Side brush with bristles at different lengths and/or angles for use in a robot cleaner and side brush deflectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robot cleaners often struggle with effectively navigating and cleaning surfaces with varying treatments and obstacles, such as area rugs, due to the limited design of their side brushes, which can become entangled or inefficiently sweep debris.
Innovation Solution
The side brushes are designed with bristles of varying lengths and angles, allowing for a larger sweeping area and reduced entanglement risk, while also being rotatably coupled to the robot cleaner to direct debris towards the vacuum inlet.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If side brush has uniform bristle length and angle, then manufacturing is simple, but cleaning effectiveness on varying surfaces is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The side brush incorporates bristles with varying lengths and/or angles at different locations around the hub perimeter. This local variation allows the brush to adapt to different surface conditions (hard floors, area rugs, transitions) at different positions, improving cleaning effectiveness without requiring complex manufacturing processes. The hub can be manufactured with multiple attachment points or zones that accommodate different bristle configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The side brush is divided into multiple segments or groups of bristles, each with specific length and angle characteristics. These segmented bristle groups can be independently configured to handle different cleaning scenarios, allowing the brush to address varying surface treatments and obstacles more effectively while maintaining manageable manufacturing complexity through modular assembly.
2Area of stationary object
If side brush has longer bristles, then sweeping area is increased, but entanglement with surface treatments increases
Solution Approach 1:
The side brush uses bristles of varying lengths distributed around the hub, with longer bristles positioned to maximize sweeping area in open areas, and shorter bristles positioned to reduce entanglement risk near obstacles and surface treatments like area rugs. This localized optimization allows the brush to achieve both extended reach and reduced entanglement through strategic bristle placement.
3Ease of manufacture
If side brush bristles extend at same angle, then manufacturing is simplified, but adaptability to different cleaning scenarios is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The side brush incorporates bristles with varying angles of extension from the hub at different locations. This angular variation allows the brush to adapt to different cleaning scenarios such as corners, edges, and open areas, while the hub design maintains manufacturability through standardized attachment mechanisms that accommodate multiple angle configurations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enhances the cleaning performance by increasing the reach and efficiency of debris collection, reducing entanglement with surface treatments, and ensuring effective debris redirection into the vacuum inlet.
Implementation Method 1
the rotation of the side brush urges debris beyond the periphery of the robot vacuum cleaner in a direction of the robot vacuum cleaner
Data Source
AI summary
A robot cleaner including a body, a driven wheel, and a side brush coupled to the body. The side brush includes a hub configured to rotate about a pivot axis and a plurality of bristles. Some bristles may form a first angle with the pivot axis and others form a second angle with the pivot axis which is larger than the first angle. Some bristles may have a first bristle length and others have a second bristle length which is larger than the first bristle length. The robot cleaner may include a side brush deflector to deflect debris propelled by the side brush towards the vacuum inlet. The side brush deflector includes a plurality of deflector bristles extending downwardly from a floor facing surface of the robot cleaner towards a floor such that some of the bristles pass through or underneath a portion of the deflector bristles.