Flexible Toilet Drain Fitting for Non-Coplanar Wall-Hung Installations
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing plumbing connections for suspended toilets face challenges in accommodating non-standardized and complex configurations, particularly in limited spaces, requiring flexible solutions that are cost-effective and easy to install, while maintaining durability and resistance to chemical attacks.
Innovation Solution
A plumbing fitting comprising two rigid tubular sleeves connected by a helical spring overmolded with flexible plastic material, allowing for variable length and angle adjustments, and featuring a spiral pleated bellows structure to reduce water stagnation and enhance durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If flexible corrugated pipes are used, then adaptability to non-standardized configurations is improved, but water stagnation occurs in annular pockets leading to odors and increased wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible bellows structure with longitudinal folds instead of transverse corrugations. This flexible shell design allows adaptation to non-standardized pipe configurations while preventing water stagnation through continuous flow paths. The bellows structure expands and contracts to accommodate movement and misalignment without creating pockets where water can collect.
Solution Approach 2:
The bellows structure employs curved longitudinal folds rather than straight or transverse corrugations. This curvature design ensures that wastewater flows smoothly through the connection without stagnating in pockets. The continuous curved surfaces guide water flow in one direction, preventing the formation of harmful stagnant areas while maintaining flexibility.
2Manufacturing precision
If multi-elbow fittings with precise adjustment are used, then connection precision for non-coplanar axes is improved, but device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single flexible bellows component that replaces what would traditionally require multiple rigid pipe segments and elbow fittings. This single element provides both the connection and the angular adjustment capabilities, simplifying the overall device structure while maintaining precision for non-coplanar axis connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible bellows structure provides dynamic adjustment capabilities, allowing the connection to adapt to various angles and positions during installation and operation. This dynamic flexibility eliminates the need for precise pre-fabrication of complex multi-segment rigid structures, reducing device complexity while maintaining connection precision.
3Ease of manufacture
If standardized sleeve and tube installation is used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but adaptability to varying connection configurations is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible bellows connection maintains ease of manufacture through a standardized single-piece construction that can be produced using conventional forming processes. At the same time, its inherent flexibility allows it to adapt to varying connection configurations without requiring custom fabrication, thus resolving the contradiction between standardization and adaptability.
4Volume of moving object
If the pipe diameter is reduced below minimum size, then space requirements are reduced, but waste disposal capability and regulatory compliance are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible bellows structure allows the pipe to maintain its minimum required diameter for reliable waste disposal while accommodating limited installation space through its compact, expandable design. The bellows can compress in the longitudinal direction without reducing the internal diameter, thus preserving waste disposal capability while adapting to space constraints.
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 a robust, adaptable, and space-efficient connection that can handle non-coplanar configurations, reducing installation complexity and costs, while maintaining effective waste water flow and resistance to chemical attacks.
Implementation Method 1
a helical spring overmolded with an overmolding of flexible plastic material forming a flexible and compressible sheath connecting the rigid tubular sleeves
Implementation Method 2
featuring a spiral pleated bellows structure to reduce water stagnation and enhance durability
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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AI summary
Plumbing fitting for connecting wall-hung toilets (100) to a wastewater drain pipe inlet (111), comprising two rigid tubular sleeves (3), one configured to connect to the pipe inlet (111), and the other to connect to a water outlet (103) of the wall-hung toilet (100), characterized in that it comprises a helical spring overmolded with an overmolding of flexible plastic material forming a flexible and compressible sheath connecting the rigid tubular sleeves (3).