The present patent application concerns a method for upgrading or rehabilitation of a floor gully or drain.

Old gullies or drains are typically made of cast iron and after many years of use can begin to rust or corrode to such an extent that there is a risk of leaks

resulting in damages and discomfort. There are also gullies or drains made of plastic, which can eventually crack due to aging, corrosion and degradation of the plastic. During rehabilitation such gullies or drains may also be subjected to mechanical stress that leads to damage. Furthermore, under the rehabilitation of for example bathrooms, it can be a problem to provide a watertight connection or link between the drain and a waterproof membrane that typically will be in the floor. In some cases there may also be special regulations on how such links or connections between the drain and membrane or floor should be performed, and a connection in accordance with these regulations can be difficult to get done in connection with these old gullies or drains.

It is of course a solution to replace the entire drain, but to replace these drains are costly because they are often embedded in the floor, or otherwise attached, so that the drain changing requires that you break up the floor around the drain

Today rehabilitation of gullies or drains is done by applying an inner layer with a hardening agent sealing or packing against the drain. Such a layer is, however, thin and is exposed to cracking, which can cause ulcers and further corrosion.

Therefore, this method cannot be regarded as a lasting solution. This approach does not give a good solution for a connection to a membrane or a floor.

Accordingly, it is desirable to be able to upgrade the drain without having to replace it, as at the same time an adequate and permanent solution is provided. Furthermore, it is desirable to be able to upgrade the drain providing for a good seal or sealing between the drain and the floor around the drain, and which is in accordance with the existing regulations and rules for gullies or drains. Furthermore, it is desirable to be able to upgrade the drain, so that the drain outlet and possible inlet can form dense / tight and reinforced channels to the sewer system that the drain is connected to. This is achieved by means of a method for upgrading of a gully or drain and an upgraded gully or drain according to the present invention. Drains in this context are typically drains placed in the floor of buildings, and such drains are often placed in connection with showers in bathrooms, laundry rooms, garages, shops or factory halls.

The present invention concerns a method for rehabilitation of gully or drain with outlet and possible inlet. The method comprises providing a cup with an open end, a bottom with shape and size that fits in the drain. Openings that fit along with the opening of the outlet and possible inlet opening(s), are shaped in the cup. These openings can be shaped on the spot, or may be readily shaped in the cup if you want to rehabilitate a standard gully or drain. Such kind of shaping or forming can typically be made with a hand-held electric tool or knife. The cup is placed in the drain, so that the opening or openings are aligned with each other and forming a space between the drain and the cup. A flexible sleeve or bushing saturated with a hardening material is threaded through the opening in the drain, through the outlet pipe and possibly through other pipes connected to the drain. The flexible sleeve is expanded so that the sleeve is pressed or pushed against the discharge or outlet pipe and the opening in the cup and is being allowed to harden. The space between the cup and the drain is filled with gardening material. Alternatively, the space between the cup and the drain can be filled with hardening material before the flexible sleeve or bushing has hardened. The flexible sleeve saturated with hardening material can be expanded in various manners. Cup, in this context, is meant to describe a cup-shaped body, typically with a cylindrical or conical wall and a substantially flat bottom. Another shape or design may comprise a more rounded or nearly hemispheric bottom. Alternative embodiments may comprise a pot or bowl shape. Expanding the flexible sleeve may comprise inserting a removable core. The removable core may comprise an inflatable bellows, and the method may further comprise inflating the bellows after the flexible sleeve with the inflatable bellows is threaded into the opening or openings, letting the air out of the bellows after the hardening material has hardened, and removing the bellows sleeve or sleeves.

The removable core can alternatively be a solid, preferably flexible, core having either a surface consistency or composition that cannot be stuck onto the sleeve, or having a property that makes it easy to get excavated or dissolved by means of a suitable liquid.

Alternatively, the flexible sleeve can be expanded by applying compressed air directly in the sleeve or bushing. In this case, a bellows is not used in the sleeve. The sleeve or bushing must be tight in one end, and be made of a fluid tight material, which is also light until the hardening material is hardened. The tight end must then be opened for example by cutting off the end after the sleeve is hardened and the pressure gets again back to atmospheric pressure. The sleeve or bushing can either be introduced through the openings in the drain or can be guided from an access point in the outlet pipe or drainage and towards the drain.

The method may also comprise treating or processing the sleeve after the hardening material has hardened.

One point with a rehabilitated gully or drain according to the invention is that the rehabilitated drain can easily be adapted for introduction of a floor fitting with a portion that can be put into the cup. The connection between the floor fitting and the cup can be sealed in different ways. A first method comprises applying a sealing ring between the floor fitting and the cup. The cup or the fitting may then have a recess or groove that fits with the sealing ring so that it stays in place during assembly, as the same time as excellent dense or tight surfaces are provided after installation. Alternatively, an elastic sealant or sealing mass can be used instead of the sealing ring. The floor fitting can also be glued or pasted directly fixed in the cup. Furthermore, the invention concerns a gully or drain comprising an outer portion or part with a recess or groove, a cup in the recess, a space between the cup and the recess and a hardening synthetic material in the gap between the cup and recess. At least one opening is provided for flow of liquid through the cup, the thin layer of hardening synthetic material and the outer portion. A fiber- reinforced sleeve or bushing is passing through said at least one opening in the cup, the hardening synthetic material and the outer portion.

The drain or gully can also comprise that the cup has an opening with a circular upper edge adapted for sealing engagement with a floor fitting. A floor fitting, in this context, can typically be formed or designed as a sheet- or plate-shaped body with an opening and a pipe socket, where the plate-shaped body can be glued or welded by plastic welding to a plastic membrane being placed over the floor. The pipe socket can go down into the upper edge and seal against it in order to provide for a tight connection between the pipe socket and the floor fitting. This connection can, for example, be sealed by means of adhesive, sealing mass or a packing/sealing ring. The packing or sealing ring can be an CD- ring.

A groove or a recess for the packing or sealing ring may run or pass around the circular upper edge of the cup. In this case the packing provides the sealing between the pipe socket and the floor fitting.

Thus the invention concerns also a cup for insertion into a gully or drain comprising an upper edge with a recess or groove for sealing against a sealing ring.

Furthermore, the invention concerns a cup for inserting into a gully or drain comprising a sealing ring. Short description of the attached drawings

Figure 1 shows an upgraded gully or drain according to the invention seen in part from above;

Figure 2 shows a side elevation of the drain shown in figure 1;

Figure 3 shows schematically insertion of a sleeve into a renovated gully or drain according to the invention; and

Figure 4 shows a cup for insertion into a gully or drain.

Detailed description of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings

Figure 1 shows a corroded cast iron gully or drain 1 of a normal type. Such drains may be subjected to various forms of corrosion and pitting, and the drain lifetime may depend on things, such as how frequently it is used, etc. The environment in which the drain is used will also affect the lifetime, and both salty, acidic or alkaline environments may affect the lifetime in a negative way. The drain in fig. 1 is upgraded according to the invention by setting or inserting a plastic cup or pot 3 into the drain. In the cup 3 there is a pre-made opening 5 for outlet 7. Fig. 1 shows also an inlet 4 which typically comes from a sink or other source of wastewater. A second opening 6 in the cup 3 is made for inlet 4.

After the cup 3 is set or placed down in the drain in a manner so that the openings 5, 6 are aligned with the inlet 4 and the outlet 7, a sleeve or casing of a fiber material saturated with a first hardening material is introduced or inserted in openings 5, 6 The bushing or sleeve may also be of a material with a fluid light layer and a layer having fibers or "pile". The hardening material is typically an epoxy material, but other materials that harden or congeal, such as e.g.

polyester, can also be used. Informally this is only called a hardening material in the claims. The sleeves can in advance be threaded over each inflatable bellows. When the sleeves are introduced or inserted, the bellows are being blown up so that the sleeves are being pressed or forced against the inner walls of the inlet and the outlet. As it will be further explained below, the sleeve can also be inflated by applying air/gas pressure directly into the sleeve, without a bellows. A second congealing or hardening filling material is poured or sprayed in between the cup 3 and the drain 1 The material can then harden or solidify and form a layer 2 of this material between the cup 3 and the drain 1.

The second congealing or hardening filling material for the layer is typically also an epoxy or a polyester. The material should have a viscosity so that the material flows well in order not to form cavities between the cup 3 and the drain 1. Ideally, the material can also form a liquid or water-proof layer, so that it does not shrink significantly during hardening or congealing, and that it is stable within the relevant temperature ranges. It is also advantageous if the material has a quality for binding to both the drain to be rehabilitated and the cup. The first and the second material are typically mixed in the same amount or "batch", and are used both as a filling material / filler and to feed or saturate the sleeve.

In the presented embodiment the cup 3, the hardening epoxy layer 2 and an upper edge of the drain are almost coincident and at the same level.

After hardening of the sleeve, pressure can be released from the bellows, and the bellows can be removed. If pressure is applied directly to the sleeve, there is no bellows to be removed, but equipment for applying pressure. The sleeves are forming edges that are now protruding or projecting slightly forward around the openings 5, 6 in the cup 3. These edges can be cut out, sanded away or removed in a different way, so that the openings are flush or evened out with the cup 3.

A discharge or outlet pipe which typically is made of cast iron and has the same age as the drain may already be coated with a synthetic material, so that the sleeve and the synthetic material overlap each other in such a way that cast iron is not exposed between the drain and the outlet pipe. This is an advantage both for ensuring against leakage and for reducing the risk of delamination in that the fluid entering between the synthetic material and the cast iron. Exposed metal can also cause galvanic corrosion and other unwanted effects in the exposed area. The coating of the iron drain with a material as described above, further corrosion can be slowed down or even stopped.

Figure 2 shows how the drain 1 in fig. 1 looks from the side, how an inlet 4 of a synthetic material is set or inserted into the drain, and how the outlet 7 is positioned.

In the description above there are described inflatable bellows or "balloons" for pressing or pushing the sleeves of fiber material against the inner walls of the outlet and holes in the cup. These bellows do not have to be subjected to high pressure in order to create sufficient pressure against the walls. Such bellows are regarded as an advantageous embodiment, but other elements can also be used. For example, there can be used pre-shaped core elements, typically with a slightly conical shape, being adapted to the dimensions of the inlet or outlet of the drain. Such a solution requires the use of a method to prevent that the core element gets stuck after the epoxy has hardened.

If compressed or pressurized air is used directly in the sleeve, as indicated above, there must be a suitable device or plug with a connection point for compressed air from a compressed air source capable of supplying compressed air with suitable pressure, placed at one end of the sleeve. The sleeve or bushing must in this case be sealed at the other end so that air pressure is not released or discharged. This sealing can be done by the use of a plug, a knot tied on the sleeve or the like. The cup 3 is typically made of a synthetic material wherein openings can easily be shaped and that is relatively stable so that the cup 3 does not decompose, corrode or become brittle or fragile in the environment in which the drain is exposed. It is of less importance whether standardized cups with ready openings are made.

Fig. 3 shows schematically the insertion of a sleeve or bushing 17 in a

rehabilitated drain 1 according to the invention. The cup 3 is inserted or set into the drain 1, and an epoxy layer 2 seals and preserves the drain and stabilizes the cup 3. A floor fitting 10 is lowered into the cup 3 and an O-ring 11 is sealing between the floor fitting 10 and the cup 3. The sleeve or bushing 17 is threaded in through a drain or downpipe 15, through the outlet 7, through an opening in the cup 3 and out into a cavity inside the cup 3. The sleeve 17 has a sealing end 14 that is cut off after the sleeve has hardened. The sleeve 17 has an open end 13 to which pressurized or compressed air can be applied in order to expand the sleeve 17, for example through an inspection or access hatch 12 or other suitable opening. The sleeve 17 may have to be worked up or processed after hardening in order to adapt or fit the sleeve to the rest of the pipe / drainage system. Fig. 4 shows a cup 3 for insertion or introduction into a gully or drain 1 comprising an upper edge 16 with a flange for sealing against a sealing ring 11 The top or upper edge can be rounded in order to match the shape or form of the sealing ring 11 and to keep it in place during handling of the cup 3, and to create a good sealing surface against the ring 11. The cup is designed with an interior cavity and an exterior shape or design adapted for introduction or insertion into a gully or drain, constituting a gap or space between the cup and the drain that can be filled with hardening compound or mass.

Although the method and the device shown in the figures and in the example are described for cast iron gullies or drains, they of course can, as previously mentioned, be used for other drains that for some reason have become leaky or need upgrading. It is most common in this context having a plastic drain where the plastic has got broken down and lost its original characteristics or properties. It is an important element of the invention that the cup, to be inserted down into the drain or gully, may comprise an upper opening with an edge that can seal against the floor in order to create a fluid-tight connection therebetween. Such a connection is, in some cases, also required by regulations. The upper edge of the cup can typically comprise a flange for the introduction or insertion of an O-ring or other suitable packing. A connection or passage element that typically will create a fluid-tight connection between the drain and for example a waterproof membrane, may comprise a sleeve portion that can be inserted down into the cup so that it seals against the O-ring and which, for example, can be glued or welded with help of plastic welding to the membrane.

The cup can be made of a plastic material, but in some cases, if desired, there can be used other materials, such as e.g. stainless steel.