EP1444406A1

EP1444406A1 - Integratable sanitary part

Info

Publication number: EP1444406A1
Application number: EP02803031A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Martin Fangmeier
Original assignee: Neoperl GmbH
Current assignee: Neoperl GmbH
Priority date: 2001-11-17
Filing date: 2002-11-15
Publication date: 2004-08-11
Also published as: DE20118810U1; WO2003042461A1; US20060102235A1; US20040261861A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an integratable sanitary part (1, 10) comprising an outer housing (3) which can be inserted into a fluid line and has at least one peripheral seal (20, 21) on its outer circumference, which seals the outer housing (3) and the fluid line from each other. According to the invention, in order to avoid using additional elastic O-rings, the at least one seal (20, 21) for providing linear or plane sealing is produced from the same material as the outer housing and forms a single element with the outer circumference of the housing. According to another embodiment of the invention, involving an integratable part which is embodied as a backflow preventer, at least one peripheral sealing lip (8) forms one element with the inner surface of the outer housing (3) or the closing part (4), mounted on the same, and consists of the same material as said surface or closing part. The free end of said sealing lip (8) protrudes in such a way that, when the backflow preventer (10) is closed, the lip end acts on the closing part (4) or the inner surface of the outer housing (3) in a sealing manner.

Description

Sanitary installation part

The invention relates to a sanitary installation part with an outer housing, which can be inserted into a fluid line and carries at least one circumferential seal on its housing outer circumference, which seals between the outer housing and the fluid line.

From DE 37 22 665 C2 a backflow preventer is already known which has a closure piece which is guided in the outer housing of this backflow preventer against the flow direction against a valve seat. In order to tightly close the area between the valve seat and the closure piece in the closed position of the known backflow preventer, an O-ring made of elastic material is inserted in a groove on the closure piece. The outer housing of the known backflow preventer carries a further O-ring made of elastic material, which is to seal between the outer housing and the adjacent fluid line.

If such non-return valves are used in sanitary water pipes, special approvals are required which certify that these components have a food-safe quality, for example. Since many elastomers contain a high proportion of plasticizers per se, there is only a limited selection of elastomers available for producing the O-ring used in the known backflow preventer. In addition, the manufacture of such non-return valves also requires by using several components made of different materials, additional effort.

There is therefore in particular the task of creating a sanitary installation part of the type mentioned at the outset which can be produced with little effort and can be used in a variety of ways.

The solution to this problem according to the invention in the case of the sanitary installation part of the type mentioned at the outset is in particular that the at least one seal provided for linear and / or flat sealing is integrally formed on the outer circumference of the housing.

The built-in part according to the invention has an outer housing that can be inserted into a fluid line, on the housing outer periphery of which at least one circumferential seal is integrally formed, which is used for linear and / or flat sealing between the outer housing and the fluid line. This seal makes an additional O-Rmg made of elastic material unnecessary. By saving such an O-ring, the outlay associated with the production and, if appropriate, also the approval of such an installation part can be considerably reduced, in particular if the seal is also made from the material also used for the outer housing.

An embodiment according to the invention provides that at least one seal is designed as a lip seal. Additionally or instead, it can be advantageous if at least one seal is designed as a sealing ring molded onto the outer housing. In order to achieve a resilient seal between the outer housing and the fluid line even at high fluid pressures, it is advantageous if several lip seals and / or sealing rings are integrally formed on the outer housing, which can be arranged at a sufficient distance from one another in the intended flow direction.

It can be advantageous if the seal (s) are provided in the upstream end region or in a central region of the outer housing.

In order to be able to press-fit the outer housing in the fluid line and to be able to press the seal securely and tightly against the fluid line, it is advantageous if the outer housing has a barrel-shaped or bulbous outer contour in at least one partial area. It can be advantageous if the largest outer circumference of the bulbous outer housing is arranged approximately in the center, based on the longitudinal extent of the housing, and / or if at least one sealing ring, preferably at least two sealing rings, is provided in the region of the largest outer periphery of the bulbous outer housing.

A further solution according to the invention of the task mentioned at the outset, of its own protection worthy of protection, which relates to a built-in part designed as a sanitary backflow preventer, provides that at least one circumferential sealing lip is integrally formed on the inner casing surface of the outer casing or on the closure piece, which protrudes with its free lip end in this way that in the closed position of the non-return valve, the lip end of the closure piece or sealingly applied to the inner casing surface of the outer casing.

This backflow preventer according to the invention, whose outer housing and closure piece are made as plastic injection molded parts from a thermoplastic or similar engineering plastic, has at least one sealing lip which is integrally formed on the inner casing surface of the outer housing or on the closure piece. Since this at least one sealing lip is designed as an integral part of the outer housing or the closure piece, it can also be produced from the same material. Such a sealing lip, which in the closed position of the backflow preventer sealingly acts on the closure piece or the inner casing surface, also makes an additional O-ring made of elastic material unnecessary. By saving this O-ring, the effort associated with the manufacture and, if appropriate, also the approval of such a backflow preventer can be considerably reduced.

In an embodiment in which at least one circumferential sealing lip is provided on the closure piece, it is advantageous if a sleeve-shaped housing section with a central throughflow opening is provided in the outer housing, the sleeve-shaped housing section at least in its sleeve end protruding into the housing interior and forming the valve seat. rich has a frusto-conical outer circumference and when the lip end of the at least one sealing lip formed on the closure piece seals the frustoconical outer circumference of the sleeve-shaped housing section in the closed position of the non-return valve. In this training according to the According to the invention, the sealing lip is slightly spread apart and does not compress in the outer circumference when it runs onto the frustoconical outer circumference of the sleeve-shaped housing section, which could otherwise lead to fold formation in the region of the sealing lip and thus to undesired leaks.

In order to avoid undesirable leakage currents and the like leaks in the closed position of the backflow preventer, it is expedient if the free lip end region is applied linearly to the at least one sealing lip around the closure piece or the inner lateral surface of the outer housing in the closed position of the check valve.

To this end, an embodiment according to the invention provides that the at least one sealing lip tapers conically in cross section in its free lip end region.

A particularly good seal of the valve seat can be achieved if the at least one sealing lip is oriented approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the backflow preventer in its longitudinal extent. It is particularly advantageous if the portion of the closure piece acted upon by the sealing lip is designed as an inclined surface oriented in the flow direction from the inside to the outside. In particular through the combination of these features, the at least one sealing lip lies diagonally to the lateral surface of the closure piece, close to the latter.

In order to counteract an overexpansion of the sealing lip in the closed position of the non-return valve and to achieve a high back pressure stability, it is advantageous if the Backflow preventer has at least one effective stop in the closed position for the closure piece.

It is useful if an annular circumferential portion of the inner casing surface of the outer casing is provided as a stop. The sleeve end region of the sleeve-shaped housing section in the outer housing of the non-return valve, which forms a valve seat, can serve as a stop.

In the closed position of the non-return valve, an additional seal can be achieved if the inner casing outer surface of the outer casing, which serves as a stop and serves as a stop, is complementary to the part area of the closure piece opposite in the closed position.

A preferred embodiment according to the invention provides that the at least one sealing lip and the at least one stop are arranged in such a way that the sealing lip acts on the closure piece before the stop becomes effective.

It may be expedient if the at least one sealing lip is designed to be flexible at least in its free lip end region. The closing and resetting movements of this sealing lip, which is flexible at least in one area, counteracts calcification of the non-return valve at least in this area.

In order to achieve a self-reinforcing sealing effect of the sealing lip, it can be advantageous if at least one sealing lip is acted upon by the reverse flow and can be pressed against the closure piece.

A high fatigue strength of the backflow preventer can be favored if the outer housing is made of a plastic, preferably a construction plastic.

A preferred embodiment according to the invention provides that the outer housing is made from a thermoplastic.

Obtaining the approvals required, for example, in the sanitary area can be facilitated and the manufacturing outlay can be reduced if the outer housing and the closure piece are made of the same material.

Further features of the invention result from the following description of exemplary embodiments according to the invention in conjunction with the claims and the drawing. The individual features can be implemented individually or in groups in one embodiment according to the invention.

It shows:

Fig. 1 shows a backflow preventer, which has a circumferential sealing lip on the inner casing surface of the outer housing, which sealingly acts on the closure piece in the closed position of the backflow preventer, and Fig. 2 shows a backflow preventer, also shown in a longitudinal section, which here has a circumferential sealing lip on the front face of its closure piece, which cooperates with the frustoconical sleeve end region of a sleeve-shaped and valve seat-forming housing section of the outer housing.

In Fig. 1, two different versions 1, 10 of a check valve are shown in a longitudinal section. While the embodiment shown in the left half of FIG. 1 documents the state of the art in terms of its internal structure, an embodiment of the non-return valve 10 according to the invention is shown in the right half of FIG.

The backflow preventer 1, 10 shown in Fig. 1 are intended for insertion in a sanitary water pipe. They have a valve 2, which is arranged in a sleeve-shaped outer housing 3. The valve 2 of the backflow preventer 1, 10 has a closure piece 4, which is displaceably guided against a valve seat 6 in the outer housing 3 by the restoring force of a compression spring 5 against the flow direction Pf1. The valve seat 6 is formed by a partial area of the inner casing surface of the outer casing 3.

As can be seen in Fig. 1, the known backflow preventer 1 has an O-ring made of elastic material, which is inserted into a groove 18 on the closure piece 4. Since many elastomers are not suitable for drinking water due to the high proportion of plasticizers, there is at most only a limited selection of elastomers available for the production of such O-rings in various areas of application. Since the elastic material rial of O-Rmge 7 tends to stick to the valve seat 6, especially after a corresponding contact pressure, the previously known backflow preventer 1 does not have a uniform response when opening and closing. In addition, the known backflow preventer 1 are subject to increased wear in the area of the O-ring 7.

The backflow preventer 10 according to the invention therefore has an encircling sealing lip 8 instead of an O-ring 7, which is integrally formed in the area of the valve seat 6 on the inner casing surface of the outer casing 3. This sealing lip 8 projects with its free lip end 9 into the interior of the housing in such a way that it acts sealingly on the closure piece 4 in the closed position of the non-return valve 10. The sealing lip 8 is formed here as a pointed lip and tapers conically in cross section at its free lip end region. This tapering configuration of the sealing lip 8 ensures that the sealing lip 8 of the closure piece, in the closed position of the non-return valve 10, acts linearly around its free lip end region.

The sealing lip 8, which is oriented approximately axially parallel to the longitudinal axis 11 of the non-return valve 10, acts on the closure piece 4 in a partial region 12, which is designed as an inclined surface arranged in the flow direction Pf1 from the inside to the outside.

In order to counteract an overexpansion of the sealing lip 8 and to achieve a high back pressure stability of the backflow preventer 10, the backflow preventer 10 has a stop 13, which is formed here by an annular peripheral region of the inner casing surface of the outer casing 3.

The portion of the casing surface serving as a stop 13 is complementary to the portion of the closure piece 4 opposite in the closed position. Since the stop 13 acts on the inclined surface 12 of the closure piece 4 in the closed position of the check valve 10, an additional seal can be achieved in this area of the check valve 10.

So that the stop 13 is only effective at a defined pressure of the return flow, the sealing lip 8 is arranged in the flow direction Pf1 in front of the stop 13 such that the sealing lip 8 acts on the closure piece 4 before the stop 13 becomes effective.

The sealing lip 8 is designed to be flexible only in its free lip end region. The closing and restoring movements of the resilient part of the sealing lip 8 effectively counteracts calcification of the non-return valve 10 in this area. The sealing lip 8 protrudes freely into the interior of the housing in such a way that it is acted upon by a reverse flow and pressed against the closure piece 4. The valve 2 of the backflow preventer 10 thus has a self-reinforcing sealing function.

Since the sealing lip 8 of the backflow preventer 10 is formed as an integral part of the outer housing 3, it can also be produced from the same material. The sealing lip 8, which in the firing position of the check valve 10 from the closure piece 4th sealing, makes an additional O-ring made of elastic material unnecessary. By saving the O-ring, the outlay associated with the production and, if appropriate, also the approval of such a backflow preventer can be considerably reduced.

It is particularly advantageous if the outer housing 3 with the sealing lip 8 formed thereon and the closure piece 4 are made of the same material. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, the components 3, 4 of the backflow preventer 10 are made from a technical thermoplastic or similar construction plastic, generally referred to here as a thermoplastic.

In order to also be able to seal well the space that may remain between the backflow preventer 10 and the adjacent flow line and also not to be dependent on an elastic O-ring in this area, the embodiments shown here provide that at least the outside of the backflow preventer is also on the outside a seal is made of the same material and is formed in one piece. The backflow preventer 10 according to the invention can be produced with little effort from only a few components, preferably of the same material, for example the outer housing and the closure piece can be produced in the simplest way as plastic injection molded parts.

2 shows another embodiment of the backflow preventer 10 according to the invention. The backflow preventer shown in Fig. 2 has on the inflow-side end of its closure piece 4 a circumferential and in longitudinal Direction of the backflow preventer 10 protruding sealing lip 8. In the closed position of the backflow preventer 10, the sealing lip 8 lies linearly and closely against the inner casing surface of the outer casing 3. For this purpose, a sleeve-shaped housing section 14 is provided in the outer housing 3, which has a truncated cone-shaped outer circumference in its sleeve end region projecting into the housing interior and forming the valve seat. If the sealing lip 8 runs onto the truncated cone-shaped housing section 14 during the closing movement of the backflow preventer 10, the sealing lip 8, which is flexible at least in its free lip end region, is slightly expanded and not compressed on the outer circumference, which otherwise leads to wrinkling in the region of the sealing lip 8 and thus to undesirable leaks could result.

The sealing lip 8 of the backflow preventer 10 shown in FIG. 2 is also oriented approximately axially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the backflow preventer 10 in its longitudinal extent and tapers to the cross section in a conical shape in its free lip end region.

It can be seen in FIG. 2 that the front end of the frustoconical housing section 14 forming the valve seat acts as a stop for the closure piece 4 which is effective in the closed position. The front end of the housing section 14 cooperates with a ring shoulder 15 oriented approximately at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the backflow preventer 10, which is provided on the outer edge of the inflow-side front end of the closure piece 4 and carries the sealing lip 8. The sealing lip 8 and the end of the housing section 14 acting as a stop for the closure piece 4 are arranged such that the sealing lip 8 Closure piece 4 is applied before the front end of the housing section 14 abuts the ring shoulder 15 of the closure piece 4.

The backflow preventer 10 shown in FIG. 2 otherwise corresponds to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. Even in the case of the non-return valve shown in FIG. 2, an O-ring made of elastic material can be dispensed with in the region of the valve seat, which considerably reduces the effort associated with the production and also the approval of such a non-return valve.

It is also clear from FIGS. 1 and 2 that the sanitary installation parts 1, 10 shown here can also be sealed in the area lying between their outer housing 3 and the fluid line without an additional separate O-ring made of elastic material. The sanitary built-in parts 1, 10, which are designed here as a backflow preventer, have circumferential seals 20, 21, which are integrally formed on the outer circumference of the housing. These seals 20, 21, which are designed as molded parts of the outer housing 3, are made of the same material as the outer housing 3.

The seals 20, 21 of the backflow preventer are arranged at a slight distance from one another in the inflow direction Pf1 and are each provided here for a linear seal between the outer housing 3 and the fluid line.

It can be seen in FIG. 2 that the seals of the non-return valve 10 are designed as lip seals 20 which are arranged in the upstream end area of the non-return valve. While the upstream end of the Back seal preventing upper sealing lip 20 is oriented obliquely against the inflow direction Pf1, the sealing lips 20 following in the inflow direction Pf1 are oriented approximately radially.

In contrast, the backflow preventer 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a plurality of seals 21 in the central region of its longitudinal extent, which are integrally formed on the outer housing 3 as circumferential sealing rings 21. In order to press the sealing rings 21 firmly against the fluid line, the backflow preventer 1 has a bulbous outer contour in this central region, the largest outer diameter of which is preferably approximately equal to or larger than the inner diameter of the liquid line in the line section intended for receiving the backflow preventer.

The seals 20, 21 of the backflow preventer 1, 10 make an additional O-ring made of elastic material on the outer housing 3 unnecessary. By saving such an O-ring, the effort associated with the production and, if appropriate, also the approval of such an installation part can be considerably reduced, in particular if the seals 20, 21 are also made from the material also used for the outer housing 3.

It goes without saying that, in particular in the case of a built-in part designed as a backflow preventer, the molded seals 20, 21 can be provided on the outer housing and / or the seals described here on the valve 2. As far as the seals 20, 21 molded onto the outer housing 3 are concerned, they can not only be fitted to a non-return valve, but also be provided on a flow rate regulator, a jet regulator or another sanitary installation part which can be inserted with its outer housing 3 into a sanitary water or fluid line.

Claims

Expectations

1. Sanitary installation part (1, 10) with an outer housing (3) that can be inserted into a fluid line and carries at least one circumferential seal (20, 21) on its outer circumference, which seal between the outer housing (3) and the Seals fluid line, characterized in that the at least one seal (20, 21) provided for linear and / or flat sealing is made of the same material as the outer housing and is integrally formed on the outer circumference of the housing.

2. Installation part according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one seal (20) is designed as a lip seal.

3. Installation part according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one seal is designed as a sealing ring (21) molded onto the outer housing (3).

4. Installation part according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a plurality of lip seals (20) and / or sealing rings (21) are integrally formed on the outer housing (3).

5. Installation part according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the seal (s) (20, 21) are provided in the upstream end region or in a central region of the outer housing (3).

6. Installation part according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the outer housing (3) has a barrel-shaped or bulbous outer contour at least in a circumferential partial area.

7. Installation part according to the preamble of claim 1, in particular according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the installation part is designed as a sanitary backflow preventer (10), in the outer housing (3) of which a valve (2) is arranged, which has a closure piece (4 ), which (4) in the outer housing (3) by a restoring force against the flow direction (Pf1) against a valve seat (6) is displaceable, and wherein the outer housing and the closure piece as plastic injection molded parts made of a thermoplastic or the like technical Plastic are produced, characterized in that at least one circumferential sealing lip on the inner casing surface of the outer casing (3) or on the closure piece (4)

(8) is molded of the same material and in one piece, (8) projects with its free lip end in such a way that in the closed position of the non-return valve (10) the lip end sealingly acts on the closure piece (4) or the inner casing surface of the outer casing (3).

8. Backflow preventer according to claim 7, characterized in that in the outer housing (3) a sleeve-shaped housing section (14) is provided with a central through-flow opening, which sleeve-shaped housing section (14) at least in its protruding into the housing interior and the valve seat forming a frusto-conical end region Has outer circumference and that that Lip end of at least one sealing lip (8) formed on the closure piece (4) sealingly acts on the frustoconical outer circumference of the sleeve-shaped housing section (14) in the closed position of the non-return valve (10).

9. backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the at least one sealing lip

(8) the closure piece (4) or the inner circumferential surface of the outer housing (3) in the closed position of the non-return valve (10) with its free lip end region acted linearly all around.

10. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the at least one sealing lip

(8) tapers conically in cross section in its free lip end area.

11. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the at least one sealing lip

(8) is oriented approximately axially parallel to the longitudinal axis (11) of the check valve (10) in its longitudinal extent.

12. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the portion (12) of the closure piece (4) acted upon by the sealing lip is designed as an inclined surface oriented in the flow direction (Pf1) from the inside to the outside.

13. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the backflow preventer (10) has at least one stop (13) for the closure piece (4) which is effective in its closed position.

14. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that an annular circumferential portion of the inner casing surface of the outer housing (3) is provided as a stop (13).

15. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the at least one stop acts on the inclined surface (12) of the closure piece (8).

16. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the inner casing surface of the outer housing (3) in its serving as a stop (13) serving as an annular circumferential portion complementary to the m opposite position portion (12) of the closure piece (8) is.

17. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the at least one sealing lip

(8) and the at least one stop (13) are arranged such that the sealing lip (8) acts on the closure piece (4) before the stop (13) takes effect.

18. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the at least one sealing lip (8) is designed to be flexible at least in its free lip end region.

19. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that at least one sealing lip (8) is acted upon by the backflow and against the closure piece

(4) is pressable.

20. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that the outer housing (3) is made of a structural plastic.

21. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that the outer housing (3) is made of a thermoplastic.

22. Backflow preventer according to one of claims 1 to 21, characterized in that the outer housing (3) and the closure piece (4) are made of the same material.