Floor cleaning article having strips with differential bond pattern
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cleaning articles, such as rags and disposable dusters, are inadequate for cleaning large or heavily wetted surfaces like floors, as they can redeposit dirt and fail to effectively clean crevices or grout lines due to their flat design.
Innovation Solution
A laminate construction cleaning article with a hydrophilic gather strip element and an absorbent core, where the gather strip element has layers joined to the sheet with a combination of common and secondary bonds, allowing for a dynamically changing surface area during cleaning, reducing re-deposition and improving cleaning efficacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a generally flat floor sheet is used, then liquid absorption is achieved, but dirt can be re-deposited and crevices or grout lines cannot be adequately cleaned
Solution Approach 1:
The floor cleaning article incorporates a gather strip element with multiple layers that can dynamically change their configuration during cleaning. The layers are joined by bonds that allow relative movement, enabling the strips to conform to floor crevices and grout lines while maintaining liquid absorption capacity, thus resolving the contradiction between absorption and cleaning effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The gather strip element is divided into multiple layers (first layer proximate to the sheet and at least one outward layer) that can move independently relative to each other. This segmentation allows different portions of the cleaning article to perform different functions - some layers absorb liquid while others contact and clean crevices, improving overall cleaning effectiveness without sacrificing absorption
2Ease of operation
If tow fibers are used for wet cleaning, then cleaning capability is provided, but fibers become matted and are not suitable for large or heavily wetted surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a composite structure combining a sheet with a gather strip element having multiple layers. This composite construction provides the cleaning capability needed for wet surfaces while the multi-layer design prevents matting by allowing layers to move independently, maintaining reliability for large and heavily wetted surfaces like floors
3Ease of manufacture
If a dynamically changing surface is presented throughout the cleaning task, then re-deposition is reduced and crevices are cleaned, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gather strip element is designed with multiple layers joined by bonds that permit relative movement between layers. This dynamic structure allows the cleaning surface to change configuration during use, enabling the article to adapt to floor crevices and reduce re-deposition without requiring complex mechanical mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the cleaning article by using multiple layers with differential bond patterns. The bonds allow controlled movement and configuration changes in response to cleaning forces, enabling dynamic surface presentation through material behavior rather than complex mechanical actuation
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 laminate construction cleaning article effectively absorbs and retains liquids, minimizing re-deposition and improving cleaning performance in crevices and grout lines, while maintaining ease of movement across surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
a hydrophilic gather strip element having strips and joined to the sheet at an elongate bond
Data Source
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.