Soft grip drain

A tool having a hand gripping region for rotational attachment to an irrigation system with the tool having soft bumps thereon spaced from each other and affixed to the hand gripping region to cushion the user's hand as an irrigation component is field attached to an irrigation system.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to irrigation products and, more specifically, to irrigation components such as pipe taps that have a hand gripping region to enable the operator in the field to hand attach a pipe tap to an irrigation system through rotation of the pipe tap.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The concept of covers of resilient material or cushions for consumer articles such as gas valves, door knobs and the like in order to protect the users hand from heat or cold or make it easier for a disabled person to open and close a door are known in the art. For example, coverings extending over a smooth surfaced handle or smooth surface door knob are used for the purpose of making it easier for a disabled person to grip the handle, in other cases the covering is used for thermally isolating the user's hand from the handle in order to prevent the user from burning his or her hand.

In the irrigation field a number of different components are assembled at the work site. The field assembly of components generally involves “one shot applications” which usually  include hand attachment of irrigation components, such as pipe taps, to irrigation pipes. One type of pipe tap comprises a drainage valve that has male threads that mate with a threaded connection on an irrigation pipe and another pipe tap comprises a self tapping pipe tap that mounts in a saddle with a barrel on the tap that frictional engages an irrigation pipe to form a leakproof connection between the pipe tap and the irrigation line. Since these units usually require substantial torque to attach the valve generally ears or projections are molded into the integral handle on the taps.

In general, the pipe taps have a rigid housing and are made from hard plastic materials. The pipe taps are secured to a pipe by rotation of an integral handle on the pipe tap with respect to the pipe. For example, one can field attach a pipe tap such as a threaded drainage valve to an irrigation line through a set of mating threads that are located on the drainage valve and on the irrigation line. In other cases, a pipe tap having a pipe tap handle is used in conjunction with a pipe saddle to allow a user to field attach a pipe tap to an irrigation line without the need for tools. In general, the field assembly with “one shot” components such as pipe taps requires that the pipe taps need to be firmly connected to the irrigation system to prevent leakage. This field attachment process usually requires the user to apply a substantial hand torque to the pipe tap to obtain the proper leak proof connection therebetween. For this reason the handle or hand gripping region on pipe taps usually includes ears on the rigid rim or recess in the rigid rim.

One such pipe tap is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,579 and comprises a hand attachable drain valve made from a rigid material. The rigid hand gripping region including rigid ears and rigid serrated friction ridges located between the ears to enhance the ability of the user to firmly grasp and rotate the drain valve as it is field attached to an irrigation system. The finger gripping regions allow a user to easily begin the threading process. Since the tap should be securely attached to the irrigation system the protruding ears provide a handle so  the user can increase his or her hand contact on the ears and consequently increase the rotational torque through either formation of a mechanical type interlock produced by the circumferential engagement of the ears or protrusions with the user's fingers or through frictional engagement of the palm of the user's hand with the rigid ears. These type of rigid hand shaped handles permit a user to quickly and tightly secure an irrigation component such as a drainage valve to an irrigation system to form a leakproof connection in the field attachment process.

Oftentimes the user must attach a number of irrigation components or taps to an irrigation system as is it is being built. The repeated harsh engagement between the users hand and the irrigation component, can effect the tightening of the tap. It is important to properly secure the irrigation valve to produce leakproof connections through “on site” hand tightening even though attachment of multiple irrigation components can case a user to develop a sore hand from gripping and securing multiple rigid taps.

The present invention comprises an improvement to the irrigation components that allows one to retain the ability to generate a high hand torque while at the same time reducing the harsh hand engagement by providing a soft bump on the peripheral surface or on at least a portion of the peripheral surface that form pressure points. The soft bumps on the hand gripping region of the peripheral surface enables one to reduce the effect of the continued harshness of the engagement with the user's hand as multiple irrigation components are attached to an irrigation system. The soft bumps also reduces hand fatigue that occurs when a number of components have to be rotatably connected through hand tightening in the field. In the addition, the soft bumps can be made from materials that not only conform to the users hand but provide an increased frictional resistance or a non-slip surface between the user's hand and the irrigation component and thus aid in the securement of the tap. The  present invention allows one to reduce the harshness of hand engagement even though there may only be partial covering of the hand gripping region of the irrigation tool.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the present invention comprises a rotateable rigid irrigation component having a hand gripping region for field attachment to an irrigation system with the hand grasping portion of the rigid rotatable irrigation valve having soft bumps thereon. In one embodiment the soft bumps include a set of resilient pads spaced from each other and affixed to the handle to at least partially cushion the user's hand when the component is attached to an irrigation system and in additional embodiments the soft bumps are incorporated into a cover or hood that slips over a handle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1is a top view of a rigid, hand-attachable and rotatable irrigation valve10comprising a rigid housing having a hand gripping region formed by a peripheral surface10awith the peripheral surface10aincluding a set of rigid radially protruding ears11,12,13and14and a set of rigid radially recessed finger gripping regions15,16,17and18which are circumferentially spaced around the peripheral outer surface10aof irrigation valve10to provide a rigid rotatable member10bthat extends radially outward from thread base20to form a handle (seeFIG. 2). Rigid peripheral outer surface10aextends substantially parallel to an axis of rotation corresponding with the axis of rotation20aof threads20and provides a hand gripping region to enable one to rotate irrigation valve10.

The irrigation drain valve10is generally made from a rigid polymer plastic such as PVC or the like and is referred to as a pipe tap since the drain valve attaches or is tapped into to a sidewall of a pipe. A set of openings19located in the center of drain valve10allows for  water to drain from the valve10. In the embodiment shown, a set of soft bumps comprising elongated resilient pads15aare located in a spaced relationship on the concave rigid finger gripping region15which is formed directly in the peripheral surface10aof rigid valve10. Similarly, a set of soft bumps comprising elongated resilient pads16aare located on the concave finger gripping region16, a set of soft bumps comprising elongated resilient pads17aare located on the concave finger gripping region17and a set of soft bumps comprising elongated resilient pads18aare located on the concave finger gripping region18. The bumps15–18can provide multiple purposes in that they can provide a cushion as well as in some instance provide a more positive gripping region either through having a higher coefficient of friction than the rigid material or by forming mechanical protrusions.FIG. 1shows the soft bumps have a thickness “t”. When the soft bumps comprise soft compressible bumps they can compress sufficiently to bring a finger or hand on the soft compressible bumps into simultaneous contact with the rigid peripheral surface10aand the soft compressible bumps. That is, the soft compressible bumps have a compressed thickness that allows a portion of the flesh of a users hand to simultaneously engage the soft compressible bumps and the rigid peripheral surface10a.

In the embodiment shown the irrigation valve becomes its own tool since a portion of the rigid irrigation valve is used and grasped as a tool to attach the irrigation valve to a tee or the like on the main irrigation valve.

FIG. 2shows a side view of the hand attachable irrigation valve10showing the radially protruding ears11and12separated by a finger gripping region15. Protruding from the end of the drainage valve10housing is a set of male threads20on which are to be threadingly engaged with mating female threads on another irrigation component. The soft bumps15awhich are located on the peripheral region of the drain valve10are spaced from each other and provide islands of soft cushions or soft resilient pads on the rigid material to  reduce the harshness of the hand and finger engagement with the rigid rotatable valve10. That is, the soft bumps can resilient deform in response to finger and hand pressure thereon thus avoiding the harsh engagement that occurs between a rigid protrusion and a user's hand or fingers.

In the embodiment shown inFIG. 1andFIG. 2the soft bumps are spaced from each other to allow the user to simultaneous contact both the rigid valve surface and the soft bumps. Thus in the embodiment ofFIG. 1andFIG. 2the rotateable irrigation valve retains the interlocking finger engagement obtainable with the protruding ears but at the same time interrupts the rigid contact area with the soft bumps thus minimizing the harshness of the engagement without sacrificing the ability to apply a substantial hand torque to the irrigation component.

FIG. 3is a top view of a rigid drainage valve25having a circular hand gripping region or rim26. A drain pad27is centrally located in drainage valve25. Circumferential spaced around the rim26is a set of soft bumps comprising hemi-cylindrical shaped elongated resilient pads26aeach of the soft bumps radially protrude from the rim peripheral surface26so as to be compressively squeezeable when a user grasp a rotatable drain valve25in his or her hand. In the embodiment ofFIG. 3a rigid rotatable member29supports band26that carries the soft bumps26aIn this embodiment a radial force on the users hand simultaneously contacts both the soft bumps26aand the peripheral band26to provide hand cushioning.

FIG. 4is a side view of the drainage valve25ofFIG. 3showing the male thread28that is to be threading engaged with a female thread on another irrigation component. Rotatable drainage valve25is secured to the irrigation system or to another component through hand rotation of the drainage valve25. The soft bumps26a, which are spaced around the rim26provide a cushion for the user's hand to alleviate the normal harsh engagement between the rim26and the user's hand. That is, the soft bumps26aprovide for enhanced engagement since both the hand and the soft bumps can form deformable contact with each other to minimize or avoid regions of excessive pressure that can occur between a rigid surface and the soft hand of a user which can result in trauma to the user's hand.

FIG. 5is a top view of a frictional pipe tap30andFIG. 6is side view of the frictional pipe tap30. Pipe tap30includes a set of threads34and a protruding barrel35with a cutting tip36for boring an opening in a plastic pipe or the like. The pipe tap is conventionally mounted in a saddle that is secured around a pipe with the saddle having a mating female thread to allow the pipe tap to be drawn into cutting engagement with an irrigation pipe. In this type of tap the barrel35is brought into frictional engagement with a pipe after the a hole has been formed in the plastic irrigation pipe.

In the embodiment shown inFIG. 5andFIG. 6the rigid rotatable pipe tap30has a hard rim31that contains protruding ears31aand31bthat provide for greater torsional leverage on the pipe tap. The peripheral surface31c, which extends around the hard rim31and includes portion of rim31and the soft bumps32and33provides the hand gripping region to enable a user to rotate the tap30. In order to reduce the harsh engagement between the hard rim31and the users hand while still maintaining the necessary torque pressure on the rim there is provided a soft bump32comprising a peripheral extending pad having integral protrusions or bumps32athat extends along one side of ear31aand a second soft bump33comprising a peripheral extending pad having integral protrusions or bumps33athat extends along an opposite side of ear31b. The peripheral and elongated soft bumps33and32provide a cushion for the users hand to minimize hand trauma. That is as one applies torque as indicated by arrows F the user's hand contacts the soft bumps33and32that extend partly along the hard or rigid ring31. The soft bumps32and33flexibly deform to the users hand without creating the high pressure points associated with the engagement between a hard rim and the flesh of a user's hand. As the user grasps the peripheral surface with the hand gripping regions the user hand can simultaneously contact both the rigid portion of ears31aand31bas the user places his or her hand around the peripheral surface31cof rotatable tap30. If desired the soft bumps can extend beyond the edges of the rotateable pipe tape to protect the users hands from contacting an edge of the rotatable pipe tap. In addition, the soft bumps can be placed over and sharp edges or mold parting lines of the rotateable pipe tap to further protect the user's hand.

FIG. 7is a perspective view of an open end pipe tap40having radial protruding rigid ears41aand41band a threaded barrel42with an extension43for cutting an opening in an irrigation pipe. Located above the pipe tap40is a hood45having a top surface47and a side surface46. Hood45comprises a rigid material that has an interior surface (not shown) that snugly fits over the rim41of pipe tap40. A set of soft bumps46comprising elongated pads are located on side surface46to provide a cushion grip that reduces the harshness of the contact between a users hand and the hard hood, similarly, an identical set of soft bumps (not shown) comprising elongated pads are located on the opposite side of hood45to provide a cushion grip that reduces the harshness of the contact between a users hand and the hard hood. Thus in the present invention one can use the hood45in conjunction with an existing pipe tap since one can form an interlocking engagement between the rigid hood45and the rigid rim41. The positioning of soft bumps46aon one ear of the hood and the positioning of a second set of soft bumps on the opposite ear (not shown) allows one to prove a cushion grip to the user that reduces the normal harshness of hand engagement with a rigid rim. In this embodiment ones hand can simultaneously contact both the rigid peripheral surface and the soft bumps to provide a cushion to the users hand.

FIG. 8is perspective exploded view of the hood ofFIG. 7for engagement with a circular drainage valve50having a drain pad53a rigid rim51and a set of male threads52. In the embodiment shown the hood45is made from rigid but slight deformable material so as to enable one to frictionally engage the rim51. The use of the soft bumps46allows one to minimize the harsh engagement that normally occurs between a user's hand and a rigid irrigation component. In addition to providing a soft grip the material can be formed from material having a higher coefficient of friction then the rotateable pipe tap to thereby enhance a user's ability to rotate the tap without having his or her hand slip.

FIG. 9is a top view of a rigid component60comprising a pipe tap having a rigid rim61with a continuous bump comprising a circumferential resilient pad62extending around the rim61. A set of integral soft bumps62aand62bare included to enhance the gripping of the user. The embodiment ofFIG. 9proves a continuous circumferential soft bump that extends around the rigid rim with a further set of integral soft bumps62aand62b. In the embodiment shown the soft bump62can be secured to the rigid rim61by adhesives or molded directly on the rigid rim61.

FIG. 10is a top view of a drainage valve70having a circular rigid housing71that is surrounded by a 360 degree circumferential resilient pad69on the normal ridge hand gripping region on drainage valve70. In the embodiment ofFIG. 10the ears72,73,74and75as well as the finger recesses76,77,78and79with integral soft bumps are all formed in the soft circular pad69so as to provide a continuous region that deformably responds to hand pressure regardless of how the drainage valve is grasped.

FIG. 11andFIG. 12show a circular drainage valve80with a rigid circular rim83surrounded by a continuous soft bump comprising a peripheral band82that is secured to ridge rim83. The soft bump82includes integral soft protrusions or bump82can be  smooth. That is if greater frictional resistance is need one can introduce slight protrusions into the bump82. In any event the soft bump82on the rim83reduces the harsh engagement between the users hand and the drainage valve as one rotates the drainage valve into position on the irrigation pipe.

In general the irrigation component ofFIG. 1includes a housing10with a rigid rotatable member10bextending therefrom with a rigid peripheral surface10aon rigid rotatable member10b. Peripheral surface10aforms a rigid hand gripping region on rotatable member to enable a user to hand squeeze the hand gripping region to enable hand rotation of the rotatable member. A first soft bump or soft bumps16aare located on the peripheral surface10aand a second soft bump or soft bumps18aare located on the rigid peripheral surface10bwith the second soft bump spaced from and separated from the first soft bump to provide a padded hand gripping area on opposite sides of the peripheral surface10awith the padded hand gripping area softer to the touch than the rigid handing gripping area without the soft bumps to thereby reduce hand trauma.

In the embodiments ofFIG. 9–12the rotatable member includes a resilient peripheral band with integral soft bumps. That is in the embodiment ofFIG. 9the resilient band62extends around the rigid peripheral surface61ato form a peripheral surface62bthat forms a hand gripping region. In the embodiment ofFIG. 10the resilient band69extends around rigid peripheral surface71ato form a peripheral surface69a. In these embodiments the users hand is provided with a 360 degree cushion as the cushion extends around the peripheral surface that forms the hand gripping region. Similarly the embodiment ofFIGS. 11 and 12includes a peripheral surface82bthat forms a hand gripping region with the hand gripping region covering the integral soft bumps82athat compress to allow a users hand to simultaneously engage the peripheral surface82.

In the embodiment shown the soft bumps can be molded separately and adhesively secured, or can be molded on to the rigid portion of a pipe attachment product. It is also envisioned that the soft bumps can be integrally formed into the rigid plastic by forming portions of the rigid plastic with softer regions such as by air injection. In the event enhanced grip is required the bumps can include soft teeth, soft knurling or other disruptions to enhance the engagement between a users hand and the handle on the irrigation component. Other methods of securing the soft bumps is with an overmolding process or through multiple shot injection molding.