WO2007049949A1

WO2007049949A1 - A drainage grating device and method of installation

Info

Publication number: WO2007049949A1
Application number: PCT/MY2006/000016
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kee Leong Liew
Original assignee: Modern Avenue Sdn Bhd.
Priority date: 2005-10-26
Filing date: 2006-10-12
Publication date: 2007-05-03
Also published as: MY135492A

Abstract

A drainage grating device is disclosed herein. In a preferred embodiment, the device (100) comprises a discharge receptacle (102) having an outlet (110) for discharging water, a filter (112) for the outlet (110) and a frame (106) surrounding the filter (112). The receptacle (102) is arranged to cooperate with a removable cover (108) such that the cover is spaced from the edges of the frame (106) to create a discharge gap (118) for water to flow to the filter (112).

Description

A Drainage Grating Device and Method of Installation

Background and Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a drainage grating device and method of installing the device, more particularly but not exclusively, in bathroom, kitchen and balcony floors.

Conventional floor gratings usually comprise a frame covering a drainage opening, and a grating pivotally connected to the frame and has a number of holes formed thereon. The pivotal connection allows movement of the grating between a first position in which the grating is in contact with the frame and covers the drainage opening; and a second position in which the grating is pivoted away from the frame and the does not cover the opening. Such floor gratings are commonly used in bathroom, kitchen or balcony drainage and the grating is normally in the first position so that it allows water to flow into the drainage but traps articles such as hair, debris and particles from flowing into the drainage, which may cause blockages in the drainage.

Such floor gratings typically come in plastic or steel material and are not elegant since their appearance is not uniform with the flooring. A further limitation is that when a user finds that water is being trapped (instead of just the particles) and does not flow readily into the drainage opening, the user simply moves the grating to the second position instead of clearing the unwanted material that has gathered on the grating. This may allow dirt to flow into the drainage which defeats the purpose of having the grating in the first place.

It is an object of the invention to provide a drainage grating device which alleviates at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art and/or to provide the public with an useful choice.

Summary of the Invention

In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a drainage grating device comprising a discharge receptacle having an outlet for discharging water, a filter for the outlet and a frame surrounding the filter, the receptacle being arranged to cooperate with a removable cover such that the cover is spaced from the frame to create a discharge gap for water to flow to the filter.

An advantage of the described embodiment is that since the trapping of particles (e.g. hair, dirt etc) are carried out by the filter, once a cover is coupled to the receptacle, particles trapped are hidden from normal view, unlike a conventional grating where trapped particles are exposed to normal view creating an untidy or ugly sight. Since the cover is removable (if one is installed), the grating device is "top serviceable" and thus, any trap particles may be removed after removing the cover. The simple design also makes installation easy.

It is preferred that the filter is fixedly coupled to the receptacle or integrally formed with the receptacle so that the user has no choice but to remove the trapped particles instead of removing the filter when the particles trapped by the filter is reducing the outflow of water to the discharge outlet.

Preferably, the discharge gap is formed along the entire perimeter of the frame so that water can flow to the filter via any edge of the frame. The drainage grating device may further comprise support members for supporting the cover. This is useful where the grating device is installed in places where it is subjected to load, for example the device is installed along a walkway and there is a tendency of being stepped on. The presence of the support members protects the cover from being damaged.

The filter may be in any suitable form. For example, the filter may be in the form of a grating covering the outlet (such as a conventional grating having a plurality of openings that is pivotally coupled to the discharge receptacle). This is envisaged although not preferred. A preferred structure of the filter may include a plurality of spaced filtering members projecting from the receptacle and surrounding the outlet and the spaces therebetween are adapted to trap particles from flowing into the discharge outlet. The filtering members may be arranged to support the cover to give the cover more support and also, since the projections extend until the cover, advantageous, water flow is only through the spaces between the projections and thus, the filtering is more effective.

It is envisaged that the grating device can be manufactured and sold without the cover but also together with the cover and thus, the grating device may further include a removable cover arranged to cooperate with the receptacle.

Preferably, the cover includes a carrier for carrying flooring material. This is particularly advantageous as it allows the same material used for other parts of the floor to be used as a facade for the grating device to achieve a uniform and elegant look and finish.

The carrier's walls may have water discharge slots to prevent water from being trapped in the carrier.

It is preferred for the water discharge gap to be at least 5mm so that most unwanted particles found in bathrooms or balconies (such as hair and dirt) may flow through the gap and are trapped by the filter, instead of being trapped on the top surface. For ease of installing with grating device with ceramic tiles, it is preferred that the discharge receptacle has depth of about 35mm and the carrier of the cover (if one is provided) has depth of about 16mm. For marbles and granite floors, it is preferred for the discharge receptacle to have depth of about 45mm, and carrier to have depth of about 26mm. Of course, these dimensions should be adjusted in accordance with the application.

A second aspect of the invention relates to installing the grating device described above and the method comprises the steps of: coupling the discharge outlet of the receptacle to a discharge pipe, and securing the receptacle to the floor.

If the grating device further comprises a removable cover having a carrier for carrying floor material, then, the method may comprise the steps of: cutting the floor material to be carried by the carrier, arranging the cut floor material on the carrier, and supporting the cover from the receptacle.

Brief Description of the Drawings

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a drainage grating device of the invention including a cover;

Figure 2 is a top view of the grating device of Figure 1 without the cover to reveal a discharge outlet and a filter including spaced filtering members;

Figure 3 is a side view of the grating device of Figure 1 showing the hidden filtering members in broken lines; and

Figure 4 illustrates how the grating device of Figure 1 is installed in a floor showing the grating device in cross-section.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Figure 1 illustrates a drainage grating device 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The device 100 is generally square shaped and comprises a discharge receptacle 102 having a plastic base 104 and a stainless steel frame 106 connected to the base 104, and a cover 108. In this embodiment, the cover is in the form of a stainless steel carrier tray 108 having four side walls.

As shown in Figure 2, which is a top elevation view of the grating device 100 of Figure 1 without the cover 108, the discharge receptacle 102 includes a discharge outlet 110 and a filter 112 for the outlet 110 and in this embodiment, the filter 112 has a plurality of spaced elongate filtering members 114 projecting from the base and which surround the outlet 110 to trap particles such as hair, debris and other particles and prevents these from flowing into the discharge outlet 110.

In this embodiment, the grating device 100 includes six support members 116 located near each corner of the discharge receptacle 102 and at two sides of the frame to support the carrier tray 108. Each of the support members has two elongate projections of different lengths to form an abutment shoulder for supporting the tray 108 so that the tray fits snugly and supported by the support members. As shown in Figures 1-3, when the tray 108 is received within the perimeter of the frame 106 and supported by the support members 116, the tray 108 cooperates with the frame 106 such that the edges of the tray 108 is spaced from the frame 106 to create a discharge gap 118 along the perimeter of the frame 106.

The grating device 100 may be installed in the flooring of a bathroom, kitchen, balcony or other suitable locations during the construction of the floor. Normally, the floor is formed from slabs of concrete with waste/water drainage pipes embedded within the concrete in predetermined locations according to a building plan and flooring material is laid on top of the concrete floor using mortar. To install the grating device 100 to a water drainage pipe 200 such as the one shown in Figure 4, the discharge outlet 110 of the discharge receptacle is coupled to the drainage pipe 200 with the frame 106 protruding out of the concrete slab 202. To prevent water leakage, water-proofing material 204 is applied on the concrete slab 202 before laying mortar 206 on the concrete for laying flooring material thereon and for securing the grating device 100 to the floor. As it will be apparent, different types of flooring material can be used and the more popular ones are ceramic tiles, marble or granite. In this embodiment, ceramic tiles 208 are used as example.

The ceramic tiles 208 are laid onto the mortar 206 in a conventional manner until the opening defined by the grating device 100. As it will be apparent from Figure 4, the height of the discharge receptacle 102 is adapted such that the edges of the frame are flushed with the flooring after the ceramic tiles are laid. A piece of ceramic tile 208 is then cut to fit into the carrier tray 108 so that when the tray is received within the frame 106, the appearance of the grating device 100 complements the flooring to provide an uniform and aesthetically elegant look. The tray can be used as a guide for cutting the ceramic tile. In this respect, the depth of the tray is also adapted to fit the flooring material and for ceramic tiles which are typically 7mm to 11mm with a tolerance of usually +/- 1mm, the tray's thickness is about 16 mm in thickness to complement the tile's thickness and a layer of mortar for ease of installation. It will be apparent that the depth of the tray 108 may be adjusted in accordance with the flooring material for example, since marble flooring typically comes in 12mm to 20mm thickness, and if the grating device 100 is intended to be used with the marble flooring, then the tray should have a depth of about 26mm to complement the thickness^" of the marble and mortar.

For greater ease of installation, it is found that the depth of the tray may similarly be adjusted according to the type of flooring material that is to be used. It has been found that a 22mm deep discharge receptacle for a 16mm deep tray is particularly suited for ceramic tile applications, whereas a 32mm deep discharge receptacle for supporting a 26mm tray for marble or granite is preferred.

In use, water, including dirt and particles such as hair (a common problem for bathrooms) flows into the discharge gap 118 between the frame 106 and tray

108 as shown by arrows A. The discharge gap 118 is configured to allow water and particles such as hair to flow in although the gap is intended to prevent larger particles from entering the gap (for example to prevent accidentally dropped items from being channelled into the discharge receptacle 102). Consequently, it has been found that the discharge gap of about 5mm is appropriate for most applications but of course, the gap may be adjusted accordingly. Since the frame's walls are substantially planar, this creates a "water-fall" effect to create a greater outflow of water into the discharge outlet 110. Inner walls of the frame 108 direct the water (including any particles that passed through the discharge gap) towards the discharge outlet 110 due to tapered design of the base 104 (see Figure 3) and subjected to another round of filtration by the elongate members 114. Since the discharge gap 118 is greater than the space between the filtering members, finer particles such as hair and debris are trapped by the filter 112 and thus hidden from normal view by the cover.

The described embodiment should not be construed as limitative. For example, in the preferred embodiment, the cover includes a carrier tray but this may not be necessary since it is envisaged that the grating device may be manufactured and sold without the cover and the user has an option of purchasing different types of covers in accordance with their taste or creativity. Thus, the cover may take various forms, for example, the cover itself may be in the form of a meshed grating or different pre-determined colours for the user to choose. Further, the presence of the support members 116 allow the grating device 100 to withstand greater pressure on the carrier tray 108 but when the grating device 100 is used in less harsh conditions, the support members 116 may be omitted and the carrier tray 108 supported by the filtering members 114. The device 100 of the described embodiment is generally square shaped but other shapes are envisaged (e.g. circular, rectangular etc). It is also envisaged that the receptacle 102 and the cover 108 may be of different shapes, for example, the receptacle 102 may be square and the cover, circular in shape, or vice versa.

It is preferred for the filter members 114 to contact the underside of the tray so that the filter can function in a more effective manner but this may not be necessary.

In the described embodiment, the filter includes a plurality of filtering members projecting from the receptacle but the filter may be in other forms. For example, a conventional grating pivoted to the receptacle and covering the outlet may be employed but this is not preferred. Also, the filter may be removable from the grating device but again, this is not preferred.

The described embodiment proposes using support members comprising two projections of different heights but other suitable variations are envisaged as long as the tray's movement is restricted. For example, the support members may be less or more than six as suggested and each may include a single elongate projection and the underside of the tray 108 may have four locating cavities arranged to cooperate with corresponding projection to help the tray 108 locate within the frame 106.

Having now fully described the invention, it should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications can be made hereto without departing from the scope as claimed.

Claims

1. A drainage grating device comprising a discharge receptacle having an outlet for discharging water, a filter for the outlet and a frame surrounding the filter, the receptacle being arranged to cooperate with a removable cover such that the cover is spaced from the frame to create a discharge gap for water to flow to the filter.

2. A drainage grating device according to claim 1 , wherein the discharge gap is formed along the entire perimeter of the frame.

3. A drainage grating device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising support members for supporting the cover.

4. A drainage grating device according to claim any preceding claim, wherein the filter covers the outlet.

5. A drainage grating device according to claim 4, wherein the filter includes a plurality of openings.

6. A drainage grating device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the filter is pivotally coupled to the discharge receptacle.

7. A drainage grating device according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the filter includes a plurality of spaced filtering members projecting from the receptacle and surrounding the outlet.

8. A drainage grating device according to claim 7, wherein the filtering members are arranged to support the cover.

9. A drainage grating device according to any preceding claim, further comprising a removable cover arranged to cooperate with the receptacle.

10. A drainage grating device according to claim 9 wherein the cover includes a carrier for carrying flooring material.

11. A drainage grating device according to claim 10 wherein the carrier's walls have water discharge slots.

12. A drainage grating device according to any preceding claim wherein the water discharge gap is at least 5mm.

13. A drainage grating device according to any preceding claim wherein the discharge receptacle has depth of about 35mm.

14. A drainage grating device according to any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the discharge receptacle has depth of about 45mm.

15. A drainage grating device according to any of claims 10 to 13, wherein the carrier has depth of about 16mm.

16. A drainage grating device according to any of claims 10 to 12 and 14, wherein the carrier has depth of about 26mm.

17. A method of installing the grating device of any one of claims 1 to 9 to a floor, the method comprising the steps of: coupling the discharge outlet of the receptacle to a discharge pipe, and securing the receptacle to the floor.

18. A method according to claim 17, wherein the grating device further comprises a removable cover having a carrier for carrying floor material, and the method comprises the steps of: cutting the floor materia! to be carried by the carrier, arranging the cut floor material on the carrier, and supporting the cover from the receptacle.