EP0485346A1

EP0485346A1 - Composite casing for taps

Info

Publication number: EP0485346A1
Application number: EP91830431A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alessio Orlandi
Original assignee: Solid Plast Srl
Current assignee: Solid Plast Srl
Priority date: 1990-11-09
Filing date: 1991-10-14
Publication date: 1992-05-13
Also published as: IT9005230A1; IT1246852B; IT9005230A0

Abstract

The present invention relates to a composite casing for sanitary system taps incorporating a valvular device for controlling the delivery of water, the casing of which is made up from a metal core (11) having a valvular device and delimiting water inlet and outlet conduits, and from a covering or shell (12) in synthetic resin enclosing the metal core. The covering or shell is integral with the metal core through the assembly of the components and the setting up of the tap for its use.

Description

The present invention generally relates to taps for sanitary units incorporating a mixing valve or an intercepting screw as a device for the regulation of water to be delivered, and more particularly to tap casings for wash basins, sinks, bidets or such as well as tap units for bath tubs.
In the more traditional forms of realization, the casing of said taps or tap units are always realized in a fusing metallic material, usually brass, which are worked and undergo exterior finishings with the possibility of giving the resulting manufactured article classic shapes. Tap casings made from a rod or drawn metal but which cannot be given classic shapes are also known.
Recently, a realization of tap casings in synthetic resin has been proposed which is obtainable by injection moulding but having limitations and various problems regarding the shape, shrinkages, deformations and mainly regarding mechanical resistance when the casing is involved with the setting up of the tap and it results as being under strain when the tap is being used.
The object of the present invention is to get round these limitations and to solve the above mentioned problems by perfectioning the taps or tap units casing with at least one part in synthetic resin.
It is infact the object of the present invention to supply a tap casing in both metal and synthetic resin, structured in such a way to apply mechanical forces and strains exclusively to the metal parts, thus using the synthetic resin parts for covering and aesthetics purposes so as to define the general and external shape of the tap.
Another object of the present invention is to supply a composite casing for taps in which the water conduits and the valvular device for intercepting are for-seen in the metal part, thus keeping the synthetic resin parts from having to canalize and seal-duty.
Thus, the taps or tap units casing of the present invention is made up from a metal core provided with a valvular device for interception and delimiting inlet and outlet water conduits and from a covering or shell in synthetic resin enclosing said metal core, where the covering or shell are integrated to the metal core through the assembly of the components and the setting up and usage of the tap.
The metal core, which is usually in brass, can be obtained from either moulding or through the processing of rods or drawn metal and will have parts for the setting up of the tap when assembled but does not require external finishings, thus having the advantage of reducing production time and cost.
On the other hand, the covering or shell in synthetic resin can also be obtained through the usual injection moulding technique and be of various shapes.
The covering or shell will only be used for enclosing the metal core, thus giving the final shape to the tap without needing other processing. Furthermore, the covering or shell can be realized in any colour starting from a resin which has been opportunitely pigmented.
The attached drawings show examples of practical realization of the invention. In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the separate parts designed to form, for example, a mixing tap for hot and cold water;
Fig. 2 is an axial section of the assembled parts in Fig. 1 which form a tap;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the separate parts designed to form a tap unit for bath tubs;
Fig. 4 is an assembled section of the tap unit in Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is a partial section of Fig. 4 on the lines V-V; and
Fig. 6 is a variation of the realization of the body.

The tap unit (10) here proposed comprises a metal core (11), usually of brass, and a synthetic resin covering or shell (12) which complementarily encloses the metal core.
Said core is made from an element (13) having at least one water inlet conduit (13a), one water outlet conduit (13b) and a seat (13c) for a valvular device (14) and from a pipe (15) which takes the water to a delivery mouth (16).
The example of the realization illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 refer to a single-control mixer tap for hot and cold water. The element (13) of the metal core (11) has two inlet conduits (13a, 13a′), respectively for hot and cold water, to be connected to two corresponding welded canalizations (not shown) and an outlet conduit (13b) to which the pipe (15) for the delivery of water to the mouth (16) is connected. The valvular device (14) can be a cartridge-type mixer valve which is fixed, through a metal ring (17), into the seat (13c) of the element (13) and is controlled by a handle (18). One end of the pipe (15) is engaged by pressure and with the interposition of a seal (15a) into the outlet hole (13b) and the other end is coupled, once again with the interposition of a seal (15b), with the delivery mouth (16).
The covering or shell (12) has a part (12a) able to enclose the element (13) of the core (11) and a lateral part (12b) able to enclose the pipe (15) and holds the delivery mouth (16).
The assembling of such a tap can be carried out by first setting the element (13) into the part (12a) of the covering or shell (12), then inserting the pipe (15) into the outlet hole (13b), making it pass through the lateral parts (12b) of the covering or shell and finally fixing the delivery mouth (16) to the pipe (15), (if not previously done so), on the end of said lateral parts (12b) of the covering or shell (12). The fixing of the delivery mouth (16) to the part (12b) can be carried out, for example, with a bayonet coupling, where the parts (16, 12b) to be coupled are fitted with complementary parts (18, 18a), the mouth also being fixed to the part (12b) through a blocking dowel (18b).
The assembling of the elements which are concurrent to the making-up of the tap unit can however be different from what has been described, but still be within the limits of the invention.
In any case, once the components have been assembled, the valvular device (14) can be fitted and blocked into the relative seat (13c) of the element (13) and the device can be applied onto the relative equipment.
For applying the device (14) to the core (11), more precisely to the element (13), a washer (19) and a base seal (20) are co-ordinated and one or more tie rods (21) are fixed, said tie rods being designed to pass through the body of the equipment onto which the tap is fixed. With the fitting of the tap through the tie rods (21), the core covering or shell result as being stably blocked to each other, advantageously without added elements even if these can be supplied if desired.
The example of realization shown in Figs. 3-5 refers to tap units having a mixer valve (114) for bath tubs. This realization differs from the one in Figs. 1 and 2 only in that the covering or shell (112) and the metal core (111) has an altered configuration. Infact, the metal core (111) is made up from an element (113) with two water inlets (113a, 113a′) which communicate with a hole (103) to which two tubes (104, 105) connect on opposite sides and a water outlet (113b) to which a pipe (115) having a delivery mouth (116) with a switch (116a). As well as having a part (112a) which holds the element (113) and a part (112b) which encloses the pipe (115) and holds the delivery mouth, the covering or shell (112) also has two lateral arms (112c) which enclose the two opposite tubes (104, 105) which are closed by caps (104a 105a). The two arms (112c) each have an opening (104b, 105b) in which a metal connector (106) is fitted. One end of said connector screws into the corresponding tube (104, 105) and the other end is fixed to the water pipe network through a nut (107).
It should be finally noted that the synthetic resin covering or shell (12) can be realized in separate elements, at least two (212, 212a), where one element is designed to enclose the metal core and the other element is designed to enclose the metal canalization for the delivery mouth, said elements (212, 212a) being fixed to each other in a suitable way.

Claims

1) A composite casing for sanitary tubs incorporating a valvular device for controlling the delivery of water, characterized in that it comprises a metal core (11) having a valvular device and delimiting water inlet and outlet conduits and covering or shell (12) in synthetic resin enclosing the metal core, the covering or shell being made integral with the metal core through the assembly of the components and the setting up of the tap for its use.

2) A composite casing in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the metal core (11) has parts for the setting up of the tap once assembled, said parts comprising tie rods (21) and at least one washer (19) and a base seal (20).

3) A composite casing in accordance with claims 1 and 2, especially for taps for wash basins, sinks, bidet and the such, characterized in that the metal core (11) comprises at least one element (13) having at least one water inlet conduit (13a, 13a′), one water outlet conduit (13b) and a seat (13c) for the valvular device (14) and a pipe (15) which seal couples with said water outlet conduit (13b) and with a delivery mouth (16), and in that the covering or shell in synthetic resin (12) has a part (12a) for enclosing said element (13) of the metal core and a part (12b) for enclosing said pipe (15) and for holding the delivery mouth (16).

4) A composite casing in accordance with claim 3, characterized in that said covering or shell (12) is made from a single piece or from two or more coupled complementary elements.

5) A composite casing in accordance with claims 1 and 2, especially for tap units for bath tubs, characterized in that the metal core (11) comprises a central element (113) having two water inlet conduits (113a, 113a′), a water outlet conduit (113b) and seat (113c) for the valvular device, two lateral tubes (104, 105) seal coupled respectively to said water inlet conduits, and a pipe (115) seal coupled with a water outlet conduit and with a water delivery mouth (116) with a switch for the shower, and in that the covering or shell in synthetic resin (12) has a part (112a) for enclosing said central element (113) of the metal core, two opposite arms (112c) for enclosing said lateral tubes (104, 105) and a part for enclosing said pipe (115) and for holding said delivery mouth (116), both arms having a radial slot into which a metal connector (106), which fixes itself to the corresponding lateral tube (104, 105) and to the water delivery network through a threaded nut, fits.

6) A composite casing in accordance with claim 5, characterized in that said covering (112) is made up of a single piece or two or more parts complimentarily coupled.

7) A composite casing in accordance with any of the previous claims, characterized in that the part (12b, 112b) of the covering or shell enclosing the water delivery pipe (15, 115) has parts for a bayonet fitting of the delivery mouth (16, 116).