WO1994015032A1

WO1994015032A1 - Improvements in or relating to drain closures

Info

Publication number: WO1994015032A1
Application number: PCT/GB1993/002609
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Paul Dumble
Original assignee: David Paul Dumble
Priority date: 1992-12-19
Filing date: 1993-12-20
Publication date: 1994-07-07
Also published as: AU5708394A; GB9226498D0

Abstract

A drain closure consists of a drain (1) cover having a peripheral seal (7). A removable clamp (2) passes through an opening (6) in the cover (1) and has a drain-grid locating jaw (10), a pressure plate (11) seating on said cover (1) over said opening (6) and screw means for moving said jaw (10) and said plate (11) together to lock the cover (1) in position. The grid locating jaw (10) is shaped and dimensioned to be able to pass through said opening (6) in the cover (1) so that the closure may be fitted by first positioning the cover (1) with the seal around the drain-grid and then inserting the clamp (2) until the grid locating jaw (10) hooks under a grid element or two adjacent grid elements (4) whereupon the clamp (2) may be tightened. The opening (6) in the cover (1) is large enough to permit lateral adjustment of the clamp after insertion so as to enable the grid locating jaw (10) to be moved into a suitable locking position.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO DRAIN CLOSURES

This invention relates to a drain closure and more particularly to an open surface drain of the kind found for example in a chemical plant and requiring to be closed quickly and effectively in the event of an actual or anticipated spillage of environmentally harmful liquids.

A conventional drain closure consists of a heavy sheet of metal that is positioned over the drain as required. Such closures are difficult to move and may permit leakage. Other drain closures have been proposed which may also provide better sealing, for example plastic bags filled with antifreeze, and will more readily conform to the surface configuration of the drain and the drain surround, but such closures may be swept away in extreme conditions when for example a spillage coincides with a heavy downpour of rain.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a drain closure in which the above disadvantages are obviated or mitigated.

According to the present invention there is provided a drain closure comprising a drain cover having a peripheral seal, a removable clamp passing through an opening in said cover and having a drain- grid locating jaw, a pressure plate seating on said cover over said opening and screw means for moving said jaw and said plate together to lock the cover in position.

Preferably, the grid locating jaw is shaped and dimensioned to be able to pass through said opening in the cover so that the closure may be fitted by first positioning the cover with the seal around the drain-grid and then inserting the clamp until the grid locating jaw hooks under a grid element or two adjacent grid elements whereupon the clamp may be tightened.

The opening in the cover is preferably large enough to permit some adjustment of the clamp after insertion so as to enable the grid locating jaw to be moved into a suitable locking position.

The screw means of the clamp preferably comprises a threaded spindle having a handle at its upper end and carrying the grid locating jaw at its lower end. The spindle passes freely through the pressure plate to which pressure is applied by a pressure wheel in threaded engagement with the spindle. The underside of the pressure plate is preferably attached to a lifting plate which is shaped and dimensioned to fit through the opening in the cover and engage the underside thereof so as to permit lifting of the cover on disengagement of the grid locating jaw.

The invention will now be further described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of drain closure in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic vertical section of the drain cover of Fig. 1 in position over a surface drain, and

Fig. 3 shows alternative designs of opening in the drain cover.

Referring now to the drawings, a drain closure comprises a drain cover 1 and a removable clamp 2 which cooperate to fix the cover 1 over a surface drain 3 having the usual spaced apart grid elements 4. The drain cover 1 comprises a solid rectangular body 5 of synthetic plastics material, timber or other suitable material having a central opening 6 and an underneath peripheral seal 7 of suitable plastics foam material. It will be noted that the cover 1 is slightly larger than the drain 3 so that the seal 7 seats on the drain surround wi th slight overlap of the grid elements 4.

The clamp 2 comprises a threaded spindle 8 with a lifting handle

9 at its upper end and a grid locating jaw Lϋ at its lower end. The handle 9 and jaw 10 are prelerably disposed at a predetermined angle (e.g. 0 or 90°) relative to each other so that the orientation of the jaw

10 when concealed by the cover L may be judged by that of the handle 9. The spindle 8 passes freely through a pressure plate 11 which is connected at its underside by a spacer 12 to a lifting plate 13. Both the grid locating jaw 10 and the lifting plate 13 are shaped and dimensioned so as to be able to pass through the opening 6 in the cover 1. The pressure plate 11 is sufficiently large to cover the opening 6 in any position of the clamp 2. The clamp is tightened into sealing engagement with the cover 1 by means of a pressure nut 14 forming part of a pressure wheel 14a which is turned by an operative to tighten or release the clamp 2. During tightening the nut 14 is urged against the pressure plate 11 through the intermediary of a plastics washer 15 provided on its underside with a neoprene sealing ring 16. In use, the cover 1 is positioned as described and the threaded spindle 8 is inserted into the opening 6 until the grid locating jaw 10 engages under two adjacent grid elements 4 as shown in Fig. 2. The pressure plate 11 is positioned over the opening 6 with the spacer 12 locating in the opening and the lifting plate 13 lying immediately therebelow. The clamp is then tightened in the manner described.

The opening 6 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is generally L shaped but may be rectangular, T-shaped or generally S-shaped as shown in Fig. 3. The common feature of all the alternative opening designs is that they permit lateral movement of the clamp 2 relative to the cover 1 so that the grid locating jaw 10 can be adjusted into a suitable clamping position relative to the grid elements 4 without having to move the cover 1. Lateral movement of the clamp 2 out of the insertion position will also bring the lifting plate 13 into overlapping relationship with the underside of the body 5 so that when the clamp is released and the spindle 8 is lifted by means of the handle 9 the lifting plate 13 lifts the cover 1 from the drain. Subsequently, the clamp 2 can easily be manipulated to withdraw the lifting plate 13 and the grid locating jaw 10 through the opening 6 thereby enabling the cover 1 and clamp 2 to be stored separately in a space-saving manner.

The spacer 12 interconnecting the pressure plate 11 and the lifting plate 13 provides a spigot projection which preferably has a cross-section which corresponds to part of the opening 6 such that adjusting movement of the clamp 2 in the opening 6 can only take place to a predetermined extent on a predetermined path, e.g. in the illustrated embodiment along the L shaped centre line of the opening 6. The spacer 12 and the limited clearance between the spindle 8 and the holes at the top of the pressure plate 11 and the bottom of the lifting plate 13 also serve to limit unintended adjusting movement of the clamp 2 relative to the cover 1 (e.g. when the clamping action exerts sideways forces on the clamp 2) thereby preventing dislodgment of the clamping plate 10 from a grid element 4 and ensuring more reliable clamping. It will be appreciated that a spigot projection may be provided in the absence of a lifting plate. It will be appreciated that different sizes of drain will require different sizes of cover 1 although it is expected that a relatively small number of covers will be able to cope with a large number of different drain sizes. The standard clamp 2 may be used for the different sizes of cover 1.

Although the invention has been described as relating to a drain closure it will be appreciated that the cover 1 may be replaced by any kind of panel member, with or without an edge seal, e.g. a floor panel for a floor structure, requiring a removable and possibly adjustable clamp.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A drain closure comprising a drain cover having a peripheral seal, a removable clamp passing through an opening in said cover and having a drain-grid locating jaw, a pressure plate seating on said cover over said opening and screw means for moving said jaw and said plate together to lock the cover in position.

2. A drain closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grid locating jaw is shaped and dimensioned to be able to pass through said opening in the cover so that the closure may be fitted by first positioning the cover with the seal around the drain-grid and then inserting the clamp until the grid locating jaw hooks under a grid element or two adjacent grid elements whereupon the clamp may be tightened.

3. A drain closure as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the opening in the cover is large enough to permit lateral adjustment of the clamp after insertion so as to enable the grid locating jaw to be moved into a suitable locking position.

4. A drain closure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the screw means of the clamp comprises a threaded spindle having a handle at its upper end and carrying the grid locating jaw at its lower end.

5. A drain closure as claimed in claim 4, wherein the spindle passes freely through the pressure plate to which pressure is applied by a pressure wheel in threaded engagement with the spindle.

6. A drain closure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pressure plate is provided with a spigot projection which engages in the cover opening to limit movement of the clamp laterally in the cover.

7. A drain closure as claimed in claim 6, wherein said projection provides a spacer by which the underside of the pressure plate is attached to a lifting plate which is shaped and dimensioned to fit through the opening in the cover and engage the underside thereof so as to permit lifting of the cover by means of the clamp on disengagement of the grid locating jaw.

8. A drain closure substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.