Abstract:
An exemplary embodiment providing one or more improvements includes an assembly which fixes and supports a floor drain at the appropriate position before a concrete floor is poured. The assembly is adjustable for floors of varying thickness. The lower or second end of the drain pipe is protected against contamination by wet concrete by a resilient disk. In addition a cavity on the bottom of the floor concentric with the drain pipe is formed. After the concrete floor has hardened and the form removed the resilient disk is removed exposing a clean uncontaminated drain pipe end for connection to a riser pipe.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not applicable. 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable. 
       THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
       [0003]    Not Applicable. 
       REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING,” A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX 
       [0004]    Not Applicable. 
       BACKGROUND 
     Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98 
       [0005]    Embodiments of the present application meet the long-felt need of a drain support system for use in pouring concrete floors. The support system can be vertically adjusted to accommodate the pouring of concrete floors of various thicknesses, prevents the contamination of the end of the drain pipe with concrete residue, prevents concrete contamination of the cavity surrounding the end of the drain pipe, and is preassembled and easily used in the sometimes tumultuous and untidy environment of a concrete floor pour. This system embeds the drain pipe in the concrete matrix while protecting the end of the drain pipe. In addition, the system provides a cavity which facilitates joining of the drain pipe with a riser pipe. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,527 discloses a fabricated floor drain which extends through a floor and includes a impervious membrane surrounding the drain and between two layers of concrete or a layer of gravel and a layer of concrete. Weep holes in the drain receive moisture from the membrane. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,887 discloses a drain collar for maintaining an annular space in a poured concrete floor surrounding a riser pipe. The collar consists of inner and outer sleeves with knock-out webs separating the sleeves and a cap which prevents entry of concrete during pouring. After the concrete is poured and hardened the cap, inner sleeve, and knock-out webs are removed, leaving a riser pipe with a 1 inch annular space about the pipe. This space facilitates the installation of appliances such as a toilet. 
         [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,767 discloses a drainage enhancer for double seepage drains. The enhancer is a donut-like disk comprised of porous bonded aggregate which allows drainage of water through a shower floor into weep holes in the drain. 
         [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,971 discloses a drain and cleanout spacer which are placed to cover a vertically adjustable drain and cleanout port before concrete pouring. The spacers are removed and the heights of the drain and port adjusted after the concrete has hardened. 
         [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,013,927 discloses a sleeve for toilet flanges and drains consisting of a sleeve surrounding the soil pipe concentric with a larger sleeve and separated from the larger sleeve by three spacers. An annular ring covers the annular space during the concrete pour. After the concrete has hardened the ring and spacers are removed. 
         [0011]    U.S. Pub. Pat. App. No. 2004/0016190 discloses a modular device for passing cables and pipes through partitions such as a floor. The device includes firestop material which expands when heated and fills the passage. Transverse bands are manually attached and removed to adjust the length of the device. 
         [0012]    U.S. Pub. Pat. App. No. 2004/0231742 discloses a sleeve which surrounds a riser pipe. Spacers are used to maintain a space between the concentric riser pipe and sleeve. The spacers are removed after concrete is poured and hardened. 
         [0013]    U.S. Pub. Pat. App. No. 2005/0055916 discloses a box-like form assembly for a rough-in floor drain line which projects upward from an earthen ground location. The interior of the assembly is filled with sand aggregate and a lid placed on the assembly before pouring concrete in order to protect the drain line from inadvertent contact with concrete. 
         [0014]    U.S. Pub. Pat. App. No. 2005/0166315 discloses two systems for supporting a floor drain before a concrete pour on a wooden form. A prior art system uses a foam block with a hole to accommodate the bottom of the drain to support the drain before the pour. The height of the foam block may be altered to accommodate the various depths of the poured floor. The block and drain are retained in place before and during the pour by wires which cross the top of the drain and are secured by nails to the wooden form. The foam block is chiseled away after the concrete hardens thereby giving access to the bottom of the drain. 
         [0015]    Another system uses a number of threaded rods to connect the floor drain to a inverted pan-shaped drain support plate which rests on the wooden form. The height of the drain is adjusted using the threaded rods. A flange about the circumference of the plate rests on and is attached to the wooden form. A hole in the center of the plate accommodates the connection pipe extending from the bottom of the drain into the open space under the drain support plate. A plastic pipe spacer may be used to prevent penetration of liquid concrete through the space between the plate and connection pipe into the open area under the inverted plate. Such penetration contaminates the end of the connection pipe with concrete, thereby causing difficulties in connecting the connection pipe with a drain pipe. Rubber or foam sealant also may be used to prevent penetration of concrete into the open space. 
         [0016]    U.S. Pub. Pat. App. No. 2007/0056088 discloses a shower drain adapter which attaches a bondable waterproof membrane with a shower pan drain system. 
         [0017]    The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0018]    The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tool and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. In various embodiments, one or more of the above described problems have been reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to other improvements. 
         [0019]    Embodiments include a floor drain assembly for supporting a floor drain and drain pipe during the pouring of a concrete floor on a form. Embodiments comprise a floor drain body, a drain pipe having a first and a second end with the drain pipe attached at the first end to the bottom of the drain body and extending to the form at the second end. In addition there are a multiplicity of spacer rods, the spacer rods attached at a first end to the bottom of the drain body, and a support plate, the spacer rods attached at a second end to the support plate. The support plate has a hole through the center of the plate through which the drain pipe extends to the form at the second end of the drain pipe. The support plate has legs which extend downward from the circumference of the support plate to the form, the legs holding the plate above the form, thereby forming a cavity between the bottom of the support plate and the form. There is a disk comprised of resilient material, the disk inserted into the cavity between the bottom of the support plate and the form, the disk having a hole through the center of the disk, the hole through the disk having a diameter slightly less than the outside diameter of the drain pipe, and the drain pipe force fitted through the hole in the disk at the second end of the drain pipe. 
         [0020]    In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by study of the following descriptions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment floor drain assembly sitting on a form prior to the pouring of concrete. 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view of the embodiment floor drain assembly of  FIG. 1  taken along the line  2 - 2 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the disk of an embodiment floor drain assembly. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0024]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment floor drain assembly  100  sitting on a form  10  prior to the pouring of a concrete floor. The drain body  20  is at the top of the assembly and has provisions  22  for the attachment of a drain strainer (not shown in  FIG. 1 ) at the top of the assembly. A multiplicity of threaded rods  40  are connected to the drain body  20  at a first end and to the support plate  50  at a second end. The threaded rods  40  are secured to the support plate  50  by adjusting nuts  42  on both sides of the support plate. Washers (not shown in  FIG. 1 ) may be interspersed between the adjusting nuts and support plate. The threaded rods  40  are attached to the drain body by threaded holes in the drain body (not visible in  FIG. 1 ) and secured to the drain body by lock nuts  44 . 
         [0025]    A drain pipe  30  is attached at a first end  32  to the drain body and removes liquids from the drain body at an opening  24  at the lower portion of the drain body. The second end of the drain pipe is passed through a central hole  51  in the support plate  50 . The drain pipe also passes through a central hole (not visible in  FIG. 1 ) in the disk  60  through a force fit in the resilient disk  60 . The length of the drain pipe extends from the form  10  to the connection with the drain body. 
         [0026]    In the embodiment of  FIG. 1  four legs  52  are arrayed about the circumference of the support plate  50 . The legs extend approximately perpendicular to the support plate toward the form  10 . A flange  54  extends away from each leg  52  and each flange has a hole  54  for the passage of fasteners such as nails used to fasten the assembly  100  to the form  10 . The legs  52  support the assembly  100  and fasten it to the form  10 . 
         [0027]    A disk  60  fits under the support plate between the legs. A central hole (not visible in  FIG. 1 ) in the disk receives the second end of the drain pipe  30  in a force fit. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view of the embodiment floor drain assembly of  FIG. 1  taken along the line  2 - 2 . Visible at the top of the assembly is the drain body  20  and the threaded connector  22  for a strainer head at the top of the drain body. The spacer rods  40  are attached to the bottom of the drain body and secured in place by lock nuts  44 . A drain pipe  30  is secured at a first end  32  to the bottom of the drain body. In this embodiment the first end of the drain pipe is threaded and interacts with corresponding threads on the inner surface at the inside of the opening  24  at the bottom of the drain body. The drain pipe extends from its connection at the first end  32  to the drain body to the form  10  at the bottom of the assembly  100  at the second end  34  of the drain pipe 
         [0029]    At the bottom of the assembly a support plate  50  is connected to the spacer rods  40  through rod holes  58  and adjusting nuts  42  on both sides of the support plate  50  secure the spacer rods to the support plate. Washers (not visible in  FIG. 2 ) may be interspersed between the adjusting nuts  42  and support plate  50 . Legs  52  are distributed about the circumference of the support plate  50  and extend down from the support plate. Flanges  54  extend away from the support plate approximately perpendicular to the legs  50 . A fastener hole  56  in each flange is used to secure the flange to the form  10 . In this embodiment nails  58  are used to secure the flanges  54  to the wooden form  10 . 
         [0030]    The second end  34  of the drain pipe  30  extends through the central hole  51  in the support plate  50  and is force fit into the disk central passage  62  in the disk  60 . The disk is manufactured of a resilient material. Spacer rod holes  64  in the disk  60  are arrayed about the spacer rods  40  and accommodate the portion of the spacer rods  40  and adjusting nuts  42  which extend below the support plate  50 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the disk of an embodiment floor drain assembly. Visible in  FIG. 3  is the disk  60 , central passage  62 , and spacer rod holes  64 . 
         [0032]    In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-3  four spacer rods are arrayed equidistant about the drain pipe. In this embodiment there are four legs arrayed about the circumference of the support plate. Other embodiments will have other numbers of these elements. 
         [0033]    In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-2  the spacer rods are threaded to facilitate adjustment of the length of the assembly. Other means of adjusting the length of the spacer rods and fixing the rods to the spacer plate are specifically contemplated, such as unthreaded rods secured to the spacer plate using clamps. In addition, embodiments in which the length of the assembly is not adjustable and the spacer rods are fixed to the spacer plate such as by welding are specifically contemplated. 
         [0034]    In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-2  the length of the assembly is adjustable before the assembly is installed by adjusting the position of the spacer plate using the adjusting nuts. If necessary, excessive length of spacer rods may be cut off so the spacer rods do not extend below the level of the flanges. Excessive rod length would not allow attachment of the assembly to the form. The length of the assembly from flange to top of drain body is the same as the thickness of the concrete floor. 
         [0035]    The assembly is manufactured by suitable strong materials such as iron, aluminum, or steel. In embodiments the drain body is cast iron the spacer rods and nuts and support plate are steel. The disk is manufactured of suitable resilient and flexible materials, such as plastic foam, such as polystyrene or polyurethane foam, or rubber. 
         [0036]    In some embodiments the disk has a diameter of 10.22 inches and thickness of 1.44 inches. The spacer rod holes are 1.00 inches in diameter and the central passage is 3.56 inches in diameter which accommodates a drain pipe of 3.75 inches outside diameter. The support plate, legs and flanges are of 11 gauge sheet steel. The support plate is 10.25 inches in diameter. The central hole in the support plate is 3.75 inches in diameter and the rod holes are 0.406 inches in diameter. In some embodiments the spacer rods are 0.312 inches in diameter and 12 inches in length. The drain body is 9 inches in diameter and 4.344 inches in length. 
         [0037]    In use, enough assemblies for all the floor drains are adjusted in length to the planned thickness of the concrete floor. The assemblies are located at the appropriate sites on the forms and attached by nails or screws. Concrete is poured and allowed to harden. The forms are removed and the disk removed using pliers or other means of grasping the disks. The result is a cylindrical cavity in the bottom of the floor below the the support plate with the second end of the drain pipe in the center of the cavity. A riser pipe which will remove the water from the drain then may be connected to the second end of the drain pipe. 
         [0038]    Embodiments are particularly useful in the sometime tumultuous environment of commercial concrete floor construction. Embodiment assemblies are firmly attached to the form and resist displacement. Use of embodiments results in drains in which the drain pipe is directly embedded in the concrete matrix, which provides maximum stability for the drain pipe. The force fit of the end of the drain pipe in the disk protects the end of the drain pipe from contamination by bleedwater from the unhardened concrete. Embodiments avoid the necessity of sealing the connection between drain pipe and support plate in order to protect the end of the drain pipe from concrete contamination, as in prior art assemblies. 
         [0039]    In addition, the surface of forms often is not smooth but is marred by flaws such as knots, cracks or joins between form panels. These flaws allow penetration by concrete into of the cavity below the support plate in prior art assemblies. The concrete penetration fills the cavity and contaminates the end of the drain pipe, requiring expensive and time consuming chiseling away of the hardened concrete contamination. Embodiments of the present application avoid these problems through protection of the end of the drain pipe through force fit into the disk and by exclusion of concrete into the cavity by the disk. 
         [0040]    While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications, permutations, additions and subcombinations thereof. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims and claims hereafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations as are within their true spirit and scope.