Floor-Mounted Dry Mop Cleaner with In-Wall Vacuum Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dry mop cleaning methods are inconvenient, labor-intensive, and inefficient in removing debris from mop fibers, often requiring outdoor agitation or cumbersome vacuum attachments, and may re-release particles back into the environment.
Innovation Solution
A floor-mounted apparatus with a top plate and protrusions that forms a cavity with the floor, connected to an in-wall vacuum system via a conduit, allowing for efficient debris removal by drawing air and debris through a vacuum passage while agitating mop fibers against protrusions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a vacuum with a handheld attachment is used to clean the dry mop, then debris can be removed from the mop, but it is labour intensive and difficult to remove the vacuum device or hose from storage
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by allowing the mop to be cleaned automatically as it is used. The mop head passes through the floor opening and debris is automatically suctioned away without requiring the user to manually operate a vacuum cleaner, thus eliminating the need to store and retrieve vacuum equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
A floor-mounted cleaning station acts as an intermediary between the mop and the central vacuum system. This station includes a floor opening and suction mechanism that automatically captures debris when the mop passes through, eliminating the need for handheld vacuum attachments while maintaining effective debris removal.
2Productivity
If the mop head is lifted or inserted into a device for cleaning, then debris can be removed, but debris remains on the floor requiring additional labour to remove it
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous useful action by capturing debris at the source during the normal mop cleaning process. As the mop head passes through the floor opening, debris is continuously suctioned away, eliminating the need for separate floor cleaning operations and ensuring uninterrupted cleaning workflow.
3Ease of operation
If the mop is agitated against an outdoor surface, then debris can be removed, but particles are released back into the environment and it is inconvenient to transport the mop outdoors
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the harmful function of outdoor surface agitation and replaces it with an indoor vacuum-based system. Debris is removed through suction through the floor opening rather than through mechanical agitation against outdoor surfaces, eliminating particle release into the environment while keeping the cleaning process convenient and indoor-based.
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
Facilitates convenient and effective debris removal from dry mop fibers without re-releasing particles, reducing labor and environmental impact by utilizing a built-in vacuum system for efficient cleaning.
Implementation Method 1
drawing air and contents of the cavity through a conduit into an outlet of an in-wall wall vacuum system
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for cleaning mops comprising a top plate adapted to be engaged upon and spaced apart from a floor surface so as to form a cavity therebetween, an open face formed along an edge between the top plate and the floor surface and a plurality of protrusions extending from the top plate in a direction toward the floor surface, spaced apart along the open face, and a conduit extending between a proximate and a distal end, the proximate end extending through the top plate so as to place an interior of the conduit in fluid connection with the cavity, the distal end having a connector operable to be engaged in fluidic communication with an in-wall vacuum outlet. A method for cleaning a mop comprising passing a mop across a floor surface in proximity to an opening formed between a top plate and the floor surface, the top plate engaged upon the floor surface around a periphery thereof forming a cavity between the top plate and the floor surface, with the opening along an edge thereof into the cavity, agitating at least one element of the mop against at least one protrusion extending from the top plate into the opening; and drawing air and contents of the cavity through a conduit into an outlet of an in-wall wall vacuum system.