1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to plumbing accessories and the like, and particularly to a drain strainer and filter for removable installation in various household and other drains.
2. Description of the Related Art
Drain strainers comprising baskets of perforated material for removable installation in kitchen and bathroom sink drains serve to prevent the blockage or clogging of such household drains with food, hair, and/or other solids. These strainers generally do a reasonably good job of retaining such solids to prevent their traveling farther down into the sink trap or other relatively inaccessible area, but the relatively large pores found in the typical sink strainer still allow a fair amount of particulate matter to flow through the perforations and into the trap, where they may build up.
In many cases a finer filtration system than the relatively porous sink drain basket is desirable. Accordingly, some devices for sink drains have been constructed to house a relatively fine mesh screen or other filter therein. While this serves the purpose of providing better filtration than the conventional porous basket, none of the sink filtration devices of which the client is aware include an adjustable drain stopper or plug with the device. A person using such a conventional drain filter must remove the filter and its housing from the drain to access the separate drain plug, to open or stop the drain as desired. Moreover, most such devices with relatively fine filters comprise metal screens or the like that must be cleaned and reused. Provision of a disposable fiber filter would greatly simplify the use of such a device.
Thus, a drain strainer and filter solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The drain strainer and filter includes a porous basket and removable porous lid defining a filter housing therein. A flat filter is captured between upper and lower filter retainers and placed in the bottom of the basket. The lid is then secured over the filter. The filter is preferably formed of an economically disposable loosely woven fiber, such as cotton gauze or a loose Dacron® fill or the like. The lid includes a folding handle extending upward therefrom. The lid has a recess to allow the handle to fold flush with the upper surface of the lid to avoid interference with articles placed in the sink.
In a first embodiment, the drain strainer includes a retractable drain stopper extending below the basket. The stopper is raised and lowered by a vertical shaft that passes through the bottom of the basket, the filter and its retainer components, and the lid. The upper portion of the shaft is removable from the lower portion to allow the lid to be removed from the basket and to allow the filter and its retainers to be removed from the assembly. A second embodiment of the drain strainer does not include the stopper or its actuation shaft. However, the second embodiment does include a folding handle extending from the top of the lid to facilitate placement and removal of the strainer and filter in the drain.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The drain strainer and filter is a combination device providing relatively coarse straining or filtration of liquids flowing therethrough by means of the perforated basket and lid or cover, and finer filtration by means of the filter element within the basket. Embodiments include a device with an adjustable stopper, and a device without a stopper.
A filter assembly is removably installed within the basket 12. The filter assembly comprises a lower filter retainer 20 and an upper filter retainer 22, and a filter element 24 captured therebetween. The filter element 24 is preferably formed of loosely woven natural or synthetic fiber material, e.g., cotton, Dacron®, etc. Other filter materials may be used, if suitable.
Each of the filter retainer components 20 and 22 has a generally open central area, as can be seen clearly in
A lid 34 is provided for removable attachment to the basket 12. The lid 34 has an internally threaded basket attachment rim 36 that threads onto the corresponding externally threaded upper rim 38 of the basket 12. A flange 40 extends outward beyond the rim 36 of the lid 34 coplanar with the surface of the lid 34. The flange 40 provides a better seal about the periphery of the drain strainer and filter 10, serving to greatly reduce the amount of water and particles that may bypass the device 10 by flowing between the side of the basket 12 and the inner wall of the drain. The portion of the lid 34 within the rim 36 is provided with a large number of drain holes or perforations 18 similar to the perforations 18 of the basket wall 14 and bottom 16. The lid 34 also includes a handle clearance recess 42 therein to allow the T handle (discussed further below) to rest therein flush with the upper surface of the lid 34, as shown in the lid 134 of the embodiment of the drain strainer and filter shown in
The drain strainer 10 of
A tubular stopper rod housing 54 is immovably affixed within the stopper rod passage 44 of the basket bottom 16. A stopper rod 56 is installed within the stopper rod housing 54, and is free to slide axially within the housing. The stopper rod 56 (shown in
The handle extension rod 66 is free to slide axially within a handle extension housing 68. The handle extension rod 66 has a handle attachment end 70 opposite its stopper rod attachment end 64. A T handle 72 is pivotally secured to the handle attachment end 70 of the handle extension rod 66 by a pivot pin 74. The T handle 72 is used to lift and turn the handle extension rod 66, along with the stopper rod 56 and its stopper 60, to lift and hold the stopper 60 clear of the underlying drain or to allow the stopper 60 to drop into the drain to close the drain, as desired. The upper end 76 of the handle extension housing 68 includes at least one (and preferably two opposed) slot(s) 78 therein, and the handle extension rod 66 has a corresponding shoulder or shoulders 80 disposed along the sides thereof. This construction results in the handle extension rod 66 being held in an upper position when its shoulders 80 are resting atop the higher end 76 of the handle extension housing 68, as shown in
The filter assembly of the drain strainer 110 of
A lid 134 is provided for removable attachment to the basket 112. The lid 134 has an internally threaded basket attachment rim 136 that threads onto the corresponding externally threaded upper rim 138 of the basket 112, as in the case of the drain strainer 10 of
Although the lid 134 of the embodiment 110 of
Either embodiment of the drain strainer 10 or 110 may be used to capture both relatively large and smaller solid particles to prevent them from entering the drain and building up to cause an obstruction at some inaccessible location in the drain line. Both embodiments of the drain strainer 10, 110 may be made from a variety of materials, corrosion resistant steel (i.e., “stainless’ steel) or plated steel being a desirable material. Other metals, or even plastics, may be used for any or all of the components other than the filter.
The drain strainer 10, 110 is readied for use by installing an appropriate filter 24 or 124 within the corresponding filter retainer components, and placing the filter and retainer assembly within the bottom of the corresponding basket 12 or 112. The lid 34 or 134 is then installed upon the upper rim of its basket 12 or 112. If the drain strainer 10 of
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
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Number | Date | Country |
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2079594 | Jan 1982 | GB |
Entry |
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Website, http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Bath-Sink-Strainer-Stopper/dp/B0012KCD70/ref=sr—1—8?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&gid=1320595882&sr=1-8, Kitchen & Bath Sink Strainer With Stopper, one sheet printed from the internet on Nov. 7, 2011. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20130191982 A1 | Aug 2013 | US |