Vacuum Bag Filter With Sodium Bicarbonate Odor Neutralization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cleaning appliances often accumulate odors from substances they clean, leading to customer dissatisfaction and perceived health risks, as existing solutions like cedar inserts and activated carbon have not conclusively solved the issue of lingering odors.
Innovation Solution
The use of sodium bicarbonate as a deodorizing agent in various forms, such as sachets, slurry, or integrated into filter components, to neutralize acidic or basic odor components, turning them into non-volatile salts, thereby reducing odors in vacuum cleaners and other cleaning devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If cedar inserts or activated carbon are used in vacuum bags, then odor masking is improved, but odor neutralization effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameter of the deodorizing material from cedar or activated carbon to sodium bicarbonate, which has different chemical properties that enable actual odor neutralization through chemical reaction rather than just masking or adsorption. Sodium bicarbonate reacts with acidic odor components to form non-volatile salts, fundamentally changing the mechanism from physical masking to chemical neutralization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful acidic odor components into beneficial non-volatile salts through chemical reaction with sodium bicarbonate. The harmful volatile odor molecules are transformed into non-harmful non-volatile compounds that do not emit odors, effectively neutralizing the problem rather than masking it.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If deodorizing materials are added to vacuum bags, then odor control is improved, but filtration efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies deodorizing properties locally to specific areas of the filter bag rather than uniformly across the entire filtration surface. By placing sodium bicarbonate inserts or coatings in strategic locations where odors accumulate (such as the bottom or sides of the bag), the filtration efficiency of the main filter surface is preserved while providing effective odor control in the critical odor-prone zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the filter bag into functional zones: the main filtration surface for particle capture and separate deodorizing zones with sodium bicarbonate for odor neutralization. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function optimally without interfering with the other, maintaining filtration efficiency while adding deodorizing capability.
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
Sodium bicarbonate effectively neutralizes odors in cleaning appliances, improving user satisfaction and reducing health concerns by continuously addressing odor accumulation, even during idle periods, without compromising filtration efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
sodium bicarbonate...acts as a deodorizer by neutralizing the acidic or basic components of odors and turning them into non-volatile salts
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
A vacuum cleaner bag filter with one or more filter walls and having one or more filter walls that cover a bag opening. The filter walls have a working surface area through which air can pass. One or more deodorizing sheets are attached to an inner surface of the one or more filter walls. The deodorizing sheets include a first sheet layer, and sodium bicarbonate particles operatively associated with the first sheet layer. The deodorizing sheets may cover less than about 30% of the working surface area, a single deodorizing sheet may be provided, and the deodorizing sheets may be attached to the filter walls by an air impermeable adhesive that covers at least about 5% of the surface area of the deodorizing sheets. Also provided is a vacuum cleaner filter having a filter and a deodorizing sheet attached thereto by an air-impermeable adhesive.