Thermoplastic Composite Roof Drainage Inlet Body
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing roof drainage devices have limitations in reducing overall height while maintaining strength and rigidity, particularly with standard thermoplastics like polyethylene, which can lead to issues with sealing and structural integrity under high rainwater pressure.
Innovation Solution
The use of engineering thermoplastics or thermoplastic composites for the inlet body and pressing element, combined with a design that allows partial embedding of the pressing element within the inlet body, enhances mechanical properties and reduces overall height, ensuring secure sealing and flow optimization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If standard thermoplastics like polyethylene are used for the inlet body, then the device is easy to manufacture and cost-effective, but the overall height cannot be reduced while maintaining strength and rigidity under high rainwater pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining a thermoplastic matrix (such as polyethylene) with reinforcing fibers (such as glass fibers) to create a fiber-reinforced composite inlet body. This composite structure provides both the ease of manufacture through injection molding and the enhanced strength and rigidity required to reduce overall device height while withstanding high rainwater pressure.
2Length of stationary object
If the overall height of the device is reduced, then the device becomes more compact and easier to install, but the strength and stiffness properties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
By using fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials, the patent achieves high strength-to-weight and strength-to-volume ratios, enabling a compact design with reduced overall height while maintaining or even enhancing the strength and stiffness properties through the reinforcing fiber network within the plastic matrix.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by strategically orienting and distributing reinforcing fibers within the inlet body structure, particularly in areas subject to high stress during siphonic operation, thereby providing localized strength enhancements that allow overall height reduction without compromising structural integrity.
3Ease of manufacture
If standard thermoplastics are used for the inlet body, then manufacturing costs are low, but the mechanical properties are insufficient for compact designs under high pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes composite materials that combine inexpensive thermoplastic matrices with relatively affordable reinforcing fibers, maintaining cost-effectiveness while dramatically improving mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural modulus, and impact resistance, thereby enabling compact designs that can withstand high siphonic pressure.
Data Source
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AI summary
A device (1) for draining water from flat roofs, balconies, terraces or other water-bearing surfaces, having an inlet body (2) that forms an inlet opening (22) and an outlet opening (29) for the water to be drained is characterized in that the inlet body (2) is made of a technical thermoplastic material or a thermoplastic composite material.