Vacuum cleaner and cleaning accessory for a vacuum cleaner
Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum cleaners struggle to effectively clean edges between floor surfaces and upright surfaces due to the width of the cleaning head and insufficient engagement by rotating brushes, requiring repeated passes or additional tools.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning accessory with rotatable brushes featuring flexible cleaning elements that can deform to engage edges, allowing for effective cleaning in a single pass by rotating in a disengaged position when not near an upright surface and transitioning to a cleaning position when adjacent, ensuring thorough edge cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If a wide floor cleaning head is used to clean floors efficiently, then the cleaning width is improved, but the ability to clean edges at the junction of floor and upright surfaces deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning head is segmented into a main body and separate flexible cleaning elements that can be independently deployed. The flexible cleaning elements can be extended to engage with edges at the junction of floor and upright surfaces, while the main body maintains its wide cleaning capability for open floor areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning elements are made flexible and movable rather than fixed, allowing them to dynamically adjust their position and engagement with surfaces. This enables the cleaning head to adapt its configuration based on whether it is cleaning an open floor area or an edge at the junction with an upright surface.
2Ease of operation
If additional cleaning tools are added to clean edges, then the edge cleaning capability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The edge cleaning functionality is merged into the main cleaning head assembly rather than requiring a separate accessory. The flexible cleaning elements are integrated into the housing structure, allowing edge cleaning to be performed with the same device used for general floor cleaning.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning head is designed to perform multiple functions: general floor cleaning using the main body and edge cleaning using the flexible cleaning elements. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate crevice tools or edge cleaning accessories.
3Stability of the object's composition
If rigid cleaning brushes are used to engage edges, then the structural stability is improved, but the ability to adapt to different edge geometries deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning elements are constructed from flexible materials that can deform and conform to different edge geometries at the junction of floor and upright surfaces. This flexibility allows the cleaning elements to adapt to various edge profiles while maintaining sufficient structural integrity to effectively engage and clean the surfaces.
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
Enables efficient edge cleaning without the need for additional tools, improving dirt pickup along surfaces and reducing the effort required for thorough cleaning.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one flexible cleaning element is arranged to flex from the disengaged position to the cleaning position when a force is applied to the at least one flexible cleaning element
Implementation Method 2
at least one rotatable cleaning brush rotatably mounted to the housing and configured to engage a surface to be cleaned
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaning accessory for a vacuum cleaner comprises a housing. At least one rotatable cleaning brush is rotatably mounted to the housing and configured to engage a surface to be cleaned. The at least one rotatable cleaning brush comprises at least one flexible cleaning element projecting outwards from a side of the housing. The at least one flexible cleaning element is arranged to rotate in a cleaning position and rotate in a disengaged position whereby the at last one flexible cleaning element engages the surface to be cleaned when rotating in the cleaning position and the at last one flexible cleaning element is remote from the surface to be cleaned when rotating in the disengaged position.