Retractable Lint Roller Housing for Clean Portable Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lint removers are bulky, difficult to operate, and prone to picking up dirt and debris, making them less effective and unsightly, with no efficient solution for portability and easy deployment.
Innovation Solution
A compact, portable lint removal device with a housing that contains the lint-removing roller, featuring a deployable mechanism with an actuator that allows the roller to move transversely and be easily extended for use, then retracted for protection, using a combination of pins, slots, and spring biasing for easy operation and cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the lint-removing adhesive material is always exposed around the roll, then the lint remover can be used immediately, but the adhesive material picks up dirt and unwanted material during transport, rendering it less effective and unsightly
Solution Approach 1:
The lint-removing adhesive material is housed within a protective housing that contains it during transport. The roller can be deployed from the housing when needed, protecting the adhesive from dirt and unwanted material while maintaining ease of use.
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive material is extracted from continuous exposure by being contained within the housing, separating the protective function from the lint-removing function. This allows the adhesive to remain protected until deployment.
2Volume of moving object
If the lint remover is made compact and portable, then it becomes easier to carry, but the roller deployment mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into distinct functional components: a housing containing the adhesive material, a roller for lint removal, and a simple actuator mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having a complex mechanism to retract the roller into the housing, the design uses a simple actuator that deploys the roller, with the housing structure itself providing the retraction path. This inverts the complexity from active retraction to passive containment.
3Reliability
If more sheets of lint-removing adhesive material are used to compensate for contamination, then the adhesive effectiveness is maintained, but material waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing contains multiple sheets of adhesive material in a nested configuration, protecting all sheets during transport. Only the outermost sheet is exposed during use, eliminating the need to waste additional sheets due to contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing pre-protects the adhesive material from contamination before use, eliminating the need to discard contaminated sheets. This preliminary protective action preserves material effectiveness and reduces waste.
Data Source
AI summary
A lint removing device (10), the device (10) comprising: a housing (12), a roller (14) for holding a lint-removing material (141), wherein the roller (14) and lint-removing material (141) are dimensioned and configured to be housed by the housing (12), wherein the roller (14) and housing (12) are arranged such that the roller (14) is deployable from the housing (12); and an actuator (16) coupled with or formed by either the roller (14) or the housing (12), the actuator (16) being manipulable by a user to deploy the roller (14).