Quick drain plug

Abstract

The invention relates to a hand-actuated drain plug that comprises a tubular member having a proximal head and a distal body adapted to engage a tubular port. The head of the plug has an annular end with at least two surface areas corresponding to an open and closed position. The tubular member defines an axially aligned bore. The plug includes a cap top that comprises a proximal flange coupled to a stem. The flange has a distally oriented surface that is adapted to be placed in orientation with the two surface areas of the annular end corresponding to open and closed positions. The other end of the stem is coupled to a bushing that is sized to fit and slide within the bore of the tubular member. A biasing member positioned between the stem and the tubular member is compressed to bias the plug to a closed position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 60 / 937,507 filed Jun. 27, 2007. The entire disclosure of U.S. provisional patent application No. 60 / 937,507 is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention generally relates to a drain plug designed to be hand-actuated. More specifically, in the preferred embodiment, the present invention relates to hand-actuated drain plug adapted to replace a traditional drain plug.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Numerous devices have been designed to act as a plug for a drain port or hole. With conventional drain plugs, a threaded bolt is placed into a matching threaded port to stop fluid from flowing through the port. In order to allow fluid to flow through the port, the threaded plug is unthreaded. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,881 to Eshelman, disclosing a lawn mower engine oil drain extension having a traditional threaded plug. In som...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]It is an object of the present invention to provide a fluid drain plug that is easy to operate and avoids common problems with traditional plugs.

[0010]It is a further object of the invention to provide a hand-actuated fluid bolt that can quickly be opened or closed without any additional tools.

[0011]It is yet a further object of the present invention, depending on the application, to provide a drain plug that reduces the risk of bums by making it easy to actuate.

[0012]It a further object of the present invention to provide a drain plug that does not need to be threaded or unthreaded to operate.

[0013]It is an object of the present invention to provide a drain plug whose operation does not cause fatigue and damage to the recipient threads or receptacle parts.

Problems solved by technology

However, these systems are deficient because they fail to provide a mechanism to bias the device in a closed position to avoid an inadvertent opening.

Plugging the port or opening the port using these prior devices is time consuming, usually requires additional tools, can be messy depending on the type of liquid, and in some applications can be dangerous.

In addition, the opening in the cylindrical body of the device that allows the flow of fluid is adjacent its outer flange that it mounted to the exterior of the fuel tank, thus requiring a large area for installation.

The design disclosed in the '434 patent does not solve the problem of replacing a drain plug with a device that is substantially similar in size to the preexisting plug.

However, it is deficient in that if something inadvertently bumps up against the device, it may be placed into an open position, allowing the fluid it is designed to retain to flow out.

In the case of threaded plugs, the threading and unthreading of a bolt can cause fatigue on the bolt threads and on the internal threads of the bolt recipient, leading to damage to either the bolt or its recipient.

In many cases, the recipient is impossible or expensive to fix or replace.

However, those devices are typically larger, making it unusable in some applications, and more complicated, some requiring the use of additional tools to operate.

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