Vacuum Cleaner Accessory with Foldable Nozzles for Tight Spaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multi-tool vacuum cleaner accessories are cumbersome and impractical for use in narrow spaces due to their bulky design, making them unsuitable for vacuum cleaning in tight areas.
Innovation Solution
An accessory unit with a first tool end and a second tool end that includes pivotable arms, allowing for a slender construction when connected to a vacuum cleaner conduit, enabling easier access to tight spaces by folding the arms into the conduit, thus forming different nozzles such as a crevice or furniture nozzle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple nozzles are integrated into a single multi-tool accessory unit, then the problem of losing separate nozzles is solved and versatility is improved, but the accessory unit becomes bulky and cumbersome to use in narrow spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies nesting by placing the second tool end with pivotable arms inside the vacuum cleaner conduit when not in use. The arms can be folded together and stored within the conduit's interior space, allowing the accessory unit to maintain a compact profile while still providing multiple nozzle configurations when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamics through the pivotable arms that can change position between stored and operational states. The arms are designed to be movable, allowing transition from a compact folded configuration during storage to an extended operational configuration when creating different nozzle types, thus adapting the volume as needed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the arms are extended outward to form different nozzle configurations, then versatility for different vacuum cleaning tasks is improved, but the accessory unit becomes too large for narrow spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The arms are designed to nest within the conduit when not in use, with the second tool end stored inside the conduit's interior. This nesting arrangement allows the accessory unit to maintain a short effective length during storage while enabling extended configurations when the arms are deployed for specific vacuum cleaning tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The accessory unit is segmented into distinct functional components: the conduit, the pivotable arms, and the nozzle formations. This segmentation allows the arms to be independently positioned - folded within the conduit for compact storage or extended outward when specific nozzle configurations are needed, thus managing length dynamically.
3Ease of operation
If the accessory unit is designed with a compact slender construction, then usability in narrow spaces is improved, but the structural complexity of integrating pivotable arms into the conduit increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves compact slender construction by nesting the second tool end with pivotable arms inside the vacuum cleaner conduit. This nesting approach consolidates multiple components into a compact arrangement that maintains ease of operation in narrow spaces while managing structural complexity through efficient spatial organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The conduit serves multiple functions: it acts as the vacuum cleaner hose connection, provides structural support, and serves as a storage compartment for the second tool end with pivotable arms. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate structural elements, thereby managing complexity while achieving compact usability.
Data Source
AI summary
An accessory unit of a vacuum cleaner, alone, with a vacuum cleaner conduit, and with a vacuum cleaner. The accessory unit has a housing, a first tool end, and a second tool end for releasable connection to a vacuum cleaner conduit. The first tool end has a first nozzle for vacuum cleaning, and the second tool end has two pivotable arms for forming second and third nozzles. Each arm has distal and proximal ends. The distal ends are arranged to be brought together for forming the second nozzle, and to be spread apart for forming the third nozzle. Furthermore, the arms are folded together to bring the distal arm ends in vicinity of each other for releasable connection of the second tool end to the vacuum cleaner conduit by at least partial insertion into said vacuum cleaner conduit.