Wash basin repair by a molded insert

An insert is provided for a wash basin in which the insert is previously molded from a sheet of plastic material so as to cover the inner section of the bowl and a part of the upper surface of the top wall surrounding the bowl. The insert has a drain opening aligned with the drain opening of the bowl and an overflow opening aligned with the overflow opening of the bowl. A drain fitting the connection to a drain line has a pipe extending from the drain opening of the insert into the drain opening of the bowl and a flange at the top of the pipe engaging an upper surface of the insert. An overflow fitting has a pipe portion extending through the overflow opening of the insert opening of the bowl with a flange inside the insert. The pipe portion has a length that it projects through the overflow opening of the bowl to an area just behind the outer surface of the bowl and a strip of flexible material of L-shaped to cross section which is bent around the overflow opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a wash basin and to a technique for repairing a 
damaged or worn wash basin by mounting in the wash basin a molded insert. 
In commercial situations, particularly hotels there are large numbers of 
wash basins. In order for the hotel to maintain its rating, it is highly 
important that the wash basin and other plumbing fittings be maintained in 
a clean, attractive and hygienic condition. Two types of wash basin have 
been commonly installed in past years both of which tend to become damaged 
or worn thus detracting from the acceptability of the plumbing fittings in 
the hotel. 
Sinks or wash basins of cultured marble have been used for many years and 
are formed from a sheet of the cultured marble which is shaped to define 
an integral top surface and a basin or bowl recessed into the top surface. 
The cultured marble has the problem that the differential expansion caused 
by the running of hot water into the bowl tends to cause fine cracking in 
the surface leading to discoloration and the possibility of growth of 
bacteria and molds in the cracks leading to an un-hygienic condition. 
Another type of basin which has been used widely is that of the enamel 
coated steel in which the bowl is formed with a surrounding flange which 
sits in a work surface of a separate material. The enamel type sink has 
the disadvantage that the enamel can be chipped away leading to unsightly 
spots which again can become un-hygienic. 
It is important therefore to provide a technique for repair of such wash 
basins which avoids the necessity for costly replacement. 
French patent Application 2671307 of Ciliento published 10 Jul. 1992 
discloses a technique for molding a liner into a bath tub in situ to 
define a new internal surface for the tub. However this appears to be an 
impractical arrangement which has achieved little commercial success. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a wash basin 
comprising a horizontal top wall having an upper surface, a bowl recessed 
from the top wall so as to depend downwardly therefrom and to define a 
concave inner surface for receiving and containing washing water, a drain 
opening at a bottom of the bowl, an overflow opening in the bowl located 
below the top wall and above the bottom, a separate insert previously 
molded of a sheet of plastics material covering the inner surface of the 
bowl and a part of the upper surface of the top wall surrounding the bowl, 
the insert having a drain opening aligned with the drain opening of the 
bowl and an overflow opening aligned with the overflow opening of the 
bowl, a drain fitting for connection to a drain line having a pipe 
extending through the drain opening of the insert and through the drain 
opening of the bowl and a flange at the top of the pipe engaging an upper 
surface of the insert surrounding the drain opening of the insert and an 
overflow fitting having a pipe portion extending through the overflow 
opening of the insert and through the overflow opening of the bowl. 
One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with 
the accompanying drawings in which:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Two embodiments are shown in the drawings of a repaired wash basin 
construction. The first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a wash 
basin of the enameled steel type generally indicated at 10 mounted within 
a work top 11. The enameled steel defines a bowl generally indicated at 12 
and a surrounding flange 13, the flange having a downturned lip 14 at its 
outer edge which engages a top surface of the work surface 11. The flange 
13 is of increased width at a rear 13A of the bowl for receiving the 
conventional faucet assembly 15. An opening 13B through the flange 13 
allows the faucet assembly 15 to be mounted on the flange 13 with water 
pips 15A projecting through the opening 13B. 
The sink 10 further includes a drain assembly 16 including a drain pipe 17 
connecting to a drain line 19 for discharge of washing water to the 
drainage system. Around the top of the pipe 17 is provided a flange 18 
which lies horizontal so as to support the pipe in vertical orientation 
for discharge of the water through the bottom of the bowl. A clamp 20 
engages on the pipe 17 to squeeze against the flange 18. The bowl further 
includes an overflow opening 21 communicating with an overflow pipe 22 on 
the outside of the bowl with that pipe communicating to the drainage 
system 19. 
The second embodiment is shown only in part in FIGS. 3 and 5 and comprises 
a combined work surface and bowl structure generally indicated at 100 with 
the bowl section 101 being integrally formed with the work top section 102 
from a suitable molded material such as cultured marble. The bowl of 
course includes the conventional plumbing arrangements including the 
faucet assembly, drain assembly and overflow as described above. 
It will of course be appreciated that the enamel steel bowl and the 
cultured marble type bowl are both conventional and widely used. The 
arrangement of the present invention is in addition not limited to the use 
of these particular types of wash basin and other wash basins can be 
modified in accordance with the construction as described hereinafter. The 
existing wash basin as described above is therefore repaired by the 
addition of an insert 30 mounted on the inside of the bowl 12. The insert 
is separately and previously molded from a mold shaped to follow the 
intended sink and includes a bowl portion 31 and a flange portion 32. The 
bowl portion 31 closely follows the shape of the inside surface of the 
bowl 12. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the flange portion 32 
just engages over the lip of the bowl to form a narrow band surrounding 
the top of the bowl of insufficient width to reach the faucet assembly 15. 
In practice the bowl portion 31 when molded is slightly smaller than the 
inside surface of the bowl 12 so that a space therebetween can be filled 
with silicone sealant material 33 or with thin foamed packaging material 
34. 
The insert is formed from a thin sheet of plastics material which is vacuum 
formed from a flat sheet to define the required shape in a conventional 
molding process. The sheet of plastics material includes a lower layer 30A 
of ABS material and an outer layer 30D of acrylic, the acrylic layer 
providing the wear resistant coating and having the required attractive 
appearance of the required color to match the existing sink construction. 
This provides an insert which is relatively stiff and is effectively 
self-supporting. 
In the molding process, an edge of the insert is molded so as to include an 
arched section 30C with the outermost edge of the sheet being turned 
downwardly so that an edge 30D of that sheet lies parallel to the upper 
surface of the sink and substantially in contact with that upper surface. 
In order to form the arched section 30C, the material is bent upwardly 
from its initial horizontal extent. 
In the arrangement of FIG. 3, the width of the flange is increased so that 
it includes the area for the faucet assembly 15. In this arrangement the 
flange section of the insert also has an opening aligned with the opening 
in the work surface to accommodate the mounting pipes of the faucet 
assembly. 
In general, therefore, the insert is molded so that it matches the shape of 
the existing bowl. This can in some cases includes soap dish formations 
within the bottom of the bowl area, in which case the insert would be 
molded to include these soap dish formations. 
It is also possible that such soap dish formations can be molded into the 
insert where they are not provided in the bowl itself. Since it will be 
appreciated that it is necessary for the insert to match the bowl only at 
the flange as the bowl section turns into the horizontal flange section 
and at the drain opening and the overflow. 
Turning therefore to FIG. 2, the insert includes a drain opening 40 
directly aligned with an overlying the drain opening 41 of the bowl 12. 
The flange 18 and the clamp 20 are thus disassembled from the existing 
bowl prior to the insertion of the insert 30. After the insert is in 
place, the flange 18 on the pipe 17 is returned to its initial position 
and the clamping arrangement 20 is replaced to a clamping action thus 
squeezing the insert onto the bowl at the overlying openings 40, 41. 
Before insertion of the insert into the bowl, the arch 30C is filled with a 
sealant material 42 of silicone or the like which is then pressed into 
engagement with the upper surface of the flange of the bowl to provide a 
sealing action there against. The shape of the arch 30C and the edge 30D 
is arranged so that the acrylic material is presented at the edge so that 
neither the inside ABS nor the silicone itself are exposed at the junction 
between the insert and the flange of the bowl. 
At the overflow opening 21 of the bowl, the insert is initially closed 
without any opening being formed in that area. Once the insert is in place 
and fixed into position by the sealant and the drain assembly, an opening 
is formed in the insert by firstly drilling a hole through the insert in 
the area of the opening 21 and then by using a router to cut an opening 43 
in the insert which is identical in shape and location to the opening 21 
in the bowl. When so formed, an overflow fitting 45 is located in place in 
the overlying openings. The overflow fitting is formed from a flexible 
strip of plastics material which is L-shaped cross section as shown in 
FIG. 5. The strip has two ends 46 and 47 and has a length equal to a 
circumference of the opening 43/21. The strip is sufficiently flexible so 
that it can be bent into shape as shown in FIG. 4 so that the leg of the 
L-shape forms a pipe portion 48 while the base of the L-shape forms a 
flange 49 surrounding the openings 21/43. This arrangement therefore 
provides a short pipe section which communicates the water from the inside 
of the bowl through to the outlet pipe 22 without the necessity for 
molding specifically shaped elements for defining the overflow fitting. 
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above 
described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made 
within the spirit and scope of the claims without departing from such 
spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the 
accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and 
not in a limiting sense.