Drainage Frame Spring Clip Fastening and Self-Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing frame systems for securing drainage channel or manhole covers face issues such as worn-out snap fastenings requiring frame replacement, high production costs due to complex tooling, limited applicability due to minimum height requirements, and dirty connections becoming difficult to dismantle over time.
Innovation Solution
A frame design featuring a snap fastening implemented with a releasable spring clip that can be pre-assembled, eliminating the need for expensive tools and allowing easy assembly and disassembly, with features like angled retaining webs and drain openings to prevent dirt accumulation and facilitate cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tongue snap fastening is used to secure gutter covers, then the cover can be reversibly fixed in position, but the spring tongue tires with increasing use requiring frame replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The snap fastening is extracted from the frame structure and implemented as separate spring clips that can be independently replaced. The clips are removed from the frame body and can be individually maintained without replacing the entire frame, thus extending the frame's service life while maintaining fastening reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring clips are designed as disposable or replaceable components that can be discarded when worn and recovered/replaced individually. This allows the fastening function to be renewed without discarding the entire frame, resolving the contradiction between maintaining fastening reliability and extending frame service life.
2Reliability
If complex presses are used to produce frames with integrated snap fastenings, then the fastening function is achieved, but production costs increase due to considerable tool costs
Solution Approach 1:
The frame system is segmented into the frame body and separate spring clip components. This segmentation allows the clips to be manufactured independently using simpler processes without requiring expensive integrated tooling for the entire frame, thus reducing production costs while maintaining the fastening function.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring clips are pre-assembled as separate units before being installed in the frame. This preliminary action allows for simpler manufacturing of individual clips without the need for complex integrated pressing tools, reducing overall production costs while achieving the same fastening reliability.
3Strength
If the tongue must have a certain width to fulfill its securing function, then the securing strength is sufficient, but the minimum frame height increases limiting application scope
Solution Approach 1:
The spring clips utilize a three-dimensional spring configuration that provides securing strength through elastic deformation in multiple directions rather than relying solely on tongue width. This dimensional approach allows sufficient securing strength to be achieved in frames with reduced height constraints, expanding the application scope.
4Reliability
If a screw connection is used to secure gutter covers, then the cover can be fixed in position, but the connection becomes dirty with increasing use becoming difficult to dismantle
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening function is extracted from the screw connection system and implemented through spring clips that engage with the cover. This extraction eliminates the screw threads that become clogged with dirt, allowing the fastening to remain easily operable while maintaining secure fixation of the gutter cover.
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
The solution provides secure, tamper-proof, and easy-to-maintain cover gratings that remain functional over time, reducing production costs and extending the frame's applicability while ensuring easy removal and automatic cleaning of the connection area.
Implementation Method 1
The frame edge is provided with a snap fastening which projects in the direction of the gutter or shaft cover and which, in the installation position, engages with the gutter or shaft cover in such a way that the gutter or shaft cover is reversibly secured
Data Source
Figure 1~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a frame (1) for a drainage channel for receiving a channel or shaft cover, in which a first frame part, comprising a frame edge (2), a bearing surface (3) and a side skirt (13), can be connected to a spring clip (14) designed as an angle element, which engages under this first frame part, such that a retaining web (17) of the spring clip (14) can be locked within a recess (7) of an inner skirt (6) of the frame edge (2) and in this installation situation the bearing surface (3) of the frame (1) is engaged by a drainage surface (15) of the spring clip (14).so that, despite the upper shielding of the fastening of a gutter or manhole cover formed by the retaining rib (17) in this area, any dirt penetrating this area is discharged through a drainage opening (26) arranged in the transition area from the side skirt (13) to the support surface (3) in conjunction with the surface water onto the drainage surface (15) below the support surface (3) and can subsequently enter the channel of the gutter or manhole through a flushing opening (27) and be flushed out, so that, on the one hand, a fastening of a gutter or manhole cover in a frame (1) is achieved that is shielded against contamination and, on the other hand, this area is also designed to be self-cleaning.