Disposer Baffle Flaps With Anti-Reverse Stoppers for Splash Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional food waste disposer baffles face challenges in simultaneously achieving noise attenuation, easy food passage, preventing material ejection, and maintaining water flow, while being adaptable to various installation setups and environmental conditions.

Innovation Solution

A baffle design featuring an outer rim, flaps, and anti-reverse stoppers that provide resistance to upward flap movement, allowing for easy food entry, noise reduction, and maintaining water flow, with integrally formed components made from materials like nitrile rubber.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If a conventional baffle is installed across the throat opening to prevent splash back and particle ejection, then noise reduction and foreign object prevention are improved, but water flow is obstructed and air cannot vent properly from the grind chamber

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesplash back and particle ejection preventionVSAvoidwater flow obstruction and air venting restriction

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The baffle is segmented into multiple radial sections or vanes rather than a solid continuous structure. This segmentation allows water and air to pass through the gaps between segments while still providing splash back and particle ejection prevention, resolving the contradiction between protection and flow/venting.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The baffle incorporates porous or permeable structures that allow air and water to pass through while maintaining the barrier function against particles and splash back. This enables simultaneous achievement of protection and proper fluid/gas flow.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #31Porous materials

2Reliability

If a conventional baffle is used to prevent foreign objects from entering the disposer, then safety is improved, but food waste passage becomes difficult requiring users to push food through with hands or utensils

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveforeign object preventionVSAvoidfood waste passage ease

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The baffle incorporates flexible or movable elements that can dynamically adjust to accommodate food waste passage while maintaining foreign object prevention. The structure becomes more permissive for intended food waste while remaining restrictive for foreign objects.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the baffle have different properties - areas contacting food waste are more permeable or flexible, while other areas maintain stricter barrier properties for foreign object prevention. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between safety and ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Ease of operation

If pleats or flaps are added to the baffle to create larger center openings and reduce resistance to food waste entry, then ease of operation is improved, but the baffle becomes overly aggressive in drawing food into the grinding chamber and increases foreign object entry probability

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefood waste entry easeVSAvoidoverly aggressive food drawing and increased foreign object entry

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The baffle provides partial opening or partial permeability rather than full opening, allowing enough passage for food waste entry ease while avoiding excessive action that would cause overly aggressive drawing or increased foreign object entry risk.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS20260028807A1Baffle with Anti-reverse stoppers

Publication Date: 2026.01.29 INSINKERATOR LLC

AI summary

Food waste disposers, particularly food waste disposers for installation under a sink, can include a mounting assembly that has a baffle. Each baffle of the present technology can include an outer rim, a plurality of flaps that are attached to the outer rim by a hinge and extend radially inwardly from the outer rim. Each flap can have an anti-reverse stopper that is intended to resist upward movement of the flap during operation, to prevent food waste from backing-up out of the disposer into the sink.