EP1818465B1

EP1818465B1 - Method of mounting a floor drain and floor drain having fitting for use in the method

Info

Publication number: EP1818465B1
Application number: EP07101089A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hans Lohmann
Original assignee: Bluecher Metal AS
Current assignee: Bluecher Metal AS
Priority date: 2006-02-14
Filing date: 2007-01-24
Publication date: 2008-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 2027-01-24
Also published as: NO20070693L; DK200600213A; DK176269B2; DE602007000144D1; EP1818465A3; ATE409785T1; EP1818465A2; NO327664B1; DK176269B1; DK1818465T3

Abstract

The installation fitting is for a floor drain and is placed in position before the floor is cast. The drain is firmly fixed to a side wall of a room, so that it is retained whilst the floor is cast. The fitting comprises a central under support part, which at each end has a locating surface for location against the wall and a further such surface which fits against a surface on the floor drain. Each locating surface is provided with apertures for receipt of releasable fixture components which work in conjunction with corresponding fixture components in the wall and floor drain.

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns a method of mounting a floor drain according to claim 1.
The invention furthermore concerns a floor drain according to claim 6.

Background of the Invention

It is commonly known to mount floor drains at their correct positions prior to casting a floor. Hereby, the floor drain will be embedded in the floor. However, it is necessary to ensure that the floor drain cannot be displaced during the casting, as this may be detrimental to the operation of the floor drain, and may also make difficult a subsequent casting of a membrane permanently to the floor drain.
In connection with cast floors it is known that floor drains are cast in place or fastened by using different types of anchor means connecting the drain bowl with surrounding building parts. This is difficult and usually requires utilisation of separate anchor means.
Thus it is prior art to provide the drain bowl of a floor drain with a mounting flange intended for connecting to the building membrane with the purpose of establishing a waterproof connection between the floor drain in e.g. a bathroom or other wet room and a building membrane. It is important that a correct connection is provided here.
In order to ensure that, it is known with a floor drain where the drain bowl is provided with one or more mounting flanges used for fastening to an adjacent wall. This is very disadvantageous as these prior art mounting flanges are to be disposed right out at the edge area of the floor drain, and in some cases they may have difficulty in absorbing the forces acting on the embedment of the drain floor and possible vibrations in the floor.
Furthermore, this solution may only be used for floor drains disposed directly at an adjacent wall. The user has thus no freedom to choose a position spaced apart from the wall.
The prior art solution is furthermore disadvantageous in that a permanent connection between the floor and one or more wall is established via the floor drain. It is inexpedient to interconnect floor and walls as this may cause problems when a house settles, or when walls and floor work in relation to each other. In general, it is thus desirable to avoid a fixed connection between floor and walls.
Examples on prior art solutions are disclosed in US 4 714 372 and WO 02/057557 . However there is no disclosure of a combination of a combination of a mounting fitting and a floor drain in which the mounting fitting is a detachable mounting fitting.
Document WO 01/73231 -A shows a way how a floor drain can be fixed to the side wall of shower room.

Object of the Invention

It is the object of the present invention to indicate a method and a fitting of the kind specified in the introduction for use in mounting floor drains, and where the above-mentioned disadvantages are avoided.

Description of the Invention

According to the present invention, this is achieved by a method which is peculiar in said fastening which is effected by means of detachable mounting fittings, and that the mounting fittings are dismounted after the floor has been cast and is hardened.
The combination of the mounting fitting and the floor drain according to the invention is peculiar in that it includes a central support part which at each end has a contact face for contact against the wall and the floor drain respectively, that each contact face is provided with apertures for receiving a releasable fastening means which is adapted to interact with corresponding fastening means in the wall and the floor drain.
Hereby, it becomes possible to separate the mounting fitting from the floor drain and from the wall after the casting and hardening of a floor. The floor drain will thus not constitute a fixed connection between the wall and the floor. Furthermore, it will be possible to dispose the floor drain spaced apart from the wall. Since it is possible to produce the mounting fitting with any desired shape, it is possible to dispose the fitting at a desired position in the floor. Also, the distance from a wall may be freely chosen.
The mounting fitting may thus be used for any form of floor drain, irrespectively whether they are rectangular, triangular or round, and irrespectively whether they are intended to be placed along a wall, in a corner or inside a room spaced apart from wall/comer.
According to a further embodiment, the method according to the invention is peculiar in that for each mounting fitting on the floor drain, one or more threaded bushings are mounted in the floor drain, and that the mounting fitting is screwed into the threaded bushings and screwed to the wall. Screwing is a suitable way of establishing mounting and dismounting, but other fastening means may also be used, only provided the possibility of dismounting these in an easy way after the casting of the floor. Threaded bushings fastened in the drain bowl in the floor drain may extend out from the drain bowl and may thereby act as anchoring means, connecting the drain bowl with surrounding building parts. When the threaded bushings are disposed at the outer side of the drain bowl, they will not affect the internal structure. Such threaded bushings may, however, serve a double purpose as they may possibly also be used for fastening gratings or other elements in the drain bowl.
According to a further embodiment, the method according to the invention is peculiar by using tubular rivets for threaded bushings. Tubular rivets are very simple to fit in drain bows made of sheet, e.g. stainless steel sheets. Furthermore, they may be designed with a thread so that they are ready to interact with a screw without any need of further machining.
According to a further embodiment, the method according to the invention is peculiar in that it also includes elongated apertures for receiving screws for fastening to the wall and the floor drain. Hereby it is possible to perform adjusting of the position of the floor drain, irrespectively of lesser warpage in the walls. Thus it becomes possible to position the drain in a secure way so that correct slope is provided in the drain itself, and so that it is disposed correctly relative to the surrounding floor in which it is embedded.
According to a further embodiment, the method according to the invention is peculiar in that the mounting fitting is fastened inside the floor drain and preferably at the bottom of the floor drain. Hereby, there will be no parts of the mounting fitting that may encumber a correct casting. After casting of the floor, it is easy to get access to the interior of the drain bowl, and therefore it will be easy to dismount the mounting fitting.
According to a further embodiment, the combination of a floor drain and mounting fittings according to the invention is peculiar in that the mounting fitting is made of a sheet with bent end parts at the ends of a central plate-shaped support part. Such a plate-shaped fitting is very simple to make. This may be effected by bending the end parts and punching the required holes for receiving screws, rivets or similar.
According to a further embodiment, the combination of a floor drain and mounting fittings according to the invention is peculiar in that the contact faces are disposed at an angel of 90° relative to the central support part. The fittings will be simple to use for drain bowls where the fitting is fastened to a plane bottom and to a vertical wall. Alternatively, there may also be used fittings where the end parts are disposed under another angle. It may, for example, be advantageous by mounting a floor drain in a corner and where it may be easier to screw the fitting on if the central support part forms a greater angle with the end parts where the screws pass through the apertures.
According to a further embodiment, the combination of a floor drain and mounting fittings according to the invention is peculiar in that the mounting fitting is provided with elongated apertures in the contact faces for adjustable receiving screws which are screwed into the wall and into threaded bushings in the floor drain. This provides flexible mounting and ensures correct positioning, irrespective of any misalignments in the building.
According to a further embodiment, the combination of a floor drain and mounting fittings according to the invention is peculiar in that it includes screws interacting with threaded tubular rivets in the floor drain and screw holes or Rawlplugs in the wall. Hereby is achieved a simple construction and it is possible to use the same type of screws for mounting in the wall and in the tubular rivets.

Description of the Drawing

The invention is now explained more closely in connection with the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1: shows a perspective view of a floor drain with two mounting fitting according to the invention;
Fig. 2: shows a sectional view through the floor drain shown in Figs. 1 and 3;
Fig. 3: shows a view of the floor drain shown in Fig. 1, as seen from above; and
Figs. 4-6: show three side views of a mounting fitting for the floor drain shown in Fig. 1.

Detailed description of the invention

Figs. 1 - 3 show a floor drain in the shape of an oblong drain bowl 1. In this drain bowl 1 there may be fitted an inner bowl and/or a grating. The drain bowl 1 has an inner part 2 surrounded by a flange 3 which is made integral with the drain bowl 1 and formed by a rim area at the upper edge 4 of the drain bowl. The flange 3 is formed externally at the outer side 5 of the drain bowl 1. Integrated anchor means (not shown) may be formed in the flange 3, arranged to be bent out from the plane of the flange with the intention of retaining the drain bowl in the embedded condition in a cast floor, the surface of which flushing with the flange 3.
At the bottom 6 of the drain bowl, there are mounted threaded tubular rivets 7 which do not cause leakage in the bottom 6. The bottom 6 slopes slightly to the left, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3. At the lower end 8 of the bottom 6, a drain stub 9 is provided, used for connecting the floor drain with other drain pipes/installations.
The mounting fitting 10 is mounted detachably by means of screws 11 passing through oblong apertures 17 (see Fig. 4) in the mounting fitting and screwed into the tubular rivets 7. A contact surface 14 (see Fig. 4) hereby comes into contact with the surface 20 of the bottom 6.
In Figs. 4 - 6 appear more detailed views of the mounting fitting 10. It is made of a sheet and includes a central support part 12 and a first bent end part 13 with a contact face 14 for contacting the bottom 6 of the drain bowl and a second bent end part 15 with contact face 16 for bearing against a wall (not shown).
In the first bent end part 13 there is an elongated aperture 17 for receiving the screws 11 used for fastening the mounting fitting to the drain bowl 1.
In the second end part 15 there is provided an elongated aperture 18 for receiving screws (not shown) used for fastening the mounting fitting to a wall. Furthermore, there is also formed a further round aperture 19 for receiving a further screw to ensure retaining the drain bowl against the forces to which it is exposed during casting of a floor.
The end parts 13, 15 are bent with an angle of 90° relative to the central support part.
The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown and described above in the Figures. Other embodiments with other shapes of the mounting fitting may be envisaged within the scope of this invention and the subsequent claims.

Claims

A method of mounting a floor drain (1) having mounting fittings (10), wherein the floor drain (1) is placed in its position before casting a floor; the floor drain (1) is fastened with the mounting fittings (10) before casting the floor to a sidewall in a room where the floor drain (1) is placed in order to be fixed during casting of the floor, whereby the mounting fittings (10) are detachable mounting fittings, each fitting including a central support part (12) which at each end has a contact face (14, 16) contacting against the side wall and the floor drain (1) respectively, each contact face (14, 16) being provided with apertures (17, 18, 19) receiving a releasable fastening means (11) which interact with corresponding fastening means in the side wall and the floor drain (1); and the mounting fittings (10) are dismounted after the floor has been cast and is hardened.
Method according to claim 1, characterised in that for each mounting fitting on the floor drain, one or more threaded bushings are mounted in the floor drain, and that the mounting fitting is screwed into the threaded bushings and screwed to the wall.
Method according to claim 2, characterised in that tubular rivets are used for threaded bushings.
Method according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the mounting fitting includes elongated apertures for receiving screws for fastening to the wall and the floor drain.
Method according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the mounting fitting is fastened inside the floor drain, and preferably at the bottom of the floor drain.
A floor drain (1) having mounting fittings (10), the floor drain (1) being mountable in its position before casting a floor and fastenable with the mounting fittings (10) before casting the floor to a sidewall in a room where the floor drain (1) is placed in order to be fixed during casting of the floor, characterised in that each mounting fitting (10) includes a central support part (12) which at each end has a contact face (14, 16) for contact against the side wall and the floor drain (1) respectively, that each contact face (14, 16) is provided with apertures (17, 18, 19) for receiving a releasable fastening means (11) which is adapted to interact with corresponding fastening means in the side wall and the floor drain (1).
Floor drain according to claim 6, characterised in that the mounting fitting is made of a plate with bent end parts at the ends of a central plate-shaped support part.
Floor drain according to claim 6 or 7, characterised in that the contact faces are disposed under an angle of 90° relative to the central support part.
Floor drain according to claim 6, 7 or 8, characterised in that the mounting fitting is provided with elongated apertures in the contact faces for adjustable receiving screws which are screwed into the wall and into threaded bushings in the floor drain.
Floor drain according to any of claims 6 -9, characterised in that it includes screws interacting with threaded tubular rivets in the floor drain and screw holes or Rawlplugs in the wall.