Measuring and testing – With fluid pressure – Clamp – plug – or sealing feature
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-23
2001-07-31
Larkin, Daniel S. (Department: 2856)
Measuring and testing
With fluid pressure
Clamp, plug, or sealing feature
C073S04050R, C073S049100, C137S068110, C138S089000, C138S090000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267001
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention deals with a disposable plug for incorporation in a water waste line for temporarily blocking the passage of water through the line. When plumbing a structure such as a house intended to carry water, the structure goes through several waste line tests to confirm the integrity of the various plumbing joints. This requires temporarily blocking the waste line so that the water lines within the structure can be filled and leaks detected. The present invention involves an improved means of temporarily blocking the water waste line in order to create a suitable water head in order to conduct such testing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
When plumbing a structure such as a house, the structure is subjected to at least two different waste water tests. A first test is intended to determine the integrity of the water lines at ground or slab by filling the structure's waste lines with water to create a pressure head. A second test is conducted at “top-out” meaning that after the structure is vented and tubs, sinks and other fixtures installed, the waste lines are again filled with water to create yet another pressure head. Under pressure, the various lines are inspected for leakage prior to the installation of sheetrock which would obviously mask the detection of any leakage.
As background, plumbers are required to “stub out” or create an external waste water outlet two or three feet from the perimeter of a structural foundation. The “stub out” line is typically capped off in order to run the above-described water tests. There are a variety of currently available caps designed to accomplish this task. For example, a plumber may employ a rubber cap with a stainless steel band. However, a rubber cap is prone to being blown off of the “stub out” line if subjected to sufficient water head pressure. In order to prevent this from occurring, the plumber will oftentimes drive a wooden stake in front of the rubber cap. This entails a good deal of additional effort and is not particularly effective in preventing blow-off. As an alternative, a plumber may glue the plastic test cap to the “stub out” which can be knocked off after the test has been conducted. However, this requires applying and setting a suitable adhesive which obviously must later be removed once the test has been completed. At removal, the plumber is likely to get quite wet as the water head pressure is released.
There are additional problems associated with caps employed at “stub out.” For example, when a sewer line to the street or septic is about to be connected, the plumber is oftentimes not the party responsible for making the connection. If someone else makes the connection who is unfamiliar with this process, the cap will be cut off or otherwise removed releasing the water head within the structure perhaps prematurely before the plumber has had an opportunity to check the structure for leaks. Even if the plumber is the party responsible for connecting the sewer line to the “stub out,” he may still be forced to release his test and then recap the line after the connection has been made thus requiring that the water head be reestablished. This is time consuming and also is a waste of water. Ideally, the plumber would like to maintain a water head throughout the sheetrock process so that any accidental nailing into a waste line would be visible by observing water leakage.
In addition to the above, once the sewer has been connected, it is traditional for the plumber to return to the project to retest his waste lines at which point the plumber employs a wye, a one-eighth bend, and a clean-out plug at the point where the sewer has been connected. A plumber typically employs a long test ball which is inserted into the ⅛ band and wye and is inflated at the appropriate position. The test ball is intended to temporarily block the waste line to again create a suitable pressure head within the structure. However, these test balls are extremely expensive and by reducing pressure within the test ball, they can be removed and oftentimes stolen from the job site. Further, they can inadvertently lose air, slip down the line, and cause a major stoppage which must be dealt with by excavating and exposing the sewer line. The air balls, which exhibit external ribs, crack after repeated usage and tend to leak under test. Leakage from the side wall of the test ball as well as from its air stem obviously results in water leakage to the sewer and reduction of water head thus reducing the effectiveness of the test.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a means of temporarily locking a “stub out” or waste water line which can effectively and temporarily prevent passage of water through the waste line thus creating a suitable pressure head within a structure while being easily removable from the waste water line and while addressing all of the drawbacks recited above.
These objects will be more readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention broadly is directed to a disposable plug in a water waste line temporarily blocking the passage of water through the line. The water waste line is provided with a wet side in which water is temporarily trapped by the disposable plug and a dry side which is temporarily rendered water-free while the disposable plug is in the waste line.
The disposable plug comprises a disk of a material which remains structurally intact when dry and which loosens its structural integrity when wet. A moisture barrier is supported by the disk preventing water within the wet side of the line from contacting the disk noting that the disk is sized to completely block water passage through the waste line when in place. Means are provided for either rupturing the moisture barrier or breaking the disk resulting in contacting water with the disk resulting in dissolving the disk and causing it to pass through the water waste line without blocking it or other water lines to which it is connected.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3338499 (1967-08-01), Gilbert
patent: 3496952 (1970-02-01), Amendola
patent: 4357960 (1982-11-01), Han
patent: 4607664 (1986-08-01), Carney et al.
patent: 4739799 (1988-04-01), Carney et al.
patent: 5318075 (1994-06-01), Roll
E Ticket Enterprises, LLC
Larkin Daniel S.
Wittenberg Malcolm B.
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