arm maintains cleaning performance through dynamic adaptation rather than static compromise. The arm flexes to overcome surface irregularities while the cleaning head remains positioned to maintain effective contact with the cleaning surface. This dynamic behavior ensures that ease of operation over irregularities does not come at the cost of cleaning performance.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the cleaning arm have different flexibility characteristics, with the arm being more flexible in sections that need to adapt to obstacles while maintaining stiffness in sections that need to transmit cleaning force effectively. This local differentiation of mechanical properties allows the system to overcome surface irregularities while maintaining cleaning performance.
Data Source
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AI summary
A sweeping brush for a cleaning device and a cleaning device with a corresponding sweeping brush are proposed, wherein a cleaning arm and/or a cleaning head of the sweeping brush arranged on the connecting arm has/has a slope oriented in the direction of rotation on an underside.