Vacuum Cleaner Plug Shaft Layout for Easier Mains Plug Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing design of canister vacuum cleaners makes it difficult to remove the mains plug due to its protrusion from the rear wall, causing the contacts to potentially touch the floor and being hard to grasp.
Innovation Solution
The access opening of the plug shaft extends into the side wall, allowing for increased access and easier removal of the mains plug, with a triangular or semi-circular cutout to facilitate gripping, and an expanded plug shaft area for multi-directional gripping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the plug shaft is arranged in the rear wall with sufficient depth to prevent contacts from touching the floor, then safety is improved, but the mains plug becomes difficult to remove
Solution Approach 1:
The access opening extends from the rear wall into the side wall, transitioning from a single-plane (2D) opening to a multi-dimensional (3D) access path. This allows the user to reach the mains plug from the side direction, bypassing the depth constraint of the rear wall arrangement and enabling easy removal while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The extended access opening into the side wall acts as an intermediary structure that provides an alternative access route to the mains plug. Instead of directly pulling the plug from the rear wall position, users can access and grip the plug base through the side wall opening, making removal easier while the plug remains safely positioned.
2Ease of operation
If the access opening is enlarged to facilitate plug removal, then ease of operation is improved, but the cross-section of the plug shaft must be increased
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of enlarging the access opening in the rear wall (which would increase the plug shaft cross-section), the opening extends into the side wall, utilizing the third dimension. This provides enhanced access to the mains plug without requiring a larger rear wall opening, thus avoiding increased device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The access opening is segmented into two parts: a rear wall portion and a side wall extension. This segmentation allows the opening to be distributed across different surfaces, providing adequate access area without concentrating the entire opening in one location, thereby avoiding the need to increase the plug shaft's rear wall cross-section.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The cleaner (1) has a housing comprising a rear wall (7) that is used as a stand surface, and side walls (8). A connector shaft (3) is arranged in the rear wall for accommodating a mains plug (4). An access opening (6) of the connector shaft is extended into the side walls of the housing. A part of the access opening partially releases a base part of the mains plug, and is extended into the side wall. The part of the access opening comprises a triangular horizontal projection, and the connector shaft is extended at a region (12) below the mains plug.