GB2462623A

GB2462623A - Plumbing accessory container and method for use

Info

Publication number: GB2462623A
Application number: GB0814790A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Padraig Cunningham
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-08-13
Filing date: 2008-08-13
Publication date: 2010-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 2028-08-13
Also published as: GB0814790D0; GB2462623B

Abstract

A container 1 with means of supporting the container from a pipe 2, the means being distributed along the pipe 2 in use, in order to hold the mouth M of the container beneath the pipe 2 so as to catch escaping water. Preferably the container is a bag made of flexible plastics material which could be provided with two or more flaps F1, F2; F3, F4 and preferably at least two spaced apart pairs of mutually opposed flaps at each end of its mouth M which are used to suspend the bag with its mouth open beneath a length of underfloor pipe 2. The flaps of each pair might be provided with surface portions of fastening material, such as adhesive or a hook and loop material, to loop the flaps over the pipe and join them above the pipe to form a sling which holds the mouth open beneath the pipe. In a preferable embodiment, a slit bag possibly comprising an attachment portion of adhesive tape is sealed around a vertical water pipe. Means for closing the mouth after use might be provided. A method for using the container is also disclosed.

Description

Plumbing accessory and method for preventing spillage The present invention relates to a plumbing accessory and method.

It is frequently necessary to perform plumbing operations on underfloor water pipes, eg forming part of a central heating system, necessitating either draining the central heating system or running the risk of leakage and hence water damage to the surrounding area, eg a ceiling of a room below the floor.

Because of the restricted space beneath the floorboards of a typical installation, it is often not feasible to rest a tray beneath the water pipe to catch leaks, still less to lift the tray, without spillage, out from beneath the pipe and floorboards after the operation has been completed.

Particular spillage problems arise when the water pipe is substantially vertical, especially when connecting or disconnecting a radiator.near floor level.

An object of the present invention is to overcome or alleviate such problems.

In one aspect the invention provides an open container for catching water escaping from a length of pipe, the container being provided with means for supporting the container from the length of pipe, the supporting means being distributed along the pipe in use so as to hold the mouth of the container in position beneath the pipe.

Hence the mouth of the container does not move significantly as water escaping from the pipe spills into the container.

In one preferred embodiment, intended to be used with a substantially horizontal pipe, the supporting means is distributed along the mouth of the container, eg as two or more flaps which can be looped over spaced-apart regions of the pipe. This provides a simple and stable arrangement.

The container can be made in any suitable shape (eg shallow and elongate) so as to be easily fitted through the floor opening and in preferred embodiments is in the form of a bag of flexible material.

Preferably each loop portion comprises a pair of mutually opposed flaps having free ends which in use can be joined together above the length of pipe. After use, the flaps can be separated or cut to enable the container and its water contents to be lifted free of the pipe through the floor opening.

Preferably the flaps of each pair are provided with one or more areas of fastening material for joining the flaps into a loop. The fastening material may for example be a contact adhesive (particularly if the container is intended to be disposable after a single use) or may for example be hook-and-loop material such as VELCRO (RTM).

The container as defined above can be used in a method of protecting the region beneath an underfloor water pipe against water damage during a plumbing operation wherein the container is introduced through a floor opening into a space beneath the water pipe and slung beneath the water pipe so as to catch water which escapes during the plumbing operation.

In another preferred embodiment intended to be used with substantially vertical lengths of pipe (eg extending upwardly through a floor to a radiator) the container has an attachment region in a sidewall at the lower end of a downwardly-extending slit the facing edges of the slit being arranged in use to be attachable around one side of the pipe so as to support the open mouth at the other side of the pipe.

The attachment region is suitably constituted by a portion of adhesive tape which preferably extends along the slit to enable the facing edges of the slit to be attached around the pipe.

The above embodiment can be used in a method of protecting the region around a substantially vertical water pipe against water damage during a plumbing operation wherein the container is secured at its attachment region to the pipe to catch escaping water in the mouth of the container.

Preferred features of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below by way of example only with reference to Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic sketch perspective view of a container in accordance with the invention in position beneath an underfloor water pipe; Figure 2 is a plan view of the container of Figure 1 with its flaps spread out; Figure 3 is an end elevation, partly in section, showing the attachment of the left-hand pair of flaps in the arrangement of Figure 1 over the water pipe, and Figure 4 is a diagrammatic sketch perspective view of a further container in accordance with the invention in use with a vertical radiator water pipe.

Referring to Figure 1, the installation shown comprises a floor 3 with a somewhat irregular opening 4 formed therein. A central heating pipe 2 runs horizontally in the space between the floor 3 and the ceiling 5 of a room in the storey below.

A flexible bag 1 of plastics material eg clear polyethylene is passed through opening 4 into the space beneath a length of the pipe 2 where a plumbing operation, eg involving cutting the pipe at C, is to be performed. In the position shown in Figure 1, two opposite flaps Fl and F2 at one end of the open mouth M of the bag are disposed on opposite sides of the pipe and similarly two opposite flaps F3 and F4 at the opposite end of the open mouth M are also disposed on opposite sides of the pipe.

The flaps each have two areas of contact adhesive 6 at their free ends and at their root portions as shown in plan view in Figure 2, which also shows that the bag is elongate in the direction of the pipe.

As shown in Figure 3, the opposite flaps Fl and F2 are then brought together around the pipe 2 so that adhesive portions 7 make contact below the pipe 2 and adhesive portions 6 make contact above the pipe. A similar loop is formed at the other end of the pipe by flaps F3 and F4. The resulting arrangement holds the mouth M of the bag open immediately below the pipe 2 and ensures that water escaping from cut C (Figure 1) is caught by the bag, as indicated at W (Figures 1 and 2).

Optionally, the mouth M of the bag 1 could be provided with a sealing arrangement such as a band of waterproof adhesive or a conventional mechanical sealing strip in order to prevent spillage when the bag is detached from the pipe 2 (if necessary by cutting the flap assemblies) and lifted with its water contents W out of opening 4.

The bag can be made sufficiently cheaply for it to be disposable after use.

Figure 4 shows another preferred embodiment wherein a flexible polyethylene bag 1' is attached to a vertical radiator pipe 2' at an attachment region P by a length of waterproof adhesive tape T on the exterior of the bag which extends along a slit S formed in the sidewall of the bag. The length of tape T joins two facing edges El and E2 of the slit so that the slit is substantially sealed around the right-hand side of the pipe and the mouth M of the bag is held open on the left-hand side of the pipe.

In use, as water W spills into the bag from pipe 2', the bag tilts anticlockwise under the weight of the water about attachment region P until the tape T extending along slit S bears against the right-hand side of the pipe 2' to form a support which is distributed vertically along the pipe. Accordingly the mouth M is held in a stable fashion and continues to catch water escaping from the pipe.

Claims

Claims 1. An open container for catching water escaping from a length of pipe, the container being provided with means for supporting the container from the length of pipe, the supporting means being distributed along the pipe in use so as to hold the mouth of the container in position beneath the pipe.
2. A container according to claim 1 wherein the supporting means comprises two or more flaps which can be looped over spaced-apart regions of the pipe.
3. A container according to claim 2 wherein said supporting means comprises at least two spaced apart pairs of mutually opposed flaps having free ends which in use can be joined together above the length of pipe.
4. A container according to claim 3 wherein the flaps of each pair are provided with one or more areas of fastening material for joining the flaps into a loop.
5. A container according to claim 4 wherein the fastening material is a contact adhesive.
6. A container according to claim 4 wherein the fastening material is hook-and-loop material.
7. A container according to claim 1 which has an attachment region in a sidewall at the lower end of a downwardly-extending slit, the facing edges of the slit being arranged in use to be attachable around one side of the pipe so as to support the open mouth at the other side of the pipe.
8. A container according to claim 7 wherein the attachment region is constituted by a portion of adhesive tape which extends along the slit to enable the facing edges of the slit to be attached around the pipe.
9. A container according to any preceding claim which is in the form of a bag of flexible material.
10. A container according to any preceding claim which is provided with means for closing the mouth after use.
11. A method of protecting the region beneath an underfloor water pipe against water damage during a plumbing operation wherein an open container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 or claim 9 as dependent upon any of claims 1 to 6 is introduced through a floor opening into a space beneath the water pipe and slung beneath the water pipe so as to catch water which escapes during the plumbing operation.
12. A method according to claim 11 wherein the container is disposed of after use.
13. A method of protecting the region around a substantially vertical water pipe against water damage during a plumbing operation wherein a container as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8 or claim 9 as dependent upon claim 7 or claim 8 is secured at its attachment region to the pipe to catch escaping water in the mouth of the container.
14. A container for catching water leaking from a pipe, the container being substantially as described hereinabove with reference to Figures 1 to 3 or 4 of the accompanying drawings.
15. A method of protecting the region beneath an underfloor water pipe against water damage during a plumbing operation, the method being substantially as described hereinabove with reference to Figures 1 to 3 or 4 of the accompanying drawings.