Flush Mount Toilet to Floor Bolts
A hardware set for mounting a plumbing fixture to a surface includes male and female threaded components. The male and female components engage within an opening of the plumbing fixture and have respective lengths selected to allow the components to overlap and tighten in an area hidden from view. The visible portions of the hardware are close to the plumbing fixture and present a substantially finished appearance, in contrast to standard hardware.
The disclosure relates to flush toilet plumbing fixtures and, more specifically, to hardware used for securing flush toilet plumbing fixtures to the floor.
BACKGROUNDToilets are conventionally secured to the floor using a bolt which extends upwardly from the floor through openings in a flange at the base of the toilet. Conventionally, there are at least two openings in the flange at the base of the toilet, one on either side. The conventional hardware includes a washer configured to span the opening in the flange of the toilet and a nut arranged to compress the washer against the flange and draw the toilet downward against the floor. Toilet fixtures are typically cast from ceramic or porcelain material and the flange through which the attachment bolts must extend can vary in thickness. Therefore, conventional bolts are provided with excess length to accommodate variations in the thickness of the flange and/or flooring through which they must extend. It is conventional to cut off the excess length of the attachment bolt once the toilet has been secured to the floor. It is also conventional to provide a trim cap which covers the nut and washer as well as the end of the bolt and flange opening to provide a more finished appearance to the mounted toilet fixture.
While a conventional hardware has served its purpose, there is clearly room for improvement in terms of the appearance and effectiveness of hardware used to secure toilets to the floor. A common complaint is that the trim caps do not stay attached and are lost, exposing the unsightly hardware to view as shown in
There is a need for improved toilet mounting hardware, which addresses the above complaints.
The flanged head 32 of the threaded sleeve 30 may be provided with any conventional tool fixture or drive socket, including a polygonal peripheral surface, a hex socket and any relevant socket for driving the threaded sleeve 30 to tighten the hardware. The head 24 of the bolt 20 may be similarly configured if the sleeve 30 is in the floor and the bolt is installed from above. A trim cap may be configured to securely grasp the flanged head 32 and completely cover the opening in the toilet flange. The trim cap 50, 52 may be provided with peripheral edges that are bevelled or otherwise configured to blend with the appearance of the toilet flange. See
Claims
1. A hardware assembly for securing a plumbing fixture to a support structure, said hardware assembly comprising
- a male component including a first flanged head and a threaded shank extending therefrom; and
- a female component comprising a second flanged head and a threaded sleeve extending therefrom, said threaded sleeve having an axial length at least ⅓ of an axial length of said threaded shank.
2. The hardware assembly of claim 1, wherein said threaded sleeve comprises a non-metallic washer surrounding the sleeve and adjacent a bottom surface of the second flanged head.
3. The hardware assembly of claim 1, wherein one of said first or second flanged heads has a colored coating.
4. The hardware assembly of claim 3, wherein said washer is of the same color as the coated flanged head.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 18, 2013
Publication Date: Dec 19, 2013
Inventor: Alan N. Monat (Brimfield, MA)
Application Number: 13/920,956
International Classification: E03D 11/16 (20060101);