Drain Valve with Retractable Connecting Element for Concealed Cisterns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drain valves for concealed cisterns face challenges in tight spaces due to their complex design and assembly issues, requiring additional parts and being prone to complications during installation.
Innovation Solution
A drain valve with a housing and a connecting element that can be moved along and around a longitudinal axis, reducing overall length for easier installation and eliminating the need for additional parts, ensuring a permanent sealing effect without joint failure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the drain valve is designed with additional parts like joints to enable space-saving installation, then the adaptability to tight spaces is improved, but the device complexity increases and reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting element is designed to be movable relative to the housing along the longitudinal axis, transitioning between an extended configuration (for insertion through inspection opening) and a retracted configuration (for compact installation in tight spaces). This dynamic adjustment allows the drain valve to adapt to space constraints without requiring additional joint components, thereby maintaining simplicity and reliability while improving adaptability to tight installation environments.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the drain valve is designed with additional parts like joints to enable space-saving installation, then the adaptability to tight spaces is improved, but the reliability decreases due to joint failure risk
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the joint component from the drain valve assembly. Instead of using separate joints to connect the connecting element to the housing, the design integrates these components directly, with the connecting element moving within the housing along guide tracks. This removal of the joint eliminates the potential failure point while still enabling the necessary movement for installation and operation in tight spaces.
3Ease of operation
If the connecting element is made movable to reduce overall length for easier installation, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting element is nested within the housing, moving along guide tracks that are integrated into the housing structure. The elevation on the connecting element fits within the guide track of the housing, creating a compact nested arrangement that enables movement for installation purposes while maintaining a compact overall structure. This nesting approach achieves ease of installation without significantly increasing device complexity.
4Ease of operation
If the overall length is reduced for easier insertion, then the ease of operation is improved, but the sealing effectiveness may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The overflow pipe is designed to be movable along the longitudinal axis, allowing it to transition between a retracted position (for easy insertion through inspection opening) and an extended position (for proper sealing against the valve seat during operation). This dynamic positioning ensures that the sealing element can achieve effective contact with the valve seat while still allowing for simplified installation, thereby maintaining both ease of operation and sealing effectiveness.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A drain valve (1) for a cistern (2), in particular a concealed cistern, comprises a housing (3), an overflow pipe (4) movable in the housing (3) along a longitudinal axis (L) with a sealing element (5) and a connecting element (6) connected to the housing (3) for connecting the housing (3) to the cistern (2), which connecting element (6) includes a valve seat (7) with which the sealing element cooperates, wherein the overflow pipe (4) is movable from a closed position in which the sealing element (5) rests against the valve seat (7) to a flushing position in which the sealing element (5) is spaced apart from the valve seat (7).Furthermore, the connecting element (6) is displaceable along and/or about the longitudinal axis (L) from a usage position to a mounting position relative to the housing (3), wherein in the mounting position the total length (X) of the housing (3) is reduced from an upper edge (8) of the housing (3) to a lower edge (9) of the connecting element (6) opposite the upper edge (8) compared to the usage position.