AU653880B2 - A lavatory pan connector - Google Patents

Description

I

a

S

SRef: 230620

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATON FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

I..

S S Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: Caroma Industries Limited Market Street Brisbane Queensland 4000

AUSTRALIA

Stephen John Cummings Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia A Lavatory Pan Connector ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL [31] Application No(s) PL0761 APPLICATION DETAILS [33] Country

AU

[32) Application Date 6 February 1992 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to melus:- 5815/3 -2- A LAVAT8RPAN CONNECTOR The present invention relates to connectors and, in particular, to connectors for lavatory pans.

At the rear of a lavatory pan is a tubular exit which extends horizontally and which must be connected to a sewer pipe normally located at a level below that of the floor on which the pan is mounted. Such a connection Is effected by means of an L-shaped connector.

The preferred means of making the connection between the connector and the pan is a rubber sleeve which fits over the inlet to the connector. The lavatory pan Is pushed towails the connector so as to force its outlet into the rubber sleeve thereby compressing same against the inlet of the connector and providing an acceptable seal.

In order to maintain the connector in the desired position during this assembly procedure it is known to provide a moulded plastics connector with a steel stay which is secured to a wall to the rear of the pan. Hitherto such stays have been made from threaded steel rod, for example, with the adjustment being provided by means of nuts.

0 These separate items all constitute additional cost in their own right 20 and, in addition, must be assembled and replaced if mislaid, It is the object of the present invention to reduce the cost of such lavatory pan connectors by the provision of a lavatory pan connector which includes an integrally formed stay thereby reducing the number of components required.

25 In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is disclosed an integrally formed lavatory pan connector comprising a to generally L-shaped tubular connector having an inlet at one end and an t o outlet at the other end, wherein an integrally formed stay extends from Ssaid connector intermediate said ends and is substantially aligned with said inlet.

Preferably the connector is moulded from plastics and both the length of the stay and the length of the inlet are selectable by through cutting.

Two embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings: Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a prior art lavatory pan connector, -3- Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the connector of Fig. 1 showing it in its Installed positioiin, Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the lavatory pan connector of a first embodiment in its final, installed position, and Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but of a lavatory pan connector of a second embodiment.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the prior art connector 1 is a tube formed into an L or P configuration. The connector 1 has a substantially horizontal inlet 2 and a substantially vertical outlet 3. On the upper surface of the connector 1 is a U-shaped bracket 4 into which a length of threaded rod 5 is inserted and maintained by means of two washers 6 and two nuts 7.

The rod 5 is aligned with, an extends away from, the inlet 2.

The distal end of the rod 5 carries a plate 8 which is pivotally I mounted thereon.

As seen in Fig. 2, to place the connector 1 in its final 'position, the nuts 7 are slackened off in order to enable the rod 5 to be positioned so that the plate 8 abuts the wall 9 at the rear of the pan (not illustrated). The plate 8 is then secured to the wall 9 by S• conventional fasteners and the nuts 7 tightened to hold the connector 1 in its final position.

Not only are the individual items in the form of rod 5, washers 6, nuts 7 and plate 8 relatively expensive in their own right, but they require dexterity to assemble and care to transport. A particular problem is that one of the nuts may loosen thereby dislodging the rod altogether or causing one of the nuts 7 to be lost. Furthermore, the assembly procedure is relatively time consuming.

This is to be contrasted with the first embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in Fig. 3. Here the lavatory pan connector has an L-shaped tubular connector 11, itself having an inlet 12 and outlet 13 substantially as before, save that the configuration of the connector 11 is slightly different. Integrally formed with the connector 11 is a hollow, externally threaded, cylinder 15 which carries a thread 16 of relatively large pitch. The cylinder 15 is BFD/0555o -4closed at its junction with the elbow 20 of the connector 11.

Threadably engaged with the thread 16 is an Internally threaded annular flange 17.

During the installation procedure the cylinder 15 is cut to length with a hack saw by the installing plumber, so that the cylinder stops just short of the wall 9 when the connector 11 is placed on a sewer riser 18 which is set out from the wall 19 by only a short distance.

In substantially conventional fashion, the inlet 12 is provided with a rubber sleeve 21 which preferably has at least one internal annular groove (not illustrated) which mates with, and thereby locates on, one of many corresponding annular ridges 22. The pan 23 is moved towards the connector 11 so that its outlet 24 passes into the rubber sleeve 21. The sleeve 21 is compressed between the inlet 12 and the 15 outlet 24 thereby forming an acceptable seal. Then the flange 17 is 9**9 S'turned along the cylinder 15 until it abuts the wall 9. The flange 17 may then be secured to the wall 9 using conventional fasteners (not illustrated).

Fig. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of a lavatory pan connector 30, in which the L-shaped tubular connector 31 is e substantially as before save thzt the thread 36 on the cylinder 35 is not continuous. The break in the thread 36 on the upper and lowers surfaces of the cylinder 15 assists the removal of the connector 31 i from the mould.

25 It will be seen from Fig. 4 that the sewer riser 18 is set out a relatively large distance from the wall 19. As a consequence, the cylinder 15 is not cut short at all, but the inlet has been shortened as much as possible. Accordingly the Inlet Itself is entirely covered by the rubber sleeve 41.

Both the first and second embodiments can be installed in a slightly differing fashion if the wall 19 has access behind it for a plumber. In that case the stay 15,35 can be arranged to pass through an appropriately sized opening in the wall, and with the flange 17 reversed from the configuration shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the stay 15,35 can be fixed into place by the flange 17 butting up against the inside BFD/0555o of the wall 19. In this way there may not be a need to use fasteners to secure the flange 17 to the wall 19.

It will be apparent to those skilled In the art that the above described arrangements provide a number of advantages. Firstly there are only two parts each of which may be fabricated from plastics at relatively low cost. Secondly, the flange 17 can be easily spun onto the cylinder 15,35 and maintained thereon during transport and storage. Thirdly, both the cylinder 15,35 and the inlet 12 are easily cut to length by an installing plumber so that the installation procedure is simple and quick. Finally, a large range of set out differences between the sewer riser 18 and the wall 19 can be accommodated.

The foregoing describes only two embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can 15 be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present o invention.

S* 9 9 BFD/0555o

Claims (7)

1. An integrally formed lavatory pan connector comprising a generally L-shaped tubular connector having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end, wherein an integrally formed stay extends from said connector intermediate said ends and is substantially aligned with said inlet.

2. A lavatory pan connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connector is moulded from plastics and both the length of the stay and the length of the inlet are selectable by through cutting.

3. A lavatory pan connected as claimed in either one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the stay is of threaded clyndrical shape, and further comprising a separately formed threaded annular flange threadedly engaged with the stay, and intended to be rotatably positioned along the stay to butt up against a wall and fix the connector in place with respect to a toilet pan and a sewer riser, respectively to be connected to the said connector inlet and outlet.

4. A lavatory pan connector as claimed in claim 3, wherein, in use, the foot of the flange extends beyond the free end of the stay.

5. A lavatory pan connector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the stay is integrally formed to be proximate the elbow of the L-shaped tubular connector.

S6. A lavatory pan connector substantially as herein described, and as illustrated in either one of the embodiments shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.

7. A method of installing a lavatory pan connector, said method being substantially as described with reference to Fig. 3 or 4 of the drawings. DATED this FIFTEENTH day of AUGUST 1994 Caroma Industries Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON ABSTRACT A lavatory pan connector (10) is disclosed. The connector (10) is intended for connection to the outlet (24) of a toilet pan (23) at an Inlet (12) thereof, and to a sewer riser (18) at an outlet (13) thereof. Integrally formed with the L-shaped tubular connector (11) is a cylindrical threaded stay (15) which extends away from the elbow (20) of the connector (11) in a direction substantially opposite to the inlet (12). An annular flange (17) is rotatably threaded on the stay and, in use of the lavatory pan connector butts up against the wall (19) to fix tl;e L-shaped connector (11) into place. *ee 9 (Fig. 3) 9 r (Fg 3 a ft BFD/05550