Drain pipes are in common use within homes and buildings for disposing of a combined mixture of liquid and solid matter. The common form of such drain pipes are pipes that are used in conjunction with kitchen sinks, bathtubs, showers, washing machines, etc.
Drain pipes at times may become clogged with a solid or semi-solid material which causes a stoppage of normal flow through the drain pipe. It is necessary to clear the drain pipe of the clog in order for the drain pipe to work satisfactorily.
In the past, a common way in which drain pipes are unclogged is by contacting a service wherein a person, specialized in unclogging drains, travels to the drain location and utilizes some form of rotating mechanical cutting device within the drain pipe in order to unclog the pipe. This type of service is exceedingly effective in achieving unclogging of the drain pipe. However, because of the time and equipment involved, the service has one main drawback in that it is expensive.
At times the clogging of the drain may only be due to a minor problem that can be corrected without the requiring of hiring of a service. For such types of clogged drains, it is common to use some type of a chemical which would be poured down the drain and is designed to "eat" away at the clogged material until such is dissolved and the drain operates satisfactorily. However, such chemicals have to be manufactured to be minimally toxic to minimize contamination within the sewage system. As a result, chemicals which are designed to unclog drains only work on a drain that is very minorly clogged.
Another type of drain unclogger is a flexible wire, a few feet in length, which the user can force into the drain pipe. However, if the clog is beyond the length of the wire, the wire is not effective. Additionally, most drains have one or more bends and it is difficult to have the flexible wire traverse more than one bend.
A still further device which is usable to unclog drains comprises that of an elastomeric tube which has a small orifice in its free end with the back end having an attachment to facilitate connection to a garden hose. The elastomeric tube is to be inserted within the drain pipe. Upon flow of water being conducted through the garden hose, the elastomeric tube is expanded against the inner wall of the drain pipe, to be securely held in place, with the water then being pulsingly dispensed from the small orifice in the free end of the elastomeric tube. These pulsing jets of water are designed to create sufficient pressure and flow volume to force the foreign material forming the clog along the drain pipe until the drain pipe is cleared.
The common design of drain pipes is to utilize a strainer directly adjacent the inlet opening to the drain pipe. The purpose of the drain strainer is to prevent larger size solid matter from being accidentally discharged into the drain pipe. Common forms of larger sized solid matter would be marbles, rings, etc.
Because of such drain strainers, it is not possible to insert the elastomeric tubular member a sufficient distance within the drain pipe in order to operate satisfactorily. It would be desirable to design some form of adapter which could be used to permit the operation of an expanding elastomeric tube in conjunction with drain pipes which have drain strainers so that such a device could be utilized to unclog such a type of drain pipe. The usage of such elastomeric tubes is found to be far more effective in removing clogged drain pipes than both chemicals and wire devices which are constructed only of a few feet in length.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds