3.

0 DESIGNING
3.1 Design Concepts
3.1.1 Cleaning robot with vacuum attached system
This system can be seen by using climbing motion in the robots. The most common
attachment and motion principle used by the robot is the vacuum adhesion system. In this
system, a pump is used to create a vacuum inside the suction cup which enable the robot to
stick to the windows during cleaning process. This type of system is only suitable for cleaning
on smooth surfaces as the irregular texture of the windows might affect the adhesion force of
the cleaning robot with vacuum attached system.

The mechanisms of the cleaning robot through vacuum attached system are as following:

1) The motion of the robot are because of the suction cups attached to the rotating disc.
2) When the suction switches is activated, the robot will move.
3) DC motor will rotate in either forward or reverse direction. The gear attached to the
shaft of the motor drives the rotating disc.
4) The rotating disc is designed to be tilted. By tilting the robot, only half of the rotating
disc is activated by the suction cups. As a result, only half of the total suction cups are
in contact to the window.
5) Thus, this will create a climbing motion of the robot.
6) The cleaning process are done by implementing a wiper and water dripping mechanism.
7) As the robot moves, water is continuously dripped on the glass surface and the excess
water is removed by the wiper.

Fig 3.1 Vacuum Attached System

3.1.2 Frame with movable wiper arm

The movable wiper arm concept is based on the movement of the human arm. The
motion of the cleaner’s arm during the cleaning process particularly the wiping motion are the
inspiration for this concept. In this system, there are two rotating arms which is attached to the
frame of the windows. The base arm can be move by using a motor, which in turns can move
the arm up to 180 degrees rotation. The extended arm attached to the end of the base arm has
a cleaning surface which is used to clean the glass surface. Visual sensor can be used to
determine the amount of dirt needed to be cleaned up. The movement of the wiper arm is guided
by a route set up by the frame.

The mechanism of the movable wiper arm can be summarized below:

1) The movable wiper arm is attached to the frame of the window.

2) Two motors are used for the system. One is for the motion of the robot vertically from
one window pane to another. Another motor is used to rotate the wiper arm in order to
clean the glass surface of the window.
3) When the visual sensor picked up the dirt or dust build up on the glass surface, the
wiper arm start to extend and clean the area using the sponge on extended arm of the
robot.
4) The cleaning unit compromises of the sponge which is attached at the end of the
extended arm and cleansing mechanism where the sponge is wetted by a series of small
pipe.
5) The procedure is repeated will both rotating motion from the base and extended arm
until the single window panel is cleaned.
6) The robot then moved to the next panel by the vertical motion of the rail in the frame
provided and the process is repeated.

Fig 3.2 Movable arm wiper concept

3.1.3 Pulley system with rail

The main mechanisms of the cleaning machine used a simple pulley machine. A light
rod made up of PVC pipe is attached to the pulley system and is secured by either a spring or
a screw. An AC/DC motor is used to move the rod up or down the window by using a long
string which is attached to the rod and the motor. When the motor is turned on and the cleaning
device can move vertically along the window to be cleaned. The cleaning unit compromises of
two wiper which is attached to the top and bottom of the rod to get rid of the excess water after
the cleaning process.

The mechanism of the pulley and rail concept are shown below:

1. This main component of this mechanisms are the motor, water pump, simple pulley and
a cleaning device (water dripping mechanism and wiper).
2. This machine is attached to the window by a railing system.
3. AC/DC motor is attached to the top of the device with a long string attaching both the
cleaning device and the motor itself. When the motor is switched on, the rod (PVC pipe)
can move up or down the window.
4. At the same time, when the switch is turned on, the water pump is activated, and the
water is sprayed to the window panel through the holes on the PVC pipe.
5. As the rod moves up or down due to the rotation of motor, the double wiper which is
attached to the PVC pipe will remove the excess water from the window.
6. The excess water can be collected by a pipe which will flow to a flexible hose that is
attached to the rail of the device.

Fig 3.3 Pulley system concept

3.2 Evaluation of Design Concept

This section focuses on evaluating the selected design concept through the analysis of the
merits, limitation and also the feasibility of the design to be constructed.

3.2.1 Cleaning robot with vacuum attached system

The advantages of the vacuum attached system is the device can be automated and only be
programmed to stop when it reaches the end. With the installation of the reflector sensor, the
device can detect the area that is needed to be clean and they can avoid obstacle or glass edges
of the windows.

Nevertheless, the concept does have some drawbacks. The main disadvantages are the size of
the robot and the overall complexity of the manufacturing process. Due to the small size of the
robot, it would take time to clean a single window compared to the manual method by the
cleaner. In addition, the motion the robot are produced by the suction pressure created by the
pump and is monitored by reflector sensors. Thus, it would require tremendous amount of
research and knowledge in order to construct the robot by this concept within the limit of this
project.

3.2.2 Frame with movable arm wiper

The main advantages to this design concept is the manufacturing and the installation of the
device is simple. The manufacturing only involves material such as steel bar, motors, clamp, a
sponge and railing system. The installation process is not difficult as it would only take second
for the device to be attached to the railing system. Even so, the largest disadvantage for this
concept is the operation of the movable arm. For the arm to be able to clean the whole window
at the right time would require an exceptional programming skill which would be tedious with
the amount of time given to us. Another disadvantage is that the design might exceed the weight
limitation. This is because large motors are required to provide enough torque needed for the
mobility of the arm. Thus, the complexity of this concept would be impossible for us to
construct within the time limit set up by the coordinator.

3.1.3 Pulley system with rail

There are several merits for this system. One of them are that the overall weight of the device
is low. Since strings are used, the only substantial weight comes from the motor and the rod.
This system is also easy to build and operate once in place. This concept involves some PVC
pipe, a couple of motors, and cleaning devices (consists of water dripping mechanism and
double wiper). Since the horizontal motion of the cleaning device is random, there is no need
for high-level programming skill in this design. With only the flip of a switch, the cleaning
device can perform its function effectively and only stop when it have reached the end. Since
the device is large (in term of length), the cleaning time would be relatively low. However, he
main limitations of this design is how the machine is attached to the window. Since the only
way for the device to attach to the window is by installing railing system, only certain
window would be compactible for the device. In addition, only vertical motion can be used
for the system. When the cleaning process have ended, the device must be attached to the
next window panel manually by the operator.

3.3 Selected Design Concept

In order to select the suitable design concept, we made a Pugh chart that meets our selection
criteria for each design concept.

Figure 3.1 Pugh chart

Description Vacuum
Movable Pulley
Attached
arm wiper system
System
Selection Criteria Weight
Light weight 2 0 - +
Portable 3 + 0 0
Automated 3 ++ + -
Cost 5 -- -- ++
Ease of use 4 ++ - -
Maintenance 4 + - ++
Achievability 5 -- -- ++
Sum + 21 3 30
Sum 0 0 0 0
Sum - -20 -34 -7
Net score 1 -31 23

From the Pugh chart, we can conclude that the best concept for our Engineering Team Project
is the pulley system. Further evaluation of the pulley system can be summarized below:

1. The device is light in weight since most of the weight came from the motor and the
rod.
2. The overall cost of the device is not that expensive. The only expensive item for the
project would be the motor and the water pump.
3. The device is easy to maintain compared to the movable arm concept and the vacuum
system. The maintenance needed the most would be the motor or the pump.
4. Out of the three concepts, the most achievable design would be the pulley system as
they are easy to construct without much skill needed in mechanical nor electrical
knowledge, given the short deadline.
5. The only limitation from this design concept is that the machine is not fully
automated. When the machine have completed the cleaning process, the machine
must be manually moved from to another panel to be cleaned as they only moved in
vertical motion on the windows.