Self-Cleaning Filter Unit with Rotatable Element for Vacuum Cleaners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vacuum cleaner filter units require manual and often ineffective dust removal, which can contaminate cleaned areas and pose hygiene risks, especially for allergy sufferers, and existing mechanisms can reduce filter permeability or trap dirt.
Innovation Solution
A filter unit design featuring a first filter surrounded by a second filter with a rotatable cleaning element that sweeps along the first filter, allowing efficient dust removal without reducing airflow, using a torque-locking mechanism and bayonet fitting for easy separation and disposal of collected dirt.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual tapping is used to remove dust from the filter, then the user can empty the dust container, but the cleaning is ineffective and may require touching dirty surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The filter unit performs self-cleaning through a mechanical impulse mechanism that automatically knocks dust off the filter surface during the emptying process, eliminating the need for manual tapping and reducing direct contact with dirty surfaces
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning mechanism uses a rotatable element with elastic pre-tension that dynamically deflects and releases to create a hammer-like impulse on the filter, transforming static manual tapping into a dynamic automated cleaning action
2Productivity
If a mechanism with a handle is added to knock dust out of the filter, then dust removal capability is improved, but the handle reduces filter element permeability and can trap dirt
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is extracted from the air outlet area and repositioned to the lateral surface of the filter unit, removing the obstruction to airflow while maintaining the dust-knocking function through the rotatable element mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanism is repositioned from an axial configuration (handle in air outlet) to a lateral configuration (rotatable element on side surface), changing the spatial dimension of the cleaning action to preserve filter permeability
3Power
If the rotatable cleaning element is axially pre-tensioned to the axis of rotation by an elastic element, then the cleaning impulse is improved, but the mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic element creates a vibratory motion in the rotatable element during rotation, generating dynamic impact forces that enhance dust removal effectiveness while using simple mechanical components
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning mechanism operates periodically during the rotation cycle, with the elastic element storing and releasing energy at specific intervals to create repeated hammer-like impulses on the filter surface
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3~4
AI summary
A filter unit (115) for a vacuum cleaner comprises a first filter (205) with a longitudinal axis (215); a second filter (210) surrounding the first filter (205); and a cleaning element (245) which is rotatably arranged in the first filter (205) about the longitudinal axis (215) and is configured to sweep along the first filter (205). The cleaning element (245) is torque-locked to the second filter (210).