US2273480A

US2273480A - Drain plug

Info

Publication number: US2273480A
Application number: US354352A
Authority: US
Inventors: Yates George
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1940-08-27
Filing date: 1940-08-27
Publication date: 1942-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 1959-02-17

Description

G. YATES DRAIN PLUG Feb. 17, 1942.

INVOR. Qeozfje irai/eww Filed Aug. 27, 1940 l v AITORNEY.

t Patented Feb. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRAIN PLUG George Yates, Glendale, Calif. f

Application August 27, 1940, Serial No. 354,352

1 Claim.

This invention relates to Stoppers for laundry tubs and the like.

Customarily, Stoppers of this nature intended to close the drain of a tub consist of a piece of rubber or other material of frusto-conical conguration which are simply placed inthe opening of the drain and prevent passage of water therethrough. These stoppers are easily dislodged when the tub is in use by engagement of the contents of the tub with the ring of the stopper. As it is difficult and annoying to fre* quently replace the stopper in a tub full of hot water and clothing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a drain plug which is not readily displaceable.

' It is a further object of this invention to prolvide a plug which will effectively seal the drain.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a plug which is adaptable to existing types of drains and to drains of different sizes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a plug of this nature which may be readily inserted or removed.

This invention possesses many other advantages and has other objects which may be made more easily apparent from a consideration of one embodiment of the invention. For this purpose there is shown a form in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the present specicaton. This form will now be described in detail, illustrating the general principle of the invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is best deiined by the appended claim.

Referring now to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a device embodying the present invention in place in a drain, the drain being in section;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan viewof the drain and plug of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of the device shown in Figure l with the parts in one position of operation; and,

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing the parts in a different position of operation.

The present invention contemplates the provision of an expansible plug, which can be made to securely fit a drain, and which does not depend upon the taper of the drain for sealing. To this end, the form of the invention shown in the drawing includes a resilient ring which is deformable by relative movement betweeny other parts of the device for effecting a circumferentially continuous seal with the side walls of a drain.

The device shown includes a cylindrical body portion I0 having at its lower end an annular flange I I. Above the cylindrical body portion I is a second flange I2, and means is provided to adjustably vary the gap between the two flanges. This is accomplished by the provision of a shank I3 adjustably threaded through the upper end IDa of the cylindrical body portion III. The shank is rotatably mounted in a bore in the flange, and provided with a shoulder` I4, bearing against the upper side of the flange I2. A suitable handle I5 is provided on the upper end of the shank I3 for grasping and for rotating the shank. In order to facilitate relative rotational movement between the shank and the body portion, the lower face of the body portion is provided with lingers I6 for engaging the screen or grid I'I in the drain D.

Between the two flanges, and surrounding and held in position by the cylindrical body portion III, is a resilient ring I8 of rubber or the like, of such size as to be capable of expansion into contact with the walls of the drain upon movement of the flanges II and I2 toward each other. The whole assembly is prevented from coming apart by the provision of a washer I9 on the end of the threaded shank I3. It has been found convenient to form the ports of the device from` plastic material, which permits the bonding of the washer to the shank by acetone or the like.

The device, as described to this point, can readily be used, but requires considerable turning of the handle I5 to expand the ring to form a satisfactory seal. In order to facilitate the engagement of the rubber ring with the walls of the drain, the facing sides of the flanges II and I2` are tapered as shown in Figure 3, while the resilient ring is made rectangular in cross-section. With such a construction, approach of the lianges towards each other causes the ring to bulge, rather than to expand, as shown in Figure 4, which deformation is achieved with considerably less work being performed on the rubber ring. This bulging also makes the contact with the drain of the nature of a line contact, which is much easier to make continuous than a wider contact, and consequently less likely to leak under the slight pressure encountered in structures of this nature.

It is to be understood, of course, that variations in the construction may be practiced without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claim. For instance, it

cylindrical body having a flange secured to one end thereof, a second flange, a member rotatable in said second flange and threadedly engaging the cylindrical body, said member having a shoulder engaging the second flange to move said second flange toward the rst mentioned flange upon rotation of the threaded member in said cylindrical body, and a resilient ring surrounding the cylindrical body between the flanges.

GEORGE YATES`