Odor Seal

Abstract

The invention proposes an odor seal for use in or on the drainage channel of sanitary installations or the like, or on the outflow thereof, comprising a housing (101) provided with an inflow, and also comprising a helical inner wall (114) which is arranged on the housing, at a spacing apart therefrom, and forms an annular space (106) with the inner housing wall (113), and this annular space (106) is connected to an upper overflow (115), formed by way of the inner wall (114), into an outflow chamber (106) with an outwardly directed overflow connection (103), the housing (101) being an elongate conduit component which is closed at the ends on both sides and in which the helical inner wall (114) is arranged in the longitudinal direction, at a spacing apart, to form the annular space (105), which is connected to the inflow (102) and/or an inflow chamber (104).

Description

The invention relates to an odor seal in accordance with the preamble of claim 1. Such odor seals are disposed in or ahead of an outflow line behind sanitary installations, such as shower stalls, bathtubs, kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, or also as floor drains. Because of their corresponding design, a level of water remains in such devices, which seals off the connected installations with regard to gases that come from the sewer line.

An odor seal referred to as a siphon is known from FR 2 791 372 A1, which seal is to be disposed exclusively directly under the corresponding sanitary installation, for example on the outflow of a sink. It consists of a pot-like housing, at the upper open side of which an attachment flange is provided, with which such an odor seal can be directly attached underneath the corresponding sanitary installation. A spiral-shaped inner wall with wall spacing is disposed in this pot-like housing; it separates an inflow chamber that is open towards the top from an outflow chamber formed in the interior of the inner wall, which stands in connection with an outflow connector, which is to be connected with the outflow line of the sewer system. In this connection, this inner wall forms a ring space having an upper overflow from the entry chamber to the outflow chamber. With this design structure, the result is achieved that when water runs out of a sanitary installation, a water level in the housing that serves as an odor seal is always maintained, up to the level of the overflow. As compared with U-shaped siphons, this odor seal has the possibility of lesser structural heights at the same outflow flow cross-sections. Such an advantage is of particular significance if such an odor seal is to be accommodated in a floor structure, for example under a shower stall, and only a slight structural height is available.

However, there are only limited possibilities for reducing the structural height of an odor seal formed in such a manner, because of the ring space required in a housing and in the entry chamber, in order to guarantee sufficient through-flow cross-sections. Furthermore, in the case of minimized corresponding cross-section ratios, there is the risk that the ring space in such an odor seal, which forms the odor seal with its water level, will be emptied by suction in the case of a partial vacuum in the outflow line, because of the merely slight amount of water, so that an odor seal is no longer effective.

The task of the invention consists in proposing an odor seal of the type stated initially, which permits a lower structural height, taking the minimum diameter cross-sections into account, and which additionally is able to offer increased security with regard to the risk of being emptied by suction as the result of a partial vacuum in the outflow line.

This task is accomplished with an odor seal having the characteristics of claim 1. In contrast to the known prior art, such an odor seal according to the invention utilizes the possibility of the width and length dimension that is generally available in the floor structure, so that the height dimension can be restricted to a minimum dimension. In place of a pot-like housing, the odor seal according to the invention uses an elongated channel piece, which can have an oval cross-section or a rectangular cross-section, for example.

Such an odor seal according to the invention can have both a face-side connector that can be installed, with a corresponding molded piece, in the immediate vicinity of the sanitary facility or a floor drain. However, it can also be implemented directly as a gutter-like channel piece according to claim 7 and the following claims, and can be mounted on the outflow line. Such an odor seal can therefore also be used as an elongated outflow gutter, e.g. as a floor drain, or also can be used on a sanitary object having a slit-like outflow opening.

Attachment flanges on which sealing materials can also be applied serve to accommodate a floor inflow grid or for attachment to a sanitary object. The attachment flange can be equipped with holes or other attachment means.

To enlarge the residual water volume that serves as the odor seal in the device according to claim 5, and to reduce the suction effect in the case of a partial vacuum, it is proposed, according to claim 4, to widen the ring space from the deepest point towards the overflow, in order to prevent emptying by suction in the case of a partial vacuum. This enlargement also makes use of the width dimension, whereby the structural height of such an odor seal is not changed.

A minimum water storage chamber of the ring space can be formed by means of a barrier crosspiece.

The invention will be explained in greater detail in the following, using exemplary embodiments that are shown. The figures show:

FIG. 1: a view of the inflow-side face side of a channel-like odor seal,

FIG. 2: a top view of an odor seal having an approximately oval housing, in cross-section, in a section according to the line II-II FIG. 1,

FIG. 3: the face view of the outflow-side housing side,

FIG. 4: a section along the line I-I in FIG. 2,

FIG. 5: a top view of a gutter-like odor seal, and

FIG. 6: a perspective sectional representation according to the line III-III in FIG. 5, through the odor seal in FIG. 5.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show an odor seal that can be connected either with an outflow line, for example as a floor drain, or directly with an angled piece on a sanitary installation, such as a sink, bathtub, shower stall, floor inflow, or the like, whereby the structural height only has to be slightly greater than the diameter of the outflow line, so that such odor seals are particularly suitable for installation in a floor in which only a slight structural height is available, or also under bathroom vanities, for example, in order to leave as much room as possible for cabinets or the like. It consists of a housing 1 formed in the manner of a channel piece, having an approximately oval cross-section. The face wall 11 that ends the housing on the inflow side is penetrated by the inflow connector 2, which is to be connected with the sanitary installation or a floor inflow. The downstream-side face wall 12 has the outflow connector 3, laterally offset from the axis. In the interior, a spiral-shaped inner wall 14 is provided, at a distance from the inner housing wall, i.e. the channel wall 13, forming a ring space 5. This spiral-shaped inner wall 14, which is open towards the top, forms an overflow 15 to the inner chamber of the inner wall 14, and thereby to an outflow chamber 6, which is connected with the outflow connector 3. The waste water that enters by way of the inflow connector 2 two reaches the ring space 5 by way of the inflow chamber 4, and, after it reaches the overflow 15, gets into the outflow chamber 6, and from there, it is drained into the connecting outflow line by way of the outflow connector 3. A water level that serves as an odor seal remains in the ring space 5, after the water has flowed in; this level is determined by the height of the overflow 15. In order to guarantee a sufficient residual water level in case of a possible partial vacuum in the connecting outflow line, a continuous crosspiece 16 that delimits the ring space 5 is disposed in the longitudinal direction, at a distance from the spiral-shaped inner wall 14, having a height H that is greater than the height h of the ring space at its deepest point.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an odor seal in the manner of a gutter-like channel piece 101 having the face walls 111 and 112. A spiral-shaped inner wall 114 is disposed in this channel piece 101, which can be provided with additional outer side walls and a stand-on floor surface, also in the interior, at a distance from the wall, forming a ring space 105. This gutter-like channel piece can be used directly in the floor of a sanitary installation, for example a shower at floor level, as a floor outflow gutter, or under a sanitary part having a slit-shaped outflow. The outflowing water enters into the inflow chamber 104, which can be widened in width, by way of the slit 102, and from there reaches the outflow chamber 106 by way of the ring space 105 and the overflow 115. This channel piece 101 can be attached under a sanitary part with lateral attachment flanges 116 formed onto the top, by means of corresponding attachment means. In the case of use as a floor drain, the attachment flange 116 can serve as the contact surface for an inflow grid and for embedding in thin-bed mortar, for which purpose the attachment flange can be equipped with perforations at regular intervals, so that the projecting shanks can also be anchored under floor tiles, using the thin-bed method. The attachment flange also serves to accommodate sealing means.

In the case of this design, as well, the ring space 105 formed between channel wall 113 and inner wall 114 can constantly widen from the lowest point to the overflow 115, in order to enlarge the water volume that serves as the odor seal.

Reference Symbol List
1	housing channel piece	102	entry slit
11	face wall	103	outflow connector
12	face wall	104	inflow chamber
13	channel wall	105	ring space
14	inner wall	106	outflow chamber
15	overflow	H	height
16	crosspiece	h	height
2	inflow connector
3	outflow connector
4	inflow chamber
5	ring space
6	outflow chamber
101	gutter-like channel piece
111	face wall
112	face wall
113	channel wall
114	inner wall
115	overflow
116	attachment flange

Claims

1. Odor seal for use in or on the outflow line of sanitary installations or the like, or on their outflow, consisting of a housing equipped with an inflow, and a spiral-shaped inner wall disposed within it, at a distance from the wall, which forms a ring space with the inner housing wall, and this ring space empties into an outflow chamber within the inner wall, with an upper overflow formed by the inner wall, whereby this outflow chamber stands in connection with an outflow connector that leads to the outside, wherein the housing is an elongated channel piece (1, 101) that is closed on the end side on both sides, in which the spiral-shaped inner wall (14, 114) is disposed in the longitudinal direction, at a wall distance, forming the ring space (5, 105) that stands in connection with the inflow (2, 102) and an inflow chamber (4, 104), respectively.

2. Odor seal according to claim 1, comprising pipe-like channel piece (1) that is continuously closed at its circumference, having an inflow-side inflow chamber (4) that empties into the ring space (5) between spiral-shaped inner wall (14) and channel wall (13), whereby the spiral-shaped inner wall (14) is closed off on the face side, on the inflow side, at least up to the height of the overflow (15).

3. Odor seal according to claim 2, wherein the pipe-shaped channel piece (1) has an approximately oval or approximately rectangular cross-section, whereby the axes of the inflow connector (2) and of the outflow connector (3) are disposed with lateral offset.

4. Odor seal according to claim 2, wherein the ring space (5) widens from the deepest point towards the overflow (15).

5. Odor seal according to claim 2, wherein a continuous crosspiece (16) that delimits the ring space (5), or the like, is disposed in the longitudinal direction, parallel at a distance from the spiral-shaped inner wall (14), having a height (H) that is greater than the height (h) of the ring space at its deepest point.

6. Odor seal according to claim 2, wherein the spiral-shaped bent inner wall (14) is formed onto the channel wall (13) on the inside, from the top.

7. Odor seal according to claim 1, comprising a gutter-like channel piece (101) having one or more upper entry openings (102), which empty into the ring space (105) that is closed on the face side, on both sides, and the outflow chamber (106), which is also closed on the face side, stands in connection with an outflow connector (103).

8. Odor seal according to claim 7, wherein the entry opening is a continuous slit (102).

9. Odor seal according to claim 7, wherein lateral attachment flanges (116) are disposed in the upper region of the channel piece (101).

10. Odor seal according to claim 9, wherein the attachment flanges (116) are provided with perforations at regular intervals.

11. Odor seal according to claim 1, wherein the attachment flanges (116) have a gradient in the direction of the entry openings (102).