Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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OFFSI~T N I PPLE
Background of the Invention
One of the more difficult plumbing jobs is the
installation of drain pipes for a bath tub. This operation,
while appearing at first glance to present no real challenge
in terms of complexity, is typically complicated by at least
two circumstances.
The first complication is the relative inaccessi-
bility of the work area. More often than not, bath tubs are
installed in confined areas. Access to the plumbing fittings
is often provided by means oE small openings located at or
below the floor surface. Tlle plumber must work from a prone
position, bending around corners straining to reach and
having difficulty seeing the area in which he is working.
The second clifficu~ty often arises Erom the lack
of a proper alignment betweerl the opening in the tub and
the drain pipe to which it must be connected. Frequently
neither the tub nor the drain pipe can be moved to correct
the alignment, the position o~ the tub being constrained by
the positions of the bathroom walls, and the pipe being
cast in concrete.
Offset pipe sections of various types which have
been offered in the past to accommodate the lack of align-
ment are indispensible for coping with such a situation,
but they do not in their presently available form offer any
significant relief for the accessibility problem.
Because the drain pipes at the tub encounter
relatively low water pressure, the pipe fittings may be
hand tightened~ Moreover, because of the cramped quarters
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which severely limits the use of a wrench of any kind, hand
tightening may prove the only resor-t. Smoothly fitting
plastic pipe and associated fit-tings have facilitated such
hand operations, but serious difficulties remain because
the slick surfaces of the pipes are difficult to grip,
especially when the hands are greasy or wet from perspiration.
Any further improvement in the design or structure
of offset pipes which provides even a little relief from
the~e vexinq problems will be welcomed by those who have
experienced the difficulties.
~he pr~3sent invention addresses such an improvement
in the form of an offset pipe t~at is more easily installed
by hand under the prevailincJ circumstances.
Descri tion of the Prior Art
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Offset nipplec; or [~LI e Eittin~Js ~re well known in
the prior art.
U. S. Patent No. 866,952 -teaches the use of offset
nipples in the connection of a 9as meter.
U. S. Patent No. 1,267,651 shows an offset nipple
incorporated in a suspending and controlling header for a
gas meter.
U. S. Patent NO . 1, 355,678 describes the use of
an offset nipple in a silailar structure employed in the
connection of a gas meter.
U. S. Patent No. 1,840,046 describes still another
gas meter connecting device employing an offset nipple.
U. S. Patent No. 2,241,484 describes yet another
application of offset nipples in a gas meter connec~ion.
U. S. Design L~atent No. 195,243 illustrates the
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design of an offset nipple threaded for connection at bo~h
ends.
Whi:Le -these prior art devices as illustrated will
readily accommodate the connection of parallel but non-aligned
pipes, they do not incorporate featuxes intended to facilitate
hand installation in cramped quarters.
Summarv of the Invention
In accorclance with the invention claimed, an improved
offset nipple or pipe fitting is provided in a form that
facilitates its installation by hand in cramped quarters such
as those typically encountered in the installation of drain
pipes for bath tubs.
The invention provides an offset nipple for
interconnect:lng two substantially parallel but non-aligned
pipes in waste and vent connections comprising, a hollow pipe
section distorted at each end to form inlet and outlet ports,
said ports being interconnected by an arcuate portion, said
arcuate porti.on havincJ a roughened surface in the form of a
raised pad on its outer periphery at each of the four quadrants
of saicl arcuate portion for gripping by the installer when
using it to interconnect said inlet and outlet ports with non-
aligned pipes.
Advantages of the invention will become apparent as
the following description proceeds and the features of novelty
which characterize the invention will be pointed out with
particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of
this specification.
Brief Description of the Drawincl
The present invention may be more readily described
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with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the improved
ofiset nipple or pipe fitting of the invention installed in
the drain assembly of a b~th tub;
Fig. 2 is a side view of a first embodiment of the
offset nipple of the invention;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the offset nipple
of FigsO 1 and 2 as seen from one end;
Fig. 4 is another side view of the nipple of Figs.
1, 2 and 3 as seen from an angle 90 degrees displaced from
the viewing angle of Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 is a side view of a second variation of the
off~et nipple of the invention;
Fig. 6 is a side vi~w of a third variation of the
offset nipple of the invention; and
Fig. 7 is a side view of a fourth variation of the
invention.
Descri tion of the Preferred ~mbodiment
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Referring more particularly to the drawing by
characters of reference, Fig. 1 shows an improved offset
nipple 10 of the invention installed in a drain assembly 11
of a bath tub 12.
The drain assembly 11 comprises a tub drain portion
13, an overflow portion 14, a "T"-shaped fitting 15 that se~ves
as a junction for the drain and overflow portion, a U-shaped
trap 16 that leads into the main drain or sewer pipe 17 via
an "L"-shaped coupling 18 and the offset nipple 10 which
couples the "T"-shaped fitting 15 to trap 16.
The utility of the offset nipple as a coupling
means between two parallel but nonaligned pipes is readily
apparent from an examination of Fig. 1. The "L"-shaped
fitting or coupling 18 has its lower end directed vertically
downward along a vertical line 19 while the vertical portions
of the overflow portion 14 and "T"-shaped fitting 15 are
concentric with a second vertical line 21 that is displaced
from line 19. The U-shaped trap 16 has the general form of
an inverted "U" and is pivotal about its left end 22 inside
the open lower end of "L"-shaped fitting 18. As trap 16 is
rotated about its left end, its right end 23 traces a circle
about line 19. Similarly, offset nipple 10 has its upper
end 24 pivotally connected to the lower end of "T"-shaped
fitting 15. The lower end 25 of nipple 10, which is offset
~rom upper end 24, traces a circle about line 21 as nipple
0 i8 rotated about its upper pivotal connection. The
intersections of the circles thus traced by trap 16 and
nipple 10 define points at which t~le mating ends of nipple
10 and trap 16 may be alk~nQd and connected together.
Correction for any elevational difference between the top
of nipple 10 and the lower opening of fitting 15 is made
by means of a short nipple 26.
As shown in Fig. 1, the c~ffset nipple 10 of the
invention forming inlet and outlet ports or ends inter-
connected by an arcuate portion is provided with hand grips
27 on its arcuate portion whic~l may comprise any form of
roughened or serrated surface, and is shown in Fig. 1, for
example, in the form of raised striated pads. In the
preferred embodiment, four roughened surfaces or pads are
uniformly distributed about the body of the nipple at ~he
four quadrants of its circular cross section, which may be
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midway of its length. The grips 27 permit a firm grip on
the surface of ~he nipple by an installer even when his or
her hands are wet or greasy. Rotation of nipple 10 by hand
or holding of nipple 10 stationary by hand is thus facilitated
by grips 27.
Grips 27 are also useful as points of reference for
an installer who must sometimes work with limited visual
acce~ to the work area. It is frequently necessary to
inspect such a work area visually and then to back off in
order to perform the manual manipulations. Corrections in
the rotational position of nipple 10 are facilitated under
such circumstances by points of reference such as grips 27
which permit the installer to judge position and degree of
rotation through his or her sense of touch.~
~ The offset nipple of the invention is amenable
to implementation in any o~ a number of forms. Figs. 2, 3
and 4 illus~rate a plastic offse~t nipple 30 adapted for
connection to other plastic fittinc3s by means of cemented
joints. As in the case of the prior art offset nipples,
the nipple is characterized by its typical dog-leg contours
with top and bottom ends directed along mutually parallel
but displaced straight lines. Top end 31 of nipple 30 is
terminated in a short length of straight tubing having
substantially the same inside and outside diameters as the
plastic tubing with which the nipple is intended to be used.
Bottom end 32 is flanged with an inside diameter that fits
snugly over the outside periphery of the pipe and other
fittings with which it is employed. In the cementing
operation employed in joining plastic tubing and fittings
of this type, the matin~ joints of th~ pipe and fitting are
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first coated with cement. ~rh~ parts are then pressed
together and rotated by hand to the desired position.
Gripq ~7 which are again provided at the quadrant positions
about the body of nipple 30 and which may be raised above
the surface of the nipple, are useful under the difficult
conditions described earlier during such a cementing operation.
Another variation of the offset nipple of the
invention i~ shown in Fig. 5. Offset nipple 40 of Fig. 5
has a flange 41 at its lower end and a threaded termination
42 at its upper end. The lower end is again joined to a
pipe or other fitting by cementing while the upper end is
adapted for connection by means of a compression fitting.
Again, the four grips 27' are provided for use in holding
nipple 40 in position or for rotatinc~ it by hand during
installation as well as Eor a -tactile indication of its rota-
tional position. In this e~ odiment, the outer surface of the
nipple i~ serrated to form the grips 27'.
Offset nipple 50 of Fig. 7 ~as a strai~ht cut-off
termination 51 on top and a reduction 52 at its lower end.
~oth ends of nipple 50 are intended for cemented joints.
Nipple 10 incorporated in assembly 11 of Fig. 1
is again shown in Fig. 6 where details of its form are more
clearly visible. As noted in Fig. 6, both ends of the nipple
10 are threaded to permit connection by means of compression
rings 53 and 54 shown in F~ig. 1. Compression washers inside
rings 53 and 54 seal the joints between the ends of offset
nipple 10 and the adjoining fittings as the rings are tightened
upon threaded ends 55 and 56 of nipple 10.
It should be noted that the inventive concept may
be used for any type of fluid transportation where nipple
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or pipe fitting arrangements are useful but is partlcularly
useful in the application of combination waste and vent
piping connections,
Although but a few embodiments of the invention
have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent
to tho~e skilled in the art that various changes and modi-
fications may be made therein without departing from the
spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended
claims.
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