US3568222A

US3568222A - Sealing member

Info

Publication number: US3568222A
Application number: US784092A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert W Gantzert
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-12-16
Filing date: 1968-12-16
Publication date: 1971-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 1988-03-09

Abstract

A SEALING MEMBERS FOR A TOILET BOWL AND ITS CONNECTED WASTE PIPE EXTENDING THROUGH AND OPENING IN A FLOOR COMPRISING A UNITARY BODY OF RESILIENT MATERIAL DEFINED BY AN ANNULAR MAIN PORTION TO PROVIDE A SEAL BETWEEN THE OUTLET OF THE TOILET BOWL AND THE WASTE PIPE, AN INNER PORTION PROJECTING FROM THE MAIN PORTION INTO THE WASTE PIPE TO FORM AN INNER SLEEVE THEREFOR, AND AN OUTER PORTION SUR-

ROUNDING THE MAIN PORTION TO PROVIDE ANOTHER SEAL AROUND SAID FLOOR OPENING, SAID OUTER PORTION BEING OF A RELATIVE THICKNESS WITH RESPECT TO THE MAIN PORTION TO ALLOW IT TO BE FURTHER EASILY COMPRESSED IN ORDER TO WITHSTAND RELATIVE MOVEMENTS DUE TO SHOCKS OR THE LIKE.

Description

March 9, 1971 R. w. GANTZERT SEALING MEMBER Filed Dec.

m W I B 8 1 Lo. 3/ ....r... a. a 9 1 m I a o 4 l H w a w 7 l INVENTOR. Faber! M! 'dnfzarf ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,568,222 SEALING MEMBER Robert W. Gantzert, 205 Cleveland Ave., San Jose, Calif. 95128 Filed Dec. 16, 1968, Ser. No. 784,092 Int. Cl. E03d 11/00 US. Cl. 4-252 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sealing member for a toilet bowl and its connected waste pipe extending through an opening in a floor comprising a unitary body of resilient material defined by an annular main portion to provide a seal between the outlet of the toilet bowl and the waste pipe, an inner portion projecting from the main portion into the Waste pipe to form an inner sleeve therefor, and an outer portion surrounding the main portion to provide another seal around said floor opening, said outer portion being of a relative thickness with respect to the main portion to allow it to be further easily compressed in order to withstand relative movements due to shocks or the like.

The present invention relates to a sealing member, and more particularly relates to a sealing member for a toilet bowl and its connected waste pipe.

In a conventional plumbing system for a toilet bowl, a waste pipe extends through an opening in a floor. A collar of the conventional type is connected by solidified poured lead to the upper end of the waste pipe to form a fluid tight connection therebetween. The collar has a flange which rests on the floor and which has slots along the periphery of the collar to receive bolts to fasten the toilet bowl in position. Sealing members of the conventional type include gaskets having a compressible ring of wax which are difiicult to install since they do not provide sufficient resilience to maintain good sealing when relative movements occur. When resilient sealing gaskets made of rubber or the like are provided, then they are difiicult to install because they have to be carefully positioned to insure proper positioning when installation is completed. At times, more than one gasket is used, and proper relative resiliency between the gaskets is needed to provide for relative movements due to shocks or the like.

The present invention provides a resilient unitary sealing member which can be properly and easily positioned for installation, and enables a tight seal connection to be provided between the outlet of the toilet bowl and the waste pipe, and also provides an additional seal around the opening in the floor, and at the same time allows normal relative movement between the toilet bowl and the waste pipe while maintaining both seal connections.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a unitary sealing member for enabling a tight water seal between the outlet of a toliet bowl and its connected waste pipe.

Another object of this invention is to provide a unitary resilient sealing member for sealing the outlet of a toilet bowl with its connected waste pipe, and at the same time sealing the floor opening around the waste pipe.

A further object of this invention is to provide a unitary resilient sealing member for providing a seal between the outlet of a toilet bowl with its connected waste pipe, and also sealing the floor opening around the waste pipe, and further allowing normal relative movement between the waste pipe and the toilet bowl while maintaining both seal connections.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a unitary sealing member that is resilient and can be perma- Patented Mar. 9, 1971 ice nently installed to allow relative movement, and yet maintain a tight seal for the outlet of the toilet bowl with its associated waste pipe, and also maintain an adequate seal around the floor opening of the waste pipe.

Another object of this invention is to provide a unitary sealing member for a toilet bowl and its connected waste pipe that can be quickly and easily installed.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which an embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a mounted toilet bowl connected to waste pipe extending through an opening in a floor, and including an installed sealing member of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top view of the sealing member of this invention shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section view along lines 33 of FIG. 2 showing the cross section of the sealing member of this invention.

Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates a typical toilet bowl 10 partially in cross-section connected to a waste pipe 11 extending through an opening in floor 12. Toilet bowl 10 is seen to hold some trapped Water in passageway 13 which connects with a circular interior outlet 14 formed of the material of the toilet bowl terminated by an extension generally referred to as a born 15. Toilet bowl 10 has a base 16 with a downwardly projecting base flange 17. Waste pipe 11 connects to a sewer line, and is seen to extend through an opening in floor 12. A collar 18 having a circular flange 19 which covers the opening in floor 12, and is fastened thereto by conven tional means such as by screws or bolts. Collar 18 is permanently attached to the upper end of waste pipe 11 by a solidified molten lead v20 connecting collar 18 and waste pipe 11. A sealing member of this invention generally designated as 211 is seen mounted between toilet bowl 10, floor 12, and collar 18.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show enlarged views of sealing member 21 of this invention. Sealing member 21 is seen to comprise a unitary body of resilient material such as rubber or the like, and includes a main portion 22, an inner portion 23, and an outer portion 24. Main portion 22 is a circular body from which an inner portion 23 projects downward from its inner diameter forming a sleeve to be snugly fitted within waste pipe 11. Outer portion 24 surrounds main portion 22, and has a smaller thickness than main portion 22.

As seen in FIG. .1, sealing member 21 is shown to be mounted in the toilet bowl installation. Main portion 22 extends from the outer edge of flange 19 of collar 18 up to born 15 of outlet 14. Connecting members such as a bolt 25 extend upwardly through a slot 26 in flange 19, through a hole in main portion 22, and through a hole in base 1 6. A nut 27 threaded on the upper end of bolt 25 secures the toilet bowl to floor 12. As the top surface of flange 19 of collar 18 has irregularities, the connecting members such as bolt 25 are tightened to adequately compress the resilient material of main portion 22 in order to provide a tight permanent water seal. Outer portion 24 continues outwardly from outer edge of flange 19 beyond the edge of floor covering 28, such as tile, linoleum, or the like. Outer portion 24 will also be compressed to engage both floor 12 and floor covering 28 to provide a water-tight seal therefor.

For installation purposes, the sleeve of the inner portion 23 can be inserted in Waste pipe b1 thereby quickly and easily fixing the location of sealing member 21. Instead of using wax or putty, which arent resilient, this sealing member 21 utilizes two

portions

22 and 24 of different thicknesses of resilient material. It will be realized that a tight seal is required for water flow under pressure that will occur periodically from outlet 14 into waste pipe 11, so that little relative movement can be tolerated. However, a very tight seal is not necessary to stop water seepage (not being under such pressure) from flowing along floor 12 or its floor covering 28. When normal and expected movements result from the settling of the building, or from vibrations or shocks due to vehicle tratfic, or even earth tremors, both of the seal engagements provided by the sealing member of this invention will not be upset. By utilizing resilient material of different thicknesses in portions 22 and. 24 of sealing member 21, the water tight connection of main portion 22 will not be broken; however, the sealing engagement of outer portion 24 will be maintained, and yet provide additional resilience to allow such relative movements without disrupting the toilet bowl connection.

It is to be noted that outer portion 24 extends beyond circular flange 19 of collar 18 to enable it to cover floor covering 28 on floor 12. As collar 1-8 is generally positioned at or close to the level of floor -12, outer portion 24 has been described as being of a smaller thickness than main portion 22. In case collar 18 is positioned further above floor 12 than indicated, it will be realized that outer portion .24 may then be of a greater thickness than that shown; it may even be thicker than main portion 22. However, outer portion 24 should provide clearance above the floor surface when the sealing member is positioned for installation, but not as yet compressed. In

for sealing the edges of the floor surrouding said opening, said sealing member comprising a unitary body of resilient material defined by a main portion to be positioned between the outlet of the toilet bowl and the top surface of the flanged collar of the waste'pipe,

an inner portion extending from the main portion to project downward into the waste pipe to locate the sealing member and to provide an inner sleeve for the waste pipe,

and an outer portion surrounding the main portion and having a thickness with respect to that of the main portion to provide clearance above the floor surface when the sealing member is not compressed, whereby when said sealing member is mounted between the outlet of the toilet bowl and the flanged collar of the waste pipe with its outer portion projecting into the waste pipe, said mainportion can be forced to be compressed into tight sealing engagement with the outlet of the toilet bowl and the flanged collar, said outer portion being pressed toward the floor surface to also seal the opening thereof, and said outer portion being capable of being further easily compressed to allow a greater movement of the toilet bowl relative to the waste pipe.

2. The sealing member defined in claim 1 wherein said main portion is annular in cross-section and conforms to the shape of the flanged collar, and said main portion is of a greater thickness than said outer portion extending therefrom, said outer portion providing another sealing engagement with said floor with additional resilience to allow a greater movement of the toilet bowl relative to the waste pipe.

3. The sealing'member defined in claim 2 wherein said inner portion extends downward from the inner diameter of the main portion forming a sleeve to be snugly fitted within said waste pipe.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1956 Thies 4-452 3/1961 Turner et a1. 4252