Autonomous Floor Cleaner Handle Locking Tanks Against Spillage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous or robotic floor cleaners face issues with liquid spillage and handling when lifted or moved, as the supply and recovery tanks can slosh and spill liquid during transport or emptying.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous floor cleaner with a carry handle that can be moved between stowed and carry positions, featuring a latching assembly, detent mechanism, and blocking mechanism to secure and seal the tanks, allowing for safe lifting and handling without spilling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the floor cleaner is lifted and carried to different locations, then user mobility and convenience are improved, but liquid in the tanks can slosh around and spill out
Solution Approach 1:
The blocking mechanism proactively seals the tank inlet and outlet openings before the floor cleaner is lifted and transported. This preliminary action prevents liquid spillage from occurring during carrying operations, resolving the contradiction between user mobility and liquid containment.
2Ease of operation
If the carry handle is added to enable lifting, then ease of transport is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The carry handle is designed to perform multiple functions: it serves as a lifting handle for transporting the floor cleaner, and simultaneously operates as a blocking mechanism to seal tank openings during transport. This multi-functionality reduces overall device complexity while maintaining ease of transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The blocking mechanism is integrated with the carry handle structure, merging two separate functions (lifting and sealing) into a single unified component. This integration simplifies the overall device design while providing both transport capability and spill prevention.
3Ease of repair
If the tank is separated from the housing for emptying, then maintenance accessibility is improved, but liquid spillage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The blocking mechanism seals the tank openings before the tank is separated from the housing for maintenance. This preliminary sealing action prevents liquid spillage during the removal and emptying operations, allowing easy maintenance while eliminating spillage risk.
Data Source
AI summary
An autonomous floor cleaner can include a housing, a drive system for autonomously moving the housing over the surface to be cleaned, a controller for controlling the operation of the autonomous floor cleaner, a tank adapted to hold liquid, and a carry handle joined with the tank and/or the housing. The carry handle is movable between a stowed position and a carry position. The carry handle can include one or more capturing assemblies such that the carry handle can be selectively rotated between different orientations allowing for one or more of: locking/securing the tank to the housing, activating/deactivating the floor cleaner based on handle position; carrying the entire floor cleaner; ejecting the tank from the housing; carrying the tank separately; and emptying the tank.