U.S. patent application number 11/945471 was filed with the patent office on 2009-05-28 for bend support bracket for flexible polymeric tubing.
Invention is credited to Marshall Henningsen, Karl Robert Schulz.
Application Number | 20090134283 11/945471 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40584836 |
Filed Date | 2009-05-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090134283 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schulz; Karl Robert ; et
al. |
May 28, 2009 |
BEND SUPPORT BRACKET FOR FLEXIBLE POLYMERIC TUBING
Abstract
A bend support bracket for flexible polymeric tubing, the
bracket being installable inside a wall and having an arcuate guide
surface, an oppositely disposed arcuate gripping surface and a
flexible attachment arm, the flexible attachment arm having a fixed
end that is unitarily molded to the body, a free end that comprises
a positioning groove into which a portion of an inwardly facing
wall of an aperture in a bracket support strap is receivable, and
an outwardly facing, arcuate biasing surface disposed between the
first and second ends, wherein the application of manual pressure
to the biasing surface biases the positioning groove into alignment
with the aperture wall so that a portion of the aperture wall is
receivable in the positioning groove.
Inventors: |
Schulz; Karl Robert; (Reno,
NV) ; Henningsen; Marshall; (Carson City,
NV) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP;Attn: Michael Ritchie, Docketing
2200 Ross Avenue, Suite # 2200
DALLAS
TX
75201-6776
US
|
Family ID: |
40584836 |
Appl. No.: |
11/945471 |
Filed: |
November 27, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/65 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16L 43/02 20130101;
F16L 5/00 20130101; F16L 3/1226 20130101; E03C 2001/028
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/65 |
International
Class: |
F16L 3/00 20060101
F16L003/00 |
Claims
1. A bend support bracket for flexible polymeric tubing, the
bracket comprising a molded polymeric body further comprising a
substantially flat, arcuate conduit guide surface; an oppositely
facing, spaced-apart, relatively flat, arcuate gripping surface;
two open curvilinear conduit guide members spaced apart along the
conduit guide surface; and a flexible attachment arm having a fixed
end that is unitarily molded to the body, a free end that comprises
a positioning groove into which a portion of an inwardly facing
wall of an aperture in a bracket support strap is receivable, and a
substantially flat, outwardly facing, arcuate biasing surface
extending forwardly along the flexible attachment arm from the
gripping surface of the body.
2. The bend support bracket of claim 1, further comprising a thumb
pad disposed between the fixed and free ends.
3. The bend support bracket of claim 2 wherein the thumb pad is
adjacent to the free end.
4. The bend support bracket of claim 2 wherein the thumb pad has a
textured surface.
5. The bend support bracket of claim 1 wherein pressure applied
manually to the outwardly facing, arcuate biasing surface of the
flexible attachment arm biases the positioning groove in the free
end of the attachment arm into alignment with the aperture wall so
that a portion of the aperture wall is receivable in the
positioning groove.
6. The bend support bracket of claim 1 in combination with a
bracket support strap attachable to a wall stud.
7. The bend support bracket of claim 1 wherein the body further
comprises a fixed flange member disposed opposite the flexible
attachment arm, the fixed flange member comprising a second
positioning groove alignable with the positioning groove of the
flexible attachment arm, whereby a portion of the inwardly facing
wall of the aperture in the bracket support strap is receivable
into the second positioning groove.
8. The bend support bracket of claim 1 wherein the positioning
groove of the flexible attachment arm is releasable from the
aperture of the bracket support strap upon the application of
manual pressure to the arcuate biasing surface of the flexible
attachment arm.
9. The bend support bracket of claim 1 wherein the body further
comprises at least one boss through which a fastener is insertable
to fasten the body directly to a wall stud.
10. The bend support bracket of claim 7 wherein the bracket support
strap has an in-wall side, and wherein the free end of the flexible
attachment arm can be manually biased toward the fixed flange
member sufficiently to permit attachment of the bend support
bracket to the bracket support strap from the in-wall side of the
bracket support strap.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to flexible, polymeric, tubular
conduits made of materials such as cross-linked polyethylene
("PEX") that are used in plumbing applications, and more
particularly, to a bend support bracket that is useful for
installing such flexible tubular conduits in in-wall plumbing
installations.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] In residential construction and in other plumbing
applications where permitted by building codes, potable water
supply lines comprising PEX tubing are frequently installed inside
walls. Once the PEX line is routed to a desired position inside a
wall, it is desirably bent outwardly for connection through an
aperture in the wall, typically drywall, to an appliance or other
end use application. To prevent a PEX line from pinching off or
kinking at the point where it bends to pass through a wall, and
thereby impeding the flow of water through the line, a bend support
bracket is desirably provided.
[0005] One such bracket is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No.
6,467,734. With that device, however, the forward wall of the
mounting flange comprises upper and lower portions defining a
surface that is disposed in fixed relation to the body and is
intentionally designed to be larger than the diameter of the holes
or openings in a support strap with which it can be used, so that
the bracket must necessarily be inserted through the strap from the
front side. Also, the prior art device as disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 6,467,734 comprises a narrow, relatively sharp, upwardly facing
reinforcing rib that "digs into" the palm of the user during
installation of the device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A bend support bracket for flexible polymeric tubing is
disclosed herein that is readily attachable to a bracket support
strap that spans at least a portion of the space between adjacent
wall studs, and is insertable through the holes in a bracket
support strap from the rear, in-wall side. More particularly, the
bend support bracket of the invention preferably comprises a molded
polymeric body comprising a substantially flat, arcuate conduit
guide surface and an oppositely facing, relatively flat, arcuate
gripping surface, with two open curvilinear conduit guide members
spaced apart along the conduit guide surface, and a flexible
attachment arm. The flexible attachment arm preferably comprises a
fixed end that is unitarily molded to the body, a free end that
comprises a positioning groove into which a portion of an inwardly
facing wall of an aperture in a bracket support strap is
receivable, and a substantially flat, outwardly facing, arcuate
biasing surface extending forwardly from the gripping surface at
the fixed end. According to a particularly preferred embodiment of
the invention, the biasing surface comprises a textured thumb pad
disposed adjacent to the free end for use in manually biasing the
positioning groove of the free end into alignment with the aperture
wall so that a portion of the aperture wall is receivable
therein.
[0007] The apparatus disclosed herein overcomes disadvantages
experienced in the use of prior art devices.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The apparatus of the invention is further described and
explained in relation to the following drawings wherein:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an installation of a
preferred embodiment of the bend support bracket of the invention
to a bracket support strap or, alternatively, directly to a wall
stud, with a segment of flexible polymeric tubing shown in phantom
outline; and
[0010] FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the bend support bracket
of FIG. 1 with a segment of flexible polymeric tubing shown in
phantom outline and a cross-section a bracket support strap shown
in dashed outline.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0011] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a preferred embodiment of bend
support bracket 10 is depicted as it could be installed inside a
wall. Bracket installation 40, which is intended to be illustrative
and not the only way in which bend support bracket 10 can be used
or installed, preferably comprises bend support bracket 10, wall
stud 12, bracket support strap 14, and truncated segment 36 of
flexible polymeric tubing (shown in phantom outline in a position
in which the tubing would be disposed relative to the other
elements of installation 40). Bracket support strap 14 is
preferably made of metal, desirably comprises a plurality of spaced
apart apertures of at least two different sizes, and is attachable
to adjacent wall stud 12 using conventional, commercially available
fasteners such as nail 15, or any other similarly useful fastener.
Alternatively, depending upon relative positioning between tubing
segment 36 and wall stud 12, bend support bracket 10 may be
attachable directly to wall stud 12 in some circumstances using
fasteners such as screws 17 if desired. Where bend support bracket
10 is attachable directly to wall stud 12, bracket support strap 14
may not be required.
[0012] FIG. 1 also discloses a pad 38 that is optionally disposed
on a rearwardly facing surface of bend support bracket 10 to
provide cushioning or acoustic insulation if desired.
[0013] Flexible polymeric tubing segment 36 is preferably made of
cross-linked polyethylene ("PEX"), although the particular resin(s)
employed in making tubing segment 36 can vary, and bend support
bracket 10 can be used with flexible polymeric tubing having
different component resins provided that bend support bracket 10 is
suitably sized for the material type, diameter and wall thickness
of tubing segment 36 that is used.
[0014] Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, bend support bracket 10 is
preferably injection molded from any commercially available,
moldable polymeric resin having properties suitable for use in such
applications and under such conditions. Bend support bracket 10
preferably comprises a molded polymeric body 16 further comprising
a substantially flat, arcuate conduit guide surface 21 with two
open curvilinear conduit guide members 22, 24 spaced apart along
the conduit guide surface, a substantially flat, arcuate gripping
surface 19 that faces oppositely from conduit guide surface 21, and
a flexible attachment arm 32. Flexible attachment arm 32 desirably
has a fixed end 35 that is unitarily molded to the body, a free end
28 that comprises a positioning groove 30 into which a portion of
an inwardly facing wall (shown in dashed outline) of an aperture 37
(FIG. 1) in bracket support strap 14 is receivable, and a
substantially flat, arcuate biasing surface disposed between the
fixed and free ends. The arcuate biasing surface is preferably
disposed on the same arcuate line with gripping surface 19 and most
preferably further comprises an outwardly facing, textured thumb
pad 34 disposed between the fixed and free ends, whereby the
application of manual pressure to textured pad 34 biases
positioning groove 30 in free end 38 of the attachment arm 32 into
alignment with the wall of aperture 37 so that a portion of the
wall is receivable in positioning groove 30. Sufficient clearance
is desirably provided between free end 28 and the closest adjacent
portion(s) of body 16 to permit attachment arm 32 to flex enough so
that positioning groove 30 can be positioned to receive a portion
of the aperture wall during installation, and can be positioned to
disengage from the aperture wall for subsequent removal if
desired.
[0015] Body 16 of bend support bracket 10 preferably further
comprises a plurality of spaced apart transverse aperture 20
defined by bosses 18 to facilitate the insertion of fasteners for
attachment directly to a wall stud 12 as suggested by exploded
screws 17 in FIG. 1 if desired.
[0016] According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the
invention, body 16 of bend support bracket 10 further comprises a
fixed flange member 25 disposed opposite flexible attachment arm
32, the fixed flange member 25 desirably comprising a second
positioning groove 26 that is alignable with positioning groove 30
of flexible attachment arm 32, whereby a portion of the inwardly
facing wall of aperture 37 in bracket support strap 14 is
receivable into second positioning groove 26. When free end 28 of
flexible attachment arm 32 is biased toward fixed flange member 25
by the application of manual pressure to thumb pad 34, bend support
bracket 10 is desirably installable through an aperture in bracket
support strap 14 from the rear.
[0017] Other alterations and modifications of the invention will
likewise become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon
reading this specification in view of the accompanying drawings,
and it is intended that the scope of the invention disclosed herein
be limited only by the broadest interpretation of the appended
claims to which the inventors are legally entitled.
* * * * *