PLUMBING PLUNGER
A high powered blast or suction of fast moving water to remove solid blockage or obstructions from within sink, bathtub, shower, and toilet bowl drain pipes uses a piston mounted within a cylinder with specifically designed interchangeable rubber plunger tips connected to the end of the piston powered manual water pumping plunger. The present invention provides a high powered blast or suction of fast moving water to remove solid blockage or obstructions from within sink, bathtub, shower, and toilet bowl drain pipes using specifically designed interchangeable rubber plunger tips and a piston powered manual water pumping plunger.
This invention relates to a plumbing plunger for injecting water into or retracting water from a drain pipe to clear a blockage.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONOccasionally toilet drain blockage consists of articles children or other careless persons have flushed down toilets, for example toys, toothbrushes and the like.
Toilet drain blockage is occurring more often now than ever before because of the new legislated use of low-flow toilets in Canada and the United States. These low-flow toilets use less than half the amount of flush water the old style toilets used. Many of these new low-flow toilets have completely different shaped bowls in which the conventional plunger is rendered useless.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is one object of the present invention to provide a multiple interchangeable rubber tipped piston powered plunger that provides a high powered blast of fast moving water to suck out or push plumbing drain pipe blockage or obstructions within sinks, bathtubs, showers, and toilets.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a plumbing plunger system comprising:
a plunger cylinder body;
a plurality of sealing members each arranged to be separately mounted on a bottom end of the cylinder body with the others of the sealing members removed;
each sealing member being shaped and arranged to engage or penetrate a drain hole of a plumbing device including a toilet, sink, shower drain, tub drain and floor drain;
a double acting piston mounted in the cylinder and connected to a shaft having a handle at an upper end of the cylinder for manual movement of the piston within the cylinder:
the sealing members each having an opening therethrough such that operation of the piston by the handle moves water between the drain hole and the cylinder for pumping water into the drain hole or extracting water from the drain hole.
Preferably the shaft and handle are arranged such that the piston reaches the sealing member at the bottom of the body when fully inserted.
Preferably the sealing member provides a stop surface for engaging and halting movement of the piston.
Preferably the cylinder has a discharge opening above the piston for discharge of air and any water collecting above the piston, the discharge opening including a down-turned nozzle for guiding any discharge water down toward the drain hole.
Preferably the piston includes top and bottom sealing surfaces for sealing in both directions.
Preferably one of the sealing members comprises a cylinder portion with a bottom wall defining by an in-turned lip so as to form a sealing ring for surrounding the drain hole.
Preferably said at least one of the sealing members includes a generally conical wall extending downwardly from a sealing ring.
Preferably one of the sealing members includes a tube extending downwardly from a bottom wall of the sealing member which tube is offset to one side from a central axis of the cylinder.
Preferably the tube has a bottom edge lying in a plane at an angle to a radial plane of the axis.
Preferably there is provided an insert portion for engaging into the tube which has a pipe extending from the insert portion.
Preferably the sealing member includes downwardly extending duct portion and a flange lying in a plane generally at right angles to the axis and projecting to one side of the sealing member at a position above a bottom end of the duct portion for covering a channel at the drain of the toilet bowl with the duct portion extending into the drain of the toilet bowl.
Preferably one of the sealing members includes a converging neck portion and an extension tube extending from a bottom of the neck portion generally to at right angles to the axis for insertion into a pipe.
Preferably the extension tube is flexible.
Preferably the sealing member is arranged to be readily fastened onto and removed from the end of the cylinder.
Preferably the sealing members are injection molded in a common family mold.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a plumbing plunger system comprising:
a plunger cylinder body;
a plurality of sealing members each arranged to be separately mounted on a bottom end of the cylinder body with the others of the sealing members removed;
a double acting piston mounted in the cylinder and connected to a shaft having a handle at an upper end of the cylinder for manual movement of the piston within the cylinder:
the sealing members each having an opening therethrough such that operation of the piston by the handle moves water between the drain hole and the cylinder for pumping water into the drain hole or extracting water from the drain hole;
a first one of the sealing members comprising a cylinder portion with a bottom wall defining by a lip so as to form a sealing ring for surrounding the drain hole;
a second one of the sealing members comprising an upper sealing ring and a generally conical wall extending downwardly from a sealing ring coaxial to the cylindrical body,
a third one of the sealing members comprising a cylindrical portion with a transverse bottom wall and a tube extending downwardly from the bottom wall of the sealing member which tube is offset to one side from a central axis of the cylinder.
Preferably there is provided an insert portion for engaging into the tube of the third sealing member which has a pipe extending from the insert portion.
Preferably there is provided a fourth one of the sealing members which includes downwardly extending duct portion and a flange lying in a plane generally at right angles to the axis and projecting to one side of the sealing member at a position above a bottom end of the duct portion for covering a channel at the drain of the toilet bowl with the duct portion extending into the drain of the toilet bowl.
Preferably there is provided a fifth one of the sealing members which includes a converging neck portion and an extension tube extending from a bottom of the neck portion generally at right angles to the axis for insertion into a pipe.
The present invention is a multiple interchangeable rubber tipped piston powered plunger that provides a high powered blast of fast moving water to suck out or push plumbing drain pipe blockage or obstructions within sinks, bathtubs, showers, and toilets. Occasionally toilet drain blockage consists of articles children have flushed down toilets such as toys, toothbrushes, etc. To address this type of toilet drain blockage removal the present invention provides piston delivered water based suction force that removes the obstruction right out of the toilet bowl drain.
The device allows suctioning or forcing drain water with a manually operated piston powered water pumping plunger that comes complete with five purposely designed interchangeable rubber plunger tips. Four of the rubber plunger tips are self sealing. Two of the four self-sealing plunger tips adapt to two toilet bowl shapes.
A first one of the self-sealing plunger tips is of a universal shape to work on sink and bath tub drain holes.
A second plunger tip has been purposely designed to fit into all toilet bowl drains without the self-sealing factor. This plunger tip has a small flexible rubber hose that fits up inside the toilet drain to produce a direct suction or force onto the obstruction directly into the toilet bowl drain. This plunger tip is used when the toilet bowl drain is an odd shape which cannot be sealed or when the obstruction is stubborn and needs a close-up suction force.
For solid obstructions stuck far up inside toilet bowl drain a third plunger tip has a long flexible hose or tube that friction fits onto the second of the tips thus elongating its reach. This special adapter hose is used to suck solid obstructions that are stuck deep inside the toilet drain system.
A fourth plunger tip is purposely designed for cleaning clogged floor drains particularly shower floor drains. This plunger tip consists of a thick rubber ring that friction fits inside piston chamber tip and acts as a piston stopper and the outer surface acts as the sealing surface for the plunger end. Toilet drain blockage is occurring more often now than ever before because of the new legislated use of low-flow toilets in Canada and the United States. These low-flow toilets use less than half the amount of flush water the old style toilets used. Many of these new low-flow toilets have completely different shaped bowls some of which the conventional plunger is rendered useless. This new multi-tipped plunger system is designed to meet the plunging needs of the low-flow toilets and more.
The piston powered plunger as shown in
The ⅛ inch pipe wall is preferred and the four inch inside dimension PVC pipe is the same size as the plumbing drain pipe that would be required to be cleared of obstructions when used on a toilet. The cylinder body 16 has a outside dimension of about 4.25 inches also matches well when attaching plunger head 7 onto an open mouth at the bottom portion of the tube defined by the cylinder body 16. The cylinder body 16 may be wrapped with labeling material to allow for instructions, warranty, and bar code placement.
The cylinder body 16 is capped off with a PVC cap 17 which is glued into position. Alternatively the cap and the cylinder can be injection molded as an integral piece for attachment to the separate tips at the bottom.
A hole 18 is formed in the side of the cap 17 and is connected to by a downwardly directed guide surface 19 which directs any material emerging from the hole downwardly toward the bottom end and onto the outer surface of the body 16.
As an alternative, the hole may be uncovered and instead a plastic right angled pressure tube is screwed into the drilled and threaded hole 18 forming a pipe. The pipe delivers the wet back pressure produced by the reverse piston action onto the outer surface of the body 16 safely away from the plunger user.
The cylinder body 16 contains a plunger in the form of a rod 30 with a piston 39 at the lower end and a surrounding handle 33 at the upper end made from soft but yet stiff sponge material and is held in place by friction or a tight fit onto the plunger rod 30.
The rod 30 is made of a hollow colored plastic construction. The rubber injection molded piston 39 is formed as a generally annular band with an outside dimension just smaller than the inside dimension of cylindrical body 16 so as to slide inside the cylinder. The band is formed with slightly conical top and bottom portions 40B which taper outwardly toward the top and bottom respectively to form top and bottom edges which are slightly larger than the diameter of the cylinder and thus act as seals against the inside surface of the cylinder to effectively prevent the passage of air and water. The band is attached to a sleeve 42B by gussets 42A at angularly spaced positions extending between the sleeve and the band. The sleeve receives the end of the rod 30 to which it is attached by a screw 41. The injection molded rubber piston 39 is designed to suck or force water into or out of the bathroom sink drain holes and bathtub drain holes.
The cap assembly 17 forms a gasket for the rod 30 at a center hole in the cap 17. The cap is injection molded with the body 16 and includes a 1 inch hole 17A placed in the top center of the cap 17. The wall thickness of cap 17 is about 0.125 inch. A nylon or plastic washer 21 which is at least 0.125 inch thick with outside dimension of 2.25 inches contains a neoprene rubber washer gasket 22 which has a thickness of 1/32 inch with outside dimensions of 2.0 inches. The washer gasket 22 is glued to the nylon washer 21 and then mounted and glued centrally to the inside of the cap hole 17A. The inside edge of the flexible gasket 22 runs against the outside surface of the shaft 15.
Turning now to the details of the different arrangement of plunger tips, in
In
In
In
In
As shown in
A kit of parts including the plunger and the separate tips can be provided for use in effective cleaning or different types of problem. The sealing members or tips can be injection molded in a common family mold.
While the tips shown above are attached onto the body 16 using a hose clamp surrounding the body, in an alternative arrangement, the lower end of the body 16 can be threaded and the tips included a top threaded section which engages onto the body 16.
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
Claims
1. A plumbing plunger system comprising:
- a plunger cylinder body;
- a plurality of sealing members each arranged to be separately mounted on a bottom end of the cylinder body with the others of the sealing members removed;
- each sealing member being shaped and arranged to engage or penetrate a drain hole of a plumbing device including a toilet, sink, shower drain, tub drain and floor drain;
- a double acting piston mounted in the cylinder and connected to a shaft having a handle at an upper end of the cylinder for manual movement of the piston within the cylinder:
- the sealing members each having an opening therethrough such that operation of the piston by the handle moves water between the drain hole and the cylinder for pumping water into the drain hole or extracting water from the drain hole.
2. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein the shaft and handle are arranged such that the piston reaches the sealing member at the bottom of the body when fully inserted.
3. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein each of the sealing members provides a stop surface for engaging and halting movement of the piston.
4. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein the cylinder has a discharge opening above the piston for discharge of air and any water collecting above the piston, the discharge opening including a down-turned nozzle for guiding any discharge water down toward the drain hole.
5. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein the piston includes top and bottom conical sealing surfaces tapering outwardly to respective top and bottom edges for sealing in both directions.
6. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein one of the sealing members comprises a cylinder portion with a bottom wall defining by an in-turned lip so as to form a sealing ring for surrounding the drain hole.
7. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the sealing members includes a generally conical wall extending downwardly from a sealing ring.
8. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein one of the sealing members includes a tube extending downwardly from a bottom wall of the sealing member which tube is offset to one side from a central axis of the cylinder.
9. The plunger according to claim 8 wherein the tube has a bottom edge lying in a plane at an angle to a radial plane of the axis.
10. The plunger according to claim 8 wherein there is provided an insert portion for engaging into the tube which has a pipe extending from the insert portion.
11. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein one of the sealing members includes downwardly extending duct portion and a flange lying in a plane generally at right angles to the axis and projecting to one side of the sealing member at a position above a bottom end of the duct portion for covering a channel at the drain of the toilet bowl with the duct portion extending into the drain of the toilet bowl.
12. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein one of the sealing members includes a converging neck portion and an extension tube extending from a bottom of the neck portion generally at right angles to the axis for insertion into a pipe.
13. The plunger according to claim 12 wherein the extension tube is flexible.
14. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein each of the sealing members is arranged to be readily fastened onto and removed from the end of the cylinder.
15. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein the sealing members are injection molded in a common family mold.
16. The plunger according to claim 1 wherein piston includes a sleeve mounted on an end of a plunger rod with a plurality of angularly spaced gussets connecting between the sleeve and an annular band forming the piston.
17. A plumbing plunger system comprising:
- a plunger cylinder body;
- a plurality of sealing members each arranged to be separately mounted on a bottom end of the cylinder body with the others of the sealing members removed;
- a double acting piston mounted in the cylinder and connected to a shaft having a handle at an upper end of the cylinder for manual movement of the piston within the cylinder:
- the sealing members each having an opening therethrough such that operation of the piston by the handle moves water between the drain hole and the cylinder for pumping water into the drain hole or extracting water from the drain hole;
- a first one of the sealing members comprising a cylinder portion with a bottom wall defining by an in-turned lip so as to form a sealing ring for surrounding the drain hole;
- a second one of the sealing members comprising an upper sealing ring and a generally conical wall extending downwardly from a sealing ring coaxial to the cylindrical body.
- a third one of the sealing members comprising a cylindrical portion with a transverse bottom wall and a tube extending downwardly from the bottom wall of the sealing member which tube is offset to one side from a central axis of the cylinder.
18. The plunger according to claim 17 wherein there is provided an insert portion for engaging into the tube of the third sealing member which has a pipe extending from the insert portion.
19. The plunger according to claim 17 wherein there is provided a fourth one of the sealing members which includes downwardly extending duct portion and a flange lying in a plane generally at right angles to the axis and projecting to one side of the sealing member at a position above a bottom end of the duct portion for covering a channel at the drain of the toilet bowl with the duct portion extending into the drain of the toilet bowl.
20. The plunger according to claim 17 wherein there is provided a fifth one of the sealing members which includes a converging neck portion and an extension tube extending from a bottom of the neck portion generally at right angles to the axis for insertion into a pipe.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 1, 2008
Publication Date: Jun 3, 2010
Inventor: Robert Flamand (Saskatchewan)
Application Number: 12/325,705
International Classification: E03D 11/00 (20060101);