Magnetic Floor Drain Closure for Automatic Sealing and Drainage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic drainage mechanisms for floor drains and trap boxes are either dependent on user activation, fragile, or require complex assemblies and adjustments, leading to inefficiencies and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
An automatic drainage mechanism with a grid, core, set of magnets, and supports that utilize opposite polarities to create a spring effect, allowing automatic opening and closing based on water weight, eliminating the need for user intervention and ensuring durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If electromagnetic elements are used as springs in the drainage mechanism, then the device achieves automatic opening and closing operation, but the device complexity increases due to the need for precise alignment between magnetic components
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a traditional mechanical spring that requires precise manufacturing tolerances and assembly alignment, the patent inverts the approach by using electromagnetic repulsion between like poles of magnets to create the spring effect. This inversion allows for greater tolerance in component alignment and simplifies the overall device structure while maintaining automatic operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical spring system with an electromagnetic field-based system. Magnets are positioned on opposite sides of the drainage cover, creating a repulsive force that acts as the spring mechanism. This substitution eliminates the need for complex mechanical spring assemblies and reduces device complexity while achieving the same functional result.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a travel block with rotation and adjustment mechanisms is used to align the cover body with the drainage hole, then the device can adapt to different positions, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to the complex adjustment process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the need for manual adjustment mechanisms by designing the magnetic alignment system to self-align during installation. The magnetic repulsion force automatically guides the cover body into the correct position over the drainage hole, making the device self-adjusting and eliminating complex travel block mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the complex travel block rotation and adjustment mechanisms from the device. Instead, it relies on the simple magnetic field interaction between the magnets on the cover and the magnetic elements in the base to achieve alignment, significantly simplifying the operation and installation process.
3Force
If magnets are placed close to the drainage hole to create sufficient repulsive force, then the magnetic force increases, but the object-generated harmful factors worsen due to potential interference with water flow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning magnets at specific locations on the drainage cover that maximize magnetic repulsive force while minimizing interference with water flow. The magnets are placed on the upper surface of the cover away from the central drainage opening, creating a localized magnetic field that affects only the cover position and not the water passage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent resolves the conflict by moving the magnetic components to a different spatial dimension - placing magnets on the upper surface of the cover rather than near the drainage hole opening. This dimensional separation allows the magnetic field to act vertically on the cover position while leaving the horizontal water flow path unobstructed.
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
Ensures automatic and durable operation, allowing water flow while preventing insect access by leveraging the repulsive force of magnets, with alignment ensured by guide channels and pins, and sealing odors effectively.
Implementation Method 1
a set of magnets (5) arranged on the upper support (4) and on the lower support (6), wherein the set of magnets (5) comprises magnets (5A) arranged on the upper support (4) and magnets (5B) arranged on the lower support (6), in an opposite way, in which equal polarities exert the repulsion between the upper and lower supports (4 and 6), creating the spring effect in the core (3)
Implementation Method 2
When the force generated by the mass of water on the core (3) is greater than the repulsion force of the magnets (5A and 5B), the upper support (4) moves linearly and vertically downwards in relation to the lower support (6), allowing the water to drain
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic drainage mechanism for floor drains and trap boxes, which is equipped with a grid, a protection ring that surrounds the edge of a core helping to seal and blocking the return of odors and insects, an upper support, a set of magnets, a lower support, a retaining grid that helps block the passage of small animals and a base. Thus, the drainage mechanism, by means of the upper support with the set of magnets and with the lower support create the spring effect in the core, since the set of magnets is divided into arranged on the upper support and arranged on the lower support, in which the magnets are arranged in opposite ways, but with the same polarities facing each other, generating a repulsion between the upper and lower supports.