Shower Head Segmented Plate Design for Cost Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shower heads are cumbersome, expensive, and complex to manufacture and assemble, with a restrictive circular shape and high production costs due to the need for specialized equipment and tools.
Innovation Solution
A shower head design featuring a dispensing plate and a closing plate that can be made from sheet metal with any shape, including asymmetrical designs, using shearing or laser cutting, and assembled via gluing or welding for a secure, fluid-tight seal without the need for expensive molds or tools, allowing for complex shapes and reduced production costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a dispensing plate is screwed inside a head body as in prior art, then the shower head achieves a functional water dispensing structure, but the design is restricted to circular shapes and becomes cumbersome and expensive to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The shower head is divided into two separate plates (dispensing plate and closing plate) that are positioned facing each other with spaces between them, eliminating the need for one plate to be inserted into or screwed inside a body. This segmentation allows each plate to be independently manufactured in any shape and simplifies the overall construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention explicitly allows for asymmetrical shape designs in both the dispensing plate and closing plate, breaking the conventional restriction to circular shapes. The plates can be configured in rectangular, oval, or any custom shape to meet aesthetic or functional requirements.
2Manufacturing precision
If specialized equipment and tools are used for manufacturing shower heads as in prior art, then precise assembly and sealing are achieved, but production costs increase and manufacturing becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the shower head into two independent plates that face each other with gaps, the invention eliminates the need for precise insertion and sealing within a enclosed body. The segmented design allows for simpler manufacturing processes while maintaining adequate sealing through the spacing configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, complex manufacturing processes with simpler, cheaper methods. The plates can be manufactured using basic sheet metal work or other inexpensive processes, eliminating the need for costly specialized equipment and tools required by prior art designs.
3Ease of manufacture
If plates are positioned facing each other with spaces between them, then assembly is simplified and production costs are reduced, but fluid sealing becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The deliberate spacing between the dispensing plate and closing plate creates a controlled fluid path that is easier to manufacture and assemble. The gaps between plates replace the need for precise internal sealing mechanisms, simplifying assembly while maintaining functional reliability through the spaced configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
A shower head comprising a pair of plates, for dispensing and closing, directly facing each other relative to an axial direction. The shower head comprises a closing ring which is directly arranged between the plates and fixing and sealing means suitable for fixing the plate each other and for realizing a liquid tight seal, so as to sealingly delimit with the plates a fluid collecting chamber and dispense the liquid through holes of the delivery plate. The shower head is especially thin, inexpensive to manufacture and to assemble.