Triangular Bell Plunger for Universal Drain Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional plungers are ineffective in creating a seal around both circular and trapezoidal toilet bowl drain openings, leading to splash-back and incomplete clog removal, and fail to fit properly into various drain shapes.
Innovation Solution
A plunger with a triangular-shaped, collapsible bell portion and a flexible cylindrical sleeve portion, made from natural or synthetic rubber, which creates a better seal for both round and trapezoidal openings, minimizing splash-back and maximizing liquid displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a traditional circular-shaped plunger bell is used, then the plunger structure is simple, but it cannot create an effective seal around both circular and trapezoidal toilet bowl drain openings
Solution Approach 1:
The plunger bell is designed with an asymmetric triangular shape instead of a traditional circular symmetric shape. This triangular configuration allows the bell to adapt to both circular and trapezoidal drain openings by creating seal lips that conform to the drain geometry, thereby improving seal effectiveness across different drain types without requiring multiple specialized plungers.
Solution Approach 2:
The triangular bell portion with its seal lips is designed to universally fit both circular and trapezoidal drain openings. The geometry of the triangle allows it to function effectively with different drain shapes, making a single plunger design capable of handling multiple drain configurations, thus eliminating the need for separate plungers for different drain types.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a traditional plunger sleeve is used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but it does not fit effectively into both round and trapezoidal drain openings while maintaining the necessary seal
Solution Approach 1:
The plunger sleeve is constructed from a flexible material that can deform and conform to different drain opening shapes. This flexibility allows the same sleeve design to effectively seal against both circular and trapezoidal openings, providing adaptability without requiring complex molded structures or multiple specialized sleeve designs.
3Reliability
If an improper seal between the plunger bell and the toilet drain is used, then the plunger structure is simpler, but it results in splash-back of contaminated water, inversion of the plunger bell, and failure to clear the clogged drain
Solution Approach 1:
The triangular bell portion creates an asymmetric seal configuration that better conforms to the geometry of toilet drain openings. The seal lips extending from the triangular shape provide improved sealing contact, preventing water splash-back and ensuring reliable pressure transmission to clear clogs effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The triangular bell portion features rounded corners rather than sharp angles. This curvature modification allows the seal lips to better conform to the rounded edges of drain openings, improving the seal effectiveness and preventing water leakage and splash-back during the plunging operation.
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 plunger effectively clears clogs with fewer attempts, reduces splash-back, and is easier to use and manufacture, while being more efficient in displacing liquid and pressure, thus improving clog removal efficacy.
Implementation Method 1
a generally cylindrical, flexible sleeve portion fixedly attached to the lower end of the bell portion. The flexible sleeve portion is configured to engage the trap of a toilet.
Data Source
AI summary
An improved toilet plunger for unclogging drains, comprised of a handle and a plunger head with an upper generally triangular-shaped, collapsible bell portion and a lower generally cylindrical, flexible sleeve portion. The unique shape and configuration of the bell and sleeve portions enable the improved plunger device to displace clogs with fewer attempts, and to resist device deformation, inversion, rotation, and breaking of the seal during plunging.