Unitary Ball Rod Assembly for a Pop-Up Drain Assembly

Abstract

The present invention provides a ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assembly that comprises a ball rod having a ball, a hollow stub adapter, a first gasket received on the rod on one side of the ball and a second gasket and a hollow nut received on the rod on the other side of the ball and engaged with the stub adapter to provide a single-piece, unitary ball rod assembly that can be installed in a pop-up drain assembly by engaging the stub adapter with a stub on a drain pipe with one end of the ball rod engaged with a drain stopper.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This present invention pertains to a pop-up drain assembly that attaches to a sink at a drain opening for draining water from the sink and more particularly to a ball rod assembly for the pop-up drain assembly.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 is a side elevation in cross-section of a prior art pop-up drain assembly for a bathroom sink. The pop-up drain assembly includes a drain pipe, a drain stopper in the drain pipe, a port in the drain pipe surrounded by a tubular stub, and a ball rod received in the stub and port, which is engaged with the drain stopper for opening and closing the stopper. The prior art assembly required a person to assemble the ball rod, a seal and a cap and then attach this assembly of components to the tubular stub while working beneath the sink. Assembling and installing these components has been cumbersome and time consuming as there has been several components to hold and assemble and often one of the parts has been dropped or lost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a unitary ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assembly. The unitary ball rod assembly comprises a stub adapter having the general shape of a hollow cylinder, outer and inner ends and an interior shoulder; a first gasket received in the stub adapter between the interior shoulder and the interior end; a ball rod comprising a rod and a ball on the rod, wherein the ball rod is received in and passed through the stub adapter, and wherein the ball abuts the first gasket; an adapter cap having an open end and an opposing partially closed end, wherein the partially closed end has a ball rod hole; and a second gasket received in the adapter cap, where the adapter cap is engaged with the stub adapter, where the second gasket abuts the ball, and where the stub adapter, the ball rod, the first and second gaskets and the adapter cap form a standalone unitary assembly. The standalone unitary assembly is preferably designed, sized and configured for engagement with a drain body and for opening and closing a drain stopper within the drain body. The outer end of the stub adapter is preferably designed, sized and configured for engagement with a tubular stub that projects from a drain body. The inner end of the stub adapter preferably has exterior threads, and the open end of the adapter cap preferably has interior threads for threadedly engaging with the stub adapter. The outer end of the stub adapter preferably has interior threads for engagement with a threaded tubular stub on a drain body.

The present invention also provides a pop-up drain assembly that comprises a drain body for connection to the sink or basis at the drain opening for providing a fluid flow pathway for draining water from the sink or basin through the drain opening, where the drain body has a ball rod port; a stopper received in the drain body for retaining water in the sink or basin; and a unitary ball rod assembly received in the ball rod port and engaged with the stopper for moving the stopper between open and closed positions. The unitary ball rod assembly preferably comprises a rod; a ball received on the rod, thereby forming a ball rod; a hollow nut having an open end and an opposing closed end, where the closed end has a ball rod hole; a first gasket having a first opening received in the hollow nut adjacent to the closed end; a hollow cylinder; a second gasket having a second opening received in the hollow cylinder, where the rod extends through the hollow cylinder, the first and second openings and through the hollow nut, where the ball is between the first and second gaskets, and where the hollow nut is engaged with the hollow cylinder. The hollow nut preferably has interior threads, and the hollow cylinder preferably has the exterior threads, where the interior threads in the hollow nut are engaged with the exterior threads on the hollow cylinder. The hollow cylinder preferably also has interior threads, and the hollow cylinder is preferably designed, sized and configured to be threaded onto a stub on a drain body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the invention can be obtained when the detailed description of exemplary embodiments set forth below is considered in conjunction with the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-section of a side elevation of a sink with a pop-up drain assembly, according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a unitary ball rod assembly, according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation in cross-section of a stub adapter, according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation in cross-section of a gasket, according to the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation in cross-section of an adapter cap, according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

A discussion of the prior art will be helpful in understanding the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side elevation in cross-section of a prior art pop-up drain assembly 10 in a sink or basin 12. The pop-up drain assembly 10 is received in the sink or basin 12, which is typical for a bathroom, restroom or lavatory. Sink 12 has a lower surface 12a that drains into a drain opening 12b. Sink 12 has an overflow port 12c in a side wall 12d. An outer wall 12e and side wall 12d define an overflow conduit or channel 12f, and side wall 12d has an overflow drain port 12g for draining overflow fluid into a port in drain assembly 10. A faucet 14 is mounted on a top deck 12h of sink 12 for supplying water or other fluid to sink 12. Pop-up drain assembly 10 comprises a drain flange 16 that fits down through drain opening 12b in sink 12. Drain flange 16 has a threaded tubular portion extending essentially throughout its full length, and a flange 16b extends radially outwardly on a top end. Flange 16b is shown in FIG. 1 as formed integral with the tubular body of drain flange 16, but FIG. 2 in the present inventors' U.S. application Ser. No. 15/584,030 (Pub. No. 2017/0314244 A1) shows a more typical arrangement in which the flange portion is in threaded engagement with the tubular portion. FIG. 2 in the present inventors' U.S. application Ser. No. 15/584,030 shows a drain pipe that comprises a drain flange and a separate drain tube, which is in a threaded engagement with the drain flange. A gasket or plumber's putty 18 provides a seal between the lower surface 12a of the sink 12 and the flange 16b of drain flange 16. A flexible gasket 20 and a washer 20a are placed around a bottom portion of drain flange 16 and then pressed tightly against a bottom surface of sink 12 with a threaded nut 20b. A drain body 22 is threaded onto a lower end of drain flange 16. Drain body 22 has a wrench flange 22a for receiving a wrench for tightening and loosening drain body 22 with respect to drain flange 16. Drain body 22 has a pivot rod port 22b, and a threaded tubular stub 22c projects radially outwardly from drain body 22. A pivot rod seal 24 is received in stub 22c.

A pivot rod or ball rod 26 has a stopper end 26a and an outer end 26b. A pivot ball 28 is sealingly received on pivot rod 26 closer to stopper end 26a than outer end 26b. Pivot or ball rod 26 is received in stub 22c such that stopper end 26a is inside the drain body 22, and the stopper ball 28 rests against pivot rod seal 24. A ball rod cap 30 is threaded onto stub 22c sufficiently tightly to seal pivot ball 28 against pivot rod seal 24, but loose enough to allow pivot ball 28 and pivot/ball rod 26 to pivot. An extension rod 32 having a plurality of holes, which are not shown, is received on outer end 26b of pivot/ball rod 26 and held in place by a clip 32a. Extension rod 32 is bent so as to have two parallel portions 32b and 32c that are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the extension rod 32, and each of the two parallel portions has a hole through which a control rod 34 is received. Control rod 34 passes through a faucet port 14a and a sink control rod port 12h. Control rod 34 has a knob 34a at an upper end, and control rod 34 is fastened to extension rod 32 by a set screw 32d.

A stopper 40 is received in drain flange 16 and drain body 22. Stopper 40 has an elongate shaft 40a running its length, which has a longitudinal axis through the center of stopper 40. A cap 40b is located on an upper end while the drain assembly 10 is installed and operational, and a pivot/ball rod receiving member 40c is located on an opposing lower end. The pivot rod receiving member 40c defines an opening through which stopper end 26a of pivot/ball rod 26 protrudes for engaging and moving stopper 40, and pivot rod receiving member 40c may be referred to as open member 40c. Four flanges or fins, referred to collectively as fins 40d, extend longitudinally along shaft 40a and project radially, and fins 40d lie in two perpendicular and intersecting planes. The fins provide structural support for the shaft and center the stopper in the drain pipe.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a unitary ball rod assembly 50, according to the present invention, which can be attached to the threaded tubular stub 22c on the drain body 22 of FIG. 1. The unitary ball rod assembly 50 replaces the ball rod 26, the seal 24, the ball 28 and the ball rod cap 30. The prior art assembly in FIG. 1 required a person to assemble the ball rod 26, the seal 24 and the ball rod cap 30 and then attach this assembly of components to the stub 22c while working beneath a sink. The person may alternatively insert the seal 24 into the stub 22c and then insert the ball rod into the stub 22c and then thread the ball rod cap 30 to the stub 22c. The end 26a of the rod 26 also needed to be placed inside an opening at the bottom of stopper 40 so that the rod can be used to open and close the stopper, which often meant that a person needed one arm to hold the stopper and another arm to insert the rod 26 into the stub 22c. This required one arm above the sink and one arm below the sink. In any case, there are several parts or components to hold and assemble and often one of the parts can be dropped or lost.

The unitary ball rod assembly 50 of the present invention comprises: a ball rod 52, which comprises a rod 52a and a ball 52b received on and fixed to the rod 52a; a stub adapter 54; a first gasket or seal 56a between the stub adapter 54 and the ball 52b; a second gasket or seal 56b on the other side of the ball 52b such that the ball 52b is between the first gasket 56a and the second gasket 56b, and an adapter cap 58. The unitary ball rod assembly 50 can be and preferably is assembled at a factory and sold as a single unitary part. The prior art required assembly of the ball rod 26, the seal 24 and the ball rod cap 30 at the time of installation. The unitary ball rod assembly 50 of the present invention does not require one to assemble parts during installation of the ball rod 52. The ball rod 52, gaskets 56a and 56b and the adapter cap 58 are assembled with and connected to the stub adapter 54 in a factory setting. The unitary ball rod assembly 50 is a single part that an installer holds while putting an end of the ball rod 52 in a prior art stopper in a prior art drain body 22, and then the installer merely threads the stub adapter 54 onto the drain body stub 22c. A seal needs to be made between the stub adapter 54 and the stub 22c, which can be done by putting a sealant such as a pipe thread tape such as Teflon® tape or a sealant that has the texture of a thick paste, pipe dope, on the threads that are on the stub 22c. Alternatively or in addition, one may want to place a gasket or a seal in the stub adapter 54 to seal against the end of the stub 22c.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the stub adapter 54 in cross-section. Stub adapter 54 has the general shape of a hollow cylinder and has a bore 54a throughout its length. Stub adapter 54 has an outer end 54b and interior threads 54c at and proximal to an outer edge of the outer end 54b. Stub adapter 54 is designed, sized and configured for the interior threads 54c to threadedly engage exterior threads on the threaded tubular stub 22c on the drain body 22. Stub adapter 54 has an inner end 54d and exterior threads 54e at and proximal to an outer edge of the inner end 54d. The inner end 54d has a first inside diameter at and proximal to the outer edge of the inner end 54d and a smaller second inside diameter spaced away from the outer edge of the inner end 54d. There is an abrupt transition from the first inside diameter to the second inside diameter, thereby forming a shoulder 54f at the transition. Stub adapter 54 is designed, sized and configured for the exterior threads 54e to threadedly receive the adapter cap 58. A cavity 54g is defined in the stub adapter 54 by an inside wall of the inner end 54d and the shoulder 54f. The cavity 54g is designed, sized and configured to receive the first gasket 56a. Shoulder 54f has an inner face toward the inner end against which a flat face on the first gasket abuts. Shoulder 54f has an outer face toward the outer end of the stub adapter 54, which together with the interior threads 54c define an outer cavity that is suitable for receiving a third gasket that is suitable for sealing against an end of the threaded tubular stub 22c on the drain body. The third gasket is not shown in the drawings, but would be like the gasket 56, except having another flat face rather than a concave face. In one embodiment, the unitary ball rod assembly 50 includes the third gasket. The outer end of the stub adapter preferably has a greater outside diameter than the inner end. The interior shoulder 54f has an inner face toward the inner end 54d against which the first gasket abuts, and the interior shoulder 54f has an outer face toward the outer end 54b of the stub adapter 54. The stub adapter 54 has an outer length between the outer end 54b and the interior shoulder 54f and an inner length between the inner end 54d and the interior shoulder 54f, and the outer length is preferably greater than the interior length.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation in cross-section of the gasket or seal 56. Gaskets or seals 56a and 56b are identical and interchangeable and are identified herein as gasket or seal 56. Gasket 56 has the general shape of a thick washer or a circular ring. Gasket 56 has a concave face 56c for contact with and for sealing against the ball 52b and a flat face 56d. The ball 52b needs to rotate or pivot within a pair of concave faces 56c of the gaskets 56, and the gaskets should provide a seal so that water cannot leak from the unitary ball rod assembly 50. Gasket 56 is preferably made of a plastic material that is somewhat rigid and slippery. Nylon may be a suitable material for making the gaskets 56. The concave face 56c preferably has a spherical contour that matches closely with the spherical contour of the ball 52b. Gasket 56 can be described as a ring that has a concave face 56c that matches with the ball 52b and an opposing flat face 56d, where the flat face 56d is either received in and in contact with the stub adapter 54 or the adapter cap 58.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation in cross-section of the adapter cap 58. Adapter cap 58 has the shape of a hollow nut that has a side wall 58a, an open end 58b, an opposing closed end 58c, where the closed end 58c is not entirely closed. The closed end 58c has a ball rod hole 58d. Adapter cap 58 has a longitudinal bore throughout its length. The partially closed end 58b provides an interior shoulder 58e. The interior shoulder 58e and an inside surface of the side wall 58a define a cavity 58f. The inside surface of the side wall 58a has interior threads 58g between the open end 58b and the interior shoulder 58e. Gasket 56b is received in the cavity 58f, and the flat face 56d of the gasket 56b is in contact with and abuts the interior shoulder 58e.

The unitary ball rod assembly 50 of the present invention can be assembled by placing gasket 56a in the cavity 54g of the stub adapter 54 such that the flat face 56d of the gasket 56a abuts the shoulder 54f. The ball rod 52 is either available with the ball 52b on the rod 52a, or the ball 52b should be placed on and fixed and sealed to the rod 52a. The rod 52a has a shorter section on one side of the ball 52b and a longer section on the other side of the ball 52b. The shorter and longer sections of the rod 52a should have appropriate lengths to allow the shorter section to engage the drain stopper and for the prior art control rod 32 to engage with the longer section and for the drain stopper to be opened and closed. The shorter section of the ball rod 52 is passed through the gasket 56a and the bore 54a of the stub adapter 54 until the ball 52b abuts the concave face 56c of the gasket 56a. The gasket 56b is placed in the cavity 58f of the adapter cap 58 such that the flat face 56d of the gasket 56b abuts the interior shoulder 58e of the adapter cap 58. The adapter cap 58 is then placed on the longer section of the ball rod 52 such that the concave face 56c of the gasket 56b will abut the ball 52b. The interior threads 58g in the adapter cap 58 are brought into engagement with the exterior threads 54e on the stub adapter 54, and the adapter cap 58 is rotated with respect to the stub adapter 54 to thread the adapter cap onto the stub adapter 54. The unitary ball rod assembly 50 should be designed, sized and configured such that the interior threads 54c in the stub adapter 54 can be threaded onto exterior threads on the prior art drain body stub 22c with the ball rod 52 engaged with and capable of opening and closing the prior art drain stopper 40 without any leakage of water from the drain body 22.

The unitary ball rod assembly 50 is preferably designed and configured for a threaded engagement with a prior art pop-up drain assembly. However, the adapter cap 58 can have snap-fit dogs or arms or levers that have a tooth that engages a hole or a slot in a tubular stub on a drain body that is different from the drain body 22 of FIG. 1. The unitary ball rod assembly 50 can be packaged and sold with a pop-up drain assembly that includes a drain body with a port for receiving a ball rod, which allows a designer and/or a manufacturer a variety of connections means for connecting the stub adapter 54 to the drain body. One means of engaging the stub adapter with a drain body stub is a ratchet-type of fit. Rather than spiral interior and exterior threads, separate and individual rings of interior and exterior angled teeth can be used as a means for engagement. The unitary ball rod assembly 50 would be pushed into engagement with the drain body rather than rotated into engagement with the drain body. The angled rings would be designed to allow one to push the he unitary ball rod assembly 50 into engagement with the drain body stub without a great deal of force, but much more force would be required to pull the unitary ball rod assembly 50 out of engagement with the drain body stub. This type of ratchet mechanism is described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,040,822, issued to Lopez Nieto, which is incorporated by reference.

The present invention provides a unitary ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assembly that comprises a stub adapter shaped as a hollow cylinder with an interior shoulder; a first gasket received in the stub adapter between the interior shoulder and the interior end; a ball rod received in the stub adapter, and wherein the ball abuts the first gasket; an adapter cap; a second gasket in the adapter cap, where the adapter cap is engaged with the stub adapter, where the ball is movably sealed between the first and second gaskets.

The present invention provides a ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assembly that comprises a ball rod having a ball, a hollow stub adapter and a first gasket received on the rod on one side of the ball and a second gasket and a hollow nut received on the rod on the other side of the ball and engaged with the stub adapter to provide a single-piece, unitary ball rod assembly that can be installed in a pop-up drain assembly by engaging the stub adapter with a stub on a drain pipe with one end of the ball rod engaged with a drain stopper.

Having described the invention above, various modifications of the techniques, procedures, materials, and equipment will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is intended that all such variations within the scope and spirit of the invention be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assembly comprising: a stub adapter having the general shape of a hollow cylinder, outer and inner ends and an interior shoulder;a first gasket received in the stub adapter between the interior shoulder and the interior end;a ball rod comprising a rod and a ball on the rod, wherein the ball rod is received in and passed through the stub adapter, and wherein the ball abuts the first gasket;an adapter cap having an open end and an opposing partially closed end, wherein the partially closed end has a ball rod hole; anda second gasket received in the adapter cap, wherein the adapter cap is engaged with the stub adapter, wherein the second gasket abuts the ball, andwherein the stub adapter, the ball rod, the first and second gaskets and the adapter cap form a standalone unitary assembly.

2. The ball rod assembly of claim 1, wherein the standalone unitary assembly is designed, sized and configured for engagement with a drain body and for opening and closing a drain stopper within the drain body.

3. The ball rod assembly of claim 2, wherein the outer end of the stub adapter is designed, sized and configured for engagement with a tubular stub that projects from a drain body.

4. The ball rod assembly of claim 1, wherein the inner end of the stub adapter has exterior threads, wherein the open end of the adapter cap has interior threads, and wherein the adapter cap is threadedly engaged with the stub adapter.

5. The ball rod assembly of claim 4, wherein the outer end of the stub adapter has interior threads for engagement with a threaded tubular stub on a drain body.

6. The ball rod assembly of claim 5, wherein the outer end of the stub adapter has a cavity suitable for receiving a gasket that is suitable for sealing against an end of the threaded tubular stub on the drain body.

7. The ball rod assembly of claim 6, further comprising a third gasket received in the cavity in the outer end of the stub adapter.

8. The ball rod assembly of claim 1, wherein the outer end of the stub adapter has a greater outside diameter than the inner end.

9. The ball rod assembly of claim 1, wherein the interior shoulder has an inner face toward the inner end against which the first gasket abuts, wherein the interior shoulder has an outer face toward the outer end of the stub adapter.

10. The ball rod assembly of claim 8, wherein the stub adapter has an outer length between the outer end and the interior shoulder and an inner length between the inner end and the interior shoulder, and wherein the outer length is greater than the inner length.

11. A ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assembly comprising: a rod;a ball received on the rod, thereby forming a ball rod;a hollow nut having an open end and an opposing closed end, wherein the closed end has a ball rod hole;a first gasket having a first opening received in the hollow nut adjacent to the closed end;a hollow cylinder;a second gasket having a second opening received in the hollow cylinder, whereinthe rod extends through the hollow cylinder, the first and second openings and through the hollow nut, wherein the ball is between the first and second gaskets, and whereinthe hollow nut is engaged with the hollow cylinder.

12. The ball rod assembly of claim 11, wherein the hollow nut has interior threads.

13. The ball rod assembly of claim 12, wherein the hollow cylinder has the exterior threads, and wherein the interior threads in the hollow nut are engaged with the exterior threads on the hollow cylinder.

14. The ball rod assembly of claim 13, wherein the hollow cylinder has interior threads, and wherein the hollow cylinder is designed, sized and configured to be threaded onto a stub on a drain body.

15. The ball rod assembly of claim 14, wherein the ball rod is designed, sized and configured to engage a stopper in the drain body for opening and closing the stopper.

16. The ball rod assembly of any one of claim 11, wherein the rod has a first end that protrudes from the hollow cylinder away from the hollow nut and a second end that protrudes from the hollow nut away from the hollow cylinder.

17. The ball rod assembly of claim 11, wherein the first and second gaskets have concave faces, and wherein the concave faces are in contact with the ball.

18. The ball rod assembly of claim 17, wherein the first and second gaskets have flat faces, wherein the flat face of the first gasket is in contact with the closed end of the hollow nut.

19. The ball rod assembly of claim 18, wherein the hollow cylinder has an interior shoulder, and wherein the flat face of the second gasket abuts the interior shoulder.

20. The ball rod assembly of claim 11, wherein the hollow nut, the ball rod, the first and second gaskets, and the hollow cylinder form a single-piece unitary assembly, and wherein the single-piece unitary assembly is not connected to or made integral with a drain pipe that provides a flow path for draining water from a sink.

21. The ball rod assembly of claim 11, wherein the hollow nut, the ball rod, the first and second gaskets, and the hollow cylinder form a single-piece unitary ball rod assembly, and wherein the unitary ball rod assembly is designed, sized and configured for engagement with a pop-up drain assembly.

22. A pop-up drain assembly for a sink or basin having a drain opening, comprising: a drain body for connection to the sink or basin at the drain opening for providing a fluid flow pathway for draining water from the sink or basin through the drain opening, wherein the drain body has a ball rod port;a stopper received in the drain body for retaining water in the sink or basin; anda unitary ball rod assembly according to claim 11 received in the ball rod port and engaged with the stopper for moving the stopper between open and closed positions.

23. The pop-up drain assembly of claim 22, further comprising a means for sealing the unitary ball rod assembly with the drain body.

24. The pop-up drain assembly of claim 23, wherein the drain body has a tubular stub that projects radially outwardly from drain body and surrounds the ball rod port, wherein the tubular stub has exterior threads, and wherein the hollow cylinder has interior threads that matingly engage the exterior threads on the tubular stub.

25. The pop-up drain assembly of claim 24, further comprising a third gasket in the hollow cylinder for sealing against the tubular stub.

26. The pop-up drain assembly of claim 24, further comprising a sealant between the exterior threads on the tubular stub and the interior threads in the hollow cylinder.

27. The pop-up drain assembly of claim 26, wherein the sealant is Teflon® tape.

28. The pop-up drain assembly of claim 26, wherein the sealant is pipe dope.