DRAIN ASSEMBLY
A drain assembly comprising a rigid fixture body having a longitudinal axis, an intake opening adapted to conduct a fluid into the fixture body, the intake opening generally being oriented to point away from the longitudinal axis, an discharge opening adapted to conduct the fluid out from the fixture body, the discharge opening generally being oriented to point away from the longitudinal axis and the intake opening, a divider plate disposed in the rigid fixture body along the longitudinal axis, the divider plate adapted to divide an internal space of the rigid fixture body and form a generally U-shaped fluid-conducting passageway from the intake opening to the discharge opening, a clean-out opening in fluid communication with the passageway and generally being oriented to point away from the longitudinal axis and the discharge opening, and a removable cap adapted to close off the clean-out opening.
The present disclosure claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/512381, entitled “u-trap or 123 u-trap,” and filed on Jul. 27, 2011.
FIELDThe present disclosure relates the field of plumbing assemblies, and more particularly to a drain assembly.
BACKGROUNDIn 1775 Alexander Cummings invented the S-bend trap. In 1880 Thomas Crapper introduced the U-shaped trap. These bends in the drain pipe are used to prevent sewer gases from entering the interior of buildings. Today the bottle trap is still used in Europe and many parts of the world, but the most commonly used trap in houses, is referred to as the P-trap. It is the addition of a 90 degree fitting and the extension on the outlet side of a U-bend that creates a P-like shape.
Generally the conventional drain assembly connects many pieces of tubing or pipe to complete the assembly. The long and short pieces of rigid tubing have tremendous leverage against the very small contact points between the pipe segments. Very small movement of the tubing or pipe could easily cause the pieces to become misaligned and loose at the joints, and cause leakage.
In one embodiment, the intake opening 12 incorporates a male pipe thread fitting that may be easily connected to a tailpiece at one end of a flexible hose using a slip-nut connection. The flexible hose may include a male pipe thread at the second end for coupling with the sink tailpiece using a second slip-nut.
Also in fluid communication with the inlet 12 and outlet 14 is a clean-out opening 16 and a screw cap 17. The clean-out opening 16 may incorporate a male pipe thread that is adapted to interface with the female pipe thread of the screw cap 17. The clean-out opening 16 is disposed at the very bottom end of the drain assembly. The screw cap 17 creates a leak-free seal with the clean-out opening and obviates the need for any gasket or seal. The clean-out opening 16, when the drain assembly 10 is installed, is generally disposed directly below the intake opening 12, and is oriented at a perpendicular angle from the longitudinal axis 15. Further, the clean-out opening 16, when the drain assembly 10 is installed, is typically located at a convenient and easy-to-reach position facing outwardly from the wall or some other structure of the building. The clean-out opening 16 can be used to easily clean out debris and sediments, and retrieve other foreign objects. It also can be used as a snake router entry point. The drain assembly 10 includes a shelf 18 that is better seen in
Referring also to
The assembly further includes a divider plate 26. The divider plate 26 is disposed at an interface of the shelf 18 and forms a fluid-conducting path 27 from inlet 12 to outlet 14. The shelf 18 provides a cradling seat onto which the divider plate 26 can be securely adhered. Ultrasonic welding or other suitable methods may be used to form a strong bond between the shelf 18 and the divider plate 26. The divider plate 26 effectively divides the two portions of the drain assembly 10, and provides further reinforcement and integrity for the structure. The divider plate 26 also in effect forms an integral street elbow in the drain assembly between the inlet and the outlet. The divider plate 26 further helps to form a water seal to keep sewer gases in the plumbing system from entering the sink and the interior of the room.
In the embodiment shown in
As shown, the inlet 66 of the drain assembly 60 is adapted to securely couple to a flexible hose 68 leading to the drain of a sink (not shown). At the inlet 66 of the assembly 60 is a slip-nut 78 that is used to easily secure the assembly 60 to a flexible hose 68. The tailpiece of the flexible hose 68 is inserted into the slip-nut 78 and tightened with an one and a half turn, until tightly secured.
It should be noted that because flexible hoses rather than rigid tubing or pipe are used to couple the drain assembly described herein to the sink drain tailpiece, movement or shifting would not cause misalignment and leakage. Further, the use of the slip-nut to connect the drain assembly to the sink tailpiece does not lead to leakage because even in the event of failure or misalignment of the slip-nut connection, the connection is located above the water level.
The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth below with particularity in the appended claims. However, modifications, variations, and changes to the exemplary embodiments described above will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the drain assembly described herein thus encompass such modifications, variations, and changes and are not limited to the specific embodiments described herein.
Claims
1. A drain assembly comprising:
- a rigid fixture body having a longitudinal axis;
- an intake opening adapted to conduct a fluid into the fixture body, the intake opening generally being oriented to point away from the longitudinal axis;
- an discharge opening adapted to conduct the fluid out from the fixture body, the discharge opening generally being oriented to point away from the longitudinal axis and the intake opening;
- a divider plate disposed in the rigid fixture body along the longitudinal axis, the divider plate adapted to divide an internal space of the rigid fixture body and form a generally U-shaped fluid-conducting passageway from the intake opening to the discharge opening;
- a clean-out opening in fluid communication with the passageway and generally being oriented to point away from the longitudinal axis and the discharge opening; and
- a removable cap adapted to close off the clean-out opening.
2. The drain assembly of claim 1, wherein the divider plate further defines a contoured shape adapted to further guide the fluid from the fluid-conducting passageway toward the discharge opening.
3. The drain assembly of claim 1, wherein the divider plate further defines a domed shape adapted to further guide the fluid from the fluid-conducting passageway toward the discharge opening.
4. The drain assembly of claim 1, wherein the clean-out opening is disposed directly below the intake opening when the drain assembly is connected to a sink drain.
5. The drain assembly of claim 1, further comprising a hair trap coupled to the removable cap and adapted to trap debris.
6. The drain assembly of claim 5, wherein the hair trap comprises a plurality of bristles and is detachably coupled to the removable cap.
7. The drain assembly of claim 1, wherein the rigid fixture body comprises first and second portions securely fastened together, the first portion comprising the intake and clean-out openings, and the second portion comprising the discharge opening, the first portion being constructed of a material that permits a visual inspection into the first portion of the rigid fixture body.
8. The drain assembly of claim 1, wherein the divider plate further defines a reinforcing ridge near a bend in the U-shaped passageway adapted to form a narrowed portion of the passageway.
9. The drain assembly of claim 1, wherein the clean-out opening comprises male pipe threading adapted to couple with female pipe threading of the removable cap.
10. The drain assembly of claim 1, wherein the divider plate is adapted to be seated and adhered to a seat defined in the rigid fixture body.
11. The drain assembly of claim 1, wherein the intake opening comprises a MPT fitting adapted to couple a tailpiece of a flexible hose using a slip-nut.
12. The drain assembly of claim 11, wherein the slip-nut comprises:
- a circular flange; and
- a ridge formed on the circular flange adapted to exert pressure against the tailpiece of the flexible hose when the slip-nut flange interfaces with the MPT fitting of the intake opening.
13. The drain assembly of claim 1, wherein the intake opening is adapted to couple to a Y-pipe fitting operable to couple to two drain discharges.
14. A sink drain system comprising:
- a rigid body having a longitudinal axis;
- an intake opening adapted to conduct a fluid into the rigid body, the intake opening generally being oriented at an acute angle from the longitudinal axis, the intake opening being a threaded opening;
- an discharge opening adapted to be coupled to a drain pipe and conduct the fluid out from the rigid body into the drain pipe, the discharge opening generally being oriented opposed from the intake opening and point away from the longitudinal axis and the intake opening;
- a divider plate disposed in the rigid body along the longitudinal axis, the divider plate adapted to divide an internal space of the rigid body and forming a generally U-shaped fluid-conducting passageway from the intake opening to the discharge opening;
- a clean-out opening in fluid communication with the passageway and generally being oriented to point away from the longitudinal axis and the discharge opening;
- a removable cap adapted to shut off the clean-out opening; and
- a flexible hose having a tailpiece end adapted to be coupled to the threaded intake opening using a slip-nut.
15. The sink drain system of claim 14, wherein the divider plate further defines a contoured shape adapted to further guide the fluid from the fluid-conducting passageway toward the discharge opening.
16. The sink drain system of claim 14, wherein the clean-out opening is disposed directly below the intake opening when the drain assembly is connected to a sink drain.
17. The sink drain system of claim 14, further comprising a hair trap detachably coupled to the removable cap and adapted to trap debris.
18. The sink drain system of claim 14, further comprising a hair trap having a plurality of bristles.
19. The sink drain system of claim 14, wherein the rigid fixture body comprises first and second portions securely fastened together, the first portion comprising the intake and clean-out openings, and the second portion comprising the discharge opening, the first portion being constructed of a material that permits a visual inspection into the first portion of the rigid fixture body.
20. The sink drain system of claim 14, wherein the divider plate further defines a ridge near a bend in the U-shaped passageway adapted to form a narrowed portion of the passageway.
21. The sink drain system of claim 14, wherein the divider plate is adapted to be seated and adhered to a seat defined in the rigid fixture body.
22. A method of installing a drain assembly, comprising: coupling a discharge opening of a drain assembly to a drain pipe, the drain assembly comprising: orienting the drain assembly so that the clean-out opening is disposed directly below the intake opening;
- a rigid fixture body having a longitudinal axis;
- an intake opening adapted to conduct a fluid into the fixture body, the intake opening generally being oriented to point away from the longitudinal axis;
- an discharge opening adapted to conduct the fluid out from the fixture body, the discharge opening generally being oriented to point away from the longitudinal axis and the intake opening;
- a divider plate disposed in the rigid fixture body along the longitudinal axis, the divider plate adapted to divide an internal space of the rigid fixture body and form a generally U-shaped fluid-conducting passageway from the intake opening to the discharge opening;
- a clean-out opening in fluid communication with the passageway and generally being oriented to point away from the longitudinal axis and the discharge opening; and
- a removable cap adapted to close off the clean-out opening;
- coupling the intake opening of the drain assembly to a first end of a flexible hose; and
- coupling a second end of the flexible hose to a sink drain tailpiece.
23. A drain assembly comprising:
- a rigid fixture body having a first and second portions coupled to one another;
- an intake passageway and opening formed in the first portion adapted to conduct a fluid into the fixture body;
- an discharge passageway and opening formed in the first portion adapted to conduct the fluid out from the fixture body;
- the second portion of the fixture body fluidly coupling the intake passageway and opening to the discharge passageway and opening in a generally U-shaped configuration;
- a clean-out opening in fluid communication with the intake passageway, and generally being oriented horizontally; and
- a removable cap adapted to close off the clean-out opening.
24. The drain assembly of claim 23, wherein the clean-out opening is disposed directly below the intake passageway and opening when the drain assembly is connected to a sink drain.
25. The drain assembly of claim 23, further comprising a hair trap coupled to the removable cap and adapted to trap debris.
26. The drain assembly of claim 25, wherein the hair trap comprises a plurality of bristles and is detachably coupled to the removable cap.
27. The drain assembly of claim 23, wherein the second portion of the rigid fixture body is constructed of a material that permits a visual inspection into the second portion.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 3, 2012
Publication Date: Jan 31, 2013
Inventors: Michael Yu (Concord, CA), Karen Yu (San Carlos, CA)
Application Number: 13/541,058
International Classification: E03C 1/12 (20060101);