Cleaning Roller Bushing Shroud for Stable Speed and Less Pinching
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Solution Overview
Problem
In robotic vacuum cleaners, the cleaning roller's rotational speed can fluctuate due to pinching between the floor and a bushing shroud, leading to decreased and increased speed episodes, which causes wear and noise.
Innovation Solution
A bushing shroud with a reduced cross-section is used to provide additional compliance at the bearing end of the cleaning roller, allowing it to deflect radially inward and reducing the likelihood of pinching, while maintaining protection against hair migration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a bushing shroud is used to protect against hair migration, then protection against hair migration is improved, but the cleaning roller shell can become pinched between the floor and the bushing shroud, causing rotational speed fluctuations
Solution Approach 1:
The bushing shroud is designed with a reduced cross-section that provides flexibility and compliance. This allows the shroud to deflect radially inward when the cleaning roller shell contacts the floor, preventing pinching while maintaining the protective barrier against hair migration into the roller core.
Solution Approach 2:
The bushing shroud's cross-sectional dimensions are reduced in specific portions to change its mechanical properties. This parameter change provides additional compliance and flexibility, enabling the shroud to accommodate the cleaning roller shell during floor contact without causing pinching or rotational speed fluctuations.
2Reliability
If the bushing shroud cross section is reduced to provide compliance, then rotational speed stability is improved, but the protection against hair migration may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The bushing shroud is designed with non-uniform cross-section, where specific portions have reduced dimensions to provide compliance and flexibility. Other portions maintain sufficient size to preserve the protective barrier function, achieving local optimization of both compliance and protection properties.
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 configuration stabilizes the rotational speed of the cleaning roller, reducing wear and noise, and improving debris pickup efficiency by preventing pinching and wind-up issues.
Implementation Method 1
provide additional compliance in the bearing end of the cleaning roller, allowing it to deflect radially inward
Data Source
AI summary
A roller assembly for a mobile cleaning system for cleaning a work surface can include a drive shaft, a sheath, a bushing, and a bushing shroud. The drive shaft can be rotatable about a drive axis, and the drive shaft can include a driven end and an opposite bushing end. The sheath can be supported by the drive shaft and the sheath can be rotatable with the drive shaft. The sheath can include a shell engageable with the work surface. The bushing can be located about the bushing end of the drive shaft. The bushing shroud can be connected to the bushing. The sheath and the drive shaft can be together rotatable with respect to the bushing and the bushing shroud, the bushing shroud can include an outer portion defining a first radius of curvature and a recessed portion connected to the outer portion.