Patent Application
20050178438
The invention relates to plumbing fixtures and, in particular, to a plumbing trap device with portions that provide sufficient flexibility and axial extension and retraction to allow the trap to be installed between plumbing fixtures, such as drains and drain outlets, of various spacings. The present invention also relates to a plumbing trap device having flexible and extensible inlet arm and outlet arm sections for facilitating installation of the trap between drain and outlet fixtures of various spacings without the need for assembling the trap from multiple components, or cutting the components, to fit a particular spacing arrangement.
When installing a common plumbing trap, a plumber must be able to align the inlet of the trap with the tail piece of the plumbing fixture so that they are in straight vertical alignment, often incorporating an intermediate extension tube also referred to as a tail extension piece. Because the outlet of the trap is connected to a horizontal connector arm that attaches to a drain outlet, the vertical axis of the tail piece and the horizontal axis of the drain outlet and connector arm should be in perpendicular alignment. In addition, the space provided between the tail piece and drain outlet should be large enough to accommodate the trap structure. Unfortunately, the axes are often not in perpendicular alignment and often the space provided between the tail piece and drain outlet is not large enough to readily accommodate plumbing traps in the prior art.
Therefore, there is a need for a plumbing trap device whereby both the inlet portion of the trap and the outlet portion of the trap may each be both flexed and adjusted in length to allow the trap to be positioned outside of the vertical axis of the tail piece and the horizontal axis of the drain outlet, and yet function as required. This need is evidenced by the numerous patents that have been obtained purporting to solve this problem. In addition, it would be advantageous for such a trap to be of unitary construction thereby minimizing the need for on-site assembly of the trap from sub-elements selected to meet the particular spacing arrangement presented by the drain and outlet. None of these references, however, presents the novel combination of features presented by the present invention.
Several prior art patents disclose devices that attempt to solve the problem by providing a flexible trap element. These references are exemplified by the patents to Lamond, U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,278 and Bresnahan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,616. Both patents disclose various traps formed of soft, flexible material that allows the trap to be manually manipulated to dislodge obstructions. The traps also provide flexion that allows the tail extension and arm connector pieces to be slightly altered in orientation to adapt to a particular drain and drain outlet spacing arrangement. These traps present structures similar to curved lengths of rubber or soft plastic tubing and therefore, while providing flexibility, also present some disadvantages. For example, both patents disclose attaching the flexible trap to further plumbing components to complete the trap assembly. Attachment is disclosed in both patents as utilizing common hose clamps for providing radial compression upon the end of the trap structure since the flexible structure is not amenable to more common plumbing connectors, such as threaded nuts and gaskets. Apart from being the less desired method of attaching household drain fixtures, hose clamps are typically formed of metal components which are liable to rust under the damp conditions usually associated with plumbing drains. A further problem presented by flexible traps, such as those disclosed in Lamond and Bresnahan, is that the soft material does not lend itself to the inclusion of a clean out aperture in the lower portion of the trap. Both the lack of a clean out aperture, and the flexibility of the trap itself, often render such devices unusable as they do not pass common plumbing code enacted by most local governments.
The patents to Danks, patent No. Des. 231,930; Wirth, U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,978 and Doyle, patent No. Des. 346,646 offer a somewhat different solution by providing flexible plumbing traps comprised of accordion pleats. While providing flexibility, such arrangements also present disadvantages in that the flexible trap portion will not meet most plumbing code restrictions, is not amenable to the provision of a clean out plug, and due to the physical structure of the pleats, tends to collect debris within the trap itself necessitating dismantling the trap.
The patents to Itzler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,190 and Mikol, U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,510 disclose highly similar devices that also propose to alleviate the problem presented by varying spatial relationships between drains and drain outlets. Both of these patents disclose a flexible tail extension piece that may be used to connect the tail piece of a plumbing fixture, such as a drain, to the inlet of a plumbing trap. While presumably solving a portion of the problem presented, such structures still present deficiencies in that they require assembly of multiple components on-site and specifically disclose the need to cut portions of the tail extension to accommodate alignment in various situations.
The patent to Olive, U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,324, discloses a plumbing trap having a connector arm that has a flexible, corrugated section. As disclosed, the trap may be bent away from the longitudinal axis of the arm element, due to the flexibility provided by the corrugated section. The patent, however, does not disclose a section that also provides extension and compression of the flexible section, nor does it disclose a unitary body having flexible and extensible sections incorporated into both the inlet arm and the outlet arm.
The present invention provides an improved plumbing trap device. In particular, the invention provides a plumbing trap device having a unitary, tubular body which may be flexed, compressed or expanded to fit a range of installation requirements.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a plumbing trap device is provided which includes a unitary, tubular body for conveying waste water from a sink, tub or other source to a drain outlet. The body of the plumbing trap device includes a generally U-shaped trap section having a fluid-receiving inlet and a discharge outlet. Typically the U-shaped trap section presents a bent or molded portion of tubing having upwardly extending legs and a curved, relatively horizontal mid-section.
The U-shaped trap section could, however, be formed from a vessel having two transversely opposed openings in communication with the upper portion of the vessel, the openings being separated by a structure such as a wall or septum dividing the upper interior portion of the vessel into partially separated chambers connected by a gap in the wall in the lower portion of the vessel.
A tubular outlet arm extends from the discharge outlet and includes a flexible and extensible section. The end of the arm may have a nut and gasket or other means for connection to a drain outlet pipe or other fixture for receiving waste water. A tubular inlet arm extends from the inlet and also includes a flexible and extensible section. The end of the inlet arm may also have a nut and gasket, or other means for connection to the drain tail piece that delivers waste water from a sink, tub or other source to the plumbing trap.
The flexible sections are formed from a portion of the tubing that has been shaped to form pleats or corrugations. The flexible sections therefore present a length of tubing having a structure that may be described as an accordion or bellows. The flexible sections provide the inlet and outlet arms with sufficient flexibility, and axial extension and retraction, to facilitate installation of the plumbing trap device between plumbing fixtures, such as drains and drain outlets, of various spacings.
Referring more particularly to the drawings, and initially to
In order to illustrate the advantages of the present invention, a common plumbing trap of the prior art, often referred to as a P-trap 10, is illustrated in
The U-shaped trap 14 as illustrated in
In use, the inlet arm 120 of the plumbing trap device 100 is attached to the tail piece of a drain (not shown) in one of two manners. In the case of a drain tail piece comprising a smoothed side tube with no specialized attachment means at the terminus such as threads or flanges, a plumbing trap device 100 of the present invention should be provided with a slip extension 160 for receiving a portion of the end of the tail piece. The slip extension 160 is secured to the tail piece using a gasket and nut (see 30B and 32A in
If the trap portion 110 of the device 110 is provided with a clean out plug 22, the nut covering the plugged hole should be engaged, thereby closing the hole.
Typically, the outlet arm 130 comprises a straight sided tube at the terminus which may be pushed into the drain outlet. Prior to pushing the end of the outlet arm 130 into the drain outlet, a nut is slipped onto the outlet arm 130 followed by a gasket. The outlet arm 130 is then slid into the drain outlet. The gasket pushed against the end of the drain outlet and the nut engaged with the threads on the outside of drain outlet. As with the connection described above between the tail piece and the inlet tube 120 comprising a slip extension 160, upon tightening the nut the gasket is compressed against the sides of the outlet arm 130 and against the end of the drain outlet thereby creating a friction seal to fix the outlet arm 130 in engagement with the drain outlet.
Because of the flexible and extensible sections 140 and 150 provided with the inlet arm 120 and outlet arm 130 the device 100 may be readily positioned with minimal stress placed upon the aforementioned connections.
It is to be understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable equivalents thereof.
