Abstract:
A stopper for selectively blocking a drain to the passage of water. The drain has an inlet, an outlet and a substantially cylindrical throat between the inlet and outlet. A control means is provided for selectively feeding control fluid under hydraulic pressure to the cylindrical throat whereupon an expandable bladder located within the cylindrical throat selectively expands in fluid communication with the control fluid to block the drain and thus act as a stopper.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/769,103 filed on Jan. 24, 2001, now abandoned. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention involves a stopper device for selectively blocking a drain to the passage of water which employs a bladder rather than convention mechanical linkages. Such devices are more convenient to use than stoppers of the prior art and have the additional benefit that stoppers of the present invention comply with requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Specifically, the stopper device of the present invention is capable of selectively blocking a drain to the passage of water and thus acts as a stopper for the drain which is capable of being manipulated by someone who is handicapped and thus incapable of actuating a traditional mechanical stopper of the prior art. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Typical lavatories employ a pop-up linkage for mechanically blocking the drain thus acting as a stopper to selectively retain waste water. This linkage consists of four intersecting sharp abrasive surfaces that are not in any way shielded or covered. Such an assembly fails to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act as Section 4.19.4 of the Act mandates that “there shall be no sharp or abrasive edges or elements under lavatory.” 
     Further, in order to actuate the typical pop-up linkage as described above, one is required to generally reach beyond the normally provided water service control handle to grasp a vertically extending rod and to pull the rod upwards until the linkage acts to seat a stopper within the drain opening to which it is appended. Although the typically provided pop-up assembly is usable by the average person, even with the above-noted non-complying linkage, it would fail to comply with other requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Specifically, Section 4.27.4 of the Act requires that controls and operating mechanisms be operable with one hand and do not require tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist for actuation. The Act further provides that the force required to activate controls shall be no greater than five pounds per square foot. The typical pop-up linkage employed universally in the current plumbing trade meets none of these requirements. Many disabled individuals are incapable of grasping a vertically extending rod while providing sufficient grasping and pulling effort to successfully seat a stopper within a drain pipe through the linkage so provided. Further, even for lavatories having the mandated clearance for wheelchair access, the above noted linkage and its characteristic sharp edges can cause injury to a user. 
     In addition to the pop-up linkage found in lavatories, the trip lever employed in bath tub installations and basket strainers used in sinks also fail to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Specifically, the bath tub trip lever which moves up and down controls water accumulation in the tub. Section 4.20.5 of the Act states, in part, that “all controls must be located at the foot of the tub, near the front edge of the wall, and below the grab bar . . . ” Current trip levers are never so located; but the present invention can be so situated to meet the requirements of the Act. As to sink basket strainers, the Act states, in part, in Section 4.27.4, that actuation is limited to “5 lbs max. force.” Certainly, as to a sink full of water, more than 5 lbs. force is required to remove the strainer basket against the retained water pressure in order to free the drain for waste water release. The present invention can also make sink drain assemblies compliant with the Act. Specifically the ADA looks to a “closed fist” as the standard for operating a sink. It is noted that current kitchen sinks require that baskets be pulled from the drain opening to release waste water. Thus, current kitchen drains would not comply with ADA requirements but the present invention would. 
     As noted above, the Act also prohibits linkages having sharp edges and corners from extending below a wall-hung seat assembly for those who are wheelchair-bound may very well injure their knees and legs when the wheelchair is brought proximate to the wall-hung sink. 
     In addition to, the first time, providing a stopper device which complies with the requirement of the Americans With Disabilities Act, it was an object of the present invention to provide a drain stopper which presents to a user a more elegant approach to selectively blocking the passage of waste water from a sink or tub facility. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a stopper device for selectively blocking a drain to the passage of water which is capable of being employed by the disabled and which, as a consequence, meets the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. 
     These and further objects will be more readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended claims. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a stopper device for selectively blocking a drain to the passage of water. The drain is provided with an inlet, an outlet and a substantially cylindrical throat between the inlet and outlet. Means are provided for selectively feeding control fluid under pressure from a pressurized fluid source to the cylindrical throat. An expandable bladder or inner tube-shaped expandable member is provided located within the cylindrical throat and in communication with the control fluid wherein the bladder is sized and positioned such that selective actuation of the means for selectively feeding control fluid causes the bladder to expand upon receipt of the control fluid in turn causing the drain to selectively block the passage of water therethrough. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a control assembly for hot and cold water service to a basin, sink or tub employing the stopper device of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a further plan view of the assembly of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view in cross-section of a drain assembly used in conjunction with a typical tub assembly for carrying out the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the drain assembly of FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a typical drain employing the present invention using an air compressor rather than the diverter valve of the previous embodiments. 
     FIGS. 6A-6D represent schematic depictions of various examples of pressurized fluid sources capable of being employed for use in the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 depicts water service assembly  10  for use with a lavatory including control handle  11  capable of lifting vertically for water service actuation and horizontally to adjust the temperature of water emanating from spigot  14  as a result of the mixture of hot and cold water entering control manifold  20  (FIG. 2) through inlet tubes  12  and  13 , respectively. Although not shown, in the typical prior art installation, behind control handle  11  would generally be provided a pop-up rod which, when pulled vertically, acts upon a linkage generally provided behind a lavatory for drawing a plunger within a waste drain opening for selectively retaining waste water therein. However, such pop-up assemblies not only loosen as a result of their linkage but are difficult to manipulate by those who are handicapped. In fact, as noted above, the Americans With Disabilities Act specifically requires that controls and operating mechanisms of this type, to comply with statutory requirements, must be operable with one hand and not require a tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist. Certainly, the typical prior art pop-up assembly does, in fact, require tight grasping and pinching for actuation. 
     In order to improve upon the lavatory pop-up linkage, tub trip lever or sink strainer basket of the prior art, and in order to provide a stopper device which meets the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the present invention has been provided. Specifically, in a first embodiment, the normally configured water service control assembly  10  is provided with a diverter valve  5  which can be actuated by control knob  15  by exerting lateral pressure upon handle  17  causing control knob  15  to rotate about axis  16 . As such, diverter valve  5  can be actuated without the need for any type of grasping or pinching operation and, as noted below, is fully functional by even the handicapped. 
     In operation, actuation of control knob  15  causes diverter valve  5  to channel cold water from cold water inlet pipe  13  under hydraulic pressure through bladder feed tube  18 . Cold water under hydraulic then emanates from bladder feed tube  18  though outlet  19  to inlet  36  (FIGS.  3  and  4 ). Cold water under hydraulic pressure then emanates through passage  37  and T-channel  41  providing hydraulic pressure within bladder  38 . As bladder  38  expands under hydraulic pressure, drain water normally passing through drain openings  31  and exiting through passageway  34  is blocked as bladder  38  expands within internal volume  39 . 
     The assembly used in a typical tub installation is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and is elegant in its simplicity and is capable of adapting to pre-existing wastewater drain assemblies of typical sinks, lavatories and tubs. 
     Noting the structural elements of the present invention, strainer/bladder clamp  40  can be engaged at threaded interface  43  with liner tube  32  of the type traditionally found in the typical tub. O-rings  42  are configured as shown (FIG. 4) to provide watertight engagement. 
     It is noted that maintaining bladder  38  in an extended or flow blocking orientation, hydraulic pressure diverted from a hot or preferably cold water line through bladder feed tube  18  requires constant hydraulic pressure for bladder  38  is normally in a contracted state as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. As such, as handle  17  of control knob  15  or its equivalent in a tub installation is returned to its original position through rotation about axis  16 , water contained within bladder  38  is forced back through bladder feed tube  18  and vents through a tub equivalent of spout  14 . 
     As an alternative embodiment, a two-way diverter valve can be employed which provides for diversion of either hot or preferably cold water to bladder  38  without allowing for the passage of water contained within bladder  38  from re-entering center of manifold  20 . This embodiment prevents unsanitary water from entering manifold  20  and operates by configuring a small bleed hole  60  (FIG. 3) within bladder  38  such that when hydraulic pressure is removed from bladder  28 , it reduces its internal volume, much like a balloon with a hole in its sidewall. 
     As a further alternative, reference is made to FIG. 5 showing water service assembly  50  for use with a lavatory. As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, control handle  59  is provided capable of lifting vertically for water service actuation and horizontally to adjust the temperature of water emanating from spigot  54  as a result of the mixture of hot and cold water entering control manifold  50  through inlet tubes  51  and  52 , respectively. In place of the pop-up rod traditionally located behind the control handle or diverter valve  5  shown previously, an air pressure source such as mini air compressor  57  is provided to introduce pressurized air through tube  58  to a bladder such as bladder  38  of FIGS. 3 and 4. An electric switch activated by user button  55  can be used to engage mini air compressor  57 , whereupon air can be introduced to bladder  38  (FIG. 3) to expand its internal volume. When turned off, also, by pressing user button  55 , bladder  38  will reduce in size as air is bled therefrom. As a further alternative, mini air compressor  57  can be engaged by passing either hot or cold water from lines  51  or  52 , respectively, past a turbine, thus eliminating the need for an electrical connection. 
     It is noted by referenced to FIG. 6 that generic source  60  is provided as a pressurized fluid source functionally connected to inlet  36  as shown. Pressurized fluid source  60  can comprise any of a number of expedients well known to those skilled in the art of providing devices powered by fluid pressure as a means of selectively expanding bladder  38 . For example, reference is made to FIGS. 6A through 6D as devices which can be placed at the location of generic pressurized fluid source  60  as shown. 
     FIG. 6A is directed to a schematic of an electrical fluid pump  61  having inlet  62  and outlet  63 . Outlet  63  can be used to feed fluid such as water or compressed air to bladder  38  expanding bladder  38  to act as a stopper for the passage of water through the subject drain. Inlet  62  can be connected to a source of fluids such as water or air compressing the fluid for feeding it to bladder  38  under suitable pressure to accomplish the goals of the present invention. Bladder  38  can be contracted either by providing a bleed hole within its side wall so that bladder  38  only assumes its expanded configuration when electrical fluid pump  61  is provided fluid thereto under pressure. Alternatively, electric fluid pump  61  can be reversed causing fluid contained within bladder  38  under pressure to be drawn through pump  61  and out of inlet  62  again resulting in a contraction of bladder  38  and a freeing of the waste line to drainage. 
     As an alternative embodiment, mechanical fluid pump  65  can be provided as shown. This embodiment may be considered particularly commercially advantageous for mechanical fluid pump  65  could be placed in a vertical orientation behind the hot and cold water service to emulate a pop-up stopper while obviating the need for mechanical linkage of the prior art. Specifically, plunger  68  connected through stem  67  emanates in diaphragm  66  having a somewhat fluid engaging seal to side wall  70 . As such, when plunger  68  is depressed, fluid contained within segregated region  69  can be placed under pressure forcing fluid through outlet  71  to inlet  36  thus expanding bladder  38 . Similarly, plunger  68  can be withdrawn from region  69  causing fluid to be pulled from bladder  38  to reverse the process. 
     FIG. 6C depicts a simple bellows pump which could be foot actuated as a further means of assisting those who are disabled. Bellows pump  75  is provided with the typical accordion structure  77  and one-way air valve (not shown) such that when bellows pump  75  is depressed, its internal volume decreases forcing air through line  76  to fill bladder  38  under pressure. Air could be released from bladder  38  by anyone of the previously recited expedients including providing a bleed hole in its side wall. 
     FIG. 6D depicts the schematic illustration of tank  80  as a compressed fluid source for use herein. Tank  80  containing virtually any type of compressible fluid, being gaseous or liquid, can be provided with valve  84  configured within exit stem  82 . The pressure of compressed fluid source contained within tank  81  can be read from a standard pressure valve  83  and compressed fluid within tank  81  can be fed directly to bladder  38  by opening control valve  84  or by feeding the content of tank  81  to other previously described pressure control devices such as diverter  5  and electric fluid pump  61 . 
     Through the practice of the present invention, for the first time, one is able to provide a stopper device for selectively blocking a drain which does not require grabbing onto a pop-up rod or similar mechanical expedient which, as noted previously, not only provides unacceptable challenges to the handicapped, but fails to meet the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act.