Drain assembly

Abstract

A drain assembly comprises a rigid body having an intake chamber connected to a discharge chamber via a passageway disposed in a lower portion of the rigid body, an intake opening disposed in an upper portion of the rigid body adapted to receive a fluid into the intake chamber of the rigid body, the intake opening adapted to be coupled to a drain via a flexible hose, a discharge opening also disposed in the upper portion of the rigid body but spaced from the intake opening, adapted to conduct the fluid out from the discharge chamber of the rigid body, the discharge opening adapted to be coupled to a drainage pipe, a clean-out opening disposed in the lower portion of the rigid body in fluid communication with the passageway, and a removable cap adapted to close off the clean-out opening.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A drain assembly comprising:
 a rigid body having an intake chamber connected to a discharge chamber via a fluid-conducting passageway disposed in a lower portion of the rigid body, the fluid-conducting passageway adapted to store a discharge fluid and forming a water seal separating the intake chamber from the discharge chamber;   an intake opening disposed in an upper portion of the rigid body adapted to receive the discharge fluid into the intake chamber of the rigid body, the intake opening adapted to be coupled to a drain via a flexible hose;   a discharge opening also disposed in the upper portion of the rigid body but spaced from the intake opening, adapted to conduct the discharge fluid out from the discharge chamber of the rigid body, the discharge opening adapted to be coupled to a drainage pipe;   a clean-out opening disposed in the lower portion of the rigid body providing access to the fluid-conducting passageway; and   a removable cap adapted to close off the clean-out opening.   
     
     
         2 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , wherein longitudinal axes of the discharge opening and the clean-out opening are generally horizontally-oriented. 
     
     
         3 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a divider plate disposed in the rigid body separating the intake chamber and the discharge chamber and forming the fluid-conducting passageway. 
     
     
         4 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a slip-nut configured to securely fasten a first end of the flexible hose to the intake opening, where a second end of the flexible hose is adapted to be coupled to a sink drain. 
     
     
         5 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a slip-nut having female pipe thread fitting configured to securely engage male pipe thread fitting of the intake opening and fasten a tailpiece of the flexible hose to the intake opening in a water-tight manner. 
     
     
         6 . The drain assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the slip-nut comprises:
 a circular body;   female pipe thread fitting configured to engage male pipe thread fitting of the intake opening; and   a circular flange concentric with the female pipe thread fitting having a cross-section profile of a widened base and an inward-facing ridge adapted to be pressed against a tailpiece of the flexible hose coupled to the sink drain when the slip-nut is tightened around the intake opening.   
     
     
         7 . The drain assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the intake opening comprises an inward-facing circular slot adapted to meet and engage the circular flange of the slip-nut when the slip-nut is tightened around the intake opening and the tailpiece of the flexible hose coupled to the sink drain. 
     
     
         8 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-out opening is disposed directly below the intake opening when the discharge opening of the drain assembly is coupled to a sanitary tee. 
     
     
         9 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the removable cap of the clean-out opening comprises a hair trap adapted to trap debris. 
     
     
         10 . The drain assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the hair trap comprises a plurality of bristles attached to a central stem coupled to the removable cap. 
     
     
         11 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the removable cap of the clean-out opening comprises:
 female pipe thread fitting adapted to engage male pipe thread fitting of the clean-out opening; and   a circular wedge having a wide base adapted to wedge into the clean-out opening and form a water-tight seal as the removable cap is tightened around the clean-out opening.   
     
     
         12 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the discharge opening incorporates a tailpiece adapted to be connected to a sanitary tee via an adaptor having male pipe thread fitting and a slip-nut. 
     
     
         13 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the discharge opening incorporates male pipe thread fitting adapted to be connected to a sanitary tee via an adaptor having female pipe thread fitting. 
     
     
         14 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the discharge opening incorporates a spigot fitting sized and adapted to be directly bonded to a sanitary tee. 
     
     
         15 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the lower portion of the rigid body is constructed of a material that permits a visual inspection into the rigid body. 
     
     
         16 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-out opening comprises male pipe threading adapted to engage with female pipe threading of the removable cap. 
     
     
         17 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the intake opening is adapted to be coupled to a Y-pipe fitting operable to couple to two drain discharges. 
     
     
         18 . The drain assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible hose comprises:
 a first end comprising a male pipe thread fitting adapted to couple to a tailpiece of a sink drain; and   a second end comprising a tailpiece adapted to couple to male pipe thread fitting of the intake opening of the drain assembly.   
     
     
         19 . The drain assembly of  claim 18 , wherein the flexible hose comprises more than one flexible hose connected end-to-end. 
     
     
         20 . A drain assembly comprising:
 a rigid body having an intake chamber connected to a discharge chamber via a passageway;   an intake opening disposed in an upper portion of the rigid body adapted to receive a discharge fluid into the intake chamber of the rigid body, the intake opening adapted to be connected to a tailpiece of a flexible hose connected to a source of discharge fluid using a slip-nut comprising:
 a circular body; 
 female pipe thread fitting adapted to engage male pipe thread fitting of the intake opening; and 
 a circular flange concentric with the female pipe thread fitting having a cross-section profile of a widened base and an inward-facing ridge adapted to be pressed against the tailpiece of the flexible hose to form a water-tight seal when the slip-nut is tightened around the intake opening; 
   a discharge opening also disposed in the upper portion of the rigid body but spaced from the intake opening, adapted to conduct the discharge fluid out from the discharge chamber of the rigid body, the discharge opening adapted to be coupled to a sanitary tee;   a clean-out opening disposed in a lower portion of the rigid body in fluid communication with the passageway; and   a removable cap adapted to close off the clean-out opening.   
     
     
         21 . The drain assembly of  claim 20 , further comprising a divider plate disposed in the rigid body separating the intake chamber and the discharge chamber and defining the passageway. 
     
     
         22 . The drain assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the intake opening comprises an inward-facing circular slot adapted to meet and engage the circular flange of the slip-nut when the slip-nut is tightened around the intake opening and the tailpiece of the flexible hose coupled to a sink drain. 
     
     
         23 . The drain assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the removable cap of the clean-out opening comprises a hair trap adapted to trap debris. 
     
     
         24 . The drain assembly of  claim 23 , wherein the hair trap comprises a plurality of bristles attached to a central stem coupled to the removable cap. 
     
     
         25 . The drain assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the removable cap of the clean-out opening comprises:
 female pipe thread fitting adapted to engage male pipe thread fitting of the clean-out opening; and   a circular wedge having a wide base adapted to wedge into the clean-out opening and form a water-tight seal as the removable cap is tightened around the clean-out opening.   
     
     
         26 . The drain assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the discharge opening incorporates a tailpiece adapted to be connected to a sanitary tee via an adaptor having male pipe thread fitting and a slip-nut. 
     
     
         27 . The drain assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the discharge opening incorporates male pipe thread fitting adapted to be connected to a sanitary tee via an adaptor having female pipe thread fitting. 
     
     
         28 . The drain assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the discharge opening incorporates a spigot fitting sized and adapted to be directly bonded to a sanitary tee. 
     
     
         29 . The drain assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the lower portion of the rigid body is constructed of a material that permits a visual inspection into the rigid body. 
     
     
         30 . The drain assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the clean-out opening comprises male pipe threading adapted to engage with female pipe threading of the removable cap. 
     
     
         31 . The drain assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the intake opening is adapted to be coupled to a Y-pipe fitting operable to couple to two drains. 
     
     
         32 . The drain assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the flexible hose comprises:
 a first end comprising a male pipe thread fitting adapted to couple to a tailpiece of a sink drain; and   a second end comprising a tailpiece adapted to couple to male pipe thread fitting of the intake opening of the drain assembly.   
     
     
         33 . The drain assembly of  claim 32 , wherein the flexible hose comprises more than one flexible hose connected end-to-end. 
     
     
         34 . A drain assembly comprising:
 a rigid body having an intake chamber connected to a discharge chamber via a fluid-conducting passageway disposed in a lower portion of the rigid body, the fluid-conducting passageway adapted to store a discharge fluid and forming a water seal separating the intake chamber from the discharge chamber;   an intake opening having male pipe thread fitting and disposed in an upper portion of the rigid body adapted to receive the discharge fluid into the intake chamber of the rigid body, the intake opening;   a flexible hose having a first end comprising a male pipe thread fitting adapted to couple to a tailpiece of a sink drain using a slip-nut, and a second end comprising a tailpiece adapted to couple to the male pipe thread fitting of the intake opening using a slip-nut;   a discharge opening also disposed in the upper portion of the rigid body but spaced from the intake opening, adapted to conduct the discharge fluid out from the discharge chamber of the rigid body, the discharge opening adapted to be coupled to a sanitary tee;   a clean-out opening disposed in the lower portion of the rigid body providing access to the fluid-conducting passageway; and   a removable cap adapted to close off the clean-out opening.