Abstract:
A sewage drain receptacle for underground sewage systems for campgrounds or RV parks that includes a hose resting seat coupled to the top orifice of a drain line and a sewage cap for closing the top orifice. The hose resting seat extends along a portion of the length of the drain line and serves to cradle a bottom of a sewage hose so that it is prevented from being lodged into the sewage system.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of a previous application by the same inventors bearing U.S. Ser. No. 09/928,705, filed Aug. 13, 2001, now abandoned, and entitled “Sewer Cap Device Having Sealing Means And Locking Means.” The entirety of this previous application is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full below. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to sewage systems for campgrounds and parks for recreational vehicles (hereinafter referred to as “RV parks”) and, more particularly, to a sewer drain receptacle coupled to the sewage system, for use in RV parks, that includes a hose resting seat for cradling the RV&#39;s hose to prevent the loss of an RV hose or obstruction within the sewer line. 
     2. General Background 
     Recreational vehicles (hereinafter referred to as “RVs”) are equipped with sewer kits to evacuate the sewage from the RV to a sewage system of a campground or other RV sewage dumping stations. There are a variety of RV sewer kit manufactures some of which produce a sewer kit unique to their design. 
     For example, the Camping World, Inc. Catalogue @ Page 54 illustrates, one known sewer kit, the Easy Slip® Ready-To-Use RV Sewer Kit. Such kit includes a heavy-duty sewer hose, an Easy Slip® bayonet straight hose adapter and an Easy Slip® elbow with a 4-in-1 adapter. The 4-in-1 adapter includes a multi-tiered externally threaded sections wherein each section has a different circumference. The top section has the largest circumference; the middle section has a circumference which is small than the top section; and the lower section has a circumference with is the smallest. Below the lower section, the 4-in-1 adapter further includes a hollow tubular member having an external surface which is not generally threaded. As can be appreciated, the 4-in-1 adapter is designed to be accommodated by a variety of campground sewer systems. 
     Other manufactures include Valterra which manufactures a variety of couplers, adapters and valves which can be sold as a kit or system to accommodate for the different requirements of the campground sewage systems. For example, some campgrounds require only a simple press fit connection between the RV&#39;s sewage hose and the sewer cap of the campground while other campgrounds require threaded connections. 
     However, one of the problems with the hook-up of the RV hose to the sewer drain receptacle in the ground is that the RV hose can become detached and lodged into the sewage system. Thus, the sewage in the underground sewage system can become obstructed by the presence of a lost RV hose. 
     As will be seen more fully below, the present invention is substantially different in structure, methodology and approach from that of the prior systems providing sewage drain receptacles for underground sewage systems in campgrounds or RV parks. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     The preferred embodiment of the sewage drain receptacle of the present invention solves the aforementioned problems in a straight forward and simple manner. 
     Broadly, the present invention contemplate a sewage drain receptacle for underground sewage systems for campgrounds or RV parks comprising: a hose resting seat coupled to the top orifice of a sewage drain line and which extends along a portion of the length of the drain line for cradling a bottom of a sewage hose. Thereby, the sewage hose is prevented from becoming lodged in the sewage system. 
     The present invention further contemplates a sewage drain receptacle with a sewage drain cap for closing the top orifice of the sewage drain line. 
     In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a tamper-proof sewage cap which provides a good water-tight and odor-tight cap device. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a hose resting seat that is adapted to accommodate a variety of RV hoses and their couplers to the sewage system. 
     In view of the above, a feature of the present invention is to provide a hose resting seat and tamper-proof sewage cap which are simple to install. 
     The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the drawings, the description given herein, and the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     For a further understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference should be had to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts are given like reference numerals and, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the sewage system with a sewage drain receptacle in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is partial view of the hose resting seat of the embodiment of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the sewage system with a sewage drain receptacle of the embodiment of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the sewage system with a sewage drain receptacle of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with a RV hose being inserted; and, 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sewage system with a sewage drain receptacle of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the RV hose being seated in the seat. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings and in particular FIGS. 1-5, the sewage drain receptacle of the present invention is generally referenced by the numeral  10 . The sewage drain receptacle  10  is part of an underground sewage system  15  for campgrounds and RV parks and serves as the conduit through which sewage or the like can be emptied. The underground sewage system  15  comprises at least one sewage drain receptacle  10  and typically includes many such drain receptacles  10  dispersed about the campground or RV park. 
     The sewage drain receptacle  10  includes a drain conduit member  20  or drain line having one free end  22  coupled to a sewage transport line  17  of the underground sewage system  15  for the communication of sewage therebetween. The other free end  24  (or the top orifice) of the drain conduit member  20  has coupled thereto a hose resting seat  30 , which extends along at least a portion of the length of the drain conduit member  20 . Additionally, the other free end  24  of the drain member  20  has coupled thereto a sewage cap device  40  which closes the top orifice of the drain conduit member  20  and hose resting seat  30 . 
     In the exemplary embodiment, the drain conduit member  20  is coupled to the sewage transport line  17  via a T-coupler  19 . 
     Referring now to the hose resting seat  30 , the hose resting seat  30  includes a tubular member  32  concentric with the tubular structure of the drain conduit member  20 . One free end  34  (or top rim) of the hose resting seat  30  is secured to the other free end  24  (or the top orifice) of the drain conduit member  20 . The other free end  36  of the hose resting seat  30  includes an annular flange or brim  38  extending around the inner circumference of the tubular member  32 . The annular flange or brim  38  reduces the inner circumference at the lower distal end of tubular member  32  to provide a “seat” to rest an RV hose  1  and limit the distance the RV hose  1  can fall into the drain conduit member  20 . Thereby, the “seat” at the lower distal end of tubular member  32  serves to prevent the RV hose  1  from possibly falling further into the sewage drain receptacle  10 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the distance the RV hose  1  will travel in the drain conduit member  20  is limited by the location of the “seat” of tubular member  32  in drain conduit member  20 . While the “seat” can be located at any desired distance, the “seat” should be located at a distance to accommodate the lengths of currently manufactured RV hoses  1 . Moreover, the “seat” serves to prevent the RV hose  1 from extending down into the sewage transport line  17  of the underground sewage system  15  so that the flow of sewage is not blocked or obstructed. 
     The free end  34  (or top rim) of the hose resting seat  30  includes an annular rim  35   a  that secures the free end  34  to the drain conduit member  20 . The free end  34  further includes a distancing ring  35   b  integral with the tubular member  32  and which is substantially in direct surface-to-surface contact with the inner circumferential surface of the drain conduit member  20 . The distancing ring  35   b  serves to stabilize and essentially centrally locate the tubular member  32  within the drain conduit member  20 . 
     Referring still to FIG. 2, while FIG. 2 is a partial view illustrating features of the hose resting seat  30 , it should be noted that the hose resting seat  30  may have a portion of the tubular member  32  removed so that the tubular member  32  can flexibly stretch to accommodate a large RV hose  1 . 
     An exemplary sewage cap device  40  is disclosed in our parent U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/928,705, filed Aug. 13, 2001, and entitled “Sewer Cap Device Having Sealing Means And Locking Means,” which is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full hereinbelow. The sewage cap device  40  is a tamper-proof sewage cap device comprised of a hingedly coupled cap or lid member  42  which rotates about hinge assembly  50  coupled to one side of the base coupler  60  to an open position to permit an RV&#39;s hose coupler  1  to be attached thereto to evacuate the sewage from the RV (NOT SHOWN) to the underground or campground sewage system  15 . The hingedly coupled cap or lid member  42 , when closed is adapted to be locked in a closed position via a locking assembly  70 . 
     In the exemplary embodiment, the locking assembly  70  is coupled approximately 90 degrees or on a side opposite from the hinge assembly  50 . Furthermore, the locking assembly  70  is constructed and arranged for use of a pad lock (NOT SHOWN) to lock the hingedly coupled cap or lid member  42 . 
     The tamper-proof sewage cap device  40  further comprises a top-mounted lid handle  45  constructed and arranged for grasping by at least one finger or a hand to lift the hingedly coupled cap or lid member  42  when the it is unlocked. As the hingedly coupled cap or lid member  42  is lifted, the hingedly coupled cap or lid member  42  pivots or rotates about the hinge assembly  50 . 
     More importantly, the top-mounted lid handle  45  is a quick and easy means for grasping to rotate the hingedly coupled cap or lid member  20  to a fully open position. When the hingedly coupled cap or lid member  42  is in a fully open position, the top-mounted lid handle  45  is protected by the underside of the hingedly coupled cap or lid member  42  to minimize sewage contamination during the connection and disconnection of the RV&#39;s hose  1 . 
     The base coupler  60  is adapted to be secured in the sewage hole of a campground or RV park. The outer perimeter surface is affixed to the ground via grout or cement and such that the base coupler  60  is essentially flush-mounted with the ground. 
     The hingedly coupled cap or lid member  42  is designed to create a tight fit or seal with the base coupler  60 , when the hingedly coupled cap or lid member  42  is closed. Hence, this arrangement provides a good odor-tight and water-tight tamper-proof sewage cap device  40  when the hingedly coupled cap or lid member  20  is closed. 
     In the exemplary embodiment, the tamper-proof sewage cap device  40  is adapted to be coupled (such as by welding, cementing, glueing, etc.) to the exterior surface of the drain conduit member  20 . Nevertheless, the tamper-proof sewage cap device  40  can be coupled to the annular rim  35   a.    
     It should be noted that the tamper-proof sewage cap device  40  and the hose resting seat  30  may be integrally formed and secured to the drain conduit member  20 . Alternately, the drain conduit member  20 , the tamper-proof sewage cap device  40  and the hose resting seat  30  may be integrally formed together which is a convenient design when installing a new underground sewage system. Finally, the receptacle  10  may simple include the hose resting seat  30  and the sewage cap  40  when retrofitting the existing sewage drain lines with receptacle  10 . 
     Because many varying and differing embodiments may be made within the scope of the inventive concept herein taught and because many modifications may be made in the embodiment herein detailed in accordance with the descriptive requirement of the law, it is to be understood that the details herein are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.