Drain stopper and strainer
AssigneeRectorseal Corporation
InventorsSanjay Ahuja, Harold Kent Beck
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A drain stopper includes a cap, a seal and a strainer engaged with the cap, and a gripping element engaged with the strainer. The gripping element is resilient and has a generally tubular shape with longitudinal notches, which give it a segmented annular shape. A person grips and squeezes the gripping element to insert the stopper/strainer into a drain pipe, after which the gripping element expands and grips an inside wall of the drain pipe. The person pushes downwardly on the cap to place the stopper/strainer in a closed position and pulls up on the cap for an open position.
Claims19
A drain stopper and strainer, comprising:
- a cap;
- a seal engaged with the cap;
- a strainer having an upper end and an opposing lower end, wherein the upper end is formed integral with or attached to or engaged with the cap directly or indirectly, and wherein the strainer has a plurality of openings through which water can pass;
- and a longitudinally-segmented tube having a closed first end and an open and opposing second end, wherein the first end has at least one opening through which water can pass, wherein the longitudinally-segmented tube has at least two trough-shaped segments separated by longitudinal notches extending from the second end toward the first end, and wherein the first end is attached to or formed integral with the lower end of the strainer.
A drain stopper and strainer, comprising:
- a cap;
- a seal engaged with the cap;
- a strainer attached directly or indirectly to the cap or formed integral with the cap;
- and a gripping element attached directly or indirectly to the strainer or formed integral with the strainer, wherein the gripping element is resilient so that a person can squeeze and compress the gripping element for placing the gripping element in a drain pipe after which the gripping element expands and grips the drain pipe, wherein the gripping element has one or more openings through which water can pass;
- wherein the gripping element has an elongate cylindrical shape that is split longitudinally into at least two sections spaced apart that can be squeezed closer together.
A drain stopper and strainer, comprising:
- a cap;
- a seal engaged with the cap;
- a strainer attached directly or indirectly to the cap or formed integral with the cap;
- and a gripping element attached directly or indirectly to the strainer or formed integral with the strainer, wherein the gripping element is resilient so that a person can squeeze and compress the gripping element for placing the gripping element in a drain pipe after which the gripping element expands and grips the drain pipe, wherein the gripping element has one or more openings through which water can pass;
- wherein the strainer is sized and designed to have an outside surface on which hair and debris tends to collect, and wherein the drain stopper and strainer can be pulled out of the drain pipe so that the hair and debris can be cleaned off of the strainer after which the drain stopper and strainer can be reinserted into the drain pipe;
- and
- wherein the strainer has a conical shape that is wider at an interface with the gripping element than at an interface with the cap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.