Pivoting Suction Foot Assembly for Uneven Floor Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing floor cleaning machines with rigid squeegee designs struggle to effectively clean surfaces with unevenness, such as ramps, as they can become damaged due to the inability to adapt to inclines and uneven floors, leading to loss of contact and incomplete liquid extraction.
Innovation Solution
The squeegee arrangement features pivotally connected arms that can independently pivot out of the plane of the suction foot, allowing them to adapt to uneven surfaces without damaging the central body, ensuring continuous contact and efficient liquid extraction by limiting the pivoting angle to less than 10°, and incorporating support wheels for optimal positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the squeegee has a rigid central body with elongated arms firmly connected to the middle section, then the squeegee maintains structural strength and stability on flat surfaces, but it becomes damaged when encountering inclined sections or uneven floors as it cannot adapt to the surface changes
Solution Approach 1:
The central body is segmented into the middle section and two arms that are pivotally connected rather than firmly connected. This segmentation allows each arm to independently pivot and adapt to surface unevenness while maintaining the overall structural integrity of the squeegee assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The arms are designed with pivotal connections that enable dynamic movement and adaptation to varying floor conditions. The arms can pivot independently to follow inclined sections or uneven surfaces, transforming the rigid structure into a dynamic system that responds to environmental changes.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the arms are firmly connected to the middle section in one piece, then the squeegee plane remains stable and aligned parallel to the floor surface on flat areas, but the arms cannot independently move to avoid bumps or adapt to inclines
Solution Approach 1:
The firm connection between arms and middle section is replaced with pivotal connections, segmenting the rigid structure into movable components. This allows each arm to independently pivot while maintaining their connection to the middle section, enabling both stability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection type is changed from fixed to pivotal, allowing the arms to change their angular position relative to the middle section. This parameter change enables the arms to adapt to surface variations while maintaining stable operation on flat surfaces.
3Length of moving object
If the squeegee arms are rigid and elongated, then the squeegee can effectively cover large floor areas, but the arms are prone to bending or breaking when only one end contacts an inclined portion while the center remains supported
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid arms are transformed into dynamically movable arms with pivotal connections. This allows the arms to pivot and follow inclined surfaces rather than remaining rigid, eliminating the bending moments that would cause damage to long arms on uneven surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivotal connections act as cushioning elements that absorb and accommodate the forces encountered when arms contact inclined surfaces. Instead of rigidly transmitting bending forces through the arm structure, the pivot connections allow controlled movement that prevents damage.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
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AI summary
Shown and described is a squeegee assembly (21) for a floor cleaning machine (1) for sucking liquid from a floor surface (7) to be cleaned, having a central body (17) which has a middle section (27) and a first and a second arm (29, 31), wherein the middle section (27) is designed to be held on a coupling element (11) of the floor cleaning machine (1) in such a way that the middle section (27) is firmly aligned with the coupling element (11), the sealing lips ( 39, 41) towards the floor surface (7) to be cleaned, so that the central body (17) and the sealing lips (39, 41) delimit an interior space when their free ends lie on the floor surface (7) to be cleaned, and wherein the middle section (27) has a connection (35) via which the interior can be connected to a dirt container (15) of the floor cleaning machine (1). The arms (29, 31) are pivoted on the central section (27) via pivot connections (51, 55) in such a way that they can pivot away from the floor surface (7) to be cleaned and out of the squeegee plane (37).