Handheld vacuum cleaner with comfortably accessible rechargeable battery holder

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing hand-held vacuum cleaners face challenges in simplifying the insertion and removal of batteries, with ergonomic considerations often overlooked, leading to difficulties in user-friendly battery replacement.

Innovation Solution

A hand-held vacuum cleaner design featuring a receptacle for the battery that allows insertion at an angle of 40° to 80° relative to the vertical, with the battery positioned partially outside the housing for easy access and gripping, enabling tool-free battery replacement by facilitating a gap between the battery and the horizontal surface when set down.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the battery is accommodated entirely inside the housing, then the structural integrity is maintained, but the battery becomes difficult to access and remove

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebattery accessibilityVSAvoidhousing structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The battery holder is designed as a separate removable component from the housing, allowing the battery to be accessed by removing the holder rather than disassembling the entire housing. This segmentation enables easy battery replacement while maintaining the integrity of the main housing structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The battery is extracted partially from the housing by extending it through the battery holder, which can be removed from the housing. This allows the battery to be easily accessed and removed without compromising the housing structure, as the holder acts as an intermediate extraction mechanism.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Ease of operation

If the battery is made easily removable, then user convenience is improved, but the risk of accidental detachment increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebattery removalVSAvoidbattery retention
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The battery holder includes engagement features that automatically secure the battery in place during normal operation. The holder is designed to engage with the housing in a predetermined manner, ensuring the battery remains securely retained during use while allowing intentional removal when needed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The battery holder employs a dynamic retention mechanism that maintains strong engagement during normal operation but allows easy release when intentionally activated. The engagement features are designed to be stable under operational forces but can be disengaged through simple user action, balancing retention reliability with removal ease.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3409160B1Handheld vacuum cleaner with comfortably accessible rechargeable battery holder
Publication Date: 2022.04.27 BSH HAUSGERATE GMBH
  • EP3409160B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3409160B1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

Hand-held, battery-operated vacuum cleaner (1), having a suction opening (3), a dust separation device (4) and a motor-fan unit (5), the motor-fan unit being designed to generate a suction air flow, which extends from the suction opening via the dust separator to the motor-fan unit. The vacuum cleaner has a handle (7) and a receptacle (10) for a replaceable battery (9). The receptacle is designed so that the replaceable battery can be inserted into the receptacle in a direction of insertion (16) that runs obliquely from the back to the front and below. The receptacle is arranged in such a way that when the vacuum cleaner is set down on a horizontal base (15), a gap (20) is formed between the underside of a battery inserted into the receptacle and the horizontal base. The direction of insertion runs at an angle (17) in the range of 40° to 80° to the vertical (18) of the vacuum cleaner.