AU2021232792A1

AU2021232792A1 - Floor drain trap seal

Info

Publication number: AU2021232792A1
Application number: AU2021232792A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Ali Khojasteh; Dean Peng
Original assignee: Deks Industries Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Deks Industries Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2020-09-16
Filing date: 2021-09-16
Publication date: 2022-03-31

Abstract

A drain trap seal, comprising a body sealingly receivable inside a pipe of a drain, wherein the body comprises an upper opening, annular sidewalls, and a lower tricuspid valve seal. 1/6 10 ZI Figure 1

Description

1/6

10

ZI

Figure 1

FLOOR DRAIN TRAP SEAL

Field

[0001] The present invention relates generally to floor drain trap seals.

Background

[0002] Floor drain trap seals are retrofitted into riser pipes of drains in floors of wet areas in buildings to allow wastewater to exit, while preventing contaminants, such as odours, gases, soapy suds, insects, viruses, etc, from entering.

[0003] Existing floor drain trap seals suffer from several drawbacks. They typically comprise single one-way rubber valves that are insufficient on their own to completely block backflow of contaminants, and which do not provide or enable a proper sealing fit inside the riser pipes.

[0004] In view of this background, there is an unmet need for improved floor drain trap seals.

Summary

[0005] According to the present invention, there is provided a drain trap seal, comprising: a body sealingly receivable inside a pipe of a drain, wherein the body comprises an upper opening, annular sidewalls, and a lower tricuspid valve seal.

[0006] The drain trap seal may further comprise at least one flap valve seal inside the annular sidewalls of the body between the upper opening and the lower tricuspid valve seal.

[0007] The body, at least one flap valve seal, and lower tricuspid valve seal may each be formed of an elastomeric material.

[0008] The at least one flap valve seal may comprise a pair of semicircular flap valves pivotally mounted about a central hinge.

[0009] The pair of semicircular flap valves may be formed from an elastomeric circular membrane that, in use, elastically opens downwardly to release wastewater, and elastically closes upwardly to prevent backflow of contaminants.

[0010] The central hinge of the pair of semicircular flap valves may be supported by an annular support bracket inside the annular sidewalls of the body.

[0011] The annular support bracket may be matingly and sealingly connected inside the annular sidewalls of the body.

[0012] The body may be installed inside the pipe with the annular support bracket disassembled from the annular sidewalls, and the annular support bracket may be removably press-connected inside the annular sidewalls after the body has been installed inside the pipe.

[0013] The annular support bracket may be formed of a rigid or semi-rigid material.

[0014] The pair of semicircular flap valves may be normally closed against inner sealing surfaces on lower portions of the annular support bracket.

[0015] The central hinge of the pair of semicircular flap valves may be connected to upper portions of the annular support bracket.

[0016] The present invention further provides a floor drain that includes the drain trap seal described above.

[0017] The present invention also provides a valve assembly, comprising: a valve body having a circular cross-section passage; and a pair of semicircular flexible valve flaps pivotally mounted relative to one another in the valve body to selectively open and close the circular cross-section passage.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0018] Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a floor drain trap seal according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a top perspective view of the floor drain trap seal with the body shown in ghost outline; Figure 3 is a bottom view of the floor drain trap seal; Figure 4 is a perspective cutaway view of the floor drain trap seal; Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the floor drain trap seal; and Figure 6 is a bottom perspective view of the floor drain trap seal.

Description of Embodiments

[0019] Referring to the drawings, a floor drain trap seal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may comprise a body 12 that is sealingly receivable inside a riser pipe of a floor drain (not shown). The body 12 may comprise an upper opening 14, annular sidewalls 16, and a normally closed lower tricuspid valve seal 18 having three valve leaflets. The lower tricuspid valve seal 18 may be inspired by, or biomimetic of, a tricuspid valve of a human heart. Sealing ribs 20 may be provided on external surfaces of the annular sidewalls 16 of the body 12 to provide a proper mating and sealing fit between the body 12 and the inside of the riser pipe.

[0020] Optionally, in some embodiments, at least one flap valve seal 22 may be provided inside the annular sidewalls 16 of the body 12 between the upper opening 14 and the lower tricupsid valve seal 18. The body 12, at least one flap valve seal 22, and lower tricuspid valve seal 18 may each be formed of an elastomeric material. For example, the body 12 and lower tricuspid seal 18 may each be formed of rubber.

[0021] The at least one flap valve seal 22 may comprise a pair of semicircular flap valves 22A, 22B pivotally mounted about a central hinge 24. The pair of semicircular flap valves 22A, 22B may be inspired by, or biomimetic of, a pair of butterfly wings. The central hinge 24 of the pair of semicircular flap valves 22A, 22B may be supported by an annular support bracket 26 inside the annular sidewalls 16 of the body 12. The annular support bracket

26 may be formed of a rigid or semi-rigid material to facilitate proper positioning and fitting of the body 12 inside the riser pipe. For example, the annular support bracket 26 may be formed from plastics or metal.

[0022] The pair of semicircular flap valves 22A, 22B may be formed from an elastomeric (or flexible) circular membrane (or disc) 22. The elastomeric circular membrane 22 may, for example, be formed from silicone. The elastomeric circular membrane 22 may have relatively constant flexibility across its radial length from the centre to the rim. In addition, the elastomeric circular membrane 22 may have a generally flat shape when not flexed in use, and a generally constant thickness. In use, the elastomeric circular membrane 22 elastically opens or flexes downwardly under applied weight or fluid pressure to release wastewater, and then elastically closes or flexes back upwardly to prevent backflow of contaminants.

[0023] As best seen in Figure 4, the annular support bracket 26 may be matingly and sealingly connected inside the annular sidewalls 16 of the body 12, for example, by interlocking ribs and grooves. The pair of semicircular flap valves 22A, 22B may be normally closed against inner sealing surfaces 28 on lower portions of the annular support bracket 26.

[0024] The body 12 may be installed inside the pipe with the annular support bracket 26 disassembled from the annular sidewalls 16. After the body 12 has been properly positioned and fitted inside the pipe, the annular support bracket may be removably press connected inside the annular sidewalls 16 of the body 12. This advantageously allows the body 12 to be easily installed and uninstalled from the pipe with the annular support bracket 26 disassembled from the body 12. For example, the annular support bracket 26 and pair of semi-circular flap valves 22A, 22B may be easily removed and replaced without requiring special tools.

[0025] The central hinge 24 of the pair of semicircular flap valves 22A, 22B may be connected to upper portions of the annular support bracket 26 using post-and-hole connections. For example, a pair of spaced-apart posts 30 may be provided on the central hinge 24 that are press-fit received within a pair of spaced-apart holes 32 formed in a pair of flanges 34 on upper portions of the annular support bracket 26.

[0026] In some embodiments, the lower tricupsid valve seal 18 may function alone to provide a floor drain trap seal 10 that effectively blocks backflow of contaminants through the floor drain. In other embodiments where the lower tricupsid valve seal 18 may be used together with the pair of semicircular flap valves 22A, 22B, the resulting combination of valves may interrelate and function collectively to provide a multivalve (namely, three valves) and dual barrier floor drain trap seal 10 that effectively blocks backflow of contaminants through the floor drain. In these embodiments, the removable annular support bracket 26 may provide structural rigidity to provide a proper sealing fit of the body 12 inside the pipe during retrofitting of the multivalve floor drain trap seal 10 to the drain.

[0027] It will be appreciated that the function of the floor drain trap seal 10 is that when liquid flows through it, the weight of liquid forces the edges of the elastomeric circular membrane 22 to elastically open downwardly for both of the semicircular flap valves 22A, 22B, thus allowing the liquid to quickly flow through the body 12. The weight of the downwardly moving liquid then forces the lower tricuspid valve seal 18 to elastically open radially which allows the fluid to flow downwardly out of the floor drain trap seal 10. Once dynamic flow of the fluid is stopped, the lower tricuspid valve seal 18 elastically returns to a fully closed condition, and the edges of the elastomeric circular membrane 22 elastically bounce or return back to the previously static closed and fully sealed position. Fully closed and sealed condition means that there is no backflow of fluids, smells, bugs, suds, etc going through in the reverse direction up the pipe and out through the drain. The lower tricuspid valve seal 18 therefore acts as a first barrier seal, and the elastomeric circular membrane 22 acts as a second barrier seal so that, together, they collectively play a critical role in preventing liquids, gases, smells, bugs, suds, etc from coming out of pipe in reverse. This combination thus works as a double-layer or double-barrier seal that effectively prevents or minimises backflow of contaminants.

[0028] Embodiments of the present invention provide a floor drain trap seal that is both generally and specifically useful for preventing contaminants, such as odours, gases, soapy suds, insects, viruses, etc, from flowing back up through floor drains into buildings.

[0029] Although the pair of semicircular flap valves 22A, 22B have been described above, by way of example only, in the context of the floor drain trap seal 10, it will be appreciated that they are also generally suitable for many other wider applications as a standalone valve assembly for use in any and all conventional applications where valving is required.

For example, in some embodiments, the standalone valve assembly may generally comprise a valve body having a circular cross-section passage. The pair of semicircular flexible valve flaps 22A, 22B may be pivotally mounted relative to one another in the valve body to selectively open and close the circular cross-section passage. As described above, the pair of semicircular flexible valve flaps 22A, 22B may be formed from a circular flexible membrane 22 mounted on the valve body in the manner generally described above.

[0030] For the purpose of this specification, the word "comprising" means "including but not limited to," and the word "comprises" has a corresponding meaning.

[0031] The above embodiments have been described by way of example only and modifications are possible within the scope of the claims that follow.

Claims

1. A drain trap seal, comprising: a body sealingly receivable inside a pipe of a drain, wherein the body comprises an upper opening, annular sidewalls, and a lower tricuspid valve seal.

2. The drain trap seal of claim 1, further comprising at least one flap valve seal inside the annular sidewalls of the body between the upper opening and the lower tricupsid valve seal.

3. The drain trap seal of claim 2, wherein the body, at least one flap valve seal, and lower tricuspid valve seal are each formed of an elastomeric material.

4. The drain trap seal of claim 1, wherein the at least one flap valve seal comprises a pair of semicircular flap valves pivotally mounted about a central hinge.

5. The drain trap seal of claim 4, wherein the pair of semicircular flap valves is formed from an elastomeric circular membrane that, in use, elastically opens downwardly to release wastewater, and elastically closes upwardly to prevent backflow of contaminants.

6. The drain trap seal of claim 4, wherein the central hinge of the pair of semicircular flap valves is supported by an annular support bracket inside the annular sidewalls of the body.

7. The drain trap seal of claim 6, wherein the annular support bracket is matingly and sealingly connected inside the annular sidewalls of the body.

8. The drain trap seal of claim 7, wherein the body is installed inside the pipe with the annular support bracket disassembled from the annular side walls, and the annular support bracket is removably press-fitted inside the annular sidewalls after the body has been installed inside the pipe.

9. The drain trap seal of claim 6, wherein the annular support bracket is formed of a rigid or semi-rigid material.

10. The drain trap seal of claim 6, wherein the pair of semicircular flap valves is normally closed against inner sealing surfaces on lower portions of the annular support bracket.

11. The drain trap seal of claim 10, wherein the central hinge of the pair of semicircular flap valves is connected to upper portions of the annular support bracket.

12. A floor drain that includes the drain trap seal of claim 1.

13. A valve assembly, comprising: a valve body having a circular cross-section passage; and a pair of semicircular flexible valve flaps pivotally mounted relative to one another in the valve body to selectively open and close the circular cross-section passage.