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US 4,771,500 AGranted
Plumbers snake
OwnerJulius S. Kovacsinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerJulius S. Kovacsinventor
Estimating the term…
A plumbers snake having a weighted member and a connected jointed end portion which is connected to the leading end of an elongated flexible member for facilitating the threading of the elongated member through a length of pipe for clearing and/or removing an obstruction in such pipe. The weighted end and jointed members are arranged to facilitate negotiating sharp bends formed in such pipes by the jointed members being hingedly connected for movement in different planes, and which jointed portion is rendered either flexible for passing through bends or rigid to form a ram rod upon meeting an obstruction. This is attained by a jointed end portion formed of a plurality of connected links having complementary ball and socket interconnecting portions whereby the jointed end portion is rendered either flexible or rigid depending upon the form and/or nature of the obstruction encountered.
A plumbers snake comprising
A plumbers snake comprising:
A plumbers snake comprising
A plumbers snake comprising
A plumbers snake comprising an elongated flexible member of a predetermined length, said elongated member having a leading end and a trailing end, a jointed end portion connected to said leading end, said jointed portion including a plurality of similarly constructed links, said links being disposed in tandem, each of said links including a body portion having a socket formed in one end thereof, and a ball connector having a reduced neck portion connected to the other end of said body portion, said socket loosely retaining the ball connector of the next adjacent link, said neck portion permitting limited axial and/or rotational movement between the adjacent links, whereby said jointed end portion is rendered flexible in one mode of operation and rigid and non-flexible in another mode of operation, and a weighted member connected to the endmost link.
A plumbers snake comprising an elongated flexible member of a predetermined length, said flexible member having a leading end and a trailing end, a handle connected to said trailing end, and a displaceable grip slidably connected on said flexible member, a jointed end portion connected to the leading end of said flexible member, said jointed end portion including a plurality of similarly constructed links, each of said links having a body portion, an axially disposed socket formed in one end of said body portion, said body portion having a tapering lip circumscribing the open end of said socket, and a ball connector having a reduced neck portion axially connected to the other end of said body portion, said neck portion spacing said ball connector from said other end of said body portion, said socket having a diameter sized to accommodate the ball connector of an adjacent link, said socket having a depth which is slightly greater than the combined length of said ball connector and reduced neck portion, said lip being inwardly bent to retain said ball connector on one link within the socket of the next adjacent link, and a bulbulous weighted member connected to the endmost link, said weighted member having a socket formed on one end thereof, said last mentioned socket receiving the ball connector of said endmost link.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.