Autonomous Floor Cleaner Scrubbing Belt for Side Surface Cleaning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous floor cleaners are limited in their cleaning reach, typically only able to clean surfaces directly under and between their wheels, restricting their ability to effectively clean areas such as baseboards and other side surfaces beyond their operational range.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous floor cleaner equipped with a motorized agitation cartridge featuring a scrubbing belt system that can move in a closed loop path, including both vertical and horizontal portions, allowing it to scrub side surfaces and areas beyond the reach of traditional cleaning implements, with independent motor control for each belt and a dispensing and recovery system for cleaning liquids and debris.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If the cleaning implement is positioned on the underside of the cleaner inboard of the wheels, then the cleaner structure is compact and stable, but the cleaning reach is limited to surfaces directly under the cleaner
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends cleaning from the traditional horizontal plane under the cleaner to a vertical dimension by positioning the agitation cartridge on the side of the cleaner body. The scrubbing belt operates in a closed loop path that includes both vertical portions for side surfaces and horizontal portions for floor surfaces, enabling three-dimensional cleaning coverage beyond the conventional two-dimensional limit.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning system is divided into separate functional modules: the onboard cleaning implement for floor surfaces and the removable agitation cartridge with scrubbing belt for side surfaces. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in specific cleaning tasks, expanding overall cleaning capability without requiring the entire system to be redesigned.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a scrubbing belt system is added to clean side surfaces beyond the reach of traditional implements, then cleaning versatility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The scrubbing belt is designed to perform multiple functions: it cleans vertical side surfaces during vertical portions of its cycle and horizontal floor surfaces during horizontal portions. The single belt system replaces what would traditionally require separate cleaning devices for different surfaces, achieving multi-functionality without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The agitation cartridge and scrubbing belt system is designed to be removable and interchangeable with the recovery tank assembly. This dynamic configuration allows the system to adapt between different cleaning modes and enables easy maintenance or replacement of the agitation cartridge without affecting the entire cleaner system.
3Area of stationary object
If the belt moves in a closed loop path with vertical and horizontal portions, then cleaning coverage is expanded to multiple surfaces, but the mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drive mechanism for the scrubbing belt is integrated with the existing recovery tank assembly mounting system. The agitation cartridge combines the scrubbing belt, drive mechanism, and mounting interface into a single integrated unit that attaches to the cleaner body in the same receptacle designed for the recovery tank, merging multiple functions into one assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The closed loop belt path acts as an intermediary mechanism that translates the rotational motion from the drive motor into complex multi-directional scrubbing movements. The belt itself serves as the mediator that contacts both vertical and horizontal surfaces, allowing the drive mechanism to remain relatively simple while achieving complex cleaning patterns.
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
Enables the autonomous cleaning of surfaces beyond the traditional reach of onboard cleaning implements, such as baseboards and kickspace areas, enhancing the cleaning capabilities of autonomous floor cleaners without human intervention.
Implementation Method 1
a motorized belt drive mechanism for moving the belt in a rotational manner relative to the side surface
Implementation Method 2
a motorized belt drive mechanism for moving the belt in a back and forth manner relative to the side surface
Implementation Method 3
a dispensing system for dispensing a cleaning liquid onto the belt
Implementation Method 4
a recovery system for recovering materials from the belt
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaner employing an agitation cartridge to clean a side surface beyond a reach of other onboard cleaning implements. The cleaner may be an autonomous floor cleaner having a body, a cleaning implement onboard the body operable for cleaning a floor surface, a motorized drive system operable for autonomously moving the body over the floor surface, and a scrubbing belt operable for cleaning the side surface.