Push Broom Head with Waffle Structure for Safety

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional push brooms are unsuitable for use in institutional environments like prisons due to their dense, heavy, and rigid heads that can be used as blunt or pointed weapons, posing safety concerns.

Innovation Solution

A push broom head made from a soft, low-density polymeric material with a waffle structure and internally threaded socket for handle attachment, featuring open pockets on the upper surface to reduce mass and enhance safety, while maintaining stiffness through axially and laterally extending ribs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the push broom head is made from dense, heavy, and rigid wood or polymeric material, then the structural strength and durability are improved, but the safety risk increases due to potential use as a weapon

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural strengthVSAvoidsafety risk

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The push broom head incorporates a waffle structure with multiple pockets that create a porous, hollow configuration. This reduces the overall density and mass of the broom head while maintaining structural integrity through the rib framework, thereby reducing its potential as a weapon while preserving sweeping functionality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #31Porous materials

Solution Approach 2:

The invention uses a composite structure combining polymeric material with a waffle-pattern geometry. The polymeric material provides basic durability while the waffle structure modifies the physical properties to reduce density and mass, creating a composite effect that balances strength and safety.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Object-affected harmful factors

If the push broom head is made from soft, low-density polymeric material with waffle structure, then the safety risk is reduced, but the structural rigidity may be compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety riskVSAvoidstructural rigidity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The broom head is segmented into multiple walls forming pockets, creating a waffle structure. This segmentation distributes structural loads across multiple elements, maintaining rigidity despite the reduced material density, while the overall hollow structure reduces mass for safety.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The waffle structure introduces a three-dimensional geometric configuration with vertical and horizontal ribs creating a lattice framework. This multi-dimensional structure provides structural support and rigidity that compensates for the lower density material, maintaining strength while reducing mass.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS9913529B2Push broom head and push broom including same

Publication Date: 2018.03.13 TOMM ERWIN

AI summary

A push broom head includes a body including an upper face, a lower face, a front face, a rear face, and left and right end faces. A plurality of sweeper bristles project outwardly from the lower face. A handle mounting block portion includes a socket adapted to receive an associated broom handle. The handle mounting block portion is located between left and right portions of the body. The body includes a plurality of open pockets defined in the upper face on both the left and right portions of the body. Each of the pockets opens through the upper face of the body and comprises a bottom wall. Each of the pockets defines a depth between the upper face of the body and the respective bottom wall.