JP7693157B2 - Drain cover material - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a drain cover member that improves the design by covering the drain of a tank body.

A widely known structure is to provide a drain outlet on the bottom or side of the tank body, such as a bathtub or washbowl, and discharge the wastewater downstream from the drain outlet through a piping member. However, dirt such as scale and dust easily accumulates inside the piping member, and if it is visible to users, the design will be impaired. In addition, a drain outlet may be formed in the tank body by attaching a member such as a drain outlet body in a watertight manner to an opening in the tank body, but if the scale and dust accumulate at the joint between the tank body and the member that forms the drain outlet, the design will also be impaired.
For this reason, a method is known in which the drain outlet is covered with a cover member to prevent deterioration of the design.

The cover member described in Patent Document 1 comprises a disk-shaped cover body, a cylindrical portion extending downward from the cover body, and legs provided on the side of the cylindrical portion, and the diameter of the cover body is configured to be larger than the circle formed by the joint between the member forming the drain outlet and the tank body. When the cover member is placed on the drain outlet, the cover body covers the drain outlet of the tank body and its surroundings, thereby covering the inside of the drain outlet of the tank body and the joint between the member forming the tank body and the drain outlet, and improving the design by preventing the user from seeing scale, dust, and the like attached to the drain outlet and the joint.
When the cylindrical portion of the cover member is inserted into the drainage outlet provided on the bottom surface of the tank body, the lower end of the leg portion comes into contact with the bottom surface of the tank body, forming a gap space between the tank body, the drainage outlet, and the cover member. When drainage occurs inside the tank body, the drainage flows from the gap space into the drainage outlet and is discharged downstream through the piping member.

In this way, the cover member described in Patent Document 1 improves the design by covering the drain outlet, while allowing water to be discharged from the drain outlet by forming a gap space.

JP 2021-21294 A

In the drain cover member described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the lower end of the leg abuts against the bottom surface of the tank body, forming a gap space for drainage between the cover body and the tank body or the drain. Therefore, when the cover member is attached to the drain, the leg is likely to scratch the bottom surface of the tank body. In addition, if an impact is applied to the top surface of the drain cover member by, for example, placing a hand or foot or placing an object such as a bucket, the impact is transmitted directly from the leg to the member forming the tank body or the drain, and may cause serious damage. In addition, since the drain cover member protrudes from the bottom surface of the tank body to form a gap space, it is likely to receive an impact when an object is placed in the tank body, and there are many opportunities for the tank body to be scratched.
The present invention has been invented in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a drain cover member that forms a gap space between the tank body or drain and the cover body of the drain cover member, while preventing impacts from being transmitted to the tank body and causing scratches, etc., on the inside of the tank body.

The first invention is a cover member for a drain outlet that can be placed on a drain outlet, which is an opening provided in a tank body,
A plate-shaped cover body that covers the drain outlet;
a rib piece provided on the drain outlet side of the cover body,
The rib piece is engaged with the edge of the opening of the drain outlet,
The cover body can be placed on the drain outlet with a gap space through which drainage passes formed between the cover body and the drain outlet ,
The rib piece has an inclined surface that is inclined toward the center of the cover body as it is away from the cover body,
The inclined surface has an upper end wider than the edge of the opening of the drain outlet and a lower end narrower than the edge of the opening of the drain outlet,
The drain cover member is characterized in that the inclined surface abuts against the edge of the opening of the drain, thereby causing the rib piece to engage with the edge of the opening of the drain .

A second invention is a cover member for a drain outlet as described in claim 1, characterized in that the rib piece has a bent portion on the inclined surface, and the rib piece on the drain outlet side of the bent portion is configured to contact the inner surface of the drain outlet.

A third invention is a cover member for a drain outlet according to claim 1 or claim 2 , characterized in that the rib piece has a flat portion that abuts against the edge of the opening of the drain outlet in a cross-sectional view.

A fourth invention is a drain cover member described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the drain cover member is provided with a strainer member that is detachable from the cover member at a position located inside the drain .

In the present invention, the cover member for the drain outlet, which is an opening in the tank body, can be placed on the drain outlet by engaging the rib piece provided on the cover member with the edge of the opening of the drain outlet. In this case, the part where the cover member for the drain outlet abuts on the tank body is only the edge of the opening of the drain outlet. Therefore, even if an impact is applied to the cover body and the tank body is scratched, the scratch will only be slight at the part of the edge of the opening of the drain outlet where the rib piece abuts. Furthermore, the scratch on the edge of the opening of the drain outlet is located in a position that is difficult to see compared to the scratch on the bottom surface of the tank body, and is easy to cover up and hide by the cover member.
Furthermore, by providing the rib pieces with inclined surfaces, the present invention can be used without problems even if the diameter of the edge of the drain opening of the tank body is different.
Furthermore, by the rib piece abutting against the inner surface of the drain outlet, the drain outlet cover member can be stably positioned without being tilted relative to the drain outlet.
Furthermore, since the rib piece has a flat portion that abuts against the edge of the opening of the drain outlet, the drain outlet cover member can be stably positioned without being tilted relative to the drain outlet.
In addition, by providing the drain cover member with a strainer member, hair, dust, etc. can be collected in the drain.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an installed state of the cover member according to the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the edge of the drain opening. 1A is a side view showing the cover member, and FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of part A of FIG. 5A. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cover member disposed on a small diameter drain outlet. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cover member disposed on a large diameter drain outlet. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a cover member attached to a tank body forming an edge portion.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description is provided to facilitate understanding of the embodiment, and is not intended to limit or limit the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the basin body 1 is a concave washbowl that is open at the top, with a drain outlet 2 formed in the bottom surface 11 and an overflow drain outlet 4 formed in the side surface 12. The basin body 1 is placed on a cabinet C, and piping components are stored inside the cabinet C.

The drain outlet body 3 is hollow and cylindrical, forming a drainage flow path therein, and has a cylindrical tube portion 31 and a brim-like flange portion 32, and is attached to an opening drilled in the bottom surface 11 of the tank body 1 to form the drain outlet 2 for discharging hot and cold water from the tank body 1. In this embodiment, the corner formed by the inner surface of the tube portion 31 of the drain outlet 2 and the upper surface of the flange portion 32 is the edge portion 21 of the opening of the drain outlet 2.
The tubular portion 31 is cylindrical with a male screw formed on the outer surface, and is screwed with a nut 5 on the back surface of the tank body 1. In addition, an opening is formed on the side surface of the tubular portion 31 so that the drainage water from the overflow drain outlet 4 can be merged therein.
The flange portion 32 is brim-shaped and formed outward from the upper end of the tubular portion 31, and when the drain outlet body 3 is attached to the tank body 1, it abuts against the peripheral edge of the opening drilled in the bottom surface 11 via a gasket.

The drain outlet body 3 is connected to a piping component such as a drain trap on the downstream side, and discharges wastewater flowing in from the drain outlet 2 and the overflow drain outlet 4 downstream.

As shown in Figures 2 to 5, the cover member 6 is composed of a cover body 7, a rib piece 73 provided on the cover body 7, a strainer member 8, and a covering member 9, and is a member that is placed on the drain outlet 2 to cover and conceal the inside of the drain outlet 2 and the drain outlet body 3 so that they cannot be seen.

The cover body 7 is in the form of a circular plate, and is configured to have a larger diameter than the flange portion 32 of the drain outlet main body 3, and is provided with a shaft portion 71, an engagement portion 72, and a rib piece 73 on the drain outlet 2 side, i.e., the lower side in Fig. 2. Also, a covering member 9 made of a metal material is attached to the upper surface of the cover body 7. In Fig. 2, the shaft portion 71 and part of the covering member 9 that are not visible due to the rib piece 73 are shown by dashed lines.
The shaft portion 71 is cylindrical and extends from the center of the cover body 7 toward the drain outlet 2, and has an engagement portion 72 formed at the lower end.
The engaging portion 72 is a groove recessed around the entire circumference of the shaft portion 71 near the lower end of the shaft portion 71, and when the cover member 6 is assembled, it removably engages with the engaged portion 82 of the strainer member 8.
As shown in Fig. 4, the rib pieces 73 are ribs formed radially at four locations every 90 degrees from the center of the cover body 7 when viewed from the bottom, and as shown in Fig. 3, when the cover member 6 is placed on the drain outlet 2, they engage with the edge 21 of the opening of the drain outlet 2 to form a gap space S between the cover body 7 and the drain outlet 2 through which drainage passes. In addition, the rib pieces 73 have an inclined surface 74 that slopes toward the center of the cover body 7 as it progresses to the end.
The inclined surface 74 has a bent portion 74a in the middle, and the portion closer to the cover body 7 than the bent portion 74a has a generally arcuate shape, but a straight portion 74b is formed on the lower end side of the bent portion 74a. When the cover member 6 is placed on the drain outlet 2, the straight portion 74b contacts the inner surface of the drain outlet 2 below the edge portion 21, thereby positioning the cover member 6. As shown in Fig. 5, the outer surface of the inclined surface 74 located radially outward of the cover body 7 has a flat portion 74c that contacts the edge portion 21 of the opening of the drain outlet 2 in a cross-sectional view.

The strainer member 8 is a member disposed inside the drain outlet 2 to capture hair, dust, and the like during drainage, and is detachable from the cover body 7. The strainer member 8 also includes a bearing portion 81, an engaged portion 82, an annular portion 83, and a collection portion 84.
The bearing portion 81 is a hollow cylinder formed in the center of the perforated plate member 8, and an engaged portion 82 is formed on the inner surface.
The engaged portion 82 is a protrusion formed inward from the inner surface of the bearing portion 81 and engages with the engaging portion 72 of the cover body 7 .
The annular portion 83 is annular in shape and has an outer diameter that is approximately the same as the inner surface of the drain port body 3 .
The collection portion 84 is in the form of a mesh that collects hair, dust, and the like in the drainage water, and is formed so as to connect the outer surface of the bearing portion 81 and the inner surface of the annular portion 83 .

When the cover member 6 of the present invention is placed over the drain 2, the cover body 7 covers and conceals the joint between the drain 2 and the flange portion 32 and the tub body 1, thereby improving the design of the washbasin. In addition, the rib piece 73 of the cover member 6 is engaged with the edge portion 21 of the opening of the drain 2, forming a clearance space S between the drain 2 and the cover body 7, allowing wastewater to pass through the clearance space S and be discharged from the drain 2.
Furthermore, the cover member 6 is configured so that the rib pieces 73 engage with the edge 21 of the opening of the drain outlet 2, rather than with the bottom surface 11 of the tank body 1 or the upper surface of the flange portion 32. This makes it possible to reduce the contact area with the tank body 1, so that the inner surface of the tank body 1 or the drain outlet main body 3 are less likely to be seriously damaged when the cover member 6 is subjected to an impact.
In addition, since the straight portion 74b abuts against the inner surface of the drain outlet 2 and the flat portion 74c of the rib piece 73 abuts against the edge 21 of the opening of the drain outlet 2, the cover member 6 can be positioned stably without tilting relative to the drain outlet 2.

In addition, in the cover member 6 of the present invention, the rib piece 73 has an inclined surface 74 that approaches the center of the cover body 7 the further it is from the cover body 7, and the inclined surface 74 abuts against the edge portion 21, so that the rib piece 73 engages with the edge portion 21. This makes it possible to place the cover member 6 even if the diameter of the drain opening 2 is different, as described below. When the cover member 6 is placed on drain openings 2 with different diameters, a strainer member 8 that fits the inner diameter of the drain opening 2 is appropriately attached to the cover body 7.

6 shows a tank body 1 in which a small-diameter drain outlet 2 is formed, and a cover member 6 attached to the tank body 1. At this time, the cover member 6 is positioned higher than when attached to the drain outlet 2 shown in FIG. 2, and the rib piece 73 is positioned at the drain outlet 2 by engaging the straight portion 74b with the edge portion 21.
On the other hand, as shown in Figure 7, when the cover member 6 is attached to a tank body 1 having a large diameter drain outlet 2, the cover member 6 can be positioned on the drain outlet 2 by engaging with the edge portion 21 at the approximately arc-shaped portion formed above the bend portion 74a.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the shapes of the embodiments, and appropriate modifications may be made within the scope of the gist of the invention. For example, although the tank body 1 in the above-described embodiment is a washbowl, it may be a bathtub, a sink, or other tank body.
In the above embodiment, the drain outlet 2 is formed by attaching the drain outlet body 3 to the tank body 1, and the edge 21 is formed on the drain outlet body 3, but as shown in Fig. 8, the edge 21 may be formed on the tank body 1. Even in this case, the cover member 6 is engaged with the edge 21 of the opening of the drain outlet 2 by the rib piece 73, not with the bottom surface 11 of the tank body 1, thereby preventing the tank body 1 from being seriously damaged.
In addition, in the above embodiment, the cover member 6 was arranged at the drain outlet 2 formed on the bottom surface 11 of the tank body 1, but it may also be arranged at the overflow drain outlet 4 formed on the side surface 12 of the tank body 1.

Reference Signs List 1: Tank body 11: Bottom surface 12: Side surface 2: Drain port 21: Edge portion 3: Drain port main body 31: Cylindrical portion 32: Flange portion 4: Overflow drain port 5: Nut 6: Cover member 7: Cover body 71: Shaft portion 72: Engagement portion 73: Rib piece 74: Inclined surface 74a: Bent portion 74b: Straight portion 74c: Flat portion 8: Drain member 81: Bearing portion 82: Engaged portion 83: Annular portion 84: Collection portion 9: Cover member C: Cabinet S: Gap space

Claims (4)

A cover member for a drain outlet that can be placed on a drain outlet, which is an opening provided in a tank body,
A plate-shaped cover body that covers the drain outlet;
a rib piece provided on the drain outlet side of the cover body,
The rib piece is engaged with the edge of the opening of the drain outlet,
The cover body can be placed on the drain outlet with a gap space through which drainage passes formed between the cover body and the drain outlet ,
The rib piece has an inclined surface that is inclined toward the center of the cover body as it is away from the cover body,
The inclined surface has an upper end wider than the edge of the opening of the drain outlet and a lower end narrower than the edge of the opening of the drain outlet,
A drain cover member , characterized in that the inclined surface abuts against the edge of the opening of the drain, thereby engaging the rib piece with the edge of the opening of the drain . 2. The drain cover member according to claim 1 , wherein the rib piece has a bent portion on the inclined surface, and the rib piece on the drain side of the bent portion is configured to contact the inner surface of the drain. 3. The drain cover member according to claim 1 , wherein the rib piece has a flat portion that abuts an edge portion of the opening of the drain in a cross-sectional view. A drain cover member as described in any one of claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that the drain cover member is provided with a strainer member that is detachable from the cover member at a position located inside the drain.

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