U.S. patent application number 12/113936 was filed with the patent office on 2009-11-05 for manually operable drain device.
Invention is credited to Sean Scorvo.
Application Number | 20090271919 12/113936 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41256125 |
Filed Date | 2009-11-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090271919 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Scorvo; Sean |
November 5, 2009 |
Manually Operable Drain Device
Abstract
A method for preventing waste materials from clogging a
household drain, the method comprising: a) receiving a quantity of
waste material contained in a flow of liquid toward a drain
receptacle; b) guiding the flow of liquid to a predetermined
position adjacent a part of a manually operable device mounted
within the drain receptacle and gathering the quantity of the waste
material from the flow of liquid in a first location adjacent a
member of the manually operable device located in the drain
receptacle; c) maintaining the quantity of waste material generally
perpendicular to the vertical motion of a manually moving size
reduction assembly; d) manually moving the size reduction assembly
portion of the device so as to subject the quantity of waste
material to abrading action, thereby producing an abraded portion
of waste material as a plurality of smaller pieces; and e) carrying
the abraded pieces away from the drain receptacle and through a
drain conduit in the flow of water.
Inventors: |
Scorvo; Sean; (Beaverton,
OR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BULLIVANT HOUSER BAILEY PC
1415 L STREET, SUITE 1000
SACRAMENTO
CA
95814
US
|
Family ID: |
41256125 |
Appl. No.: |
12/113936 |
Filed: |
May 1, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
4/287 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E03C 1/262 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
4/287 |
International
Class: |
A47K 1/14 20060101
A47K001/14 |
Claims
1. A method for preventing waste materials from clogging a
household drain, the method comprising: a) receiving a quantity of
waste material contained in a flow of liquid toward a drain
receptacle; b) guiding the flow of liquid to a predetermined
position adjacent a part of a manually operable device mounted
within the drain receptacle and gathering the quantity of the waste
material from the flow of liquid in a first location adjacent a
member of the manually operable device located in the drain
receptacle; c) maintaining the quantity of waste material generally
perpendicular to the vertical motion of a manually moving size
reduction assembly; d) manually moving the size reduction assembly
portion of the device so as to subject the quantity of waste
material to abrading action, thereby producing an abraded portion
of waste material as a plurality of smaller pieces; and e) carrying
the abraded pieces away from the drain receptacle and through a
drain conduit in the flow of water.
2. The method of claim 1 including the step of using the flow of
water to align the quantity of waste material in a predetermined
arrangement within the device prior to manually moving the size
reduction assembly.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein, the predetermined arrangement
includes arrangement of at least some of the waste materials into a
strand.
4. The method of claim 3 including the step of using the flow of
water to place the strand of waste material in a location spanning
a plurality of neighboring water passages through a containment
portion of the device.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of comminuting the waste
material includes moving the size reduction assembly downward,
thereby urging a plurality of fingers into contact with the strand
and into respective ones of the water passages, thereby tearing the
strand into small pieces.
6. The method of claim 1 including the step of mechanically
carrying a portion of the waste material along a roughened abrasive
surface, thereby abrading the waste material into smaller
pieces.
7. The method of claim 6 including the step of mechanically
carrying a portion of the waste material along a plurality of
roughened abrasive surfaces, thereby abrading the waste material
into smaller pieces.
8. The method of claim 1 including the steps of gripping a
plurality of parts of a strand of the waste material while pushing
the plurality of parts of the strand simultaneously into a
plurality of respective apertures, thereby ripping the waste
material into smaller pieces.
9. The method of claim 1 including the steps of gripping a strand
of the waste material at a plurality of locations along a length of
the strand while pushing a plurality of parts of the strand into a
plurality of respective apertures, thereby ripping the waste
material into smaller pieces.
10. The method of claim 1 including the steps of simultaneously
holding and pushing on a plurality of locations along a length of a
strand of the waste material, thereby pushing the strand
simultaneously into a plurality of neighboring apertures and
thereby pulling and ripping the waste material into smaller
pieces.
11. The method of claim 1 including the step of closing the drain
by engaging the size reduction assembly with a part of the drain
receptacle and thereby holding a sealing member carried on the size
reduction assembly in sealing contact with a surface of the drain
receptacle.
12. The method of claim 1 including the step of closing the drain
by using a spring included in the size reduction assembly to hold a
sealing member carried on the size reduction assembly in sealing
relationship with a surface of the drain receptacle.
13. The method of claim 1 including the further steps of thereafter
moving the size reduction assembly back to an initial position and
thereafter repeating the steps of claim 2.
14. The method of claim 1 including gathering and entwining a
plurality of hairs included in the waste materials as a part of the
step of aligning the quantity of waste materials, and using the
flow of water to align a strand of hairs transversely across the
flow of water.
15. The method of claim 1 including the step of gripping a strand
of waste material at a plurality of places along the strand and
thereafter forcing respective parts of the strand simultaneously
into apart-spaced openings of the manually operable device, thereby
elongating the strand sufficiently to cause it to break into a
plurality of shorter pieces.
16. A manually operable device for use in a household drain inlet
receptacle, the device comprising: (a) a stationary main body; (b)
a strainer portion associated with the stationary main body and
positioned to receive a flow of liquid and to catch relatively
large pieces of solid waste material and temporarily hold the
relatively large pieces at the strainer; (c) a manually movable
size reduction assembly extending within the stationary main body
and reciprocally movable with respect to the stationary main body,
between an upper position and a lower position; and (d) an abrasive
material associated with at least one of the stationary main body
and the size reduction assembly; wherein when the manually movable
size reduction assembly engages at least some of the relatively
large pieces of waste material it acts cooperatively with the
stationary main body to abrade and reduce at least some of the
engaged pieces of waste material to a smaller size while the
movable size reduction assembly is being moved between the upper
and lower positions thereof.
17. The device of claim 16 wherein the stationary main body
comprises an abrasive surface.
18. The device of claim 16 wherein the size reduction assembly
comprises an abrasive surface.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Applications Nos. 60/814,409, filed Jun. 15, 2006;
60/814,495, filed Jun. 15, 2006; 60/814,497, filed Jun. 15, 2006;
60/855,577, filed Oct. 30, 2006; 60/873,657, filed Dec. 8, 2006;
and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0290082, filed May 4, 2007;
the complete disclosure of each of which are incorporated herein,
in the entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a device for handling solid
materials, such as hair, to reduce clogging of household sink, tub,
and shower drains. More particularly, the present invention relates
to a manually operable device for reducing the size of pieces of
hair and other solid waste materials to smaller pieces less likely
to accumulate and clog a drain.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Drain receptacles for sinks, showers, and bath tubs
frequently have strainers and filters covering or sitting in their
openings so as to prevent solid materials from entering the drain
conduit and clogging it at a downstream location. Such strainers
are intended to allow liquid to pass while stopping the solid
materials. However, in order for such devices to perform
satisfactorily, they must be regularly cleaned, because they are
prone to clogging. Cleaning such devices typically requires
manually grabbing and removing the bacteria-laden obstructing
material, which often includes entwined human hair.
[0006] Sinks in food preparation areas typically have devices for
comminuting solid waste in order to allow its passage into a
connected drain without clogging it. These devices are usually
electrically powered "garbage disposals" that have little need for
manual cleaning and operation, although they require significant
space for installation, electrical power for operation, and
adequate access for maintenance. These requirements are difficult
or impossible to meet in the typical shower, tub, or sink outside
the kitchen area.
[0007] Previous attempts to provide various manually operable drain
strainers, waste traps, and comminuting devices, including
comminuting or shearing devices designed to cut human hair, have
various limitations. For example, Gandillon, U.S. Pat. No.
1,614,358, describes a manually operated device fitted under a
common sink outlet, but the apparatus is prone to clogging,
complex, and undesirably large. Comminution of solid material using
such device is via manual rotation of a cone about a central axis
against fixed arms.
[0008] Hammes, U.S. Pat. No. 2,012,680, describes an early
incarnation of the electric garbage disposal flushing appropriately
comminuted solid material from a grinding chamber by draining
liquids through the chamber, and is shown as an under-sink
installation.
[0009] Frank, U.S. Pat. No. 2,479,485, shows a manually operated
self-cleaning sink stopper and addresses manual operation with
solid waste straining and cutting functions. In the stopper device
an initial strainer is included to keep commonly encountered
material from reaching a cutting surface, and the initial strainer
requires manual cleaning of materials trapped at that level.
Furthermore, the device is prone to foriling with hair.
[0010] Hovartos, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,470, describes a
garbage disposer that is driven by a water jet. The device requires
significant space for installation and maintenance and has a
vertically oriented shaft that is prone to fouling with hair. The
device does not allow for manual operation when water flow provides
insufficient power.
[0011] Maynard, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,571, describes a water
driven device for agitating and fragmenting debris in a sink drain.
The device includes a hydraulically driven impeller that may also
be manually engaged with the strainer basket. However, the central
shaft is exposed to solid waste entering the drain, and is,
therefore, prone to fouling.
[0012] Maynard, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,166, discloses a device
that includes a centrally mounted rotor, which rotates within a
sink drain. However, the device is actuated by linear strokes of a
steeply pitched threaded rod passing through a threaded bore of a
rotor, and the threaded rod is exposed to solid waste material and
is therefore prone to fouling.
[0013] Other devices, such as electric razors that are designed
specifically to cut hair, are not easily adapted for use in
handling hair caught on sink, tub, or shower drain parts to prevent
Clogging of those drains. Ochiai et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,352,
and Szymansky, U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,446, describe cutting devices
used in common electric shavers, but hair that has caught in sink,
tub, or shower drains tends to be unlikely to be oriented so that
these devices would be effective.
[0014] Lohnert, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0207004, describes
a device designed to rend captured hair in a drain orifice by
integrating such a shearing device. However, hair trapped in the
device is not perpendicularly oriented to the shearing surface.
This dramatically decreases the efficacy of any shearing device as
significant portion of the captured hair has a tendency to bind
such a mechanism if not held perpendicular to the shearing
motion.
[0015] The need for precisely machined and aligned shearing
surfaces makes application to a legacy drain's cross members
extremely difficult to achieve. This is especially true given the
lack of standardization of the cross members. As such, their size,
orientation, finish, and materials are highly variable, making the
manufacture have to develop a separate device for the literally
hundreds of different legacy drain permutations. Also, the use of
such drain orifice cross members as strainer arms is not effective
at catching a majority of hairs flowing into the orifice.
[0016] Materials and manufacturing costs are significant concerns
of manufacturers in the plumbing field, thereby decreasing the
likelihood that such a device would ever be cost effective enough
to see market implementation. Use of shearing blades increases the
costs beyond those in tuned with the alignment and precision issues
as they require use of corrosion resistant materials, most likely
ceramics, stainless steel, or other corrosion resistant yet durable
alloys, with the concomitant cost issues associated with such
materials. While mention is briefly made regarding use of plastics
in this capacity, it is apparent to one skilled in the art of
rending hair with a bladed instrument that plastic is not an
effective alternative.
[0017] In any case, shearing surfaces requires precise machining
and alignment in even non-legacy drain applications.
[0018] What is needed, therefore, is a device that is easily
mounted in or constructed to fit in the space conventionally
available in the strainer bowl or similar initial receptacle
portion of a household drain, or constructed to replace such a
strainer bowl or similar receptacle, for reducing the size of
pieces of hair and other solid waste materials that might otherwise
accumulate in and clog a drain conduit from household sink, tub,
and shower drains, so as to promote more efficient disposal of the
waste through the drain. Such a device should be manually operable
with minimal physical effort of the operator, and resistant to
clogs without needing frequent cleaning beyond that resulting from
the operation of the device.
[0019] Finally, such a device should be designed as to be robust
and easy to manufacture, without need for finely machined surfaces,
blades, or knife-like edges.
[0020] The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages
of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration
of the following detailed description of the invention taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0021] The invention provides a device and method for preventing
waste materials from clogging a household drain. The method
comprises: a) receiving a quantity of waste material contained in a
flow of liquid toward a drain receptacle; b) guiding the flow of
liquid to a predetermined position adjacent a part of a manually
operable device mounted within the drain receptacle and gathering
the quantity of the waste material from the flow of liquid in a
first location adjacent a member of the manually operable device
located in the drain receptacle; c) maintaining the quantity of
waste material generally perpendicular to the vertical motion of a
manually moving size reduction assembly; d) manually moving the
size reduction assembly portion of the device so as to subject the
quantity of waste material to abrading action, thereby producing an
abraded portion of waste material as a plurality of smaller pieces;
and e) carrying the abraded pieces away from the drain receptacle
and through a drain conduit in the flow of water.
[0022] In one embodiment the method includes the step of using the
flow of water to align the quantity of waste material in a
predetermined arrangement within the device prior to manually
moving the size reduction assembly, which can be the arrangement of
at least some of the waste materials into a strand.
[0023] In another embodiment, the method includes the step of using
the flow of water to place the strand of waste material in a
location spanning a plurality of neighboring water passages through
a containment portion of the device.
[0024] In one alternative, the waste material is comminuted by
moving the size reduction assembly downward, thereby urging a
plurality of fingers into contact with the strand and into
respective ones of the water passages, thereby tearing the strand
into small pieces.
[0025] In one embodiment, the method includes the step of
mechanically carrying a portion of the waste material along a
roughened abrasive surface, thereby abrading the waste material
into smaller pieces. In a further such embodiment, the method
includes the step of mechanically carrying a portion of the waste
material along a plurality of roughened abrasive surfaces.
[0026] In a different embodiment, a plurality of parts of a strand
of the waste material is gripped while pushing the plurality of
parts of the strand simultaneously into a plurality of respective
apertures, thereby ripping the waste material into smaller
pieces.
[0027] In a further preferred embodiment, the method includes the
steps of gripping a strand of the waste material at a plurality of
locations along a length of the strand while pushing a plurality of
parts of the strand into a plurality of respective apertures,
thereby ripping the waste material into smaller pieces.
[0028] In a still further preferred embodiment, the method includes
the steps of simultaneously holding and pushing on a plurality of
locations along a length of a strand of the waste material, thereby
pushing the strand simultaneously into a plurality of neighboring
apertures and thereby pulling and ripping the waste material into
smaller pieces.
[0029] In another embodiment, the method includes the step of
closing the drain by engaging the size reduction assembly with a
part of the drain receptacle and thereby holding a sealing member
carried on the size reduction assembly in sealing contact with a
surface of the drain receptacle.
[0030] In a different embodiment, the method includes the step of
closing the drain by using a spring included in the size reduction
assembly to hold a sealing member carried on the size reduction
assembly in sealing relationship with a surface of the drain
receptacle. The size reduction assembly can thereafter be moved
back to an initial position.
[0031] In a further preferred embodiment, the method includes
gathering and entwining a plurality of hairs included in the waste
materials as a part of the step of aligning the quantity of waste
materials, and using the flow of water to align a strand of hairs
transversely across the flow of water.
[0032] In a still further preferred embodiment, the method includes
the step of gripping a strand of waste material at a plurality of
places along the strand and thereafter forcing respective parts of
the strand simultaneously into apart-spaced openings in a bottom
member of the manually operable device, thereby elongating the
strand sufficiently to cause it to break into a plurality of
shorter pieces.
[0033] The invention also provides a manually operable device for
use in a household drain inlet receptacle, the device comprising:
(a) a stationary main body; (b) a strainer portion associated with
the stationary main body and positioned to receive a flow of liquid
and to catch relatively large pieces of solid waste material and
temporarily hold the relatively large pieces at the strainer; (c) a
manually movable size reduction assembly extending within the
stationary main body and reciprocally movable with respect to the
stationary main body, between an upper position and a lower
position; and (d) an abrasive material associated with at least one
of the stationary main body and the size reduction assembly; where
when the manually movable size reduction assembly engages at least
some of the relatively large pieces of waste material it acts
cooperatively with the stationary main body to abrade and reduce at
least some of the engaged pieces of waste material to a smaller
size while the movable size reduction assembly is being moved
between the upper and lower positions thereof.
[0034] The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages
of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration
of the following detailed description of the invention taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0035] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an idealized manually
operable device for use in a drain.
[0036] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 1
with a movable size reduction assembly thereof moved to a lower
position.
[0037] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the device shown
in FIG. 1 at a reduced scale.
[0038] FIG. 4 is a cross section view of the device shown in FIG. 1
sitting within a legacy drain receptacle.
[0039] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternative manually
operable device for use in a drain.
[0040] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 5
with a movable size reduction assembly thereof moved to a lower
position.
[0041] FIG. 7 is a cross-section view of the device shown in FIG. 5
sitting within a legacy drain receptacle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0042] Referring first to FIGS. 1-4, a manually operable dram
mounted device 99 shown assembled in FIG. 1 may be installed in an
open drain receptacle (as typified in FIG. 13 and seen in sink,
bathtub, or shower drains) (add picture of common drain receptacle
and label it FIG. 13) for disposal of solid materials commonly
encountered in a household or office, other than in a kitchen, such
as hair, thread, fingernails, soapy residues, and so forth.
[0043] Referring to FIG. 1, the device 99 is in a ready condition,
before operation, fitted for a typical drain receptacle. The device
99 may be manufactured in a size appropriate to fit snugly within
the receptacle of a conventional drain for a tub, shower, or sink,
in which the receptacle portion includes a horizontal bottom
support cross member defining a threaded hole centered within the
strainer bottom.
[0044] The device 99 includes a perforated strainer and ripping
cutting plate 106 which is stationary and may be supported by a
small distance above the horizontal bottom cross members of the
receptacle, also shown in cross section in FIG. 4. A movable size
reduction assembly 100 includes vertically extending members
hereinafter referred to as fingers 104, arranged to move downwardly
into respective ones of a set of corresponding holes 109. Strands
of hair and solids 107 are captured atop the radial arms 105 of
strainer plate 106.
[0045] FIG. 2 demonstrates depression of movable size reduction
assembly 100, leaving device 99 in a lower position that allows
flexible flange 102 to interact with the top of drain receptacle
and impede flow of liquid into drain receptacle, whereby plugging
the drain. The holes 109 extending downward through the strainer
plate 106 allow passage of fingers 104 during depression of movable
reduction assembly 100. Depression of movable size reduction
assembly 100 pushes fingers 104 through holes 109 causing
subsequent movement of solids captured atop radial arms 105 of the
strainer plate 106. The upper edges of the radial arms 105 are
optimally roughened or coated with abrasive, as are the lower
portion 108 of fingers 104. Such optimization is key in abrasion
and ripping of the moving strands of hair and captured solids 107
as movable size reduction assembly 100 is depressed, pulling hair
and captured solids 107 across the abrasive and or roughened
surfaces of 108 and upper portions of 105. Movement of solids in
said manner allows for rending of all solids across roughened and
or abrasive coated surfaces. Flow of liquid through the strainer
plate 106 in the course of normal use flushes the rendered hair and
solids 114 into distal plumbing where it is now unlikely to
contribute to clogs given their reduced size/length. Use of
roughening and or abrasive coatings obviates the need for expensive
and meticulously aligned shearing surfaces or cutting blades.
[0046] Experimental data has demonstrated that a solid strainer arm
or protuberance every 0.31 inches of inside drain orifice
circumference is necessary to capture 95% of hairs that are 4
inches in length or greater (the size of hairs shown in the
experimental data to be the ones most prone to causing clogs in
plumbing by wrapping around protuberances or defects in the
plumbing encountering fluid stream flow).
[0047] Halving that strainer arm to circumference ratio to one
strainer arm every 0.628 inches decreases the capture of hairs to
as low as 48% of hairs entering the drain orifice (thereby allowing
52% of hairs to pass into distal plumbing and cause clog
formation). Use of four cross members as shown in the prior art
devices demonstrates a ratio of one strainer arm for every 1.7
inches of drain wall circumference (in the typical United States
bath tub drain orifice diameter of 1.5 inches). It is clear that
use of drain cross members (of which the typical number is 4 in
legacy drains) to capture hair in the waste stream would allow a
majority of hair to pass into distal plumbing, causing subsequent
clogs.
[0048] A central support shaft/screw 200 as shown in FIG. 3 and
FIG. 4 may be attached to the bottom cross member of the drain
receptacle, and in most cases will be able to be threaded solidly
into a mating relationship with the threaded hole. Legacy drain
receptacles without a threaded cross member will not accept
threaded shaft/screw 200, and in such cases.about.the screw/shaft
200 may be truncated, allowing strainer plate 106 to fit flush on
cross members of the receptacle. In such a case, the outside edge
of strainer plate 106 holds device 99 in place by fitting snuggly
in the drain receptacle, perhaps with the aid of plumbers tape
placed circumferentially around the base of strainer plate 106.
Alternatively, the manufacturer may decide to make strainer plate
106 integral to a drain receptacle.
[0049] The superior portion of strainer plate 106 defines a central
opening 207 to receive the screw 200, and to serve as a cover for
spring 208. The strainer base 106 may include two through-bores 210
to allow for drainage of liquid from within the spring cover.
[0050] A central body 103 has a generally cylindrical shape, and
the vertically oriented fingers 104 (integral to the central body
103) extend parallel with one another and are spaced apart from
each other about the cylindrical central body 103. Each of the
fingers 104 has a lower end portion 108 that extends downward
independently and that have a rough or abrasive-coated surface
aligned generally tangential to the circumference of the central
body 103. The lower end portion 108 of each finger is aligned with
one of the correspondingly shaped holes 109 defined by the strainer
plate 106.
[0051] The central body 103 is hollow and has an open bottom end
that fits around the superior portion of strainer plate 106. An
inner side of each finger 104 may be aligned with a corresponding
groove 209 on the superior portion of strainer plate 106 in order
to ensure proper guidance of fingers 104 through holes 109 in the
lower portion of strainer plate 106. The central body 103 is
movable in a reciprocating manner upward and downward, between an
upper position, in which the lower end portions 108 of the fingers
104 are located a small distance above the lower portion of
strainer plate 106 and a lower position, in which all of the lower
end portions extend downward into respective ones of the
correspondingly shaped holes 109 in the lower portion of strainer
plate 106.
[0052] A scraping mechanism is enclosed within the upper portion of
strainer plate FIG. 6 and the movable central body 103 and allows
the size reduction assembly 100 to be moved downward and latched
into its lower position by pressing downward on a cap 101 connected
to the top of the central body 103. The cap 101 has a comfortable
upper surface that can comfortably be pressed by a hand or foot.
The size reduction assembly 100 may then be released and raised to
the upper position by a succeeding downward movement of the cap 101
and the attached central body 103.
[0053] In one such stepping mechanism, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a
hollow shaft 204 portion of the stepping mechanism is mounted over
the upper end of the central support shaft 200, allowing it to spin
freely about the vertical axis of shaft 200. Vertical ribs or
flutes 210 on the outside of the hollow shaft 204 form a part of
the stepping mechanism. Grooves defined between the flutes 210
receive inwardly projecting bodies 211 located within the upper end
of the central body 103, so that the hollow shaft 204 guides and
aligns the upper end of the central body 103 With the central shaft
200 as the size reduction assembly 100 moves reciprocatingly upward
and downward with respect to the strainer 106 and the central shaft
200. An upper spring 201 and a lower spring 208 and a rotating
stepping ratchet body 203 arranged in a well-known manner
sequentially hold the central body 103 in its upper position and
its lower position when it is repeatedly moved fully downward by
depressing the cap 101.
[0054] When the rotating stepping ratchet body 203 is in a lower
position the upper spring 201 urges the central body 103 toward the
lower position, and a seal member shown as a radially extending
frustoconical resiliently flexible seal member 102 that fits around
an upper shoulder of the central body 103, is also lowered and
urged toward the lower position. The seal member 102 then presses
against the radially extending flange 115 of the drain receptacle
portion 500 of the drain, preventing liquid from flowing into the
device. When the central body 103 is in its upper position as shown
in FIGS. 1 and 4 the seal member 102 is spaced upwardly apart from
the flange 115, and liquid to be drained from the tub or sink,
etc., in which the device 99 is installed is free to enter a
receptacle beneath the sealing member.
[0055] The cap 101 is held securely atop the central body 103 as by
mating threads, and includes a lower rim 212 seated against a
central hub of the sealing member 102, so that to enter the drain
liquid must pass through the device 99, by flowing beneath the
sealing member 102, and then around the outside of the cylindrical
portion of the central body 103, between the fingers 104, carrying
any entrained waste solid pieces, including hair. Because the
fingers 109 are straight and vertical, waste material can be
carried unhampered to the strainer plate 106 in a flow of
liquid.
[0056] As a flow of liquid containing solid pieces of waste
material proceeds downward within a drain receptacle, past the
stationary body of device 99, pieces of solid waste come to sit
atop the bottom portion of strainer plate 106, and at least
partially beneath the lower ends 108 of the fingers 104, so that
when the central body 103 is moved downward by pressure on the cap
101 the lower ends 108 of the fingers 104 grasp and force pieces of
solid material through the corresponding holes 109, abrading and
ripping relatively large pieces of waste material 107 into reduced
sized pieces 114 which are small enough to pass freely through a
drain conduit beneath a drain receptacle with greatly reduced
likelihood of accumulating so as to clog the associated drain
conduit at a distant downstream location.
[0057] Even fibrous materials such as hair or pieces of grass will
be divided into smaller pieces which are less likely to be able to
accumulate within a drain conduit to a troublesome extent. As
longer fibrous pieces such as long hairs 107 are carried into the
space surrounding the central body 103 those fibers are carried
down along the fingers 104 by the flow of water, which aligns such
long pieces 107 naturally over the radial arms 105 of the lower
portion of the strainer 106 as shown in FIG. 1, and the abrasive
coated or roughened bottom ends of the fingers 108 help to grasp
such fibrous materials and urge spaced-apart portions of strands of
entwined such hairs 107 simultaneously through neighboring ones of
the corresponding holes 109 through the bottom plate 106, thus
ripping the hairs 107 or strands of other fibers into short pieces
that when sufficiently shortened will drop through the holes 109 in
the bottom plate 106 and thereafter be flushed from the device 99
into the flow of liquid into the drain conduit below the
device.
[0058] Pieces of waste material which are not divided sufficiently
with a first downward stroke of the size reduction assembly 100 can
be further reduced by subsequent downward strokes of the size
reduction assembly from its upper position to its lower position in
which the lower ends of the fingers 104 pass into the boles
109.
[0059] When the cap 101 is depressed far enough to move the central
body 103 fully into its lower position the sealing member 102
engages the radially extending flange stopping the flow of liquid
into the drain strainer, so that the device 99 seals the drain and
retains liquid in the sink, shower, or bathtub in which it is
installed, until the cap 101 and attached central body 103 are
allowed to rise slightly and are thereafter again pushed downward,
operating the stepping mechanism centrally located within the drain
protective device 99. The central body and the spring cover may fit
together slidingly, and, although there is room for entry of water
into the space deformed within the spring cover, the holes in the
bottom of the spring cover allow the water to drain freely, and the
space between the central body 103 and the spring cover 202 may be
small enough to prevent entry of waste material that would be
likely to interfere significantly with operation of the stepping
mechanism.
[0060] While the entire device 99 could be of metal several parts
could, instead, be of a suitable plastics material to reduce costs.
Abrasive surfaces would ideally comprise of materials coated with
abrasive material such as silicone carbide, but could also simply
be roughened surfaces of the materials used to construct fingers
104 or radial arms 105.
[0061] FIGS. 5 through 7 depict an alternative device 299 as a sink
based device, utilizing the same basic technology as described
above for a tub device in FIGS. 1-4. FIG. 5 shows the device 299 in
its up position, while FIG. 6 shows the embodiment in the down, or
tearing, position. FIG. 7 depicts the device 299 fitted for a
typical sink drain receptacle 500.
[0062] In reference to FIGS. 5 and 7, the device 299 includes a
perforated strainer and ripping cutting plate 306 which is
stationary and may be supported within the receptacle 500. A
movable size reduction assembly 300 includes vertically extending
members hereinafter referred to as fingers 304, arranged to move
downwardly into respective ones of a set of corresponding holes
309. Strands of hair and solids are captured atop the radial arms
305 of strainer plate 306.
[0063] FIG. 6 show the position of a lowered assembly 300. In the
lower position of assembly 300, the flexible flange 302 interacts
with the top of the drain receptacle 500 to impede flow of liquid
into drain receptacle 500, whereby plugging the drain. The holes
309 extending downward through the strainer plate 306 allow passage
of fingers 304 during depression of movable reduction assembly
300.
[0064] In reference to FIG. 7, the catch element 310 can be seen,
depicted as a square opening at the bottom of the device to catch
the lever that attaches to the plunger that directs the lowering
and raising of the assembly 300 within the drain receptacle 500. As
a flow of liquid containing solid pieces of waste material proceeds
downward past the raised assembly 300, pieces of solid waste come
to sit atop the bottom portion of strainer plate 306, and at least
partially beneath the lower ends 308 of the fingers 304.
[0065] Referring again to FIG. 6, when the assembly 300 is lowered
downward the fingers 304 are pushed through holes 309, causing
subsequent movement of solids captured atop radial arms 305 of the
strainer plate 306. The upper edges of the radial arms 305 are
optimally roughened or coated with abrasive, as are the lower
portion 308 of fingers 304. Such optimization is key in abrasion
and ripping of the moving strands of hair and captured solids 307
as movable size reduction assembly 300 is depressed, pulling hair
and captured solids 307 across the abrasive and or roughened
surfaces of 308 and upper portions of 305. Movement of solids in
this manner allows for rending of all solids across roughened and
or abrasive coated surfaces.
[0066] Flow of liquid through the strainer plate 306 in the course
of normal use flushes the rendered hair and solids into distal
plumbing. As is the case for the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4, the use
of roughening and or abrasive coatings obviates the need for
expensive and meticulously aligned shearing surfaces or cutting
blades.
[0067] Pieces of waste material which are not divided sufficiently
with a first downward stroke of the size reduction assembly 300
will be further reduced by subsequent downward strokes of the size
reduction assembly from its upper position to its lower position in
which the lower ends of the fingers 304 pass into the holes
309.
[0068] The devices described in Non-Provisional Patent Application
No. 20070290082 describe the use of strategically placed abrasive
materials or roughened surfaces to achieve the desired function
without the use of shearing. This patent application is meant to
expound upon those described benefits by describing exemplary
devices utilizing the primary features of trapping of solid
materials from a liquid flow, aligning them in an orientation that
facilitates their rending, then rending them into small pieces
unlikely to form clogs by a movable drain assembly with
strategically placed abrasives or roughened surfaces.
[0069] Thus, the present disclosure sets forth a description of a
manually operable apparatus and a method for separating larger
pieces of materials such as human hair, textile fibers, bits of
grass or other vegetation, fingernails, toenails, and other waste
materials from a flow of water being drained from a conventional
fixture such as a bathtub, shower, or sink, and for periodically
reducing the size of such accumulated pieces of waste materials to
a size small enough to be flushed readily down through an ordinary
drain conduit without accumulating readily in quantities able to
cause a significant blockage of such a drain conduit. Key to the
function of the device is the movement the materials against at
least one abrasive or sufficiently roughened surface at strategic
locations that rend hair into smaller pieces when the plunger arms
of the device are actuated. Use of abrasives or sufficiently
roughened surfaces instead of shearing to rend hair allows for more
extensive use of plastics as blades and hard cutting surfaces
aren't necessary, makes the device easier to manufacture for
placement in a multitude of legacy drains, and significantly
reduces the manufacturing and materials costs associated with
machining or casting of the metal/ceramic/alloy parts necessary to
produce shearing surfaces.
[0070] Abrasion of materials to the point that they can no longer
resist breaking as they are stretched by the actuation of at least
one moving plunger arm is significantly different from shearing.
Abrasion of materials commonly encountered in bathroom drains,
necessitates that the materials move across at least one abrasive
or sufficiently roughened surface in order to facilitate their
rending into smaller pieces. Shearing, in contrast, requires that
the materials be relatively immobile so that it may remain in
between the two shearing surfaces and be cut.
[0071] Likewise, though a perpendicular orientation of the material
in relation to the movement of plunger arms at the beginning of
device actuation is preferred, the orientation of the materials
during the actuation of the plunger arms can be variable. This
contrasts with materials in a shearing device that must ideally
remain strictly perpendicular to the shearing surfaces to avoid
simply binding the surfaces to a point where their mobility is
hindered as one might encounter with hair binding the blades of
scissors if the hair isn't held taut and perpendicular to the
scissor blade action.
[0072] Finally, though abrasive materials and roughened surfaces
tend to have sharp edges on a microscopic level, and may indeed do
some cutting, they are variably oriented so as to facilitate
rending of materials with variable orientations. This, again,
contrasts with shearing where the sharp shearing surface is in a
roughly linear orientation, thus requiring that the material to be
cut again be in roughly a perpendicular orientation to the motion
of the blades.
[0073] In some embodiments the device is easily installed in an
existing drain. Other embodiments may be manufactured as integral
parts of drain receptacles to be mounted in a sink, tub, or
shower.
[0074] The simplicity of the drain mounted device allows for easy
production and installation, garnering significant advantages over
more complex mechanisms such as motor-driven garbage disposals, or
those requiring machined and corrosion resistant shearing
surfaces.
[0075] The terms and expressions which have been employed in the
foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description
and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such
terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features
shown and described or portions thereof; it being recognized that
the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the
claims which follow.
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