AU715111B2 - An adjustable plumbing joint - Google Patents

Description

S F Ref: 386783

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

r r Name and Address of Applicant: Caroma Industries Limited Market Street Brisbane Queensland 4000

AUSTRALIA

John Joseph Eagle r r Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL [31] Application No(s) P02418 Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia An Adjustable Plumbing Joint APPLICATION DETAILS [33] Country

AU

[32] Application Date 19 September 1996 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5815 AN ADJUSTABLE PLUMBING JOINT The present invention relates to plumbing joints and, in particular, to adjustable plumbing joints able to be used in T-connectors or like downstream tap applications.

T-connectors are typically found in the connections from hot and cold taps to a single spout and, as such, are typically found in domestic plumbing installations in sinks, baths and shower recesses known as "three-hole" water fittings. As the connectors are located downstream from taps, when the spout is not actually in use, the interior of the T-connectors is either empty, or retains only a small amount of water but which is not under mains pressure. This is because the mains pressure is only found on the upstream side of the tap. As a consequence, the pressure requirements for such downstream joints are not severe. In particular, only when one or more of the taps are turned on does the connector fill with water and then the availability of the opening of So: 15 the spout means that the water within the T-connector is not at a high pressure.

Two problems arise in the installation of such T-connectors. The first problem is that the spacing between the taps and the central spout is not completely standardised.

For example, the applicant's products have tap centre-hole spacing ranging from approximately 150 mm to 210 mm. Further, even where the same nominal spacing .o ~20 between tap and spout is provided for, there may be small differences between the actual spacings. This has hitherto being catered for by means of an adjustable compression joint. However, the length of one member of the joint is normally provided to be slightly more than the maximum expected length and then this length must be cut in order to suit. A substantial savings in the time of installation of such joints could be achieved if it was not necessary to cut the pipes to length in the majority of the applications.

Moreover, particularly in relation to vitreous china sinks which are subject to shrinkage during manufacture (this shrinkage not always being uniform from sink to [N:\liboo]00829:AJS -2sink), it is well known for the three openings for the two taps and the single spout to not lie in the same straight line. This means that either one (or sometimes both) of the arms of the T-connector must be bent to align the necessary joints. Again substantial time could be saved during the installation procedure if the joint provided for some adjustable alignment between the two components making up the joint.

Searches conducted after the priority date located UK Patent No. 2,065,468, in the name of Peglers Limited of the United Kingdom, and US Patent No. 4,064,900, assigned to Milwaukee Faucets, Inc. of the United States of America.

UK Patent No. 2,065,468 discloses a three hole water fitting T-connector with a telescopic connection between each arm and its associated tap. The connector includes a single sealing O-ring on each arm to provide a small amount of longitudinal spacing between the arms and the tap. The arm must therefore be made the maximum expected length and suffers from the previously described disadvantages.

S. US Patent No. 4,064,900 also discloses a telescopic connection between each 15 arm of the T-connector and its associated tap utilizing a single O-ring. However, this o* *o arrangement includes a projection in the male conduit which engages a complementary shaped opening in the female conduit and, as such, does not permit length adjustment of the arm.

The present invention is directed towards achieving, at least in part, the 20 abovementioned desirable outcomes and/or ameliorating to at least some extent the 6 abovementioned disadvantages.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed an adjustable length plumbing joint for use in T-connectors or like down tap applications, said joint comprising a male plastics conduit insertable within a female conduit, and a plurality of sealing members of which at least one is positioned on one end of the male conduit in the possible region of overlap between said conduits to seal between the exterior of said male conduit and the interior of said female conduit notwithstanding 'ding adjustment of the relative position of said male conduit within said female [N:\1iboo100829:DMB conduit, wherein the other end of the male conduit includes a globular end abutable with an externally threaded conduit, a sealing member interposed between said globular end and the threaded conduit, and an apertured compression cap through which said male conduit passes and which is engageable with the threaded conduit to compress said sealing member between said globular end and the threaded conduit, the aperture in said cap through which said male conduit passes being slightly larger than the outer diameter of said male conduit to permit said male conduit to adopt a position within a cone of possible positions to thereby determine the final alignment between the male conduit and the threaded conduit.

Preferably the sealing members are located on the exterior of the male conduit and each comprise an O-ring located in a corresponding locating groove.

In the event that the final position of the male conduit within the female conduit cannot be achieved within the sliding sealing range, then if the male conduit carries a plurality of the sealing members, the male conduit can be shortened by cutting to remove some but not all of the sealing members.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevation of the breechpiece of the prior art, part of the taps being illustrated in cross-section, Fig. 2 is a side elevational, partly cross-sectional, view of the breechpiece of the first embodiment of the present invention and illustrating one of the taps and the spout in cross-section and part of the breechpiece in cross-section, Fig. 3 is a view illustrating how the breechpiece of Fig. 2 can be shortened to •accommodate a different spacing between spout and tap, 25 Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the breechpiece arrangement of Fig. 2, oo Fig. 5 is a partly cross-sectional, partly side elevational, view of a second •embodiment of the breechpiece of the present invention, *i L- 1 [I:\DayLib\L1BLLj08863.doc:KXT Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a third embodiment of a breechpiece of the present invention, Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the arrangement of Fig. 6, Fig. 8 is a plan view of the arrangement of Figs. 6 and 7, Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but of a still further embodiment of the present invention, and Figs. 10 and 11 are views similar to Figs. 7 and 8 but of the embodiment of Fig. 9.

In Fig. 1 is illustrated a prior art arrangement of the T-connector or breechpiece 1 which uses conventional copper materials. The breechpiece 1 has a stem i 2 and a pair of arms 3. On the stem 2 is a pair of O-rings 4 each located in a corresponding groove turned in the copper pipe and arranged to make a push connection between a conventional spout (not illustrated in Fig. 1) and the stem 2.

A pair of taps 5 is provided each of which are fabricated from copper and 15 includes an externally threaded inlet 6. Each inlet 6 receives a corresponding one of the arms 3 which carries a conventional sealing washer 8 (in either the form of a S'plastics compression "olive" or a KINGCO (Trade Name) joint). The washer 8 is able to be compressed by means of an internally threaded cap 7 which compresses the washer 8 against the arm 3 and inlet 6 so as to form a watertight joint.

20 It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that if the spacing between the stem 2 and the taps 5 is required to be adjusted, then it will be necessary to cut the arms 3 to length. For this reason the arms 3 are normally provided longer than usually required in most instances. Only in the instance of the spacing between the taps 5 and stem 2 being larger than normal, will the arms 3 be able to be accommodated within the inlets 6 without being shortened.

Furthermore, in the event that the taps 5 and stem 2 are not perfectly aligned into a straight line, it is then necessary for the installing plumber to bend one of, or even both of, the arms 3 in order to accommodate the necessary alignment. This [N:\Iiboo00829:AJS bending is a relatively difficult task given the short length of the arms 3 and common problems arising include kinking one of the arms 3 and/or deforming the arm 3 in the vicinity of the washer 8 thereby possibly giving rise to a leaking joint.

A first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figs. 2-4. The breechpiece 11 is here moulded from plastics material, preferably PBT (polybutylene teraphthalate). The stem 12 is provided with a pair of O-rings 4 (as before) whilst the arms 13 of the breechpiece 11 are each provided with three spaced apart O-rings 4.

Each of the 0-rings 4 is, as best seen in Fig. 4, mounted in a corresponding groove 14 formed in a corresponding cylindrical collar 24.

As seen in Fig. 2, a schematically illustrated spout 16 is mounted on a basin 17 by means of a nut 18. The spout 16 includes an inlet tube 19 which receives the stem 12 and its pair of O-rings 4 so as to provide a watertight seal. Similarly, each of the taps 15 includes an inlet tube 20 which is able to receive the two most distal ones of the collars 24. Again this enables a watertight seal to be achieved. If the spacing between .o 15 the holes in the basin 17 intended for the tap 15 and spout 16 is smaller than that illustrated in Fig. 2, then the stem 12 can be cut along the line A-A of Fig. 2 between the outer and middle pair of collars 24. As a consequence, as illustrated in Fig. 3, a shorter distance between the stem 12 and tap 15 can be accommodated with the seal between the stem 12 and the tap 15 being created by the inner two of the original three 20 O-rings 4 of the arm 13.

The general arrangement is illustrated in an exploded perspective view in Fig. 4. From Figs. 2 and 4 it will be appreciated that the taps 15 are connected to the arms 13 prior to the insertion of the taps 15 from below into the holes provided in the sink or basin 17.

If it is necessary that a greater reduction in length of the arms 13 take place than that achievable by cutting along the line A-A as indicated in Fig. 2, then it is possible to cut along the line B-B as indicated in Fig. 2 in order to provide a further shortening. This arrangement suffers from the disadvantage, however, that only a [N:\Iiboo00829:AJS single O-ring 4 is then available to provide the seal between the arm 13 and the inlet tube 20. In order to overcome this problem, it is preferred to utilise the breechpiece 21 of a second embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5 in which a large number of the grooves 14 are provided so that even if the arm 23 is cut very short, at least two O-rings 4 (not illustrated in Fig. 5) can be provided.

A still further embodiment is illustrated in Fig. 6. Here the breechpiece 31 has a stem 32 and a pair of O-rings 4 substantially as before, however, the arms 33 are externally threaded and intended to be joined with a corresponding arm extension 43.

As best seen in Fig. 7, the right hand arm 33 and its arm extension 43 are :0 10o joined together by the conventional means of a washer 8 and cap 7. An identical s arrangement is used to connect the left hand arm extension 43 to the inlet tube 50 of the tap However, the other end of the left hand arm extension 43 is provided with a ball-like globular end 35 which compresses an O-ring 36 against the arm 33. This 15 compression is maintained by means of a threaded cap 37 having an aperture 38 through which the arm extension 43 passes.

As best seen from a consideration of Figs. 7 and 8, the globular end 35 enables co the position of the corresponding arm extension 43 to be adjusted within the cap 37 prior to the cap 37 being screwed tight. In this way, the angle between the arm extension 43 and the arm 33 can be adjusted as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 8 since the arm extension 43 is (prior to final tightening) permitted to move within a cone determined by the outer diameter or the arm extension 43 and the diameter of the aperture 38. As a consequence, the arm extension 43 and arm 33 can be mis-aligned in order to accommodate any mis-alignment between the openings (not illustrated) in the sink or basin for the taps and spouts.

It will be appreciated in relation to the embodiment of Figs. 6-8 that the arm extensions 43 will need to be cut to length in some situations in order to accommodate the spacing between the stem 32 and tap 45. However, a still further embodiment [N:\iboo00829:AJS -7which provides greater flexibility in this connection is illustrated in Figs. 9-11. This is essentially a combination of the embodiment of Figs. 2-4 with the embodiment of Figs.

6-8. In Figs. 9-11, the breechpiece 31 is as before, however, both arm extensions 43 are provided with globular ends 35 and are also provided with collars 24 and grooves 14 intended to receive O-rings 4. In this way, as indicated in Figs. 10 and 11, considerable variation in the spacing between the tap 15 and the spout 16 can be accommodated by means of the sliding joint between the inlet tube 20 and arm extension 43 whilst again a mis-alignment can be achieved between the arm extensions 43 and the breechpiece 31.

The foregoing arrangements provide a number of substantial advantages. In S* particular, all the components are able to be made from low cost plastics material and the assembly is able to be effected without the need to bend copper pipe or (generally) cut pipe to length. As a consequence, the assembly procedures are substantially simplified relative to the prior art.

15 The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

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Claims (8)

1. An adjustable length plumbing joint for use in T-connectors or like down tap applications, said joint comprising a male plastics conduit insertable within a female conduit, and a plurality of sealing members of which at least one is positioned on one end of the male conduit in the possible region of overlap between said conduits to seal between the exterior of said male conduit and the interior of said female conduit notwithstanding sliding adjustment of the relative position of said male conduit within said female conduit, wherein the other end of the male conduit includes a globular end abutable with an externally threaded conduit, a sealing member interposed between said globular end and the threaded conduit, and an apertured compression cap through which said male conduit passes and which is engageable with the threaded conduit to compress said sealing member between said globular end and the threaded conduit, the aperture in said cap through which said male conduit passes being slightly larger than the outer diameter of said male conduit to permit said male conduit to adopt a position within a cone of possible positions to thereby determine the final alignment between the male conduit and the threaded conduit.

2. A joint as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing members are located 0 on the exterior of the male conduit and each comprise an O-ring located in a corresponding locating groove.

3. A joint as claimed in claim 2, wherein the grooves are formed in a cylindrical collar of larger external diameter than the external diameter of the male conduit and smaller external diameter than the internal diameter of the female conduit.

4. A joint as claimed in claim 3, wherein the male conduit includes 25 cylindrical joining portions of smaller external diameter than the external diameter at the collars between adjacent collars.

5. A joint as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said globular S: end is part spherical. [I:\DayLib\LIBLL08863.doc:KXT -9-

6. A joint as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said compression cap includes an inner threaded portion adapted to engage the threaded conduit.

7. A T-connector including a pair of opposed adjustable plumbing joints as claimed in any one of the preceding claims disposed along a common longitudinal axis either side of a normally extending spout connector.

8. An adjustable plumbing joint substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 8 to 10 of the accompanying drawings. o DATED this Fifteenth Day of June 1999 Caroma Industries Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON 0 0 0 0 .0.0 0 0 0 0 [N:\libool00829:DMB