US3104400A

US3104400A - Strainer fitting with stopper

Info

Publication number: US3104400A
Application number: US760232A
Authority: US
Inventors: George H Lantz; Martin E Drobilits
Original assignee: Sterling Faucet Co
Current assignee: Sterling Faucet Co
Priority date: 1958-09-10
Filing date: 1958-09-10
Publication date: 1963-09-24
Anticipated expiration: 1980-09-24

Description

Sept. 24,

Filed Sept. 10. 1958 Fig.2

G. H. LAN-r2 ETAL' STRAINER FITTING WITH STOPPER 2 Sheets-Sheet l HIIIPIWHTIT 40 lnim-lllllllllli INVENTORS. George H. Lanrz Mar/m E. Drobi/ifs THE IR A TTORNE YS Sept. 24, 1963 s. H. LANTZ ETAL STRAINER FITTING WITH STOPPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' Filed Sept. 10. 1958 INVENTORS. George H. Lan{z Mari II E. Droblllfs zmfiMrw THE IR A T TORNE Y5 djd' ifidd Patented Sept. 24, 1963 3,104,400 STRAKNER FITTING WITH STUPPER George H. Lantz, and -Martin E. Drohiiits, Morgantown,

W. Va., assignors to Steriiug Faucet Company, Morgantown, W. Va, a corporation of West Virginia Filed Sept. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 760,232 8 Claims. (Cl. 4287) This invention relates to a discharge drain assembly or fitting and more particularly, to a drain assembly mountable in a discharge outlet of a sink and providing a strainer fitting with a strainer-stopper assembly cooperatable therewith.

A disadvantage encountered with known types of drain and stopper assemblies is the diflioulty of installation. In the known types of drain or stopper assemblies, the drain body, having a radially-outwardly-flanged sidewall portion, is inserted through a drain orifice in the bottom of the sink and is retained therein by a ring not which is threaded on the external wall of the drain body and tightened against the under surface of the sink bottom. This type of installation requires the use of a large wrench to encompass the ring nut, which wrench must be utilized in the cramped quarters of a base cabinet under the sink. The problem of tightening the ring nut becomes more acute when there are other plumbing fixtures under the sink, such as a double drain or food disposal unit.

A similar problem is encountered with these known types of drain and stopper assemblies when attaching the drain pipe to the bottom of the drain body. Here again, it is necessary to use a rather large wrench in cramped quarters in order to tighten the pipe-connecting nut.

Since both the ring nut and the pipe-connecting nut are applied directly to tne drain body in these known constructions, it is necessary to form the drain body out of a heavy gauge material so that it may be threaded. Not only does this entail the use of costly gauge metal, but also involves expensive threading operations.

An object of our invention has been to provide a solution to the problems above enumerated;

An additional object of our invention has been to provide means for installing a drain body within a discharge orifice of a sink and for connecting it to a drain pipe with the use of only a screwdriver;

A still further object of our invention has been to devise an unthreaded smooth-surfaced drain body mem ber of thin gauge metal which may be mounted within a discharge orifice of a sink and connected to a drain pipe without necessitating the use of a ring nut or connecting nut threaded thereon;

These and the object of simplifying the installation and servicing of a drain fitting will appear to those skilled in the art from the following description and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded assembly in elevation, partially in section, showing an embodiment of our strainerstopper assembly;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded assembly in elevation, partially in section, of a drain body mounting portion embodying our invention;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation, partially insection, showing the drain body mounting portion in an assembled position connected to a sink and a drain pipe; and

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view of a retainer ring incorporated within our invention.

The drain and stopper construction of FIGURE 1 and its operative utilization have been fully described, using the same reference numerals, in our Patent No. 3,027,569. It will be noted that the claims of this patent deal with a drain stopper assembly and that its application was filed as a result of a requirement to restrict with reference to claims of the present application.

Referring now to the drain body mounting assembly as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, a drain body member 31 is formed with a cylindrical sidewall portion 32 which terminates in a radially-outwardly-fiared upper portion or annular flange 33. The annular flange 33 is adapted to seat in a recess R surrounding an outlet or discharge portion in the bottom of a vessel or sink S. The cylindrical sidewall portion 32 curves inwardly at its lower end and terminates in a discharge end or tailpiece portion 34 of reduced diameter. A cylindrical or annular seating surface 35, adapted to receive the inverted frustro-conical wall portion 29 of stopper 19, is formed in tailpiece portion 34 adjacent the bottom of the cylindrical sidewall portions 32. A rounded edge orshoulcler portion 35 at the inwardly-curved lower end of the sidewall portion 32, surrounds the seating surface 35 and provides a supporting surface for the adjustable feet 22 when the stopper is in its open position. It will be noted that bowl wall 32 of the one-piece, relatively thinwall, drain body member 31 defines the inwardly-offset shoulder 35 with tailpiece Wall 34, and that an outer seating recess for the hollow retainer member 43 is defined by the peripherally spaced and radially-outwardlyoifset wall portions of the tailpiece wall that define latch lugs 36 and latch lug bypassing spaces therebetween. it Will also be noted that the latch lugs 36 are adjacent to and spaced downwardly from the shoulder 35.

A plurality of outwardly-expanded lugs 36 are formed in the tailpiece portion 34 below the seating surface 35. The bottom of the drain body 31 is provided with cross bars 37 which form a secondary or safety strainer for the discharge openings 38 formed in the bottom thereof. The internal surface 32 of the cylindrical wall portion 32 is of a greater diameter thanthe external diameter of the outwardly-flared portion 15' of strainer basket 14, so that the strainer basket 14 does not frictionally engage the drain body 31. A plurality of internal. recessed portions 36' are formed by the outwardly-expanded lugs 36.

An annular pad Washer 46, made of resilient material, is adapted to circumscribe the cylindrical sidewall portions 32 of the drain body 31 and engage the underside of the sink S. An annular pressure ring 41, made of corrosion-resistant material, has an annular groove 42 formed in the underside thereof. The pressure ring 41 is adapted to circumscribe the cylindrical wall portion 32 of the drain body 31 and engage the pad washer 40.

A retainer member 43 has a hollow cylindrical body portion 44 and is provided with a plurality of bosses 45 having threaded bores 46 axially disposed toward and in radial alignment with the annular groove 42 within pressure ring 41. The bosses are connected to the cylindrical body portion 44 by means of horizontal web or wing flanges 47 and reinforcing and strengthening vertical web or wing flanges 48. The hollow cylindrical body portion 44 is provided with an annular flange 49 extending radially-inwardly adjacent the top thereof. The annular flange 49 is provided with a plurality of radiallyrecessed lug entrance portions 50 adapted to receive the lugs 36 formed on tailpiece portion 34 (see FIGURE 4). A plurality of axially recessed lug retainer portions 51 are formed in the annular flange 49 arcuately spaced from the lug entrance portions 50. The hollow cylindrical body portion 44 is provided with an internallythreaded portion 52 extending upwardly to the annular flange 49. A set screw 53, externally threaded at 54 over its entire length, is provided in each internally threaded bore 46 of the bosses 45. Each set screw 53 is provided with a slot 55 to receive a head of a screwdriver.

A pipe-connecting nut or member 56 has an externallythreaded portion 57 adapted to be engaged within the hollow cylindrical body portion 44 by internally-threaded portion 52. The connecting member 55 is provided with a plurality of spaced-apart tightening lugs 58 (see FIGURES 2 and 3) circumscribing the outer periphery of the nut below the threaded portion 57. The tightening lugs are of suflicient radial depth and have recessed portions 53a therebetween to permit their being engaged by the head of a screwdriver so as to tighten the nut within the retainer member. The connecting nut 56 has an annular radially-inwardly-extending flange portion 59 adapted to receive an outwardly-flanged portion F on the end of a drain pipe P. An expanded-out portion 6!) permits the member '56 to be tightened within the hollow cylindrical body portion 44 without interferring with the tailpiece portion 34 of body member 31.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that the drain body portion may be mounted within a discharge orifice in the bottom of a sink and connected to a drain pipe without the use of a wrench and by merely utilizing a screwdriver. The drain body 31 is placed downwardly in the orifice of the sink S, so that the annular flange 33 contacts the recess R within the bottom of the sink. The pad washer 40 and pressure ring 41 are then slid upwardly over the cylindrical sidewall portion 32 of body 31, and the retainer member is oriented so that the lug entrance portions '50 receive the lugs 36, as the retainer is slid upwardly on the tailpiece portion 34. The retainer member 43 is then rotated in either direction, and the lugs 36 will engage the retainer portions 51, as shown in FIGURE 3. The set screws 53, threaded into internally-threaded bore 46 of the bosses 45, are then received by the annular groove 42 and tightened in compression against the bottom of the pressure ring 41. This operation is easily accomplished by merely screwing the screws upwardly by a screwdriver. When in its tightened position, the body 31 is pulled downwardly, so that the annular flange 33 is held tightly against the recessed portion R of the sink S by means of the retainer portions 51 which impart a downward force on the lugs 36. The pressure ring 41 is designed to provide a uniform load to the pad washer 44} which is in contact with the under surfaces of the sink S. The pressure ring is loaded in compression by the screws 53 to secure the sealing pressure between the sink S and body 31.

A drain pipe or tailpiece pipe P having an outward annular flange portion F is then secured to the bottom of the tailpiece portion 34 by means of connecting member 56. The pipe P is slid through the connecting member 56, so that the annular flange P will rest on the flared portion 59. The sealing washer 39 is then positioned on top of the flange F. The connecting member 56 is threaded into the hollow body portion 44 of the retainer member 43 by means of mating threaded

portions

52 and 57. The member 56 is tightened within the body portion 44 by means of the radially-extending lugs 58. The lugs 58 are positioned circumferentially about the outer periphery of the member 56, so that the head of a screwdriver may be positioned within a recessed portion 58a and against a selected lug. The end of the screwdriver is then tapped with the palm of the hand, in order to rotate the connecting member. This procedure is repeated until the member has been tightened to provide a water-tight seal between the pipe P and tailpiece portion 34.

While the form of the invention here shown and described embraces our now preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that various changes may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A strainer fitting comprising a cup-shaped receptacle and tail piece, an annular flange formed at the upper edge of said cup-shaped receptacle for overlapping engagement with the edge of the waste outlet of a sink, a plurality of spaced lugs extending outwardly adjacent to the junction of said cup-shaped receptacle and said tail piece, a lower clamping ring encircling said cupshaped receptacle and tail piece assembly adjacent to said junction, said lower clamping ring being formed to provide inwardly directed indentations conforming with said lugs to provide a separable securing means of the lower clamping ring with said assembly adapted to permit the lower clamping ring to be engaged with said assembly by sliding said lower clamping ring upwardly with said lugs in alignment with said indentations and turning said lower clamping ring to a portion in whichsaid lugs are out of register with said indentations, an upper clamping ring encircling and slidably engaging said cup-shaped receptacle and tightening means connecting said lower clamping ring and said upper clamping ring to cause the edge of the waste outlet of the sink to be clamped between said annular flange and upper clamping ring, a basket disposed in said cup U shaped receptacle and means for maintaining said basket alternatively in a position in which it blocks the conneotion between said receptacle and said tail piece and in a position in which it permits filtered liquid to flow from said receptacle into said tail piece.

2. A strainer'fittlng as in claim 1 in which said 7 piece is permanently secured to said receptacle.

3. A strainer fitting as in claim 1 in which said tightening means comprises a plurality of bolts threadably engaging said lower clamping ring and bearing on said upper clamping ring.

4. A strainer fitting as in claim 3 in which said upper clamping ring is formed to provide downwardly facing recess means to receive the upper ends of said bolts.

5. A strainer fitting as in claim 1 in which an annular sealing ring is interposed between the upper surface of said upper clamping ring and the edge of the waste outlet of said sink.

6. A fitting for the waste outlet of a sink comprising cup-shaped receptacle and tail piece, said tail piece having a substantially tubular wall of reduced diameter connected by an offset shoulder to said receptacle and projecting downwardly therefrom, an annular flange formed at the upper edge of said cup-shaped receptacle for overlapping engagement with the edge of the waste outlet of a sink, a plural tiy of spaced lugs extending outwardly adjacent to the junction of said cup-shaped receptacle and said tail piece, a lower clamping ring encircling said cup-shaped receptacle and tail piece assembly adjacent to said shoulder junction, said lower clamping ring being formed to provide inwardly directed indentations conforming with said lugs to provide a separable securing means of the lower clamping ring with said assembly adapted to permit the lower clamping ring to be engaged with said assembly by sliding said lower clamping ring upwardly with said lugs in alignment with said indentations and turning said lower clamping ring to a position in which said lugs are out of register with said indentations, an upper clamping ring encircling and slidably engaging said cup-shaped receptacle, tightening means carried solely by said lower clamping ring and adapted to be moved on said lower clamping rin-g into pressing engagement with said upper clamping ring to cause the edge of the waste outlet of the sink to be clamped between said annular flange and upper clamping ring, and said tightening means being adapted to be moved on said lower clamping ring out of pressing engagement with said upper clamping ring, so that said lower clamping ring may be turned to the position in which said lugs are in register with said indentations to remove said lower clamping ring while said tightening means is being carried by said lower clamping ring.

7. A fitting as defined in claim 6 in which said lower clamping ring has a radially-outwardly projecting group of peripherally spaced-apart wing flanges, each of said wing flanges terminates in a boss, said tightening means has a group of threaded adjustment stems one for each of said bosses, and each of said bosses has a throughthreaded bore to adjustably-receive one of said threaded stems for positioning said one stem in pres-sing engagement with said upper clamping ring.

8. A fitting as defined in claim 6 for removably-connecting the waste outlet of a sink in a fluid-sealed off relation with an upwardly-projecting hollow drain member having a radially-outwardly projecting annular mounting flange at its upper end, in which said tail piece has an annular bottom flange, an annular sealing Washer is adapted .to be positioned between said annular bottom flange and the annular mounting flange of the hollow drain member, a hollow nut is provided that has an inwardly oifset flange to engage the underside of the annular mounting flange of the drain member, said lower clamping ring has a downwardly-extending hollow portion that is radially-outwardly spaced from said tail piece and that has an inner threaded bore, said hollow nut has an upper portion adapted to project upwardly within the spacing between said tail piece and the downwardly-extending hollow portion of said clamp ing ring and is outwardly threaded to removably-engage the inner threaded bore of said lower clamping ring to secure the annular mounting flange of the hollow drain member and said annular sealing washer in a tight fluidsealed otf relation with the annular bottom flange of said tail piece, and said hollow nut has a portion projecting downwardly beyond the downwardly extending hollow portion of said lowerclamping ring and provided with gripping offsets for turning it by hand.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 453,502 Rehm June 2, 1891 1,180,824 Brown Apr. 25, 1916 1,430,558 Jimerson Oct. 3, 1922 1,810,115 'Wahl et al. June 16, 1931 2,034,637 Mooney Mar. 17, 1936 2,199,964 Rook May 7, 1940 2,220,729 Powers Nov. 5, 1940 2,245,887 Wikander June 17, 1941 2,278,566 Schaible Apr. 7, 1942 2,512,867 Marcussen- June 27, 1950 2,528,919 Stone et al. Nov. 7, 1950 2,544,498 Hiertz Mar. 6, 1951 2,736,577 Mackey Feb. 28, 1956 2,819,028 Brezoskyl et a1 Jan. 7, 1958 2,858,989 Jordan NOV. 4, 1958 2,860,836 Jordan NOV. 18, 1958 2,868,465 Wieczorek Jan, 13, 1959 2,875,958 Wieczorek :Mar. 3, 1959 2,946,525 Thierer July 26, 1960 3,007,179 Bertull-i Nov. 7, 1961

Claims

6. A FITTING FOR THE WASTE OUTLET OF A SINK COMPRISING CUP-SHAPED RECEPTACLE AND TAIL PIECE, SAID TAIL PIECE HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY TUBULAR WALL OF REDUCED DIAMETER CONNECTED BY AN OFFSET SHOULDER TO SAID RECEPTACLE AND PROJECTING DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM, AN ANNULAR FLANGE FORMED AT THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID CUP-SHAPED RECEPTACLE FOR OVERLAPPING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE EDGE OF THE WASTE OUTLET OF A SINK, A PLURALITY OF SPACED LUGS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY ADJACENT TO THE JUNCTION OF SAID CUP-SHAPED RECEPTACLE AND SAID TAIL PIECE, A LOWER CLAMPING RING ENCIRCLING SAID CUP-SHAPED RECEPTACLE AND TAIL PIECE ASSEMBLY ADJACENT TO SAID SHOULDER JUNCTION, SAID LOWER CLAMPING RING BEING FORMED TO PROVIDE INWARDLY DIRECTED INDENTATIONS CONFORMING WITH SAID LUGS TO PROVIDE A SEPARABLE SECURING MEANS OF THE LOWER CLAMPING RING WITH SAID ASSEMBLY ADAPTED TO PERMIT THE LOWER CLAMPING RING TO BE ENGAGED WITH SAID ASSEMBLY BY SLIDING SAID LOWER CLAMPING RING UPWARDLY WITH SAID LUGS IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID INDENTATIONS AND TURNING SAID LOWER CLAMPING RING TO A POSITION IN WHICH SAID LUGS ARE OUT OF REGISTER WITH SAID INDENTATIONS, AN UPPER CLAMPING RING ENCIRCLING AND SLIDABLY ENGAGING SAID CUP-SHAPED RECEPTACLE, TIGHTENING MEANS CARRIED SOLELY BY SAID LOWER CLAMPING RING AND ADAPTED TO BE MOVED ON SAID LOWER CLAMPING RING INTO PRESSING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID UPPER CLAMPING RING TO CAUSE THE EDGE OF THE WASTE OUTLET OF THE SINK TO BE CLAMPED BETWEEN SAID ANNULAR FLANGE AND UPPER CLAMPING RING, AND SAID TIGHTENING MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO BE MOVED ON SAID LOWER CLAMPING RING OUT OF PRESSING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID UPPER CLAMPING RING, SO THAT SAID LOWER CLAMPING RING MAY BE TURNED TO THE POSITION IN WHICH SAID LUGS ARE IN REGISTER WITH SAID INDENTATIONS TO REMOVE SAID LOWER CLAMPING RING WHILE SAID TIGHTENING MEANS IS BEING CARRIED BY SAID LOWER CLAMPING RING.