Drain Water Collector Sump with Shutter Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drain water collector sumps are inefficient in disposing of large volumes of water, prone to foam accumulation, and fail to prevent odors from escaping, leading to water and foam leakage through the upper grid.
Innovation Solution
A drain water collector sump design featuring a convey element with a shutter mechanism that directs water flow towards the drain hole, preventing vortex formation and foam accumulation, and includes a sealing mechanism to block odors from rising back into the collector.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional collector sump is used, then the structure is simple and cost-effective, but it cannot effectively dispose of large volumes of water and foam accumulates
Solution Approach 1:
The sump is divided into two chambers: a first chamber for receiving water from sanitary facilities and a second chamber for allowing water to drain into the drain pipe. This segmentation enables better water flow management and prevents foam accumulation while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
A shutter mechanism is introduced as an intermediary element between the two chambers. The shutter automatically opens to allow water flow and closes to prevent foam and odors from escaping, thereby improving water disposal efficiency without significantly complicating the overall structure.
2Productivity
If the drain hole size is increased to handle large water volumes, then water disposal improves, but foam and odors escape more easily
Solution Approach 1:
The shutter is designed to be movable, dynamically adjusting its position based on water flow conditions. During high-flow conditions, the shutter opens to accommodate large water volumes. During low-flow or stagnant conditions, the shutter closes to prevent foam and odor escape, thus resolving the contradiction between disposal capacity and harmful factor prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The shutter operates automatically based on the water flow itself, without requiring external control. The flow of water naturally opens the shutter, and the absence of flow allows the shutter to close, enabling the system to self-regulate between handling large volumes and preventing escape.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If a shutter mechanism is added to prevent foam and odor escape, then harmful factors are blocked, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shutter mechanism is designed to operate automatically in response to water flow conditions without requiring external control systems. The flow of water itself activates the shutter opening, and the absence of flow allows automatic closing, thereby preventing foam and odor escape while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
4Productivity
If the collector sump is designed to handle large water volumes, then water disposal efficiency improves, but the risk of water and foam leakage through the grid increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shutter dynamically adjusts its opening state based on real-time water flow conditions. When large volumes of water need to be disposed, the shutter opens to maintain high disposal efficiency. When water flow decreases or stops, the shutter closes automatically to prevent leakage of water and foam through the grid, thus maintaining both efficiency and reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively manages large water volumes, prevents foam and odor escape, and is simple and cost-effective to produce, with the convey element improving existing sump performance without requiring full replacement.
Implementation Method 1
The convey element housed inside the collector sump favours, in fact, the flow of water towards the drain hole, avoiding the formation of vortices and turbulences
Implementation Method 2
The presence of the shutter inside the convey element then prevents the foam and odours from going back up from the collector sump
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A drain water collector sump (1) comprises a container (2) having an inner chamber (3) provided with an upper access opening (6) closed by at least one grid (17, 20) and with a plurality of holes (22, 23) connectible in use to respective pipes; and a convey element (27) housed inside the chamber (3) along the axis (A) and facing the holes (22, 23) so as to define an annular space (28) about the convey element (27) between the convey element (27) and the lateral wall (5) of the container (2); the convey element (27) has a hollow body (30) extending along the axis (A) between a lower end (35), communicating with the annular space (28), and an upper end (36), coupled in a fluid-tight manner with an inner lateral surface (42) of the container (2) and communicating with the opening (6); the convey element (27) is equipped with a sealing seat (49) positioned inside the body (30) and cooperating with a floating shutter (50) that is housed inside the body (3) and is free to move due to buoyancy to close the sealing seat (49).