Patent Application
20100133159
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Embodiments of the present application meet the long-felt need of a drain support system for use in pouring concrete floors. The support system can be vertically adjusted to accommodate the pouring of concrete floors of various thicknesses, prevents the contamination of the end of the drain pipe with concrete residue, prevents concrete contamination of the cavity surrounding the end of the drain pipe, and is preassembled and easily used in the sometimes tumultuous and untidy environment of a concrete floor pour. This system embeds the drain pipe in the concrete matrix while protecting the end of the drain pipe. In addition, the system provides a cavity which facilitates joining of the drain pipe with a riser pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,527 discloses a fabricated floor drain which extends through a floor and includes a impervious membrane surrounding the drain and between two layers of concrete or a layer of gravel and a layer of concrete. Weep holes in the drain receive moisture from the membrane.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,887 discloses a drain collar for maintaining an annular space in a poured concrete floor surrounding a riser pipe. The collar consists of inner and outer sleeves with knock-out webs separating the sleeves and a cap which prevents entry of concrete during pouring. After the concrete is poured and hardened the cap, inner sleeve, and knock-out webs are removed, leaving a riser pipe with a 1 inch annular space about the pipe. This space facilitates the installation of appliances such as a toilet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,767 discloses a drainage enhancer for double seepage drains. The enhancer is a donut-like disk comprised of porous bonded aggregate which allows drainage of water through a shower floor into weep holes in the drain.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,971 discloses a drain and cleanout spacer which are placed to cover a vertically adjustable drain and cleanout port before concrete pouring. The spacers are removed and the heights of the drain and port adjusted after the concrete has hardened.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,013,927 discloses a sleeve for toilet flanges and drains consisting of a sleeve surrounding the soil pipe concentric with a larger sleeve and separated from the larger sleeve by three spacers. An annular ring covers the annular space during the concrete pour. After the concrete has hardened the ring and spacers are removed.
U.S. Pub. Pat. App. No. 2004/0016190 discloses a modular device for passing cables and pipes through partitions such as a floor. The device includes firestop material which expands when heated and fills the passage. Transverse bands are manually attached and removed to adjust the length of the device.
U.S. Pub. Pat. App. No. 2004/0231742 discloses a sleeve which surrounds a riser pipe. Spacers are used to maintain a space between the concentric riser pipe and sleeve. The spacers are removed after concrete is poured and hardened.
U.S. Pub. Pat. App. No. 2005/0055916 discloses a box-like form assembly for a rough-in floor drain line which projects upward from an earthen ground location. The interior of the assembly is filled with sand aggregate and a lid placed on the assembly before pouring concrete in order to protect the drain line from inadvertent contact with concrete.
U.S. Pub. Pat. App. No. 2005/0166315 discloses two systems for supporting a floor drain before a concrete pour on a wooden form. A prior art system uses a foam block with a hole to accommodate the bottom of the drain to support the drain before the pour. The height of the foam block may be altered to accommodate the various depths of the poured floor. The block and drain are retained in place before and during the pour by wires which cross the top of the drain and are secured by nails to the wooden form. The foam block is chiseled away after the concrete hardens thereby giving access to the bottom of the drain.
Another system uses a number of threaded rods to connect the floor drain to a inverted pan-shaped drain support plate which rests on the wooden form. The height of the drain is adjusted using the threaded rods. A flange about the circumference of the plate rests on and is attached to the wooden form. A hole in the center of the plate accommodates the connection pipe extending from the bottom of the drain into the open space under the drain support plate. A plastic pipe spacer may be used to prevent penetration of liquid concrete through the space between the plate and connection pipe into the open area under the inverted plate. Such penetration contaminates the end of the connection pipe with concrete, thereby causing difficulties in connecting the connection pipe with a drain pipe. Rubber or foam sealant also may be used to prevent penetration of concrete into the open space.
U.S. Pub. Pat. App. No. 2007/0056088 discloses a shower drain adapter which attaches a bondable waterproof membrane with a shower pan drain system.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.
The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tool and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. In various embodiments, one or more of the above described problems have been reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to other improvements.
Embodiments include a floor drain assembly for supporting a floor drain and drain pipe during the pouring of a concrete floor on a form. Embodiments comprise a floor drain body, a drain pipe having a first and a second end with the drain pipe attached at the first end to the bottom of the drain body and extending to the form at the second end. In addition there are a multiplicity of spacer rods, the spacer rods attached at a first end to the bottom of the drain body, and a support plate, the spacer rods attached at a second end to the support plate. The support plate has a hole through the center of the plate through which the drain pipe extends to the form at the second end of the drain pipe. The support plate has legs which extend downward from the circumference of the support plate to the form, the legs holding the plate above the form, thereby forming a cavity between the bottom of the support plate and the form. There is a disk comprised of resilient material, the disk inserted into the cavity between the bottom of the support plate and the form, the disk having a hole through the center of the disk, the hole through the disk having a diameter slightly less than the outside diameter of the drain pipe, and the drain pipe force fitted through the hole in the disk at the second end of the drain pipe.
In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by study of the following descriptions.
A drain pipe 30 is attached at a first end 32 to the drain body and removes liquids from the drain body at an opening 24 at the lower portion of the drain body. The second end of the drain pipe is passed through a central hole 51 in the support plate 50. The drain pipe also passes through a central hole (not visible in
In the embodiment of
A disk 60 fits under the support plate between the legs. A central hole (not visible in
At the bottom of the assembly a support plate 50 is connected to the spacer rods 40 through rod holes 58 and adjusting nuts 42 on both sides of the support plate 50 secure the spacer rods to the support plate. Washers (not visible in
The second end 34 of the drain pipe 30 extends through the central hole 51 in the support plate 50 and is force fit into the disk central passage 62 in the disk 60. The disk is manufactured of a resilient material. Spacer rod holes 64 in the disk 60 are arrayed about the spacer rods 40 and accommodate the portion of the spacer rods 40 and adjusting nuts 42 which extend below the support plate 50.
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
The assembly is manufactured by suitable strong materials such as iron, aluminum, or steel. In embodiments the drain body is cast iron the spacer rods and nuts and support plate are steel. The disk is manufactured of suitable resilient and flexible materials, such as plastic foam, such as polystyrene or polyurethane foam, or rubber.
In some embodiments the disk has a diameter of 10.22 inches and thickness of 1.44 inches. The spacer rod holes are 1.00 inches in diameter and the central passage is 3.56 inches in diameter which accommodates a drain pipe of 3.75 inches outside diameter. The support plate, legs and flanges are of 11 gauge sheet steel. The support plate is 10.25 inches in diameter. The central hole in the support plate is 3.75 inches in diameter and the rod holes are 0.406 inches in diameter. In some embodiments the spacer rods are 0.312 inches in diameter and 12 inches in length. The drain body is 9 inches in diameter and 4.344 inches in length.
In use, enough assemblies for all the floor drains are adjusted in length to the planned thickness of the concrete floor. The assemblies are located at the appropriate sites on the forms and attached by nails or screws. Concrete is poured and allowed to harden. The forms are removed and the disk removed using pliers or other means of grasping the disks. The result is a cylindrical cavity in the bottom of the floor below the the support plate with the second end of the drain pipe in the center of the cavity. A riser pipe which will remove the water from the drain then may be connected to the second end of the drain pipe.
Embodiments are particularly useful in the sometime tumultuous environment of commercial concrete floor construction. Embodiment assemblies are firmly attached to the form and resist displacement. Use of embodiments results in drains in which the drain pipe is directly embedded in the concrete matrix, which provides maximum stability for the drain pipe. The force fit of the end of the drain pipe in the disk protects the end of the drain pipe from contamination by bleedwater from the unhardened concrete. Embodiments avoid the necessity of sealing the connection between drain pipe and support plate in order to protect the end of the drain pipe from concrete contamination, as in prior art assemblies.
In addition, the surface of forms often is not smooth but is marred by flaws such as knots, cracks or joins between form panels. These flaws allow penetration by concrete into of the cavity below the support plate in prior art assemblies. The concrete penetration fills the cavity and contaminates the end of the drain pipe, requiring expensive and time consuming chiseling away of the hardened concrete contamination. Embodiments of the present application avoid these problems through protection of the end of the drain pipe through force fit into the disk and by exclusion of concrete into the cavity by the disk.
While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications, permutations, additions and subcombinations thereof. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims and claims hereafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations as are within their true spirit and scope.
