Faucet Cartridge ECO Function via Limiting Element Geometry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cartridges with ECO functions for single-armed mixing faucets face issues such as uneven force demand due to spring deformation, inconsistent flow rates at different angular positions, and complexity in design, especially when using joystick-type arms, leading to excessive water usage and inefficient water management.
Innovation Solution
A cartridge design featuring a ceramic actuator disc and control disc system with a limiting element that provides a sudden increase in resistance to allow higher water flow rates only after overcoming a specific force threshold, ensuring consistent flow rates across various angular positions without increasing the cartridge's volume or complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If small springs with C-shape are attached at both sides of a movable element to provide ECO function, then resistance is provided at predetermined radial positions, but the springs get distorted and high deformation occurs leading to non-uniform force demand
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the ECO function from the spring mechanism and implements it through the geometry of the limiting element itself. The limiting element's shape (with wider and narrower portions) directly provides the resistance variation without requiring separate spring components, eliminating the distortion and deformation issues associated with springs.
Solution Approach 2:
The limiting element acts as an intermediary between the control arm and the flow rate control mechanism. Instead of using springs to provide resistance, the limiting element's geometric features (wider and narrower portions) mediate the force requirement, providing uniform force demand while maintaining reliable operation.
2Productivity
If the ECO function is implemented with springs, then resistance is provided at predetermined positions, but the beginning of the ECO function falls to the same radial position regardless of angular position, causing inconsistent flow rates
Solution Approach 1:
The limiting element incorporates local geometric variations (wider and narrower portions) at specific locations to provide ECO function. These local geometric features create resistance only when engaged by the control arm at the appropriate radial position, ensuring that the ECO function begins at the correct flow rate regardless of the arm's angular position.
Solution Approach 2:
The limiting element is pre-configured with its wider and narrower portions positioned to engage the control arm at a predetermined radial position. This preliminary geometric arrangement ensures that the ECO function activates at the correct flow rate before the arm reaches any extreme angular positions, maintaining consistency across all angular orientations.
3Ease of manufacture
If the cartridge design is simplified to reduce complexity, then manufacturing becomes easier, but the ECO function cannot be realized when a joystick-type arm is used
Solution Approach 1:
The limiting element serves multiple functions: it provides the ECO function through its geometric features, guides the control arm's movement, and works兼容 with joystick-type arms. This multi-functional design maintains structural simplicity while enabling compatibility with various arm types including joystick configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The limiting element is designed as a separate, modular component with distinct wider and narrower portions that can be independently manufactured and then assembled into the cartridge. This segmentation allows for simple manufacturing of individual parts while achieving the complex ECO function when assembled, and enables compatibility with joystick-type arms without increasing overall structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A cartridge provided with ECO function for a single-armed mixing faucet, that comprises a cylindrical housing that has a cylindrical inner cavity and wall with a central axis; an arm that can be moved, and an actuator disc connected to the control ceramic disc of a pair of water-mixing ceramic discs, wherein the actuator disc comprises a pair of parallel planar walls extending in radial direction, wherein the spacing between the parallel walls decreases at predetermined distances from the center of rotation of the actuator disc, the cartridge comprises an arced limiting element that has a pair of spaced arms, the limiting element being movable only in radial direction relative to the actuator disc, and the radial position of the limiting element, and the limiting element being movable substantially without any effort.