WO1994029535A1

WO1994029535A1 - Flushing apparatus for a drain trap and drain

Info

Publication number: WO1994029535A1
Application number: PCT/FI1994/000238
Authority: WO
Inventors: Unto HEIKKILÄ
Original assignee: Marifix Ltd.
Priority date: 1993-06-08
Filing date: 1994-06-06
Publication date: 1994-12-22
Also published as: FI932613A0; FI92743C; FI92743B; AU6846594A

Abstract

A flushing apparatus (1) for a drain trap and drain, which declogs and flushes into the drain deposits and coatings that accumulate mainly in and around the drain trap, the apparatus comprising walls (2), a baffle (11) and a water pipe fitting (8). In the apparatus according to the invention, the flushing water is directed tangentially into an annular duct (9), the inner wall of which comprises the baffle (11). Said baffle comprises ports (10) that pierce it tangentially and are inclined in the direction of the water flow. This arrangement brings about a powerful vortex which serves to clean the drain.

Description

Flushing apparatus for a drain trap and drain

The present invention relates to a flushing ap¬ paratus for a drain trap and drain, which declogs and flushes into the drain deposits and coatings that accu¬ mulate mainly in and around the drain trap, the appar¬ atus comprising walls, a baffle and a water pipe fit¬ ting.

Clogged drains constitute a fairly difficult problem. Greasy food waste and various fibrous products such as hair and fabric fibres readily lead to clogging of drain systems. Numerous methods and devices have been developed to remove such accumulations of foreign matter. They have generally been either mechanical and/or additionally they have involved flushing out with water. Air flushing, too, has been used to open clogged drains. The most common declogging method is, naturally, a steel wire or similar devices which flex in the pipe bends. Their use is nevertheless impaired by the fact that one cannot see into the pipe. It may also happen that the method in question will not suc¬ ceed in reaching the actual accumulation of foreign matter.

Various cleaning methods based on water jets are previously known. In general, in these methods the bottom screen is removed from the top of the sink drain and in its place a water jet fitting is provided, one end of which is connected to the water tap.

A generally used method is a so-called plunger, which comprises a separate suction cup that is placed, for example, on top of the bottom drain of the sink, after which the suction cup is pumped back and forth, whereby the water in the drain flows back and forth as the pressure changes owing to the pressure variation caused by the suction cup. U.S. Patent 2,735,794 discloses a device con¬ sisting of a flexible tube along which the cleaning water to be introduced into the drain is directed into a nozzle part which is provided with tangential ports that create a vortex motion inside the pipe to be cleaned out, thereby carrying out any necessary de- clogging. The method and device also provide a possib¬ ility for feeding detergent or a solvent along a separ¬ ate tube for purposes of cleaning. U.S. Patent 3,937,404 also provides a device comprising a flexible water hose and having in its one end a nozzle part having one end connected to the water mains. In distinction to the device according to the former U.S. patent, this device furthermore has a plug round the flexible hose. The plug is used to provide a snug fit with the mouth of the drainpipe, for example, at the bottom of the sink or in a similar place. Since the drain is closed, the pressure of the water mains can be utilized in the declogging. The flexible hose travels through the plug and the nozzle can be made to move back and forth in the drainpipe to accomplish the declogging.

U.S. Patents 786,738, 406,977 and 798,713 de¬ scribe devices in which fixed nozzles are installed in the drainpipe in order to remove foreign matter. In these solutions the water jet is generally directed forwardly along the pipe, whereby the cleaning effect is based mainly on the amount of water and the velocity of the water jet. In general it can be observed that the efficiency of the mechanical devices used as well as those based on a water jet has not been sufficient.

In the known devices and methods full use has not been made of the power imparted by the rotational movement, which power can be used to clean the inner walls of the pipe. The use of various chemicals and solvents has also become quite widespread in cleaning out drains. The usability of these methods is nevertheless weakened by the environmental impacts which are caused by the use of such substances on waste water treatment plants, for example. So-called biological methods have also been developed to clean out drains. In methods based on so-called bacterial cultures, paste-like bacterial cul¬ tures can be fed into the drain. Said strains of bac- teria have the ability to act and live anaerobically. The drawback of bacteria-based methods is that the bac¬ teria are destroyed because they cannot withstand sol¬ vents.

The flushing apparatus for a drain trap and drain according to the invention enables a drain to be declogged with a relatively small effort. The apparatus according to the invention is characterized by what is set forth hereinafter in the characterizing parts of the attached claims. The most important advantage of the flushing apparatus for a drain trap and drain according to the invention can be considered to be its ease of use. In a preferred embodiment the apparatus is disposed before the drain trap and it is connected to the hot water pipe. This confers, among other things, the advantage that grease-containing and other similar substances and combinations of substances can be flushed into the drain.

In present-day drain systems in which plastic is used as the pipe material, a flushing apparatus for a drain trap and drain according to the invention can be implemented in a very simple manner. In addition, the manufacturing costs of such an apparatus are very small and its mounting in the drain system does not involve much cost, either. In the following a flushing apparatus for a drain trap and drain according to the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a flushing apparatus for a drain trap and drain according to the invention as viewed from the side, with a U-pipe located in connection with the drain trap.

Figure 2 is a side view of the apparatus ac¬ cording to the invention, in part comprising a longit- udinal section.

Figure 3 shows a cross-section of the apparatus according to the invention along the line I-I.

Figure 4 shows a cross-section along the line II-II. Figure 5 is a side view of a pipe to be con¬ nected below the device according to the invention, in part comprising a longitudinal section.

In Figures 1-5 the number 1 refers to a flush¬ ing apparatus for a drain trap and drain. The inner wall of the apparatus according to the invention is denoted with the number 2, the thread for mounting, in the upper part of the apparatus, with the number 3 and the stop faces with the number 4. The apparatus is mounted by means of a nut 5 and a pipe 6 above the ap- paratus according to the invention is provided with a stop face 7 which is pressed up against the stop face 4 of the apparatus.

The flushing water is fed into the flushing apparatus for a drain trap and drain by means of a water pipe fitting 8, which is disposed tangentially in respect of the apparatus according to the invention in order to improve the vortex motion. From the water pipe fitting 8 the water is directed into a duct 9, which is disposed annular round the apparatus according to the invention. From the duct 9 the water discharges inside the pipe through a baffle 11 via ports 10. The ports 10 are disposed tangentially in the baffle 11 and, in ad¬ dition, they are inclined in the direction of the rota¬ tional movement. By means of a flange 12 the apparatus according to the invention is closed from the bottom, mating with a pipe 13, in which there are stop faces 15 corresponding to surfaces 16 in the lower part of the apparatus according to the invention. Furthermore, the inner surface of the pipe 13 has a tapering contour 17 which serves to increase the force of the vortex mo¬ tion. The outer surface 14 of the baffle 11 and the tapering contour 17 are placed against each other, whereby the ports 10 are closed from the outer rim. The other end of the U-pipe 13 is provided with threads 18 and the U-pipe is connected to a pipe 19 by means of a nut 20, whereby the stop faces 16 and 21 are pressed up against each other.

The flushing apparatus for a drain trap and drain according to the invention operates in the fol- lowing way. The water pipe fitting 8 is connected by means of a hose or pipe to the hot water mains and a cut-off valve is also installed ahead of the water pipe fitting. When it is noted that the water in the drain system fails to run freely and it is to be expected that the drain is becoming clogged, the valve of the pipe leading to the water pipe fitting 8 is opened and water is directed into the drain trap and drain flush¬ ing apparatus. The water is fed tangentially into the duct 9, from which it goes via the ports 10 tangential- ly into the inner parts of the drain pipe. The rota¬ tional movement is increased by both the tangential position of the water pipe fitting 8 and the tangential position of the ports 10. The effectiveness of the flushing apparatus for a drain trap and drain can, of course, be increased by feeding a soap solution or washing-up detergent into the drain via the sink during the flushing process. In tests that have been carried out it has been observed that the vortex brought about inside the drain is so powerful that its effect con- tinues, for example, even after the U-pipe drain trap.

It is most advantageous to use the apparatus according to the invention as a preventive device which serves to maintain the drain in good condition.

Naturally, the flushing apparatus for a drain trap and drain according to the invention can be tech¬ nically implemented in a number of different ways; for example, the duct 9 can be built as a closed construc¬ tion but in that case it will be more difficult to clean. Furthermore, the apparatus according to the in- vention can be disposed in the piping differently than as set forth in the example of this application.

Claims

1. A flushing apparatus (1) for a drain trap and drain, which declogs and flushes into the drain deposits and coatings that accumulate mainly in and around the drain trap, the apparatus comprising walls (2), a baffle (11) and a water pipe fitting (8), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the water pipe fit¬ ting (8) is disposed tangentially in or about an annu- lar duct (9 ), the inner wall of which comprises the baffle (11), and that said baffle (11) comprises ports ( 10) that pierce it tangentially and are inclined in the direction of the water flow.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the outer surface of the baffle (11) is conical.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the base of the an¬ nular duct (9) is provided by the stop face (15) of the pipe (13).

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the external surface (14) of the baffle (11) is installed against a tapering contour (17) to close the outer sides of the ports (10).

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the apparatus (1) for cleaning a drain trap and drain opens at the point of the stop faces (15) and (16) and that the ports (10) can then be cleaned.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the inner diameter of the drain pipe does not change substantially at the point of the apparatus ( 1) for cleaning a drain trap and drain.