Abstract:
A non-leaking flush toilet kit that eliminates the need for using wax gaskets or rings on a toilet system. Such kit includes a floor flange, a toilet base extension sleeve that is affixed to the base outlet opening of a flush toilet, and a v-ring seal seated within the floor flange. The floor flange is affixed to a soil pipe at or about floor surface. Said sleeve projects downwardly from the toilet base and is received by the v-ring seal and extends into the soil pipe, and forms a seal between the sleeve and the floor flange, thereby forming a seal between the base of the toilet bowl and the soil pipe.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    U.S. Provisional Application for Patent 60/219,588, filed Jul. 20, 2000, with title, “Non-Leaking Flush Toilet Kit” which is hereby incorporated by reference. Applicant claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. Par. 119(e)(i). 
     
    
     
         [0002]    Statement as to rights to inventions made under Federally sponsored research and development: Not Applicable  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0004]    This invention relates to an apparatus that eliminates the need for using wax gaskets or rings to seal a toilet base to a soil pipe in a toilet system. More specifically, it relates to a kit comprising a toilet base extension sleeve, a floor flange, and a v-ring seal.  
           [0005]    2. Brief Description of Prior Art  
           [0006]    Prior art methods for preventing the base of the toilet bowl from leaking primarily involve using a wax gasket or ring between the base of the flush toilet and the floor flange to create a seal between the toilet base and the floor flange at or about the floor surface. Such wax gaskets have a relatively short life, and will eventually crack or break, causing leaks, often hidden leaks. Such leaks often go undetected until considerable damage has been caused due to moisture, mold, mildew, and/or rust. The property owner is then required to physically remove the toilet from the floor in order to replace the cracked or broken wax gasket. Such process includes using a putty knife to remove the old wax gasket from the base of the toilet and the floor flange. This process is difficult, inconvenient, and relatively unsanitary.  
           [0007]    As will be seen from the subsequent description, the preferred embodiments of the present invention overcome these and other shortcomings of prior art.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention is designed to eliminate the need for using wax gaskets on toilet systems. The preferred embodiment includes a toilet base extension sleeve that is affixed to the base outlet opening of the flush toilet. It also includes a floor flange and a v-ring seal seated within the floor flange. The floor flange is affixed to a soil pipe at or about floor surface, and the toilet base extension sleeve is received by the v-ring seal within the floor flange, forming a seal between the sleeve and the floor flange, thereby forming a seal between the base of the toilet and the floor flange. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the three components of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, namely, a toilet base extension sleeve, a v-ring seal, and a floor flange.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 illustrates a section view of the assembled components of FIG. 1.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 illustrates a side sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 2.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded side sectional view of the three components of FIG. 1.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 2 mounted on a toilet.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 6 illustrates a section view of the floor flange of FIG. 1 affixed to a 3″ diameter soil pipe.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 7 illustrates a section view of the floor flange of FIG. 1 affixed to a 4″ diameter soil pipe.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 8 illustrates a section view of the floor flange of FIG. 1 affixed to the soil pipe at floor surface. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0017]    FIGS.  1 - 5  illustrate a preferred embodiment of a flush toilet kit  1  made in accordance with the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the kit  1  includes a toilet base extension sleeve  10 , a v-ring seal  20 , and a floor flange  30 .  
         [0018]    As best shown in FIG. 4, the toilet base extension sleeve  10  includes a mounting face  13 , an extension member  14 , an extension sealing surface  12 , and a lower face  15 . The extension member  14  has a cylindrical shape and forms a drain clearance  11  therein.  
         [0019]    As shown in FIG. 5, a flush toilet  100  includes a toilet base  101 , and a base outlet opening  102 .  
         [0020]    The toilet base extension sleeve  10  is mounted to the toilet base  101  so that the drain clearance  11  is coincident with the base outlet opening  102  of the toilet base  101 , by aligning and affixing the mounting face  13  of the toilet base extension sleeve  10  to the toilet base  101 . The mounting face  13  of the sleeve  10  is a substantially flat surface and is affixed to the toilet base  101  with any adhesive, preferably any epoxy suitable for bonding plastic to porcelain. Once installed, as shown in FIG. 5, the extension member  14  of the toilet base extension sleeve  10  extends from the toilet base  101  of the flush toilet  100 . Once installed, and as will be discussed, water flushing from the toilet  100  will pass through the base outlet opening  102  down through the drain clearance  11  of the sleeve  10 .  
         [0021]    As shown in FIG. 4, the v-ring seal  20  is a substantially cylindrical body, which includes a sleeve extension clearance  22 , an inside sealing surface  28 , an outside sealing surface  23 , a mounting lip  24 , a mounting groove  25 , and a top surface  27 . The inside sealing surface  28  is shaped and sized to receive the extension member  14  with a close fit. The inside sealing surface  28  further comprises an upwardly projecting sealing lip  21  and a wiper seal  29 .  
         [0022]    As shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and  7 , the floor flange  30  is a generally cylindrical body with a flange  46  at its top. The flange  46  includes a plurality of mount bolt clearances  31 . The cylindrical body includes a first stop ridge  35 , a second stop ridge  45 , an inner sealing surface  36 , a seal mounting groove  38 , a seal mounting land  37 , a flange extension  40 , and a soil pipe clearance  34 .  
         [0023]    The floor flange  30  is adapted to fit either a standard 3″ diameter soil pipe  110  (shown in FIG. 6), or a standard 4″ diameter soil pipe  120  (shown in FIG. 7). The downwardly projecting flange extension  40  of the floor flange  30  has an outer surface  32  that bonds to the inside of a large soil pipe (FIG. 7), an inner surface  33  that bonds to the outside of a smaller pipe (FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 5, the soil pipe clearance  34  is formed between the interior wall of the flange extension  40  and the extension member  14 , such clearance  34  is sized to receive a standard 3″ diameter soil pipe  110  when the pipe  110  is received inside the extension member  40 .  
         [0024]    The kit  1  is installed by first mounting the toilet base extension sleeve  10  to the toilet base  101  as previously discussed.  
         [0025]    Then, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the floor flange  30  is attached to the plumbing soil pipe at floor surface  200  (shown in FIG. 8). In FIG. 8, the pipe  110  is a 3″ pipe, which is received inside the flange extension  40 . In the event the floor flange  30  is being attached to a 4″ diameter soil pipe  120 , the flange extension  40  of the floor flange  30  is slidably positioned inside the soil pipe  120 , as shown in FIG. 7, such that the top of the soil pipe  120  abuts the second stop ridge  45  of the floor flange  30 . Depending upon which surface of the floor flange extension  40  contacts the soil pipe, that surface will be adhered to the pipe. In FIG. 7, since the extension  40  is inside the soil pipe  120 , the outer surface  32  of the extension  40  is affixed to the inner surface of the soil pipe  120  with any suitable adhesive. In the event the floor flange  30  is being attached to the soil pipe having a 3″ diameter  110 , as shown in FIG. 6, the smaller diameter soil pipe  110  is slidably positioned inside the floor flange  40  such that the top of the soil pipe  110  abuts the first stop ridge  35 . The outer surface of the soil pipe  110  is then affixed to the inner surface  33  of the floor flange with any suitable adhesive.  
         [0026]    Once the floor flange is mounted to the soil pipe, the v-ring seal  20  is seated within the floor flange  30 . As best shown in FIG. 2, the outside sealing surface  23  of the v-ring seal  20  is slidably positioned within floor flange  30 , forming a seal between the outside sealing surface  23  of the v-ring seal  20  and the sealing surface  36  (shown in FIG. 4) of the floor flange  30 . Proper location of v-ring seal  20  within the floor flange  30  is achieved as the mounting lip  24  of the v-ring seal  20  fits within the seal mounting groove  38  of the flange  30 , and the seal mounting land  37  of the floor flange  30  is fitted within the mounting groove  25  of the v-ring seal  20 . Such land-and-groove fittings assure proper seating of the v-ring seal  20  within the flange  30 .  
         [0027]    The toilet  100  is attached to the floor flange  30  by conventional closet bolts (not shown) installed upright into the mount bolt clearances  31 . The toilet  100  is lowered so the closet bolts installed in the clearances  31  slip through the standard holes (not shown) of the toilet base  101 . Washers and nuts are then slipped onto the bolts and tightened.  
         [0028]    When the toilet  100  is lowered onto the floor flange  30 , the extension member  14  of the sleeve  10  is advanced through the sleeve extension clearance  22  of the v-ring seal  20  and into the floor flange  30 . An air tight seal is formed between the inside sealing surface  28  of the v-ring seal  20  and the outer extension sealing surface  12  of the sleeve extension member  14 . Such air tight seal is enhanced at locations where the extension sealing surface  12  meets the sealing lip  21  and the wiper seal  29  projections on the interior of the v-ring seal  20 . In addition, the advancement of the extension member  14  into the sleeve extension clearance  22  of the v-ring seal  20  further causes pressure on the land-and-groove fittings between the v-ring seal  20  and the flange  30 , such that the v-ring seal  20  is securely seated within the floor flange  30 .  
         [0029]    It should be noted that, once installed, the top surface  27  of the v-ring seal  20  need not be flush with the lower face  15  of the sleeve  10  in order to achieve an air tight seal. Because the seal is between the outer surface  12  of the sleeve  10  and the inside sealing surface  28  of the v-ring seal  20 . Further, the seal formed between the outer sealing surface  12  of the sleeve  10  and the inside sealing surface  28  of the v-ring seal  20  is not affected by movement or shifting of the toilet  100 . This seal is continuous, regardless of any reasonable movement by the toilet  100 .  
         [0030]    As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and  5 , once installed, the extension member  14  of the sleeve  10  extends from the base outlet opening  102  of the toilet base  101 , down through the sleeve clearance  22  of the v-ring seal  20 , and into the floor flange  30 , extending past the stop ridge  35 . Thus, water flushing from the toilet  100  flows through the opening  102  of the toilet  100 , through the extension member  14  of the sleeve  10 , directly into the soil pipe.  
         [0031]    In the event of back flush, where waste water flows up through the soil pipe to the floor flange  30 , additional pressure from the back flush is placed on the wiper seal  28  of the v-ring seal  20 , causing the wiper seal  29  to bow slightly inward toward the extension member  14 , effectively causing a tighter seal between the v-ring seal  20  and the extension member  14  of the sleeve  10  during back flush. Thus, even back flush water is prevented from leaking from the toilet base  101  onto the floor.  
         [0032]    In the event the floor flange  30  is installed below the floor surface, the v-ring seal  20  is seated within the floor flange  30  as discussed above, and the extension member  14  is advanced through the seal  20 , also as previously discussed, but leaving a slight clearance between the top surface  27  of the v-ring seal  20  and the lower face  15  of the sleeve  10  to compensate for the said distance between the floor flange  30  and the floor surface. In such case, as previously discussed, a proper seal will continue to exist between the toilet  100  and the floor flange  30 .  
         [0033]    Further, the components of the kit  1  are reusable. As such, in the event the toilet  100  is replaced or temporarily removed, the components of kit  1 , namely the extension sleeve  10 , the v-ring seal  20 , and the floor flange  30 , do not need to be replaced, but may be reused and installed as described above.  
         [0034]    Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of a presently preferred embodiment of this invention.  
         [0035]    Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims in the formal application and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.