Stick Vacuum Cleaner Camera Activation for Battery Conservation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Stick vacuum cleaners with cameras and displays struggle to conserve battery power due to continuous activation of these components during sweeping of easily accessible areas, leading to reduced energy efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A stick vacuum cleaner design featuring a camera and display that remain dormant during normal use, with an angular position sensor and control unit that activate these components only when the brush head angle falls below a predetermined limit, ensuring efficient battery use by adjusting the display's angle relative to the body for ergonomic viewing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the camera, light source and display are continuously activated during sweeping, then the user can always see the area being swept, but the battery power is depleted rapidly
Solution Approach 1:
The camera, light source and display are activated periodically based on detected sweeping conditions rather than continuously. The control unit activates these components only when dark or narrow areas are detected, allowing the system to conserve energy during normal sweeping while providing visual feedback when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The angular position sensor provides feedback about the brush head's position and angle to the control unit. This feedback enables the system to intelligently determine when to activate the camera, light source and display based on the detected angle, optimizing both energy consumption and user visibility needs.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the camera and display are activated only when needed, then battery life is extended, but the user may not see dark areas that require illumination
Solution Approach 1:
The angular position sensor continuously monitors the brush head angle and provides feedback to the control unit. When the sensor detects angles indicating the brush is in a dark or narrow area, the control unit activates the light source and display, ensuring illumination is provided precisely when and where needed while conserving battery power during normal sweeping.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the angular position sensor to automatically detect when illumination is needed and activates the light source and display without user intervention. The system serves itself by monitoring its own operational state and making appropriate adjustments to lighting and display activation.
3Device complexity
If the display angle is fixed, then the device structure is simple, but the user cannot maintain an ergonomic viewing position when sweeping under furniture
Solution Approach 1:
The display is mounted on a rotatable hinge that allows it to change its angle dynamically. The DC motor adjusts the display angle in real-time based on feedback from the angular position sensor, enabling the display to maintain an ergonomic position relative to the user even when sweeping under furniture or at different angles.
Solution Approach 2:
The angular position sensor provides continuous feedback about the brush head's angular position to the control unit. The control unit uses this feedback to adjust the display angle via the DC motor, ensuring the display remains optimally positioned for the user's line of sight regardless of the sweeping angle or position.
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 reduces energy consumption by limiting camera, light source, and display activation to hard-to-reach areas, prolonging battery life while providing users with an ergonomic and efficient cleaning experience.
Implementation Method 1
Motor, powered by the battery, creates a suction force which helps the brush head to suck inside the air along with the dust particles and transfer them via the pipe to the dust bag
Implementation Method 2
An angular position sensor is placed on to the bracket and is used to calculate the angle between the pipe and the brush head
Implementation Method 3
the control unit activates the dc motor attached to a hinge that is used to rotatable attach the display to the body
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a stick vacuum cleaner (1) comprising; a body (2), a brush head (3) having a bracket (4), a pipe (5) extending between and rotatably connecting the body (2) to the brush head (3) via the bracket (4), at least a camera (6) and a light source (7) placed on to the brush head (3) so as to capture the image of the area to be swept, a display (8) placed on to the body (2) to display the image captured by the camera (6).