WO2001036756A1

WO2001036756A1 - A conduit for plumbing fittings

Info

Publication number: WO2001036756A1
Application number: PCT/AU2000/001378
Authority: WO
Inventors: Malcolm Gregory Mcculloch; Alan Leonardi
Original assignee: Malcolm Gregory Mcculloch; Alan Leonardi
Priority date: 1999-11-12
Filing date: 2000-11-09
Publication date: 2001-05-25
Also published as: WO2001036756A9; NZ519523A; AU1257601A; AUPQ399499A0

Abstract

A conduit for plumbing fittings comprising a flexible section (11), a first rigid coupling (12) extending from one end of the flexible section and a second rigid coupling (13) extending from the opposite end of the flexible section, whereby one coupling is adapted for connection to a first plumbing fitting and the other coupling is adapted for connection to a second plumbing fitting to allow passage of a fluid from the first plumbing fitting to the second plumbing fitting.

Description

A CONDUIT FOR PLUMBING FITTINGS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is particularly applicable to plumbing installations which interconnect reservoirs such as baths and sinks to a discharge outlet pipe.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a typical situation interconnection of a bath outlet with a discharge pipe requires a great deal of forward planning. Firstly the position of the discharge pipe must be taken into consideration along with the position of the outlet of the bath with respect to the discharge outlet as well as its height above the outlet.

Invariably the bath outlet is located at a position which is vertically and horizontally offset with regard to the position of the discharge pipe to which it is to be connected. Accordingly both of these distances must be determined in advance so that the correct length of pipe can be cut along with the right sized couplings at either end and to allow for the installation of an expansion joint between the two fixed joints.

Invariably some error in the measurements occurs so that the plumbing components cannot be connected together properly, which means one or more components must be remeasured and cut or some other solution must be found.

The above problems are compounded by the fact in most situations there is very little space between the discharge pipe so that it is a difficult working environment in which the tradesmen must perform the necessary work.

One way of dealing with the above problems has been to make a plumbing fitting which has an inlet which is able to be pivoted with respect to an outlet.

The inlet is able to be connected to the bottom of a bath or basin and the outlet is then able to be rotated so that it is in alignment with a discharge pipe.

Although the above described offset connector has some advantages it is still necessary to accurately measure and cut components so that they can interconnect the outlet of the offset connector with the inlet of the discharge pipe. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is aimed at providing a conduit which is able to interconnect two plumbing fittings regardless of whether they are in alignment.

The present invention provides a conduit for plumbing fittings comprising a flexible section, a first rigid coupling extending from one end of the flexible section and a second rigid coupling extending from the opposite end of the flexible section, whereby one coupling is adapted for connection to a first plumbing fitting and the other coupling is adapted for connection to a second plumbing fitting to allow passage of a fluid from the first plumbing fitting to the second plumbing fitting.

Preferably at least one coupling fitting includes an angled portion. At least one coupling may include an internal passage which changes direction.

Preferably at least one coupling includes an outlet opening oriented at an angle with respect to the end of the flexible section from which it extends. Each coupling preferably comprises a curved section.

Each coupling may comprise a right angled pipe.

The flexible section preferably comprises a length of flexible hose. Preferably the flexible section is integrally formed with the coupling at each end.

Each coupling may include a connection portion to allow it to be connected to another plumbing fitting.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for producing a conduit for plumbing fittings, including the steps of providing a length of flexible hose, providing a first and second coupling, fixing one end of the first coupling to one end of the flexible hose and fixing the second coupling to the other end of the flexible hose.

Preferably each coupling is an elbow coupling, each having an inlet and outlet.

It is preferred that at least one coupling includes a collar with a threaded portion which allows the coupling to be screwed onto another plumbing fitting.

It is preferred that the collar comprises a nut or ring member which is located around a free end of the coupling.

Preferably the coupling includes a peripheral rim which prevents removal of the ring member.

Preferably at least one of the couplings includes an outlet with inner and outer rims which are adapted to retain the ring member therebetween.

Preferably at least one of the couplings includes a sealing means which is adapted to form a seal with another plumbing fitting when that coupling is coupled to another plumbing fitting.

Preferably the ring member is able to be rotated with respect to the outer end of the coupling.

The ring member is preferably able to move between the inner and outer rims . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings which shows a conduit coupling connected between a discharge pipe and a bath outlet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

According to the preferred embodiment the conduit consists of a length of flexible ribbed hosing 11 which is permanently fixed in sealing engagement with couplings 12 and 13 at each end.

One coupling 12 is in the form of an elbow shaped pipe fitting having an inner end formed with a collar 14 into which one end of the flexible hose 11 is inserted and fixed using a water proof resin and clamping. Alternatively the coupling is integrally moulded with the flexible hose 11. An outer end 15 of coupling 12 is oriented at 90° with respect to the opposite end, with collar 14 and is interconnected by a curved pipe section and internal passage. The outer end 15 is also provided with a collar 12 which is slightly smaller in width than collar 14. The collar 23 extends into a short pipe section (not shown) of reduced outer diameter to the collar 23. The outer end of the short section of pipe (not shown) has a peripheral rim with a removable sealing ring which may be rubber, neoprene or an equivalent. This sealing ring is seated on the outer rim (not shown) and around an outlet (not shown) which is adapted to fit inside an outlet 22 of a bath, sink or the like.

A coupling nut 16 in the form of a ring with an internal peripheral thread is located over the short section of pipe and is retained between the rim and the outer end of collar 15, both of which have greater diameters than the inside diameter of an inside peripheral rim at the inner end of the coupling nut 16.

The inner diameter of the coupling nut 16 is wider than the outer diameter of the rim so as to allow the coupling nut to move over the rim.

It is noted that the short section of pipe which is preferably integrally formed with the outer end 15 of coupling 12, has sufficient length so that the coupling nut 16 is able to drop down below the level of the outer end of the pipe and rest on the outer end of the collar 15.

The other coupling 13 is also an elbow shaped fitting having a collar 17 into which the opposite end of the flexible hose is inserted and sealed using a suitable waterproof resin or clamp.

The other end of the coupling 14 has an outlet 18 of slightly reduced diameter to allow it to fit into the inlet 19 of a discharge pipe 20.

In use a bath 21 is positioned with its outlet 22 located some distance vertically and horizontally from inlet 19 of discharge pipe 20..

The flexible conduit of the present invention is then able to be used to interconnect outlet 22 with inlet 19.

The coupling nut 16 is screwed onto an external peripheral thread of the outlet 22 so as to provide a watertight connection. At the other end outlet 18 of coupling 13 is pushed into inlet 19 and is welded in place using a solvent.

Regardless of the position of outlet 22 with respect to 19 as long as the length of flexible hose 11 is long enough a watertight seal and an expansion joint can be made between the outlet 22 and inlet 19.

Although the preferred embodiment describes one form of the present invention the shape and length of components used can be varied without departing from the inventive concept

Claims

1. A conduit for plumbing fittings comprising a flexible section, a first rigid coupling extending from one end of the flexible section and a second rigid coupling extending from the opposite end of the flexible section, whereby one coupling is adapted for connection to a first plumbing fitting and the other coupling is adapted for connection to a second plumbing fitting to allow passage of a fluid from the first plumbing fitting to the second plumbing fitting.

2. The conduit as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one coupling fitting includes an angled portion.

3. The conduit as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein at least one coupling includes an internal passage which changes direction.

4. The conduit as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one coupling includes an outlet opening oriented at an angle with respect to the end of the flexible section from it extends.

5. The conduit as claimed in claim 1 wherein each coupling comprises a curved section.

6. The conduit as claimed in claim 1 wherein each coupling comprises a right angled pipe.

7. The conduit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the flexible section comprises a length of flexible hose.

8. The conduit as claimed in claim 7 wherein the flexible section is integrally formed with the coupling at each end.

9. The conduit as claimed in claim 8 wherein each coupling includes a connection portion to allow it to be connected to another plumbing fitting.

10. The conduit as claimed in claim 9 wherein at least one coupling includes a collar with a threaded portion which allows the coupling to be screwed onto another plumbing fitting.

11. The conduit as claimed in claim 10 wherein the collar comprises a ring member which is located around a free end of at least one of the couplings.

12. The conduit as claimed in claim 11 wherein the ring member is able to be rotated.

13. The conduit as claimed in claim 12 wherein at least one coupling includes inner and outer rims which retain the ring member therebetween.

14. The conduit as claimed in claim 13 wherein at least one coupling includes a connection portion including a sealing means for forming a water tight seal when that coupling is coupled to another plumbing fitting.

15. The conduit as claimed in claim 14 wherein one coupling includes the ring member whereby that coupling is able to be connected to a drain outlet of a sink or the like and the other coupling is adapted to be solvent weld jointed to a waste outlet pipe.

16. The conduit as claimed in claim 14 wherein the ring member has an internal thread.

17. The conduit as claimed in claim 16 wherein the inner rim of the at least one coupling is adapted to abut with the inner end of the ring member.

18. The conduit as claimed in claim 17 wherein the outer rim has an inner surface which is adapted to abut with an inner surface of the inner end of the ring member .

19. The conduit as claimed in claim 18 wherein the at least one coupling with the ring member includes an area of reduced thickness between the inner and outer rims .

20. The conduit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the flexible section includes opposite ends which are solvent welded inside inner ends of the couplings.