Floor cleaning article having strips with differential bond pattern
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cleaning articles, such as rags and paper towels, are inadequate for cleaning large or heavily wetted surfaces like floors due to hygiene concerns, difficulty in reaching hard-to-reach areas, and inefficiency in cleaning crevices and grout lines, while disposable dusters with tow fibers become matted when wet and flat floor sheets fail to dynamically change their surface area during cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A laminate construction cleaning article with a hydrophilic gather strip element and a sheet, where the gather strip element comprises multiple layers of flexible strips joined to the sheet with elongate bonds, providing a dynamic surface area and improved mobility, and an absorbent core for effective liquid retention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a generally flat floor sheet is used for cleaning, then liquid absorption is improved, but the ability to clean into crevices and grout lines deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The floor cleaning article employs a gathered strip element that dynamically changes its configuration during cleaning. The gather strip element can be compressed to present a flat surface for general cleaning, then naturally returns to a gathered, three-dimensional configuration that allows it to conform to and clean into crevices and grout lines, providing dynamic adaptability throughout the cleaning task
Solution Approach 2:
The gather strip element is disposed within a pocket formed by the sheet, allowing it to be nested within the sheet structure when not in use. This nesting arrangement enables the gather strip element to be stored compactly while still allowing it to expand and present its cleaning surface when needed, effectively solving the contradiction between compact storage and crevice cleaning capability
2Adaptability or versatility
If a gathered strip element is added to increase dynamic surface area, then adaptability to different surfaces is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gather strip element and the sheet are merged into a unitary structure where the gather strip element is disposed within a pocket formed by the sheet itself. This merging eliminates the need for separate attachment mechanisms and simplifies the overall device structure while still providing the desired dynamic surface area and adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The gather strip element and sheet are constructed from flexible, thin materials that allow the gather strip element to naturally expand and contract without requiring complex mechanical mechanisms. The flexibility of these thin film structures enables dynamic surface area change while maintaining structural simplicity
3Productivity
If tow fibers are used for wet cleaning, then cleaning capability is improved, but the fibers become matted and lose effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning article employs different materials with different properties in different locations: the sheet portion uses hydrophilic materials for liquid absorption, while the gather strip element uses hydrophobic or less absorbent materials that resist matting. This local differentiation of material properties allows each component to perform its specific function optimally without the drawbacks affecting the other
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 cleaning article effectively absorbs and retains liquids, reduces re-deposition of dirt, and efficiently cleans into crevices and grout lines, maintaining cleaning efficacy without matting or surface damage, even on large or heavily wetted surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
a hydrophilic gather strip element having strips and joined to the sheet at an elongate bond
Implementation Method 2
The cleaning article effectively absorbs and retains liquids
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
A cleaning article. The cleaning article has a laminate construction. The cleaning article comprises a sheet and a hydrophilic gather strip element joined together at plural bonds. The gather strip element has plural layers superimposed upon one another, providing strips extending outwardly from the bonds. Different layers are differentially bonded, to provide a construction which allows the strips to advantageously present a dynamically changing area to the target surface during cleaning, under normal usage conditions. By changing the surface area, more liquids, and associated debris, can be cleaned from the target surface.