Window Cleaner Wiper Blade with Guided Fluid Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hand-held cleaners with wiper blades struggle to control the uncontrolled drainage of fluids when cleaning smooth surfaces, such as window panes, as the removed fluid often flows along the cleaner or laterally escapes, compromising cleaning effectiveness and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A hand-held cleaner design featuring a wiper blade with guiding elements that direct fluid to a capture unit, preventing lateral drainage by using a supporting unit, guiding device, and capture unit configuration, where the wiper blade is fixed to the supporting unit and has a transversal lip to ensure fluid is collected efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wiper blade is used to clean smooth surfaces, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but uncontrolled drainage of fluid occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The wiper blade is divided into functionally distinct zones: a cleaning zone with a first wiper element for removing fluid from the surface, and a drainage control zone with a second wiper element and guiding device that directs fluid into a capture unit. This segmentation prevents uncontrolled drainage by channeling fluid through a defined path.
Solution Approach 2:
A guiding device acts as an intermediary between the wiper blade and the capture unit. This guiding device includes a guiding element that directs fluid from the wiper blade into the capture unit, preventing lateral escape and uncontrolled drainage while maintaining efficient fluid removal.
2Productivity
If a wiper blade is used to clean smooth surfaces, then cleaning rate is improved, but fluid drains uncontrollably during the process
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding device serves as an intermediary that captures fluid immediately after it is removed from the surface, directing it into the capture unit. This prevents fluid loss through uncontrolled drainage while maintaining high cleaning rate enabled by the wiper blade.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful effect of uncontrolled fluid drainage is extracted and separated from the cleaning process by introducing a dedicated drainage control system with guiding elements and a capture unit. This allows the cleaning operation to proceed at high speed while fluid is simultaneously captured and contained.
3Area of stationary object
If the wiper blade is made flexible to conform to surfaces, then cleaning coverage is improved, but contact pressure is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The wiper blade is designed as a dynamic structure with a resilient supporting unit that can deflect to conform to the surface geometry, maximizing cleaning coverage. The first wiper element is resiliently supported to follow surface contours while maintaining adequate contact pressure through the elastic properties of the supporting unit.
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 design ensures effective removal of fluids from smooth surfaces in a single pass, preventing uncontrolled drainage and maintaining contact pressure, allowing for efficient cleaning without fluid loss, and includes features like a capture unit with an outlet port for easy fluid discharge and a compact configuration for user convenience.
Implementation Method 1
press a wiper blade of flexible material against e.g. a panel and to subsequently move it across the panel thereby stripping off fluids which are present on the panel
Implementation Method 2
the guiding device is arranged adjacent to the wiper blade and is directly adjoining to the capture unit, to transport the fluid from the wiper blade across the guiding element and the guiding device to the capture unit
Data Source
AI summary
The hand-held cleaning device, especially the hand-held cleaner for smooth surfaces, comprising a supporting unit, a wiper blade, a guiding device and a capture unit, wherein the wiper blade is fixed to the supporting unit, wherein the wiper blade at least in certain areas has a guiding element, which is designed for guiding fluid present at wiper blade in the direction of the guiding device, and wherein the guiding device is arranged adjacent to the wiper blade and is directly adjoining to the capture unit in order to transport the fluid from the wiper blade across the guiding element and the guiding device to the capture unit.