Patent Grant
7021574
The present invention relates generally to a food waste disposer, and more particularly to an over-molded vibration isolation gasket for mounting a food waste disposer to a sink.
Conventional food waste disposers are typically coupled to a sink by a mounting gasket, which is typically composed of rubber. The mounting gasket serves as the primary seal between the sink and the disposer and preferably also prevents the transmission of vibration from the disposer to the sink.
In a prior art approach, and referring to
During assembly, the sink collar 34, seal plate 50, and mounting flange 60 are first secured in place around and underneath the sink 30. More specifically, the sink collar 34 is positioned within the drain opening 32 of the sink 30, leaving drain flange 36 to rest around the drain opening 32 as shown. During assembly, a gasket 54 and the seal plate 50 are slipped onto the sink collar 34 now appearing on the underside of the sink 30. The mounting flange 60 is then slipped onto the collar 34, and a snap ring 62 is seated within an annular recess on the collar 34. Studs 66 are then screwed through threaded holes 64 in the mounting flange 60 until they contact the underside of a projecting surface of the seal plate 50, thus pressing the gasket 54 between the seal plate 50 and the sink 30. (Three studs 66 are normally used, but only one is shown in the cross section of
The food waste disposer includes a container body 10 and a top container cover 20, both preferably formed of metal. The container body 10 has an outwardly extending lip 12 to which edge 22 of the container cover 20 is crimped to seal the top of the disposer. The container cover 20 includes a housing collar 24 that forms the inlet of the disposer. During assembly, the support flange 70 is positioned on the housing collar 24 of the housing, and the mounting gasket 80 is press fit onto an outwardly extending lip 26 of the extruded collar 24 to hold the support flange 70 in place. As shown, the support flange 70 contains inwardly bent tabs 78.
When the disposer (with the support flange 70 in place) is to be affixed to the mounting flange 60 (already supported under the sink), the tabs 78 are positioned to meet with the inclining flanges 68 on the mounting flange 60. Because the inclining flanges 68 are inclined, the tabs 78 (i.e., support flange 70) can be twisted with respect thereto, in effect, screw the disposer onto the mounting flange 60 to position the disposer in place underneath the sink 30. To facilitate turning the support flange 70, the support flange 70 is preferably formed with finger pads 76. (Again, the support flange 70 normally contains three sets of tabs 78 and finger pads 76, but only one such set is shown in the cross-section of
Food waste disposers produce noise during operation that is caused by the operation of the motor and by the impacting of food waste against the housing of the disposer. These sources produce vibrations having a broad frequency spectrum. The vibration of the disposer can be transmitted into the sink through the connection of the disposer with the sink, which produces objectionable noise in and around the sink. Such noise is particularly evident, for example, in installations with relatively thin stainless steel sinks that act as excellent resonators.
Unfortunately, the conventional connecting assembly 40 and mounting gasket 80 of
The reader is referred to the following U.S. patents for further background concerning ways of minimizing operation noise of food waste disposers, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,743,875; 2,894,698; 2,945,635; 2,951,650; 2,965,317; 2,975,986; 3,801,998; 3,862,720; and 5,924,635.
A vibration isolation gasket for mounting a food waste disposer to a sink is at least partially molded onto a portion of the housing of the disposer, and preferably to the disposer's container cover. The vibration isolation gasket preferably includes a rubberized and integrally-formed gasket portion, sleeve portion, and over-molded portion. The gasket portion couples to the drain opening and may contain pleats to prevent food ejection from the disposer. The sleeve portion connects the gasket and over-molded portions, bears the weight of the disposer as it hangs from the sink, and acts as the primary structure for reducing vibration-induced noise. The over-molded portion is preferably molded onto the top and bottom of the container cover, which is in turn crimped to the remainder of the disposer housing.
The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize each potential embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure.
The foregoing summary, a preferred embodiment, and other aspects of subject matter of the present disclosure will be best understood with reference to a detailed description of specific embodiments, which follows, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
While the disclosed vibration isolation gasket is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. The figures and written description are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts in any manner. Rather, the figures and written description are provided to illustrate the inventive concepts to a person of ordinary skill in the art by reference to particular embodiments, as required by 35 U.S.C. § 112.
In the interest of clarity, it is understood that not all of the features for an actual implementation of a vibration isolation gasket for mounting a food waste disposer to a sink are described in the disclosure that follows. It will be appreciated, of course, that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any such project, numerous engineering and design decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, e.g., compliance with mechanical and business related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. While attention must necessarily be paid to proper engineering and design practices for the environment in question, it should be appreciated that the development of a vibration isolation gasket for mounting a food waste disposer to a sink would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of skill in the art given the details provided by this disclosure.
Referring to
The rubberized portions 130, 150, and 170 are preferably integrally formed over the container cover 120, which can be accomplished by placing the container cover 120 inside a mold into which molten rubber is poured (or injected) and cured. The rubber material used for these portions preferably constitutes a flexible material, such as Nitrile rubber or ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM) rubber. The cover 120 is preferably formed of stainless steel, which is approximately 0.02 to 0.04-inch thick.
As noted, it is preferable to form the molded portions 130, 150, and 170 onto the container cover 120, and then to affix the container cover 120 to the remainder of the disposer body. In this regard, the container cover 120 has an edge 122 that is crimped onto a lip 12 of an upper container body 10 of the disposer's housing. The edge 122 is approximately ⅛-inch long prior to its crimping to the lip 12. A seal (not shown) is used between the attachment of the container cover 120 and the lip 12. In an alternative arrangement, the top container cover 120 and upper container body 10 can be integrally formed, but such an integral arrangement is not preferred due to potential problems associated with molding the disclosed vibration isolation gasket 100 to such a large housing component. In particular, the upper container body 10 can act as a significant heat sink, which substantially increases the processing time. Consequently, it is preferred that the vibration isolation gasket 100 be molded onto a separate housing component, such as the top container cover 120 in the present embodiment.
Once formed onto the container cover 120, the support flange 70 is pressed over the deformable gasket portion 130 to facilitate connection of the disposer to the sink 30 as disclosed earlier in the Background section of this disclosure. As the details of the conventional connecting assembly 40 are substantially similar to those described in the Background section of the present disclosure, the structure and function of its components are not repeated here.
The disclosed vibration isolation gasket 100 and top container cover 120 are illustrated in respective side, perspective, top, and bottom isolated views in
As best shown in
As noted, rubberized portions 130, 150, and 170 are preferably molded to the container cover 120, and several methods can be used to facilitate a good mechanical connection between them and the (usually) metallic cover 120. In this regard,
For the best adhesion, it is preferred that overmolded portion 170 has both an upper and lower over-mold 172, 174, but in a given design either of these over-molds could be deleted. Were only one over-mold to be used, the use of lower over-mold 174 is preferred because the weight of the disposer would not tend to peel the container cover 120 away from the mold.
The container covers 120 of
As best shown in
The lower over-mold 174 can absorb impact noises created by food in the grinding chamber as well as diminish vibration. As best shown in
The disclosed vibration isolation gasket 100 provides a flexible coupling between the disposer and the sink 30 that can reduce the transmission of the vibration to the sink, and accordingly reduce the noise at the sink and surrounding areas. Vibration isolation occurs primarily at the sleeve portion 150. When installed, the sleeve portion 150 is in tension due to the weight of the disposer, which can be as high as 20 pounds, but this amount of tension is relatively low given the composition and dimensions for the sleeve portion 150. Consequently, the sleeve portion 150 is still flexible under the tensile load and is able to absorb the vibration of the disposer caused by the motor and the impacting of food waste. Moreover, and in contradistinction to the prior art illustrated in
Vibration in a disposer typically has a broad spectrum, and therefore the disclosed gasket 100 is preferably effective in isolating disposer vibrations over a wide frequency range. The disclosed gasket 100 has been shown through testing to be effective in reducing vibratory noise in a frequency range from 80 to 1000 Hz. These test results are shown in
Referring to
In
The secondary baffle 140 has an annular body 142, which can have a recessed rim 144 for engaging a complimentary rib formed on the drain opening (not shown). A plurality of pleats 147 are formed in an opening 146 though the secondary baffle 140, which as in earlier embodiments reduces noise transmitted through the opening and prevents food waste from escaping. When the disclosed gasket 100 of
In contrast to prior art solutions, the disclosed over-molded vibration isolation gasket does not considerably increase the distance between the disposer and the sink, which might otherwise require a number of modifications to the plumbing to be connected to the disposer. Furthermore, the disclosed over-molded vibration isolation gasket minimizes the number of mechanical couplings needed to install the disposer, which reduces the possibility of an improper installation. Moreover, manufacturing of the disposer is simplified because the mounting gasket and container cover are integrated into a single piece. Other benefits are evident to those of ordinary skill in the art.
The foregoing description of preferred and other embodiments is not intended to limit or restrict the scope or applicability of the inventive concepts conceived of by the Applicants or defined in the appended claims. In exchange for disclosing the inventive concepts contained herein, the Applicants desire all patent rights afforded by the appended claims. It is intended that the inventions defined by the appended claims include all modifications and alterations to the full extent that such modifications or alterations come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20040195409 A1 | Oct 2004 | US |
