Unitary Ball Rod Assembly for a Pop-Up Drain Assembly

Abstract

The present invention provides a ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assembly that comprises a ball rod having a ball, a hollow stub adapter, a first gasket received on the rod on one side of the ball and a second gasket and a hollow nut received on the rod on the other side of the ball and engaged with the stub adapter to provide a single-piece, unitary ball rod assembly that can be installed in a pop-up drain assembly by engaging the stub adapter with a stub on a drain pipe with one end of the ball rod engaged with a drain stopper.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assembly comprising:
 a stub adapter having the general shape of a hollow cylinder, outer and inner ends and an interior shoulder;   a first gasket received in the stub adapter between the interior shoulder and the interior end;   a ball rod comprising a rod and a ball on the rod, wherein the ball rod is received in and passed through the stub adapter, and wherein the ball abuts the first gasket;   an adapter cap having an open end and an opposing partially closed end, wherein the partially closed end has a ball rod hole; and   a second gasket received in the adapter cap, wherein the adapter cap is engaged with the stub adapter, wherein the second gasket abuts the ball, and   wherein the stub adapter, the ball rod, the first and second gaskets and the adapter cap form a standalone unitary assembly.   
     
     
         2 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the standalone unitary assembly is designed, sized and configured for engagement with a drain body and for opening and closing a drain stopper within the drain body. 
     
     
         3 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the outer end of the stub adapter is designed, sized and configured for engagement with a tubular stub that projects from a drain body. 
     
     
         4 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the inner end of the stub adapter has exterior threads, wherein the open end of the adapter cap has interior threads, and wherein the adapter cap is threadedly engaged with the stub adapter. 
     
     
         5 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the outer end of the stub adapter has interior threads for engagement with a threaded tubular stub on a drain body. 
     
     
         6 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the outer end of the stub adapter has a cavity suitable for receiving a gasket that is suitable for sealing against an end of the threaded tubular stub on the drain body. 
     
     
         7 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 6 , further comprising a third gasket received in the cavity in the outer end of the stub adapter. 
     
     
         8 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the outer end of the stub adapter has a greater outside diameter than the inner end. 
     
     
         9 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the interior shoulder has an inner face toward the inner end against which the first gasket abuts, wherein the interior shoulder has an outer face toward the outer end of the stub adapter. 
     
     
         10 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the stub adapter has an outer length between the outer end and the interior shoulder and an inner length between the inner end and the interior shoulder, and wherein the outer length is greater than the inner length. 
     
     
         11 . A ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assembly comprising:
 a rod;   a ball received on the rod, thereby forming a ball rod;   a hollow nut having an open end and an opposing closed end, wherein the closed end has a ball rod hole;   a first gasket having a first opening received in the hollow nut adjacent to the closed end;   a hollow cylinder;   a second gasket having a second opening received in the hollow cylinder, wherein   the rod extends through the hollow cylinder, the first and second openings and through the hollow nut, wherein the ball is between the first and second gaskets, and wherein   the hollow nut is engaged with the hollow cylinder.   
     
     
         12 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the hollow nut has interior threads. 
     
     
         13 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the hollow cylinder has the exterior threads, and wherein the interior threads in the hollow nut are engaged with the exterior threads on the hollow cylinder. 
     
     
         14 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the hollow cylinder has interior threads, and wherein the hollow cylinder is designed, sized and configured to be threaded onto a stub on a drain body. 
     
     
         15 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the ball rod is designed, sized and configured to engage a stopper in the drain body for opening and closing the stopper. 
     
     
         16 . The ball rod assembly of any one of  claim 11 , wherein the rod has a first end that protrudes from the hollow cylinder away from the hollow nut and a second end that protrudes from the hollow nut away from the hollow cylinder. 
     
     
         17 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the first and second gaskets have concave faces, and wherein the concave faces are in contact with the ball. 
     
     
         18 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 17 , wherein the first and second gaskets have flat faces, wherein the flat face of the first gasket is in contact with the closed end of the hollow nut. 
     
     
         19 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 18 , wherein the hollow cylinder has an interior shoulder, and wherein the flat face of the second gasket abuts the interior shoulder. 
     
     
         20 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the hollow nut, the ball rod, the first and second gaskets, and the hollow cylinder form a single-piece unitary assembly, and wherein the single-piece unitary assembly is not connected to or made integral with a drain pipe that provides a flow path for draining water from a sink. 
     
     
         21 . The ball rod assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the hollow nut, the ball rod, the first and second gaskets, and the hollow cylinder form a single-piece unitary ball rod assembly, and wherein the unitary ball rod assembly is designed, sized and configured for engagement with a pop-up drain assembly. 
     
     
         22 . A pop-up drain assembly for a sink or basin having a drain opening, comprising:
 a drain body for connection to the sink or basin at the drain opening for providing a fluid flow pathway for draining water from the sink or basin through the drain opening, wherein the drain body has a ball rod port;   a stopper received in the drain body for retaining water in the sink or basin; and   a unitary ball rod assembly according to  claim 11  received in the ball rod port and engaged with the stopper for moving the stopper between open and closed positions.   
     
     
         23 . The pop-up drain assembly of  claim 22 , further comprising a means for sealing the unitary ball rod assembly with the drain body. 
     
     
         24 . The pop-up drain assembly of  claim 23 , wherein the drain body has a tubular stub that projects radially outwardly from drain body and surrounds the ball rod port, wherein the tubular stub has exterior threads, and wherein the hollow cylinder has interior threads that matingly engage the exterior threads on the tubular stub. 
     
     
         25 . The pop-up drain assembly of  claim 24 , further comprising a third gasket in the hollow cylinder for sealing against the tubular stub. 
     
     
         26 . The pop-up drain assembly of  claim 24 , further comprising a sealant between the exterior threads on the tubular stub and the interior threads in the hollow cylinder. 
     
     
         27 . The pop-up drain assembly of  claim 26 , wherein the sealant is Teflon® tape. 
     
     
         28 . The pop-up drain assembly of  claim 26 , wherein the sealant is pipe dope.