Three-Dimensional Cleaning Wipe Structure for Textured Floor Surfaces
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cleaning wipes fail to effectively clean floor surfaces with varied textures due to their flat, two-dimensional structure, leaving detritus in the valleys of textured surfaces.
Innovation Solution
The cleaning wipe design features a first nonwoven and a second nonwoven with strips that are bent and interlaced to create a three-dimensional structure, allowing better conformity to irregular floor surfaces, enhancing cleaning efficacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a flat laminate structure is used for cleaning wipes, then the manufacturing process is simple and cost-effective, but the cleaning wipe cannot effectively clean valleys of textured floor surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning wipe transitions from a flat two-dimensional laminate structure to a three-dimensional structure with strips extending outward from the central bonded portion. This dimensional change allows the strips to physically reach into valleys and crevices of textured floor surfaces, solving the problem of inadequate cleaning effectiveness while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through the strip formation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning wipe is segmented into multiple strips extending from a central bonded portion, rather than using a continuous flat laminate. This segmentation allows each strip to independently conform to and clean different areas of the floor surface, including valleys and textured areas, thereby improving cleaning effectiveness without significantly complicating the manufacturing process.
2Reliability
If a three-dimensional structure with bent strips is used, then cleaning effectiveness on textured surfaces is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning wipe incorporates bent strips that extend outward from the central bonded portion in a third dimension, creating a three-dimensional structure. This dimensional change enables the strips to reach into valleys and crevices of textured surfaces, significantly improving cleaning effectiveness. The structural complexity is managed by maintaining a relatively simple central bonded portion while adding the bent strip elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The strips are bent into curved or arched configurations rather than remaining flat, allowing them to conform to the contours of textured floor surfaces. This curvature enables the strips to physically engage with and clean valleys and crevices, improving cleaning effectiveness. The curved structure is achieved through controlled bending during manufacturing, balancing structural complexity with functional benefit.
3Device complexity
If flat webs of material are used, then the structure is simple and uniform, but the cleaning wipe cannot conform to irregular floor surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning wipe evolves from a flat two-dimensional web to a three-dimensional structure with bent strips extending from a central bonded portion. This dimensional transformation allows the strips to conform to irregular floor surfaces, valleys, and textured areas, significantly improving surface adaptability. The structural simplicity is maintained through the use of a relatively straightforward central bonded portion combined with the bent strip elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The uniform flat web is segmented into multiple bent strips that can independently conform to different areas of the floor surface. This segmentation allows each strip to adapt to local surface variations, including valleys and textured areas, thereby improving overall surface conformity. The segmented structure is achieved through the strip formation process, which divides the material while maintaining connection at the central bonded portion.
Data Source
AI summary
A product including a previously unopened closed container and a plurality of cleaning wipes contained in the container. The cleaning wipes include a first nonwoven having a plurality of first nonwoven strips and a second nonwoven having a plurality of second nonwoven strips. More than about 10% of the second nonwoven strips are bent so that the free ends of the second nonwoven strips are bent out of plane relative to the fixed ends of the second nonwoven strips.