Patent Application
20100229297
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention generally relates to methods of installing shower drains. Installation methods known in the art have a tendency of clogging the shower drain's weep holes and inhibit their functionality.
Servicing clogged shower weep holes is a complicated process wherein the method Of reaching the weep holes depends on individual plumbers. In any event no method currently exists for unclogging weep holes without considerable effort. Therefore, preventing materials from clogging the shower drain weep holes altogether remains unaddressed.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to address the problem of preventing materials from clogging the shower drain weep holes by plugging the holes with a dissolving porous gasket during shower drain floor installation so that the gasket decomposes by action of moisture seeping through the adjacent floor covering once the drain is in use.
The present invention comprises a method of preventing material from clogging shower drain weep holes. A gasket for preventing material from clogging the shower drain weep holes is utilized during floor installation. The gasket is comprised of a dissolving porous ring shaped material that covers the shower drain weep holes during floor installation. In a preferred embodiment, the shower drain wall and flange surface maintain substantial uniform contact with the gasket.
The gasket is composed of a biodegradable material that dissolves and seeps through the shower drain weep holes. Three-dimensionally, the material is shaped to form a concave curve bounded by substantially perpendicular sides to encircle the shower drain. In another preferred embodiment, the gasket is approximately ⅞ths high by 5/2ths inch wide at a diameter of 31/5ths, wherein the gasket comprises nipples disposed angularly between the bottom surface and the inner surface of the gasket for plugging the shower drain weep holes.
Biodegradable materials are utilized, chosen from any biodegradable material characterized by dissolvability, to comprise a shower drain weep hole gasket wherein the gasket is resilient to moisture introduced as material is floated during floor installation. The biodegradable gasket eventually disintegrates due to the introduction of moisture coming through the adjacent floor covering once the drain is in use, upon which the disintegrated components of the gasket pass through drain weep holes.
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All features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6. In particular, the use of “step of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.
