Floor Cleaning Machine with Phase-Shifted Eccentric Cleaning Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing floor cleaning machines are either too large and difficult to maneuver in small spaces or have uneven cleaning effects due to inclined cleaning elements, requiring significant user effort to steer and clean effectively.
Innovation Solution
A compact floor cleaning machine design featuring a cleaning element arrangement with inner and outer cleaning elements that perform phase-shifted eccentric movements, allowing for efficient cleaning and easy steering with a low structural height, enabling effective cleaning in tight spaces and reducing user effort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If cleaning elements are inclined relative to one another to produce thrust, then cleaning effect is improved, but cleaning uniformity deteriorates and user effort increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning element arrangement is segmented into multiple independent cleaning elements (at least two) that can be individually controlled. Each cleaning element can be independently driven to perform eccentric movements, allowing separate control of their respective thrust forces. This segmentation enables the system to maintain cleaning uniformity while still producing overall thrust through coordinated operation of multiple elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning elements are designed to perform dynamic eccentric movements rather than static inclined positioning. The eccentric elements enable each cleaning element to dynamically adjust its position and movement characteristics during operation. This dynamic capability allows the system to optimize both cleaning uniformity and thrust production adaptively during the cleaning process.
2Power
If cleaning elements are inclined to produce continuous thrust, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning elements perform dynamic eccentric movements that can be controlled to produce thrust only when needed for cleaning effectiveness. During steering maneuvers, the eccentric movements can be adjusted or temporarily suspended, allowing the user to steer the floor cleaning machine easily without resistance from continuous thrust. This dynamic control resolves the contradiction between cleaning effectiveness and steering ease.
3Area of stationary object
If a chassis with side-by-side brushes is used, then cleaning coverage is improved, but device complexity and maneuverability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple cleaning elements are merged into a single integrated cleaning element arrangement that operates together on the floor surface. Instead of using separate brushes arranged side-by-side on a complex chassis, the invention combines multiple eccentric-driven cleaning elements into one unified structure. This merging achieves comprehensive cleaning coverage while simplifying the overall device structure and improving maneuverability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning elements are arranged in a vertical stacking configuration rather than a horizontal side-by-side arrangement. By utilizing the vertical dimension, the invention achieves extensive cleaning coverage without increasing the horizontal footprint or requiring a complex chassis structure. This dimensional change allows compact design while maintaining effective cleaning area.
4Power
If eccentric elements are arranged in a first plane with cleaning elements in a second plane, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but structural height increases
Solution Approach 1:
The eccentric elements and cleaning elements are arranged in a nested configuration where components are positioned one within or alongside another along the vertical axis. This nesting allows the eccentric drive mechanism and cleaning elements to be compactly integrated, achieving effective eccentric-driven cleaning while minimizing the overall structural height of the device.
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 compact design and phase-shifted eccentric movements ensure uniform cleaning coverage and ease of maneuverability, allowing the machine to effectively clean floors in tight spaces without exerting undue force on the user.
Implementation Method 1
each of the cleaning elements performs an eccentric movement in which, when viewed perpendicularly to a cleaning body plane, each point of the cleaning element moves substantially circularly about an axis which runs parallel to the output axis
Data Source
AI summary
A floor cleaning machine having a cleaning element arrangement with inner and outer cleaning elements that include inner and outer cleaning bodies, respectively, that extend jointly in the cleaning body plane and have first and second receiving openings, respectively. The inner and outer cleaning elements extend from the inner and outer cleaning bodies, respectively, away from the cleaning body plane to one side thereof. The inner cleaning body is arranged in the second receiving opening. The output shaft extends with an output shaft section into both the first and second receiving openings. First and second eccentric elements are attached to the output shaft section and to the inner and outer cleaning bodies, respectively, so that when the output shaft is rotated, the inner and outer cleaning bodies perform eccentric movements that are phase-shifted with respect to one another.