Abstract:
Provided is an improved toilet seal that utilizes redundant and adaptable physical barriers to facilitate installation and improve sealing performance at the junction between a toilet base and floor.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention generally relates to plumbing fixtures and, in particular, gasket-type systems for use with plumbing fixture (e.g., toilet) installations. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    While toilet plumbing technology has evolved over hundreds of years, common problems continue to include those arising with the installation, use, and removal of toilets onto bathroom floor-located pipes and flanges engaged thereto. Professional plumbers routinely complain that current toilet seals, despite being used in conjunction with bolts, flanges, and mating brackets, allow for wobbling that eventually leads to compromised seals and leakage. 
         [0003]    At its most basic, installing a toilet onto a floor involves mating the toilet base outlet to a soil pipe that is built into the floor. The toilet is secured in place onto the floor, usually by means of a flange built into the floor surface, to prevent the toilet&#39;s base outlet from disaligning with the soil pipe. A gasket of some type—e.g., a wax ring—is often disposed between the toilet base outlet and soil pipe to ensure that solid, liquid, and gaseous toilet contents do not permeate the toilet base outlet and soil pipe mating junction. 
         [0004]    Where the gasket&#39;s integrity is compromised, toilet contents may permeate the base outlet and soil pipe mating junction and into the floor. Where the gasket is simply a ring made of wax or other inelastic polymer, the risk that the gasket is compromised during installation or removal increases. 
         [0005]    Some toilet seal gaskets incorporate a ring of wax or semi-soft material disposed within a polymer sleeve. The sleeve, which is inserted into the soil pipe during installation, may incorporate a series of baffles annularly arranged along the outer length of the sleeve. While this helps maintain the attachment of the inner surface of the soil pipe to the gasket, such baffling does not make the overall junction between the toilet base outlet and soil pipe any more secure. 
         [0006]    One such device is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,890 entitled “Toilet Bowl Sealing Assembly.” Depicted there is, among other assembly components, a first flange with a single “centering funnel” that creates a single volume from the toilet to the drain pipe and through which waste water passes. The integrity of the seal depends entirely on the second flange, into which the first flange is inserted, that is mechanically fastened to the toilet and the floor. The series of concentric flanges depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,890 is designed to secure the toilet to the floor, and not to create any seal redundancy. 
         [0007]    Invariably, modern toilet seals act to create a single continuous volume from the toilet base outlet and into the soil pipe, using a single gasket to create the seal. In the event the integrity of the gasket is compromised, there is no redundantly sealed volume to contain any escaping solid, liquid, or gaseous toilet contents. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention is an improved toilet seal that incorporates a flexible sleeve with a cylindrical distal end and proximal end that expands into a first stage and a second stage. A circular channel-shaped gasket is disposed within the inner surface of the first stage. A flattened ring-shaped gasket is disposed around the top surface of the second stage. A bottom surface of a toilet outlet is mated to the channel-shaped gasket forming a first fluid volume. The flattened ring-shaped gasket is mated to a second surface of the toilet outlet forming a second (i.e., redundant) fluid volume. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The accompanying figures and drawings, incorporated into and forming part of the specification, service to further illustrate the present invention, its various principles and advantages, and its varying embodiments: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  depicts a cross sectional side view of an exemplary improved toilet seal as-installed between a toilet and flooring. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  depicts a cross sectional three-quarter view of an exemplary improved toilet seal. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  depicts a top view of an exemplary improved toilet seal. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  depicts a three-quarter view of an exemplary improved toilet seal. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  depicts a cross sectional side view of an exemplary improved toilet seal as-installed between a toilet and flooring. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    Provided is an improved toilet seal that creates redundant sealing of a toilet outlet/soil pipe junction. Turning to the figures,  FIG. 1  illustrates, in cross sectional fashion, one embodiment of the invention as-installed between a toilet outlet  80  and a floor  10 . This embodiment incorporates a sleeve the distal portion  30  of which is inserted into the soil pipe  20  existing within the floor  10 . The toilet outlet  80  engages a channel-shaped gasket  60  immediately above the distal portion of the sleeve  30 . The channel-shaped gasket  60  can be made for a variety of elastomeric, adhesive, silicone, wax, cellulose, cork, rubber, and other pliable materials. The channel-shaped gasket  60  is disposed within an inner surface  45  of a first stage  40 . A second stage  50  extends from the outer surface  47  of the first stage. A ring-shaped gasket  70  is disposed on a top surface  55  of the second stage and self-adheres to a lower surface of the toilet  90 . The ring-shaped gasket  70  can be made for a variety of elastomeric, adhesive, silicone, wax, cellulose, cork, rubber, and other pliable materials. This forms a chamber  100  between the channel-shaped gasket  60 , the first stage  40 , the second stage  50 , the ring shaped gasket  70 , and the lower surface of the toilet  90 . The chamber  100  acts as a containment volume redundant to the contained volume existing between and through the soil pipe  20  and toilet. 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  presents a three-quarter perspective view of the same embodiment&#39; cross section. 
         [0017]    The channel-shaped gasket  60  is disposed within the inner surface  45  of the first stage  40  immediately above sleeve distal portion  30 . The second stage  50  radially extends from the first stage  40 . The ring-shaped gasket  70  is disposed onto the top surface  55  of the second stage  50 . Appurtenances  110  are disposed along the second stage to facilitate installation. 
         [0018]      FIG. 3  presents a top view of the same embodiment. The channel-shaped gasket  60  is disposed within the inner surface  45  of the first stage  40 , the first stage radially extending from the distal portion of the sleeve  30 . Beneath the first stage  40  is the distal portion of the sleeve  30 . The second stage  50  radially extends from the first stage  40 . The ring-shaped gasket  70  is disposed onto the top surface  55  of the second stage. Appurtenances  110  are disposed along the second stage to facilitate installation. 
         [0019]      FIG. 4  presents an isometric view of the same embodiment. The channel-shaped gasket  60  is disposed within the inner surface  45  of the first stage and rests immediately above the distal portion of the sleeve  30 . The second stage  50  radially extends and terminates in an upper surface  55  on which a ring shaped gasket  70  is disposed. Appurtenances  110  are disposed along the second stage to facilitate installation. 
         [0020]      FIG. 5  presents another embodiment of the invention. It illustrates, in cross sectional fashion, the alternate embodiment of the invention as-installed between a toilet outlet  80  and a floor  10 . This embodiment also incorporates a sleeve the distal portion  30  of which is inserted into the soil pipe  20  existing within the floor  10 . The toilet outlet  80  engages a channel-shaped gasket  60  immediately above the distal portion of the sleeve  30 . The channel-shaped gasket  60  can be made for a variety of elastomeric, adhesive, silicone, wax-like, rubber, or other pliable materials. The channel-shaped gasket  60  is disposed within an inner surface  45  of a first stage  40 . Here, the inner surface  45  is oriented to specifically match the inner and outer diameter of toilet outlet  80 . A second stage  50  extends from the outer surface  47  of the first stage. A ring-shaped gasket  70  is disposed on a top surface  55  of the second stage and self-adheres to a lower surface of the toilet  90 . The ring-shaped gasket  70  can be made for a variety of elastomeric, adhesive, silicone, wax, cellulose, cork, rubber, and other pliable materials. This forms a chamber  100  between the channel-shaped gasket  60 , the first stage  40 , the second stage  50 , the ring shaped gasket  70 , and the lower surface of the toilet  90 . The chamber  100  acts as a containment volume redundant to the contained volume existing between and through the soil pipe  20  and toilet. The appurtenances  110  allow screws, bolts, or other hardware components to connect the toilet lower surface  90  to the floor  10  or any intermediary installation means. 
         [0021]    The invention&#39;s configuration is such that it may be used with any toilet having a circular outlet with which the first stage  40  and channel-shaped gasket  60  may be concentrically oriented, or with a specific toilet with an outlet having dimensions to completely sit within and abut the channel shaped gasket, creating a maximum seal. The channel-shaped gasket&#39;s shape  60  allows for it to be thinner than typical wax ring gaskets while providing a more secure seal. The ring-shaped gasket  70  bonds the top surface  55  of the second stage  50  to the toilet lower surface  90 . 
         [0022]    The invention solves leakage problems which arise from compromised seals because the invention is not dependent on the weight (or strength) of toilet or toilet anchor bolts in order to create a reliable seal at the toilet outlet. The channel-shaped gasket  60  allows flushed solid, liquid, and gaseous toilet contents to drain straight to the soil pipe  20 . As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the profile of the channel shaped gasket  60  adapts the invention to toilet outlets  80  of varying diameters. The distal portion of the sleeve  30  also helps to direct the flushed water into the soil pipe  20 . The chamber  100  formed between the channel-shaped gasket  60 , the second stage  50 , the toilet outlet  80 , and the lower surface of the toilet  90  creates a redundant barrier preventing solid, liquid, and gaseous toilet contents from leaking in the event the seal between the toilet outlet  80  and the channel-shaped gasket  60  is compromised.