Water closet connector seal
A single piece adapter is provided for use in sealing a water closet to sewer pipes of different diameters.
The field of the invention is connections between plumbing fixtures and drainage piping and in particularly the invention relates to sealing water closets to an associated drain pipe.
Water closets are commonly connected to a three inch or a four inch PVC plastic drain pipe using a standardized PVC plastic closet flange. The downwardly extending annulus or hub of the plastic closet flange is dimensioned to accept a three inch plastic drain pipe in its interior and a four inch plastic drain pipe on its exterior. In both instances the plastic drain pipe is secured to the closet flange hub by a commercially available solvent cement.
It has long been recognized that the connection between the water closet and the drain pipe is the most troublesome connection in the plumbing system. A leaking connection will allow sewer gas to enter the building and if stoppage occurs in the drain pipe, sewage may be discharged into the cavity beneath the water closet with attendant breeding of germs. It is customary to use putty or a wax ring to seal the water closet to the closet flange or the drain pipe; however, such sealing arrangements are often ineffective. There have been many attempts to improve the sealing between the water closet and the drain pipe as evidenced by a U.S. Pat. No. 2,976,543 issued Mar. 28, 1961 to H. J. Turner et al. for a Gasket Ferrule, a U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,890 issued Feb. 16, 1993 to G. W. Dismore et al. for a Toilet Bowl Sealing Assembly, a U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,619 issued Mar. 8, 1994 to C. R. Adoijan for a Water Closet Sealing Adapter, a U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,450 issued Aug. 17, 1999 to B. Jones for a Method and Device for Attaching Fittings to Receptacle and a U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,910 issued Jun. 6, 2000 to B. E. Hodges for a Push-In Closet Flange. These and other proposed solutions to the water closet sealing problem have not been found satisfactory for a number of reasons. Some require too many parts, some are too costly and some do not accommodate both three and four inch sewer pipe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn inexpensive one piece seal adapter is provided for sealing a water closet connected by a closet flange to either a three inch drain pipe or a four inch drain pipe. The seal adapter is made of an elastic plastic and includes a tubular portion with a pair of axially spaced annular flanges extending radially outward from the tubular portion a sufficient distance to make sealing contact with the interior of either a three inch sewer pipe or with the interior of the tubular part of the closet flange when a four inch sewer pipe is connected thereto. The seal adapter includes a radially outward extending annulus at the upper end of the tubular portion and preferably has a washer shaped seal adhesively secured at its underside to the upper surface of the annulus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:
As illustrated in
A one piece elastic plastic seal adapter 31 forms a sealing connection against gas and sewage leakage between the underside surface 28 of the water closet 11 and the closet flange 13 when either one of the sewer pipes 22 or 23 is attached to the closet flange 13. The seal adapter 31 includes a flat horizontal annulus 32 which, as shown in
The one piece adapter seal 31 includes a tubular portion 46 which extends downwardly from the interior diameter of the annulus 32 and has an outside diameter substantially smaller than the inside diameter of the tubular part 19 of the closet flange 13. A pair of axially spaced elastic plastic annular flange seals 47, 48 are integrally formed with and extend radically outward from the tubular portion 46 a sufficient distance to form an effective seal with the inside diameter of the 3 inch sewer pipe 22, as shown in
The seal adapter 31 shown in
Claims
1. A one piece elastic seal adapter for sealing the connections between a sewer pipe and a water closet having a discharge opening on its underside, said connection including a closet flange having a collar adapted to interconnect said water closet to a supporting floor and a tubular part extending downwardly from said collar having a radially inward facing cylindrical surface dimensioned to connect to the exterior diameter of a first sewer pipe and having a radially outward facing cylindrical surface dimensioned to connect to the interior diameter of a second sewer pipe, said elastic seal adapter comprising:
- a flat horizontal annulus having upper and lower surfaces adapted to sealingly contact said underside of said water closet and top side of said collar of said closet flange, respectively,
- a tubular portion extending downwardly from the interior diameter of said annulus, and
- at least one annular flange extending radially outward from said tubular portion a sufficient distance to sealing engage the interior of a said first sewer pipe when said first sewer pipe is connected to said radially inward facing cylindrical surface of said closet flange and to sealingly engage said inward facing cylindrical surface of said tubular part of said closet flange when said interior diameter of said second sewer pipe is connected to said radially outward facing cylindrical surface of said closet flange.
2. The seal adapter of claim 1 wherein said tubular portion of said adapter includes a pair of elastic annular flange seals spaced axially from one another.
3. The seal adapter of claim 2 having a foam plastic washer shaped seal adhesively connected at it underside to said upper surface of said horizontal annulus.
4. The seal adapter of claim 3 wherein said form plastic washer shaped seal includes adhesive on its upper side adapted for sealing engagement with said underside of said water closet.
5. (canceled)
6. (canceled)
7. (canceled)
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 24, 2003
Publication Date: May 26, 2005
Inventor: Scot Thompson (Greer, SC)
Application Number: 10/721,614