Pivotable Jet Regulator Wall for Sanitary Fitting Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing jet regulators are difficult to clean in the assembled state and often compromise the visual appearance of sanitary outlet fittings due to protruding handling elements and limited pivotability.
Innovation Solution
A jet regulator with a spherical-layer-shaped external circumference wall pivotably mounted in a joint socket within the housing, allowing for easy rotation and cleaning without external axle stumps, and featuring a handling element for user control from a distance, along with a latching connection to secure the wall in position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a pin handling element projects laterally on the annular wall to facilitate pivoting, then ease of operation is improved, but visual appearance deteriorates and unnecessary pivoting is triggered
Solution Approach 1:
The pin handling element is extracted from the visible external surface and relocated to the rear side of the jet regulator housing. It is integrated into the rear wall structure, making it invisible from the front viewing position. Users can still access and operate the pin by reaching around to the rear, but it no longer compromises the sleek visual appearance from the front.
Solution Approach 2:
The pin is designed as a recessed element that can be accessed through the rear wall opening, acting as an intermediary between the user's hand and the pivoting mechanism. The rear wall structure serves as a mediator that conceals the pin while still allowing operational access.
2Ease of repair
If the annular wall is made pivotable between use position and cleaning position, then ease of repair and cleaning is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The jet regulator is segmented into a fixed housing portion and a pivotable annular wall portion. This segmentation allows the cleaning function to be isolated to a specific movable component, simplifying the overall design compared to making the entire device complex and movable.
Solution Approach 2:
The annular wall is designed with dynamic pivotability, transitioning between a fixed use position and a movable cleaning position. This controlled dynamics approach provides ease of cleaning only when needed, while maintaining structural simplicity during normal operation.
3Productivity
If the wall is pivotable in the jet regulator housing, then productivity is improved through easier maintenance, but reliability may deteriorate due to additional moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
The jet regulator incorporates a self-cleaning capability through the pivotable annular wall design. During cleaning operation, water flows through the housing and exits through gaps in the pivoted wall, automatically removing deposits without requiring manual disassembly or external cleaning tools.
Solution Approach 2:
The design includes preliminary detent positions that guide the annular wall into proper alignment during pivoting. This preliminary positioning action ensures reliable reengagement of sealing surfaces and mechanical connections after each cleaning cycle, maintaining operational reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A jet regulator having a sleeve-shaped jet regulator housing which is assembleable on the water outlet of a sanitary outlet fitting, and having a wall which supports a perforated structure that forms the outlet end side of the jet regulator and which in the jet regulator housing is pivotable between a use position, in which the perforated structure extends transversely across an outflow-side sleeve opening of the jet regulator housing, and a cleaning position, in which the water flowing through the jet regulator housing can flow out on both sides of the wall through opening gaps formed between the wall and the neighboring housing internal circumferential wall. The wall has a spherical-layer-shaped external circumference and via which it is pivotably mounted in a joint socket provided on the housing internal circumferential wall of the jet regulator housing. A handling element extends from the wall and is latchable on the outflow-side housing end side of the jet regulator housing.