A shower drain tool includes a blade for engagement with the ribs on the internal surface of a shower drain. The tool also includes a stabilizer plate connected to the blade to seat the tool on the drain and prevent the tool from falling through the drain into the drain pipe. The tool further includes one of various tool adapters.
The tool adapter can be a nut to be spanned by an adjustable or open-end wrench, or a hole into which a socket wrench drive or the tip of a breaker bar or T bar can be inserted, to rotate the tool. The tool adapter can also be a pipe wrench extension so that a pipe wrench can be used to rotate the tool. Alternatively, the tool can include a device, such as a T bar, integral with the stabilizer plate to rotate the tool.
Shower drain commonly used as a drain for a shower having a tile floor, the shower drain comprising a threaded flange which is rotated onto a threaded drain pipe, the shower drain further comprising a rim, the rim being mounted to the flange with a shower pan membrane captured between the flange and the rim, the rim having an upper edge and internal ribs;a blade for engagement with the ribs of the shower drain so that the drain can be rotated by torque applied to the blade;a stabilizer plate connected to the blade to seat the tool on the upper edge of the rim of the shower drain, the diameter of the stabilizer plate being sufficient that the stabilizer plate frictionally engages the upper edge of the rim to maintain the tool seated on the drain while the tool is being rotated and to prevent the tool from falling through the drain into the drain pipe; and means coupled to the stabilizer plate for imparting rotation to the blade.
The shower drain tool as defined in claim 1 wherein the means coupled to the stabilizer plate for imparting rotation to the blade comprises a pipe wrench extension connected to the stabilizer plate, the pipe wrench extension being configured so that a pipe wrench can grip the extension and be used to rotate the tool.
Many tools have been developed for use by the construction industry. Various general purpose tools are commonplace, such as a hammer, saw, screwdriver, wrench, and numerous other tools. Certain tools have been developed or refined for particular trades, for example, roofing hammers have been developed for roofers, miter saws have been developed for finish carpenters, side cutters have been developed for electricians, and pipe wrenches have been developed for plumbers, etc. Specialized tools facilitate efficient completion of the work required to be performed by the particular tradesman.
By way of example, plumbers typically possess various tools, such as a pipe wrench, pipe cutter, breaker bar, T bar, etc. Plumbers also typically use specialized tools that enable them to more efficiently complete certain tasks, such as the installation of drain hardware.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide a tool for removal of a commonplace shower drain used in a shower having a tile floor, such as the E-Z Test drain. It would also be desirable to provide a tool to facilitate installation of such a drain. Preferably, such a tool would be rugged in construction and inexpensive and yet provide an effective tool for removal and installation of a shower drain.
One embodiment of the present invention provides a tool to remove a shower drain commonly used as a drain for a shower having a tile floor. The shower drain tool in accordance with the present invention can also facilitate installation of the drain.
The shower drain tool in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention comprises a blade for engagement with the ribs of a shower drain so that the drain can be rotated by torque applied to the blade. The shower drain tool also comprises a stabilizer plate connected to the blade to seat the tool on the shower drain and prevent the tool from falling through the drain into the drain pipe. Additionally, the shower drain tool preferably comprises means coupled to the stabilizer plate for imparting rotation to the blade.
No comments:
Post a Comment