P/00/012 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: "DRAINS" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: TITLE DRAINS FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 The present invention relates to drains. In particular, although not exclusively, the present invention relates to drain assemblies or waste assemblies used in the floors of bathrooms, showers, shower rooms and/or other areas where the drainage of water is required whether indoors or outdoors. 10 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Floor wastes and drains are commonly found in bathrooms, showers, shower rooms and/or other areas where the drainage of water is required indoors or outdoors. Floor wastes and drains are available in a wide variety of 15 shapes, sizes, designs and configurations, but most typically comprise a body with an inlet that allows the ingress of water and an outlet that communicates the water to a drainage system connected to the outlet. The body usually supports a grate, grate cover or grille comprising apertures smaller in size than the size of the inlet. The grate covers the inlet to prevent the inlet being a 20 hazard and for aesthetic purposes whilst still allowing water to flow into the waste. The grate cover rnay be detachable to allow for cleaning and maintenance. There is sometimes a slight incline in the floor surface toward the waste and/or the floor waste is typically positioned level with, or just below the floor surface to ensure there is a flow of water from the floor into the waste and the flow of water is not impeded. However, one problem that exists with known floor wastes is that it can be time consuming and/or difficult for users to align the floor surface correctly 5 with the floor waste. This is particularly a problem where the floor surface is in the form of tiles. Consequently, the tiles or other form of floor surface is not aligned accurately with the floor waste, which can result in poor drainage and/or spoil the aesthetic appeal. This problem is exacerbated when the floor waste is situated near a wall because the floor waste needs to be accurately io aligned with both the floor surface and the wall surface. Another problem encountered with some floor wastes, and in particular elongate floor wastes often used in showers or bathrooms, is that they can be difficult to secure to the drainage system extending underneath the floor. 15 OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is a preferred object of the present invention to provide an improved floor waste and/or floor waste assembly that addresses or at least ameliorates one or more of the aforementioned problems and/or provides a useful commercial alternative. 20 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally, embodiments of the present invention relate to floor wastes and/or floor waste assemblies comprising a recess for receiving water and a lip or flange extending frorn a wall of the recess. The lip or flange supports, and provides alignment for a floor surface or covering, and in particular for one or more tiles, around the recess. Generally, embodiments of the present invention comprise an outlet extending from a base of the recess, the outlet comprising a thread to 5 facilitate the attachment of a drainage system thereto. In one form, although not necessarily the broadest or only form, the present invention resides in a floor waste comprising: a recess for receiving water; and 10 a flange extending outwardly from a wall of the recess to provide alignment and support for a floor surface external to the recess. Suitably, the floor surface comprises one or more tiles. Preferably, an outlet extends from a base of the recess, the outlet comprising a thread to facilitate the attachment of a drainage pipe thereto. 15 Suitably, the thread is an external thread or an internal thread. Suitably, the flange extends perpendicularly, or substantially perpendicularly, from the wall of the recess. Suitably, the flange is continuous around a perimeter of the recess. Suitably, a height of the wall from the flange to a top of the wall is 20 comparable to a distance the flange extends from the wall. Preferably, a base of the recess is below a level of the flange. Preferably, the base of the recess is inclined in at least one direction toward an aperture in the base from which the outlet extends. Suitably, the recess is rectangular, square, circular or other regular or 25 irregular polygon in shape.
Suitably, the floor waste includes a detachable wall accessory having a step profile, which provides alignment and support for a wall covering, such as one or more tiles. Suitably, the wall accessory comprises: 5 a first face; a second face extending perpendicularly, or substantially perpendicularly, from the first face; and a third face extending perpendicularly, or substantially perpendicularly, from the second face; 10 wherein the first face comprises a pair of spaced apart slots for receiving the wall of the recess of the floor waste. Preferably, the first face and the third face are parallel or substantially parallel. Suitably, the second face and/or the third face provide alignment and 15 support for a wall covering, such as one or more tiles. Further forms and/or features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 20 In order that the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numbers refer to identical elernents. The drawings are provided by way of exarnple only, wherein: FIG 1 is a perspective view of a floor waste assembly according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG 2 is another perspective view of the floor waste shown in FIG 1; FIG 3 is a cross sectional view of the floor waste shown in FIG 1; 5 FIG 4 is a perspective view of the floor waste assembly shown in FIG 1 in an assembled state and including a grate cover; FIG 5 is a perspective view of a grate cover for an embodiment of the present invention; FIG 6 is a perspective view of a floor waste for receiving the grate 10 cover shown in FIG 5; and FIG 7 is a cross sectional view of the floor waste shown in FIG 6; Skilled addressees will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the relative dimensions of some of the elements in the 15 drawings may be distorted to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention relate to floor waste assemblies, 20 floor wastes and wall accessories, in particular for use in bathrooms, showers and shower rooms both indoors and outdoors. However, embodiments of the present invention are applicable to use in other applications where the drainage of water is required. With reference to FIG 1, a floor waste assembly 10 comprises a floor 25 waste 12 and a wall accessory 14. The floor waste 12 comprises a recess 16 U for receiving water. The recess 16 comprises a base 18 and a wall 20 extending upwardly from the base 18. The base 18 comprises an aperture 22 therethrough and an outlet 24 extending from the base 18 and aligned with the aperture 22 to allow egress of water from the recess 16. 5 The floor waste 12 comprises a flange 26 extending outwardly from the wall 20 of the recess 14 to provide alignment and support for a floor surface, such as one or more tiles, external to the recess 14. The integrated flange 26 enables users, such as trades people, and in particular tilers, to accurately, easily and therefore quickly align the floor surface with the floor waste 12 and 10 provide a support for the floor surface. In some embodiments, the flange 26 extends perpendicularly, or substantially perpendicularly, from the wall 20 of the recess 16. As shown in FIG 1, the flange 26 is continuous around a perimeter of the recess 16 to provide support and alignment for the floor surface on all sides of the floor 15 waste 12. The flange 26 can also comprise rounded corners to avoid sharp edges that may be dangerous or may damage membranes typically used for sealing in wet environments. A height of the wall 20 from the level of the flange 26 to a top of the wall 20 is comparable to a distance the flange 26 extends from the wall 20. This size of flange provides sufficient support for the 20 floor surface and helps to ensure there is a flow of water from the floor surface down into the recess 16. It can be seen from FIG 3 that the base 18 of the recess 16 is at a lower level than the flange 26, which also aids the user in achieving the correct relationship between the floor surface and the floor waste 12.
FIG 3 shows the floor surface in the form of tiles 27 supported by the flange 26 and aligned with the floor waste 12. The top of tiles 27 are slightly higher than the top of the walls 20A, 20B to ensure there is water flow from the floor surface into the floor waste 12. In some embodiments, the top of the 5 tiles are at least 2.5mm above the top of the walls 20A, 20B. Although not shown, a sealing material, such as a silicone seal is provided between the flange 26 and the tiles 27 and between the wall 20 and the tiles 27. As shown in FIG 1 and in FIG 3, the outlet 24 comprises a thread 28 to facilitate attachment of a drainage pipe (not shown) to the outlet. The thread 10 can be an external thread as shown in FIGS 1 and 3, or can be an internal thread if required for the application. Thread 28 aids secure and accurate attachment of a drainage pipe to the floor waste 12. With reference to FIG 2, it will be appreciated that the rectangular or elongate floor waste 12 as shown can be considered to have four walls 20A, 15 20B, 20C, 20D with walls 20A and 20B being parallel, or substantially parallel, walls 20C and 20D being parallel, or substantially parallel and walls 20A and 20B being perpendicular, or substantially perpendicular to walls 20C and 20D. With reference to FIGS 2 and 3, the base 18 of the recess 16 is inclined in at least one direction toward the aperture 22 in the base to facilitate 20 water flow in the recess to the aperture 22 and the outlet 24. In the embodiment shown in FIGS 2 and 3, base 18 is inclined in multiple directions toward the aperture 22. FIG 3 shows that base 18 is inclined from walls 20A and 2GB on opposite sides of recess 16 down toward a longitudinal centre line 30 of the base 18. FIG 2 shows that base 18 is also inclined from walls 200 and 20D on opposite sides of recess 16 down toward a transverse centre line 32 of the base 18. Returning to FIG 1, the detachable wall accessory 14 of the floor waste assembly 10 comprises a step profile which provides alignment and support 5 for a wall covering. The step profile of the wall accessory 14 comprises a first face 34 and a second face 36 extending perpendicularly, or substantially perpendicularly, from the first face 34. The step profile also comprises a third face 38 extending perpendicularly, or substantially perpendicularly, from the second face 36. Hence, the first face 34 and the third face 38 are parallel or 10 substantially parallel. The first face 34 of the wall accessory 14 comprises a pair of spaced apart slots 40 for receiving the wall 20 of the recess 16 of the floor waste 12. In the embodiment shown in FIG 1, the spaced apart slots 40 are located toward opposite ends of the first face 34 of the wall accessory 14 for receiving end walls 20C, 20D of the recess 16 shown in FIG 3. End 15 portions 42 of the first face 34 have a reduced depth compared with the depth of the remainder of the first face 34 to allow the flange 26 to be accommodated when the wall accessory 14 is inserted into the recess 16, as shown in FIG 4. The second face 36 and the third face 38 provide alignment and support for a wall covering, such as one or more tiles, when the floor 20 waste assembly 10 is located near a wall. With reference to FIG 4, the floor waste assembly 10 can also comprise a grate cover 44 comprising an upper surface with apertures to allow water to flow therethrough and side walls extending from the upper surface. The grate cover 44 is received within the recess 16 of the floor waste 25 12 and is supported by the side walls such that the upper surface of the grate cover 44 is vertically spaced apart from the base 18 of the recess 16. However, the grate cover 44 does not form part of the present invention. Whilst the floor waste 12 is shown in FIGS 1-4 as being generally rectangular or elongate in shape, it will be appreciated that the present 5 invention is not limited by the shape. The floor waste 12 can be, for example, square, circular or other regular or irregular polygon in shape. FIG 5 shows an example of a grate cover 44, and FIGS 6 and 7 show an example of a floor waste 12, for a floor waste assembly having a square shape. The embodiment shown in FIGS 6 and 7 comprises many of the same features as the 10 embodiment described above in relation to the embodiment shown in FIGS 1 4, except that walls 20A-20D of recess 16 are of equal length and the base 18 of the recess 16 in this example is not inclined in at least one direction toward the aperture 22. FIG 7 illustrates one method by which the flange 26 can be formed on 15 the wall 20 of the recess 16 of the floor waste 12. In this embodiment, the floor waste 12 is made from a suitable metal, such as sheet stainless steel, and the flange 26 is formed by folding of the sheet stainless steel, for example by roll forming. However, it will be appreciated that other methods and materials can be used to form the floor waste 12 and the flange 26. 20 Hence, the floor waste assemblies, floor wastes and wall accessories according to embodiments of the present invention address or at least ameliorate at least some of the aforementioned problems of the prior art. The outwardly extending flange 26 of the floor waste 12 provides alignment and support for a floor surface, such as one or more tiles, external 25 to the recess 14, which enables users to accurately, easily and therefore quickly align the floor surface, such as one or more tiles, with the floor waste 12 and provide a support for the floor surface. The flange 26 enables users to quickly and easily install a functional and watertight floor waste that is also accurately positioned with respect to the floor surface and therefore 5 aesthetically pleasing. The thread 28 on the outlet 24 of the floor waste 12 facilitates secure, accurate and therefore easy attachment of a drainage pipe, or other part of a drainage system to the floor waste 12. The wall accessory 14 of the floor waste assembly 10 provides 10 alignment and support for a wall covering, such as one or more tiles, when the floor waste 12 is located adjacent or otherwise near a wall. In this specification, the terms "comprise", "comprises", "comprising" or similar terms are intended to mean a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a system, method or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not 15 include those elements solely, but may well include other elements not listed. The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge. Throughout the specification the aim has been to describe the 20 preferred embodiments of the invention without limiting the invention to any one embodiment or specific collection of features. It is to be appreciated by those of skill in the art that various modifications and changes can be made in the particular embodiments exemplified without departing from the scope of the present invention. 25