External Drain Valve With Auxiliary Chamber for Concealed Cistern Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional concealed cisterns face difficulties in installing and maintaining functional parts due to small inspection openings, which limits accessibility and ease of installation for drain valves, requiring assembly within the cistern body and disrupting the aesthetic continuity of the wall surface.
Innovation Solution
A drain valve design that allows for external placement and accessibility via an inspection opening, featuring a valve housing with a secondary chamber and flexible wall section, enabling the valve body to be sealed effectively and facilitating easy maintenance and disassembly, with a secondary valve controlling the main valve for efficient operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the inspection opening is made small to maintain aesthetic continuity of the wall surface, then the aesthetic appearance is improved, but the ease of installation and maintenance of functional parts deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The drain valve is divided into separate modular components: valve body, connection piece, and bellows assembly. These segmented parts can be installed through the small inspection opening individually, avoiding the need for large openings while maintaining aesthetic continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection opening is relocated from the front wall to the bottom of the cistern body, utilizing the vertical dimension. This allows the opening to be positioned where it is less visible and can be covered by the toilet bowl, maintaining aesthetic appearance while providing sufficient access for installation and maintenance.
2Shape
If the drain valve is installed inside the cistern body, then the wall surface design is simplified, but the accessibility for maintenance and disassembly deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The drain valve is extracted from the interior of the cistern body and positioned externally, where it can be accessed through the inspection opening at the bottom. This allows the cistern body to be sealed with an uninterrupted wall surface while the valve remains accessible for maintenance through the removable inspection opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection piece acts as an intermediary element that bridges the cistern body and the drain valve. It allows the valve to be positioned externally while maintaining hydraulic connection to the internal water supply, enabling both aesthetic wall surface and maintenance accessibility.
3Strength
If a rigid valve body is used, then the structural strength is improved, but the ease of installation through small openings deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows assembly provides dynamic flexibility to the valve structure. The expandable and collapsible bellows allow the valve components to be compressed into a compact form for installation through the small inspection opening, then expand to their full functional size once installed, maintaining structural strength while enabling easy installation.
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
This design provides enhanced installation flexibility, reduces the forces required for actuation, and ensures reliable operation while maintaining an uninterrupted wall surface, allowing for easier maintenance and improved design freedom in toilet rooms and bathrooms.
Implementation Method 1
actuating the ancillary outflow valve (16) and thus the main outflow valve (7) can be achieved with relatively small forces
Implementation Method 2
the forces required to actuate the ancillary outflow valve (16) and thus the forces required to actuate the outflow valve (7) are relatively small
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 3~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
The invention relates to a drain valve for a sanitary cistern, in particular a concealed cistern, having a valve housing (2) with a drain opening (4), the drain opening (4) being delimited by a valve seat (6), and a valve body (7), which rests in a sealing manner on the valve seat (6) when the drain valve is closed, the valve housing (2) having a housing chamber (11), arranged upstream of the valve seat (6) in the direction of flow, for receiving water. To allow the drain valve to be arranged outside the cistern and to enable access to the drain valve for maintenance or removal via an inspection opening that can be concealed by a toilet bowl or urinal bowl, according to the invention the valve body (7) is provided with an auxiliary chamber (12) for receiving water, the water receiving volume of which, when the drain valve (1) is open, is smaller than when the drain valve (1) is closed, the auxiliary chamber (12) being delimited by a flexible and/or moveable wall section, and an auxiliary drain valve (16) being associated with the auxiliary chamber (12), which auxiliary drain valve, when in a first position, permits water to flow into the auxiliary chamber (12), and, when in a second position, permits water to flow out of the auxiliary chamber (12).