EP1869352A1

EP1869352A1 - Improved multi-way hydraulic distributor

Info

Publication number: EP1869352A1
Application number: EP05743355A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Oscar Zipponi Rubinetterie di Nember Oscar NEMBER
Original assignee: Zipponi Rubinetterie di Nember Oscar
Current assignee: Zipponi Rubinetterie di Nember Oscar
Priority date: 2005-04-11
Filing date: 2005-04-11
Publication date: 2007-12-26
Also published as: WO2006109326A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a hydraulic distributor with a body having a water inlet passage and several water outlet ways and housing a cartridge group comprising a fixed member (17) and a rotatably diverter device (18) axially associated and joined. The fixed member has a concave spherical seat (20) from which the distribution passages (23) extend communicating with the outlet ways, and the diverter device has a convex spherical part (27) fitting together with the concave spherical seat and having an internal chamber (35) communicating with the water inlet passage through an opening and closing valve unit, and a lateral opening (36) which can be positioned in correspondence with each of the distribution passages (23) coincident with the output ways in answer to the rotation of the diverter device.

Description

"IMPROVED MULTI-WAY HYDRAULIC DISTRIBUTOR" Field of the Invention

This invention concerns in general the taps and fittings field for plumbing systems and relates in particular to an improved multi-way hydraulic distributor provided with an interception valve unit. State of the Art

Multi-way hydraulic diverter-distributors to selectively distribute a water inlet flow to each of two or more outlets connected to the same number of uses have already been proposed.

A multi-way hydraulic distributor of the type in question is disclosed for example in Patent US. 6,655,410.

Such a hydraulic distributor comprises in general a body with a water inlet passage and several water outlet ways towards just as many uses, a diverter device rotatably fitted in said body and provided with an axially extended hole communicating with the water inlet and a lateral opening designed to be positioned at a distance from or fully or partially in line with at least one of said outlet ways upon rotation of the diverter device to intercept the inlet water flow and distribute water flow towards said uses, selectively.

Furthermore, where required, the hydraulic distributor is equipped with a valve unit associated with the diverter device for a partial or total opening or closing of said water inlet passage. This multi-way distributor has several advantages, such as the simplicity of the construction achieved through the assembly of a limited number of components, the reliability and functionality in use, and the complete absence of any direct communication of the inlet passage with the outlet passages. However, it has a drawback due to the fact that the diverter device, having a partial spherical configuration, cannot be extracted from the body for maintenance and/or replacement without first having removed the fittings of the outlet passages, an operation feasible only by uninstalling the complete distributor. This is due to the fact that the presence, moreover indispensable, of seals between each outlet passage and the diverter device interferes with and impedes axial removal of the latter. Objects of the Invention

This invention has been designed with the objective of avoiding the drawback mentioned above and therefore to provide a multi-way hydraulic distributor whose diverter device, although having a spherical part, can easily be extracted from the distributor body without any interference on the part of the seals, without having to manipulate the outlet fittings and, even more to its advantage, without having to uninstall the distributor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multi-way hydraulic distributor in which the diverter device and the valve unit are associated in the form of a cartridge to simplify assembly and disassembly as a group in the body of the distributor and also with the possibility of individual disassembly of only the valve unit.

A further object of the invention is to provide a multi-way hydraulic distributor in which also the internal parts, such as the seals, are easily accessible for any maintenance and/or replacement by simply removing the components from the front of the group, leaving the body connected to the water inlet and outlet pipes.

Said objects are achieved according to the invention with a multi-way hydraulic distributor according to the preamble of claim 1 and characterised in that: the rotary diverter device is connected and joined axially to a fixed supporting member forming an insertable/extractable cartridge group in a housing of the distributor body, said fixed member has a support base resting on the bottom of said housing and forms a concave seat with spherical surface from which distribution holes extend in fluid communication with said outlet passages in the distributor body, said rotary diverter device has a convex external part with a spherical surface, which fits into the concave spherical seat of said fixed member, and internally forms a distribution chamber, the central inlet hole of said diverter device communicating with said chamber, and the lateral distribution opening being radially facing and open towards the distribution passages in said fixed support element, the valve unit is fixed to said diverter device and has an inlet facing towards and in communication with the water inlet passage through the inlet central hole of the diverter device and an outlet communicating with said chamber and through this with the lateral distribution opening of said diverter

device. Brief Description of the Drawings

Further details of the invention will be more apparent from the following description made in reference to the enclosed, indicative and non-limiting drawings, in which: FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the components of the hydraulic distributor of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows the cartridge diverter group assembled, but separated from the body of the distributor, and

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged cross-section of the assembled distributor. Detailed Description of the Invention

As illustrated, the hydraulic distributor comprises a body 10, a front part of which forms a substantially cylindrical housing 11 , open at the front and having a bottom base 11'. At the rear of said body 10 are radially machined an inlet passage 12 and a number of outlet ways 13 for the water. The inlet passage 12 is at a level and communicates with a central inlet duct 14 which extends according to the axis of the body 10 until it reaches the bottom 11' of the housing 11. The outlet ways 13 are at a different level and a fitting 13' is screwed into each of them so as to be able to connect a pipe to a respective use outlet. In the housing 11 defined by the distributor body 10, an insertable and extractable group in a cartridge configuration 16 (Fig. 2.) is fitted, which comprises a supporting member 17, a rotary diverter device 18 and a valve unit 19 (Fig. 1).

The supporting member 17 has a couple of anti-rotation feet 17' at the bottom which engages into corresponding recesses- not shown- formed in the bottom 11' of the housing 11 formed by the body 10. On the opposite side to its base, the supporting member 17 forms a concave seat 20, with a spherical surface, followed by an internal cylindrical part 21 facing towards the front opening of the housing 11. In the supporting member 17 are configured a central duct 22 and around it a crown of through distribution ducts 23 which extend from the concave spherical seat 20 as far as the base of the same supporting member. The central duct 22 is on an axis with the centre inlet duct 14 in the distributor body 10, whereas the distribution ducts 23 coincide with the outlet ducts 15 in said body.

At the base of the supporting member 17, around both the central passage 22 and each distribution passage 23, a annular gasket 24 has been inserted as a water seal between said supporting element and the bottom 11 ' of the housing 11 for the cartridge group 16. Also on the side of the spherical concave seat 20, a gasket 25 has been inserted around each distribution outlet 23.

On its outside, the diverter device 18 has, at its end facing towards the inside of the cartridge group 16, a shank 26 and a convex part with spherical surface 27, followed by a cylindrical area 28 and terminating in a neck 29, the latter forming with the cylindrical area 28 a radial annular shoulder 30.

The shank 26 fits into the central passage 22 of the supporting member 17, acting as a pin for the rotation of the diverter device 18. The convex spherical portion 27 fits into the concave spherical seat 20, resting on the gasket 25 associated with the distribution passages 23 on the part of said concave seat. The cylindrical area 28 of the diverter device 18 matches with the internal cylindrical section 21 of the supporting member17, with interposition of a gasket 31. The neck protrudes from the front of the distributor body 10 and a knob- not shown- is fitted to it to turn the diverter device. The diverter device 18 is fitted axially to, but with the possibility of rotating, the fixed supporting member 17 by means of a ring nut 32, which screws into an external threaded point of said element and which engages, with interposition of a gasket 33, with the shoulder 30 between the cylindrical area 28 and the end neck of the diverter device 18. Internally, the diverter device 18 has a central inlet passage 34, a distribution chamber 35 and a lateral opening 36. The central inlet passage 34 is in communication with the inlet passage 14 in the distributor body 10 and extends in the shank 26 of said diverter device as far as a stop plane 37 on a level with said distribution chamber 35. The lateral opening 36 is on a level with the convex spherical part 27 of the diverter device 18. It is provided to place the distribution chamber 35 in communication, upon rotation of the diverter device in respect to the fixed supporting element 17, with each of the distribution passages 23 formed in said fixed element and communicating in their turn with the outlet passages 13. The valve unit 19, a so-called and however well known screw, is screwed into the neck 29 of the diverter device 18 and extends into the distribution chamber 35, enclosed in the latter, until it rests on the stop plane 37 at the internal end of the central inlet duct 34. The valve unit 19, that can be controlled externally by its own knob, communicates therefore, in inlet 19', with the central inlet duct 34 aligned and in fluid communication with the inlet duct 14 in the distributor body 10 and, in outlet 19", with the distribution chamber 35, which in turn, by means of the lateral opening 36, can be placed in fluid communication with each of the outlet passages 13 by rotating, as required, the diverter device 18. When the fixed supporting member 17 and diverter device 18 are joined together by the ring nut 32, they form a cartridge group 16 to which the valve unit 19 is screwed. The cartridge group 16 is inserted into the distributor body 19, where it is held by means of a second locking ring nut 38 which rests on the ring nut 32 as shown in Fig.3, allowing however the diverter device to turn. Practically, the flow of water that enters from the inlet passage 12 of the body 10 arrives, through central duct 14 and the inlet opening 34, at the valve unit 19. If this is closed no water flows out. When the valve unit 19 is open the water flows into the distribution chamber 35 and from this chamber the flow can be diverted towards any of the outlet passages 13, according to needs, by turning the diverter device 18 so as to position its lateral opening 36 in line with the corresponding distribution outlet 23 required.

It should be pointed out that the diverter device 18 can be stopped in various angular positions, coinciding with the alignment of its radial opening 36 with each of the outlet passages 13. For this reason a stop element, such as a ball 39, operating by means of a spring 40, can be assembled and held in the fixed supporting member 17, and designed to engage notches or radial cavities 41 formed, for example, around the shank 26 of the diverter device

itself. For maintenance or replacement operations, the valve unit 19 can be separated individually from the front without having to remove the supporting member 17 and the diverter device 18 as well from the distributor body 10.

Otherwise, the cartridge group 16 can be removed and separated in block from the distributor body 10 and then, by unscrewing the ring nut 32, the diverter device is axially separable, without interference, from the supporting member so as to access the gaskets both inside the concave seat and at the base of said member.

Claims

"IMPROVED MULTI-WAY HYDRAULIC DISTRIBUTOR"

C L A I M S 1. Multi-way hydraulic distributor comprising:

- a distributor body (10) which forms a housing (11) with a base and which has a water inlet passage extending to the bottom of said housing and a number of water outlet ways starting from the bottom of said housing towards a same number of uses,

- a diverter device (18) rotatably fitted with said body and having a central inlet hole (34) in fluid communication with said inlet passage and a lateral opening (36) to distribute the inlet water flow towards each of the outlet ways selectively upon rotation of the diverter device, - a valve unit (19) associated with the diverter device to open and close said water inlet passage, characterized in that the rotatably diverter device (18) is coupled and axially connected to a fixed supporting member (17) forming an insertable/extractable cartridge group (16) in said housing of the distributor body, said fixed member (17) has a supporting base resting on the bottom of said housing and forms a concave seat with a spherical surface (20) from which distribution passages (23) extend in fluid communication with said outlet ways of the distributor body, said rotatably diverter device (18) has an external part with a convex spherical surface (27), that fits into said concave spherical seat (20) of said fixed member (17), and forms, internally, a distribution chamber (35), the central inlet hole (34) of said diverter device (18) communicating with said chamber, and lateral distribution opening being radially oriented and open towards the distribution holes (23) in said fixed supporting member (17), said valve unit (19) is fixed to said diverter device and has an inlet facing towards and in fluid communication with the water inlet passage through said central inlet hole (34) of the diverter device, and an outlet communicating with said chamber and by means of the latter with the lateral distribution opening (36) of said diverter device.

2. Multi-way hydraulic distributor according to claim 1 , in which around each distribution passage (23) in said fixed supporting member (17) an annular gasket is located (24, 25), both on the side of the base of said member for the seal between the latter and the bottom of said housing, and on the side of the concave spherical seat (20), the convex spherical part (27) of said rotatably diverter device (18) pressing on the gaskets (25) associated with said distribution passages on the side of said convex spherical seat.

3. Multi-way hydraulic distributor according to claims 1 and 2, in which said fixed supporting member (17) has a hole (22) at the centre of said concave spherical seat (20) and an internal cylindrical part (21) in continuation with said concave spherical seat, and in which the diverter device (18) has a central shank (26) sealed housing and turning in said hole (22) in the centre of said concave spherical seat (20) and, in continuation of the convex spherical part (27), an external cylindrical part (28) which fits into said internal cylindrical part (21) with the interposition of a gasket (31), the central inlet hole ((34) of said rotatably diverter device being formed and passing in said shank.

4. Multi-way hydraulic distributor according to the previous claims, in which in the distribution chamber (35) in the diverter device (18) a stop plane (37) is provided concentric to the central inlet hole ((34), and in which the valve unit (19) rests as a seal on said stop plane with its inlet (19') in communication with said central inlet hole.

5. Multi-way hydraulic distributor according to the previous claims, in which the fixed supporting body (17) and the diverter device (18) forming a cartridge group (16) are axially joined by means of a ring nut (32) in order to separate them axially without damaging the gaskets associated with the distribution passages, the cartridge group being fixed to the distributor body by means of a second ring nut (38) screwed to said body.

6. Multi-way hydraulic distributor according to the previous claims, in which in the fixed supporting member (17) a spring operated stop element (39, 40) is fitted interacting with notches or peripheral cavities (41) on a part of said diverter device to stop the latter in the angular positions in which the lateral opening (36) is aligned with each of the distribution passages (23) of the fixed supporting member.