Hinged Urinal Collector Layout for Shared Drain Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional urinals require separate drain pipes for each unit, leading to costly and time-consuming maintenance due to the need for wall access during servicing, which increases installation and maintenance expenses.
Innovation Solution
A urinal system with hingedly mounted urinal members and a collector member that directs fluid waste to a single drain pipe, incorporating a solenoid for water control and a strainer for easy maintenance, allowing multiple urinals to share a common drain pipe.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate drain pipes are used for each urinal, then each urinal can be independently plumbed, but installation and maintenance costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate drain pipes into a single common drain pipe that serves multiple urinals. The collector member receives waste from multiple urinals and channels it through one shared drain connection, eliminating the need for individual drain pipes for each urinal while maintaining proper drainage functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The common drain pipe serves multiple functions by handling waste from multiple different urinals simultaneously. The collector member acts as a universal collection point that can accommodate multiple urinal inputs, making the drainage system more versatile and cost-effective.
2Stability of the object's composition
If conventional urinals are secured to a wall, then they provide stable mounting, but wall access is required for servicing which increases maintenance time and expense
Solution Approach 1:
The urinal system is divided into separable components: the urinal unit itself and the collector member. This segmentation allows the collector member to be accessed and serviced independently from the wall mounting, enabling maintenance without cutting access holes in the wall while keeping the urinal securely mounted.
Solution Approach 2:
The collector member acts as an intermediary component between the urinals and the wall mounting system. It provides an accessible interface for servicing the drainage system without requiring direct access to the wall-mounted piping, thus maintaining mounting stability while improving ease of repair.
3Productivity
If multiple urinals are installed in a commercial bathroom, then user capacity increases, but the number of drain pipes and maintenance complexity increase proportionally
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple urinals are merged into a single drainage system through the collector member, which consolidates multiple waste streams into one common drain pipe. This reduces the overall plumbing complexity while maintaining the ability to serve multiple users simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The common drain pipe and collector member provide universal drainage capability for multiple urinals, allowing the system to scale to accommodate more users without proportionally increasing plumbing complexity. One drain pipe serves multiple functions of handling waste from multiple different sources.
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
Facilitates efficient installation and maintenance by reducing the number of drain pipes needed, minimizing wall access requirements, and enabling simultaneous servicing of multiple urinals through a unified plumbing setup.
Implementation Method 1
a solenoid operably coupled to the water supply providing control of water dispersal into the urinal member
Implementation Method 2
the collection member includes a bottom surface that is tapered in shape and oriented to direct fluids to a single location
Data Source
AI summary
A urinal system that is configured to have a single or multiple urinal members wherein the invention includes a mounting member operably coupled to the urinal member providing collection of fluid waste and wherein the urinal member is tiltably coupled to the mounting member. The mounting member include a plurality of walls, a top and a bottom forming an interior volume. Mounted within the interior volume is a lower support member having a urinal member support bracket secured proximate the midpoint thereof. The mounting member has disposed therein a collector member wherein the collector member is fluidly coupled to the urinal member. The collector member includes a plurality of walls forming an interior volume operable to receive fluid therein. The bottom of the collector member is tapered so as to direct fluid flow in a desired direction. Collector couplers are mounted to ends of collector members in multiple unit installations.