Sink Fixture Elbow Insert Structure for Low-Loss Fluid Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional metal fixtures for sinks, such as those delivering water or air for drying, are costly to produce due to casting methods, making them expensive even at low volumes.
Innovation Solution
A fixture comprising two straight, hollow metal tubes connected via a curved elbow duct, with inserts made from foam or plastic for cost-effective production and reduced pressure losses, allowing for efficient delivery of water or air with optional additional water nozzles and motor-driven fan units for effective drying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional casting methods are used to produce metal fixtures, then the fixtures have good structural integrity, but the production cost is very high
Solution Approach 1:
The fixture is divided into separate components: straight metal tubes cut from rolled tubing and inserts forming the curved elbow duct. This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured independently using cost-effective methods while maintaining overall structural integrity through joining techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines different materials - metal tubes for structural strength and foam or plastic inserts for forming the curved duct. This composite approach allows each material to contribute its optimal properties while reducing overall production cost compared to casting the entire fixture in metal.
2Ease of manufacture
If straight metal tubes are used instead of curved cast sections, then production cost is reduced, but pressure losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
Foam or plastic inserts are placed inside the straight metal tubes to create the curved elbow duct pathway. These inserts act as intermediaries that guide the fluid flow through a curved path within the straight tube, maintaining smooth transitions and minimizing pressure losses while allowing the tube itself to remain straight for cost-effective manufacturing.
3Temperature
If foam inserts are used to create curved ducts, then heat insulation and noise absorption are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Foam inserts with porous structure are used inside the metal tubes to create the curved duct. The porous nature of the foam provides both heat insulation and noise absorption properties while the simple insertion method keeps the overall device complexity low.
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 solution enables cost-effective production and efficient fluid delivery with minimized pressure losses, maintaining high exit airspeeds for effective drying and providing heat insulation and noise absorption.
Implementation Method 1
The use of a foam material has the additional advantage that it provides a degree of heat insulation
Implementation Method 2
The use of a foam material has the additional advantage that it provides a degree of heat insulation and noise absorption
Data Source
AI summary
A fixture for delivering a first fluid over the basin of a sink includes a supply inlet and a delivery outlet for the fluid, the inlet connected to the outlet through a hollow body of the fixture, the hollow body including two straight, hollow metal tubes: a first tube arranged to be mounted next to the basin of the sink in use, and a second tube joined to the wall of the first tube so as to project out over the basin of the sink in use. One or more inserts are provided inside the first metal tube and together define a curved elbow duct inside the first metal tube for guiding the fluid from the first metal tube into the second metal tube. The tubes can be cut at relatively low cost from conventional rolled steel tubing, and the curved elbow duct limits pressure losses inside the first tube.