U.S. patent application number 11/046796 was filed with the patent office on 2006-08-17 for cover secured around a pipe passed through a building for ornamental and leakage-preventing purposes.
Invention is credited to Li-Hua Chu.
Application Number | 20060179725 11/046796 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36814178 |
Filed Date | 2006-08-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060179725 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chu; Li-Hua |
August 17, 2006 |
Cover secured around a pipe passed through a building for
ornamental and leakage-preventing purposes
Abstract
A cover includes a rubber main body, and several clipping
elements; the main body has a hollow truncated-cone shaped portion,
an annular or square connecting portion around a lower end of the
truncated-cone shaped portion, a longitudinal aperture extending
from the upper end to an outward edge of the annular portion, and
first and second elongate protrusions along those edges thereof
that are adjacent to the longitudinal aperture; the first elongate
protrusion has an uppermost covering portion capable of closely
touching an upper side of the second protrusion; the clipping
elements are used to clamp the first and the second elongate
protrusions together so as to close the longitudinal aperture after
the rubber main body is positioned around a pipe passed through a
part of a building to prevent leakage through the joint between the
pipe and the part of the building as a best property. Accordingly,
it saves not only more labor power but also cost in order to be
assembled and installed much easily; it is not necessary therefor
to be processed by means of heavy cutting tools or the like, but
ordinary ones; on the other hand, it has an artistic appearance
with best durability to avoid any damages.
Inventors: |
Chu; Li-Hua; (Kaohsiung
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROSENBERG, KLEIN & LEE
3458 ELLICOTT CENTER DRIVE-SUITE 101
ELLICOTT CITY
MD
21043
US
|
Family ID: |
36814178 |
Appl. No.: |
11/046796 |
Filed: |
February 1, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/82 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04D 13/1407
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/082 |
International
Class: |
E04B 7/00 20060101
E04B007/00 |
Claims
1. An ornamental and leakage-preventing cover secured around a pipe
passed through an object, comprising a rubber main body, the rubber
main body having a hollow truncated-cone shaped portion, and an
annular or square connecting portion around a lower end of the
truncated-cone shaped portion; the annular or square connecting
portion having a soft metal plate positioned over it; the main body
having an annular wall, which has a gap, between the truncated-cone
shaped portion and the annular or square connecting portion; the
main body having a longitudinal aperture extending through the gap
from an upper end of the truncated-cone shaped portion to an
outward edge of the annular connecting portion; the main body being
formed with first and second elongate connecting protrusions along
those edges thereof that are adjacent to the longitudinal aperture;
the first elongate protrusion having a top covering portion
extending sideway from an upper end thereof and capable of closely
touching an upper side of the second protrusion; and a plurality of
clipping elements clamping the first and the second elongate
protrusions together so as to close the longitudinal aperture of
the rubber main body.
2. The ornamental and leakage-preventing cover as claimed in claim
1, wherein the clipping elements are formed in such a way as to
have an "U" shaped section, and each of the clipping elements has
hooked insertion portions at tail ends of lateral portions thereof
while each of the first and the second elongate connecting
protrusions has a lengthways extending trench adjacent to the
truncated-cone shaped portion and the annular or square connecting
portion on an outward side thereof; the clipping elements being
connected to the elongate protrusions with the hooked insertion
portions being fitted in the trenches of the elongate
protrusions.
3. The ornamental and leakage-preventing cover as claimed in claim
2, wherein the first elongate connecting protrusion has a lateral
pressing portion extending from the top covering portion thereof to
closely touch a lateral side of the second elongate protrusion.
4. The ornamental and leakage-preventing cover as claimed in claim
1, wherein the first elongate connecting protrusion has a lateral
pressing portion extending from the top covering portion thereof to
closely touch a lateral side of the second elongate protrusion.
5. The ornamental and leakage-preventing cover as claimed in claim
1, wherein the connecting portion provided with a metal plate can
be made in a circular form.
6. The ornamental and leakage-preventing cover as claimed in claim
1, wherein the connecting portion provided with a metal plate can
be made in a square form.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a leak-preventing and
ornamental cover, more particularly one, which is securely located
around a pipe passed through an object to prevent leakage through
the joint between the pipe and the object.
[0003] 2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Conventionally, a cover with ornamental function is securely
located around a pipe that is passed through a part of a building,
e.g. a roof, a corrugated plate on a housetop, and a wall, to
prevent leakage through the joint between the pipe and the part of
the building.
[0005] Referring to FIG. 5, a conventional leakage-preventing cover
30 is provided, which is made of rubber, and formed with an upper
hollow truncated-cone shaped portion 31, an annular connecting
portion 32 at a lower end, and an annular wall 33 between the upper
truncated-cone shaped portion 31 and the lower annular connecting
portion 32. The upper hollow truncated-cone shaped portion 31 is
formed in such a way as to have several steps on an outer side.
Furthermore, a metal plate 34, which has good flexibility and
extendibility, is positioned over the lower annular connecting
portion 32.
[0006] To connect the cover 30 to a pipe 20 and an object, through
which the pipe 20 is passed, first the upper end of the hollow
truncated-cone shaped portion 31 is cut to change in the inner
diameter so that the pipe 20 can be tightly fitted therein. Next,
the cover 30 is positioned around the pipe 20, and supported on the
object; thus, the pipe 20 is closely fitted in the upper end of the
truncated-cone shaped portion 31. Then, the annular connecting
portion 32 and the metal plate 34 are bent together such that the
annular connecting portion 32 closely touches the upper side of the
object. And, Sealant is applied between the annular portion 32 and
the object to stick the cover 30 on the object, thus preventing
water from leaking through between the annular portion 32 and the
object. Finally, screws are fastened through both the annular
connecting portion 32 and the object to secure the cover 30 to the
object. Thus, the cover 30 will prevent water or rain from flowing
onto the joint between the pipe 20 and the object, thus preventing
leakage.
[0007] The above cover 30 is found to have a disadvantage, which is
that in order to install the cover 30, one first has to position
the cover 30 on the upper end of the pipe 20 and move the cover 30
downwards onto the object along the pipe 20, and it will cause
trouble to install the cover 30 if the pipe 20 is very tall.
[0008] To overcome the above disadvantage, referring to FIG. 6, an
improvement 50 on a cover for the above mentioned purpose is made
available, which is made of rubber, and which includes an upper
hollow truncated-cone shaped portion 51, an annular connecting
portion 52 at a lower end, and a longitudinal aperture 54 extending
the whole length thereof, i.e. from an upper end of the
truncated-cone shaped portion 51 to an outward edge of the annular
connecting portion 52. Furthermore, the cover 50 is formed with
elongate connecting protrusions 55 along those portions of the edge
thereof that are adjacent to the aperture 54. And, a metal plate
53, which has good flexibility and extendibility, is positioned
over the lower annular connecting portion 52.
[0009] To connect the cover 50 to a pipe and an object, through
which the pipe is passed, first the upper end of the hollow
truncated-cone shaped portion 51 is cut to change in the inner
diameter so that the pipe can be tightly fitted therein. Next, the
cover 50 is opened with the connecting protrusions 55 apart from
each other, and positioned around the pipe, plus supported on the
object; thus, the pipe is closely fitted in the upper end of the
truncated-cone shaped portion 51. Then, the connecting protrusions
55 are pressed against each other, and a metallic clipping element
60 is positioned over both the protrusions 55, and made to firmly
hold the protrusions 55 together by means of a special tool.
Finally, the annular connecting portion 52 and the metal plate 53
are bent together such that the annular connecting portion 52
closely touches the upper side of the object. Thus, the cover 50
will prevent water or rain from flowing onto the joint between the
pipe and the object, thus preventing leakage.
[0010] Because the cover 50 is formed with the aperture 54, it can
be easily positioned around a pipe than the last cover 30 on FIG.
5. However, it will take relatively much time and labor to install
the cover 50, because the clipping element 60 has to be forced to
firmly hold the two connecting protrusions 53 together by means of
a special tool.
[0011] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, another rubber cover 40 is
available, which includes an upper hollow truncated-cone shaped
portion 41, an annular connecting portion 42 at a lower end, an
annular wall 44 between the portions 41 and 42, and a longitudinal
aperture 43 extending from an upper end of the truncated-cone
shaped portion 41 to an outward edge of the annular connecting
portion 42, and through a gap 441 of the annular wall 44.
Furthermore, the cover 40 is formed with two elongate connecting
protrusions 46 along those portions of the edge thereof that are
adjacent to the aperture 43. A metal plate 45, which has good
flexibility and extendibility, is positioned over the lower annular
connecting portion 42. And, a metallic elongate clipping member 47
is provided, which can be made to firmly clamp the protrusions 46
together to close the aperture 43 by means of an ordinary tool.
[0012] Being formed with the aperture 43, the cover 40 doesn't have
to be positioned around a pipe from the upper end of the pipe in
installation either. And, the elongate clipping member 47 can be
made to clamp the protrusions 46 together by means of an ordinary
tool instead. However, the cover 40 is found to have disadvantages
as followings:
[0013] First, the metallic elongate clipping member 47 is molded
tightly on the protrusions 46 and in the rubber, so before to be
installed onto the pipe to the object, one has to separate the
molded clipping member 47 from protrusions 46 by tearing with
force, to make the aperture 43 available for the pipe. During the
separation process, the protrusions 46 could be damaged or even
broken because the clipping member 47 is metallic and much harder
than that of protrusions 46.
[0014] Before installed around a pipe, the upper end of the hollow
truncated-cone shaped portion 41 of the cover 40 has to be cut to
change in the inner diameter such that the pipe can be tightly
fitted therein. Therefore, the metallic elongate clipping member 47
will have to be cut by using a heavy duty tool so as to be as long
as the aperture 43 after the hollow truncated-cone shaped portion
41 is cut, causing waste of material, time and labor, and more
installation tools required.
[0015] Although the metallic clipping member 47 can be forced to
clamp back to the protrusions 46 by means of an ordinary tool, it
still will take much labor and time to make the clipping member 47
clamp the protrusions 46 together. Furthermore, it is difficult to
locate the clipping member 47 in a proper position in relation to
the elongate protrusions 46 because there's no clear groove or hole
to guide the clipping member 47 to clamp back to the originally
molded location on the elongate protrusions 46. Therefore, it can't
effectively prevent water from leaking through the aperture 43.
[0016] Furthermore, one has to make the elongate clipping member 47
clamp the protrusions 46 together by means of exerting force on
different sections of the member 47 in sequence with the help of an
ordinary tool therefore installation of the cover 40 will also take
much more time and labor. And, because the aperture 43 faces an
inner side of the clipping member 47 directly, and small space is
likely to exist between the aperture 43 and the clipping member 47,
it is highly possible for water to leak through the aperture
43.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0017] It is a main object of the present invention to provide an
improvement on a leak-preventing cover to overcome the
disadvantages.
[0018] The cover of the present invention includes a rubber main
body, and clipping elements. The main body has a hollow
truncated-cone shaped portion, an annular or square portion around
a lower end of the truncated-cone shaped portion, a longitudinal
aperture extending from the upper end to an outward edge of the
annular or square connecting portion, and first and second elongate
protrusions along those edges thereof that are adjacent to the
longitudinal aperture. The first elongate protrusion has an
uppermost covering portion capable of closely touching an upper
side of the second protrusion when the first and the second
protrusions are pressed against each other to seal the aperture.
The clipping elements are used to clamp the first and the second
protrusions together after the rubber body is positioned around a
pipe passed through an object. Accordingly, it saves not only more
labor power but also cost in order to be assembled and installed
much easily; it is not necessary therefor to be processed by means
of heavy cutting tools or the like, but ordinary ones; on the other
hand, it has an artistic appearance with best durability to avoid
any damages.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] The present invention will be better understood by referring
to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0020] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the
leakage-preventing ornamental cover according to the present
invention,
[0021] FIG. 2 is another exploded perspective view of the
leakage-preventing ornamental cover according to the present
invention,
[0022] FIG. 3 is a vertical section of the leakage-preventing
ornamental cover according to the present invention,
[0023] FIG. 4 is a top view of the present leakage-preventing
cover,
[0024] FIG. 5 is a vertical section of the first conventional
ornamental leakage-preventing cover in Background,
[0025] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second conventional
ornamental leakage-preventing cover, which has a longitudinal
aperture,
[0026] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the third conventional
cover, and
[0027] FIG. 8 is a top view of the third conventional cover, after
installed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a preferred embodiment 10 of an
ornamental and leakage-preventing cover secured around a pipe
passed through a building includes a rubber main body, and several
clipping elements 19 used for closing the rubber main body.
[0029] The rubber main body is formed with an upper hollow
truncated-cone shaped portion 11, an annular or square connecting
portion 12 around a lower end of the truncated-cone shaped portion
11, an annular wall 13 between the portions 11 and 12, a gap 15 on
the annular wall 13, and a longitudinal aperture 16 extending
through the gap 15 from an upper end of the truncated-cone shaped
portion 11 to an outward edge of the annular or square connecting
portion 12. Furthermore, the main body is formed with first and
second elongate connecting protrusions 17 and 18 along those
portions of the edge thereof that are adjacent to the aperture 16;
the second elongate connecting protrusion 18 has a lengthways
extending fitting trench 181 adjacent to the portions 11 and 12 on
an outward side thereof; the first elongate connecting protrusion
17 has a top covering portion 171 extending sideway from an upper
end thereof, and a lateral covering portion 172 extending down from
the top covering portion 171, which portions 171 and 172 will
closely touching a top and a lateral side of the second protrusion
18 respectively when the protrusions 17 and 18 are clamped
together. The first connecting protrusion 17 further has a
lengthways extending fitting trench 173 adjacent to both the
portions 11 and 12 on an outward side thereof. And, a metal plate
14, which has good flexibility and extendibility, is positioned
over the lower annular or square connecting portion 12. Thus, the
connecting porting 12 with a metal plate 14 can be made in a
circular or square form.
[0030] The clipping elements 19 are formed in such a way as to have
an "U" shaped section, and each of them has an upper portion, two
lateral pressing portions 191, and hooked insertion portions 192 at
tail ends of the lateral pressing portions 191 which will be guided
to slide or be clamped onto the fitting trenches 173 and 181 easily
and cover both connecting protrusions 17 and 18 easily and tightly
by using a very simple ordinary tool.
[0031] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, to install the cover 10 on an
object, e.g. a roof, a corrugated plate on a housetop, and a wall,
and around a pipe 20 passed through the object, first the upper end
of the hollow truncated-cone shaped portion 11 is cut to change in
the inner diameter so as to be capable of tightly holding the pipe
20 therein. Next, the cover 10 is opened at the aperture 16, and it
is positioned around the pipe 20 and supported on the object, and
the first protrusion 17 is closely mounted over the second
protrusion 18 to close the aperture 16; thus, the pipe 20 is
closely fitted in the upper end of the truncated-cone shaped
portion 11. Then, the clipping elements 19 are spaced apart, and
connected to the first and the second protrusions 17 and 18 with
the hooked insertion portions 192 thereof being respectively fitted
in the elongate trenches 173 and 181 of the protrusions 17 and 18,
and an ordinary tool is used to make the lateral pressing portions
191 of the clipping elements 19 tightly pressed against the
protrusions 17 and 18; thus, the aperture 16 is closed with the
protrusions 17 and 18 being firmly clamped together. And, the
annular or square connecting portion 12 and the metal plate 14 are
bent together such that the annular portion 32 closely touches the
upper side of the object. And, sealant is applied between the
annular portion 32 and the object to stick the cover 30 on the
object, thus preventing water from passing through between the
annular or square connecting portion 12 and the object. Finally,
screws are fastened through both the annular or square connecting
portion 12 and the object to secure the cover 10 to the object.
Thus, the cover 10 will prevent water or rain from flowing onto the
joint between the pipe 20 and the object, thus preventing
leakage.
[0032] From the above description, it can be easily understood that
the present leakage-preventing cover has advantages over the
conventional ones as followings:
[0033] Because the cover has the longitudinal aperture 16, it can
be easily positioned around a pipe in installation.
[0034] The first elongate protrusion 17 is mounted over the second
one 18 to cover the longitudinal aperture 16 therefore it will
effectively prevent water from leaking through the aperture.
[0035] The clipping elements 19 only have to be spaced apart along
the elongate protrusions 17 and 18 to clamp the protrusions
together instead of covering the whole length of the protrusions
therefore it is more economical to use the present clipping
elements. And, the clipping elements 19 can be applied to clamp the
protrusions together by means of an ordinary tool. Furthermore, it
will take much less labor and time to install the present cover
than it will to install the conventional ones because the clipping
elements won't have to be cut to suit the rubber main body after
the hollow truncated-cone shaped portion of the body is cut to a
suitable length.
* * * * *