Pivoting Floor Cleaning Head for Corner and Wall Maneuverability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing manually guided floor cleaning machines require significant user effort to navigate and clean difficult-to-reach areas, such as corners and areas close to walls, due to limited maneuverability and inefficient brush rotation assistance during travel.
Innovation Solution
A compact floor cleaning machine design with a pivotable cleaning head that can rotate up to 180° relative to the travel direction, driven by an electric motor, and a steering rod device that allows for ergonomic operation and reduced fatigue, enabling efficient cleaning of hard-to-reach areas with minimized user exertion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the cleaning head is made pivotable to increase maneuverability, then the ability to clean corners and hard-to-reach areas is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning machine is divided into separate functional modules: a pivotable cleaning head assembly, a chassis with wheel arrangement, and a drive device. The cleaning head can be independently pivoted relative to the chassis, allowing maneuverability improvement while keeping each module's complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning head is designed with dynamic pivotability, allowing it to rotate freely to access different cleaning areas. This dynamic configuration enables the cleaning head to adapt its orientation during operation, improving versatility without permanently increasing structural complexity.
2Ease of operation
If the brush rotation is used to assist travel movement, then the user effort is reduced, but the control difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drive device that rotates the brush is configured to automatically assist the travel movement. As the user pushes or guides the machine, the rotating brush provides propulsive force without requiring separate control inputs, making the system self-assisting and reducing user effort.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning function and propulsion function are merged into a single integrated system. The same drive device that rotates the brush for cleaning also provides travel assistance, combining multiple functions into one mechanism to simplify control.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the cleaning head is pivotable by more than 90 degrees, then the cleaning coverage in difficult areas is improved, but the stability during operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning head employs dynamic pivotability with a range exceeding 90 degrees, allowing it to adapt to various cleaning geometries including corners and narrow spaces. The pivot mechanism maintains stability during operation through proper mechanical design, balancing flexibility with operational control.
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 machine achieves high maneuverability and reduced user effort by allowing the cleaning head to pivot extensively and using the brush rotation to assist travel, ensuring effective cleaning of areas close to walls and corners with optimized mobility and energy efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
drive device for the driven rotation of the at least one brush
Implementation Method 2
by means of a driven rotation of the at least one brush to bring about or at least to assist a travel movement of the floor cleaning machine
Data Source
AI summary
A manually guided floor cleaning machine is provided, including a chassis with a front end and a rear end in relation to a straight ahead forward travel direction, a wheel arrangement, which is arranged on the chassis in the region of the rear end, and a cleaning head, which is pivotably arranged on the chassis in the region of the front end, at least one brush being arranged on the cleaning head and a drive device being arranged for the driven rotation of the at least one brush, a rotational axis of the at least one brush being parallel to a wheel axis of the wheel arrangement in the straight ahead forward travel direction.