AU712795B2 - A floor waste fitting support - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT OF ADDITION Invention Title: "A FLOOR WASTE FITTING SUPPORT" r The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to the applicant: A FLOOR WASTE FITTING SUPPORT This invention relates to the drainage of waste water from the floor of a wet area, such as a shower recess, and provides an improved support for the floor waste fitting.

Current building practice in the construction of bathroom and shower floors is to provide a flat wood, concrete, compressed asbestos sheet or fibre board floor and cover this flooring with ceramic tiles. Drainage of water from the surface is provided by having a floor waste fitting in the floor and angling the upper surface of the ceramic tiles towards the waste fitting so that water flows 10 to the waste fitting.

Ceramic tiles are laid on a relatively dry mortar mix which is inherently porous.

This feature when associated with unavoidable cracking due to shrinkage when the mortar dries, means that joints between the tiles and mortar do not present an impervious surface to any water which spills on the floor.

If water falling on the tiled surface passes through the mortar and is trapped between the tiles and the underlying floor it cannot pass into the waste fitting, which has its entry point on the tile upper surface. In such cases the water will leach alkalis from the mortar to form a concentrated alkali solution which will attack the flooring underneath the tile mortar. Even if a water resistant fibre board is used, laid on wood rafters, any water which leaks around the floor waste fitting hole in the fibre board will bypass the fibre board and attack the underlying rafters, causing wet- rot. In the case of concrete floors, corrosion of the reinforcement is likely to occur.

Accordingly, it is a main aim of the invention to provide an arrangement in which seepage water trapped between the floor tiles and the underlying structure can be directed to the drain associated with the floor waste fitting thereby substantially eliminating the incidence of water induced structural damage.

In one broad form the present invention is a waste water fitting support to allow seepage water entering the fitting support externally of a waste water fitting to merge with waste water passing through the waste water fitting, said waste fitting support being adapted to support waste water fittings of differing 15 diameters, said fitting support comprises a body, a bore extending through the body with an inlet end and an outlet end for said bore and an imperforate body wall circumscribing said bore, a first bore portion adjacent said bore inlet end with a size substantially larger than the outside tubular shank of the waste water fitting, a second bore portion adjacent said bore outlet end, a transition bore portion separating the bore first and second portions, a plurality of bore size reducing shoulders in the transition bore portion facing the bore inlet end, abutment means on each shoulder to axially locate the discharge end of a waste water fitting and seepage water leakage paths passing through said transition bore portion and around said abutment means.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig 1 shows a plan view of an embodiment of the invention.

Fig 2 shows an elevational cross section of the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig 1 through A-A.

Fig 3 shows an enlargement of the lug configuration shown in detail B in Fig 2.

e.

10 Referring to the Figures there is shown a floor waste fitting support, having a body 1 which is cylindrical in cross-section. There is a bore (passageway) through the body with an inlet end 2 and an outlet end 4. There is an outwardly directed continuous flange 3 around the inlet end 2. It is to be understood that the invention is not dependent upon the flange and it would be possible under certain conditions to have a support without a flange or with a minimal sized f. g °flange.

The bore of the body has several parts and is adapted to receive variously sized cylindrical waste water fittings. Adjacent the inlet end 2 there is a large bore part 5 which is larger that the outside dimension of a first (largest) waste water fitting 10 (shown partially by ghost lines in Fig 2) to be mounted in the support. In the down stream direction there is then a smaller diameter bore part 6 dimensioned to be a close fit with a further second waste water fitting 12 (shown partially by ghost lines in Fig The close fit may be a sliding fit or a friction fit, with the exterior of the body of the second waste water fitting to be supported. This is followed in the downstream direction by a still smaller bore part 7 dimensioned to receive a further even smaller third waste water fitting 11 (shown partially by ghost lines in Fig 2) in a close fit. This is followed downstream by a substantially 900 elbow part 8 which alters the direction of waste water passing through the fitting support.

A shoulder 20 is located at the junction of bore part 5 and bore part 6. The bore 15 part 5 and stop means in the form of lugs 37, at shoulder 20, provide a positioning means for the first floor waste fitting to be supported. The positioning means centralizes the first floor waste fitting 10 when mounted and limits the maximum inwards travel of the body of the first waste water fitting into .o bore 5. Water entering the support from outside the waste fitting 10, say typically through the circumferential region 15, can pass around lugs 37 and under the end of waste fitting 10 into bore part 6.

Alternatively, when the second waste water fitting 12 is used together with the support, a shoulder 21 which is located at the junction of bore part 6 and bore part 7, together with lugs 38, provide a stop means for the second waste water fitting 11.

There are channels (grooves) 9 in the walls of bore part 6 to allow water entering the bore part 5 outside the second waste water fitting to pass through the bore part 6, even through the body of second waste water fitting therein may be tightly gripped by the bore part 6.

Alternatively, when the third waste water fitting 11 is used together with the support, a shoulder 22 which is located at the junction of bore part 7 and elbow 8, together with lugs 39, provide a stop means for the third waste water fitting too 12.

o: There are channels (grooves) 13 in the walls of bore part 7, similar to channels 9 in bore part 6, to allow water entering the bore part 6 outside the third waste water fitting to pass through bore part 7, even through the body of the third waste water fitting therein may be tightly gripped by the bore part 7.

The waste water fitting support of the present invention thereby provides a single fitting support which may be used with any one of a plurality of waste water fittings of differing sizes. For example, the fitting support as described may for instance be adapted to support a 100mm brass waste fitting, or support an 80mm floor waste fitting, or an 80mm pipe fitting. It should be understood that by those skilled in the art that the material and size of the waste water fittings may vary without limiting the scope of the invention.

In the embodiment shown, a socket 40 is conveniently provided an elbow 8 for engagement with a support element or prop, not shown, to position the waster water fitting support for encasement in a concrete floor slab. Alternatively the socket 8 may itself be used as a support element for encasement in a concrete floor slab.

The elbow part 8 may be replaced in other, not shown embodiments, with a straight cylindrical discharge part or be configured in some other shape.

Claims (7)

1. A waste water fitting support to allow seepage water entering the fitting support externally of a waste water fitting to merge with waste water passing through the waste water fitting, said waste water fitting support being adapted to support waste water fittings of differing diameters, said fitting support comprises a body, a bore extending through the body with an inlet end and an outlet end for said bore and an imperforate body wall circumscribing said bore, a first bore portion adjacent said bore inlet end with a size substantially larger that the outside tubular shank of the waste water fitting, a second bore portion adjacent said bore outlet end, a transition bore portion separating the bore first and second portions, a plurality of bore size reducing shoulders in the transition a i~ o bore portion facing the bore inlet end, abutment means on each shoulder to axially locate the discharge end of a waste water fitting, and seepage water leakage paths passing through said transition bore portion and around said S 15 abutment means. a. a•

2. A fitting support as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said shoulders having positioning means to centrally locate a waste water fitting. a ao .a

3. A fitting support as claimed in claim 2, wherein said positioning means located at the shoulder closest to the inlet end.

4. A fitting support as claimed in claim 2, wherein said positioning means comprise a plurality of lugs directed away from said shoulder for engagement with a discharge end of a waste water fitting.

A fitting support as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wall of the body has a plurality of circumferentially spaced axially directed grooves in the transition bore portion.

6. A fitting support as claimed in claim 5, wherein when a waste water fitting is closely embraced in said transition bore portion said grooves form a part of said seepage water leakage paths. 10

7. A floor waste fitting support as hereinbefore described with reference to 0 any one of the figures. ooo0 SO By his Patent Attorneys CARTER SMITH BEADLE