Spray Mop Adapter With Spring Retainer for Retail Bottles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spray mops require specific canisters and refills, leading to retailers needing to stock multiple SKUs, causing inventory and shelf space issues due to the variety of cleaning solutions and container sizes.
Innovation Solution
A spray mop design that uses a standard retail spray bottle with a screw-on adapter and spring-loaded retainer, allowing for the use of various sized containers and eliminating the need for refills, by incorporating a valve and air vent to ensure continuous solution flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a spray mop uses standard retail spray bottles with screw-on adapters, then compatibility with different container sizes is improved and inventory management is simplified, but the device complexity increases due to the adapter mechanism with valve and air vent
Solution Approach 1:
A screw-on adapter serves as an intermediary component between the standard retail spray bottle and the spray mop receiver. The adapter includes a valve and air vent that enable the bottle to function within the mop system, providing compatibility without requiring proprietary containers. This intermediary device resolves the contradiction by enabling universal bottle acceptance while managing the complexity through a dedicated interface component.
Solution Approach 2:
The spray mop receiver is designed to universally accept standard retail spray bottles of various sizes through the adapter mechanism. This universal design allows the same mop to work with different container types and sizes, eliminating the need for multiple specialized canisters and improving adaptability while maintaining a single receiver design.
2Device complexity
If a spray mop requires specific proprietary canisters, then the device complexity is reduced with a simple receiver design, but the quantity of SKUs increases leading to inventory and shelf space issues
Solution Approach 1:
The receiver is designed with universal compatibility for standard retail spray bottles, allowing a single receiver design to work with numerous different bottle sizes and types. This eliminates the need for multiple proprietary canister designs, reducing the number of SKUs from what would otherwise be required for different specialized containers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system accepts disposable standard retail spray bottles that can be easily replaced when depleted. Users can purchase any standard spray bottle, attach it to the adapter, and use it with the mop. When the solution is used up, the entire bottle is simply removed and replaced, eliminating the need for refilling operations and reducing inventory complexity for retailers.
3Reliability
If a spray mop uses proprietary refills with spigots, then the reliability of solution delivery is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to the refilling process
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses disposable standard spray bottles that are sealed and ready to use. The entire bottle is attached to the adapter and used until depleted, then simply replaced. This eliminates the refilling process entirely, greatly improving ease of operation while maintaining reliable solution delivery through the bottle's original sealed design and the adapter's valve mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The standard retail spray bottles come pre-filled and sealed by the manufacturer, providing self-contained, ready-to-use solution containers. Users do not need to perform refilling operations; they simply attach the complete bottle to the adapter and use it. When depleted, the bottle is replaced with a new one, making the system self-servicing and eliminating manual refilling steps.
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 solution simplifies inventory management by reducing the number of SKUs required, eliminates the need for refilling, and allows compatibility with different container sizes, enhancing user convenience and retailer efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the receiver further includes a spring-loaded retainer that is adapted to allow multiple sized retail containers to be inserted and retained therein
Implementation Method 2
cleaning solution is dispensed through the spray nozzle on the lower portion of the mop when the user depresses the trigger at the proximal end of the mop's handle, thereby directing a spray of the cleaning solution ahead of the mop
Data Source
AI summary
The spray mop includes a handle having a mop head at its lower end and a grip at its upper end. The mop includes a receiver adapted to hold an inverted bottle of cleaning solution, as sold at retail with an attached sprayer. The mop includes an adapter that is screwed onto the bottle of cleaning solution after the original sprayer is removed, whereby the bottle of cleaning solution can be inverted and inserted into the receiver. A spring-loaded retainer securely holds the bottle of cleaning solution in the receiver so that if the mop is dropped, inverted, or bumped there will be no leakage, while a trigger on a handgrip at the upper portion of the mop handle activates a valve in the adapter whereby cleaning solution is dispensed through a spray nozzle at the lower portion of the receiver.