GB2031116A - Creación de Inventos y Patentes con Inteligencia Artificial

GB2031116A – Improvements in or relating to water mixer fittings
– Google Patents

GB2031116A – Improvements in or relating to water mixer fittings
– Google Patents
Improvements in or relating to water mixer fittings

Download PDF
Info

Publication number
GB2031116A

GB2031116A
GB7839457A
GB7839457A
GB2031116A
GB 2031116 A
GB2031116 A
GB 2031116A
GB 7839457 A
GB7839457 A
GB 7839457A
GB 7839457 A
GB7839457 A
GB 7839457A
GB 2031116 A
GB2031116 A
GB 2031116A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
valve
fitting
water
support member
tubular
Prior art date
1978-10-05
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)

Granted

Application number
GB7839457A
Other versions

GB2031116B
(en

Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)

BARKING GROHE Ltd

Original Assignee
BARKING GROHE Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
1978-10-05
Filing date
1978-10-05
Publication date
1980-04-16

1978-10-05
Application filed by BARKING GROHE Ltd
filed
Critical
BARKING GROHE Ltd

1978-10-05
Priority to GB7839457A
priority
Critical
patent/GB2031116B/en

1980-04-16
Publication of GB2031116A
publication
Critical
patent/GB2031116A/en

1983-01-12
Application granted
granted
Critical

1983-01-12
Publication of GB2031116B
publication
Critical
patent/GB2031116B/en

Status
Expired
legal-status
Critical
Current

Links

Espacenet

Global Dossier

Discuss

Classifications

F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING

F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL

F16K—VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING

F16K11/00—Multiple-way valves, e.g. mixing valves; Pipe fittings incorporating such valves

F16K11/02—Multiple-way valves, e.g. mixing valves; Pipe fittings incorporating such valves with all movable sealing faces moving as one unit

F16K11/04—Multiple-way valves, e.g. mixing valves; Pipe fittings incorporating such valves with all movable sealing faces moving as one unit comprising only lift valves

F16K11/044—Multiple-way valves, e.g. mixing valves; Pipe fittings incorporating such valves with all movable sealing faces moving as one unit comprising only lift valves with movable valve members positioned between valve seats

F16K11/0445—Bath/shower selectors

Abstract

In a diverter valve, a shower outlet fitting 8 carries the operating mechanism for a diverter valve member 7 biassed to normally close the shower outlet and to divert flow to the bath outlet at 6. An operating knob 17 is connected by fingers 13, passing through slots 10 in the fitting 8, to a sealing piston 16 which carries a stem 23 to actuate the valve member 7. Alternatively, Fig. 2, (not shown), a shower outlet fitting (38) having a hollow spigot (40) carrying an actuating stem (47) connected to an operating knob (56) by a cross pin (42) and having flow passages (39a, 39b) passing around each side of the spigot (40) may be provided.

Description

SPECIFICATION
Improvements in or relating to water mixer fittings
This invention relates to water mixer fittings and has particular reference to mixer fittings incorporating diverter valves for diverting water flow incoming to the fitting, selectively, from a first outlet to a second outlet.
It is an object of the present invention to simplify the construction of the mixer fitting.
According to the present invention, there is provided a water mixer fitting comprising a body having a water inlet and first and second water outlets, a diverter valve in the body manually operable by a control member to first and second positions to divert the water flow to the first or second outlet as desired, first resilient means biassing the valve towards its first position, a tubular support member for carrying water from the valve towards the second outlet and valve control means coupled to move the valve and slidable parallel to the axis of the tubular part, the arrangement being such that, in use, when the valve is in the second position, water pressure will retain the valve in that position against the first resilient means, return of the valve to its first position being effected by the first resilient means when the water pressure falls below a value sufficient to hold the valve in the second position.
In one embodiment of the invention, the control means is operatively connected to the valve by a component or components located within a water flow path from the first outlet.
The flow path may be provided within a hollow support member extending between the valve, and the control member can be mounted upon the support member.
The control member may be linked with the valve by a part or parts which extend through a wall of the support member.
The control means may comprise a piston movable axially within the support member and operatively connected to the valve in such manner that the latter is actuated only by movement of the control means from its rest position.
The piston may have an axially extending member which is telescopically engaged with an axial extension of the diverter valve.
Preferably there are first and second resilient biassing means in the form of coil springs.
The support member may be removably mounted on the fitting and has a surface which forms a seating for the diverter valve when in its first position.
Preferably, the first resilient means can be inserted into and withdrawn from position by removing the tubular support member.
The control means may include parts having fingers which extend through the wall of the support member into engagement with the piston, the parts being retained in position by the manual control member.
By way of example only, embodiments of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawing, each of which is a cross-section of part of the respective embodiment, Fig. 2b showing a cross-section of a detail of Fig. 2a.
The embodiment of Fig. 1 is generally similar to the mixer fitting described in British
Patent Specification No. 1,336,141 having a hollow elongated body 1 at each end of which are integral housings containing water flow control taps. The taps control water flow from hot and cold water supply conduits to a chamber 2 within the body of the fitting.
The chamber 2 is bounded by the upper wall 3 of the body and by an internal partition 4 apertured at 5 to provide access from the chamber 2 to a bath outlet spout extending from a point midway along the length of the body and part only of which is shown in the drawing at 6.
The aperture 5 is adapted to form a lower seating for a diverter valve 7 which forms part of an assembly screw-threaded into an aperture in the wall 3 of the body 1. The aperture provides access to the chamber 2.
The assembly just referred to comprises a tubular support 8 screw-threaded externally at its lower end and with an external circumferential flange 9 adjacent the screw-thread.
About midway along its length, the curved wall of the support 8 has a series, for example four, of slots in it, two of those slots being visible in Fig. 1 at 1 0. Adjacent the lower ends of the slots 10, the outer surface of the support 8 is stepped as at 11, the step forming a seating for one end of a coil spring 1 2 whose other end rests against the lower surfaces of inturned fingers 1 3 of a one or two part collar 1 4 disposed externally of the support 8. Each of the fingers 1 3 extends through one of the slots 10 and engages a circumferential groove 1 5 in a hollow piston 1 6 described in greater detail below.The parts of the collar 1 4 are held togegher by an operating member 1 7 having a hollow cylindrical portion 1 8 which encircles the collar
14, and a domed operating surface 19.
As can be seen from Fig. 1, the support 8 extends through and beyond the surface 1 9 and is screw-threaded externally at its upper end to enable a hose or tube to be attached to the support.
The internal bore of the support 8 has an internal shoulder 20 adjacent its upper end and is of increased internal diameter adjacent its lower end which is contoured to form an upper seating for the diverter valve 7. The shoulder 20 limits movement in an upward direction of the hollow piston 1 6.
In addition to the circumferential groove 1 5 which is located about halfway along the axial
length of the piston, the latter has further circumferential grooves 21 on each side of groove 1 5 as well as further but smaller grooves that accommodate leak-preventing 0ring seals 22. The grooves 21 limit the extent of surface contact between the piston 1 6 and the bore of the support 8, and so facilitate sliding movement of the piston in the bore.
Extending from the lower end of the piston is a stem 23 secured at one end to the piston by means of a spider 24.
The stem 23 fits loosely telescopically within a tubular axial extension of the body 25 of the diverter valve 7 providing lost motion. The undersurface of the body portion has a central recess 26 in which is located one end of a coil spring 27 whose other end is positioned in a shallow recess 28 in the outlet flow side of the body portion 1.
The body 25 also has an external peripheral groove 29 in which an annular valve member 30 is mounted as shown.
The support 8 forms a junction between a hose or tube screwed to the upper end of the support and the chamber 2. The hose or tube is part of a shower attachment. The spout 6 is used to direct water directly into a bath.
In use, the components just described are normally in the positions shown in the drawing. When either or both of the flow control taps are open, water flows into the chamber 2 and thence via the aperture 5 to the spout 6.
When it is desired to divert water flow to the shower attachment, a user depresses the operating member 1 7 downwardly along the support 8 against the combined action of the springs 1 2 and 27. The diverter valve 7 moves towards the opening 5 until the valve member 30 seats on the periphery of the opening so closing the latter. In this position water entering the chamber 2 is diverted from the spout 6 and leaves the chamber 2 via the bore in the support 8 and so passes to the shower attachment.
When downward movement of the member 1 7 ceases, the user releases the downward pressure thereon and the member returns to its starting position under the sole influence of spring 1 2. The diverter valve 7 however remains in position under the action of the water pressure in chamber 2 which is sufficient to overcome the closing effect of spring 27.
When the user has finished using the shower attachment the flow control tap or taps is or are closed and water pressure in chamber 2 drops to a value insufficient to overcome the closing effect of spring 27. The spring 27 then returns the valve 7 to its starting position. Thus, the next time the taps are opened, water flows to the spout 6 and not to the shower attachment.
The two springs 1 2 and 27 enable a suitable rate to be used for the spring 1 2 to ensure that the operating member is always fully returned to its starting position when released by a user even when the spindle is limed up. A lower rate is employed for the spring 27 so that the diverter valve 7 can be held in the «diverted» position by low water pressure in chamber 2.
Referring now to Fig. 2 the hollow body of the fitting is substantially the same as that described with reference to Fig. 1. The main difference lies in the diverter valve assembly.
The diverter valve assembly comprises a tubular support 38 externally screw-threaded at its lower and upper ends. It has a water transfer passage extending through it from end to end. At the lower end the passage is defined by an annular portion 39 which, travelling upwards through the support, is bifurcated by a hollow cross-portion 40. This portion is best illustrated in the cross-section of this region of the support 38, shown in
Fig. 2b. The bifurcated passages 39aand 39b extend around the cross-portion 40 until they join one another again at the upper end.
The cross-portion 40 defines a transverse slot 41 which houses a transverse rod 42.
Depending from the cross-part 40 is a tubular spigot 43 housing a longitudinal stem 44 having an enlarged-diameter head 45 which engages the transverse rod 42. The stem 44 is guided at the lower end of the tubular spigot 43 in a bore 47. The head 45 of the stem 44 is guided in a bore 48 in an upper portion of the cross-member 40 and extending through the slot 41. Adjacent the bore 47 is an O-ring 49 covered by a washer 46.
Between the washer 46 and the head 45 is a coil spring 50 which corresponds in function to the spring 1 2 of the previous embodiment.
At its lower end the stem 44 carries the diverter valve 51, there being a blind hole 52 in the valve body which can slide on the stem 44. The valve body 51 is biassed upwardly by a tapered coil spring 53, one end of which sits in an annular recess 54 in the valve body 51e and the other end of which seats in a shallow annular groove 55 in the body of the tap.
An annular manual operating member 56 comprises an inner sleeve 56a having two diagonally opposed inner longitudinal recesses 57aand 57bproviding end shoulders 58a and 58bwhich rest on the ends of the transverse rod 42. The ends of the recesses 57aand 57badjacentthe end shoulders have slightly narrowed neck portions (not shown) which resiliently pinch the ends of the rod 42 to removably hold the sleeve 56a on the rod.
An outer part 56b of the member 56 has an annular flange 56cfor manual operation and fits slidably on the sleeve 56a.
A rubber stopper 46a seals the end of the bore 40 and prevents water from passage 39 leaking out via the bore 40 and slot 41. Thus when a user wishes to change over from «bath» position of the diverter valve to «shower» position, he depresses the member 56 which causes the transverse rod 42 to move from the upper side of the slot 41 to the lower side, taking with it the longitudinal stem 44 and the diverter valve 51 until the diverter valve seats against the lower valve seat, in a manner analogous to that described with reference to the previous embodiment.
On release of the manual operating member 56 it will return to its upper position as shown in the drawing, under the action of spring 50, but, provided one or both taps have been turned on, water pressure will retain the valve member 51 against its lower seat so that water, instead of travelling out through the spout to the bath, will travel through the passage 39 and up to the shower head, as prevously described. When the taps are turned off and the water pressure drops below a predetermined value, the spring 53 will automatically return the valve 51 to its upper position.
The parts of the fitting described are preferably made of suitable plastics material. The rod 42 and springs are preferably of noncorrosive metal.
The operating members may take other forms than those described above. For example, the member may comprise a lever pivotally mounted upon the tubular support and operatively connected through the wall of the support to the internal piston or stem.
It will be appreciated that the result of combining the diverter valve and its operating mechanism with the outlet of the shower attachment simplifies the construction of the body portion by eliminating one of the internal waterways that have previously been required and one of the ports.
The possibility of back-siphonage is also eliminated in the constructions described above. It is possible that back-siphonage can occur if a user inadvertently or otherwise drops the shower attachment into water in the bath when the diverter valve is in position in which water is diverted to the shower and during the time that the attachment is in the water a negative water pressure is set up in either of the water systems supplying water to the fitting. Negative pressure may arise if, for example, a supply pipe is severed. In those circumstances water from the bath would be drawn back and contaminate part of the supply system. However, back-siphonage is prevented because the negative pressure set up also arises in chamber 2 and thus the diverter valve returns to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 thus preventing bath water being drawn into the system. At the same time, air can be drawn into the system via the spout 6.
Although the embodiments described above employ a separate spring for returning the operating member after operation, this is not an essential feature of the invention. It is possible to employ a single spring suitably rated to return both diverter valve and operating member. The use of a single spring is described in British Patent Specification No.
1,268,345.

Claims (11)

1. A water mixer fitting comprising a body having a water inlet and first and second water outlets, a diverter valve in the body manually operable by a control member to first and second positions to divert the water flow to the first or second outlet as desired, first resilient means biassing the valve towards its first position, a tubular support member for carrying water from the valve towards the second outlet and valve control means coupled to move the valve and slidable parallel to the axis of the tubular part, the arrangement being such that, in use, when the valve is in the second position, water pressure will retain the valve in that position against the first resilient means, return of the valve to its first position being effected by the first resilient means when the water pressure falls below a value sufficient to hold the valve in the sec- ond position.

2. A fitting as claimed in claim 1 in which the tubular support member is removably mounted on the fitting and has a surface which forms a seating for the diverter valve when in its first position.

3. A fitting as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the manual control member is mounted upon the tubular support member.

4. A fitting as claimed in claim 3 in which the valve control means comprises a stem carrying the valve on one end and linked to the manual control member by fitting a part or parts which extend through a wall of the support member.

5. A fitting as claimed in claim 4 in which there is more than one part, the parts being retained in position by the control member.

6. A fitting as claimed in claim 5 in which the parts have fingers which extend through the wall of the support member into engagement with a piston movable axially within the support member and operatively connected to the valve.

7. A fitting as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the tubular support member has a hollow cross part, there being a slot extending through the walls of the tubular part and through the cross part and communicating with the hollow interior of the tubular member via a hole in the wall of the slot, the control means extending through the slot and the hole.

8. A fitting as claimed in claim 7 wherein the hole is sealed by sealing means of smaller diameter than the internal diameter of the tubular part.

9. A fitting as claimed in any preceding claim in which there is lost motion between the valve and the manual control member.

10. A water mixer fitting as claimed in claim 9 comprising a second resilient biassing means which biasses the control member into a rest position irrespective of the position of the valve.

11. A water mixer fitting substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawing.

GB7839457A
1978-10-05
1978-10-05
Water mixer fittings

Expired

GB2031116B
(en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number
Priority Date
Filing Date
Title

GB7839457A

GB2031116B
(en)

1978-10-05
1978-10-05
Water mixer fittings

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number
Priority Date
Filing Date
Title

GB7839457A

GB2031116B
(en)

1978-10-05
1978-10-05
Water mixer fittings

Publications (2)

Publication Number
Publication Date

GB2031116A
true

GB2031116A
(en)

1980-04-16

GB2031116B

GB2031116B
(en)

1983-01-12

Family
ID=10500144
Family Applications (1)

Application Number
Title
Priority Date
Filing Date

GB7839457A
Expired

GB2031116B
(en)

1978-10-05
1978-10-05
Water mixer fittings

Country Status (1)

Country
Link

GB
(1)

GB2031116B
(en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party

Publication number
Priority date
Publication date
Assignee
Title

GB2165922A
(en)

1984-10-23
1986-04-23
Wen Lieng Yang
Tap

DE3626624A1
(en)

1986-08-06
1988-02-18
Hansa Metallwerke Ag
Sanitary fitting

EP1367184A1
(en)

2002-05-23
2003-12-03
Gustav, Schmiedl, Armaturenfabrik Gesellschaft m.b.H. & Co. KG
Mixing faucet

1978

1978-10-05
GB
GB7839457A
patent/GB2031116B/en
not_active
Expired

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party

Publication number
Priority date
Publication date
Assignee
Title

GB2165922A
(en)

1984-10-23
1986-04-23
Wen Lieng Yang
Tap

DE3626624A1
(en)

1986-08-06
1988-02-18
Hansa Metallwerke Ag
Sanitary fitting

DE3626624C2
(en)

1986-08-06
1989-06-08
Hansa Metallwerke Ag, 7000 Stuttgart, De

EP1367184A1
(en)

2002-05-23
2003-12-03
Gustav, Schmiedl, Armaturenfabrik Gesellschaft m.b.H. & Co. KG
Mixing faucet

AT411922B
(en)

2002-05-23
2004-07-26
Gustav Schmiedl Armaturenfabri

WATER OUT OF BATTERY

Also Published As

Publication number
Publication date

GB2031116B
(en)

1983-01-12

Información de contacto