Floor cleaner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing floor cleaners lack a balanced design that allows for comfortable and efficient operation, with issues in fluid distribution and recovery, leading to uneven weight distribution and operational difficulties during cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A floor cleaner design featuring a pivotable body, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery-powered vacuum source, a supply tank for cleaning fluid, and a recovery tank, with a handle that facilitates movement and fluid flow control, ensuring balanced weight distribution and efficient cleaning fluid management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the battery and supply tank are positioned adjacent to the back side and the recovery tank adjacent to the front side, then weight balance and operational comfort are improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetric weight distribution by positioning the battery and supply tank (heavier components) adjacent to the back side while placing the recovery tank adjacent to the front side. This asymmetric arrangement creates a balanced center of gravity that reduces operational fatigue and improves handling comfort during cleaning operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent resolves the contradiction by transitioning from a single-dimensional arrangement to a three-dimensional spatial distribution of components. By strategically positioning tanks and battery at different locations (front vs. back sides) and heights, the design achieves weight balance without simply increasing linear dimensions or adding more components.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the body is made pivotable between upright and inclined positions, then adaptability and ease of operation are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a pivotable body that can dynamically transition between an upright storage position and an inclined operating position. This dynamic capability allows the floor cleaner to adapt to different operational requirements and storage conditions, improving versatility while maintaining reasonable mechanical simplicity through a single pivot joint design.
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 design provides a well-balanced and comfortable cleaning experience, maintaining operational efficiency regardless of fluid levels, with effective fluid distribution and recovery, enhancing user control and cleaning performance.
Implementation Method 1
a vacuum source, a base movable over a surface to be cleaned, the base having a suction inlet in fluid communication with the vacuum source... the recovery tank configured to store the cleaning fluid drawn through the suction inlet from the surface by the vacuum source
Data Source
AI summary
A floor cleaner including a vacuum source, a base having a suction inlet, a body pivotally coupled to the base, a handle that extends from the body. The floor cleaner further includes an upper end, the handle adjacent the upper end, a lower end opposite the upper end, the base adjacent the lower end, a front side, the suction inlet adjacent the front side, a back side opposite the front side, a battery that powers the vacuum source, the battery adjacent the back side, a supply tank configured to store a cleaning fluid, the supply tank adjacent the back side, and a recovery tank configured to store the cleaning fluid drawn through the suction inlet from the surface by the vacuum source, the recovery tank adjacent the front side.