Patent Publication Number: US-9416525-B2

Title: Water closet bolt

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/670,211, filed Feb. 1, 2007 and entitled “Water Closet Bolt”, the subject matter of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a water closet bolt for use in installing a toilet and, more particularly, relates to a water closet bolt that has a notch that indicates the orientation of the long axis of a foot of the water closet bolt. The notch also provides a surface that serves as a hold-back for the user during installation and provides a break-off point to aid in the removal of an excess end portion of the bolt. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     Toilets are typically mounted in place using vertical bolts that extend upwardly from a bottom surface of circular flange or collar in the toilet. These bolts, known in the trade as “water closet bolts,” typically comprise an oblong foot which serves to engage an upper surface of the collar. The bolt is configured to fit securely under one of two sets slots in the collar. The first set is arcuate and is enlarged at one end. A bolt can be inserted into one of these slots by inserting it into the enlarged end with the foot extending generally parallel to the slot. The bolt is then slid to the narrow end of the slot and rotated so that the long axis of the foot extends perpendicular to the slot and, thus, cannot be pulled upwardly through the slot. The slots of the second set are, more precisely, notches extending radially inwardly from the outer perimeter of the collar. During installation the bolt is slid radially into the notch from the outside and, if necessary, rotated so the bolt so that the long axis of the foot is perpendicular to the notch. 
     The subsequent mounting of the toilet involves placing a wax sealing ring over the collar and manually lowering the base of the toilet such that the bolts extend through the sealing ring and vertical apertures in the base. After the toilet is lowered over the bolts, nuts or other threaded or thread-compatible fasteners are tightened downwardly onto the upper ends of the bolts and against the base of the toilet, thus drawing the upper surface of the feet against the bottom surface of the collar and clamping the toilet in place. 
     One of the principal difficulties in the installation of the toilet is ensuring that the oblong feet of the bolts are oriented correctly when the nuts are tightened onto the bolts. If a bolt becomes turned during the lowering of the toilet base or tightening of the nut on the bolt, the foot can become aligned with the slot in the collar, permitting the foot to be pulled upwardly through the slot. If this happens, the toilet will not be securely fastened to the floor, which will cause the toilet to rock rather than sit securely on the floor and cause sewer gas and water to leak at the base. 
     Another difficulty arising during toilet installation is the lack of a non-threaded hold back surface for the bolts during the installation. During the installation process, the user must grip the bolt with a pliers or a similar tool to ensure that the bolt remains in the correct position when the nut is threaded onto the bolt. The threads of the bolt may be damaged during the installation process because the user will be required to grip the threads of the bolt during installation. As such, it may become difficult or impossible for the user to screw a nut or cap over the threads of the bolt once the threads have become damaged or to remove the nut. Thus, a bolt with damaged threads may have to be discarded and replaced with another bolt. 
     A further problem encountered during toilet installation is the need to remove an excess portion of the bolt once the toilet has been completely installed. Typically, the bolts used in installation are too long to properly receive commonly used plastic or ceramic caps over them. Therefore, it is necessary to break off an excess portion of the bolt in order to properly secure the cap over the remaining portion of the bolt. Oftentimes, the removal of the excess portion proves to be quite difficult and may require the use of a hacksaw or a great deal of force that may result in chipping or cracking of the porcelain. The application of too much force may also result in the tool slipping and striking the base of the toilet, thus possibly chipping the porcelain of the toilet being installed. 
     The so-called “Johnny Bolt” or “Johnny Style Bolt” is the most commonly used type of water closet bolt. The Johnny Style bolt typically has an oblong foot configured to fit within the arcuate slot of a flange or collar. The Johnny Style Bolt further provides a break off point located at a predetermined, industry standard location near the upper end of the bolt. The break-off point is formed from a circular groove formed in the outer periphery of the bolt. By breaking the bolt at this point after the nut is installed, a standard ceramic or plastic cap may fit over the remaining exposed portion of the bolt. A bolt of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,629 to Sakow, the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a water closet bolt for use in installing toilets that would visually indicate to the user the orientation of the long axis of the oblong foot of the bolts, provide a hold-back position to aid the user in installation and provide a break-off point to ease the removal of an excess portion of the bolt after the toilet is secured over the bolts. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A water closet bolt has a visual indicator of the orientation of the long axis of an oblong foot of the water closet bolt on an upper end of the bolt. The visual indicator may comprise a male or female notch. The notch further provides a surface to serve as a hold-back to aid the user during the installation of the toilet. In addition, the end of the notch serves as a break-off point, which enables a user to easily remove an excess portion of the end of the bolt so as to enable the user to secure a cap over the remaining portion of the bolt. Use of the water close bolt saves the installer time and assists in the proper installation of the toilet, thus eliminating callbacks. 
     These and other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and accompanying drawings, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a water closet bolt constructed in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the water closet bolt of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a water closet bolt constructed in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is top plan view of the water closet bolt of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a toilet installation showing the water closet bolt of  FIGS. 1-4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a top plan view of a closet collar used in the installation of toilet with the improved water closet bolt of  FIGS. 1-5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Turning now to the drawings and initially to  FIGS. 1-2 , a water closet bolt  10  for use in installing a toilet is illustrated that includes an upper end  12  and a lower end  14  and that has a threaded body  16  extending therebetween. The lower end  14  terminates in substantially oblong foot  18 . The upper end  12  includes a notch. 
     In a first preferred embodiment, the notch comprises a female notch  22 . The female notch  22  is configured to provide a visual indication of the orientation of the oblong foot  18 . For instance, the female notch  22  may be substantially parallel to the long axis of the oblong foot  18  as shown. Alternatively, the female notch  22  may be substantially perpendicular to the long axis of the oblong foot  18 . 
     The bottom of the notch  22  serves as a break-off point for the bolt  10 . After toilet installation, the break-off point should be located above the top of the nut but beneath the top of the cap of the installed toilet. It preferably but not necessarily coincides with the location of the peripheral notch on a standard Johnny Bolt. The top-down depth to that location (and hence the initial length of the bolt) is less important than the final length of the bolt after the notched extension is broken off. A top-down depth of a ½″ inch is currently preferred, ±¼″. The initial and final lengths of the threaded portion  16  of the bolt  10  for three standard bolt lengths is identified in Table 1 below: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 Bolt Lengths 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                   
                 Final Length After 
               
               
                   
                 Initial Length 
                 Break-Off 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 2-¼″ 
                 1-¾″ 
               
               
                   
                 2-½″ 
                 2″ 
               
               
                   
                 3-½″ 
                 3″ 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Flanking surfaces of the notch  22  also provide a “hold back” surface that permits a screwdriver or similar tool to be inserted into the notch  22  to hold the bolt  10  from rotating out of its desired orientation while tightening a nut onto the bolt with a separate tool such as a wrench. A notch width of between 0.010 to 0.150 inches is preferred for receiving such a tool. In the case of a ¼″ to 5/16″ diameter bolt the depth desired for the break-off point is more than adequate for receiving such a tool. 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown wherein the notch is a male notch  24 . The male notch  24  has relatively wide flat sides  52  that are separated by relatively narrow arcuate sides  54 . It, like the female notch  22 , is preferably centered on the axial centerline of the bolt  10 . The male notch  24  serves all of the same orientation indication, hold-back facilitation, and break-off facilitation functions of the female notch  22  described above. It therefore has a width (i.e., length of sides  54 ) that equals that of the corresponding female notch, preferably 0.010 to 0.150 inches wide for a ¼″ to 5/16″ diameter bolt. Its depth for “standard” length bolts is also preferably the same as that identified in Table 1 above. 
     The upper end of the bolt  10  is threaded in order to permit the nut to be threaded onto the extreme upper end of the bolt. In the case of a female notch  22 , the entire remaining periphery of the notched end is preferably threaded as best seen in  FIG. 1 . In the case of a male notch  24 , the opposed relatively narrow sides  54  are threaded as best seen in  FIG. 3 . 
     Breaking the bolt  10  at the break off point can be facilitated for either male or female notches  22  or  24  by incorporating a peripheral groove  50 , similar or even identical to the grooves found in Johnny Bolts, at the break off point. Such a groove should be about 3/16″ deep. 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , a toilet assembly using the water closet bolt  10  of the present invention is shown. A closet collar  26  having slots  28  and  28 ′ for insertion of water closet bolts  10  is shown. A toilet  30  is shown wherein the base  32  of the toilet  30  has two vertical apertures  34  through which closet bolts  10  are to be inserted. A sealing ring  40 , typically formed of wax, is compressed between the closet collar  26  and the base  32 . 
     Still referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the closet collar  26  that rests on the floor where a toilet is to be installed is shown with the closet bolts  10  of the present invention inserted into one of two sets of slots  28  and  28 ′ in the collar  26 . The slots  28  are arcuate with an enlarged end. The slots  28 ′ are notches extending radially inwardly from the outer perimeter of the collar  26 . The bolt  10  can inserted into an arcuate slot  28  by insertion into the enlarged end of the slot  28  with the long axis of the foot  18  extending parallel to the slot  28 , then moving the bolt  10  to the narrower area, and rotating the bolt 90° so that the long axis of the foot is perpendicular to the slot. The bolt  10  can be inserted into a radial slot or notch  28 ′ by simply sliding it into the slot  28 ′ from the outside and, if necessary, rotating the bolt  10  so that the long axis of the foot  18  is perpendicular to the slot  28 ′. 
     Still referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , a sealing ring  40 , typically formed of wax, is then positioned over the collar  26  and bolts  10  so that the bolts  10  extend through the sealing ring. A base of a toilet  30  the base  32  is then mounted over the wax ring by inserting the upper ends  12  of the water closet bolts  10  through apertures  34  in the base  32  of the toilet. The notch  22  or  24  of the closet bolt  10  indicates to the user the orientation of the long axis of the oblong foot  18  of the closet bolt  10  so that the user is assured that the bolt did not slip out of position during installation. 
     Once the toilet  30  has been lowered onto the floor and into position, a nut  36  and washer (not shown) or similar fastener arrangement is threaded onto the water closet bole  10  from above. Because the threads extend all the way to the end of the bolt, the nut can be started onto the threads even if an unusually thick wax ring or other conditions initially leave only the extreme end of the bolt  10  exposed. The nut is tightened downwardly on the closet bolt  10  over the threaded body  16 . The nut  36  is tightened downwardly against the base  32  of the toilet  30  so that the water closet bolt  10  is held securely against the bottom of the collar and the toilet  30  is clamped against the floor. The user can prevent the bolt  10  from turning during the later phases of the night tightening process by engaging the hold back surfaces of the notch  22  or  24  using the appropriate tool. This engagement is performed using a screwdriver or the like in the case of a female notch  22  and using a wrench or pliers in the case of a male notch  24 . In either instance, the hold-back surfaces are substantially strong enough to withstand the torque required for a hold-back during installation but also weak enough so that an excess portion may easily be removed, as will be discussed further below. If necessary, the user can use the orientation of the notch as a guide to turn the bolt to assure optimum orientation just before the final tightening. Once the water closet bolts  10  are secured within the base  32 , a cap (not shown), typically made of plastic or ceramic, is screwed or otherwise mounted over the exposed portion of the bolt  10 . 
     The excess portion of the bolt  10  is typically too long for standard sized caps to fit over. Thus, the excess portion of the bolt  10  must be removed so that the cap may fit securely over the bolt and up against the base  32  of the toilet  30 . The notch  20  of the bolt  10  provides a break-off point to ease the removal of an excess portion of the bolt. The break-off point is completely integrated with the notch  20  and the gripping surface of notch  20  so as to aid the installer in installation of the toilet  30 . In the case of the female notch  22 , the excess portion may be easily removed one end at time by inserting the head of a tool, such as a screwdriver, into the female notch  22 . The installer then simply pulls the head of the tool towards one of the sides of the female notch  22  to substantially weaken the material adjacent the female notch end. The installer then moves the tool in the opposite direction to bend the material adjacent the other side of the notch. Once the one side of the portions adjacent the opposite side of the end of the female notch  22  are sufficiently bent, they may be easily removed with a pliers or similar tool. To aid in this process, the female notch  22  may, if desired, be located perpendicular to the long axis of the oblong foot  18  of the bolt  10 , so that, when removing the excess portion of bolt  10 , the elongated foot provides increased resistance to bolt tilting, reducing the risk that the bolt will tilt and chip the porcelain of the toilet  30 . 
     In the case of the male notch  24 , a pliers or similar tool may be used to remove the excess portion of bolt  10 . Similar to the female notch  22 , the male notch  24  may extend perpendicular to the long axis of the oblong foot  18  so that, during removal of the excess portion of bolt  10 , the porcelain of toilet  30  is not as easily chipped as it would be if the notch extended parallel with the long axis of the oblong foot  18 . 
     After the excess end portion of the bolt  10  is broken at the break off point, a standard cap (not shown) can be mounted over the bolt in any desired manner. 
     Many changes and modifications could be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. The scope of some of these changes can be appreciated by comparing the various embodiments as described above. The scope of the remaining changes will become apparent from the appended claims.