Low-Profile Dome Floor Drain Cover with Corrugated Surface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional floor drain covers either have a limited surface area for drainage, leading to reduced flow efficiency or create obstacles for foot traffic and door swing, and tend to collect debris, which can block fluid flow.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile dome-shaped cover assembly with multiple concentric sets of radial flow passages, a textured surface for traction, and a removably attachable anchor with a deformable insert structure to secure the cover over the drain, minimizing blockages and enhancing drainage efficiency while reducing obstruction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a raised drain cover (high domed or cylindrical configuration) is used, then the surface area for drainage is increased, but it creates an obstacle for foot traffic and door swing
Solution Approach 1:
The drain cover employs a low-profile dome shape with a height-to-radius ratio of less than 0.5 (preferably less than 0.33), creating a curved surface that maximizes drainage area while minimizing vertical projection. This curvature allows liquid to flow across the domed surface through integrated flow passages without requiring a tall structure, thus resolving the contradiction between drainage surface area and clearance for foot traffic and doors.
2Ease of operation
If a flat drain cover is used, then it does not create obstacles for foot traffic, but it has limited surface area for drainage reducing flow efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from a two-dimensional flat cover to a three-dimensional low-profile dome, adding vertical dimension while constraining height. This dimensional change increases the surface area available for liquid flow without significantly increasing the vertical footprint, thereby improving drainage efficiency while maintaining ease of operation for foot traffic.
3Ease of manufacture
If a smooth surface drain cover is used, then it is easy to clean, but debris tends to collect and block fluid flow
Solution Approach 1:
The drain cover features a corrugated configuration with adjacent grooves and ridges on its surface. This local structural variation creates a textured pattern that prevents debris from settling and blocking flow passages. The grooves channel liquid flow while the ridges prevent debris accumulation, resolving the contradiction between surface smoothness and debris resistance by applying different surface qualities in different locations.
4Productivity
If multiple flow passages are added to increase drainage capacity, then drainage efficiency is improved, but the cover becomes more complex and prone to blockage
Solution Approach 1:
The drain cover incorporates multiple concentric sets of flow passages (first, second, and third sets) that segment the drainage function across different zones. This segmentation allows each set of passages to handle specific flow patterns, increasing overall drainage capacity while distributing complexity across modular, repeating patterns rather than a single complex structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A cover assembly for a drain comprises a saucer-shaped cover body having a first side configured to face toward a drain opening in a surface and a second side configured to face away from the drain opening. The cover body defines a plurality of flow passages extending between the first side and the second side so as to allow a liquid to pass through the cover body to the drain opening. At least a portion of the second side of the cover body may have a corrugated configuration formed by adjacent grooves and ridges, the grooves and ridges cooperating to facilitate reduction in blockage of the flow passages by debris on the second side of the cover body.