Vacuum cleaner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing handheld vacuum cleaners face challenges in achieving a compact design with optimal ergonomics and reach while maintaining high performance, particularly in cleaning under furniture, due to issues with dirt container orientation, airflow generation, and pressure loss caused by bends in the air channel.
Innovation Solution
A handheld vacuum cleaner design featuring a cyclone device and dirt container oriented substantially perpendicular to the suction tube, with a compact arrangement of the airflow generator close to the handle, minimizing bends and pressure loss, and allowing the suction tube to be placed horizontally for effective cleaning under furniture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the cyclone and dirt container are oriented perpendicular to the suction tube, then the vacuum cleaner achieves a compact design with improved ergonomics, but the air channel requires precise alignment to minimize bends and pressure loss
Solution Approach 1:
The cyclone and dirt container are reoriented from a conventional parallel arrangement to a perpendicular orientation relative to the suction tube. This dimensional change allows the air channel to connect more directly, reducing the number and severity of bends, and enabling a more compact overall configuration while maintaining effective airflow paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The suction tube is designed with flexibility to accommodate different orientations and positions of the cyclone device. This dynamic capability allows the tube to adapt to the perpendicular arrangement without requiring rigid, complex mounting structures, thereby simplifying the overall device assembly while maintaining optimal airflow.
2Ease of operation
If the suction tube is positioned horizontally for cleaning under furniture, then reach and accessibility are improved, but dirt may fall out of a conventionally oriented dirt container
Solution Approach 1:
The dirt container is reoriented from a conventional vertical arrangement to a perpendicular orientation relative to the suction tube. This dimensional reconfiguration ensures that the container's opening remains properly oriented even when the suction tube is positioned horizontally for cleaning under furniture, thereby maintaining both reach and reliable dirt containment.
3Loss of energy
If bends are minimized in the air channel, then pressure loss is reduced and suction performance is improved, but the device layout becomes more constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The air channel is reconfigured by changing the spatial orientation of the cyclone device to perpendicular relative to the suction tube. This allows the air channel to follow a more direct path with fewer and gentler bends, significantly reducing pressure drop and improving suction performance, while the flexible suction tube accommodates the constrained layout.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible suction tube compensates for the constrained layout by adapting its shape and position dynamically. This allows the air channel to maintain optimal airflow paths with minimal bends while accommodating the fixed perpendicular arrangement of the cyclone device, thereby reducing pressure loss without sacrificing layout feasibility.
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 achieves a compact, high-performing vacuum cleaner with improved ergonomics and reach, reducing pressure drop and facilitating easy cleaning under furniture by maintaining the center of mass close to the handle and minimizing bends in the air channel.
Implementation Method 1
a cyclone device having a cyclone and a dirt container both oriented substantially perpendicular to the suction tube, a cyclone device input coupled to the suction tube from which the input air is transported (swirled, i.e. following a spiral around a center) in a first direction substantially perpendicular to the suction tube to reach a stage at which dirt is separated from the input air
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A vacuum cleaner comprises a nozzle (N) for cleaning a surface, a suction tube (T) for receiving input air from the nozzle (N), a cyclone device having a cyclone (C) and a dirt container (DC) both oriented substantially perpendicular to the suction tube (T), a cyclone device input coupled to the suction tube (T) from which the input air is transported, following a spiral around a center, in a first direction substantially perpendicular to the suction tube (T) to reach a stage (V) at which dirt is separated from the input air to obtain cyclone output air, from which stage the cyclone output air is conveyed through a conduit in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the suction tube (T) and opposite to the first direction to arrive at a cyclone device output, a filter (F) for filtering the cyclone output air, and an airflow generator (A) for generating an airflow through the suction tube (T), the cyclone (C) and the filter (F), wherein when the nozzle (N) is touching the surface, the suction tube (T) is put in a substantially horizontal position, the first and second directions are substantially perpendicular to the surface, with the notion substantially perpendicular allowing for a deviation of not more than 35 degrees.