Waste Fitting with Transparent Pan for Visual Outlet Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in plumbing a shower is aligning the waste fitting with the outlet pipe, which is difficult due to the fixed position of the outlet pipe, leading to misalignment issues that require additional components like plumbdingers, increasing installation time and cost, and compromising the quality of the seal.
Innovation Solution
A waste fitting with a transparent waste pan that allows visual inspection during installation, enabling precise alignment of apertures with the outlet pipe, and a method involving marking and forming apertures to ensure direct waste flow without the need for plumbdingers, allowing for installation without accessing the shower base once it's in place.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the outlet pipe is fixed in position, then the waste outlet structure is stable, but aligning the waste fitting with the outlet pipe becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The waste pan is made transparent or translucent, allowing the installer to visually locate the outlet pipe through the waste pan itself. This optical property enables direct alignment without needing to work underneath the shower base, resolving the contradiction by maintaining outlet pipe stability while achieving precise alignment through visual inspection.
2Ease of operation
If plumbdingers or adjustable pipes are used to compensate for misalignment, then the waste fitting can be installed, but the waste flow speed decreases and scum accumulation risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the mechanical alignment system (plumbdingers, adjustable pipes) with an optical alignment system (transparent waste pan allowing visual inspection). This substitution enables direct alignment of the waste fitting with the outlet pipe, maintaining optimal waste flow speed and preventing scum accumulation while still achieving feasible installation.
3Ease of manufacture
If the shower base is installed first, then the shower structure is complete, but accessing the outlet pipe for alignment becomes awkward and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
By making the waste pan transparent, the invention allows the installer to see through the waste pan to locate and align with the outlet pipe from above, eliminating the need to work underneath the shower base. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining shower base installation completeness while dramatically improving accessibility during the alignment operation.
4Manufacturing precision
If careful measuring and marking are done before shower base installation, then alignment can be attempted, but the process time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent waste pan allows the outlet pipe position to be located and the alignment to be made in a single step during the installation process itself, rather than requiring preliminary measuring and marking before shower base installation. This eliminates time-consuming preliminary actions while maintaining alignment precision through direct visual inspection.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a waste fitting including a waste pan means into which waste can flow, at least one part of the waste pan means allowing visual inspection therethrough. During installation, an opening of the waste outlet can be located by visual inspection through the or each at least one part of the waste pan means, enabling a suitable position to be determined for forming and or positioning of at least one aperture in the waste pan means. The at least on aperture is formed such that, in use, waste that flows into the waste pan means can exit through the or each at least one aperture towards the opening in the waste outlet. The invention also relates to a method of installing a waste fitting.