Suction head with a rotating brush with a cleaning blade

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Solution Overview

Problem

Vacuum cleaners with rotating brushes struggle to effectively collect dust particles from carpets due to tangential speeds and offset angles of bristles and cleaning blades, leading to inefficient cleaning performance.

Innovation Solution

A suction head design with a rotating brush and cleaning blade, where the cleaning blade is angularly offset relative to the bristles, and the brush diameter and rotation speed are optimized to achieve a tangential speed ratio between 2.5 and 3.5, ensuring efficient capture of dust particles projected into the air by the bristles.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the brush diameter and rotation speed are increased to improve dust collection, then the cleaning performance improves, but the suction head cannot pass under low furniture

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedust collection efficiencyVSAvoidbrush diameter
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The cleaning blade performs preliminary action by projecting dust particles toward the suction inlet before the bristles complete their scraping motion. This anticipatory positioning of dust particles ensures they are captured in the suction flow before gravity can cause them to fall back, resolving the contradiction between effective dust collection and compact brush dimensions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system utilizes dynamic timing relationships between the rotating bristles and cleaning blade, with the blade positioned at a specific angular offset (20-90 degrees) to create optimal dust projection timing. This dynamic coordination allows compact brush dimensions while maintaining high dust collection efficiency through precisely timed particle projection into the suction path.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Productivity

If the cleaning blade is positioned at a large offset angle to capture dust, then dust collection improves, but dust particles fall back onto the floor before being captured

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedust capture efficiencyVSAvoiddust particle capture timing
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The cleaning blade is positioned to perform preliminary projection of dust particles toward the suction inlet during the bristle scraping phase. This preliminary action occurs at an optimal angular offset that projects dust into the suction path before gravity causes fallback, capturing particles that would otherwise be lost.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system optimizes the angular offset parameter between the cleaning blade and bristles (set between 20-90 degrees) to achieve the critical balance where dust particles are projected into the suction flow at the precise moment when they can be captured before falling back. This parameter optimization resolves the timing contradiction between dust projection and capture.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Productivity

If the rotation speed is increased to improve dust projection, then cleaning performance improves, but the tangential speed becomes too high causing dust to be projected behind the protective slat

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedust projection efficiencyVSAvoiddust capture reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system optimizes the rotation speed parameter within a specific range (2000-8000 rpm) to achieve the critical tangential velocity where dust particles are projected with sufficient force toward the suction inlet but not so high that they overshoot behind the protective slat. This parameter optimization ensures reliable dust capture while maintaining effective dust projection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

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

The optimized design significantly increases the quantity of dust collected by the suction head, improving cleaning performance by effectively capturing dust particles that would otherwise fall or be missed.

Implementation Method 1

The main function of the row of bristles is to scrape the floor to be cleaned

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectFriction: Friction

Implementation Method 2

dust particles contained in the carpet are thrown by the bristles of the pile row towards the suction inlet

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCentrifugal force: Centrifugal Force

Implementation Method 3

dust particles contained in the carpet are thrown by the bristles of the pile row towards the suction inlet and are thus sucked up by the vacuum cleaner

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectSuction: Suction

Implementation Method 4

the dust particles, projected by the carpet fibres after the scraping action, are likely to fall back by gravity onto the floor

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectGravity: Gravitation

Data Source

PatentEP4311466A1Suction head with a rotating brush with a cleaning blade
Publication Date: 2024.01.31 SEB SA
  • EP4311466A1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4311466A1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP4311466A1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

The suction head (2) comprises a main body (4); a rotating brush (11) housed in the main body (4) and comprising a brush body (12) configured to be driven in rotation in a predetermined direction of rotation and around an axis of rotation, a row of bristles (14) provided on an external peripheral surface of the brush body (12), and a cleaning blade (15) provided on the external peripheral surface of the brush body (12), the cleaning blade (15) being angularly offset from the row of bristles (14) with respect to a central longitudinal axis (A) of the brush body (12) by an offset angle and being located at the rear of the row of bristles (14) with respect to the predetermined direction of rotation of the brush body (12).