Cleaner with hot plate for floors provided with a sandwich panel for heating and gradual releasing of the water to an underlying cleaning cloth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hot cleaning devices using steam for floor cleaning suffer from temperature loss when steam contacts the floor, leading to inefficient cleaning and excessive water spillage.
Innovation Solution
A surface hot cleaning device featuring a heated plate and a special sandwich panel that absorbs and retains water, maintaining a consistent high temperature for efficient cleaning, with a waterproof element ensuring uniform wetting and gradual water release.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If steam is generated and conveyed through pipes to the cleaning cloth, then cleaning function is provided, but temperature is lost when steam contacts the cloth and floor
Solution Approach 1:
The sandwich panel acts as an intermediary between the heating plate and the cleaning cloth. It absorbs water, heats it uniformly, and releases it gradually while maintaining temperature, preventing the immediate cooling that occurs with direct steam contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state and temperature parameters of the cleaning medium. Instead of using hot steam that cools rapidly, the system uses heated water absorbed by the sandwich panel, which maintains a stable temperature of about 100°C throughout the cleaning process.
2Productivity
If steam continues to be released onto the cleaning cloth, then cleaning action is maintained, but the cloth gets increasingly wet and spills water on the floor
Solution Approach 1:
The sandwich panel serves itself by absorbing the preset quantity of water from the tank and regulating its own release rate. The panel's structure allows it to hold water and release it gradually based on its absorption capacity and heating rate, eliminating the need for continuous steam release and preventing over-wetting.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of continuously releasing steam (excessive action), the system releases a controlled, partial amount of heated water through the sandwich panel. This partial action is sufficient for effective cleaning while preventing the cloth from becoming oversaturated and spilling water.
3Temperature
If the sandwich panel absorbs and retains water, then temperature is maintained consistently, but the panel structure must accommodate water storage
Solution Approach 1:
The sandwich panel is constructed as a composite structure with three layers: two outer fabric-non-fabric cloths resistant to high temperatures and an inner open-cell polyurethane foam layer. This composite structure provides both water absorption capacity and thermal retention while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The open-cell polyurethane foam in the sandwich panel provides porous structure that enables water absorption and retention. The porous material allows the panel to hold water uniformly throughout its structure while maintaining flexibility and thermal properties.
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 device maintains a consistent temperature of about 100°C, preventing water spills, enhancing cleaning efficiency, and ensuring thorough and rapid drying of floors while preventing burns and damage.
Implementation Method 1
a plate, preferably made of aluminium, heated by a heating element
Implementation Method 2
The panel has been conceived so that it can absorb and keep a certain quantity of water
Implementation Method 3
it rapidly reaches the same temperature as the plate, about 100° C. that it will transmit on its turn to the cleaning cloth underneath
Implementation Method 4
Said tank has a ball valve that locks the output hole under gravity, thus preventing water to get through when the handle is in vertical position
Data Source
AI summary
Hot plate cleaner for floors including a handgrip, a handle, a tank for water, a main body shaped as a brush, a heating plate below the brush and a thermostat, and cleaning fabrics for the floor hooked below a sealing frame, adapted to be hooked and unhooked below the brush, with the interposition of a sandwich panel maintained in contact with the heating plate having a layer of polyurethane foam, placed between two polyester fabrics, and a waterproof element applied to the panel to let the water flow from the tank scatter on the sandwich panel to dampen it so to act as a tank in order to reach the same temperature as the heating plate and keep it unchanged until the panel dries and transmit the same temperature to the cleaning fabric.