Vacuum Cleaner Split Battery Unit for Balanced Weight Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum cleaners with battery units often suffer from weight imbalances due to the high mass density of battery packs, making them difficult to handle and maneuver, especially in compact designs like robotic vacuum cleaners.
Innovation Solution
The battery unit is split into separate enclosures that can be positioned on either side of a central axis, allowing for better weight distribution and balanced charging, with serial connection of battery cells and shared battery management electronics to ensure efficient operation and prevent overheating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the battery unit is placed in a vacuum cleaner, then the vacuum cleaner can operate cordlessly, but weight imbalance occurs making it difficult to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The battery unit is divided into multiple separate battery packs (first battery pack, second battery pack, third battery pack) that can be distributed to different locations within the vacuum cleaner. This segmentation allows the heavy battery mass to be spread out rather than concentrated in one location, improving weight balance and ease of handling while maintaining cordless operation.
2Ease of operation
If multiple battery packs are used to balance weight, then handling improves, but load balancing and charging coordination becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple battery packs are electrically connected in parallel to form a single unified battery unit. This merging approach allows the battery packs to share the load and be charged/discharged together as one unit, simplifying the electronics required for load balancing and charge coordination compared to managing multiple independent battery systems.
Solution Approach 2:
A distributor is introduced as an intermediary component that connects the multiple battery packs to each other and to the load. The distributor manages the electrical connections and ensures balanced current distribution among the battery packs, reducing the complexity of direct battery-to-battery balancing electronics.
3Ease of manufacture
If battery packs are connected in parallel for load sharing, then ease of manufacture improves, but state of charge balancing becomes difficult reducing operational time
Solution Approach 1:
Voltage sensing circuitry is implemented in each battery pack to continuously monitor the state of charge. This feedback mechanism detects voltage differences between parallel-connected battery packs and triggers equalization charging when imbalances are detected, ensuring all packs reach full charge and maximizing the operational time of the battery unit.
4Weight of moving object
If battery cells are distributed in separate enclosures, then weight distribution improves, but electrical connection and management becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The distributor serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides electrical connections between battery packs, acts as a common charging interface, enables voltage sensing and monitoring, and facilitates equalization charging. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function, simplifying the overall electrical architecture despite the distributed battery cell arrangement.
Data Source
AI summary
A vacuum cleaner with a battery unit for powering the vacuum cleaner is provided. The battery unit includes a plurality of serially connected battery cells and battery management electronics operatively coupled to the battery cells. Two enclosures are provided on either side of a central axis of the vacuum cleaner, each enclosure including a portion of the plurality of battery cells, and a portion of the battery management electronics operatively coupled to the respective portion of the plurality of the battery cells. A link strap interconnects the portions of the battery management electronics.