_***

DESCRIPTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns the hydraulic component sector, in particular the present invention concerns a bottle trap and method of producing a bottle trap for hydraulic systems.

State of the Art

Usually, siphons are inserted in a water pipe, between the drain of a toilet or sink and the sewer column, with the purpose of obstructing the passage of bad smells. Depending on the shape, siphons are divided in gooseneck traps, bottle traps and well-like traps. This invention concerns a siphon of the bottle type.

Notoriously, bottle traps are made of stainless steel in order to combine the desired mechanical and aesthetic characteristics. They are usually obtained from a single piece by means of subsequent machining processes, such as chip removal. Alternatively, they are obtained by machining a semi-finished product obtained by moulding and/or forging.

In both cases, the production process is very costly due to the high quantity of material required, to the complexity of the process and, therefore, to the lengthy processing times. Moreover, the siphons obtained by means of these processes are extremely heavy and, therefore, difficult to manage.

Alternatively, stainless steel siphons can be made by welding two tubular members at the interpenetration line of the two solids. However, also in these cases, it is necessary to use high thicknesses, with consequent high material costs, thus resulting in a high weight siphon. Moreover, in these cases, it is necessary to carry out costly finishing operations on the welding zone, such as polishing, with further increases in costs and in the complexity of the production process. This method also increases the production waste due to the blow holes present in the welding. Finally, siphons made in this way must provide the use of costly tubular members devoid of longitudinal welding in order to ensure a good seal.

For all of these reasons, siphons comprising an inner tubular member made of a different material than stainless steel - typically a plastic material - and which are encased in an outer stainless-steel jacket, were introduced on the market. However, although this solution is more economical, it does not provide the aesthetic characteristics desired. In fact, the methods that provide to encase the inner siphon member with a stainless-steel jacket provide to weld two or more members (in stainless steel) to one another in order to form the outer jacket. This way, the finished product has very evident joint lines, which make it aesthetically unacceptable. Moreover, the welding process of the different steel members, in addition to being costly, could compromise the properties of the underlying material, especially if dealing with plastic material.

Moreover, when the members composing the outer jacket comprise two half-shells obtained by moulding, the production process is also costly due to the need to make expensive tools, such as blanking dies and drawing punches.

Finally, in some cases, the outer jacket does not fully encase the inner tubular member, thus exposing the edges, and this is not pleasant from an aesthetic point of view.

Therefore, galvanization processes were used to encase the inner siphon made of a plastic material. However, these techniques are increasingly more limited and costly due to increasingly more restrictive environmental pollution regulations.

Therefore, to date, there still isn't any effective and inexpensive production method available to achieve a light, aesthetically pleasant and economic encased siphon.

A further problem linked to known bottle trap production methods concerns the hydraulic connection between the siphon and outlet pipe. In fact, the siphon comprises a substantially vertical member adapted to be connected to the discharge pipe of the sink, and a substantially horizontal member adapted to be connected to an outlet pipe, i.e. a connection pipe to the main hydraulic network, generally concealed behind a wall. In other words, the siphon receives an inlet flow from the discharge pipe of the sink and carries it out to the outlet pipe. Two or more gaskets, generally O-rings, are used in order to ensure the hydraulic seal at the intersection between the horizontal member of the siphon and the outlet pipe. The known art provides to obtain corresponding peri metrical seats, inside the horizontal member of the siphon, by means of a machining process with an appropriate tool, in order to keep these O-rings in their seats. However, these operations are lengthy and complex since the machine tool must be very carefully equipped and calibrated. Moreover, this know art requires the continuous monitoring of the tool status, to make sure it is properly sharpened, and/or strict checks on the finished parts. This makes the bottle trap production process even more lengthy and costly.

The Applicant has tried to overcome this drawback by using collapsible males capable of obtaining seats for the gaskets while moulding the inner siphon body. However, this solution provides joint lines (corresponding to the joint lines of the collapsible males) at the seats obtained, therefore considerably affecting the seal. Therefore, to date, there are no known solutions to this problem.

US 2003/196262 describes a bottle trap according to the preamble of claim 1 .

Other solutions of the known art are described in the documents WO 01/40588 and GB 1173006.

Summary of the Invention

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a bottle trap and method of producing a bottle trap devoid of the aforesaid drawbacks.

In particular, a first object of the present invention is to provide a bottle trap that is simultaneously economic, light and aesthetically pleasant.

This object is achieved by means of a bottle trap for hydraulic systems comprising a siphon body provided with an outer casing made of stainless steel, wherein the siphon body comprises a first inner tubular member and a second inner tubular member, the first inner tubular member being provided, on its side surface, with a first hole for assembling said second inner tubular member; the outer casing comprising a first outer tubular member and a second outer tubular member, the first outer tubular member being provided, on its side surface, with a second hole for assembling said second outer tubular member and wherein the outer surface of the outer casing of the siphon has no welding zones.

The combination of these characteristics makes it possible to overcome the aforesaid drawbacks. In particular, the presence of two separate bodies (a siphon body and an outer casing in stainless steel), instead of a single stainless-steel body, makes it possible to select suitable materials, i.e. a light and economic material, for the inner siphon body and a material that looks like metal for the outer casing. Moreover, the particular aforesaid geometric characteristics of the siphon body and of the outer casing make it possible to assemble the components without any welding on the outer jacket and, therefore, to obtain a siphon with desired aesthetic characteristics. In particular, the Applicant has noticed that a siphon with an outer surface devoid of welding or other visible joint lines can be obtained by subdividing the inner siphon body into two half-bodies (inner tubular members) with the aforesaid characteristics and by subdividing the outer jacket in as many half-bodies (outer tubular members) with the aforesaid characteristics.

In other words, the solution suggested makes it possible to mechanically fit the casing on the inner tubular members without any effort, welding or use of ring nuts to fasten the outer casing to the ends.

Therefore, the aforesaid characteristics result in a light, economic and aesthetically pleasant bottle trap.

Preferably, the siphon body, and therefore the first and second inner tubular members, are made of plastic material, even more preferably of thermoplastic polymer, such as ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) for example. This material is particularly suitable, since it has particularly light and economic characteristics.

Alternatively, the siphon body is made of metal material or metal alloy different from stainless steel. And, for example, aluminum or zinc alloys, which are economic, light and easy to process and die-cast, can be used.

Advantageously, the first inner tubular member and the first outer tubular member are adapted to be mounted coaxially, in a substantially vertical position, whereas the second inner tubular member and the second outer tubular member are adapted to be inserted in the relative first hole and second hole of the first tubular members so that to be substantially orthogonal thereto and coaxial to one another. In other words, the first outer tubular member and the second outer tubular member are adapted to be respectively fitted on the first inner tubular member and on the second inner tubular member and, after the assembly, the first tubular members are substantially orthogonal to the second tubular members, in order to ensure the hydraulic characteristics of the siphon.

Preferably, the thickness of the outer casing is between 0.2 mm and 2 mm. This interval of values makes it possible to limit the amount of stainless steel used and, therefore, the cost and weight of the siphon without affecting the mechanical and aesthetic characteristics of the finished product.

Advantageously, the first inner tubular member and the second inner tubular member are obtained by moulding, whereas the first outer tubular member and the second outer tubular member are obtained by cutting long bodies. This way, these members are simple and economic to produce and the siphon obtained with them is also economic.

Preferably, the siphon further comprises a toroidal ring nut provided with coupling means to couple with corresponding counter-means being at the upper end of the first inner tubular member, wherein such ring nut is provided with an outer cylindrical body having substantially the same diameter of the first outer tubular member and with an inner cylindrical body, which is concentric to the outer cylindrical body and has a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the end of the first inner tubular member, the inner surface of such inner cylindrical body being provided with said coupling means. This configuration makes it possible to avoid the use of plugs, flanges, welding or other systems on the ends of the outer cylindrical body to benefit the aesthetic of the siphon.

It has aesthetic purposes since it is screwed above the vertical portion of the siphon, like a plug, therefore concealing its inside and making the siphon even more aesthetically pleasant. Moreover, its particular shape ensures, from the moment it is fastened, high height adjustment tolerance with respect to the ring nut.

A bottle trap for hydraulic systems comprising a substantially vertical member adapted to be connected to a discharge pipe and a substantially horizontal member adapted to be connected to an outlet pipe is also described, wherein the substantially horizontal member is provided, in its inside, with an annular sealing body, which comprises at least one couple of annular sealing members, at least one spacer ring interposed between the two annular sealing members, at least one annular retainer arranged parallel to the two annular sealing members and spacer ring and adjacent to one of the two annular sealing rings.

Such a siphon, with this annular sealing body, ensures a good hydraulic seal between the horizontal member of the siphon and outlet pipe, and is simultaneously economic and simple to produce, since it makes it possible to avoid making seats intended to house the O-rings, and therefore costly and delicate processes with tools.

Preferably, said sealing body is coupled with the substantially horizontal member by welding, gluing or interference of the annual retainer inside the substantially horizontal member. These operations are in fact simple and economic to carry out.

Advantageously, the substantially vertical member comprises the aforesaid first inner tubular member and first outer tubular member, whereas the substantially horizontal member comprises the aforesaid second inner tubular member and second outer tubular member, i.e. the siphon has the aforesaid geometrical characteristics. This way, a highly economic and aesthetically pleasant siphon with good sealing characteristics is obtained.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a quick and economic bottle trap and, consequently, light siphons with pleasant aesthetic characteristics.

This object is achieved by means of a method of producing a bottle trap comprising a siphon body provided with an outer casing made of stainless steel and comprising the steps of:

a. providing a first inner tubular member and a second inner tubular member of said siphon body, said first inner tubular member being provided with a first hole on its side surface;

b. providing a first outer tubular member and a second outer tubular member of said outer casing, said first outer tubular member being provided with a second hole on its side surface;

c. assembling the first inner tubular member with the first outer tubular member by axially inserting the first inner tubular member inside the first outer tubular member so that the first hole matches with the second hole;

d. fastening the second inner tubular member to the first inner tubular member at the first hole so that the second inner tubular member is orthogonal to the first inner tubular member;

e. assembling the second outer tubular member with the first outer tubular member at the second hole by fitting the second outer tubular member on the second inner tubular member so that the second outer tubular member is coaxial therewith and orthogonal to the first outer tubular member.

This production method is quick and economic, since it does not provide steps of machine tooling processes. Simultaneously, this method results in light and economic siphons, since it provides the possibility to dispose of inner tubular members made of light and economic materials. In addition to this, such method makes it possible to achieve siphons with pleasant aesthetic characteristics, since it doesn't provide to make any welding or other joint lines on its outer jacket.

Preferably, the step of d) fastening the second inner tubular member to the first inner tubular member is carried out by welding, gluing or screwing. These operations are in fact particularly simple and economic to achieve.

According to preferred embodiments, the step of e) assembling the second outer tubular member with the first outer tubular member is carried out by using a glue or by interference, in a simple, economic and especially invisible manner on the outside.

Advantageously, the step of a) providing a first inner tubular member and a second inner tubular member is preceded by a moulding step of said first inner tubular member and of said second inner tubular member and by the step of b) providing a first outer tubular member and a second outer tubular member is preceded by a step of transversely cutting long bodies. These steps are particularly quick and economic.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the step of e) assembling the second outer tubular member with the first outer tubular member is followed by the following steps:

f. axially coupling, inside the second inner tubular member, at the free end thereof, an annular sealing body obtained by inserting sequentially at least: an annular sealing member,

a spacer ring,

another annular sealing member, and

an annular retainer,

which are arranged adjacent and parallel to one another;

g. fastening the annular sealing body to the second inner tubular member.

These further steps result in the further advantage of avoiding tool machining processes adapted to obtain seats for the sealing members and, consequently, in a method of producing a more economic siphon while ensuring a good seal. Preferably, said step of g) fastening the annular sealing body to the second inner tubular member is carried out by welding, gluing or interference fit.

A method of producing a bottle trap for hydraulic systems is also described, comprising a substantially vertical member adapted to be connected to a discharge pipe, and a substantially horizontal member adapted to be connected to an outlet pipe, comprising the step of axially coupling and fastening, inside the substantially horizontal member at the free end thereof, an annular sealing body obtained by inserting sequentially at least:

an annular sealing member,

a spacer ring,

another annular sealing member, and

an annular retainer,

which are arranged adjacent and parallel to one another.

This method makes it possible to avoid additional machining adapted to obtain gasket seals by means of tools and is therefore advantageous in terms of production speed and cost reductions.

Preferably, the fastening of the annular sealing body inside the substantially horizontal body is carried out by welding, gluing or interference fit. These operations are simple and at a low cost.

In the present context, when speaking of a substantially horizontal member and a substantially orthogonal assembly of second tubular members with respect to the first (which are mounted in a substantially vertical direction), this refers not only to horizontal directions and to any small assembly errors and/or tolerances, but also to directions that are 10° away from the horizontal axis. In fact, in some cases, the outlet pipe carrying the flow into the main hydraulic network is tilted downwards in order to help the outflow, therefore the substantially horizontal member of the siphon and, therefore, the second tubular members will also be tilted in the same way, however, in order to simplify the description, these members are substantially named horizontal.

Brief description of the figures Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clearer by the review of the following detailed description of two preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments illustrated by way of example and without limitations, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

- figure 1 shows a perspective view of the bottle trap according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

- figure 2 shows an exploded view of the siphon in figure 1 ;

- figure 3 shows a perspective view of the bottle trap according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

- figure 4 shows an exploded view of the siphon in figure 3;

- figure 5 shows a perspective view of the bottle trap complete with further hydraulic members; and

- figure 6 shows an exploded view of the siphon in figure 5.

Detailed description of the invention

The following detailed description refers to a bottle trap and a method of producing a bottle trap for hydraulic systems.

With reference to figures 1 - 6, 1 generally denotes a bottle trap for hydraulic systems.

As shown in figure 2, the siphon 1 comprises an inner siphon body 2 and an outer casing 3. The siphon body 2 and the outer casing 3 are substantially equal in shape, since they are intended to be assembled one inside the other. They both have a tubular structure adapted for the passage of fluid inside thereof.

The siphon body 2 is preferably made of plastic material, even more preferably of thermoplastic polymer, such as ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene- styrene) for example. Alternatively, it is made of metal material or metal alloy different from stainless steel. In particular, for the embodiment of the siphon body 2, it is preferable to select a light, economic and resistant material, such as aluminum or some zinc alloys (such as zamak), for example, which are economic, light and easy to process and die-cast. In some countries, the siphon body 2 could be made in bamboo or other types of particularly economic woods.

The siphon body 2 does not require galvanization, since the desired metal appearance is achieved with the outer casing 3, which is made of stainless steel.

This outer casing 3 must have a thickness so that to limit the quantity of material required as much as possible, while ensuring sufficient mechanical resistance and a pleasant aesthetic appearance. The Applicant has found that this thickness must be between 0.2mm and 2mm.

The siphon body 2 comprises a first inner tubular member 4 and a second inner tubular member 6, analogously, the outer casing 3 comprises a first outer tubular member 7 and a second outer tubular member 9.

The Applicant has in fact found that, by subdividing the siphon body 2 into two members and by encasing each member with a corresponding casing, it is possible to assemble the while without resorting to outer welding or other visible joint lines on the various members.

The first inner tubular member 4 is provided, on its side surface, with a first hole 5 for assembling the second inner tubular member 6, analogously, the first outer tubular member 7 is provided, on its side surface, with a second hole 8 for assembling said second outer tubular member 9.

Said first hole 5 and second hole 6 are preferably obtained in the portion of the side surface nearest to the connection with the discharge pipe 12.

As mentioned, the outer surface of the outer casing 3 of the siphon 1 of the present invention neither has welding zones, nor other types of imperfections, therefore being aesthetically pleasant.

The first inner tubular member 4 and the first outer tubular member 7 are adapted to be mounted coaxially, in particular, the first inner tubular member 4 is adapted to be inserted in the first outer tubular member 7, as will be better described hereinafter. These first inner 4 and outer 7 tubular members are mounted so that to be in a substantially vertical position during use.

The second inner tubular member 6 and the second outer tubular member 9 are adapted to be inserted in the relative first hole 5 and second hole 8 of the first tubular members 4, 7 so that to be substantially orthogonal thereto and coaxial to one another.

In particular, the second outer tubular member 9 is fitted on the second inner tubular member 6, once the latter has already been assembled to the first tubular member 4, as will be better described hereinafter.

These second inner 6 and outer 9 tubular members are therefore mounted so that to be in a substantially horizontal position during use.

As previously described, in reality, the horizontal portion of the siphon 1 (i.e. the second inner 6 and outer 9 tubular members) is almost never perfectly horizontal, but slightly tilted towards the bottom to facilitate the outflow from the siphon 1 .

Preferably, the first inner tubular member 4 and the second inner tubular member 6 are obtained by moulding, but could also be obtained by means of blowing and/or extrusion. The first outer tubular member 7 and the second outer tubular member 9 are instead obtained by cutting long bodies, such as bars or pipes. These can be obtained by extrusion and profiling or by the bending, calendering and longitudinal welding of metal sheets. In fact, these do not have to work as a hydraulic seal, since that function is delegated to the inner siphon body.

According to a second embodiment of the present invention, shown in figures 3 and 4, the siphon 1 is further provided with an annular sealing body 17. It comprises at least one couple of annular sealing members 14, generally gaskets of the O-ring type, at least one spacer ring 15 interposed between the two annular sealing members 14, and at least one annular retainer 16. The annular sealing members 14, the spacer ring 15 and the annular retainer 16 are all adapted to be arranged axially inside the second inner tubular member 6, parallel and adjacent to one another so that to form a single annular sealing body 17. In particular, the annular retainer 16 is adapted to be arranged externally with respect to the annular sealing members 14 and to the spacer ring 15, so that to be positioned at the free end of the second inner tubular member 6.

The annular sealing body 17 is coupled with the second inner tubular member 6 by welding, gluing or interference of the annular retainer 16 inside the second inner tubular member 6.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the siphon 1 is further provided with a ring nut 19 of the toroidal type. It has a circular crown- shaped cross section and is provided with an outer cylindrical body having substantially the same diameter of the first outer tubular member 7 and an inner cylindrical body, which is concentric to the outer cylindrical body and has a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the end of the first inner tubular member 4. The inner surface of this inner cylindrical body is threaded so that to be screwed to a corresponding threaded end 20 of the first inner tubular member 4. This way, this ring nut 19 can rest on the vertical portion of the siphon 1 and be screwed to the first inner tubular member 4, like a plug, in order to conceal the inside of the siphon 1 . This particular ring nut makes it possible to achieve high height adjustment tolerance for the ring nut during the fastening step.

A bottle trap siphon 1 for hydraulic systems comprising a substantially vertical member 10 adapted to be connected to a discharge pipe 12, generally connected to a toilet or sink, and a substantially horizontal member 1 1 adapted to be connected to an outlet pipe 13, generally connected to a sewer column, are also described.

The substantially horizontal member 1 1 is provided, in its inside, with an annular sealing body 17 comprising at least one couple of annular sealing members 14, at least one spacer ring 15 interposed between the two annular sealing members 14, and at least one annular retainer 16 arranged parallel to the two annular sealing members 14 and to the spacer ring 15 and adjacent to one of the two annular sealing rings 14.

The annular sealing body 17 is coupled with the substantially horizontal member 1 1 by welding, gluing or interference of the annular retainer 16 inside the substantially horizontal member 1 1 .

If the substantially vertical member 10 should comprise a first inner tubular member 4 and a first outer tubular member 7 and if the substantially horizontal member 1 1 should comprise a second inner tubular member 6 and a second outer tubular member 9, the siphon 1 would coincide with the one described previously and, therefore, each consideration previously expressed would also be valid in this case.

Also, in this case, the substantially horizontal member 1 1 and the outlet pipe 13 are not exactly horizontal, but slightly tilted downwards for the aforesaid reasons.

A method of producing a bottle trap 1 for hydraulic systems, comprising a siphon body 2 provided with an outer casing 3 made of stainless steel, will now be described.

According to the present invention, the production method provides a first step of a) arranging a first inner tubular member 4 and a second inner tubular member 6 of said siphon body 2, wherein the first inner tubular member 4 is provided with a first hole 5 on its side surface.

Preferably, the step a) is preceded by a moulding step of said first inner tubular member 4 and said second inner tubular member 6.

The method further provides a step of b) arranging a first outer tubular member 7 and a second outer tubular member 9 of said outer casing 3, wherein the first outer tubular member 7 is provided with a second hole 8 on its side surface.

This step can be preceded by a step of transversely cutting long bodies

(such as, for example, extruded or profiled bars or extruded or profiled pipes or obtained by the bending, calendering and longitudinal welding of metal sheets).

The method of the present invention then provides a step of c) assembling the first inner tubular member 4 with the first outer tubular member 7. This assembly is carried out by axially inserting the first inner tubular member 4 inside the first outer tubular member 7 so that the first hole 5 matches the second hole 8. This way, a through opening is created for the outflow.

We then proceed with the step of d) fastening the second inner tubular member 6 to the first inner tubular member 4 at the first hole 5 so that the second inner tubular member 6 is orthogonal to the first inner tubular member 4.

In other words, the first inner tubular member 4 and the second inner tubular member 6 are locked in a substantially orthogonal position with respect to one another. This way, the first outer tubular member 7 also remains locked in position, since the presence of the second inner tubular member 6 prevents any dislocation thereof.

Preferably, this fastening operation is carried out through ultrasonic welding of the two inner tubular members. It can, however, be carried out by gluing, watertight screwing or hot plate welding.

Consequently, the second outer tubular member 9 is assembled to the first outer tubular member 7 at the second hole 8, according to step e) of the method of the invention. In particular, this step is carried out by fitting the second outer tubular member 9 on the second inner tubular member 6 so that the second outer tubular member 9 is coaxial thereto and orthogonal to the first outer tubular member 7.

In order to ensure the second outer tubular member 9 to the first outer tubular member 7, suitable glues are used, or coupling tolerances are designed to provide a light interference between the two members.

As shown in the figures, this method obtains a siphon 1 , wherein the only joint lines coincide with the interpenetration line of the two outer tubular members, specifically of the two cylinders. Moreover, the siphon 1 obtained with the method of the invention does not have welding lines or other imperfections and is, therefore, aesthetically pleasant.

Below the step of f) axially coupling, inside the second inner tubular member 6 at the free end thereof, an annular sealing body 17, is shown. In particular, an annular sealing member 14, a spacer ring 15, another annular sealing member 14 and an annular retainer 16 are sequentially inserted inside the second inner tubular member 6 so that to be adjacent and parallel to one another.

Therefore, the annular sealing body 17 is fastened to the second inner tubular member 6, according to step g). This step is carried out by welding, preferably by ultrasonic welding, gluing or interference fit of the annular retainer 16.

Once these steps have been concluded, a drip riser 18 is inserted inside the first inner tubular member 4 and all is fastened with a ring nut 19, as shown in figure 6. This ring nut 19 is coupled with the corresponding counter-means at the upper end of the first inner tubular member 4. Preferably, these means comprise a threaded end 20 of the first inner tubular member 4.

At this point, the discharge pipe 12, in a vertical direction, and the outlet pipe 13, in a horizontal direction, can be assembled to the siphon 1 with suitable gaskets and further hydraulic members, as in the known art.

A method of producing a bottle trap 1 for hydraulic systems comprising a substantially vertical member 10 adapted to be connected to a discharge pipe 12, and a substantially horizontal member 11 adapted to be connected to an outlet pipe 13, is also described, comprising the step of axially fastening, inside the substantially horizontal member 11 at the free end thereof, an annular sealing body 17 obtained by inserting sequentially at least:

an annular sealing member 14,

a spacer ring 15,

another annular sealing member 14, and

an annular retainer 16,

which are arranged adjacent and parallel to one another.

Preferably, the step of fastening the annular sealing body 17 inside the substantially horizontal body 11 is carried out by welding, gluing or interference fit.

The field technician, for the purpose of satisfying contingent and specific needs, can make further modifications and variations to the bottle trap 1 and to the method for producing a bottle trap 1 , as described and claimed, without thereby departing from the protection scope of the present invention.

For example, the sections of the tubular members, which were shown of a circular shape in the figures, could be squared or polygonal.