CONTROL FOR A BATHTUB WASTE WATER DRAIN
A control for a waste water drain in the bottom of a bathtub which has an overflow port above the drain in the end wall of the bathtub has a vertical drain pipe having upper and lower ends. A first fluid port is located at the upper end of the vertical drain pipe and a second fluid port is located below the first fluid port for connection to a bathtub waste water drain. A valve element is slidably mounted in the vertical drain pipe adjacent the second port and is movable between a lower position to close the second port to fluid flow, and an upper position which will open the second fluid port to fluid flow. An electrical motor system is mounted adjacent the first port. An elongated linkage connects the valve element to the motor so that the rotation of the motor will raise and lower the valve element. The vertical drain pipe is length-adjustable.
Latest WCM INDUSTRIES, INC. Patents:
Bathtub drains commonly have a closure element therein which can open or close the drain by being lifted manually upward to open the drain or drop to an initial seating position to close the drain. While such drain closures work well, they are not greatly convenient by reason of their being located on the bottom of the tub where the drain is located.
Linkage systems do exist in at least lavatories or the like where the waste water drain is opened or closed through a linkage system wherein the operative mechanism is located above the bottom level of the basin. However, these are not easily adapted to the bathtub environment, and pose at least some problems in maintaining the cleanliness of the fixture around the exposed end of the linkage system where the closure is operated.
Variations in tub dimensions and the like sometimes make the adaptation of linkage systems difficult to install.
It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a control for a bathtub waste water drain which is easily accessible to the person using the tub.
A further object of this invention is to provide a control for a bathtub waste water drain which can be easily installed in spite of variations in the dimensions of the tub.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a control for a bathtub waste water drain which can be easily cleansed.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA control for a waste water drain in the bottom of a bathtub which has an overflow port above the drain in the end wall of the bathtub has a vertical drain pipe having upper and lower ends. A first fluid port is located at the upper end of the vertical drain pipe and a second fluid port is located below the first fluid port for connection to a bathtub waste water drain.
A valve element is slidably mounted in the vertical drain pipe adjacent the second port and is movable between a lower position to close the second port to fluid flow, and an upper position which will open the second fluid port to fluid flow.
An overflow cap is mounted adjacent the first port. An elongated linkage connects the valve element to a motor system on the upper end of the drain pipe so that the movement of the motor stem in one direction will raise the valve element to the upper position, and movement of the stem in the opposite direction will lower the valve element to the lower position. The vertical drain pipe is link-adjustable.
A bathtub (“tub”) 10 is mounted adjacent bathroom end wall 12 and sidewall 14, and has a bottom 16, top end wall 18, and top sidewall 20. A conventional tub waste water drain outlet 22 is located in bottom 16. A conventional water control valve 24 and water outlet 26 are mounted on the end wall 12. With reference to
A tapered plastic seal ring 44 is slidably mounted on upper portion 30 and has a tapered lower edge 45 which is compatible with the tapered inner edge 41 of the lower portion 32. A lock connector nut 46 is slidably mounted on upper portion 30. When the seal 44 is located in the desired position on upper portion 30, its lower end 38 is inserted into the upper end 40 of the lower portion 32 so that the seal ring 44 rests with its tapered surface 41 in engagement with the tapered surface 45 on the upper edge of the member 32. (See
A waste water port 48 (
A valve element or drop cylinder 54 which is of hollow construction is slidably mounted in the vertical drain 28 within lower portion 32 (
Again, with reference to
An upper port 88 is formed in the vertical drain pipe 28 (
With reference to
A motor system 102 (in housing 103) with downwardly extending stem 104 is mounted on the upper end 34 of pipe member 30 in any conventional manner. A ring 106 has a gap opening 108 and is mounted in a suitable aperture in the lower end of stem 104. This permits the ring 106 to also be mounted in opening 82 in gauge 72. Motor system 102 is connected to a source of electrical energy by wires 110 (
The motor system 102 may be of any design in order to provide stem 104 with vertical movement. For example, motor system 102 may be a screw-type linear actuator, where the axis of a motor (not shown) within the system is positioned in a vertical orientation. The motor drives a threaded shaft (not shown). As the shaft turns, a nut (not shown) is tightened or loosened along the length of the shaft (i.e. moves axially). This tightening or loosening of the nut transfers the rotational drive of the motor into a linear motion to drive the stem 104 associated with the nut. Likewise, the motor system 102 can be formed of any other design, including but not limited to a linear actuator, a rotary actuator, or a motor and cam system.
To install the apparatus of this invention, the vertical distance between the center of the port 88 at the upper end of the vertical drain pipe down to the level of the waste water line 52 (
The overall length of vertical drain pipe 28 is governed by the assembly of the upper portion 30 into the lower portion 32 in the manner described. This adjustment is accomplished by placing the seal 44 in the proper position so that when it rests within the upper end 40 of the lower portion 32, the vertical length will be correct. The juncture then between the portions 30 and 32, as best shown in
However, before this is accomplished, the dimension must be utilized in adjusting the overall length of the linkage 58. If the installer compares the existing unadjusted length of the linkage 58 to the measured vertical distance between the waste drain 52 and the center of port 88, and if the overall length of the linkage, including the gauge 72, is either long or short, the link 66 can be threaded through the limiting nut 71 which appears on threaded link 66. Nut 71 bears against the bottom 78 of the gauge 72 and determines the relative length of the portion of link 66 between bottom 78 and the cylinder 54. Thus, the cylinder 54 can be raised or lowered with respect to the gauge 72.
By removing screws 98, the cap 94 can be removed as shown in
To open the waste water port 48, the switch 112 is opened as shown in
In the remote event that the water from water outlet 26 runs into the tub while the valve element 54 is in the closed condition of
The indicia marks 86 on gauge 72 as best shown in
From the foregoing, it is seen that this invention provides a control for a bathtub waste water drain which is easy to install, refined in appearance, and fairly effective in its operation. As such, the objectives of this invention are fully met.
Claims
1. A control for a waste water drain in the bottom of a bathtub having an overflow fluid port above the drain in an end wall of a bathtub, comprising;
- a vertical drain pipe having upper and lower ends,
- a first fluid port at the upper end of the vertical drain pipe,
- a second fluid port below the first fluid port for connection to a bathtub waste water drain,
- a valve element slidably mounted in the vertical drain pipe adjacent the second port and movable between a lower position to close the second port to fluid flow, and an upper position which will open the second port to fluid flow,
- an overflow cap mounted adjacent the first port,
- elongated linkage connected to the valve element so that the lifting of the linkage will raise the valve element to the upper position, and the lowering of the linkage will lower the valve element to the lower position,
- a motor system having a reciprocally movable operatively connected to an upper end of the linkage to selectively raise and lower the linkage to move the valve element to and from the upper and lower positions; and
- a motor activator for controlling movement of the stem and being positioned for access by a user in the bathtub.
2. The control of claim 1 wherein the vertical drain pipe is length adjustable.
3. The control of claim 1 wherein the vertical drain pipe is comprised of upper and lower portions that are detachably secured to each other.
4. The control of claim 3 wherein a lower end of the upper portion is slidably received within an upper end of the lower portion, and a rotatable nut detachably holds the upper and lower portions in locked relation to each other.
5. The control of claim 4 wherein a seal ring is slidably mounted on the lower end of the upper portion and is engagable with the upper end of the lower portion to seal the upper and lower ends of the lower and upper portions, respectively, together when the rotatable nut creates a locking relation to the upper and lower portions.
6. The control of claim 1 wherein the linkage includes a length adjustable gauge to permit the operational length of the linkage to be length-adjustable.
7. The control of claim 6 wherein the gauge includes an indicia bracket threadably mounted upon one end of a threaded link so that upon the installation of the control, threaded displacement of the link with respect to the gauge can be visually ascertained from indicia marks on the gauge.
8. The control of claim 7 wherein the gauge includes an elongated slot with indicia marks being located adjacent the slot, a threaded nut mounted adjacent to one end of the slot with one end of the link extending through the nut, and one end of the link being visible through the slot for permitting the amount of longitudinal displacement of the link to be visually ascertained by reference to the indicia marks and the one end of the link.
9. The control of claim 1 wherein the linkage has a pivotal connection between its upper and lower ends.
10. The control of claim 1 wherein the valve element is a cylinder slidably mounted in the vertical drain pipe.
11. The control of claim 10 wherein the cylinder is hollow so as to always permit fluid flow downwardly through the vertical drain pipe.
12. The control of claim 1 wherein the valve element is hollow so as to always permit fluid flow downwardly through the vertical drain pipe.
13. The control of claim 1 wherein a space exists between the cap and the first port so that fluid can pass through the space and the first port to the interior of the vertical drain pipe.
14. The control of claim 1 wherein the motor activator is a switch.
15. The control of claim 1 wherein the motor stem is aligned with the linkage.
16. The control of claim 1 wherein the motor system is raised to raise the linkage and value element and is lowered to lower the linkage and valve element.
17. The control of claim 1 wherein the motor system is positioned above the linkage.
18. A drain closure control for a bathtub having a bottom drain and an end wall with interior and exterior sides, and a fluid overflow port in the end above the bottom drain, the control comprising:
- a vertical drain pipe extending downwardly from the overflow port on the interior side of the end wall to a position below the bottom drain,
- a substantially horizontal drain pipe extending from the bottom drain to the vertical drain pipe and being in fluid communication therewith,
- a drop cylinder slidably mounted in the vertical drain pipe adjacent the juncture between the horizontal drain pipe and the vertical drain pipe and being movable between a lower position which closes the horizontal drain pipe, and an upper posit-Lon which will allow fluid to flow through the horizontal drain pipe and thence downwardly into the vertical drain pipe,
- a motor system with a single motor mounted adjacent the overflow port and having an extensible and retractable stem for controlling opening and closing of the drain,
- elongated linkage connecting the drop cylinder and the motor system, whereby movement of the stem in one direction will raise the drop cylinder to the upper position, and movement of the stem in the other direction will lower the drop cylinder to the lower position,
- further comprising a motor activator adjacent the overflow port for controlling extension and retraction of the stem.
19. The control of claim 18 wherein the motor is positioned above the linkage.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 22, 2006
Publication Date: Feb 28, 2008
Applicant: WCM INDUSTRIES, INC. (Colorado Springs, CO)
Inventor: William T. BALL (Colorado Springs, CO)
Application Number: 11/466,167
International Classification: E03C 1/232 (20060101);