Patent Description:
An existing strainer generally includes a seat body connected to a drain pipe, and a drain cover covering the seat body and provided with a plurality of through holes for filtering hair and other foreign objects when water flows therethrough so as to prevent the same from being discharged into the drain pipe which can cause blockage or clogging.

However, the existing strainer is usually made of stainless steel, which is different from the stone, tile or other floor materials often used in interior design, and thus affects the integrity and consistency of the interior design appearance. Further, the filtered hair and other foreign objects are exposed on the drain cover, thereby making the environment appears more dirty. Additionally, water will accumulate on top of the drain cover because it is covered with the filtered hair and other foreign objects, so that there is need to frequently clean the existing strainer.

For the existing strainer to operate smoothly, the through holes in the drain cover are usually made large. However, the hair and the smaller foreign objects can flow along with the water into the drain pipe, thereby clogging the drain pipe. Further, when removing the hair, because a portion of the hair will flow along with the water to the bottom of the drain cover, and the remaining portion thereof will be left on the drain cover, the hair are easily entangled or stuck in the through holes, thereby causing inconvenience during cleaning of the existing strainer.

Currently, a commercially available strainer for a wash basin is provided with an openable water storage cover disposed above a drain hole of the wash basin to provide a water storage function. When it is necessary to store water, the water storage cover is closed; and, when it is necessary to allow flow of the water, the water storage cover is opened, and the water will flow through a gap between the water storage cover and the wash basin. However, this kind of strainer for the wash basin almost has no filtering function, so that it is easy to cause clogging. Generally, the wash basin in an outdoor or public place rarely use the water storage function, so that the commercially available strainer for the wash basin does not meet the requirements of the outdoor or public place.

A drainage head, as disclosed in Taiwanese Patent No. M479329U, includes a seat body, a drain plate disposed on the seat body, and a drain cover connected to and covering a large portion of the drain plate. When water passes through the drainage head, hair and other foreign objects will be filtered and accumulated between the drain plate and the drain cover, and are covered by the drain cover, so that a clean appearance can be maintained. Further, a top surface of the drain cover may be made of a marble or ceramic tile which can improve the overall appearance. However, the drainage head cannot solve the problem of easy clogging of the drain pipe, so it still has room for improvement.

In <CIT>, a pop-up stopper having draining and straining functions is disclosed, and includes a main body having an inside provided with a receiving space and a periphery provided with a plurality of through holes, a control unit removably mounted on a top of the main body and including a top cap and a plurality of connecting members, and a bottom cap removably mounted on a bottom of the main body. Each of the connecting members includes at least one upper elastic plate having a protrusion and at least one lower elastic plate having a protrusion. Thus, the stopper has draining and straining functions to achieve a sanitary effect. In addition, the control unit and the bottom cap can be mounted on and detached from the main body easily and quickly, thereby facilitating a user assembling and disassembling the stopper.

In <CIT>, a hair straining device for a drain is disclosed. The device has a central element, a bottom seal element, and a pair of arms.

In <CIT>, a method for providing treatment to a sink is disclosed. The method includes providing a device that includes a dome that includes one or more treatment materials, and a support member extending in a generally radial direction from the dome. The method further includes placing the device into a sink basin such that the support member engages the basin and the dome is generally aligned with a drain opening of the sink.

Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a drain strainer that is capable of alleviating at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.

Accordingly, a drain strainer of the present disclosure comprises the features of claim <NUM>.

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:.

Before the present disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, a drain strainer <NUM> according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is suitable to be disposed in a drain opening (not shown) of a ground surface (not shown) and is located above a drain pipe (not shown). The drain strainer <NUM> comprises a base <NUM>, a straining unit <NUM>, and a cover unit <NUM>.

The base <NUM> has a cylindrical base body <NUM> that is configured to be disposed in the drain opening, that extends along a top-bottom direction (L), and that defines a chamber <NUM>. The base body <NUM> includes a base surrounding wall <NUM> extending along the top-bottom direction (L), and a base bottom wall <NUM> extending inwardly and radially from a bottom periphery of the base surrounding wall <NUM>. The base surrounding wall <NUM> has an inner surface <NUM>, an outer surface <NUM> opposite to the inner surface <NUM>, and a top edge surface <NUM> tapering downwardly from a top periphery of the outer surface <NUM> to a top periphery of the inner surface <NUM>. The base bottom wall <NUM> has an inner surface <NUM> facing the chamber <NUM>, an outer surface <NUM> opposite to the inner surface <NUM>, and a tapered hole <NUM> that extends through the inner surface <NUM> and the outer surface <NUM>, that tapers downwardly from the inner surface <NUM> to the outer surface <NUM>, and that communicates with the chamber <NUM>. The base body <NUM> further includes an annular extension <NUM> extending downwardly from the outer surface <NUM> of the base bottom wall <NUM> and corresponding in position to the tapered hole <NUM>.

The chamber <NUM> has a water inlet <NUM> and a water outlet <NUM> opposite to each other along the top-bottom direction (L), and includes a lower chamber portion <NUM>, an upper chamber portion <NUM>, and a shoulder <NUM>. The water inlet <NUM> is defined by the top edge surface <NUM> of the base surrounding wall <NUM>. The lower chamber portion <NUM> is defined by the annular extension <NUM>, and has the water outlet <NUM>. The upper chamber portion <NUM> communicates with the lower chamber portion <NUM> through the tapered hole <NUM>, is defined by the inner surface <NUM> of the base surrounding wall <NUM>, and has the water inlet <NUM>. The shoulder <NUM> is between the lower and upper chamber portions <NUM>, <NUM>, and corresponds to the base bottom wall <NUM>. The lower chamber portion <NUM> has a diameter smaller than a diameter of the upper chamber portion <NUM>.

The straining unit <NUM> is disposed in the chamber <NUM>, and includes a bottom straining member <NUM>, a main straining member <NUM>, and an engaging portion <NUM>. The bottom straining member <NUM> is removably disposed on the base bottom wall <NUM>, abuts against the inner surface <NUM> of the base bottom wall <NUM>, and is proximate to the water outlet <NUM>. The bottom straining member <NUM> has an outer diameter substantially the same as an inner diameter of the base surrounding wall <NUM>. Further, the bottom straining member <NUM> is circular, and has a top surface <NUM>, a bottom surface <NUM> opposite to the top surface <NUM>, and a groove <NUM> extending inwardly from a central portion of the top surface <NUM> and defined by a groove bottom wall <NUM> and a groove surrounding wall <NUM>. The groove bottom wall <NUM> is formed with a plurality of bottom straining holes <NUM> extending therethrough. In this embodiment, each bottom straining hole <NUM> is configured as an elongated hole extending in a radial direction perpendicular to the top-bottom direction (L).

The top surface <NUM> and the groove bottom wall <NUM> have a height difference (d), as shown in <FIG>. Further, in this embodiment, the bottom straining member <NUM> further has a grip portion <NUM> protruding from the groove bottom wall <NUM> along the top-bottom direction (L) and surrounded by the bottom straining holes <NUM>. In an alternative embodiment, the bottom straining member <NUM> may not be formed with a groove, but the top surface <NUM> thereof may be provided with two spaced-apart annular protrusions surrounding the bottom straining holes <NUM>.

The main straining member <NUM> is disposed on one side of the bottom straining member <NUM> that is distal to the water outlet <NUM>, and includes a main straining surrounding wall <NUM>, and a main straining top wall <NUM> connected to one side of the main straining surrounding wall <NUM> that is opposite to the bottom straining member <NUM>. The main straining surrounding wall <NUM> is positioned in the groove <NUM> adjacent to the groove surrounding wall <NUM>, and is formed with a plurality of main straining holes <NUM> that extend therethrough, that are angularly spaced apart from each other, and that extend in an axial direction parallel to the top-bottom direction (L). The bottom straining holes <NUM> and the main straining holes <NUM> communicate with each other and with the chamber <NUM>. In this embodiment, the main straining top wall <NUM> is formed with three angularly spaced-apart overflow holes <NUM> located above and communicating with the main straining holes <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the engaging portion <NUM> is provided on a central portion of the main straining top wall <NUM> for engagement with the cover unit <NUM>, and has an external thread.

The cover unit <NUM> includes a cover body <NUM> and a connecting portion <NUM> extending outwardly from the cover body <NUM>. In this embodiment, the cover body <NUM> is disposed in the chamber <NUM>, and partially covers the straining unit <NUM>. The cover body <NUM> includes a cover bottom wall <NUM>, and a cover surrounding wall <NUM> extending upwardly from an outer periphery of the cover bottom wall <NUM>. The cover bottom wall <NUM> and the cover surrounding wall <NUM> cooperatively define a filling space <NUM> that is suitable to be filled with a filler <NUM> of the same material as the ground surface. In this embodiment, the filler <NUM> is a tile, but is not limited thereto.

The cover surrounding wall <NUM> has an annular recess <NUM> formed in an outer surface thereof and proximate to a top end thereof. The outer surface of the cover surrounding wall <NUM> cooperates with the inner surface <NUM> of the base surrounding wall <NUM> to define an annular water passage <NUM> corresponding to the water inlet <NUM>. The cover surrounding wall <NUM> has a smallest diameter greater than an outer diameter of the main straining member <NUM>. An extending direction of the top edge surface <NUM> of the base surrounding wall <NUM> toward the water outlet <NUM> (see two-dot chain line in left side of <FIG>) intersects with the cover surrounding wall <NUM>.

The connecting portion <NUM> is tubular, and extends downwardly from a central portion of the cover bottom wall <NUM>. In this embodiment, the connecting portion <NUM> has an internal thread connected to the external thread of the engaging portion <NUM> of the straining unit <NUM>.

With reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, when water is to be discharged through the drain strainer <NUM> (see one-dot chain line in right side of <FIG>), the water will first flow through the water inlet <NUM>, and is guided by the top edge surface <NUM> of the base surrounding wall <NUM> and the cover surrounding wall <NUM> to flow through the water passage <NUM> into the chamber <NUM>. Because the bottom straining holes <NUM> are provided in the groove bottom wall <NUM>, the water can only flow from the main straining holes <NUM> to the bottom straining holes <NUM>, and from the bottom straining holes <NUM> to the water outlet <NUM> and out into the drain pipe (not shown).

Referring to <FIG>, in combination with <FIG>, when hair <NUM> in the water is filtered by the main straining holes <NUM>, is accumulated on the top surface <NUM> of the bottom straining member <NUM> within the chamber <NUM>, and surrounds the main straining surrounding wall <NUM>, causing the main straining holes <NUM> to be clogged, the water is temporarily accumulated on the top surface <NUM> of the bottom straining member <NUM> until the height of the accumulated water is higher than the main straining surrounding wall <NUM>, after which the water will flow through the overflow holes <NUM>, the bottom straining holes <NUM>, the water outlet <NUM>, and out into the drain pipe (not shown).

Therefore, two filtering or straining functions can be achieved using the drain strainer <NUM> of this disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, to clean the drain strainer <NUM>, fingers of a user (P) are first inserted into the water passage <NUM> through the water inlet <NUM> to grip the cover surrounding wall <NUM>, after which the cover unit <NUM> is then pulled upward and away from the base <NUM>, bringing along the main straining member <NUM>. Through the disposition of the annular recess <NUM>, tips of the fingers of the user (P) can be inserted into the annular recess <NUM> to easily exert force on the cover unit <NUM>. Next, the fingers of the user (P) are inserted into the chamber <NUM> to remove the hair <NUM> accumulated on the top surface <NUM> of the bottom straining member <NUM>. Thus, it is very convenient to clean the drain strainer <NUM>.

Because the bottom straining member <NUM> is provided below the main straining member <NUM>, when the main straining member <NUM> is moved upward, the filtered hair <NUM> is prevented from falling into the drain pipe which can cause clogging. Moreover, because the bottom straining member <NUM> is removably disposed on the base bottom wall <NUM>, if there is a need to clean the drain pipe, the grip portion <NUM> of the bottom straining member <NUM> is simply pulled upward using the bare hand of the user (P) to move the bottom straining member <NUM> away from the base bottom wall <NUM>, thereby exposing the drain pipe to facilitate the cleaning thereof. Thus, it is easy to remove the bottom straining member <NUM> from the base bottom wall <NUM>, and the subsequent installation thereof is also very simple.

From the aforesaid description, the drain strainer <NUM> of this embodiment has the following advantages:.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the filling space <NUM> of the cover body <NUM> can be filled with the filler <NUM> having the same material as the ground surface, but is not limited thereto. During implementation, the filler <NUM> may be changed to a material different from that of the ground surface according to the installation location or the design plan, or the cover body <NUM> may not be provided with the filling space <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the second embodiment of the drain strainer <NUM>' of this disclosure is shown to be identical to the first embodiment, but differs in that, in the second embodiment, the extending direction of the top edge surface <NUM> of the base surrounding wall <NUM> toward the water outlet <NUM> (see two-dot chain line in left side of <FIG>) intersects with a junction of the cover surrounding wall <NUM> and the cover bottom wall <NUM> and a junction of the main straining member <NUM> and the bottom straining member <NUM>. Through this, water can flow along the top edge surface <NUM> of the base surrounding wall <NUM> toward the water outlet <NUM>, and pass through the main straining holes <NUM> and the bottom straining holes <NUM> to flow out of the water outlet <NUM>. Therefore, the draining efficiency of the second embodiment is better than that of the first embodiment. The advantages of the first embodiment can be similarly achieved using the second embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, the third embodiment of the drain strainer <NUM>" of this disclosure is shown to be identical to the first embodiment, but differs in that, the drain strainer <NUM>" of the third embodiment is suitable to be disposed in a drain opening <NUM> of a sink body <NUM> of a sink <NUM>, and is suitable for connection with the drain pipe. The sink body <NUM> is made of marble.

The base <NUM> of the drain strainer <NUM>" is disposed on a bottom portion of the drain opening <NUM>. The annular extension <NUM> of the base body <NUM> has an internal thread <NUM> for threaded connection with the drain pipe.

In this embodiment, each bottom straining hole <NUM> is configured as a circular hole, and the cover unit <NUM> is disposed externally of the chamber <NUM> and is located on a top portion of the drain opening <NUM>. The cover body <NUM> is made of a material similar to that of the sink body <NUM>, and has a largest diameter greater than a largest diameter of the base body <NUM>. The cover body <NUM> cooperates with the sink body <NUM> to define an annular guide passage <NUM> communicating with the water inlet <NUM>. The guide passage <NUM> has a vertical passage portion <NUM> extending along the top-bottom direction (L) and adjacent to the cover surrounding wall <NUM>, and an inclined passage portion <NUM> extending upwardly, outwardly and inclinedly from the vertical passage portion <NUM>. A width of one end of the inclined passage portion <NUM> that is adjacent to the vertical passage portion <NUM> is smaller than a width of the other end thereof that is distal to the vertical passage portion <NUM>.

Since the largest diameter of the cover body <NUM> is greater than the largest diameter of the base <NUM>, when the drain strainer <NUM>" is viewed from the top (see <FIG>), the cover body <NUM> will completely cover the base <NUM> and the straining unit <NUM>, so that the user (P) can only see the cover body <NUM> and the guide passage <NUM>. Further, since the cover body <NUM> has a material similar to that of the sink body <NUM>, it is difficult to discover that the drain strainer <NUM>" is installed in the sink <NUM>, so that an overall aesthetics can be improved. Moreover, since water must pass through two straining passages, that is, the main straining holes <NUM> and the bottom straining holes <NUM>, before it flows out of the drain strainer <NUM>", clogging of the drain pipe can be prevented, so that the problem of poor filtering effect and easy clogging encountered by the currently available drain strainer for the wash basin can be resolved.

Additionally, since the width of one end of the inclined passage portion <NUM> that is adjacent to the vertical passage portion <NUM> is smaller than the width of the other end thereof that is distal to the vertical passage portion <NUM>, when water enters the guide passage <NUM>, it can produce a strong impulse to accelerate the drain speed.

It is worth to mention herein that by threadedly connecting the connecting portion <NUM> of the cover unit <NUM> with the engaging portion <NUM> of the straining unit <NUM>, and because the main straining surrounding wall <NUM> can be positioned in the positioning groove <NUM> of the bottom straining member <NUM> through the height difference (d) between the top surface <NUM> of the bottom straining member <NUM> and the groove bottom wall <NUM>, the cover unit <NUM> and the main straining member <NUM> of this disclosure will not easily tip over, thereby preventing the cover body <NUM> from falling over and hitting the sink body <NUM> which can cause damage thereto. The advantages of the first embodiment can be similarly achieved using the third embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, the fourth embodiment of the drain strainer (100a) of this disclosure is shown to be identical to the first embodiment, but differs in that, the main straining member <NUM> of the drain strainer (100a) of the fourth embodiment is only provided with the main straining surrounding wall <NUM>, and is formed with only one overflow hole <NUM>. The overflow hole <NUM> is defined by the main straining surrounding wall <NUM>. Further, the engaging portion <NUM> of the straining unit <NUM> is provided on the grip portion <NUM> of the bottom straining member <NUM>, and is configured as a groove. The connecting portion <NUM> of the cover unit <NUM> is inserted into the engaging portion <NUM>.

When it is desired to clean the drain strainer (100a), the cover unit <NUM> is simply pulled upward to bring therealong the main straining member <NUM>, after which the fingers of the user (P) can be inserted into the chamber <NUM> to remove the hair or debris accumulated on the top surface <NUM> of the bottom straining member <NUM>.

The advantages of the first embodiment can be similarly achieved using the fourth embodiment.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the fifth embodiment of the drain strainer (100b) of this disclosure is shown to be identical to the first embodiment, but differs in that, the drain strainer (100b) of the fifth embodiment further comprises a water seal unit <NUM> which includes a connecting member <NUM> and a cylindrical sleeve member <NUM>. The connecting member <NUM> is disposed in the annular extension <NUM> of the base <NUM>, and has an upper portion airtightly connected to the annular extension <NUM>, and a lower portion formed with a plurality of angularly spaced-apart water guide holes <NUM>. The sleeve member <NUM> is sleeved on the connecting member <NUM>, and is connected to the lower portion of the connecting member <NUM>.

An S-shaped water seal passage <NUM> is formed between the connecting member <NUM> and the sleeve member <NUM>. Through the S-shaped water seal passage <NUM>, a portion of the water can be retained in the water seal passage <NUM> to prevent gas in the drain pipe (not shown) from entering a room through the drain strainer (100b).

The advantages of the first embodiment can be similarly achieved using the fifth embodiment.

Referring to <FIG>, the sixth embodiment of the drain strainer (100c) of this disclosure is shown to be identical to the first embodiment, but differs in that, in the sixth embodiment, the cover body <NUM> of the cover unit <NUM> is directly connected to the main straining surrounding wall <NUM> of the main straining member <NUM>. That is, the cover unit <NUM> is integrally connected as one piece with the main straining member <NUM>. Thus, in this embodiment, the main straining member <NUM> does not have the main straining top wall <NUM> (see <FIG>) and the overflow holes <NUM> (see <FIG>), the straining unit <NUM> does not have the engaging portion <NUM>, and the cover unit <NUM> does not have the connecting portion <NUM> (see <FIG>). The annular water passage <NUM> is cooperatively defined by the outer surface of the cover body <NUM> and the top edge surface <NUM> of the base surrounding wall <NUM> of the base body <NUM>, and communicates with the main straining holes <NUM>.

In use, when the main straining holes <NUM> are clogged, the cover unit <NUM> together with the main straining member <NUM> is pulled out by the user, so that water can flow through the bottom straining holes <NUM> of the bottom straining member <NUM> and out into the drain pipe (not shown). The cover unit <NUM> together with the main straining member <NUM> is cleaned, and the filtered hair or debris is removed therefrom. Thus, it can be ensured that all water must flow through two filtering or straining passages, that is, the main straining holes <NUM> and the bottom straining holes <NUM>, which have different extending directions, so that clogging of the drain pipe can be reduced.

Because the cover body <NUM> of the cover unit <NUM> is directly connected to the main straining surrounding wall <NUM> of the main straining member <NUM>, the number of components of the drain strainer (100c) can be minimized, thereby making the manufacture and assembly thereof more efficient. The advantages of the first embodiment can be similarly achieved using the sixth embodiment.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the seventh embodiment of the drain strainer (100d) of this disclosure is shown to be identical to the first embodiment, but differs in that, in the seventh embodiment, the main straining member <NUM> further includes an annular flange <NUM> extending outwardly and radially from an outer periphery of the main straining top wall <NUM>.

When the hair <NUM> is accumulated on the top surface <NUM> of the bottom straining member <NUM> and clogs the main straining holes <NUM>, water will flow out of the drain strainer (100d) through the overflow holes <NUM> and the bottom straining holes <NUM>. With the provision of the annular flange <NUM> in this embodiment, most of the hair <NUM> in the water is retained under the annular flange <NUM>, thereby preventing the hair <NUM> from flowing out of the overflow holes <NUM> and clogging the drain pipe (not shown). The advantages of the first embodiment can be similarly achieved using the seventh embodiment.

Claim 1:
A drain strainer (<NUM>, <NUM>', <NUM>", 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d) comprising a base (<NUM>) having a base body (<NUM>) that defines a chamber (<NUM>), a straining unit (<NUM>) disposed in said chamber (<NUM>), and a cover unit (<NUM>) including a cover body (<NUM>) connected to said straining unit (<NUM>), said chamber (<NUM>) having a water inlet (<NUM>) and a water outlet (<NUM>) opposite to each other along a top-bottom direction (L), wherein
said straining unit (<NUM>) includes a bottom straining member (<NUM>) proximate to said water outlet (<NUM>) and having a plurality of bottom straining holes (<NUM>) extending therethrough, and a main straining member (<NUM>) disposed on one side of said bottom straining member (<NUM>) that is distal to said water outlet (<NUM>), said main straining member (<NUM>) including a main straining surrounding wall (<NUM>) formed with a plurality of spaced-apart main straining holes (<NUM>) that extend therethrough, said bottom straining holes (<NUM>) and said main straining holes (<NUM>) communicating with each other and with said chamber (<NUM>);
wherein said bottom straining member (<NUM>) is circular, and has a top surface (<NUM>) and a bottom surface (<NUM>) opposite to said top surface (<NUM>),
characterized by the strainer additionally comprising a groove (<NUM>) extending inwardly from a central portion of said top surface (<NUM>) and defined by a groove bottom wall (<NUM>) and a groove surrounding wall (<NUM>), said top surface (<NUM>) and said groove bottom wall (<NUM>) having a height difference (d), said bottom straining holes (<NUM>) being formed in said groove bottom wall (<NUM>), said main straining surrounding wall (<NUM>) being positioned in said groove (<NUM>) adjacent to said groove surrounding wall (<NUM>).