GB2281112A

GB2281112A - Drain cleaner

Info

Publication number: GB2281112A
Application number: GB9416302A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Murray Barclay Campbell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-08-14
Filing date: 1994-08-12
Publication date: 1995-02-22
Also published as: AU6899894A; GB9416302D0; GB2281112A8

Abstract

A drain cleaning device has a flexible shaft 3 one end of which is connected to a handle 1. The other (distal) end of the shaft is provided with a series of wire tufts 5 which point back towards the handle end of the shaft. The distal end of the shaft can be formed into a swage. The shaft may be formed of stranded metal wire of a heavier gauge than the wire forming the tufts and the two may be secured together by crimping. The device may be used to remove fibrous blockages, e.g. hair, from sink and shower waste pipes. <IMAGE>

Description

A WASTE PIPE CLEANING DEVICE This invention relates to a device for cleaning drainage outlets.

Plumbing and drainage discharge outlets are generally provided in hand basins, baths, shower trays and the like (herein liquid containers) so that accumulated water can be discharged through the outlet. Such discharge outlets generally comprise a hole in or adjacent the floor of the container which leads to a suitable waste pipe connected to the sewerage system. The discharge outlet generally also includes a grate/grill to minimise the likelihood of large objects entering into the sewerage system. Generally the waste pipe also includes an S trap or a P trap which is positioned substantially immediately below the discharge outlet for the purpose of trapping a column of water to prevent the return of air and gases through the waste pipe into the container.

In order than an adequate flow can be maintained through the discharge outlet and through the waste pipe attached to the discharge outlet it is necessary to provide an appropriate fall in the pipe. If the fall and thus the flow is sufficient then material suspended in the flow of water will generally be flushed away.

In certain situations it is not possible to obtain the ideal fall in the waste pipe. For instance, the waste pipe from a shower can be so located that the fall in the waste pipe is comparatively shallow and as a result the flow of water through the discharge outlet and through the waste pipe is insufficient to prevent hair and other debris from settling in and being caught in the discharge outlet or in or below the trap. The build up of such debris can eventually lead to blockages. Another problem that can arise with discharge outlets, particularly discharge outlets from showers is that access to the trap under the outlet can be difficult and direct access to a blockage often cannot be obtained.

Blockages in waste pipes can sometimes be cured by means of a plunger which is operated in a manner that alternating pressure and vacuum pulses are sent down the waste pipe so that the debris forming the blockage is loosened to enable the debris to be flushed down the waste pipe. However particularly in the case of discharge outlets from showers, such a method of clearing the blockage is often unsatisfactory because the debris forming the blockage is liable to contain a substantial amount of fibrous matter and this will resist traditional methods of clearing the blockage.

It is also known to use wire or a metallic strap or the like which is inserted through the discharge outlet into the waste pipe with the intention of breaking up the debris forming the blockage and pushing it down through the waste pipe. In another form, the end of the wire or strap is provided with a hook with the intention being that the hook is passed through or partly through with debris and is then withdrawn and during the withdrawal the hook will snag the debris so it can be withdrawn up through the discharge outlet. Such a method is also unreliable because of the difficulty of satisfactorily ensnaring the material forming the obstruction. A further disadvantage with such devices is that the use of excessive force can result in damage to the trap or to the pipe which are commonly made of a plastics material.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved means for clearing a blockage from or adjacent to a discharge outlet.

Accordingly one form of the invention may be said to comprise a drain cleaning device comprising a handle, a flexible shaft having one end attached to the handle and having the distal end formed to provide a series of tufts which face towards the said handle.

Preferably the shaft is formed of a flexible resilient stranded metallic wire.

Preferably the tufts are of a finer gauge than the wire forming the shaft.

Preferably the drain cleaning device includes a swage having a bore into which distal end of the shaft is anchored and the said tufts are formed by entrapment of a multi stranded wire within the bore of the swage.

In another form, the invention may be said to comprise a method of producing a drain cleaning device which comprises a handle, a flexible shaft having one end attached to the handle and having the distal end terminated in a swage and wherein a series of tufts project from said swage and face towards the said handle, said tufts being formed by inserting a multi stranded wire through the bore of the swage to project out through the other end of the swage and wherein the distal end of the said shaft is inserted through the said tufts into the bore of the swage and the swage is crimped to lock the said distal end of the shaft and the said tufts to the swage.

Preferred forms of the invention will now be described with the aid of the accompanying drawings herein: Fig. 1 indicates one form of the device according to this invention; and Fig. 2 is a part sectional view indicating a method of use of the device; and Fig. 3 is a view of the device inserted through the discharge outlet.

Referring to the drawings, the device as shown particularly in Fig. 1 comprises a handle portion 1 which can be formed for instance of wire or a metallic rod which is suitably bent or it may be formed from a plastics material and may be of the form as indicated in Fig. 1 or can be of any other suitable shape or size as required. If the handle 1 is formed from metallic wire as indicated then the ends of the handle are locked into a junction member 2. One end of a flexible shaft 3 which is preferably formed from a flexible resilient stranded non corrodible metal wire is anchored in the junction member 2. While the shaft is preferably formed from a high grade galvanised wire it can also be formed for instance of stainless steel or other suitable material. Other forms of shaft may also include a stranded or helically wound wire, or a band.The distal end of the shaft 3 terminates in a swage 4.

A plurality of tufts 5 which face backwardly towards the handle 1 project from the swage 4. One suitable method of forming the tufts would entail pressing several groups of fine twisted wire between the shaft 3 and the swage 4. For this purpose the swage can conveniently be a sleeve or a ferrule and the end of a multi stranded wire of appropriate gauge and tensile strength is inserted through the bore in one end of the swage to project out through the other end of the swage to form the tufts. The distal end of the shaft is then passed through the tufts into the bore to project through the bore and out the distal end of the swage. The swage is then crimped to lock the tufts and the distal end of the swage is trimmed to form the leading end of the swage.Preferably the leading end of the swage is rounded or bevelled so the swage will pass comparatively easily through or partly through any debris 9 in the waste pipe 10.

In operation the device is held so the swage 4 can be passed through an opening in the grate/grill 7 of the discharge outlet. The device is manipulated so the swage 4 will move into the trap 8 as shown in Fig 2 and when the operator considers the swage has passed through or partly through the obstruction, the device is withdrawn from the waste pipe. Prior to withdrawal the device can be rotated or partly rotated to ensure debris is firmly caught on the tufts 5. Because of the shape and nature of the tufts, debris 9 particularly if the debris contains fibrous matter such as hair, will be caught in the tufts.

Since the diameter of the swage is smaller than the openings in the grate/grill 7, the fibrous mass causing the obstruction can be pulled up through the grate/grill 7 of the discharge outlet.

Because the shaft is flexible, it is possible to manoeuvre the swage 4 through or partly through an S or P trap as required.

Modifications and improvements to the preferred forms of the invention disclosed and described herein may occur to those skilled in the art who come to understand the principle of the invention. Accordingly the scope of the patent to be issued herein is not intended to be limited solely to the embodiments of the invention set forth herein but rather should be limited only by the advance by which the invention has promoted the art as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A drain cleaning device comprising a handle, a flexible shaft having one end attached to the handle and having at its distal end a series of tufts which face towards the said handle.

2. The drain cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the shaft is formed of a flexible resilient stranded metallic wire.

3. The drain cleaning device of claim 2, wherein the said tufts are of a finer gauge than the wire forming the said shaft.

4. The drain cleaning device of claim 3, wherein the distal end of the shaft terminates in a swage and wherein the said tufts are formed by entrapment of a multi stranded wire in the swage.

5. A method of producing a drain cleaning device which comprises a handle, a flexible shaft having one end attached to the handle and having the distal end terminated in a swage and wherein a series of tufts project from said swage and face towards the said handle, said tufts being formed by inserting a multi stranded wire through the bore of the swage to project out through the other end of the swage and wherein the distal end of the said shaft is inserted through the said tufts into the bore of the swage and the swage is crimped to lock the said distal end of the shaft and the said tufts to the swage.

6. A drain cleaning device substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.