Patent Abstract:
An improved assembly is disclosed for clamping the perimeter flange of a sink snugly down upon a countertop where the sink is being installed. The assembly utilizes a stud extending downwardly from the underside of the perimeter flange and a link connected to the stud having a displacement member, such as a threaded bolt, which engages the underside of the countertop adjacent the hole in the countertop where the sink is located. As the displacement member is manipulated against the underside of the countertop, the link holding the displacement member draws the stud downwardly to pull the flange snugly against the upper face of the countertop adjacent the sink installation hole.

Full Description:
[0001]    This invention relates to anchoring sinks in countertops through apertures which have been formed there to receive them. More particularly, it relates to utilizing an elongated stud anchored, as by welding, to the underside of a flange surrounding the sink and a locking link engaged on the body of the stud. When the link is forced away from the countertop, as by turning a bolt which extends from the link to engage the underside of the countertop, the stud, and the sink flange portion to which it is joined, are moved downwardly past the countertop, and the flange of the sink is drawn downwardly by the stud to a point where it is fastened against the upper side of the countertop.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Sink anchoring systems are generally summed up in U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,995. Sink bowls are conventionally held in an opening in a countertop by way of mounting brackets spot-welded, for example, to the lower surface of the bowl flange overlapping the opening, the brackets being provided with apertures through which are passed fasteners, such as wood screws driven into the countertop material at the edge of the opening, or through the bottom surface of the countertop proximate the edge of the opening. The mounting brackets may be in the form of separate bracket elements welded at convenient locations, or in the form of a molding strip, the brackets being L-shaped in some installations and U-shaped in other installations. Other methods of securing a sink bowl in a countertop opening have been devised which avoid driving fasteners, such as wood screws, into the material of the countertop. Such alternate methods generally use clamping arrangements formed integrally with the mounting brackets, including threaded members passed through appropriate threaded apertures in the bracket engaging the surface of the countertop, generally the lower surface proximate the edge of the opening, and holding the sink bowl in position by pulling the bowl flange edge into engagement with the top surface of the countertop proximate the opening.  
           [0003]    The fastening system in the &#39;995 patent incorporates an upside down L-shaped angle-iron strip welded to the underside of the sink bowl flange. A C-shaped clamp has a top leg which nests into a runner along the toe of the angle-iron strip. The bottom leg of the C-shaped clamp is pierced to accommodate a threaded member whose head is below and outside of the C-shape of the clamp. A rim portion of a countertop aperture intrudes into the middle of the C-shape of the clamp, at which point the threaded member can be turned so that it will engage the underside of the rim portion. As the threaded member is turned and thrust against the rim portion, the top leg of the C-shaped clamp drags the L-shaped bracket, and the sink flange to which the bracket is welded, into firm contact with the upper side of the counter top rim portion.  
           [0004]    Another fastening system is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,532, issued Feb. 8, 2000. In that system, too, a channel member is fastened to the underside of a perimeter flange around a sink. In the &#39;532 patent the channel member has an inverted U-shaped cross section. The depending legs of the channel are formed with upwardly facing shoulder members which are situated inside the channel opposite each other. A pin with a conical head extends into the channel so that the underside of the shoulders of the cone engage the shoulder members on the channel legs. When the pin is drawn downwardly, it pulls the U-shaped channel, and the sink flange to which it is affixed, to engage the flange on the upper side of a countertop. The pin has a second conical head, opposite the head inside the channel, which is fixed in a base unit with an annular face. A series of flat surfaces which increase gradually in height around the annular face provide an increasing circumferential thickness of the base unit. The annular face engages the underside of the countertop adjacent the aperture for the sink, and when the base unit is turned, the pin with the conical heads has its upper end drawn down onto the shoulders of the channel, thereby drawing the sink flange to which the channel is attached down against the upper side of the countertop.  
           [0005]    The present invention does not require the material or the tooling which the constructions in the above-described patents call for, and it also avoids the much more exact tolerances which the prior constructions demanded. The elements of the present invention are easier to handle and assemble, and they are faster to install.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention is embodied in an assembly which includes a countertop that has a portion of its surface arranged for installing a sink. There is an aperture in that portion for the sink to be dropped into, and there is a rim portion of the countertop located around the aperture. A perimeter flange on the sink overlies the rim portion when the sink is disposed in the aperture. Studs depend from the sink&#39;s perimeter flange. Each stud has a first end secured to the perimeter flange, a distal end adjacent the underside of the countertop, and a body portion in between the ends. A link located between the stud and the rim portion of the countertop has a first end portion extending toward the underside of the countertop rim portion and a stud engagement portion disposed on the body portion of the stud. A displacement means located on the first end portion of the link is simultaneously moveable against the underside of the countertop rim portion and the first end portion of the link. When the displacement means is moved against these elements, the link moves the stud downwardly through the aperture passing it past the rim portion of the countertop and drawing the sink flange to which the stud is fastened into secure engagement with the upper side of the countertop rim portion.  
           [0007]    From the foregoing, and from what follows, it will be apparent that the present invention solves a need for a less expensive way to fasten a sink securely in place in a countertop.  
           [0008]    Accordingly, it is one of the objects of this invention to provide a sink clamping assembly in a countertop installation utilizing a stud affixed to and depending from the underside of a perimeter flange on the sink.  
           [0009]    It is another object of this invention to provide a sink clamping assembly m a countertop installation in which a stud member depending from a flange on the sink is readily grasped around its midportion by a link which, when moved away from the countertop, pulls the stud through the aperture in which the sink is positioned and draws the flange on the sink against the upper side of the countertop.  
           [0010]    It is another object of this invention to eliminate an expensive engagement means such as a welded rail or a welded track on the underside of the sink&#39;s perimeter flange and to provide an easier, less demanding engagement member attached to the flange.  
           [0011]    It is another object of this invention to provide a sink flange and countertop engagement having less sophisticated, lower cost parts than prior combinations which have been offered.  
           [0012]    Other objects and features of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the practical art of installing and attaching sinks in countertops as well as to those skilled in the art of designing and manufacturing sink-to-countertop attachment mechanisms, especially after an examination of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and of the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly in section and partly broken away, of a portion of a countertop to which a perimeter flange of a sink is secured on its upper side by a stud attached to the underside of the flange;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the sink flange and countertop assembly in FIG. 1 taken in the direction of arrows  2 - 2  in FIG. 1;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 2 designated by the dotted line circle labeled FIG. 3 in FIG. 2;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a modified version of the sink flange and countertop assembly shown in FIG. 2;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a perspective view, partly in section, of an alternative embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4 utilizing a second form of linkage between the stud attached to the sink flange and the underside of the countertop;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a sectional view, partly broken away and enlarged, of a portion of the assembly shown in FIG. 5 taken in the direction of arrows  6 - 6  in FIG. 5;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 is a perspective view, partly in section, of an alternative embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5 utilizing a form of linkage threadably engaged upon the stud attached to the sink perimeter flange; and  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 8 is a sectional view, partly broken away and enlarged of a portion of the assembly shown in FIG. 7 taken in the direction of arrows  8 - 8  in FIG. 7. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]    The preferred embodiments of this invention shown in the accompanying drawings will now be described, it being understood that the preferred forms are illustrative and that the invention described herein is embodied in the claims which are appended hereto.  
         [0022]    In FIG. 1 a countertop  10  has a rim portion  12  extending toward an aperture  14  in which a sink (not shown) may be installed. The upper side of the countertop rim portion is designated at  16  and the underside of the countertop rim portion is designated at  18 . The sink is provided with a perimeter flange  20 , part of which overlies the upper side of the countertop rim portion, so that when the flange rests on the countertop rim portion, the sink bowl is suspended in aperture  14 . A stud  22  is affixed, as by welding, to the underside  24  of perimeter flange  20  adjacent to the upper side  16  of the countertop rim portion. The first end  26  of the stud is affixed to the flange, the distal end  28  of the stud extends adjacent to the underside  18  of the countertop rim portion, and the body portion  30  of the stud is situated between first end  26  and the distal end  28 .  
         [0023]    As shown in FIG. 1, a link  32  is located intermediate the underside  18  of the countertop rim portion and the stud  22 . The link includes a first end portion  34  which extends from the stud toward the underside of the countertop rim portion and also includes a stud engagement portion  36  which is slideably disposed on the body portion  30  of stud  22 . Particularly as shown in FIGS. 1-3, the stud engagement portion of the link  32  may be constructed of a flat strip of metal with a hole  38  through it and bent at a slight upward angle from the rest of the link. The hole  38  is slightly larger in diameter than the body portion  30  of the stud so that the stud engagement portion  36  can be slipped easily onto the stud&#39;s body portion  30 . When the link is tilted, as indicated by arrow  40  in FIG. 2, the edges  44  of the walls in the link around hole  38  engage and lock the link onto the stud&#39;s body portion  30  as shown in FIG. 3. Preferably, the stud is externally threaded, as illustrated, with threads  42  which the edges of the walls around hole  38  will readily and firmly engage when the link is tilted away from a horizontal orientation as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.  
         [0024]    A displacement means such as bolt  46  is engaged in an internally threaded aperture  48  formed in the first end portion  34  of the link. Bolt  46  is located so that when it is turned it will come into contact with the underside  18  of the countertop  10 . As the bolt is turned further on its threads and those in the walls of aperture  48 , it moves against the underside of the countertop and the first end portion  34  of link  32  simultaneously, forcing the link further and further away from the countertop and forcing the stud grasped by the link downwardly, moving it along past the rim portion  12  of the countertop. Such movement of the stud  32  draws the perimeter flange  20  of the sink into secure engagement with the upper side  16  of the countertop rim portion  12 .  
         [0025]    If desired, the engagement of link  32  on stud  22  may be enhanced in the manner shown in FIG. 4. A nut or similar stop member  50  is threaded onto the distal end  28  of the bolt  22  and rotated until it is adjacent the stud engagement portion  36  of link  32 . If the walls  44  forming the hole  38  are spaced too far apart, so that the edges  44  cannot be counted upon to engage the body portion  30  of the stud  22 , the nut  50  can be relied upon to intercept and engage the link whenever the bolt  46  is manipulated to draw the stud downward and engage the sink flange  20  onto the countertop. It may also be preferable to use the nut  50  regularly in combination with the rest of the clamp elements shown in FIGS. 1-3 due to the fact that manipulating nut  50  can positively position link  32  and bolt  46  on the stud  22  to take up any slack in the chain of elements and insure that turning the bolt  46  accomplishes a secure flange engagement on the upper surface of the countertop rim portion.  
         [0026]    A further embodiment of this invention is shown in FIG. 5. In this figure, the sink flange  20 , the stud  22  and the countertop rim portion  12  (with upper side  16  and underside  18 ) are the same elements illustrated in the preceding FIGS. 1-4. Link  52 , however, takes on a different form from that shown in the preceding figures. The body of link  52  includes a first or outer end portion  54  and an inner stud engagement portion  56 . The outer end portion  54  is circularly formed as a washer which can be rotated around the stud  22 . On one face of the washer, illustrated as the upper face, there is a circumferentially ascending surface portion  58  which may be formed as a radiating set of steps, as illustrated, or as an inclined ramp. Such a surface acts as a displacement means when the link  52  is rotated around stud  22 .  
         [0027]    Link  52  includes a core portion  60  which is centrally located in link  52  and has a tubularly apertured section  62  for engaging the link on the body portion  30  of stud  22 . As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the tubularly apertured section  52  is not and need not be internally threaded for engagement on the stud  22 , and a nut such as nut  50  may be threaded onto stud  22  below the link  52  to hold the link at one point or another on the body portion of the stud. Tabs  64  or similar means easily grasped in a craftsman&#39;s fingers are attached to lower face  66  of link  52  so that the link can be easily assembled onto the stud and so that the link can be rotated around the stud without any need for a tool.  
         [0028]    In use, link  52  is placed onto stud  22  and the nut  50  turned enough to bring the ascending surface portion  58  of the link into contact with the underside  18  of the countertop rim portion  12 . Then, by holding tabs  64  and rotating link  52  in the direction of arrows  68 , the displacement of the link and stud achieved by moving the ascending surface portion  58  against the underside  18  of the countertop rim portion draws the stud past the countertop rim portion and draws the sink flange  20  securely down onto the upper side  16  of the countertop rim portion.  
         [0029]    The tubularly apertured section  62  of link  52  may also be internally threaded for obtaining a threaded engagement of the link on the stud  22 . Such an engagement is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The link  52   a  is identical to link  52  except that the tubularly apertured section  62  is internally threaded and engages stud  22  as shown in FIG. 8. In that form, the link  52   a  does not need to be supported by a nut  50 . Link  52   a  is merely threaded onto threads  42  to engage it onto stud  22  and rotated until the displacement means  58  engages the underside surface  18  of the countertop rim portion  12 . Further rotation, as by forcing tabs  64  in the direction of arrows  68 , forces the displacement means  58  simultaneously against the underside  18  of the countertop and also against the first end portion  54  of the link for drawing the stud downwardly and pulling a perimeter flange of a sink (not shown) into secure engagement with the upper side of a countertop rim portion (also not shown).  
         [0030]    From all of the foregoing it will be evident that, although particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, nevertheless various modifications can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, no limitation is intended by the foregoing description, and its full breadth is intended to be covered by the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4