Patent Application
20240263431
The present invention relates to fixture carriers for plumbing installations and, more particularly, to fixture carriers that enable lateral waste lines to be utilized.
Modern building design and construction techniques often aim to minimize the space within walls. Plumbing fixture carriers that are mounted within the narrow wall space may not leave sufficient room for horizontal waste lines. This complicates building design and severely limits plumbing options. There is thus needed a way to enable horizontal waste lines to be provided in narrow wall space.
One exemplary technique for providing a horizontal waste line is described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,328,493, entitled WASTE LINE SLEEVE FOR LAVATORY CARRIER, issued on May 3, 2016. (the “493 patent”) A noted disadvantage of the ′493 patent is the requirement that a plurality of holes need to be precisely drilled into an upright before installation of the device may be accomplished. This significantly increases installation time and complexity.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by providing a waste line insert in accordance with illustrative embodiments of the present invention. An upright is cut and the waste insert is illustratively inserted into the upper and lower portions of an upright. The insert provides an aperture through which a horizontal waste line may pass through. An upper and lower extension of the insert illustratively includes a set of set screws that may be tightened to secure the insert to the upright portions. A bolt may also be utilized to provide additional rigidity in securing the insert to the upright portions.
The description contained herein refers to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate identical or functionally similar elements, of which:
In a typical installation, the uprights 105 would be located within the void of a wall (not shown). An exemplary fixture interfacing structure 110 is illustratively attached to the uprights 105 by, for example, U-bolts 120. It should be noted that it is expressly contemplated that other types of fasteners may be utilized in accordance with alternative embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the description of the use of U-bolts 120 should be taken as exemplary only. Further, in alternative embodiments, the use of a fixture interface structure 110 may be optional. Therefore, the description of the fixture interface structure 110 contained herein should be taken as exemplary only.
A plumbing fixture 115 may then be mounted to the fixture interfacing structure 110. The fixture 115 may be any plumbing fixture, e.g., a sink, water fountain, water bottle filling station, lavatory, etc. The principles of the present invention may be utilized with any such plumbing fixture 115. Therefore, the fixture 115 shown and described herein should be taken as exemplary only.
In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, an exemplary insert 125 is shown that is operatively connected to one of the uprights 105 and provides a waste line opening that will enable a waste line (not shown) to pass through the upright 105.
While exemplary view 100 illustrates a single insert 125, is it is expressly contemplated that in accordance with alternative embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of inserts 125 may be utilized. For example, an insert 125 may be located on both of the uprights 105. Such use of a plurality of inserts may enable a common waste line to flow throughout a wall and be interconnected with a plurality of plumbing fixtures 115. A noted advantage of the present invention is that the inserts 125 may be easily located at varying heights along the uprights 105. Thus, in an installation having a plurality of fixtures in a line, e.g., in a commercial restroom, a waste line may be appropriately angled as it passes through the wall void. Each insert may be slightly lower than the one adjacent to it to enable the waste line to have an appropriate slope as desired by the installers.
Further, as can be seen in
The positioning of the set screws 305 wholly within the extensions 325 ensures that they do not protrude beyond the bounds of the uprights 105, thereby posing no obstructions for fasteners, such as U-bolts 120, or the finished wall (not shown) around the uprights 105.
It should be noted that the specific shapes and sizes shown and described of the various components of the insert 125 should be taken as exemplary only. For example, aperture 320 is shown as substantially obround in shape; however, in alternative embodiments, aperture 320 may be other shapes, e.g., substantially circular, square, rectangular, etc. Therefore, the depiction of aperture 320 being substantially oval in shape should be taken as exemplary only. Similarly, while two set screws 305 are shown, in alternative embodiments, varying numbers of set screws may be utilized. It is expressly contemplated that the insert 125 may be asymmetrical with respect to the number of set screws. That is, the two extensions 325 may have differing numbers of set screws associated with each.
The present description is written in terms of various illustrative embodiments of the present invention. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, various modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. As such, the described embodiments should be taken as illustrative only.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/443,120, which was filed on Feb. 3, 2023, by Dean Porter for WASTE LINE INSERT, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63443120 | Feb 2023 | US |
