Air-burst drain plunger
AssigneeThe Howard and Veronica Allenbaugh Family Trust
InventorsHoward M. Allenbaugh, David M. Turchik, Gerard G. Adelmeyer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An affordable plumbing device that uses a compressed gas and a burst disk having a relatively even surface of substantially uniform thickness to produce a sudden discharge of energy to forcibly act against any obstruction that may interfere with the proper function of a drain. The plumbing device has a cylindrical chamber for receiving the compressed gas and may generally take the shape of a plunger, which is flexible to use and is easy to store. A portion of the chamber forms a receiving chamber with the burst disk for harnessing and directing the energy of the compressed gas to clear the drain.
Claims24
A plunger for clearing a clogged drain, comprising:
- a chamber having an upper end, a lower end, and an inner cavity for receiving a compressed gas through an opening adjacent the upper end of the chamber;
- a sealing mechanism adjacent the lower end of the chamber for connecting the plunger to a drain opening;
- a nozzle connected to the upper end of the chamber;
- a handle connected to and axially moveable with respect to the upper end of the chamber;
- a compressed gas canister connected for movement with the handle and having a puncture point spaced from and in substantially axial alignment with a pin on the nozzle;
- and
- a burst disk within the inner cavity between the upper and lower ends of the chamber for providing a temporary barrier to accumulate pressure within the inner cavity, said burst disk divides said chamber into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, wherein the inner cavity of the upper chamber has a smaller volume than the inner cavity of the lower chamber, wherein the burst disk is adapted to burst when the pressure in the chamber reaches a predetermined level, to thereby send a sudden burst of gas and energy into the drain.
A plunger for clearing a drain, comprising:
- a chamber having an upper end and a lower end;
- a nozzle adjacent the upper end of the chamber for receiving a compressed gas;
- a sealing member adjacent the lower end of the chamber for providing a connection between the plunger and a drain opening;
- a burst disk within the chamber that divides the chamber into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, wherein the lower chamber has a larger volume than the upper chamber, and wherein the burst disk is adapted to burst when the pressure in the upper chamber reaches a predetermined level.
A method of clearing a drain using a plunger, having a handle, a nozzle, and a burst disk, that harnesses the energy of a compressed gas and directs that energy to the drain by means of a sudden burst of pressure, comprising:
- placing the burst disk within an inner cavity of a chamber at a location between the nozzle and a discharge end of the plunger said burst disk divides said chamber into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, wherein the inner cavity of the upper chamber has a smaller volume than the inner cavity of the lower chamber;
- connecting the discharge end of the plunger to a drain opening;
- and
- forcing the handle axially toward the burst disk to cause compressed gas from a pressurized canister to enter the nozzle and against the burst disk to cause the burst disk to rupture when the pressure against the burst disk reaches a predetermined level, to thereby send a sudden burst of pressure and energy into the drain.
A plunger for clearing a drain, comprising:
- a chamber having an upper end, a lower end, and an inner cavity for receiving a compressed gas through an opening adjacent the upper end of the chamber;
- a nozzle having a passage for receiving a compressed gas, wherein the passage is cylindrical and positioned near the center of the nozzle having channels along the length of the cylindrical sides of the passage for receiving and directing the gas into the passage;
- a sealing member connected to the nozzle for providing a connection between the plunger and a drain opening;
- a burst disk positioned to create a barrier between the nozzle and sealing member said burst disk divides said chamber into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, wherein the inner cavity of the upper chamber has a smaller volume than the inner cavity of the lower chamber, wherein the burst disk is adapted to burst when the pressure between the barrier and the top of the nozzle reaches a predetermined level, to thereby send a sudden burst of gas and energy into the drain.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.