Traps for sinks, laundry tubs and the like

Abstract

A trap for use with waste water lines for sinks, laundry tubs and the like has a dip portion for retaining liquids to prevent the reverse flow of noxious gases. The lower wall of the dip portion has an opening which is smaller than the interior diameter of the trap and which is adapted to receive a closure plug. A plug for closing the opening is arranged to support a blocking member in the interior of the dip portion of the trap. The blocking member comprises a plurality of flexible fingers which are held in spaced apart relationship on a toroid such that the exterior surfaces of the fingers taper outwardly from the supporting toroid to dimension such that the fingers in combination form a circle which approximates the interior diameter of the trap and the fingers then taper inwardly until the tips of the fingers in combination define a circle of approximately the same dimension as the toroid. The flexible fingers permit the blocking member to be inserted in the trap through the relatively small opening in the dip portion. When in place within the trap, the fingers flex outwardly and the blocking member substantially covers the cross section of the trap in a plane perpendicular to the direction of liquid flow.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.