FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a water closet fitting including a flange and an integral cylindrical sleeve with a seal therein having a removable central lid for preventing debris and the like from falling into a drain system connected to the closet fitting and for allowing volumetric pressure testing of the drain system once the closet fitting is installed. A tab is attached to the lid to enable the lid to be removed through the flange after pressure testing is completed.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0002] In drainage system construction, a newly installed or repaired sewage conduit in a waste or sewer drainage system must frequently be isolated from the sewage service line until the plumbing construction is tested by subjecting the system to a fluid or air pressure test to locate any leaks. This is especially true in the case of water closet drains.

[0003] Typically, an outlet end of a newly installed sewage conduit of the drainage system is placed at a juncture near an inlet to a sewage service line. During installation, the two lines are capped and not connected. As a result of usual construction techniques, the juncture is frequently buried before the tests are performed. After testing and inspection are complete, the connection site is re-excaved, the caps removed and a secure connection of the two lines made. The difficulty of making such tests is often aggravated by the fact that at another end of the drainage system a water closet is often installed in a poured, permanent floor, such as concrete. Once the water closet fitting and drain have been installed and allowed to set, it is generally either exceedingly difficult or impossible to access the drain fitting.

[0004] Thus, various patents have been issued disclosing test or isolation valve assemblies used in the inspection of drain systems prior to connection of the systems to sewer lines.

[0005] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,504 to Barber discloses a permanently-installed test fitting for pressure testing pipe connections which is inserted inside of a pipe to block the flow of a fluid through the pipe when testing for leakage within a drainage system. The fitting includes a removable seal portion that is described as being similar in construction to lids found in commercial packaging products such as tennis balls. A pull ring is provided to manually separate the seal at a scribe cut to allow separation of the seal from the fitting.

[0006] U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,624,123 and 5,711,536 to Meyers disclose a pipe seal assembly for use in on-site poured concrete or plastic tank or box components of fluid distribution systems. The assembly is composed of a tear-away membrane used as a seal in a drain pipe. The tear-away membrane has a peripheral score line and a pull-tab for facilitating removal of the membrane from the pipe. In use, the seal member is cast in a concrete wall with the membrane intact. Thereafter, the tear-away membrane can be removed to insert a desired section of pipe through the seal. The membrane is removed by pulling on the pull-tab so as to separate the membrane along the score line.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,486 to Logsdon discloses a water closet protector stabilizer for a pipe affixed in a concrete slab to prevent wet cement from entering the pipe during pouring of the slab and to provide a cavity in the slab into which fits a closet mounting ring used to secure a water closet to the pipe. The stabilizer includes a collar for attaching to the pipe, a flange attached to the top of the collar and a cover attached to the flange. A top portion of the cover is removable using a series of breakable bridge points formed in the cover. A tab and notch are formed in the top portion to aid in its removal. In use, after the pipe is fixed in the slab, a finger is inserted into the notch and the tab lifted. Upon continued lifting, bridge points are broken and removal of a portion or all of the top depending on the location of the bridge points occurs.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,608 to Meltsch discloses a terminal assembly for closing open ends of conduit. The assembly is composed of a shrink-tube having a break-out cover in one end for sealing the assembly prior to use and an open end opposite thereto for attaching to the conduit. The cover has a circumferential weakened line and a pull tab that allows for breaking along the weakened line and subsequent removal of the cover.

[0009] Although the patents described above relate to the general field of disclosure of the present invention, none are specifically applied to water closet flanges and problems associated with temporarily sealing drainage systems for pressure testing.

[0010] More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,363 to Huber discloses a water closet assembly having a removable test baffle for sealing the assembly during pressure tests. The assembly includes a water closet fitting, a flange integral therewith and the test baffle removably attached to the fitting opposite the flange. A means of removing the baffle, such as by a cord, allows the baffle to be removed through the flange as opposed to through the drainage system. Optionally, a removal storage means, in the form of a membrane having a removal tab, is attached to the inner circumference of the baffle to enclose the cord during shipping.

[0011] A water closet fitting is illustrated in FIG. 1 to show, in addition to the above-referenced patents, the conventional means of sealing a water closet fitting for volumetric pressure testing. As illustrated, the closet fitting includes a flange A, a sleeve B connected therewith and a seal C being integral with and molded as part of the closet fitting. Typically, the seal is located within the sleeve directly adjacent to its junction with the flange. After the closet fitting is connected to a drainage system and upon completion of pressure testing, the seal is punched out, for example, by striking it with a hammer or the like. The shortcomings of such conventional fittings is that broken pieces of the seal tend to fall into the drainage systems thereby potentially obstructing fluid flow therethrough, and jagged edges may exist which require extra labor to remove or smooth down to prevent obstruction or bad fit to a pipe end to be inserted.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0012] A primary object of the invention is to provide a closet fitting including a readily removable lid for sealing the closet fitting during volumetric pressure testing of a drain system to which the closet fitting is attached.

[0013] A further primary object of the invention is to provide a water closet fitting including a flange, a cylindrical sleeve attached thereto and a removable lid which seals a common passageway through the flange and sleeve to prevent loss of pressure in a drain system during a pressure test.

[0014] Another primary object of the invention is to provide a closet fitting including a seal having a removable lid therein for preventing construction items and the like from falling into and obstructing a conduit of a drain system connected therewith.

[0015] The objects of the invention are accomplished by providing a water closet fitting including an annular flange for connecting the closet fitting to a stool, a cylindrical sleeve extending outward from the flange and an annular seal having a removable lid positioned within the closet fitting for closing a common passageway extending through the flange and sleeve. Preferably, the seal is positioned within the sleeve directly adjacent to its junction with the flange, however, the seal can be positioned anywhere along the common passageway.

[0016] To facilitate removal of the lid, the seal includes an annular break-line which defines the lid and a pull-tab attached to the lid. The pull-tab can comprise any suitable structure as long as it enables a worker to firmly grasp the tab, pull back on the tab and remove the lid.

[0017] While the break-line must be sufficiently weak to allow removal of the lid, it must not be so weak that the seal is broken when at least 5 psi of pressure is brought to bear against the seal. This is because building regulations require that drainage systems be able to withstand at least 5 psi of pressure without there being any leakage. This way, the closet fitting of the present invention can sufficiently seal a drain system during volumetric pressure testing.