Removable Rotatable Agitator with Splined Drive for Easy Debris Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vacuum cleaners face difficulties in removing debris entangled in mechanical agitators, such as rotating brush rolls, which can lead to decreased performance and potential damage, and lack versatility for different surfaces and conditions.
Innovation Solution
A removable rotatable agitator assembly with an openable agitator chamber and a drive mechanism that allows for easy access and removal of the agitator, featuring a splined driven member for engagement with a splined drive mechanism, enabling the use of different agitator elements for various surfaces and conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rotating brush roll is used as a mechanical agitator, then cleaning performance on carpets is improved, but debris removal becomes difficult and performance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The brush roll is segmented into multiple independent bristle sections that can be independently removed and replaced. This allows users to access and remove debris from specific sections without disassembling the entire vacuum cleaner, resolving the contradiction between maintaining cleaning performance and enabling easy debris removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The brush roll is designed with dynamically removable bristle sections that can be quickly exchanged based on cleaning needs. This dynamic design allows the brush to maintain optimal cleaning performance while enabling easy access for debris removal when performance decreases.
2Reliability
If a rotating brush roll is used for carpet cleaning, then agitation on carpet surfaces is improved, but versatility for hard wood floors is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The brush roll system incorporates multiple interchangeable bristle section types designed for different surface requirements. Users can exchange bristle sections with varying stiffness, length, and material properties to optimize performance for carpets, hard wood floors, or other surfaces, achieving both specialized agitation and broad versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
Different bristle sections have varying physical parameters such as bristle stiffness, length, density, and material composition. By changing these parameters through section replacement, the brush roll adapts to different surface types while maintaining effective agitation for carpet cleaning.
3Device complexity
If the agitator is located inside the surface cleaning head, then the cleaning mechanism is compact, but access for inspection and cleaning becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The bristle sections are extracted as removable components from the brush roll assembly. This allows users to easily remove and inspect specific sections for debris entanglement without disassembling the entire cleaning head, maintaining compactness while improving accessibility for maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The brush roll design includes preliminary access features such as removable covers or snap-off sections that allow users to inspect and clean the agitator before performance degradation occurs. This preliminary access maintains the compact internal structure while enabling easy maintenance operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A removable rotatable driven agitator is used in a surface cleaning head and is driven by a drive mechanism that axially engages a driven end of the agitator. The removable rotatable driven agitator may be located in an openable agitator chamber for purposes of removing debris and/or removing the agitator. The openable agitator chamber may be covered by an external cover that is movable between an open position and a closed position. The removable agitator may be secured in the agitator chamber by the external cover. The removable rotatable agitator may have an end cap mounted on a rotatable bushing at a non-driven end and may have a splined driven member at the driven end to engage a splined drive member on the drive mechanism.