DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART It is commonly known to provide a floor waste in the floor of bathrooms, laundries and other wet areas of houses or commercial premises. Besides their practical use in overflow situations, they are also found beneficial to simplify cleaning. As such, floor wastes are often provided at convenient positions in the floor of commercial shops, factories, etc., such that the floor may be easily mopped or hosed to remove any dirt, sediment, or other particulate material, located on the floor.

The common practice of hosing out such commercial premises has led to the provision of substantial amounts of dirt, sediment, and particulate material being provided into the sewerage system, to which such drains are generally connected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention seeks to provide a straining device for use in such applications, to capture the dirt, sediment or particulate material.

The present invention also seeks to provide such a device which is removable for cleaning purposes and/or for maintenance and cleaning of the drain.

In one broad form, the present invention provides a strainer device, for provision in a floor waste or the like, comprising a receptacle at least partly formed of perforate material, said receptacle having engagement means for removable engagement of said receptacle within a drain hole, a fitting provided therein, or the like.

Preferably, said receptacle is of substantially cylindrical shape having a first open end

for receipt of waste material therethrough and about which said engagement means is provided, wherein the remainder of said receptacle is at least partly formed of perforate material such that sediment and/or particulate material is captured within the receptacle.

Also preferably, a second end of said substantially cylindrically shaped receptacle is formed of non-perforate material, and wherein said second end is of slight concave shape such that the central portion of said second end is slightly raised relative to the extremities thereof.

In a preferred form, said engagement means is embodied as a screw thread, clip, or other arrangement means.

Also preferably, the strainer device further comprises a fixed or removable secondary screen device thereunder Preferably, said device is formed of metal and/or plastics material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will become more fully understood from the following detailed description from the preferred but non-limiting embodiment thereof, described in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 shows an isometric view of floor waste components incorporating a strainer device in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 shows an exploded elevational view of the three main components shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows an elevational view of the components of Fig. 2, interconnected; Fig. 4 shows a view similar to that of Fig. 3, illustrating additional features of a preferred embodiment of the invention; and, Fig. 5 shows an embodiment similar to Fig. 3, further comprising an additional secondary screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Throughout the drawings, like numerals will be used to identify similar features, except where expressly otherwise indicated.

As shown in Fig. 1, there is shown an isometric view of a strainer device, designated by the numeral 1, which is engaged within a conventional drain hole fitting in a floor. The fitting comprises a floor fastening piece 2, and a top section 3.

Details of each of the strainer 1, floor fastening piece 2, and top section 3, are illustrated in Figs. 2,3 and 4, whilst Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate the manner in which the device, incorporating the strainer 1, is incorporated in the floor drain 4.

The strainer device 1 is embodied as a basket or other like receptacle, which is at least partly formed of perforate material as illustrated by reference numeral 5. The perforate material may, for example, be stainless steel 2mm expanded mesh 316 spot welded on the seams and base. Such perforate material may be provided on the outer curved surfaces of a cylindrically shaped basket or receptacle. The perforate material could also be provided on the lower end of the cylindrical shaped receptacle, such as referenced by numeral 6, or, a bottom cap, as will be described hereinafter, could alternatively be provided.

Waste material, which would incorporate liquid, as well as particulate material, is adapted to be provided through an open end 7 of the receptacle or basket. It will be appreciated that, of the waste material which is provided into the open end 7 of the basket or receptacle, any sediment or particulate material which is larger than the perforations provided in the receptacle or basket are retained in the basket, whilst the remainder of the waste material is permitted to ingress into the drain 4.

The receptacle 1 is adapted to be engaged within the drain hole or the fittings provided therein, in a removable manner. This may be achieved either by a screw set, clip, or any other known engagement means. A simplified screw thread type embodiment is shown in the drawings, whereby the cutout 8 is adapted to be received by member 9,

provided in the top section 3. An illustration of the screen basket receptacle 1, provided engaged with the top section 3, is shown in Fig. 3.

As hereinbefore mentioned, the lower portion 6 of the receptacle 1 may either be formed of perforate material, or, a cap, such as shown in Figs. 2,3 and 4, may be provided.

The provision of the cap, particularly having a slightly upwardly concave shape, such as shown in Fig. 4, simplifies the manufacturing process of the receptacle, and therefore the cost thereof. The cap could be embodied such that it is removable, to simplify the cleaning process of the sediment or particulate material captured in the receptacle. The provision of a slightly upwardly concave lower portion ensures that all liquid material is drained from the receptacle.

It will be appreciated that the floor fastening piece 2 and the top section 3 are embodied, so far as the inter-engagement of those two portions are concerned, in any conventional manner. As such, it will be appreciated that modifications, by the provision of members 9 or alternative engagement means, are merely provided with top section 3, to facilitate the removable engagement of the receptacle or basket 1.

In Fig. 5 is shown the provision of an additional screen 10 below the basket 1. The screen 10 may be provided in a permanent or removable manner, to provide secondary filtration. It may, for example, be desirable to provide the secondary screen in a fixed manner such that the screen is not able to be removed to eliminate the possibility of a person removing the screen basket to intentionally caused unfiltered particulate matter into the drainage network. The advantage, of course, in providing the screen basket 1, and not relying solely on the screen 10 to provide the filtering function is to enable easy cleaning.

It will be appreciated that the various components of the present invention may be constructed of stainless steel or any other metal material, nylon, PVC or any other plastics material, or any combinations of metals and plastics. It will further be appreciated that any coating materials, may be provided to provide aesthetically pleasing finishes on the components. For example, conventional materials such as brass, PVC, or PVC coated with chrome and other suitable materials, may be used.

It will therefore be appreciated that the present invention has certain advantages in providing such a removable strainer device within a drain hole or fitting provided therein.

The invention, as will be appreciated, enables the capture or sediment and/or particulate material such that they are not provided into the sewerage system. It will further be appreciated that by embodying the invention in this manner, the components may be easily removed for cleaning, and for cleaning and maintenance of the drains below.

It will be appreciated that numerous variations and modifications of the invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art. All such variations and modifications should be considered to fall within the scope of the invention, as broadly described hereinbefore, and as claimed hereinafter.