Frameless Floor Drain Cover with Annular Positioning Element
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional floor drains struggle to seamlessly integrate with tile grids, especially when using large or small tiles, leading to visible frames and dirt joints, and lack sufficient drainage capacity while maintaining a discreet and hygienic appearance.
Innovation Solution
A floor drain design featuring a drain element connected to a setting building material mass with a plate-shaped cover and an annular positioning element that allows for a single tile or mosaic to be placed without cutting, ensuring a flush integration and high drainage capacity through a frameless water inlet gap defined by the tile edges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a frame-shaped border is used to receive the tile, then the cover structure is defined and stable, but visible frames and dirt joints appear that disturb visual integration with the floor covering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the frame-shaped border from the cover design. Instead of having a separate frame structure, the cover consists only of the plate element that directly receives the tile. This extraction of the frame eliminates the visible frame and dirt joint issues while maintaining structural stability through the plate-tile-adhesive assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the cover plate and tile into a unified visual element. The tile is adhesively bonded directly to the plate cover, creating a combined structure where the tile becomes part of the cover assembly. This merging eliminates the need for a separate frame border, achieving seamless visual integration with the floor covering.
2Ease of manufacture
If the cover is designed without a frame to improve visual integration, then visual appeal is enhanced, but the cover may rotate relative to adjacent tiles affecting inlet gap uniformity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces asymmetric positioning elements in the form of angled tabs or protrusions on the plate cover. These tabs are positioned at specific angles and locations to prevent rotational movement of the cover relative to adjacent tiles. The asymmetric configuration of these tabs ensures proper orientation while maintaining the frameless design for visual integration.
3Ease of manufacture
If the inlet gap width is reduced to improve visual integration, then the drain becomes more discreet, but drainage capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different gap widths at different locations. The circumferential inlet gap between the tile edge and cover plate is minimized for visual integration, while the radial inlet gap between the positioning element and drain element is optimized for drainage capacity. This local differentiation allows the drain to be both visually discreet and functionally effective.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The drain has a plate-like cover (3) for receiving a tile (4') or a mosaic. A drain element (1) is firmly connected with a joined building material mass i.e. floor screed. The cover is connected with an annular positioning element (5), which is arranged at a lower side of the cover. The annular positioning element defines a water inlet gap with the cover. An outer diameter of the positioning element is smaller than or equal to a large external dimension of the cover. A seat (1.1) is formed at the drain element for detachably receiving the positioning element.