US20050155304A1

US20050155304A1 - Floor drain with membrane strainer

Info

Publication number: US20050155304A1
Application number: US11/036,053
Authority: US
Inventors: Den-Lu Hung
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-01-20
Filing date: 2005-01-18
Publication date: 2005-07-21
Also published as: TWM249978U; JP3109892U

Abstract

A floor drain with membrane strainer includes a main body having a pit, a top flat grate, and a strainer assembly mounted in the main body below the flat grate. The strainer assembly includes a disc-shaped base that has an annular plate portion with a downward inner flange, and a U-sectioned cup portion having a bottom central hole and being supported in the annular plate portion by ribs with an open area left between them; a membrane strainer made of an elastic and flexible material and having a thin annular portion, on which locating rods are provided for engaging with locating holes on the base to thereby fix the membrane strainer below the flange to normally seal the open area; and a gasket ring fitted around the base for the whole strainer assembly to stably seat in the pit of the main body.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a floor drain with membrane strainer, and more particularly to a floor drain having a membrane-type strainer assembly mounted in a main body thereof to effectively prevent stink and insects in a drainpipe from entering into a room via the floor drain.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Taiwanese Patent Publication No. 210687 discloses a stink-isolating floor drain. The floor drain has a seat with drain water holes, a dome-shaped hollow cap upward projected from a perimeter of the seat, and an inverted bowl portion downward extended from a bottom of the seat. When an amount of drain water is accumulated between an outer side and an inner conic draining face of the dome-shaped cap to submerge the inverted bowl portion, stink in a drainpipe below the floor drain is prevented from moving upward into a room via the floor drain. The floor drain disclosed in the above Taiwanese patent fails to drain water smoothly because water could not be drained via a central hole of the dome-shaped cap before it submerges the cap. Dust and debris tends to cumulate between the outer side and the inner conic draining face of the dome-shaped cap to produce stink or even clog the floor drain.
Taiwanese Patent Publication No. 287567 discloses a valve-type bathroom floor drain having a strainer top and a base to define a funnel-shaped pit between them, and an elastic plastic valve fitted in the funnel-shaped pit. The elastic plastic valve is provided with a plurality of widely spaced valve members corresponding to drain holes on the strainer top and a considerably large central hole, and is not tightly attached to an underside of the drain holes. That is, the floor drain having been fully installed for use is in a completely open state without any shielding means, and therefore completely fails to stop stink in a drainpipe from moving upward into the bathroom via the floor drain, not to mention mosquitoes and insects in the drainpipe.
It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop a floor drain with membrane strainer to overcome drawbacks existed in the conventional floor drains.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a floor drain with membrane strainer that effectively prevents stink and insects in a drainpipe from entering into a room via the floor drain.
To achieve the above and other objects, the floor drain with membrane strainer according to the present invention mainly includes a main body having a funnel-shaped pit, a flat grate mounted on a top of the main body using a fastening element, and a strainer assembly mounted in the main body below the flat grate. The strainer assembly includes a disc-shaped base that has an annular plate portion with a downward flange provided along a lower inner edge thereof, and a U-sectioned cup portion having a bottom central hole and being integrally supported at a center of the annular plate portion by ribs, such that an open area is formed between the annular plate portion and the cup portion for drain water to flow therethrough; a membrane strainer that is made of an elastic and flexible material and includes a thin annular portion, on which locating rods are provided for engaging with locating holes on the base to thereby fix the membrane strainer below the base to normally seal the open area; and a gasket ring fitted around the base for the whole strainer assembly to stably seat in the funnel-shaped pit of the main body.
A seal ring and an elastic element are sequentially positioned in the cup portion around the fastening element, and thereby seal a joint of the bottom central hole of the cup portion and the fastening element in an airtight manner.
The membrane strainer made of elastic and flexible material provides excellent elastic stress to normally elastically seal the open area between the annular plate portion and the cup portion of the base and thereby effectively prevents stink and insects in a drainpipe from entering into a room via the floor drain. And, when the membrane strainer is subjected to a weight of drain water, its outer peripheral area is elastically bent downward to open the open area for drain water to flow therethrough.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of a floor drain with membrane strainer according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the floor drain with membrane strainer of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3A is an assembled sectional view showing the floor drain with membrane strainer of FIG. 1 without drain water flowing therethrough;
FIG. 3B is an assembled sectional view showing the floor drain with membrane strainer of FIG. 1 with drain water flowing therethrough;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a variant strainer assembly for the floor drain of the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a floor drain with membrane strainer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 that are assembled and exploded perspective views, respectively, of a floor drain with membrane strainer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. For the purpose of concision, the present invention is also briefly referred to as “the floor drain” throughout the specification. As shown, the floor drain in the first embodiment mainly includes a main body 1 having a funnel-shaped pit 11 formed therein, a flat grate 2 closed to an open top of the main body 1, and a strainer assembly 3 mounted in the pit 11 between the main body 1 and the flat grate 2 using a fastening element 4.
The strainer assembly 3 includes a base 31, a membrane strainer 32, an elastic element 33, and a gasket ring 34.
The base 31 is a molded disc-shaped member 310 made of a plastic material. The base 31 includes an annular plate portion 311 located at a radially outer part thereof, and a U-sectioned cup portion 312 having a bottom central hole 314 and being supported at a center of the annular plate portion 311 by at least one rib 313, such that an open area 316 is formed between an inner edge of the annular plate portion 311 and an outer edge of the cup portion 312. Moreover, the annular plate portion 311 is provided along a lower inner edge with a downward flange 317, and the rib 313 is provided at predetermined positions with at least two locating holes 315.
The membrane strainer 32 is integrally molded with a highly flexible, elastic, and weatherproof rubber material or a semi-flexible plastic material, and includes a thin annular portion 320 defining a central hole 321, and at least two locating rods 322 upward projected from a top of the annular portion 320 corresponding to the locating holes 315 on the rib 313 of the base 31. The membrane strainer 32 is fitted in the open area 316 to locate below the base 31 by upward inserting the locating rods 322 into the locating holes 315. Each of the locating rods 322 is formed near an upper end with a retaining ring 323, which is adapted to hold the locating rod 322 in the locating hole 315 after the locating rod 322 is fully inserted into the locating hole 315. When the membrane strainer 32 is fitted in the open area 316 in the above manner, the annular portion 320 has an inner edge fitly located around the lower edge of the cup portion 312 and an outer edge fitly abutted on a radially lower inner edge of the flange 317, and thereby elastically seals the open area 316.
The gasket ring 34 is integrally molded with an elastic and weatherproof rubber material or a semi-flexible plastic material and includes an annular body 340. The annular body 340 is provided at an inner edge with an annular groove 341 for fitly engaging with an outer edge of the annular plate portion 311 of the base 31, so that the gasket ring 34 is mounted around the base 31.
The elastic element 33 is in the form of a spring, and positioned between the flat grate 2 and the base 31. A seal ring 35 functioning as a washer may be mounted in the cup portion 312 of the base 31 to support a lower end of the elastic element 33 and tightly attach to the fastening element 4. When the floor drain of the present invention is fully assembled and installed, the base 31 is held down by the flat grate 2 and the elastic element 33, so that the whole strainer assembly 3 is tightly downward pressed against the funnel-shaped pit 11 of the main body 1, as shown in FIG. 1, without the risk of becoming loose or movable in the main body 1.
To enable a firm and tight fixing of the membrane strainer 32 of the strainer assembly 3 on the base 31, the cup portion 312 is provided with a stepped lower edge 319 for engaging with the central hole 321 of the membrane strainer 32, and the flange 317 is provided with a stepped lower inner edge 318 for engaging with the outer edge of the annular portion 320 of the membrane strainer 32.
For the annular portion 320 of the membrane strainer 32 to have enhanced strength and stress to avoid easy elastic fatigue, the annular portion 320 of the membrane strainer 32 is provided at inner and outer edges with annular ribs 324 and 325, respectively.
Moreover, to enable easy fitting of the gasket ring 34 around the annular plate portion 311 of the base 31 and stable seating of the whole strainer assembly 3 in the funnel-shaped pit 11 of the main body 1, the outer edge of the annular plate portion 311 of the base 31 is formed into a bevel surface, the groove 341 on the gasket ring 34 has a lying V-shaped cross section, and the annular body 340 of the gasket ring 34 has a lower outer edge formed into a bevel surface corresponding to a slant inner surface of the funnel-shaped pit 11 of the main body 1.
Please refer to FIG. 3A that is a sectional view showing a fully installed floor drain of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 without drain water flowing therethrough. As shown, the membrane strainer 32 of the strainer assembly 3 is fitted below the cup portion 312 and the flange 317 of the base 31 to seal the open area 316, and the seal ring 35 is tightly attached to the fastening element 4 to seal a joint of the fastening element 4 and the bottom central hole 314 of the cup portion 312 in a completely airtight manner. Therefore, the strainer assembly 3 effectively stops not only stink but also mosquitoes and insects in a drainpipe from entering into a room via the floor drain.
On the other hand, when there is drain water flowing through the floor drain via the flat grate 2 as shown in FIG. 3B, a radially outer peripheral area of the annular portion 320 of the membrane strainer 32 of the strainer assembly 3 is smoothly downward bent by the weight of the drain water to provide a water passage T between the membrane strainer 32 and the flange 317 of the base 31, allowing the drain water to fall into the drainpipe (not shown) via the water passage T without any impediment. When the drain water stops, the radially outer peripheral area of the membrane strainer 32 automatically springs upward into an original horizontal position to locate below the flange 317 due to an inherent elastic stress of the material thereof and a cohesion force of residual water between the outer edge of the membrane strainer 32 and an outer edge of the open area 316, so that the open area 316 is sealed by the membrane strainer 32 again.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a variant strainer assembly for the floor drain of the present invention. This variant is generally structurally similar to the strainer assembly 3, except that it has differently designed ribs 313 on the base 31.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a floor drain with membrane strainer according to another embodiment of the present invention. The floor drain in this embodiment is generally similar to the first one, except that it includes a main body 1A having a relatively deep funnel-shaped pit 11A, and is further provided with a supporting element 5, which is positioned in the deep pit 1A to stably support the strainer assembly 3 seated in the main body 1A.

Claims

1. A floor drain with membrane strainer, comprising a main body having a funnel-shaped pit formed therein, a flat grate closed to an open top of said main body, and a strainer assembly fixedly mounted in said pit between said main body and said flat grate; said strainer assembly including:

a base in the form of a disc-shaped member and including:

an annular plate portion located at a radially outer part of said base, and being provided along a lower inner edge with a downward flange; and

a U-sectioned cup portion having a bottom central hole; an elastic element being received in said cup portion and compressed between said flat grate and said cup portion; and said cup portion being integrally supported at a center of said annular plate portion by at least one rib extended across said annular plate portion; and

a membrane strainer made of an elastic and flexible material and including a thin annular portion, said membrane strainer being fitted below said annular plate portion and said cup portion of said base to normally seal an open area between said annular plate portion and said cup portion; and said membrane strainer having a radially outer peripheral area that is smoothly bent to separate from the lower inner edge of said flange when said membrane strainer is subjected to a weight of drain water flowing therethrough, so as to provide a water passage between said flange and said membrane strainer, and automatically restores to a horizontal state to seal said open area again when the drain water stops.

2. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a gasket ring for fixing around an outer edge of said annular plate portion of said base to stably seat said strainer assembly on an inner wall of said main body.

3. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a seal ring located between said elastic element and said cup portion of said base.

4. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claims 1, wherein said membrane strainer is provided on a top with upward projected locating rods, and said base being correspondingly provided at predetermined positions with locating holes for engaging with said locating rods.

5. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claims 2, wherein said membrane strainer is provided on a top with upward projected locating rods, and said base being correspondingly provided at predetermined positions with locating holes for engaging with said locating rods.

6. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claims 3, wherein said membrane strainer is provided on a top with upward projected locating rods, and said base being correspondingly provided at predetermined positions with locating holes for engaging with said locating rods.

7. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 4, wherein said locating holes are provided on said at least one rib on said base.

8. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 5, wherein said locating holes are provided on said at least one rib on said base.

9. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 6, wherein said locating holes are provided on said at least one rib on said base.

10. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said annular plate portion of said base has an outer edge formed into a bevel surface, said cup portion of said base having a stepped lower edge, and said flange of said base having a stepped lower inner edge.

11. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 2, wherein said annular plate portion of said base has an outer edge formed into a bevel surface, said cup portion of said base having a stepped lower edge, and said flange of said base having a stepped lower inner edge.

12. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 3, wherein said annular plate portion of said base has an outer edge formed into a bevel surface, said cup portion of said base having a stepped lower edge, and said flange of said base having a stepped lower inner edge.

13. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said membrane strainer has a central hole, and wherein said thin annular portion of said membrane strainer is provided along at least one of an inner and an outer edge thereof with an annular rib.

14. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 2, wherein said membrane strainer has a central hole, and wherein said thin annular portion of said membrane strainer is provided along at least one of an inner and an outer edge thereof with an annular rib.

15. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 3, wherein said membrane strainer has a central hole, and wherein said thin annular portion of said membrane strainer is provided along at least one of an inner and an outer edge thereof with an annular rib.

16. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 2, wherein said gasket ring is provided along an inner edge with an annular groove having a cross section corresponding to a configuration of the outer edge of said annular plate portion of said base, and has a lower outer edge formed into a bevel surface corresponding to a slant inner surface of said funnel-shaped pit of said main body.

17. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 1, further comprises a supporting element mounted in said pit of said main body below said strainer assembly, so that said strainer assembly is always supported by said supporting element to locate at a fixed position in said main body.

18. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 2, further comprises a supporting element mounted in said pit of said main body below said strainer assembly, so that said strainer assembly is always supported by said supporting element to locate at a fixed position in said main body.

19. The floor drain with membrane strainer as claimed in claim 3, further comprises a supporting element mounted in said pit of said main body below said strainer assembly, so that said strainer assembly is always supported by said supporting element to locate at a fixed position in said main body.