Silicone Drain Valve Cut Geometry for High Flow and Tight Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing valve designs for elongate inflow openings face challenges in ensuring a good seal along the short sides due to the flexible material bending and deforming, which impedes water flow, and existing solutions that clamp three sides limit flap mobility or cause deformation when water passes through.
Innovation Solution
A valve with an H-shaped or U-shaped cut configuration, where two parallel cuts are arranged at a mutual distance and a connecting cut extends longitudinally, allowing uniform bending and minimizing deformation, combined with depending flanges for enhanced sealing and a sloping upper surface to form a funnel, ensuring efficient water passage and sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the elongate flexible flap is clamped in a drain along three sides, then a good seal is achieved, but the movability of the flap is considerably limited and throughflow is impeded
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing body is divided into multiple independent bending sections by longitudinal cuts, allowing each section to move freely while maintaining overall sealing integrity. This segmentation enables the valve to achieve both good sealing and high throughflow rate by allowing significant flap movement without compromising seal quality.
2Productivity
If the conical form is divided into four quarters with a cross-shaped cut, then water passage is enabled, but deformation occurs and flow rate is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing body is divided into multiple independent bending sections by longitudinal cuts, allowing each section to move freely while maintaining overall sealing integrity. This segmentation enables the valve to achieve both good sealing and high throughflow rate by allowing significant flap movement without compromising seal quality.
3Productivity
If a star-shaped incision is applied to an elongate valve, then water passage is enabled, but the sealing surfaces bend away differently and seal quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The valve features localized bending sections created by longitudinal cuts at specific positions, allowing controlled deformation only where needed for water passage. The remaining portions maintain their original geometry and sealing properties, ensuring consistent seal quality across different valve sizes and shapes.
4Productivity
If the flexible material bends and deforms to allow water flow, then throughflow is enabled, but the seal along the short sides deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing body is divided into multiple independent bending sections by longitudinal cuts, allowing each section to move freely while maintaining overall sealing integrity. This segmentation enables the valve to achieve both good sealing and high throughflow rate by allowing significant flap movement without compromising seal quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve design incorporates a mounting edge that extends beyond the sealing body perimeter, providing an additional dimension for clamping and sealing. This mounting edge ensures reliable sealing along all sides including the short sides, even when the sealing body deforms significantly for high flow rates.
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
The valve design allows for a large surface area to facilitate water flow with minimal deformation, maintaining a tight seal even after water has passed, and is easily removable for cleaning, distributing stress evenly across the sealing body and clamping ring.
Implementation Method 1
Silicone is resilient, whereby the parts will readily return to a sealing position after water has pressed parts of the sealing body away.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
The invention relates to a valve (1) for an elongate inflow opening, which valve comprises an elongate, thin-walled and flexible sealing body, wherein: - arranged in the sealing body is an incision of two cuts (3, 4) arranged at a mutual distance and one single connecting cut (5), wherein the connecting cut (5) extends in longitudinal direction of the elongate sealing body and at an angle greater than 0°, preferably greater than 45°, to the two cuts (3, 4) arranged at a mutual distance; and - a mounting edge (2) is provided along the periphery of the sealing body for the purpose of sealing mounting in the inflow opening.