Writing 2E w/ Doug Bradley

Meeting Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9AM @ HSSB room# 1233

Group Members:

Matthew Walker

Gordon Yu

Mike Srisam-ang

text has be enlarged and highlighted for presentational purposes

The Product Redesign Project

We are first year engineering students at the University of California Santa Barbara. Our assignment was to select any product and learn everything we can about it. We are to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the design and then redesign the aspects that had failed to meet the demands of the consumer.  Our Product is the Hoover Flair Bagless vacuum cleaner.

The Hoover Flair Bagless!!!

model number: S2200

The Bagless Flair Vacuum Cleaner is a typical stick model vacuum cleaner. It features the “Bagless E-Z Empty Dirt Cup” which replaces the bag and a rug and floor nozzle which allows you to vacuum on rugs as well as floors. It sports a 20 foot power cord which wraps around hooks that are located on the handle. It has large wheels and a “swivel nozzle” for maneuverability. The handle has a hole that allows you to hang the vacuum for easy storage.

The name of this vacuum cleaner is “Bagless Flair”. The model number can be found on a label on the vacuum cleaner and it is “S2200”. The serial number “090300024638” and it can also be found on the label. It was made in China and is distributed by the Hoover Company in Canton, Ohio.

The Hoover Bagless Flair is designed for the average consumer who needs to vacuum occasionally. It doesn’t have the newer innovations that Hoover implanted on their upper class models such as “Windtunnel”, “Dual V”, and “Widepath” or Spinscrub” technologies. The Bagless Flair however, serves its purpose very well as a vacuum cleaner designer for the average consumer. The expected retail range for this vacuum cleaner is $39.99 - $59.99.

A bit of history...

Hoover's history

The Hoover Company was started by W.H. “Boss” Hoover and Murray Spangler. Their story begins in 1907, when Murray Spangler, who at the time was an inventor who worked at night as a janitor which cleans rugs in Canton, Ohio. The broom he used to clean with raised dust from the rug which aggravated his asthma and so he invented the vacuum cleaner or “suction sweeper” as he called it, out of a tin soap box, a fan, a sateen pillow case and a broom handle. He realized that this product has enormous sales potential, and so he began to seek financial backing.

Spangler’s family friend, Susan Hoover tried the vacuum cleaner in her house and loved it and raved to her husband, W.H. “Boss” Hoover, about it. W. H. “Boss” Hoover bought the patent from Spangler in 1908 and retained him as a partner and they along with 4 other employees assembled six “suction sweepers” a day. Hoover and “Boss” would work to market their product. Hoover paid commission to reputable stores for distributing the “suction sweeper” while “Boss” placed trained Hoover sales representatives in show rooms to demonstrate the product and he also had them go door to door. The Hoover family owned Hoover until 1940 until it became publicly owned. In 1985 the company was acquired by Chicago Pacific Corp. and in 1989 Maytag acquired Chicago Pacific Corp.

One of the most notable things about Hoover is that they established an engineering and design development program in 1909. This is a program in which Hoover engineers design new and improved methods of cleaning carpet. Throughout the years Hoover has introduced many innovations such has the “beater bar” which is a bar that taps the carpet to loosen dirt. This method was refined and is now called the “Quadraflex agitator” and is utilized in most of Hoover’s vacuums today. Other examples of the works of this program include the disposable paper bag, the vacuum cleaner headlight, the self-propelled feature, and the side-mounted attached hose feature.

History of the stick model

A stick model is generally a vacuum cleaner that resembles a stick. Most of the time a stick model vacuum cleaner one that is convertible between upright and portable unit. The conversion is accomplished by having the handle pivotally mounted for you to select the position. The handle could be folded into the body where it serves as a handle for portable use. The stick model also includes a dirt reservoir and filter bag assembly carried by the body of the vacuum cleaner and can be separated from each other for ease of cleaning. Stick vacuum cleaners have the properties of being lightweight, easy to clean and attractive. The vacuum cleaner typically has to have a handle that automatically latches when you move it up or down. Originally the stick was patented to the Bisselle Inc., a large retailer of vacuums in household cleaner machines. Other companies have created similar stick vacuum cleaners in order to remain competitive in the market.

Specs (as advertised)

Bagless! This cup replaces the bag, it collects dust and dirt.

The Pros and Cons

The handle is hard to get a good grip on. (left) Because of it's small size the filter is inadequate. (right)

What did the engineer say?

These are some highlights of conversation between our group and an engineer who works for Hoover:

• Hoover
  did not design or manufacture this product.  We sourced it from a
  manufacturer in China.  It was an existing product that they already had
  designed and were selling somewhere else in the world.
• the cleaner was meant to fill a niche in our product line
  - a small, lightweight inexpensive stick cleaner that was good for quick
  cleanup jobs, small areas like dorm rooms, etc.
• Hoover did not design it
• Most of this cleaner is molded from ABS.
• In specifying the resin
  materials used in cleaners you have to look at the function of the part -
  what is its primary purpose?  What stresses will it see?  Heat? Impact?
  Abrasion? Is it an appearance part? And we would look for the lowest cost
  materials that would do the job.
• The motor is chosen to give appropriate air performance for a stick cleaner.

The chassis is made of "ABS". The letters ABS are imprinted on the material. (left) Bigger fan = better performance, This one is quite small. (right)

A Method of Measuring Suction

The redesign

The solution to lowering the noise level is to put acoustic absorption mats within the chassis of the vacuum cleaner to eliminate the rotational vibration caused by the motor and turbine. This would however increase the amount of heat that accumulates within the vacuum causing the vacuum cleaner to inevitably overheat. This can be avoided by making the exhaust vents slightly larger and adding two fans, one on each side, to propel cooler air in and the hotter air from the motor out.

The solution to this problem of storage is to have a clip on the bottom of the vacuum cleaner where the swivel is located. It would allow the vacuum cleaner to hold itself upright. All the user would have to do is to move the vacuum into its upright position and it would “click” into place.

Although it is aesthetically pleasing the curve and the smooth plastic and also the sheer weight of the vacuum makes the handle hard to grip. Bearing in mind that two of Hoover’s goals being the improvement of the maneuverability of this vacuum, hence the swivel nozzle, and it’s aesthetics replacing the handle with a rubber grip that conforms with the curve as well as the color and to some extent resemble the smoothness of the plastic is the solution to this problem.

The redesign from start to finish. The redesign would look much the same as the original.

Future Models

In the future redesigns of the vacuum cleaner it would be fully automatic. The vacuum cleaner itself is a small robot, small enough to crawl under furniture. It would have a timer so that the user can set a schedule and the vacuum would act according to the schedule. After vacuuming the robot would return to it's docking station where it would unload the dust that it has collect and recharge it's batteries. This robot would have the ability to climb stairs via arms that would into it's body when it's not in use and fold out when it is being used. Having such a vacuum cleaner would eliminate the time and effort someone has to put into vacuuming and this would allow them to use the time more productively.

(left to right) bottom view, side view, top view