AU776985B2 - A waste assembly - Google Patents

Description

S&F Ref: 556988

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name and Address of Applicant Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Caroma Industries Limited 10 Market Street Brisbane Queensland 4000 Australia Steven John Cummings, Howard Charles Schultz Spruson Ferguson St Martins Tower,Level 31 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000 A Waste Assembly Invention Title: ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION DETAILS [33] Country [31] Applic. No(s) AU PQ7565 [32] Application Date 17 May 2000 The following statement is a full dc'scription of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5815c A WASTE ASSEMBLY Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waste assembly suitable for installation in the waste outlet or drain of a receptacle such as a sink, basin, bathtub or the like.

Background of the invention It is known to use a plug to seal the waste outlet of a receptacle in order to retain liquid therein. A disadvantages of plugs is that they may be lost or stolen and often look unsightly whilst in use or placed adjacent the receptacle.

To address these problems it is known to use a waste assembly in which the plug is retained adjacent the waste opening in both a lowered position to seal the waste opening and a raised position to allow liquid to pass into the waste opening to empty the receptacle.

c:pc A known waste assembly has the plug connected to a lever arrangement protruding from a spout that directs liquid into the receptacle. Moving the lever down or up causes the plug to move up or down respectively and thus open or close the waste •opening. A disadvantage of this arrangement is the components of the lever assembly are complicated, expensive, prone to corrosion and breakage and the protruding shaft is •unsightly.

Another known waste assembly uses a spring arrangement in which successive depression of the plug moves it between lowered and raised positions. A disadvantage of this arrangement is that it is complicated, expensive, prone to corrosion and breakage and the spring can lose its resilience over time, resulting in malfunction.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a waste assembly that 25 substantially overcomes or at least ameliorate one or more of the above disadvantages.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a waste assembly comprising: a waste body with at least one waste outlet opening, the waste body adapted for mounting in a waste outlet of a receptacle; a seal adapted to move, in use, along an axis between a lowered position substantially sealing the waste outlet opening(s) and a raised position allowing fluid flow through the waste outlet opening(s); a first engaging formation fixed relative to the waste body; and second and third engaging formations fixed relative to the seal, the second and third engaging formations being angularly spaced apart around said axis, [R:\LBDJ02323.doc:KXT:AVS the engaging formations being adapted such that lifting and rotating the seal from the lowered position causes the first and second engaging formations to engage and retain the seal in the raised position and rotating and dropping the seal from the raised position causes the first and third engaging formations to engage and retain the seal in the lowered position,the engaging formations engage under the influence of gravity and wherein the assembly further comprises a spindle along which the seal travels and a stud threadably connected to the spindle.

The waste assembly preferably also comprises a plug positioned, in use, above the seal that can be manually gripped in the lowered and the raised positions.

The first engaging formation is preferably in the form of a protruding pin, the second engaging formation is preferably in the form of a part annular surface adapted to abut and engage the pin in the raised position and the third engagement formation is preferably in the form of a slot adapted to abut and engage the pin in the lowered position.

The pin preferably protrudes from the spindle. The stud connects the waste body to a waste nut adapted for mounting below the receptacle waste outlet.

o•i ~In an (anti vandal) embodiment, the spindle includes tongue received within a groove provided in the waste body to prevent disassembly of the waste assembly by preventing rotating of the spindle relative to the stud in the lowered position.

The waste body openings are preferably defined by a grate, most preferably a grate integrally formed with the waste body.

Brief Description of the Drawings Two preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is an exploded side view of a first embodiment of a waste assembly *o 25 according to the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the plug housing component shown #o00 in Fig. 1.; Fig. 3 is an assembled cross sectional view of the waste assembly of Fig. 1, in the lowered position; Fig. 4 is an assembled perspective view of the waste assembly of Fig. 1, in the lowered position; Fig. 5 is an exploded side view of a waste assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention; [R:\LIBD]02323.doc:KXT:AV:KEH Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the spindle component shown in Fig.

Fig. 7 is a enlarged cross sectional side view of the waste body component shown in Fig. 5; and Fig. 8 is an assembled cross sectional view of the waste assembly of Fig. 5, in the lowered position.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment Figs. 1 to 4 show a waste assembly 10 according to a first embodiment of the invention. Referring to Fig. 1, the waste assembly 10 is comprised the following components: a plug 12; a grub screw 14; a circlip 16; a plug housing 18; a waste seal a rubber seal 22; a spindle 24; a spindle pin 26; a threaded fixing stud 28; a stud pin 30; a waste body 32 with an integrally formed waste outlet openings 33 which define a grate; a rubber washer 34; a waste nut 36; and a fixing nut 38.

The installation of the waste assembly 10 commences with the assembly of the components 12 to 30. As best shown in Fig. 3, the waste seal 20 has a central opening which is a snug fit around an external groove 40 in the plug housing 18. The plug housing 18 also has a smaller lower internal bore 42 and a larger upper internal bore 44.

The spindle 24 has an upper smaller portion 46 which is inserted into, and slidably received within, the bore 42. The rubber seal 22 is positioned beneath the seal 20 on the smaller portion 46 of the spindle 24. The spindle pin 24 is retained adjacent the plug housing 18 by the circlip 16 which engages the upper end of the smaller portion 46 of the spindle 24 and which has a larger external diameter than the bore 42.

The spindle 24 also has a lower larger portion 48 with a blind threaded hole The fixing stud 28 is screwed into the hole 50 until the stud pin 30 abuts the lower end of the larger portion 48 of the spindle 24.

The spindle pin 26 and the stud pin 30 are press fits into the spindle 24 and the stud 28 respectively. The plug 12 is retained adjacent the plug housing 18 by the grub screw 14 engaging a recess 52 in the plug housing 18.

The waste outlet (drain) of a receptacle, such as a sink, is generally denoted 54 in Fig. 3. The next stage of the installation involves placing the waste body 32 in the outlet 54 and positioning the assembled components 12 to 30 above the waste body 32 by sliding the stud 28 through an opening 56 provided in the bottom of the waste body 32.

The waste nut 36 is then positioned below the waste body 32 and the rubber washer 34 is positioned between the top of the waste nut 36 and the bottom of the outlet 54.

[R:\LIBD]02323.doc:KXT:AVS The installation of the assembly 10 is completed by tightening the fixing nut 38 around the lower end of the stud 28. The waste nut 36 can then be connected to pipes (not shown) leading to a drainage system in the known manner.

As best shown in Fig. 1, the spindle pin 26 in the spindle 24 constitutes a first engagement formation. As best shown in Fig. 2, the underside of the plug housing 18 has a lower partial annular surface 58 which constitutes a second engagement formation and an upper slotted surface 60 which constitutes a third engagement formation.

Fig. 3 shows the waste assembly 10 in a lowered position in which the seal abuts and seals an upper opening of the waste body 32. In this position, the spindle pin lo 26 is received within the slot 60 and engages same under the influence of gravity. The plug 12 is clear of the receptacle 54 by gap 62 in this position so it can be manually gripped from within the receptacle.

The operation of the waste assembly 10 will now be described.

Gripping and lifting the plug 12 causes the plug housing 18 to move upwards 15 until the spindle pin 26 is clear of the slot 60. Rotating the plug housing 18 then causes the spindle pin 26 to be adjacent the lower partial annular surface 58 of the plug housing 18. Releasing the plug 12 causes the plug housing surface 58 to rest upon the spindle pin 26 and engage same under the influence of gravity. The seal 20 is thus held in a raised position where it does not abut the opening of the waste body 32 and allows fluid flow into the waste body 32 and out through the grate openings 33 and so into the sewerage system. It will be appreciated that the gap 62 is enlarged when the assembly 10 is in the raised position.

A reverse of the above procedure, namely rotating then dropping, returns the waste seal 20 to the lowered position shown in Fig. 3.

25 When the waste assembly 10 is in the raised position, rotating the plug 12 causes the waste body 18 to rotate relative to the spindle 24. However, it should be appreciated that rotation of the plug 12 when the waste assembly 10 is in the lowered position causes rotation of the stud 28, due to the engagement of the spindle pin 26 in the slot 54 of the waste body 18. Accordingly, it is possible for the plug 12 to be turned whilst in the lowered position and the stud 28 unscrewed from the nut 38 disassemble the waste assembly A waste assembly 70 according to a second (anti-vandal) embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 5 to 8. Like reference numerals to those used in describing like features of the first embodiment will be used to denote like features of the second embodiment.

IR:\LIBD]02323.doc:KXT:AVS In the second embodiment of the waste assembly 70, the lower end of the spindle 24 has a pair of tongues 72 which are received in a pair of corresponding grooves 74 provided in the bottom of the waste body 32, when the waste assembly 70 is in the lowered position, as shown in Fig. 8. The engagement of the tongues 72 and the grooves 74 prevents rotation of the plug 12 and thereby prevents disassembly of the waste assembly 70 by rotating the plug 12 from within the receptacle, in the manner described with reference to the first embodiment. Relative rotation between the waste body 18 and the spindle 24 also occurs in the raised position, as with the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, the preferred method of disassembly involves disconnecting the waste nut 36 from the sewerage pipe work and removing the fixing nut 38. This is the only method of disassembly of the second embodiment.

The advantage of the present invention resides in its ease of operation and its simplified construction not relying on springs or external lever devices or the like.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to two preferred embodiments, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

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Claims (9)

1. A waste assembly comprising: a waste body with at least one waste outlet opening, the waste body adapted for mounting in a waste outlet of a receptacle; a seal adapted to move, in use, along an axis between a lowered position substantially sealing the waste outlet opening(s) and a raised position allowing fluid flow through the waste outlet opening(s); a first engaging formation fixed relative to the waste body; and second and third engaging formations fixed relative to the seal, the second and 1o third engaging formations being angularly spaced apart around said axis, the engaging formations being adapted such that lifting and rotating the seal from the lowered position causes the first and second engaging formations to engage and retain the seal in the raised position and rotating and dropping the seal from the raised position causes the first and third engaging formations to engage and retain the seal in the lowered position, the engaging formations engage under the influence of gravity and wherein the assembly further comprises a spindle along which the seal travels and a stud threadably connected to the spindle.

2. The waste assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plug positioned, in use, above the seal that can be manually gripped in the lowered and the 20 raised positions.

3. The waste assembly as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the first engaging formation is a protruding pin, the second engaging formation is a part annular surface adapted to abut and engage the pin in the raised position and the third engagement •.formation is a slot adapted to abut and engage the pin in the lowered position. 25

4. The waste assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the pin protrudes from the spindle.

5. The waste assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the stud connects the waste body to a waste nut adapted for mounting below the receptacle waste outlet.

6. The waste assembly as claimed in claim 4or 5 wherein the spindle includes a tongue received within a groove provided in the waste body to prevent disassembly of the waste assembly by preventing rotating of the spindle relative to the stud in the lowered position.

7. The waste assembly as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, wherein the waste body opening(s) define a grate. [R:\LIBD]02323.doc:KXTAVS: KEH

8. The waste assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein the grate is integrally formed with the waste body.

9. A waste assembly substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 1 to 4 or Figs. 5 to 8 of the accompanying drawings. Dated 28 July, 2004 Caroma Industries Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON FERGUSON *e e [R:\LIBD]02323.doc:KXT:AV:K-EH