Flat Shower Pan with Integrated Radial Channels for Clog-Free Drainage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shower and sink designs with flat surfaces and interconnected channels for drainage often require multiple components and lack a mechanism to prevent large objects from clogging the drain, leading to inefficiencies and increased production costs.
Innovation Solution
A flat surface made from a single volume of material, such as stone or concrete, featuring radially interconnected perforated channels that act as a grate to prevent clogging, with channels thin enough for water flow but thick enough to block objects, and a concave water collection tray leading into a lower drain, all manufactured as a single component.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple components are used for channels and drains, then flexibility in design is improved, but device complexity and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate components (channels, drains, grates) into a single integrated structure made of one piece of stone or concrete. The channels are formed directly within the solid material, eliminating the need for separate channel components and reducing assembly complexity while maintaining design flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The solid stone or concrete material serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides the structural surface, forms the drainage channels, acts as the grate to prevent clogging, and integrates the drain openings. This multi-functionality reduces the number of components needed while maintaining design adaptability.
2Productivity
If thin channels are used for water flow, then drainage efficiency is improved, but ability to prevent clogging worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The channels are positioned close to the surface where water flows, providing efficient drainage pathways. Meanwhile, the solid stone or concrete material surrounding and supporting the channels maintains sufficient thickness to act as a physical barrier against clogging objects. This local differentiation of channel proximity versus material thickness resolves the contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
The solid stone or concrete material acts as an intermediary structure that contains the water-flow channels while simultaneously serving as the protective grate. The channels provide drainage efficiency, while the enclosing solid material prevents clogging, with the material itself mediating between these two functions.
3Strength
If solid stone or concrete is used, then durability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage channels are formed within the solid stone or concrete material during the manufacturing process itself, before installation. This preliminary formation of channels eliminates the need for post-installation modifications or complex assembly operations, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining the durability benefits of solid material construction.
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 solution enhances drainage efficiency by preventing clogging and reducing production costs through a unified, single-component design that ensures effective water flow and object exclusion.
Implementation Method 1
the channels direct the water towards a lower concave tray and from there to the drain
Data Source
AI summary
A flat surface for sinks and shower pans with drainage through channels, which, as a single component, has a flat upper surface (1) in which interconnected radial and peripheral channels (2) are made, which guide the water to a drain (3) arranged in the lower part thereof, and partial grooves (4) run between the channels (2), said grooves having a recess to prevent the water from spilling over, and this upper flat surface (1) is arranged over a concave water collection tray (5) which leads into the drain (3).