Pop-up drain assembly

Abstract

A pop-up drain assembly that opens and closes via a spring-biased mechanism. To close the drain, the user presses down on the stopper, forcing teeth on an actuator to engage with teeth inside a pop-up body to hold the actuator in a lowered position. Pressing the stopper down again causes the actuator to rotate until the actuator teeth are aligned with spaces between the pop-up body teeth, allowing the actuator to be pushed upward by the spring-biasing force. The upward movement of the actuator pushes the stem and stopper upward to open the drain.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to drain assemblies, and more particularly to a structure for opening and closing a drain.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Pop-up drain assemblies are commonly used in most drain applications. Standard pop-up drain assemblies use a pivot rod, strap and lift rod that cooperate to move a stopper up and down. The stopper and the lift rod are attached to opposite ends of the pivot rod. The lift rod acts as a user-actuatable lever; when a user pushes the top of the lift rod down, the downward movement of the lift rod pushes down on one end of the pivot rod, causing the other end of the pivot rod to move upward, thereby pushing the stopper upward and opening the drain. Conversely, when the lift rod is pulled upward, the pivot rod pivots, pulling the stopper downward to close the drain.

[0003] Standard pop-up drain assemblies, however, are difficult to install correctly due to the large number of components that must cooperate to open and close the drain. As a result, installing a pop-up drain is a labor-intensive process. Further, the lift rod and pivot rod are relatively large, adding packing, storage and shipping costs to their considerable manufacturing costs.

[0004] There is a desire for a pop-up drain assembly having a simpler design to minimize the labor required for installation. There is also a desire for a pop-up drain assembly that has few components to reduce manufacturing, packing, storage and shipping costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention is directed to a pop-up drain assembly that opens and closes via a spring-biased mechanism. In one embodiment, the drain assembly includes a spring-biased actuator and a stem that move together inside a pop-up body. The pop-up body has interior pop-up body teeth that are shaped to cooperate with teeth on the actuator. A stopper is attached to the stem so that the stopper and the stem move as one unit. The assembly both opens and closes a drain by applying downward pressure on the stopper.

[0006] In one embodiment, the stopper is biased in the open (up) position. To close the drain, the user presses down on the stopper, forcing the stem to push down on an actuator having actuator teeth. The actuator teeth engage with the pop-up body teeth, which guide and hold the actuator in a lowered position. The actuator compresses the spring and is held in place by the pop-up body teeth, preventing the biasing force of the spring from pushing the stopper back upward. Pressing the stopper down again causes the actuator to rotate until the actuator teeth are aligned with spaces between the pop-up body teeth, allowing the actuator to be pushed upward by the spring-biasing force. The upward movement of the actuator pushes the stem and stopper upward to open the drain.

[0007] By integrating the entire stopper actuation mechanism in a single drain assembly rather than using levers and rods, the invention simplifies installation of the drain assembly and also eliminates the large parts that are common in conventional assemblies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of an inventive drain assembly in a closed position;

[0009] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the drain assembly of FIG. 1 in an open position;

[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of an actuation portion of the drain assembly of FIG. 1;

[0011] FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are top, side, top section and side section views of a one embodiment of a pop-up body of the actuation portion of FIG. 3;

[0012] FIGS. 5A and 5B are side and bottom views, respectively, of a stem in the actuation portion of FIG. 3;

[0013] FIGS. 6A and 6B are side and top views, respectively, of an actuator in the actuation portion of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3, a drain assembly 100 according to one embodiment of the invention includes a stopper assembly 102 formed to engage against a drain flange 104 when the stopper assembly 102 is in a closed position to prevent fluid flow down the drain assembly 100. In the illustrated embodiment, the stopper assembly 102 includes a stopper cap 106 that is crimped onto a stopper body 110 and a stopper gasket 112 that seals the stopper assembly 102 against the drain flange 104. The stopper assembly 102 may have any other know structure without departing from the scope of the invention. A sleeve adapter 114 may be used to connect the drain flange 104 to a tail piece 116. A gasket 118, washer 120, and nut 122 may also be included in the same manner as conventional drain assemblies.

[0015] The stopper assembly 102 is raised and lowered by an actuation portion 130 that operates inside the tube formed by the drain flange 104, sleeve adapter 114 and tail piece 116. Referring to FIG. 3, the actuation portion 130 includes a pop-up body 132, a stem seal 134 (e.g., an O-ring), a stem 136, an actuator 138, a spring 140 positioned inside the pop-up body 132 and that applies spring force against the actuator 138, and a retaining device 142, such as a set screw, positioned inside the pop-up body 132 in a fixed position. The pop-up body 132 also remains fixed during drain assembly operation. A retainer, such as a screw 108, attaches the stopper assembly 102 to the stem 136.

[0016] FIGS. 4A through 4D illustrate the pop-up body 132 according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4C is a section view taken along line C-C of FIG. 4B, and FIG. 4D is a section view taken along line D-D of FIG. 4A. As shown in the Figures, the pop-up body 132 includes flanges 150 that extend from a center tube 152. In one embodiment, the flanges 150 disposed at the top of the tube 152 extend outwardly far enough to hold the pop-up body 132 securely within the drain flange 104. The flanges 150 at the bottom of the tube 152 may have a loose fit within the tail piece 116 to act as a locator. The spacing between the flanges 150 should be far enough to allow fluid to past the flanges 150 easily without trapping debris.

[0017] As shown in FIGS. 4C and 4D, pop-up body teeth 154 extend inside the tube 152 and are separated by spaces 156. Each tooth 154 has a jagged edge 158 that includes a low-tooth portion 160, which corresponds to a closed position of the stopper assembly 102, and a high-tooth portion 162, which corresponds with a drain opening operation of the stopper assembly 102. The jagged edge 158 acts as a guide to rotate the actuator 138. Alternatively, the jagged edge 158 may be omitted, requiring a user to rotate the actuator 138 manually during operation.

[0018] Referring to FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, and 6B, the stem 136 has a stem opening 170 that holds the stopper retainer 108, attaching the stopper assembly 102 to the stem 136 so that they can move as a single unit. The stem 136 also has stem teeth 172 that extend from a bottom portion of the stem 136. The actuator 138 has actuator teeth 174 disposed along its top portion. The stem teeth 172 are preferably large enough and numerous enough so that the actuator teeth 174 can reliably contact the stem teeth 172 regardless of the vertical direction in which the stem 136 and actuator 138 are moving. Alternatively, the stem 136 may have a different stem engagement structure, such as a ledge, that allows the actuator 138 and stem 136 to press against each other during drain assembly operation.

[0019] The actuator 138 also has a spring opening 176 designed to fit over one end of the spring 140, allowing any biasing force applied by the spring 140 to be transferred through the actuator 138 to any other component contacting the actuator 138 (e.g., the stem 136). As shown in FIG. 2, the spring 140 biases the stopper assembly 102 in an open position.

[0020] To close the drain, a user pushes the stopper cap 106 down, thereby pushing the stopper assembly 102 and the stem 136 downward as well. When the stem 136 is pushed downward, the stem teeth 172 press downward against the actuator teeth 174, forcing the actuator 138 downward inside the pop-up body 132. Note that at this point, the actuator teeth 174 are aligned with the spaces 156 between the pop-up body teeth 154, allowing the actuator 138 to move without interruption past the pop-up body teeth 154.

[0021] As the actuator 138 continues to move downward, the actuator teeth 174 eventually fall below the pop-up body teeth 154. Because the pop-up body teeth 154 have angled jagged edges 158, the actuator teeth 174 will ride along the pop-up body teeth 154, rotating the actuator 138 until the actuator teeth 174 rest against the low-tooth portions 160 of the pop-up body teeth 154. The actuator 138 is therefore held in place in its lowered position by the low-tooth portions 160, holding the stopper assembly 102 in a lowered position such that the stopper gasket 112 seals against the drain flange 104. At this point, the spring 140 is compressed between the actuator 138 and the retainer 142. Because the actuator 138 is held in a lowered position by the low-tooth portions 160, the spring 140 is prevented from expanding to push the actuator, and therefore the stopper assembly 102, back to the open position at this point.

[0022] To open the drain, the user presses downward on the stopper assembly 102 again. Because the stopper gasket 112 is preferably made of a resilient material, it will allow the assembly 102 to move downward slightly even though the assembly 102 is already in a lowered position. The downward movement forces the actuator teeth 174 to ride along the high-tooth portion 162 of the pop-up body teeth 154, forcing the actuator 138 to rotate until the actuator teeth 174 align with the spaces 156 between the pop-up body teeth 154. Once the actuator teeth 174 align with the spaces 156, the biasing force from the spring 140 pushes the actuator 138 upward, pressing the actuator teeth 174 against the stem teeth 172 to force the stem 136 upward as well. The upward movement of the stem 136 carries the stopper assembly 102 upward, disengaging the stopper gasket 112 from the drain flange 104 and opening the drain.

[0023] As a result, the inventive drain assembly structure integrates the entire raising and lowering structure for the stopper in one compact assembly, without requiring additional levers and rods to be routed and adjusted. By keeping the pop-up actuation structure within a single assembly that can be virtually dropped into a drain pipe, the invention reduces labor costs without sacrificing reliable stopper operation. A side benefit of the inventive structure is that the stopper remains centered with respect to the drain flange in both the open and closed positions, unlike many conventional drain assemblies, enhancing the appearance of the inventive drain assembly.

[0024] It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention. It is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that the method and apparatus within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby.

Claims

1. A drain assembly, comprising:

a stopper;

an actuator operationally coupled to the stopper such that the actuator and the stopper move together linearly between an open drain position and a closed drain position, the actuator comprising at least one actuator tooth;

a resilient member that biases the actuator and the stopper in an open drain position; and

a body portion comprising at least one body tooth having an edge, wherein said at least one actuator tooth and said at least one body tooth are engaged in the closed drain position and are disengaged in the open drain position and wherein the edge urges the actuator in a rotational direction when the actuator is moved in the linear direction.

2. The drain assembly of claim 1, wherein the edge on said at least one body tooth comprises a jagged edge.

3. The drain assembly of claim 2, where said jagged edge comprises a low-tooth portion that engages with the actuator in the closed drain position and a high-tooth portion that guides the actuator toward the open drain position.

4. The drain assembly of claim 1, wherein said actuator comprises a plurality of actuator teeth and said body portion comprises a plurality of body teeth, wherein said plurality of body teeth are arranged in a spaced relationship to form spaces between said body teeth, and wherein said actuator teeth travel in the spaces when moving between the open drain and closed drain positions.

5. The drain assembly of claim 1, further comprising a stem connected to the stopper, wherein the stem contacts the actuator such that the stem presses downward against the actuator when the stopper is moved to the closed drain position and the actuator presses upward against the stem to move the stopper to the open drain position.

6. A drain assembly, comprising:

a stopper;

a stem connected to the stopper;

an actuator that contacts the stem such that the stem presses in a first direction against the actuator when the stopper is moved to the closed drain position and the actuator presses in a second direction opposite the first direction against the stem to move the stopper to the open drain position, the actuator comprising a plurality of actuator teeth;

a resilient member that biases the actuator and the stopper in the open drain position; and

a tubular body portion that houses the actuator, stem and resilient member, the body portion having a plurality of body teeth disposed in a spaced relationship inside the body portion,

wherein each body tooth having a jagged edge with a low-tooth portion and a high-tooth portion, wherein the low-tooth portion engages the actuator teeth when the actuator is in the closed drain position and wherein the high-portion guides the actuator teeth toward spaces between the body teeth when the actuator is moved toward the open drain position.

7. The drain assembly of claim 6, wherein said actuator teeth travel in the spaces when moving between the open drain and closed drain positions.

8. The drain assembly of claim 6, wherein the stem comprises a plurality of stem teeth that contact said plurality of actuator teeth when the actuator and stem move between the open drain and closed drain positions.

9. A method of manufacturing a drain assembly, comprising:

attaching a stopper to a stem;

inserting the stem, an actuator, and a resilient member inside a tubular body;

attaching a drain flange, sleeve adapter, and tail piece together to form a pipe; and

inserting the tubular body holding the stem, the actuator, and the resilient member inside the pipe.