Shower Head with Folded Venturi for Compact Handle Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shower heads with integrated air passageways and Venturis for enhancing shower power become cumbersome when attempting to incorporate a handle, compromising their compactness and symmetry.
Innovation Solution
The shower head design folds the Venturi's air flow direction through a substantial angle, allowing for a compact configuration with a handle, and includes a convergent nozzle to accelerate water droplets and reduce noise, while maintaining symmetry in the shower pattern.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a handle is added to the shower head for manual operation, then the shower head becomes more versatile and easier to operate, but the device becomes cumbersome and loses its compact configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the handle structure within the existing shower head housing, nesting the handle mechanism inside the available internal space rather than adding it as an external attachment. This allows the handle to be incorporated without significantly increasing the overall device volume or compromising the compact configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent repositions the air passageway and Venturi components to utilize three-dimensional space more efficiently, arranging them in a folded configuration that accommodates the handle while maintaining a compact external profile. This spatial reorganization allows multiple components to coexist in a smaller footprint.
2Power
If the air passageway and Venturi are integrated into the shower head to enhance shower power, then the shower effectiveness is improved, but the device becomes cumbersome and difficult to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The Venturi and air passageway are nested within the shower head housing, with the air passageway folded back on itself to fit within the available internal volume. This nesting approach allows the power-enhancing components to be integrated without significantly increasing the external dimensions or weight of the shower head.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a folded air passageway configuration that transitions from a linear arrangement to a three-dimensional folded structure, allowing the air flow path to be accommodated within the compact shower head volume while maintaining the necessary flow characteristics for effective operation.
3Volume of moving object
If the Venturi air flow direction is folded through a substantial angle to achieve compact configuration, then the device becomes more compact and easier to handle, but the flow path becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the air passageway from a linear one-dimensional path to a folded three-dimensional configuration, bending the passageway at substantial angles to fit within a compact volume. This spatial transformation reduces the overall device size while maintaining the functional integrity of the air flow path.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs curved and angled transitions in the air passageway and Venturi components, using smooth bends and folded configurations to redirect air flow through substantial angles. These curved transitions minimize flow disruption while achieving the compact folded arrangement necessary for a handleable device.
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
This design provides a compact, symmetrical, and powerful shower experience with reduced noise, addressing the issue of handle integration without compromising water and energy efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
via a Venturi having a convergent portion, throat and divergent portion
Implementation Method 2
a convergent nozzle downstream of the divergent portion of the Venturi... which accelerates the droplets
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~10
Figure 11~13
AI summary
A shower head (40) has a passageway for a flow of pressurised air from a pressurised air supply, via a Venturi (48) having a convergent portion (46), throat (50) and divergent portion (52), to a shower discharge opening (56), and a passageway (58) for a flow of water from a water supply to a water discharge opening (60) in the Venturi. The Venturi is such that, in use, the general direction of the flow of air is turned through a substantial angle in the Venturi. This folding of the Venturi enables a compact configuration of shower head to be provided.