Plumbing Fixture Drain-Casted Jet Orifice
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plumbing fixtures face challenges in forming jet orifices at specific locations and orientations due to limited clearance, leading to inconsistent sizes, material waste, and suboptimal drain performance.
Innovation Solution
The use of a drain-casting process to form jet orifices at the inlet of trapways with an angled axis oriented upwardly and rearwardly, allowing for consistent shape and size without material yield, and enabling effective fluid flow for flushing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional methods are used to form jet orifices, then material waste occurs and manufacturing is difficult, but the patent applies drain-casting process to achieve consistent shape and size without material yield
Solution Approach 1:
The jet orifice is formed during the drain-casting process itself, before the fixture is completed. The casting material is deposited in a predetermined pattern that includes the jet orifice geometry, eliminating the need for subsequent material removal operations and preventing material waste while ensuring consistent shape and size.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical drilling or punching methods with a casting-based formation process. The jet orifice is created by controlling the flow and solidification of casting material rather than by mechanical removal, eliminating material waste and improving dimensional consistency.
2Ease of manufacture
If jet orifices are formed at specific locations with limited clearance, then conventional methods cannot achieve proper orientation, but drain-casting enables angled axis orientation upwardly and rearwardly
Solution Approach 1:
The desired angled orientation of the jet orifice is built into the casting mold design from the beginning. The mold includes features that guide the casting material to form the jet orifice at the precise location and angle required, eliminating the need for post-casting orientation adjustments and ensuring manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the manufacturing process parameters by using drain-casting instead of conventional forming methods. This allows the jet orifice to be formed with specific angular orientations (upwardly and rearwardly) that would be impossible to achieve with traditional drilling or punching in tight clearance spaces.
3Reliability
If inconsistent jet orifice sizes are produced, then drain performance deteriorates, but drain-casting ensures consistent shape and size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical forming methods that produce variable dimensions with a controlled casting process. The casting material flows into a precisely designed mold cavity, ensuring that every jet orifice is formed with identical geometry and dimensions, thereby guaranteeing consistent drain performance across all fixtures.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing from mechanical removal processes to a casting deposition process, the patent achieves superior dimensional control. The jet orifice dimensions are determined by the mold geometry rather than by tool wear or operator skill, ensuring consistent size and shape that reliably produce the desired drain performance.
Data Source
AI summary
A plumbing fixture includes a sump and a trapway extending from sump at an inlet of the trapway. A jet orifice is disposed in the trapway at approximately the inlet and defines an angled axis that is oriented upwardly toward an upper wall of the trapway and rearwardly toward an interior of the trapway. The jet orifice is configured to direct fluid from a fluid supply source to the trapway.