AU724994B2

AU724994B2 - Discs for bi-flow mixer tap cartridges and cartridge including them

Info

Publication number: AU724994B2
Application number: AU57378/98A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Valerie Caruso; Yves Delaisement
Original assignee: Norton Desmarquest Fine Ceramics SA
Current assignee: Norton Desmarquest Fine Ceramics SA
Priority date: 1997-03-14
Filing date: 1998-03-06
Publication date: 2000-10-05
Anticipated expiration: 2018-03-06
Also published as: EP0864790B1; EP0864790A1; AU5737898A; NZ329945A; DE69818329D1; FR2760812B1; AU724994C; FR2760812A1

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority Related Art: .9 ft Name of Applicant: Norton Desmarquest Fine Ceramics Actual Inventor(s): Yves Delaisement Valerie Caruso Address for Service: PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys 367 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 AUSTRALIA Invention Title: DISCS FOR BI-FLOW MIXER TAP CARTRIDGES AND CARTRIDGE INCLUDING

THEM

Our Ref 521633 POF Code: 11188/318835 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to applicant(s): -1-

SPECIFICATION

Discs for bi-flow mixer tap cartridges and cartridge including them The invention concerns a pair of discs, in practice ceramic discs, for bi-flow mixer tap cartridges, and a cartridge including them.

A mixer tap cartridge is an assembly designed to be installed in a housing provided in a tap body with cold water and hot water inlets and at least one outlet.

The hot and cold water are often mixed inside the cartridge itself. In some cases, however, the flows of 15 hot and cold water mix only at the outlet of the cartridge or even in the spout of the tap. The expression "bi-flow cartridge" is then used.

A mixer tap cartridge, whether of the bi-flow type or not, conventionally includes two superposed discs, one of which is fixed and the other of which can be moved in position and in orientation relative to the fixed disc by a single lever that can be oriented relative to the tap body by a handle. In theory the lever is mobile about two rotation axes: rotation about a first axis controls .25 the flowrate from the tap and rotation about the second axis controls the temperature of the mixture leaving the tap.

Document GB-2.192.256 describes one example of a bi-flow mixer tap cartridge. It describes a tap body in which the housing is formed of two chambers, namely a bottom chamber communicating via two passages with the tap spout outlet and the cartridge housing proper, which is separated from the first chamber by a horizontal wall and includes a vertical partition wall in which there are four passages with coplanar axes (two fluid inlet passages and two laterally open outlet passages). The bottom of the cartridge includes four apertures adapted to communicate with the four fluid inlet and outlet passages. A fixed disc mounted in the cartridge includes four apertures substantially aligned along a diameter (so that they can be caused to communicate with the four inlet and outlet- apertures in the bottom of the cartridge) but having a circumferentially elongate shape around a central portion of the disc. A mobile disc pressed against the fixed disc includes two apertures or recesses which, depending on the position and/or the orientation of the mobile disc relative to the fixed disc (controlled by a single lever), selectively establishes communication between the cold water inlet and outlet 15 apertures, on the one hand, and the hot water inlet and outlet apertures, on the other hand.

The two openings are substantially half-moon-shape portions of a disc).

A: It has become apparent that the "alignment" of the four apertures of the prior art cartridge leads in .practice to problems if the objective is to reduce the diameters of the fixed immobile discs whilst retaining substantial maximal flowrates and a large range of angular movement of the mobile disc.

The aim of.the invention is to meet this objective, using a pair of discs, in practice ceramic discs, providing a choice of a flow of cold water only, a flow of hot water only or two simultaneous flows of hot water and cold water. In each case the flow can be substantial despite the discs having a small diameter. The mobile disc can rotate between a cold water only flow configuration and a hot water only flow configuration through a large angle, typically greater than 900. The aim of the invention as stated hereinabove is general to any other pair of fluids.

To this end the invention proposes a pair of biflow mixer tap discs comprising a first disc adapted to be fixed and second disc adapted to be mobile in position and in orientation relative to the first disc and having a plane surface adapted to be pressed against a plane surface of the first disc, wherein the first disc has first, second, third and fourth apertures through it, the second and third apertures are of circumferentially elongate shape and internally tangential to a first reference circle and the first aperture is between the second aperture and the third aperture and is radially between the centre of the first reference circle and the second aperture, the second disc includes first and second 15 openings that open onto the plane surface of the second disc to establish communication selectively between the first and second apertures, on the one hand, and/or the third and fourth apertures, on the other hand, depending on the position and the orientation of the second disc, the second and third apertures are substantially opposite each other relative to the centre of the first reference circle, the fourth aperture is of circumferentially elongate shape and substantially tangential internally to the first reference circle and offset from the third aperture in a first angular direction, the first and second openings are internally tangential to a second reference circle, the second opening has a circumferentially elongate shape with a first terminal area and a second terminal area offset from the first terminal area in a second angular direction opposite the first angular direction and the first opening extends from the centre 02 of the second reference circle C2 in the radial direction away from the first terminal area, 4 the apertures and the openings have dimensions such that when the first and second reference circles are concentric: there is an intermediate orientation of the mobile disc in which the first opening radially overlaps the first and second apertures and the second opening circumferentially overlaps the third and fourth apertures, there is a first extreme orientation offset relative to the intermediate orientation in the first angular direction in which the second opening overlaps the third and fourth apertures and the first opening does not overlap the first and second apertures, and there is a second extreme orientation offset 15 relative to the intermediate orientation in the second angular direction in which the first opening overlaps the first and second apertures without the second opening overlapping the third and fourth apertures.

Note in particular that, in accordance with the invention, one of the openings establishes communication ,between two apertures by radial overlapping while the *V other opening establishes communication between the other two apertures by circumferential overlapping-; it is this difference in the mode of overlapping (in the prior art solution the overlapping is radial in both cases) that enables a substantial reduction in overall size combined with separate evacuation of cold water and hot water from the cartridge with substantial flowrates.

In accordance with preferred and possibly combined features of the invention: the first and second extreme orientations have substantially equal angular offsets relative to the intermediate orientation, the two reference circles have substantially equal diameters, the first reference circle is concentric with the fixed disc and the second reference circle has a centre offset relative to the centre of the mobile disc on the side opposite the radius along which the first opening extends, the first aperture is substantially tangential to the centre of the first reference circle, the first opening is substantially tangential to the centre of the second reference circle, the first aperture is symmetrical relative to a radius of the first reference circle and the second aperture is offset angularly relative to said radius in the first angular direction, the fourth aperture is delimited internally by an 15 edge substantially parallel to said radius, the first aperture is elongate transversely to said radius, the first aperture has an elliptical shape with the minor axis along said radius, the second aperture is delimited laterally by substantially rectilinear sections at least one of which is substantially radial, the second aperture is delimited internally by an edge substantially concentric with the first reference circle, the third aperture is delimited laterally by substantially rectilinear sections at least one of which is substantially radial, the third aperture is delimited internally by a substantially rectilinear section, the fourth aperture is part-moon shape and is delimited externally by an edge which at least near the first aperture diverges from the first reference circle towards the substantially rectilinear section, the angular amplitude of the second aperture is greater than the angular amplitude of the third aperture, the first opening is substantially symmetrical relative to the radius along which it extends, the first opening has lateral edges parallel to the radius along which it extends, the second opening is delimited laterally by substantially rectilinear edges at least one of which is substantially radial, the second and third apertures are angularly offset from the fourth aperture by approximately 150 and the second opening has an angular amplitude in the range approximately 1300 to approximately 1600, the fourth aperture is offset angularly from the second aperture by an amount in the range approximately 100 to approximately 200 and is offset from the third aperture by an amount in the range approximately 100 to approximately 200, the angular offset between the extreme orientations of the mobile disc is greater than 900, said angular offset is in the order of 1100, and the first angular direction is the clockwise direction and the second angular direction is the anticlockwise direction.

The invention also consists in a bi-flow mixer tap cartridge including a pair of discs of the above kind and a system for controlling the orientation and the position of the mobile disc.

The nature, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description given by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the appended drawings in which: figure 1 shows a first disc which constitutes a fixed disc, figure 2 shows a second disc which in use is mobile in position and in orientation relative to the first disc, figure 3 shows the combination of the first and second discs, the second disc having an intermediate orientation and a position corresponding to a zero flowrate, figure 4 shows the superposed two discs, the second disc having the same orientation as in figure 3 but a position corresponding to two separate flows, figure 5 shows the superposed two discs, the mobile disc having a first extreme orientation and a position corresponding to a zero flowrate, figure 6 shows the two discs, the mobile disc having the same orientation as in figure 5 but a position corresponding to a substantial flow of only one of the fluids, figure 7 shows the superposed two discs, the second disc being in a second extreme orientation and in a position corresponding to a zero flowrate, figure 8 shows the superposed two discs, the mobile disc having the same orientation as in figure 7 but a position corresponding to a substantial flowrate of the other fluid only, figure 9 shows another first disc constituting a fixed disc, figure 10 shows another second disc which in use is mobile along the disc from figure 9, figure 11 is an exploded perspective view of a cartridge including the discs from figures 9 and figure 12 is bottom view of the bottom of the cartridge, and figure 13 is a top view of the bottom of the cartridge combined with an intermediate part on which the fixed disc from figure 9 bears.

Figure 1 shows a first disc 1 which in use is fixed relative to a bi-flow mixer tap cartridge. The disc has notches lA in four areas offset at 900 for immobilising it in the cartridge.

The first disc has a bearing surface adapted to contact a corresponding bearing surface of a second disc 7 shown in figure 2.

The bearing surface is delimited by an edge 10 of substantially circular shape which includes a flat and the centre of which (not shown) is offset relative to the centre 01 of the disc 1.

There are four apertures 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the disc.

The first aperture 2 selectively communicates with the aperture 3 according to the position and the orientation of the mobile disc 7 and the third aperture 4 and the fourth aperture 5 selectively communicate according to 15 the position and the orientation of the mobile disc 7.

S.For example: the aperture 2 is adapted to communicate with a cold water inlet in a tap body adapted to receive a cartridge including the discs from figures 1 and 2, the aperture 3 is adapted to communicate with a cold water outlet in the aforementioned body, Sthe aperture 4 is adapted to communicate with a hot water inlet formed in the body, and the aperture 5 is adapted to communicate with a hot water outlet.

The respective functions of the apertures can of course be interchanged, depending on the configuration of the valve body in which a cartridge including these discs is intended to be incorporated. Furthermore, the fluids controlled by the pair of discs 1 and 7 need not be water.

The second aperture 3 and the third aperture 4 are circumferentially elongate in shape and internally tangential to a first reference circle C1. The first aperture 2 is between the second aperture and the third aperture and for the most part radially between the centre 01 of the first reference circle and the second aperture.

The second and third apertures 3 and 4 are substantially opposite each other relative to the centre 01.

The fourth aperture 5 has a circumferentially elongate shape substantially internally tangential to the first reference circle Cl and is offset from the third aperture 4 in a first angular direction, here the clockwise direction.

Here the first reference circle Cl is concentric with the fixed disc and as a result its centre 01 is coincident with the centre of the fixed disc.

15 The first aperture is substantially tangential to r* the centre 01 of the first reference circle C1. The first aperture 2 is advantageously symmetrical relative to a radius R1 of the first reference circle and the second aperture 3 is offset angularly relative to the radius R1 in the first angular direction (clockwise here). Because the third aperture 4 is opposite the second aperture relative to the centre of the first reference circle Cl, the third aperture is also offset relative to R1, in other words the third aperture 4 is offset relative to a radius extending the radius R1 in the first angular direction.

STo be more precise, the first aperture 2 is here Selongate transversely to R1. It advantageously has an elliptical shape with the minor axis along the radius Rl.

Consequently the major axis of the elliptical shape is transverse to that radius.

The second aperture 3 is delimited laterally by substantially rectilinear sections 3A and 3B which are radial here. The second aperture 3 is advantageously delimited internally by an edge 3C substantially concentric with the reference circle Cl. The radially opposite edge 3D is substantially tangential to the reference circle R1 throughout it length.

The third aperture is delimited laterally by substantially rectilinear sections 4A and 4B which are radial here. It is advantageously delimited internally by a substantially rectilinear section 4C and its radially external edge 4D runs substantially along the reference circle Cl throughout its length.

There are radial axes of symmetry for each of the second and third apertures 3 and 4; given that the latter are radially opposite each other, the two radial axes of symmetry are aligned with each other. They are identified by the reference letters UU in figure 1.

15 The fourth aperture 5 is delimited internally by an internal edge 5A which is substantially parallel to the radius R1.

The fourth aperture is delimited externally by an r: edge 5B which near the third aperture 4 diverges departs inwardly from the reference circle Cl as far as the substantially rectilinear edge 5A. The fourth aperture delimited by these two edges only is therefore part-moon shape.

The angular amplitude of the second aperture 3 is preferably greater than the angular amplitude of the third aperture 4.

In the figure 1 example the aperture 3 has an angular amplitude of approximately 750 and the third aperture 4 has an angular amplitude of 55' relative to the centre 01, for example.

As shown in figure 2 the second disc 7 is also substantially circular in shape. However, its diameter is less than the diameter of the disc 1 from figure 1 to allow the disc 7 to move relative to the disc 1 not only in rotation (or orientation) but also in translation relative to various radii.

The mobile disc has a bearing surface delimited by a dashed line 20 because the bearing surface is a hidden surface in figure 2. The second disc has first and second openings 8 and 9 opening onto the bearing surface of the second disc, without necessarily passing through all of the thickness of the second disc: they are preferably blind holes; as an alternative the openings can be apertures, in which case to prevent the water flowing in them wetting the entire cartridge a cover-disc disc can be provided in the cartridge to isolate these openings from the remainder of the cartridge, in the manner known in itself.

The first and second openings 8 and 9 are 15 internally tangential to a second reference circle C2.

The second opening 9 has a circumferentially elongate shape with a first terminal area 9A and a second terminal area 9B offset from the first terminal area 9A in a r" second angular direction opposite the first angular direction. Here the second angular direction is h therefore the anticlockwise direction.

The first opening 8 extends from the centre 02 of the reference circle C2 in the direction away from the first terminal area 9A.

The centre 02 of the second reference circle is offset relative to the centre O of the second disc 7.

This offset is advantageously towards the first terminal area 9A.

The two reference circles C1 and C2 of the two discs advantageously have at least approximately equal diameters.

The first opening 8 is preferably substantially tangential to the centre 02 of the second reference circle C2.

The first opening is substantially symmetrical relative to a radius R2 along which it extends; it is advantageously delimited laterally by lateral edges 8A and 8B parallel to the radius R2.

The second opening 9 is delimited laterally by substantially rectilinear edges 9C and 9D which are radial edges here.

The second opening has a radial dimension that is maximal in a middle portion between the terminal areas 9A and 9B and which reduces in the direction of the latter.

To be more precise, the second opening is delimited externally by an edge 9E substantially tangential to the reference circle C2 and the inside edge 9F has a centre located beyond the centre 02 of the reference circle C2.

These apertures and these openings have dimensions 15 such that when the first and second reference circles are concentric: in an intermediate orientation of the mobile disc (figures 3 and 4) the first opening 8 radially overlaps the first and second apertures and the second opening 9 circumferentially overlaps the third and fourth apertures, in a first extreme orientation (figures 5 and 6) offset relative to the intermediate orientation in the first angular direction the second opening overlaps the third and fourth apertures and the first opening does not overlap the first and second apertures, and -in a second extreme orientation (figures 7 and 8) offset relative to the intermediate orientation in the second angular direction the first opening overlaps the first and second apertures without the second opening overlapping the third and fourth apertures.

The extreme orientations are preferably substantially symmetrical relative to the intermediate orientation with an angular offset which is here greater than 900 and substantially equal to 1100 twice 550).

The discs 1 and 7 are advantageously made from a ceramic material such as alumina which is a standard material for tap discs.

Figures 5 and 6 give exemplary dimensions in millimetres.

Figures 9 and 10 show a different embodiment with two different first and second discs 11 and 17 adapted to cooperate with each other. They are similar in many respects to the discs 1 and 7. For this reason the component parts of the discs 11 and 17 that correspond to component parts of the discs 1 and 7 are designated by reference number derived from the reference numbers of figures 1 and 2 by adding The main differences between the two pairs of discs 15 can be identified as follows: one of the lateral edges 13A of the second aperture is no longer radial but instead approximately parallel to the inside edge 15A of the fourth aperture S- the part-moon shaped fourth aperture diverges from the reference circle at both ends, the third aperture 14 has an edge 14B that is no longer radial and its radial dimension decreases in the direction of the other edge 14A and its inside edge 14C is approximately rectilinear, and the second opening 19 is bordered laterally by substantially rectilinear edges of which one edge 19C is not radial and to the contrary imparts a tapered shape to the terminal area 19A.

Figure 11 shows by way of example an exploded perspective view of a cartridge 20 including the discs 11 and 17 from figures 9 and 10. Its overall design is entirely standard and obvious, with a cartridge cap 21 and a cartridge bottom (or "base") 22 together forming a cartridge body, a disc-cover disc 23, a body 24 rotating relative to the body 21 and a pivoting lever 25 mounted on a pivot pin 26 connected to the rotary body conjointly controlling the orientation and the position of the mobile disc.

A gasket 27 between the components 17 and 23 has a shape corresponding to the openings in the disc 17.

Another gasket 28 is mounted on the outside of the bottom 22 and its shape corresponds to the geometry of the orifices therein.

An intermediate distributor member 29 is disposed between the bottom 22 and the fixed disc 11.

The bottom 22 is shown in more detail in figure 12.

It includes four orifices 30, 31, 32 and 33 the centres of which define a flattened lozenge. Pins 34 enable S 15 correct positioning of the cartridge in a tap body, not shown.

The intermediate distributor member 29 is a ring in .which partitions delimit chambers 35, 36, 37 and 38 having shapes similar to the shapes of the apertures 12 through 15 in the fixed disc.

Figure 13 shows how superposing this member 29 on the bottom 22 enables communication between the orifices 31, 32 and 33 and the apertures 12 through 15 in the fixed disc.

The other features of the cartridge are standard and need not be described in more detail.

By way of example, a cartridge conforming to figure 11 with components having the geometries of figures 9 and and figures 12 and 13 (the dimensions can be deduced from these figures by virtue of the fact that figures 9 and 10 are to the same scale, the disc from figure 9 has a maximum diameter of 36.7 mm and the bottom from figure 12 has a diameter of 39.7 mm) has a maximum flowrate of 12 i/min for a flow velocity of 6.7 m/s, an outlet orifice diameter of 7 mm and a pressure of 1 bar.

Claims

1. A pair of bi-flow mixer tap discs comprising a first disc adapted to be fixed and second disc adapted to be mobile in position and in orientation relative to the first disc and having a plane surface adapted to be pressed against a plane surface of the first disc, wherein the first disc has first, second, third and fourth apertures through it, the second and third apertures are of circumferentially elongate shape and internally tangential to a first reference circle and the first aperture is between the second aperture and the third aperture and is radially between the centre of the 15 first reference circle and the second aperture, the second disc includes first and second .openings that open onto the plane surface of the second disc to establish communication selectively between the first and second apertures, on the one hand, and/or the third and fourth apertures, on the other hand, depending on the position and the orientation of the second disc, the second and third apertures are substantially opposite each other relative to the centre of the first reference circle, S 25 the fourth aperture is of circumferentially elongate shape and substantially tangential internally to the first reference circle and offset from the third aperture in a first angular direction, the first and second openings are internally tangential to a second reference circle, the second opening has a circumferentially elongate shape with a first terminal area and a second terminal area offset from the first terminal area in a second angular direction opposite the first angular direction and the first opening extends from the centre 02 of the second reference circle C2 in the radial direction away from the first terminal area, and the apertures and the openings have dimensions such that when the first and second reference circles are concentric: there is an intermediate orientation of the mobile disc in which the first opening radially overlaps the first and second apertures and the second opening circumferentially overlaps the third and fourth apertures, Sthere is a first extreme orientation offset relative to the intermediate orientation in the first angular direction in which the second opening overlaps the third and fourth apertures and the first opening does 15 not overlap the first and second apertures, and there is a second extreme orientation offset relative to the intermediate orientation in the second angular direction in which the first opening overlaps the first and second apertures without the second opening overlapping the third and fourth apertures. e.

2. A pair of discs according to claim 1 wherein the first and second extreme orientations have substantially equal angular offsets relative to the intermediate orientation.

3. A pair of discs according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the two reference circles have substantially equal diameters.

4. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the first reference circle is concentric with the fixed disc and the second reference circle has a centre offset relative to the centre of the mobile disc on the side opposite the radius along which the first opening extends.

A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the first aperture is substantially tangential to the centre of the first reference circle.

6. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the first opening is substantially tangential to the centre of the second reference circle.

7. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the first aperture is symmetrical relative to a radius of the first reference circle and the second aperture is offset angularly relative to said radius in the first angular direction.

8. A pair of discs according to claim 7 wherein the fourth aperture is delimited internally by an edge substantially parallel to said radius.

9. A pair of discs according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the first aperture is elongate transversely to 15 said radius.

10. A pair of discs according to claim 9 wherein the first aperture has an elliptical shape with the minor axis along said radius.

11. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein the second aperture is delimited 0. laterally by substantially rectilinear sections at least o. ne of which is substantially radial.

12. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the second aperture is delimited 25 internally by an edge substantially concentric with the first reference circle.

13. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the third aperture is delimited laterally by substantially rectilinear sections at least one of which is substantially radial.

14. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein the third aperture is delimited internally by a substantially rectilinear section.

A pair of discs according to claim 14 wherein the fourth aperture is part-moon shape and is delimited externally by an edge which at least near the first aperture diverges from the first reference circle towards the substantially rectilinear section.

16. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 15 wherein the angular amplitude of the second aperture is greater than the angular amplitude of the third aperture.

17. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 16 wherein the first opening is substantially symmetrical relative to the radius along which it extends.

18. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 17 wherein the first opening has lateral edges parallel to the radius along which it extends. 15

19. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 18 wherein the second opening is delimited laterally by substantially rectilinear edges at least one of which is substantially radial.

20. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 19 wherein the second and third apertures are angularly offset from the fourth aperture by approximately 150 and the second opening has an angular amplitude in the range approximately 1300 to approximately

1600.

21. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 20 wherein the fourth aperture is offset angularly from the second aperture by an amount in the range approximately 100 to approximately 20' and is offset from the third aperture by an amount in the range approximately 100 to approximately 200.

22. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 21 wherein the angular offset between the extreme orientations of the mobile disc is greater than

23. A pair of discs according to claim 22 wherein said angular offset is in the order of 1100.

24. A pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 23 wherein the first angular direction is the clockwise direction and the second angular direction is the anticlockwise direction.

25. A bi-flow mixer tap cartridge comprising a cartridge body, a pair of discs according to any one of claims 1 to 24 and a system for controlling the orientation and the position of the mobile disc. DATED: 3rd March, 1998 PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Attorneys for: NORTON DESMARQUEST FINE CERAMICS 0O l*g *S* S* *S S