Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Drain – overflow or trap for a sink or bath – Drain and overflow
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-06
2004-04-27
Huson, Gregory (Department: 3651)
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Drain, overflow or trap for a sink or bath
Drain and overflow
C004S675000, C004S678000, C137S801000, C137S606000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06725472
ABSTRACT:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to plumbing fixtures. More particularly it relates to combined faucet and drain control assemblies that can, to a large extent, be mounted on a counter top, sink or the like from above the wash basin.
Conventional faucets and drain assemblies often require the installer to connect most of the components of the assembly from beneath the sink in typically cramped, dark spaces. While professional plumbers may be used to working in this type of environment, many such plumbing fittings are now being designed for installation by consumers who have little experience in, and less tolerance for, working in such an environment for a prolonged period. Thus, faucets and drain assemblies that can, to a greater extent, be assembled from above the basin are desirable.
For example, the drain assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,287,742 used a separate threaded fastener aligned axially at the center of the drain opening and connected at its ends to cross members of the drain flange and the waste housing positioned beneath the basin. The fastener could be assembled and tightened from above the basin. This assembly, however, did not provide for use with a movable drain stop operated by a lever mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,288 disclosed a faucet fixture that could be mounted from above the basin using a toggle bolt. The arms of the toggle bolt were limited in rotation by contacting with nearby water supply conduit, which allowed the toggle to travel upward and clamp against an underside of the basin (or the deck to which the basin is mounted). Drawbacks of this assembly were that separate toggle fasteners were required (thus adding parts) and that the water conduit needed to be placed next to the fastening location (thus limiting design flexibility).
There have been other attempts as well to clamp a faucet to a counter top or the like by using rotation of a faucet assembly feature above the counter top to drive up a clamping mechanism located below the counter top. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,465,749 and 6,085,784. However, these designs had deficiencies. It was particularly desirable to reduce the number of holes needed in the faucet to achieve this clamping function, to simplify the assembly, and to improve the reliability and ease of manufacture of the clamping mechanism.
Thus, a need still exists to provide an improved assembly for installing a faucet and its associated drain primarily from above the basin.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect the invention provides a faucet mountable through a hole in a mounting wall. The faucet has a faucet body having an upper opening, and a fastener assembly for connecting the faucet body to the mounting wall.
The fastener assembly in turn has a sleeve bolt mounted on the faucet body so as to be able to rotate on a longitudinal axis of the bolt, the bolt having a threaded outer section and an axial bore alignable with the upper opening of the faucet body. There is also a fastener having a nut that is threadable on the threaded outer section of the bolt so as to ride along it in response to rotation of the bolt, the fastener also having a wing structure that is pivotable from a collapsed configuration to an extended configuration. The fastener also has a guide passage between the nut and wing structure in which a guide fixed with respect to the faucet body is placed.
The guide opening limits rotation of the nut around the longitudinal axis of the bolt. A lift rod is positioned through the upper opening of the faucet body and extendable through the axial bore of the bolt.
In preferred forms an upper end of the sleeve bolt has a tool attachment recess suitable to receive all of a flat screwdriver, a Philips screwdriver and a hex-driver, one at a time. Further, there is a spring to bias the wing structure to the extended configuration, and there are two such guides positioned on opposite sides of the nut.
In another aspect the invention provides a combined faucet and drain assembly for installation with a plumbing fixture. One main part of the assembly is a faucet. It has a faucet body with an upper opening, and a fastener assembly for fixing the faucet body in position relative to the fixture. The fastener assembly includes a sleeve bolt mounted on the faucet body so as to be able to rotate on a longitudinal axis of the bolt. The bolt also has a threaded outer section and an axial bore alignable with the upper opening of the faucet body.
A fastener rides along the bolt in response to rotation of the bolt, the fastener also having a clamp structure that is movable from a collapsed configuration to an extended configuration. There is also a lift rod positionable through the upper opening of the faucet body and extendable through the axial bore of the bolt.
A second main portion of the assembly is a pop-up drain valve assembly. It has a drain body having a cross-member extending laterally at an axial opening and having a radial opening. There is also a drain flange having a cross-member extending laterally at an axial opening, a stopper guide having downwardly extending legs defining an axial slot there between for accommodating the drain body and flange cross members, a stopper connectable to an upper portion of the stopper guide and sized to seal against the drain flange, and a control stem connectable to the stopper guide at one end, extendable through the radial opening of the drain body, and connectable at the other end to a lower end of the lift rod.
In another aspect the invention provides a method of installing a faucet and a drain assembly on a fixture having an essentially horizontal support wall and a basin. One temporarily mounts, from beneath the support wall, a drain body to a drain opening in the basin, then inserts a drain flange into the drain opening from above the basin, rotationally aligns the drain flange to the drain body from above the basin, fastens the drain flange and the drain body to the basin, positions a stopper in the drain body from above the basin, links a drain valve stem to a lower end of the stopper, and inserts, from above the support wall, a faucet fastening assembly into an installation opening through the support wall so that a clamp portion of the fastening assembly is beneath the support wall and an adjustment sleeve bolt rotatably mounted to the clamp extends above the installation opening.
Rotating the sleeve bolt brings the clamp into a clamping position relative to the support wall. One then inserts a lift rod through the sleeve bolt from above the support wall, and connects the lift rod to the drain valve stem.
The present invention thus provides a system for mounting a faucet and drain assembly to a wash basin or the like quickly, easily and primarily from above the basin. The clamping assembly includes a collapsible toggle fastener that can be inserted down through an installation opening in the basin or nearby deck and then springs out so that it can be immediately tightened against an underside of the basin or deck by simply rotating the sleeve bolt. Removal of the clamp merely requires rotation of the bolt in the opposite direction until the toggle falls off.
Further, the unique stopper guide can be used during installation to align the drain flange and drain body and hold them in the proper alignment while being secured together. The stopper guide can then be removed so that a stopper can be quickly snapped or threaded onto its upper end and then dropped back into the drain opening for attachment to a valve stem which is in turn linked to the pull-up of the faucet.
The foregoing and still other advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In that description reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which there is shown by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention. That embodiment does not represent the full scope of the invention. Rather, the claims should be looked to in order to judg
Erickson Perry D.
Gray Ricardo O.
McMullen Mark F.
Mueller Jeffrey L.
Huson Gregory
Huynh Khoa
Kohler Co.
Quarles & Brady LLP
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