DESIGN NAME: Fold Flat
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Dustpan and Brush
INSPIRATION: Everybody has their own hiding place for the traditional dustpan and brush, and those hiding places are almost never convenient. Why do we need to hide them? Mostly because they are far from discreet and also are an absolute nuisance to clean. I therefore wanted to create something to tackle this issue, something so simple that it makes you wonder why we haven't been sweeping this way for years.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The fold flat dustpan and brush is a space saving cleaning set. It stores flat so it can hang anywhere beautifully and discreetly, or lay flat in a drawer or for transportation. The elastomer bristles trap no dirt and the removable brush heads are easy to clean. The whole set is completely dishwasher safe and the completely flat design means the fold flat fits perfectly in any dishwasher.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: Squeezing the handle folds up the sides to be ready for sweeping and a bevelled edge underneath gives a very fine lip for sweeping on to, which means dust doesn't get trapped underneath. When the user stops squeezing the handle, the pan returns to its flat state, ready to be placed in the dishwasher or stored neatly and discreetly.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: From March 2013 to September 2013 in London.
FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Home Appliances Design
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: The dustpan is milled from a single 3mm sheet of polypropylene. The brush handle is also milled and the brush head is injection moulded from a thermoplastic elastomer.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: Width 230 mm x Length 350 mm x Depth 3 mm
TAGS: Cleaning tools, simple, discreet, living hinge, fold, flat, dustpan and brush
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: Whilst observing how we interact with our cleaning sets at home and while travelling two things became apparent. Firstly, people hide their cleaning sets wherever possible because they are bulky objects that are far from discreet, and secondly they are seen as dirty objects simply because a traditional dustpan and brush is impossible to clean. This became the focus of the project.
CHALLENGE: Getting the living hinge correct to give a good active area for sweeping but at the same time be comfortable to handle for the user.
ADDED DATE: 2013-10-30 03:10:01
TEAM MEMBERS (1) :
IMAGE CREDITS: Joe Richardson, 2013.
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