EP0503585B1 - Sanitary fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

A sanitary fitting for installation in a part of a building, for example on the edge of a bath tub, comprises an inner part (3) of the fitting, which can be fixed to a mounting (2), with form-fitting, in a manner such that it cannot be twisted relative to the mounting (2). A threaded bush (23) is axially movable relative to the inner part (3) of the fitting, by means of a screwing movement, in a manner such that it projects to a greater or lesser extent beyond the mounting (2). A coupling part (28) is connected to the threaded bush (23) in a manner such that, although it is uncoupled from the rotary movement of the latter, it nevertheless follows the axial movement of the threaded bush (23). The coupling part (28) is secured against twisting on the inner part (3) of the fitting by form-fitting with non-circular contours. An outer part (4) of the fitting is pushed onto the coupling part (28), again with form-fitting by means of non-circular contours. With this structure, the distance between the lower end face of the outer part (4) of the fitting and the mounting (2) can be changed without it being necessary for the parts located underneath the mounting (2) to be accessible. <IMAGE>

Description

• a) einem Armaturen-Innenteil, das zumindest im Bereich des Durchtrittes durch die Halterung eine unrunde Außenkontur aufweist und von einer Seite her an der Halterung, die eine komplementäre Montageöffnung aufweist, unverdrehbar befestigt ist;
• b) einem auf das Armaturen-Innenteil lösbar aufsteckbaren, an der anderen Seite der Halterung anzuordnenden Armaturen-Außenteil, wobei der Abstand zwischen der der Halterung zugewandten Stirnseite des Armaturen-Außenteiles und der Halterung veränderbar ist.

The invention relates to a sanitary fitting for installation in a part of a building with a bracket

• a) an inner fitting part, which has a non-circular outer contour at least in the area of the passage through the holder and is non-rotatably fastened from one side to the holder, which has a complementary assembly opening;
• b) a detachably attachable to the fitting inner part, to be arranged on the other side of the holder fitting, the distance between the end of the fitting facing the holder and the holder being changeable.

Such a sanitary fitting is shown in DE-A-39 07 204, in particular in FIG. 3. This is a bathtub spout, which can be mounted on a mounting plate serving as a bracket in a recess on the side of a bathtub. The adjustment of the distance between the lower end face of the outer fitting part and the mounting plate takes place in such a way that the inner fitting part can be displaced in the axial direction relative to the mounting plate and can be fixed in different axial positions. However, this presupposes that the fastening means, which serve to axially fix the inner part of the fitting on the mounting plate, are always accessible.

For a better understanding of this fact, it should be remembered that the variable distance between the lower end face of the valve outer part and the bracket should serve to compensate for different thicknesses of a tiling to be applied to the holder (for wall installation: different thicknesses of the plaster or the like). When the sanitary fitting is being roughly assembled, the inner part of the fitting is first attached to the bracket, for example to a mounting plate. Another craftsman then applies the tiling over the mounting plate. Finally, in the final assembly, the outer part of the fitting is plugged onto the outwardly protruding area of the inner part of the fitting. It is only at this point in time that the exact target position of the lower end face of the outer fitting part is known. The corresponding positioning of the different parts of the known bath spout can only take place because in the subject of DE-OS 39 07 204 the entire holder together with the tiling applied to it can be removed from the installation recess. This design is therefore not suitable for those cases in which the tiling and the holder can no longer be removed from the part of the building and the parts of the sanitary fitting covered by the tiling and holder are no longer accessible.

The object of the present invention is to design a sanitary fitting of the type mentioned in such a way that, on the one hand, the required adjustment of the fitting outer part relative to the holder can take place without the parts covered by the holder having to be accessible, and on the other hand the fitting outer part robust is secured against rotation.

• c) eine Schraubbuchse vorgesehen ist, welche durch eine Schraubbewegung gegenüber dem Armaturen-Innenteil in ihrer axialen Lage verstellbar ist;
• d) ein Kopplungsteil mit der Schraubbuchse derart in Verbindung steht, daß es von deren Drehbewegung abgekoppelt ist, jedoch deren Axialbewegung mitmacht;
• e) das Kopplungsteil in einem ersten Bereich mit unrunder Kontur an einem Bereich des Armaturen-Innenteiles mit komplementärer Kontur unverdrehbar aber axial verschiebbar anliegt;
• f) das Kopplungsteil einen zweiten Bereich mit unrunder Kontur aufweist, auf welchen das Armaturen-Außenteil mit einer komplementären Kontur unverdrehbar aufgeschoben ist.

This object is achieved in that

• c) a screw bushing is provided which can be adjusted in its axial position by a screwing movement relative to the inner part of the valve;
• d) a coupling part is connected to the screw bushing in such a way that it is decoupled from its rotary movement, but does join its axial movement;
• e) the coupling part rests in a first region with a non-circular contour on a region of the valve interior part with a complementary contour, non-rotatably but axially displaceably;
• f) the coupling part has a second region with a non-circular contour, onto which the outer fitting part is pushed non-rotatably with a complementary contour.

The first part of the above-described task, namely the subsequent adjustability of the position of the valve outer part, is achieved according to the invention by the screw bushing which extends through the holder and can be gripped and rotated by a tool at its outer end. If the outer part of the fitting were to be placed directly on this screw bushing, its angular fixation on the screw bushing would have to take place by means of a screw or the like which rests against an outer surface of the screw bushing. However, such a fixation would not be sufficiently stable. For this reason, the coupling part is provided according to the invention for solving the second partial task described above. The On the one hand, the coupling part with its non-circular contours creates a positive connection between the inner part of the fitting and the outer part of the fitting, which very reliably and stably prevents the rotation of the outer part of the fitting relative to the inner part of the fitting and thus ultimately against the holder. In addition, however, the coupling part follows the axial movement of the screw bushing in such a way that the fitting outer part fastened on the coupling part can have different distances from the inner part of the fitting and thus also from the holder in the desired manner. The screw bushing should have an engagement surface at its outer end for a tool suitable for screwing.

• a) einen Bereich mit im wesentlichen zylindrischer Mantelfläche, an welchem das Kopplungsteil befestigt ist;
• b) einen Gewindebereich zur Verschraubung gegenüber dem Armaturen-Innenteil;
• c) einen Führungsbereich mit im wesentlichen zylindrischer Mantelfläche zur Abdichtung gegen das Armaturen-Innenteil.

A construction is expedient in which the screw bushing has the following areas with a decreasing diameter from the outside in:

• a) an area with a substantially cylindrical lateral surface to which the coupling part is attached;
• b) a threaded area for screwing in relation to the inner part of the fitting;
• c) a guide area with a substantially cylindrical outer surface for sealing against the valve inner part.

In a special embodiment of the invention, the water path leads to the valve outer part through the interior of the screw bushing. In this way, a separate channel, which would need its own space, through the valve interior part is not necessary.

In many cases, sanitary fittings of the type of interest here have a changeover device which Water flow either directed to the outer part of the fitting or to another water consumer and comprises a double valve cone which interacts with two valve seats and can be moved via an actuating rod. In this case it is advisable if the actuating rod is passed axially through the inside of the screw bushing. The reason for this measure is again that no special channel with its own space requirement for the actuating rod in the inner part of the valve is then required.

One of the two valve seats, with which the double valve cone of the changeover device interacts, can be formed on the inner end face of an insert bush which is fixed in the interior part of the fitting, the insert bush having an internal thread which interacts with an external thread of the screw bushing.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the coupling part is connected to the screw bush by a snap ring which lies in an annular space which is partly formed by a groove in the coupling part and partly by a groove in the screw bush. When the screw bushing moves axially in this way, the snap ring represents a positive entrainment connection between the screw bushing and the coupling part. In the case of rotary movements, on the other hand, the screw bushing can move relative to the snap ring without the coupling part being taken along.

According to a further feature of the invention, the first non-circular region of the coupling part can be formed on an apron which is molded onto the coupling part and overlaps the outer contour of the inner part of the fitting.

Figur 1:

einen Axialschnitt durch einen am Rand einer Badewanne montierten Wannenauslauf bei verhältmäßig kleiner Fliesendicke;

Figur 2:

eine Ansicht, ähnlich der Figur 1, jedoch bei größerer Fliesendicke.

An embodiment of the invention is as follows explained in more detail with reference to the drawing; show it

Figure 1:

an axial section through a tub spout mounted on the edge of a bathtub with a relatively small tile thickness;

Figure 2:

a view similar to Figure 1, but with a larger tile thickness.

In the drawing, a tub spout 1 is shown, which - unless otherwise described below - is mounted in a similar manner as in DE-OS 39 07 204 mentioned above on the edge of a bathtub in an installation niche provided there. The bathtub spout 1 is composed of two main components:

A fitting inner part 3 is mounted on a horizontal mounting plate 2, which is fastened in the recess in a suitable manner. An outer fitting 4 is attached to this, as will be explained in more detail. The distance between the lower end face of the outer fitting part 4 and the mounting plate 2 can be varied in a manner described in more detail below in order to be able to compensate for different thicknesses of the tiles 36 used for cladding the mounting plate 2.

In detail, the structure of the tub inlet 1 shown in the drawing is as follows:

The valve inner part 3 comprises a lateral connection piece 5, through which the water is supplied. The water reaches a changeover device 7, which comprises a double valve plate 8 and an actuating rod 9. The double valve plate 8 can optionally cooperate with an upper valve seat 10 and a lower valve seat 11.

If the double valve plate 8 is located on the lower valve seat 11, the water path to the axial shower connection piece 12 pointing downward is blocked. No water can thus escape from a hand shower, which is arranged next to the bath inlet 1, but is not shown in the drawing and is connected to the shower connecting piece 12 via a hose. Instead, the water entering via the connecting piece 5 flows upward through an axial bore 13 of a screw bushing 23 into an outlet space 14 of the outer fitting part 4 and from there to the outlet mouthpiece of the tub inlet 1, which is no longer shown in the drawing.

If, on the other hand, the double valve disc 8 is in contact with the upper valve seat 10, which is formed by the lower end face of the insert bush 15, then the last-described water path to the outlet mouthpiece of the tub outlet 1 is blocked; the water path to the hand shower via the shower connector 12 is released.

The movement of the double valve plate 8 between the two valve seats 10 and 11 is carried out manually by means of the actuating rod 7, which is guided coaxially through the axial bore 13 of the insert bush 15, through the outlet space 14 of the outer part 4 of the fitting and through its wall. In the usual way, a handle (not shown) is placed on the outer end of the actuating rod 9.

At its upper end, the insert bushing 15 has a collar 16 with an enlarged diameter with an external thread 17. The external thread 17 of the insert bushing 15 interacts with a corresponding internal thread 18 on the inner contour of the fitting inner part 3, which is complementary to the insert bushing 15. An O-ring 19 in the region of the lower end of the insert bush 15 lies in a groove 20 of the inner part of the fitting 3 and prevents water from entering the gap between the insert bushing 15 and the valve inner part 3.

The insert bushing 15 is provided with an internal thread 21 in the upper half. This internal thread 21 interacts with a corresponding external thread 22 of a screw bushing 23 which is mounted coaxially inside the insert bushing 15, axially screwable relative to the latter. The outer contour of the screw bushing 23 can be divided into three areas, the diameter of which decreases from top to bottom:

The uppermost region 24 has a smooth, cylindrical outer surface. It is followed at the bottom by the thread region 22 already mentioned, which in turn merges at the lower end of the screw bushing 23 into a guide region 25 with a smooth cylindrical outer surface.

The outer contour of the inner part 3 of the fittings is at least in the region of the passage through the mounting plate 2 out of round, that is to say not rotationally symmetrical, preferably of multiple surfaces. A corresponding contour also has the mounting opening 26 of the mounting plate 2, through which the inner fitting part 3 is pushed. The arrangement is such that the fitting inner part 3 cannot be rotated relative to the mounting plate 2 due to a positive fit. The inner fixture part 3 is axially fixed to the mounting plate 2 by means of a screw 27.

A coupling part 28 is pushed onto the uppermost region 24 of the screw bushing 23 in such a way that the screw bushing 23 can rotate with respect to the coupling part 28, but the coupling part 28 takes along during its axial movement. For this purpose, the screw bush 23 is on its outer surface with a groove 29 and the coupling part 28 on its inner surface with a groove 30. Both grooves 29, 30 complement each other to form an annular space in which a snap ring 31 lies. The snap ring 31 obviously transmits the axial movement, but not the rotary movement of the screw bushing 23 to the coupling part 28.

A downward facing apron 32 is formed on the coupling part 28. The inner contour of the apron 32 is non-circular, that is to say not rotationally symmetrical, and engages over a region of the inner part of the fitting 3 provided with a complementary outer contour, that is also out of round. This ensures that the coupling part 28 does not twist with respect to the inner part 3 of the fitting can.

The screw bushing 23 is sealed against the insert bushing 15 by an O-ring 33 and against the coupling part 28 by an O-ring 34.

The coupling part 28 in turn is also provided with an out-of-round, in particular therefore not rotationally symmetrical, outer contour 38. The valve outer part 4 with a connection opening 35 is plugged onto this outer contour 38, which has a complementary, non-circular inner contour. In this way it is ensured that the valve outer part 4 cannot rotate with respect to the coupling part 28 and thus with respect to the valve inner part 3 and the mounting plate 2. The screw 6 serves to axially secure the valve outer part 4 on the coupling part 28.
The purpose of the features described above is as follows:

The top of the mounting plate 2 is clad by the tiles 36. The thickness of these tiles can vary within certain limits. The installation of the bath spout 1 is carried out in such a way that first the interior of the fitting 3 on the Mounting plate 2 is fixed by means of the screw 27 and the mounting plate 2 is then fastened in the egg niche next to the bathtub. The tiler then attaches the tiling 36 over the mounting plate 2, which is then no longer removable. In the "final assembly", the fitting outer part 4 must then be plugged in, taking into account different thicknesses of the tiles 36, but the parts of the fitting located below the tiles 36 are no longer accessible to adapt the mounting position.

1 shows a case in which the tiles 36 are relatively thin. Here, the screw bushing 23 is rotated completely downward within the insert bushing 15. The lower end face of the fitting outer part 4 placed on the coupling part 28 lies at a relatively short distance from the mounting plate 26, which is filled by the tiles 36.

If, on the other hand, the sanitary installer encounters relatively thick tiles 36 during final assembly, as shown in FIG. 2, he must proceed as follows in relation to the position shown in FIG. 1:

When the fitting outer part 3 is not yet attached, the screw bushing 23 is turned out by a corresponding amount. For this purpose, an engagement surface 37 is provided at the upper end of the screw bushing 23, which can be seen in FIG. 2. The outermost position of the screw bushing 23 is reached when its lower guide section 25 just covers the O-ring 33. This position is shown in Figure 2.

With the axially upward movement of the screw bushing 23, the coupling part 28 becomes due to the snap ring 31 taken away. However, due to the positive fit between the inner contour of the apron 32 and the outer contour of the inner fitting part 3, the coupling part 28 does not follow the rotary movement of the screw bushing 23; it is shifted linearly upwards. The valve outer part 4 can now be fastened on the coupling part 28 thus brought into a higher axial position in the same way as has already been described above with reference to FIG. 1. Again, a rotation of the valve outer part 4 with respect to the mounting plate 2 is not possible due to the different positive connections. The only difference between Figures 1 and 2 is essentially that the distance between the lower end face of the fitting outer part 4 and the mounting plate 2 is larger, so that there is space for the tiles 136 of greater thickness.

Claims (8)

1. Sanitary fitting for installation on a mounting (2) in part of a structure, comprising

   a) an inner part of a fitting (3), which has a non-circular outer contour at least in the area where it goes through the mounting (2) and is secured such that it is incapable of rotation from one side of the mounting (2), which has a complementary assembly aperture (26);

   b) an outer part of a fitting (4) which can be attached to the inner part of the fitting (3) and is detachable, and which is to be mounted on the other side of the mounting (2), whereby the distance between the surface of the outer part of the fitting (4) facing the mounting (2) and the mounting (3) is variable,

   characterised in that

   c) a threaded bush (22) is fitted, which can be adjusted in its axial position by a screw movement relative to the inner part of the fitting (3);

   d) a coupling part (28) is connected to the threaded bush (23) such that it is uncoupled by moving it in a rotary direction, but goes along with its axial movement;

   e) the coupling part (28) in a first area (32) with a non-circular contour sits against an area of the inner part of the fitting (3) which has a complementary contour such that it is incapable of rotation but is capable of axial motion;

   f) the coupling part (28) has a second area (38) which has a non-circular contour, slipped on to which is the outer part of the fitting (4), with a complementary contour, such that it is incapable of rotation.
2. Sanitary fitting according to Claim 1, characterised in that the outer end of the threaded bush (23) has a working surface (37) for a tool suitable for screwing.
3. Sanitary fitting according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the threaded bush (23) has the following areas with a decreasing diameter from outside inwards:

   a) an area (24) comprising an essentially cylindrical shell surface, to which the coupling part (28) is attached;

   b) a tapped area (22) for screwing relative to the inner part of the fitting (3);

   c) a guide area (25) comprising an essentially cylindrical shell surface for sealing against the inner part of the fitting (3).
4. Sanitary fitting according to any one of the Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the course of the water to the outer part of the fitting (4) runs through the inside of the threaded bush (23).
5. Sanitary fitting according any one of the foregoing Claims, comprising a change-over mechanism which directs the flow of water either to the outer part of the fitting or to another water consumer as required and consists of a two-way valve cone acting in combination with two valve seats, which can be moved by means of an actuating rod, characterised in that the actuating rod (9) passes axially through the inside of the threaded bush (23).
6. Sanitary fitting according to Claim 5, characterised in that one of the two valve seats (10) is mounted on the inner surface of an insert bush (15), which is secured in the inner part of the fitting (3) and also in that the insert bush (15) has an internal thread (21) which acts in combination with an outside thread (22) of the threaded bush (23).
7. Sanitary fitting according to any one of the foregoing Claims, characterised in that the coupling part (28) is connected to the threaded bush (23) by means of a spring ring (31) which lies in an annular space formed partly by a groove (30) in the coupling part (28) and partly by a groove (29) in the threaded bush (23).
8. Sanitary fitting according to any one of the foregoing Claims, characterised in that the first non-circular area of the coupling part (28) is mounted on an apron (32) which is preformed on the coupling part (28) and which overlaps the outside contour of the inner part of the fitting (3).

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