EP1154083A1

EP1154083A1 - Kitchen mixer tap with two independent rotating mouths for separate supply of two different types of water

Info

Publication number: EP1154083A1
Application number: EP01830265A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Umberto Gessi
Original assignee: Gessi SpA
Current assignee: Gessi SpA
Priority date: 2000-05-08
Filing date: 2001-04-19
Publication date: 2001-11-14
Also published as: IT250536Y1; ITBS20000031U1; ITBS20000031V0

Abstract

This invention concerns a kitchen mixer tap for supplying mixed hot/cold water for domestic use and purified water for cooking purposes. It consists of a single body (11), a mixer valve (13) connected to supply pipes (17, 18) for the hot/cold water and a bolt-type valve (15) connected to a source of purified water, and it has two separate and independent supply mouths (23, 24) which extend from said body, a first mouth (23) for supplying the hot/cold water arriving from the outflow of the mixer valve, and a second mouth (24) for the supply of purified water arriving from the outflow of the bolt-type valve.

Description

This invention concerns a kitchen mixer tap for use in sinks, where it gives a separate supply of hot/cold water for domestic use and purified water for food purposes, for example.
The need for a tap capable of supplying different kinds of water separately originates with the problems of environmental pollution and, therefore, from the need to prevent possible harm caused by the use of polluted water, or at least non-purified water, for cooking needs.
There are already kitchen taps on the market which adopt the concept of water separation but, by the very nature of their conformation, they cannot guarantee completely that the water for cooking needs does not come into contact with and become polluted by the water for sanitary purposes, especially because the supply points of the two water types are concentric or adjacent. In effect, the taps currently on the market generally use one outflow mouth for the two different types of water, leaving the doubt in the user's mind about whether they are really and effectively separate, since he has no visual confirmation of their separation.
The aim of this invention is to supply a kitchen mixer tap in which the hot/cold water for sanitary use and the purified water for cooking purposes are physically and tangibly kept separate along the whole of their passage, what is more, this being observable by the presence of a mouth for each type of water.
Said aim is achieved by means of a tap with a single body that incorporates the dual control function of mixing and supplying the hot/cold water and supplying the purified water, and consisting of two independent and rotating mouths on said body, one for the outflow of the hot/cold or mixed water, the other for the outflow of the purified water.
However, further details of the invention will become clear from the following description which is made with reference to the drawings enclosed, which are indicative but not binding, and in which:
Fig. 1 shows a cross-section of the mixer tap;
Fig. 2 shows an external view of the tap with the two mouths aligned; and
Fig. 3 shows the tap with one of the mouths rotated with respect to the other.
The tap consists of a body 11 which is mounted in the usual way on a sink 12, and which contains a mixer valve 13 on one side for the hot and cold water, commanded by a respective lever 14, and on the other side, a bolt-type valve 15 commanded by its own handle 16. The hot and cold water to be mixed reaches the mixer valve 13 through separate input pipes 17, 18. The purified water arrives, for example, from a filtering device for the mains water and flows through a pipe 19 which is directly connected to the bolt-type valve 15.
A support 20 is applied to the top of the tap, to which a rotating fitting 21 is added with a leak-proof fastening, held by a screw 22 and holding, in turn, the two separate and independent mouths 23 and 24 for the mixed hot/cold water and the purified water, respectively. One mouth is connected, via a passage 23' made in the rotating fitting 21, to the outflow of the mixer valve 13, and finishes in a jet controller 25; the other mouth is connected, via another passage 24' made in the rotating fitting 21, to the bolt-type valve 15 and terminates in a supply nozzle 26.
Therefore, the two types of water to be supplied pass through independent mouths. The purified water follows a completely different path from that of the hot/cold water, having no point of contact or interference with the latter, and flowing from its own nozzle.
It should be noted that the fitting 21 fastened to the support 20 allows the two mouths 23, 24 to rotate contemporarily through 360°. Furthermore, the mouth 24 for the outflow of the purified water is free to rotate through about 90° with respect to the mouth 23 of the mixed water (Fig. 3).
Finally, it should be noted that, in place of the purified water, other kinds of water may be supplied through the mouth 24, such as sparkling water or chilled water, which arrive from their appropriate supply sources.

Claims

Kitchen mixer tap for supplying hot/cold mixed water for domestic use and purified water for cooking purposes, consisting of a single body (11), a mixer valve (13) connected to supply pipes (17, 18) for the hot/cold water and a bolt-type valve (15) connected to a source of purified water, characterised by two supply mouths (23, 24), which are separate and independent and which extend from said body, a first mouth (23) for the supply of the hot/cold water arriving from the outflow of the mixer valve, a second mouth (24) for the supply of purified water arriving from the outflow of the bolt-type valve.
Tap according to claim 1, in which the two mouths (23, 24) are fixed to a fitting (21), applied in rotating form to said body by means of a fixed support (20), and the first mouth (23) communicates with the outflow of the mixer valve (13) via a first passage (23') made in said fitting (21) and in said support (20), and the other mouth (24) with the outflow of the bolt-type valve (15) by means of a passage (24') which is also made in the fitting and the support.
Tap according to claim 1, in which the mouths (23, 24) rotate contemporarily through 360° with respect to the vertical axis of the tap.
Tap according to claim 1, in which one mouth rotates through 90° with respect to the other.
Tap according to claim 1, in which the mouths (23, 24) rotate contemporarily through 360° with respect to the vertical axis of the tap and one mouth rotates through 90° with respect to the other.