Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1312177
This invention relates to bathtub drain
valve controls. More particularly it relates to a drain
control that is operated by an overflow cover that
forms a smooth extension of the tub wall.
Almost all bathtubs have a drain opening
at the bo~tom for draining out the water and a valve
located in that drain opening for closing the drain.
~uch bathtubs usually have an overflow opening which ~`
is in fluid communication with the drain. The over-
10 flow opening is located on a vertical wall of the tub
and permits water to 10w out to the drain in order
to prevent the tub from overflowing in case someone
; forgets to turn off the water or in case a person
enters the tub and raises the water level to too
15 high a level.
Usually, a stationary overflow plate is
mounted on the tub to conceal the overflow hole from
vie~ while leaving a bottom hole open. The overflow
plate is usually fixed on the bathtub wall and juts
20 out from the normal surface of the wall. It is also
common for a drain control lever to be movably mounted
on the fixed overflow plate and to extend into the tub.
The drain control lever is then connected through
linkages to the drain valve at the bottom of the tub.
One problem with such drain valve controls
and overflow plates of the prior art is that they
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project out into the tub so that they would stick into
the back of a person who tries to lean against the wall
in which they are mounted. This limits the use of many
tubs to one person at a time.
To solve this problem, there have been attempts
to separate the overflow cover and drain lever tby recess-
ing the trip lever in a pocket and then using a separate
cover to form a smooth rest surface~. Such systems require
the user to both lift the cover and also trip a separate
lever to control the drain.
~ he object of the present invention is to provide
a bathtub drain valve control device which is shaped and
installed so as to complement the contours of the vertical
bathtub wall to provide a smooth, substantially continuous-
surface against which a bather can comfortably lean and in
which the overflow plate serves the additional function
of a drain control lever~
The present invention provides a bathtub drain
valve control arrangement, comprising a substantially
vertical bathtub wall defining an overflow opening which
is adapted to communicate with a downwardly directed drain-
pipe, a bathtub flG~r deining a drain opening which is
adapted to communicate with said drainpipe; a drain valve
for opening and closing fluid communication through said
drain opening; an overflow cover mounted on said substan-
tially vertical bathtub wall so as to substantially conceal
said overflow opening, characterized by said overflow
cover being adapted to move between open and closed
positions and having a generally smooth outer surface,
such that, in said closed position, said overflow cover is
substantially flush with said vertical bathtub wall to
follow the contours of the wall to provide a surface
against which a bather could comfortably lean; and a
linkage connectin:g said overflow cover and said drain
valve, said linkage including a first linkage member
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312177
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pivotally connected to said overflow cover at a pivot
point spaced from said mounting of said overflow cover
and a second linkaye member pivotally connected intermediate
its ends to said bathtub wall, said second linkage member
also being pivotably connected adjacent one end to said
first linkage member, and linkage means connected between
the other end of said second linkage member and said drain
valve such that by moving said overflow cover to the open
position causes one end of said second linkage member to
rise and the other end to be lowered and said linkage
means-opens said drain valve, and moving said overflow
cover to the closed position causes one end of said second
linkage member to be lowered and the other end to be
raised and said linkage means closes said drain valve.
The bathtub drain valve control arrangement of
the present invention is simpler than the overflow cover
and drain valve control than previously available. The
overflow cover and drain valve con~rol combination is
easy to operate and is relatively inexpensive. Further
the arrangement provides a smooth surface against which
a person can lean his back and thus two people may comfort-
ably sit face to face, leaning against opposite walls of
the tub.
In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a top, broken away view of a bathtub
including the drain valve control arrangement of the present
invention;
Figure 2 is a frontal view taken along the line~
2-2 of Figure l;
Figure 3 is a view taken along the section 3-3
of Figure l;
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- 4
Figure 4 is the same view as Figure 3, but
with the drain lever and drain valve in the open po-
sition;
- Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of
5 the parts which are connected to the bathtub to form
the drain valve control arrangement of Figure l; and
Figure 6 is an enlarged, side sectional view
of the valve control lever region of Figure 3.
With reference to the drawings: the bathtub
10 10 has a bottom wall 12, a substantially vertical side
wall 14, and two substantially vertical side walls 16.
There is the usual hole 18 in the bottom wall (or
floor) 12 of the tub 10 which serves as a drain hole.
There is also an opening 20 in the vertical end wall
15 14 ~hich serves as an overflow opening. Both the drain
opening 18 and the overflow opening 20 are in fluid
communication with the drainpipe 22. The end wall 14
has a recessed portion (or pocket) 24 surrounding the
overflow opening 20.
The recessed portion 24 is tapered as shown
in the Figure 3 cross section, being narrow at the
top and wider at the bottom. An overflow plate 26
is mounted in the recessed portion 24 to conceal the
overflow opening 20 from view. The overflow plate or
25 cover 26 is slightly recessed in the end wall 14 when
in the Figure 3 position. The recessed portion or
pocket 24 extends slightly below the overflow plate 26
so that a person can reach his fingers underneath the
free end of the overflow plate 26 to pull it outward
30 and so that water can readily overflow through the
overflow opening 20 (as indicated by the arrows in
Figure 3).
The overflow plate 26 is preferably made in
two pieces. The outer piece 23 is preferably metallic
35 and may have a finish which corresponds to the finish
on the faucet and other fixtures used in conjunction
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with the bathtub 10. It has a generally smooth outer
surface which, when the plate 26 is closed, is flush
with the rest of the tub wall 14 and complements the
contours of the vertical bathtub wall 14 to provide
5 a smooth, substantially continuous surface against
which a bather could comfortably lean.
; The inner piece 30 is preferably a molded
~ polymeric material (e.g. a plastic). The inner piece
30 has an indentation 32 in its top edge ~see Figure 6),
10 and the outer piece 28 has a mating projection 34. In
order to assemble the outer piece 28 on the inner
piece 30, the bottom portion 36 of the outer piece
is first wrapped around the lower edge of the inner
~ piece 30, and then the projection 34 at the top of the
; 15 outer piece 28 is snap-fit into place in the indenta-
: tion 32 of the inner piece 30.
The inner piece 30 includes an integrally
- molded arm 38 defining an aperture 39 which permits
the overflow plate 26 to be connected to the linkages
20 used to control the drain valve 40. The inner piece 30
also includes a number of hinge eyes 42 near its top
edge.
stationary member 44 has mating hinge eyes
46 on.its top edge. A hinge pin 48 connects the over-
25 flow plate 26 to the stationary piece 44 through the
I hinge eyes 42, 46, so that the overflow plate 26 can
pivot relative to the tub 10 on this first, sub -
stantially horizontal axis. Thus, the overflow plate
26 is movably mounted on the tub 10 at its top end.
30 and has a free lower end. It should be noted that the
outer piece 28 projects slightly beyond the hinge eyes
42, 46 to conceal them.
The stationary piece 44 is fixed to the end
~ wall 14 of the tub 10 by means of two screws 50
: 35 (only one shown in Figure 5) which clamp the stationary
piece 44 and the drain extension 52 to the end wall
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14 of the tub. The screws 50 extend through apertures
54 in the stationary piece 44 and through the overflow
opening 20 in the tub wall 14 and are received in the
threaded apertures 56 of the drain extension 52.
5 A gasket 58 is pressed between the drain extension
52 and the outer surface of the end wall 14 to pro-
vide a seal between the drain extension 52 and the
end wall 14.
The linkages which permit the overflow plate
10 26 to serve as a drain valve control lever are as
follows (see Figures 5 and 6); ~ Y-shaped linkage 60
! is pivotably connected at the point 39 to the arm 38
which is integral with the inner piece 30 of the over-
flow plate 26. At its other end, the linkage 60 is
15 pivotably connected to a rocker arm 62 at the point 61.
The rocker arm 62 is pivotably mounted on the sta-
tionary piece 44 at the point 64, so that the rocker
arm 62 pivots about the fixed point ~or second,
substantially horizontal axis) 64. A spring 66 is
20 mounted over the inner portion of the rocker arm 62
between two washers 68, 70 which serve as stops.
The washer 70 bears against an integral
extension 72 from the stationary piece 44 which ex-
tends through the end wall 14 of the tub. The exten-
25 sion 72 has upper and lower camming surfaces 74,76 which serve to define the two positions of the
overflow plate (or valve control lever) ~6.
When the overflow plate 26 is in the closed
position, as shown in Figures 3 and 6, the washer 70
30 bears against the upper camming surface 74. When the
overflow plate 26 is pivoted counterclockwise ~opened),
the washer 70 begins to move toward the lower camming
surface 76. As the rocker arm is rotated counter-
clockwise, the washer 70 moves until it is balancing
35 on the point between the first and second camming
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: surfaces 74, 76 When the rocker arm 62 moves slight-
ly beyond the balanced position, the spring 66 causes
the washer 70 to flip into contact with the lower cam-
ming surface 76, snapping the overflow-plate (the
valve control lever) 26 into the open position, shown
in Figure 4. When closing the valve control lever 28,
the spring 66 acts in a similar manner, causing the
washer 70 to flip into contact with the upper camming
surface 74 as it moves past the balanced position.
1~ At its innermost end, the rocker arm 62 is
pivotably connected to the vertical linkage (or drive
member ) 78, the length of which is adjustable by
means of an adjustment arm 8G. The lower end o the
adjustment arm 80 is connected to a spring 82. The
l; drain valve 40 is pivotably connected at the point 84
to a see-saw assembly 86 which rocks back and forth
about the fulcrum point 88. The assembly 86 can flex
inward about the points 85, permitting it to be in-
stalled through the drain hole 18, but it cannot fle~
2~ outward, thereby permitting it to operate stiffly, in
a see-saw motion when acted on by a downward force at
either end.
When the overElow plate 26 is in the closed
position as in Figure 3, the spring 66 causes the
25 washer 70 to.press against the upper camming surface
74, lifting the lower spring 82 off of the free end
90 of the seesaw linkage 86. The weight acting on
the right hand portion of the linkage 86 causes the
right side of the linkage to fall downward, closing
the drain valve 40. When the overflow plate 26 is
lifted up to the open position, the spring 68 causes
the washer 70 to press against the second camming
surface 76, lowering the sprlng 82 into contact with
the free end 90 of the seesaw linkage 86, and the added
35 force from the spring 82 causes the linkage 86 to
rotate counterclockwise about the fulcrum 88, thereby
opening the drain valve 40.
1312177
It will be noted, particularly in Figures 1
and 2, that, when the overflow plate 26 is in the closed
position, it is flush with the inner surface o~ the
vertical bathtub wall 14 to provide a smooth, sub-
5 stantially continuous surface against which a bathercan comfortably lean. The recessed portion 24 of the
end wall 14 permits the overflow plate 26 to be re-
cessed in the tub wall to provide this smooth, flush
` surface.
In order to install the drain valve arrange-
ment on the tub 10, the inner piece 30 is connected to
: the fixed member 44 by means of the hinge pin 48.
The drain pipe extensions 102 and 52 are connected to
their respective openings 18, 20. The extension 102
15 is threaded onto the flanged piece 104 which forms the
drain hole 18. The drain extension 52 is bolted to the
fixed member 44 as was described earlier, with the
installer extending his screw driver through the
holes 51 in the inner piece 30 to reach the bolts 50.
20 Then, the vertical linkage 78 is assembled with the ad-
justment arm and the spring 82. The leg 105 of the
linkage 78 is inserted through the slot 106 of the
adjustment arm 80 and into the upper hole 108 of the
nut 110, and the bolt 112 then secures the nut 110
25 at the desired position on the adjustment arm 80 by
being threaded into the lower hole 114.
The spring 66 and washers 68, 70 are placed
on the rocker arm 62 and held in place by a cotter
pin 69. The vertical linkage 78 is hooked onto the
30 end of the rocker arm 62, and the linkage 78, together
with the adjustment arm 80 and spring 82 are moved
under the indentation 71 in the fixed member 44,
through the overflow opening 20, and are lowered down
- through the drain pipe extension 52. Before the
35 rocker arm 62 passes the fixed member 44, a pin 65 is
extended through the hole 64 in the rocker arm 62.
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1 3 1 2 1 77
g
The pin 65 enters the horizontal recess 67 in the
fixed member 44, and, when the washer 70 is brought
into contact with one of the camming surfaces 74, 76,
the pin 65 is pressed against the recess 67 in the
5 fi~ed member 44, thereby mounting the rocker arm 62
on the fixed member 44. The outer piece 28 is then
installed over the inner piece 30 of the lever arm
26 as described earlier. Then, the see-saw assembly
is connected to the drain valve 40 and is threaded
10 into position with the free end 90 entering first
through the drain hole 18. The individual pieces of
the see-saw assembly flex inward relative to each
other in order to get around the bend 100 in the
pipe 102.
When the overflow and drain control assembly
is installed as described above, the bather need only
pivot the overflow plate up and down in order to con-
trol the drain valve. When the drain valve is
closed, the bather has a smooth, substantially con-
20 tinuous surface against which to recline.
It will be apparent that modifications may
be made to the preferred embodiment described above
without departing from the scope of the present in-
vention. For example, the plate may pivot on its
25 side edge or about another axis (rather than at the
top). Also, the particular nature of the lever or
other operator used could be changed.
