Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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UNIVERSAL DRAIN COVER
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates generally to a drain cover. More
specifically, the present invention is directed to a universal drain cover
that may be
used with any conventional drain.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The floors of buildings are usually provided with floor drains which
provide access to drainpipes which are used to convey liquids spilt or poured
on
the floors to sewers or collection containers. The open mouth of the floor
drain,
which is commonly round, is usually closed with an apertured drain cover which
may be friction fit or otherwise secured in place.
[0003] In time, the drain cover may need to be replaced, due to wear and
tear or because of remodeling of the surrounding area. Unfortunately, in many
cases a drain cover of the original design may either be no longer available
or if
available may not fit the remodeled surroundings the drain, for example a
specific
tile pattern. Furthermore, in remodeling the surroundings of the drain, it may
be
desired to have a drain cover having a shape different from the original one.
[0004] There is a need for a universal drain cover which may be used to
either close the opening of a new drain or used to replace a drain cover which
must be replaced for some reason.
[0005] There is also a need for a drain plate assembly that may be easily
installed to securely close a variety of different size mouths of drains.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0006] Embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example
only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
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[0007] Fig. 1 is a top view of a drain cover.
[0008] Fig. 2 is a top view of a drain opening.
[0009] Fig. 3 is a top view of an alternative embodiment of a drain opening.
[0010] Fig.4 is a top view of the drain cover of Fig. 1 on which is
superimposed the location of screws from the drain opening of Fig. 2.
[0011] Fig. 5 is a top view of the drain cover of Fig. 1, rotated clockwise by
90 degrees; on which is superimposed the location of screws from the drain
opening of Fig: 2.
[0012] Fig.6 is a top view of the drain cover of Fig. 1 on which is
superimposed the location of screws from the drain opening of Fig. 3.
[0013] Fig. 7 is a top view of the drain cover of Fig. 1, rotated clockwise by
90 degrees, on which is superimposed the location of screws from the drain
opening of Fig. 3.
[0014] Fig. 8 is a top view of the drain cover of Fig. 1, rotated clockwise by
180 degrees, on which is superimposed the location of screws from the drain
opening of Fig. 3.
[0015] Fig. 9 is a top view of an alternative embodiment of a drain cover.
[0016] Fig. 10 is a top view of the drain cover of Fig.9 on which is
superimposed the location of screws from the drain opening of Fig. 2.
[0017] Fig. 11 is a top view of the drain cover of Fig. 9, rotated clockwise
by
90 degrees, on which is superimposed the location of screws from the drain
opening of Fig. 2.
[0018] Fig. 12 is a top view of an alternative drain cover on which is
superimposed the location of screws from the drain opening of Fig. 2.
[0019] Fig. 13 is a top view of the drain cover of Fig. 12, rotated clockwise
by 90 degrees, on which is superimposed the location of screws from the drain
opening of Fig. 2.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a drain cover (110) having a
series of milled grooves (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) for receiving fasteners, such
as, for
example screws, to secure the drain cover (110) to a drain, and draining
apertures
(17, 19). Although the drain cover (110) is shown as being square in shape, it
is to
be understood that other shapes may be used as well.
[0021] The drain cover (110) may be used to close the opening of drains
such as illustrated in Figs 2 and 3. Fig. 2 shows a common drain opening (120)
comprising a pair of screw holes (21, 22) located on a rim (24) surrounding
the
drain (26). Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 3, the drain opening (130) may
have a
different number of screw holes (31, 32, 33), in this alternative embodiment
three,
located on the rim (34) surrounding the drain (36).
[0022] As may be seen in Fig. 4, when the drain cover (110) of Fig. 1 is
placed on top of the drain opening (120) of Fig. 2, the location of the screw
holes
(21, 22) may not necessarily coincide with the milled grooves (11, 12, 13, 14,
15).
In this example screw hole (21 ) is positioned between milled grooves (11 )
and
(12), while screw hole (22) is positioned under milled groove (14). If the
drain
cover (110) was to be circular in shape it would be an easy matter to slightly
rotate
the drain cover (110) until the milled grooves (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) coincided
with
the screw holes (21, 22) but when using a drain cover (110) having a shape
who's
orientation is of importance, such as a drain cover used in the design of a
specific
floor tile pattern, this option is not appropriate.
[0023] By disposing of the milled grooves (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) upon the drain
cover (110) in a manner such that their positioning is not symmetric with
respect to
each sides of the drain cover (110), rotating the drain cover by 90, 180 or
270
degrees will change the location of the milled grooves (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
while
preserving the orientation of the drain cover (110). By rotating the drain
cover
(110) clockwise by 90 degrees, as shown in Fig. 5, screw hole (21 ) is now
positioned under milled groove (15) and screw hole (22) is positioned under
milled
groove (13), and the drain cover (110) is still in the same orientation.
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[0024] Referring now to Fig. 6, when the drain cover (110) of Fig. 1 is
placed on top of the drain opening (130) of Fig. 3, the location of the screw
holes
(31, 32, 33) once more may not necessarily coincide with the milled grooves
(11,
12, 13, 14, 15). In this example screw hole (31 ) is positioned between milled
grooves (11 ) and (12), while screw hole (32) is positioned under milled
groove (13)
and screw hole (33) is positioned under milled groove (15). Now, by rotating
the
drain cover (110) clockwise by 90 degrees, as shown in Fig. 7, screw hole (31
) is
now positioned under milled groove (15) and screw hole (32) is positioned
under
milled groove (12) but screw hole (33) is now positioned between milled
grooves
(13) and (14). By rotating the drain cover (110) clockwise by a further 90
degrees,
for a total of 180 degrees, as shown in Fig. 8, screw hole (31 ) is now
positioned
under milled groove (14), screw hole (32) is positioned under milled groove
(11 )
and screw hole (33) is now positioned under milled groove (12), and the drain
cover (110) is still in the same orientation.
(0025] It is to be understood that if other geometries of drain cover are
used,
the rotation angle will change accordingly so that the drain cover remains in
the
same general orientation after each rotation.
[0026] In an alternative embodiment, shown in Fig. 9, when the drain cover
(140) has an even number of milled grooves (41, 42, 43; 44, 45, 51, 52, 53,
54,
55), in this example 10, it is important to dispose the milled grooves (41,
42, 43,
44, 45, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55) such ' that they are not symmetrically disposed
with
respect to each sides of the drain cover (140). For example, the milled
grooves .
(41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55) may be disposed so that their
symmetry
axis (142) is at an angle 8 with the cover drain (140) symmetry axis (143)
such that
they are not mirror images of each other with respect to symmetry axis (143).
For
example, by having a milled grooves (41; 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
symmetry axis (142) positioned such that milled grooves (41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
and
milled grooves (51, 52, 53, 54, 55) are no longer mirror images of each other
with
respect to drain cover (140) symmetry axis (142), it may be seen that the
milled
grooves (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55) are not symmetrically
disposed
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with respect to each of the sides of the drain cover (140). An angle 8 of, for
example, 5 degrees may be used between symmetry axes (142) and {143). It is to
be understood, however, that other angles may be used so that the resulting
positioning of the milled grooves (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55) is
not
symmetric with respect to each sides of the drain cover (140).
[0027] Figs 10 and 11 show, in a fashion similar to Figs 4 and 5, that the
drain cover (140) of Fig. 10 may be rotated by 90 degrees when it is placed on
top
of the drain opening (120) of Fig. 2; such the location of the screw holes
(21, 22)
coincide with milled grooves (53) and (43).
[0028] In another alternative embodiment, shown in Figs 12 and 13, a lesser
number of milled grooves (61, 62, 63) may be used. The drain cover (160) of
Fig. 12 may be rotated in similar fashion as for the preceding embodiments,
for
example by 90 degrees as shown in Fig. 13, such that when it is placed on top
of
the drain opening (120) of Fig. 2, the location of the screw holes (21, 22)
coincide
with milled grooves (63) and (62).
[0029] It is to be understood that the milled grooves of the various
embodiments are positioned so as to be on a circular path having a diameter
corresponding to the distance between screw holes used in commonly available
drains, for example 2 13/16" or 2 5/8". Drain covers may be designed for other
dimensions or, in an alternative embodiment, additional series of milled
grooves
may be present so as to accommodate various diameter drains. For example,
referring back to Fig. 1, . draining apertures (17) may be replaced with
milled
grooves to accommodate drains of two different sizes, i.e. drains for which
the
distance between screw holes are different.
[0030] Although the present invention has been described by way of
particular embodiments and examples thereof, it should be noted that it will
be
apparent to persons skilled in the art that modifications may be applied to
the
present particular embodiment without departing from the scope of the present
invention.
