Patent Publication Number: US-9410308-B2

Title: Shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves

Description:
I. CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/233,895 filed Aug. 14, 2009. The disclosure of the provisional application is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     II. FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to plumbing fittings, and more specifically to providing a shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves that prevents water that is leaking undetected at a shower arm plumbing fitting from causing water damage to other property. 
     III. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
     There have been attempts to address leaks from water fittings such as Patent Publication No. 2001/0035209 to White, which includes a combination sheath and frost-resistant wall hydrant having an internal valve seat between a bracket and indoor or inlet end. The sheath telescopes over the hydrant&#39;s inlet end until the sheath&#39;s leading end mates against the hydrant&#39;s bracket. A shortcoming of White is that it is not adapted to be secured to a drop ear 90° or similar water fitting typically used in residential homes for connecting a water supply to a shower arm. 
     Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,347 to Eaton, which is similar to White for use with a sillcock (i.e., hydrant). The housing of the sillcock includes a tube, a valve within the tube and a control knob at one end of the tube to operate the valve. The housing has an internal chamber for receiving the pipeline for the sillcock. A shortcoming of Eaton is that it is not adapted to be used with plumbing fittings used in residential homes for connecting a shower arm. 
     Yet another example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,852, to Williamson, which discloses a service sleeve coupled to a frost proof sillcock to prevent damage to a wall of a structure caused by a ruptured sillcock. Similar to the shortcomings of White and Eaton described above, a shortcoming of Williamson is that it is not adapted to be secured to a drop ear 90° type water fitting typically used in residential homes for connecting a water supply to a shower arm. 
     Still yet another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,924 to Hodgkinson, which is a water diverting device for directing leaking water from a plumbing fitting from behind a wall to the front face of the wall. A shortcoming of Hodgkinson, is the securement of the water diverter to a water supply fitting. As shown in FIG. 1 of Hodgkinson, the diverter is loosely placed over the fitting and held in place by the angled flange  18  engaging a raised surface of the fitting. However, not all fittings have a raised surface or a significant raised portion making the diverter of Hodgkinson susceptible to being inadvertently pulled out of position and rendered useless. Accordingly, what is needed is an adjustable shower arm sleeve that is adapted to be snugly secured over a drop ear 90° fitting and is not susceptible to being unintentionally removed or jostled out of position. 
     IV. SUMMARY 
     In a particular embodiment, a shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves is disclosed to be used with a drop ear 90° type fitting and a shower arm. The shower arm is susceptible to leaks where it is connected to a water supply behind a wall (which is hidden from view) using a drop ear 90° fitting. That hidden connection may leak over time without detection causing damage within the wall. The adjustable shower arm sleeve includes a tubular sleeve having a first end and a second end, where the first end is adapted to be secured over the drop ear 90° plumbing fitting on an interior side of the wall and the second end is adapted to be open to an exterior side of the wall. The drop ear 90° fitting includes a port adapted to be secured to a shower arm, where a connection at the port and threading of the shower arm is susceptible to leakage. An outer sleeve is adapted to slide partially over the tubular sleeve, where the outer sleeve allows for adjustment to the width between the connection of the port and the shower arm and the exterior side of the wall in telescoping fashion. Accordingly, if the shower arm connection is leaking water within the wall, the adjustable shower arm sleeve catches the leaking water and directs it out of the wall and into the shower area. 
     Other aspects, advantages, and features of the present disclosure will become apparent after review of the entire application, including the following sections: Brief Description of the Drawings, Detailed Description, and the Claims. 
    
    
     
       V. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a particular illustrative embodiment of a shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves shown secured to a prior art drop ear 90° plumbing fitting; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the drop ear 90° plumbing fitting secured to a water supply line used in conjunction with the shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial cut away view of a particular illustrative embodiment of the shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of a particular illustrative embodiment of the shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves secured to a modified drop ear 90° plumbing fitting having external threading; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of a particular embodiment of the shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves showing internal threading for securing over the modified drop ear 90° plumbing fitting having external threading; and 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of a particular illustrative embodiment of the shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves secured to a drop ear 90° plumbing fitting having a second port. 
     
    
    
     VI. DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a particular illustrative embodiment of a shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves is disclosed and generally designated  100 . The adjustable shower arm sleeve  100  includes a tubular sleeve  102  having a first end  104  and a second end  106 , where the first end  104  is secured over a drop ear 90° plumbing fitting  110  and the second end  106  is open to the interior face of a shower stall wall  112 . The drop ear 90° fitting  110  has a first port  114  that is secured to a water supply line  124  and a second port  116  that is secured to a shower arm  120 . A shower head  121  may be secured to the shower arm as shown in  FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 6 . The connection at the second port  116  between the drop ear 90° fitting  110  and threading  126  of the shower arm  120  is susceptible to leakage that can begin from the time of installation and go undetected for years. The first end  104  of the tubular sleeve  102  is adapted to fit over the second port  116  of the drop ear 90° fitting  110 . Tabs  118  at the periphery of the drop ear 90° fitting  110  are used to secure the drop ear 90° fitting  110  to an interior wall structure  122 . The water supply line  124  is secured to the drop ear 90° fitting  110  at the first port  114  typically in a vertical orientation making a watertight connection. Similarly, the shower arm  120  is secured to the second port  116  of the drop ear 90° fitting  110  typically in a horizontal orientation. 
     An outer sleeve  130  is adapted to slide partially over the tubular sleeve  102  that fits on the drop ear 90° fitting  110 . The outer sleeve  130  allows for adjustment to the width between the interior wall structure  122  and the interior face of the shower area wall  112  that is being protected at the threaded connection of the shower arm  120  onto the drop ear 90° fitting  110 . There is a water tight connection between the tubular sleeve  102  and the exterior of the drop ear 90° fitting  110  using a friction fit, sealant, a gasket, or other similar means, or the connection may be welded. 
     The connection at the drop ear 90° fitting  110  to the shower arm  120  is the problem area that the adjustable shower arm sleeve  100  protects against. The connection may leak undetected behind the wall  112  and cause mold and water damage. The tubular sleeve  102  may not be flanged at its second end  106  but the outer sleeve  130  may have a flange  132  as illustrated in  FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 . The outer sleeve  130  and the tubular sleeve  102  have a water tight connection to each other using a friction fit, sealant, a gasket or other similar means. Accordingly, any water leaking at the connection between the shower arm  120  and the drop ear 90° fitting  110  is collected by the sleeve  102  and directed to the interior of the shower stall wall  112 . Thus, water leaking from the connection between the shower arm  102  and the drop ear 90°  110  is prevented from traveling down behind the wall  112  and causing damage and instead the device  100  directs the water harmlessly to the shower bathing area. 
     The adjustable shower arm sleeve  100  may be manufactured or adapted to fit a plurality of different outside diameters of existing drop ear 90° fittings that are in the walls of most homes. The tubular sleeve  102  may be different shapes in addition to being round. The diameter of the tubular sleeve  102  may be reduced using a selected size of coupling or gasket that fits inside the tubular sleeve  102  to fit appropriately over the second port  116  of the drop ear 90° fitting  110 . The outer sleeve  130  may be flanged at the front edge of the shower wall  112  and adapted to slide onto the outside of the tubular sleeve  130 . The adjustable shower arm sleeve  100  provides the advantage of protecting against leaking water from the threaded connections inside a wall that cannot otherwise be readily detected. 
     A front view of the drop ear 90° plumbing fitting  110  is shown in  FIG. 2  secured to the interior wall structure  122 . A plurality of tabs  118  secure the drop ear 90° fitting  110  in position to the interior wall structure  122  using nails, screws, or other securement means. The water supply line  124  provides water to the shower arm  120  via the first port  114  of the drop ear 90° fitting  110 . The shower arm  120  is not shown in  FIG. 2  for clarity. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , the tubular sleeve  102  is shown with a gasket  302  at the first end  104  of the sleeve  102 . The gasket  302  is adapted to provide a water-tight friction fit between the sleeve  102  and the second port  116  of the drop ear 90° fitting  110 . As discussed above, the gasket is selected to fit inside the tubular sleeve  102  to provide a watertight connection between the tubular sleeve  102  and the exterior of the drop ear 90° fitting  110 . The length of the shower arm sleeve  100  is adjustable to a plurality of different depths of walls. The tubular sleeve  102  may be manufactured or cut to a length so that it is approximately flush with the front edge of the shower wall  112 . The sleeve  102  may be comprised of one segment as shown in  FIG. 3 , or of multiple segments that can be joined together to adjust the length of the shower arm sleeve  100 . For example, the outer sleeve  130  is adapted to slide over the tubular sleeve  102  and adjust in telescoping fashion. A flange  132  may be disposed on one end of outer sleeve  130  and is approximately flush with the outer surface of the wall  112 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , an alternative embodiment of the shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves  100  is used with a modified drop ear 90° plumbing fitting  110 , which has external threading  402  on the exterior surface of the second port  116 . The prior art drop ear 90° fittings typically include internal threading only for receiving the shower arm  120 . However, the modified drop ear 90° fitting  110  includes external threading  402 , which is adapted to mate with the interior threading  404  on the interior surface of the sleeve  102 , that is proximate to the first end  104  of sleeve  102 . The modified drop ear 90° fitting  110  will also include standard interior threading for attaching the shower arm  120 . The first end  104  is secured to the modified drop ear 90° plumbing fitting  110  and the second end  106  is open to the interior face of the shower stall wall  112 . The modified drop ear 90° fitting  110  has a first port  114  that is secured to the water supply line  124  and a second port  116  that is secured to the shower arm  120 . The tabs  118  at the periphery of the modified drop ear 90° fitting  110  are used to secure it to the interior wall structure  122 . The water supply line  124  is secured to the modified drop ear 90° fitting  110  at the first port  114  in a vertical orientation making a watertight connection. The shower arm  120  is secured to the second port  116  of the modified drop ear 90° fitting  110  in a horizontal orientation. Water leaking at the connection between the shower arm  120  and the modified drop ear 90° fitting  110  is collected by the sleeve  102  and directed to the interior of the shower stall wall  112 , thereby preventing water damage behind the wall  112 . The outer sleeve  130  may also be used if necessary and it is adapted to slide over the tubular sleeve  102  and adjust in telescoping fashion as described above. The outer sleeve  130  allows for the adjustment to the depth of the wall  112  that is being protected at the connection between the shower arm  120  onto the modified drop ear 90° fitting  110 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , the tubular sleeve  102  is shown with the internal threading  404  at the first end  104  of the sleeve  102 . The internal threading  404  is adapted to mate with the external threading  402  on the modified drop ear 90° fitting  110 . The connection provides a water-tight connection between the sleeve  102  and the modified drop ear 90° fitting  110 . The length of tubular sleeve  102  may be cut to be flush with the shower wall  112 . The shower arm leak detection device with adjustable sleeves  100  may be comprised of one segment as shown in  FIG. 5 , or of multiple segments using the outer sleeve  130  that can be joined together to adjust the over length of the adjustable shower arm sleeve  100  as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     Another illustrative embodiment of the shower arm leak detection device is shown in  FIG. 6 . The device includes an elongated second port  504  that is adapted to be secured to a shower arm  120 . As described above, tabs  118  at the periphery of the drop ear 90° fitting  502  are used to secure the drop ear 90° fitting  502  to an interior wall structure  122 . The water supply line  124  is secured to the drop ear 90° fitting  502  at the first port  114 . An outer sleeve  130  is adapted to slide partially over the elongated second port  504  and its end  506 . The outer sleeve  130  allows for adjustment to the width between the interior wall structure  122  and the interior face of the shower area wall  112 . The outer sleeve  130  may have a flange  132 . The outer sleeve  130  and the elongated second port  504  have a water tight connection to each other using a friction fit, sealant, a gasket or other similar means. Accordingly, any water leaking at the connection between the shower arm  120  and the drop ear 90° fitting  502  is directed to the interior of the shower stall wall  112 . 
     The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosed embodiments. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope possible consistent with the principles and novel features as defined by the following claims.