Metal working – Means to assemble or disassemble – Puller or pusher means – contained force multiplying operator
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-28
2002-02-05
Watson, Robert C. (Department: 3723)
Metal working
Means to assemble or disassemble
Puller or pusher means, contained force multiplying operator
Reexamination Certificate
active
06343411
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatuses and methods of removing and installing plumbing flanges, and, more particularly, to removing and installing tub shoe flanges with or without cross hairs, pop up assemblies, lavatory drain flanges, and stub outs of various types with a tool that inserts into the flange drain hole, expands against the inside walls of the drain hole, and by continued counterclockwise turning, unscrews the flange.
2. Discussion of Background and Prior Art
a. The Problem Of Removing A Tub Shoe Flange Without Damaging The Tub
One of the significant problems repeatedly faced by plumbers is the removal of a tub shoe flange without damaging the tub.
Shown in
FIG. 1
is a typical tub shoe installation
10
which includes polyvinyl chloride pipe
12
connecting at one end to the house drain line
14
and having a tub shoe
16
at the other end with brass thread fitting
18
therein to go against tub
20
drain hole
22
from below the tub and receiving tub shoe flange
24
into tub shoe fitting
18
from above the tub to form a sealed tub drain (sealing washers or plumber's putty not shown). Tub shoe flange
24
has external threads
26
and cross hairs
28
integral therewith. To open and close the drain opening, cup
30
has washer
32
on its lower side and receives through its bore
33
spindle
34
having threads
36
which screw into the threaded opening
29
in the cross hairs. Cap
38
screws
40
into cup
30
to enable the user to pull up on cap
38
to open the drain or push down on cap
38
to close the drain.
When the tub shoe flange
24
has been in place for a long time and needs to be replaced, plumbers find that the tub shoe flange
24
has often become rusted to the tub shoe
16
brass fitting
18
and that there is nothing to grab onto to use to unscrew the rusted flange
24
from the fitting
18
except the cross hairs
28
. A typical prior art tool known in the trade as an “easy out” (
FIG. 3
) with left-handed threads
52
and a square head
54
adapted to receive a wrench for counterclockwise turning to remove studs and the like will not work in this application since it is too tall, too thin to grab the walls
25
of the flange
24
and too big to fit in the threaded opening
29
in the cross hairs.
If the cross hairs
28
are still in the tub shoe
16
, a better choice is the tool known in the trade as a “dumbbell tool”
60
(
FIG. 4
) having different size castles
62
and
64
at opposite ends. If the outside diameter of one end is small enough to fit into the tub shoe flange central opening
27
, the lugs protruding from the castle, if they are long enough, fit into the respective openings
31
between the cross hairs
28
, and then a wrench can be applied to the dumbbell central portion
66
to turn it counterclockwise to unscrew the tub shoe flange
24
from the tub shoe fitting
18
. The problem usually encountered at this point is the cross hairs
28
, weakened by rusting or corrosion, break off.
Confronted now with a “frozen” leaking tub shoe flange
24
and no cross hairs
28
, the plumber again finds that he has “nothing to grab onto” and is relegated to using a saw or hammer and chisel to carefully try to remove the tub shoe flange
24
without damaging the tub
20
, the tub shoe
16
, or the tub shoe fitting threads
18
. Often the plumber cannot avoid damaging the tub and may on occasion have to replace the whole tub at a great personal loss to either the customer and/or plumber.
A similar problem is presented when a plumber has to replace a lavatory sink drain flange
72
in a typical pop-up drain lavatory sink installation
70
(FIG.
2
.). Pop-up body
72
, nut
74
, and mack washer
76
are held against sink
75
from below while sink flange
78
is screwed into body
72
from above sink
75
and nut
74
is tightened. Stopper assembly
80
is inserted into body
72
from above the sink
75
and ball rod assembly is inserted into body
72
from below the sink
75
, while pop-up rod assembly
84
is inserted up and through the faucet housing (not shown) as is well known in the trade. When sink flange
78
is leaking, rusted, and/or corroded and needs to be replaced, it presents the same problem as the leaking, rusted and/or corroded tub shoe flange
24
discussed above, only in this case there are no cross hairs, the inside diameter of the sink flange
75
is too small to receive the typical castle of the dumbbell tool which cannot work in this application anyway since its side walls are smooth and slippery and not knurled. Thus, even if the plumber tries hammering the dumbbell or any similar tapered tool into the sink flange
78
opening
79
, the tool slips when turned and fails to unscrew the sink flange
78
from the body
72
. Again, the plumber is left to a hammer and chisel or hacksaw and the hope that he can remove the sink flange
75
without damaging the sink
75
.
Accordingly, there is a need for, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a plumber's tool that inserts into the flange drain hole, has moveable parts which can expand against and bite into the inside walls
25
of the flange drain hole, and then, by continued counterclockwise turning, easily and rapidly unscrew the flange from its fitting even in those occasions when the flange is rusted in place and there are no cross hairs.
b. Prior Tools With Expandable Shoes For Extracting Or Spreading
In one prior expandable extractor tool
90
(
FIG. 5
) having a body
92
with a rectangular shaped main portion
94
and a handle bar
98
through a top portion
96
also configured to receive a wrench, and a pair of moveable shoes
100
,
102
having internal rectangular inboard recesses
101
and multiple cylindrical shaped, knurled
104
, outside surface portions of varying diameter
106
,
108
,
110
,
112
,
114
resiliently held on the rectangular shaped spreader portion
94
by spring
116
with end
118
in hole
103
. The shoes may be removed and reversed to position diameter portions
106
,
108
at the lower end instead of diameter portions
110
,
112
by removing spring
116
, reversing the shoes
100
,
102
and replacing the spring
116
. In operation, the lower end of tool
90
inserted into, for example, the tub shoe flange drain hole
27
, and then while holding the outside knurled surfaces
106
,
108
,
110
,
112
,
114
with one hand so that they do not turn, the body portion
92
is rotated with the other hand thereby spinning the rectangular spreader portion
94
relative to the rectangular recesses
101
and spreading the shoes
100
,
102
against the bias of spring
116
until they engage the inside walls
25
of the tub shoe flange
24
, and then, by continued counterclockwise turning, unscrew the tube shoe flange
24
from its fitting
18
. There are many problems with this tool that prevent it from working in most cases.
1. It is very difficult to get the spreader portion
94
to spin inside of the shoes
100
,
102
against the compression of spring
116
.
2. It is extremely difficult to get a selected one the knurled
104
surfaces
106
,
108
,
110
,
112
,
114
to bite into the metal of the tub shoe flange
24
walls
25
except when there is a very good match of outside diameter of the shoes with the inside diameter of the flange walls such that the spreader
94
can get into a nearly orthogonal position relative to the shoes
100
,
102
in order to be in a position to get a good bite into the walls
25
of the opening without slipping. This is definitely a two handed operation.
3. A third hand is the needed to turn the tool using the bar
98
or a wrench.
4. Normally the plumber is not strong enough to get a bite into walls
25
with the bar
98
, and the tool slips in the opening
27
, espelally if the plumber is alone.
A second prior spreading tool (
FIG. 6
) is used to spread tail pipe end openings of automobiles. This tool has a large, heavy, round, steel body
122
having a top end shoulder
123
, a central bore
124
and a do
Nissle P.C. Tod R.
Watson Robert C.
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