Vacuum Cleaner Head with Rotating Roller Seal for Crevice Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vacuum cleaner heads for hard floors are ineffective in removing dirt that adheres to the surface and dust lodged in crevices, as they require high airflow rates to achieve crevice cleaning, leading to high power consumption and inefficiency in energy usage.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum cleaner head with a rotating roller and dual sealing mechanism, where the roller rotates to loosen dirt and create an effective seal for airflow through crevices, allowing surface dirt to pass under the roller and be drawn into the suction airflow, while the dual sealing system and bleed airflow enhance crevice cleaning without excessive power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If castellated wiper blades or brush strips are used to enable surface dirt to pass through seals, then crevice cleaning performance is improved, but sealing effectiveness deteriorates requiring high airflow rates of 35 litres per second
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a rotating roller with radially extending blades that rotate during operation. The rotation creates dynamic sealing action where the blades maintain contact with the floor surface while allowing controlled passage of air and particles, resolving the contradiction between maintaining seal integrity and enabling crevice cleaning without requiring excessive airflow rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating roller implements periodic action through its rotating blades that repeatedly contact the floor surface in cycles. This periodic contact allows the system to alternately seal and release, creating opportunities for crevice cleaning during each rotation cycle while maintaining overall sealing effectiveness, thereby achieving effective cleaning at lower airflow rates below 35 litres per second.
2Productivity
If high airflow rates of 35 litres per second are used to overcome seal reduction, then crevice cleaning performance is improved, but power consumption increases contrary to energy efficiency requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating roller provides dynamic sealing that actively manages airflow paths, allowing the system to achieve effective crevice cleaning at reduced airflow rates below 35 litres per second. This dynamic approach replaces the need for high static airflow rates, thereby reducing fan motor power consumption and improving energy efficiency while maintaining cleaning performance.
3Reliability
If densely packed bristle strips are used to achieve good seal, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but surface dirt removal capability deteriorates as dirt cannot pass through seals
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating roller with radially extending blades creates a dynamic sealing mechanism that differs from static bristle strips. During rotation, the blades maintain sealing contact with the floor while their rotational motion and the spaces between them allow controlled passage of surface dirt and air, thereby achieving both effective sealing and surface dirt removal capability simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating roller performs preliminary action by pre-loosening and preparing surface dirt for removal through its rotating blades before the main suction airflow acts on it. This preliminary mechanical action by the rotating roller enhances surface dirt removal capability while the sealing blades maintain effective sealing, resolving the contradiction between sealing effectiveness and dirt removal.
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 enables efficient cleaning of both hard surfaces and crevices with reduced power consumption, achieving effective dust removal at airflow rates of 18-22 liters per second using motors below 700W, addressing the inefficiencies of conventional designs.
Implementation Method 1
the roller comprises a wheel arranged to rotate the roller by contact with the surface being cleaned
Implementation Method 2
dirt particles are removed from the surface being treated by the suction airflow
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
A vacuum cleaner head comprises a suction mouth 22 on the underside thereof, the suction mouth 22 being substantially surrounded by a seal, wherein a portion of the seal comprises a roller 20, 21 arranged to engage a floor surface being cleaned and to rotate about an axis which extends parallel to the floor surface, the roller 20, 21 comprising a plurality of axially-extending sealing blades 27 disposed around its circumference. The front and rear longitudinal side edges of the suction mouth 22 can include depending inner seals 23,24, with a suction opening 31 disposed between the inner seal 23, 24 and the roller 20, 21. The head may include passageways (26a, 26b, fig 5) which act as bleed holes and suction inlets (25, fig 2) are preferably provided at the ends of the suction mouth 22 with a baffle 29 positioned between them.