Suction Nozzle with Adjustable Cover Element for Corner Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum cleaners, particularly robot vacuums, struggle to effectively clean areas such as corners and edges due to the suction mouth's design, which is optimized for large, open areas and cannot be focused on these difficult-to-reach spaces.
Innovation Solution
A suction nozzle with a cover element that can be rotated or adjusted to partially cover the suction mouth opening, reducing the effective cross-sectional area and increasing suction power in focused areas by enhancing airflow velocity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the suction mouth opening maintains its total area for vacuuming large open areas, then the cleaning coverage is maximized, but the suction power cannot be focused on specific areas such as corners and edges
Solution Approach 1:
The suction mouth opening is made dynamically adjustable through a cover element that can rotate about a rotation axis. The cover element can selectively cover portions of the suction mouth opening, allowing the effective suction area to be dynamically reduced when focusing on corners and edges, while maintaining full area coverage for open spaces. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between maintaining large area coverage and enabling focused suction on specific areas.
2Productivity
If the suction mouth is designed for large open areas, then cleaning efficiency on open surfaces is improved, but cleaning effectiveness in corners and edges deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable cover element enables dynamic adaptation of the suction mouth configuration. When cleaning open areas, the cover element rotates to a position that exposes the full suction mouth opening, maintaining high cleaning efficiency. When approaching corners or edges, the cover element rotates to cover portions of the suction mouth, concentrating suction power on the target area and ensuring reliable cleaning effectiveness in difficult-to-reach spaces.
3Quantity of substance
If the suction air flow passes through the total area of the suction mouth opening, then the volume flow is maximized, but the flow velocity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cover element dynamically adjusts the effective cross-sectional area through which suction air flows. When the cover element is in a position that covers portions of the suction mouth opening, the reduced effective area increases the flow velocity of the suction air, thereby concentrating suction power on specific areas. The volume flow is maintained by the vacuum source, while the flow velocity increases due to the reduced effective area, resolving the contradiction between maximizing volume flow and increasing flow velocity.
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 solution allows for improved cleaning quality in corners and edges by concentrating suction power, enhancing cleaning efficiency and reliability in these challenging areas.
Implementation Method 1
By reducing the effective cross-sectional area through which the suction air flow flows, the flow velocity of the suction air flow is typically increased (if the volume flow of the suction air flow remains unchanged overall)
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 1c~2b
Figure 2c~2d
AI summary
A suction nozzle for a suction device is described. The suction nozzle comprises a suction mouth (107) with a suction mouth opening that, during operation of the suction nozzle, faces a surface to be cleaned. The suction mouth opening has a total area through which a suction airflow flows to extract air from the surface to be cleaned during operation of the suction nozzle. Furthermore, the suction nozzle comprises a cover element configured to move from a base position to a covered position, in which the cover element covers a first partial area (208) of the suction mouth opening, so that during operation of the suction nozzle, the suction airflow flows through an uncovered second partial area (207) of the suction mouth opening, which has a reduced area compared to the total area of the suction mouth opening.