EP2778298B1 - Sanitary fitting connection system - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a connection system for connecting sanitary fittings to wall-side installation lines. Specifically, the invention relates to a sanitary fittings connection system with an S-tube fitting, which has a central portion and two connecting pieces which connect with parallel, staggered longitudinal axes on both sides of the central portion and of which a wall connection piece a wall connection contour for attachment to a wall-side installation line and an armature connection piece has a fitting connection contour for attaching a sanitary fitting which has a connection contour of a first connection type which matches the fitting connection contour of the fitting connection piece.

Connection systems of this type are used, for example, for wall-mounted installation of mixer taps for shower and bath systems. The S-tube connection piece, also called S-connection for short, serves with its S-shape to compensate for certain installation tolerances. Usually its Wandanschlusskontur is a thread, and when screwing the S-connection to the wall-side installation line with its wall connection piece, i. its wall-side spigot, describes its fitting connection piece, i. the armaturseitiger connecting piece, a circle through which a corresponding amount of height offset and a transverse offset of the installation line can be compensated for the subsequent attachment of the associated sanitary fitting.

A conventional sanitary fitting with a connection contour of a screw connection type is thereby mounted on the S-pipe connection piece in such a way that it is fastened with its connection contour to the fitting connecting contour of the fitting connecting piece formed as a thread. In this connection contour, it may in particular be a union nut with internal thread, which is screwed onto an external thread of the fitting connection piece.

As an alternative to these sanitary fittings with screw connection connection contour also sanitary fittings have been proposed with a connection contour of a connector type. These sanitary fittings are thereby mounted on a wall-side pre-installed S-port that they in this case with a Plug connector fitting provided fitting connection and fixed in this plug in a suitable manner or secured against loosening. Accordingly, a modified S-pipe fitting is conventionally used for this type of connector of sanitary fittings, the fitting connection piece has no thread, but a connector contour, which fits as a mating terminal contour to the connector connection contour of the sanitary fitting. The fixation of the connector is done for example by a radially or transversely arranged mounting screw.

Sanitary fittings of this type of connector and associated connection systems are, for example, in the patent DE 41 02 048 C2 disclosed. In general, these systems are used for the installation of sanitary fittings, which are covered by a housing that extends to the wall, or in which the valve body itself is designed so that it is suitable for contact with the wall. On the other hand, the sanitary fittings with connection contour of the screw connection type are mostly used for systems in which the sanitary fitting protrudes relatively far from the wall and the wall opening with the S-connection is covered only by a rosette and not by a valve body as a whole.

In the patent EP 0 757 133 B1 discloses a connection system for a sanitary fitting with connection contour connector type, which includes an S-connection, in which both connecting pieces are provided with an external thread. On the external thread of the fitting-side connecting piece a guide and retaining nut is screwed in the installed state, which has on its outer side a conically tapered to the wall bearing surface for a provided on the sanitary fitting, radial fastening screw. In the fitting-side connecting piece, a connecting sleeve is held axially movable, which engages with mounted sanitary fitting on the other hand in a cylindrical guide on the valve body. With the axially movable connection sleeve, any angular misalignment of the wall-side installation line and thus of the S-connection bolted thereto should be compensated. For installation, the sanitary fitting is plugged with its housing to the wall on the respective S-connection or the protruding from this connection sleeve and then secured in this position by the radial fastening screw. Since the fitting-side connecting piece of the S-connection is designed for receiving the connecting sleeve and to a relation to the wall-side connecting piece and the connecting sleeve larger inner diameter has, this connection system is not usable without the connection sleeve and therefore not for sanitary fittings that have no corresponding guide for the axially movable connection sleeve.

The publication DE 2 014 057 discloses a connection of a two-hole mixer with wall connections, said connection includes connection stub, which reach into holes of the wall connections, are screwed into a battery housing of the mixer tap and behind a provided at its free end flange-like collar a seal packing, into the bore of the respective wall connection fits and is held between each consisting of at least two ring sectors pressure rings, as well as wear against this, screw-threaded clamping sleeve. The clamping sleeve is axially displaceably toothed with a drive ring which extends beyond the wall connection and is accessible for a tightening tool. By this connection system, a different wide protruding the wall connections from an associated wall to be compensated.

The patent US 6,175,972 B1 discloses an installation kit for a sanitary fitting, which should allow to connect a provided with a screw sanitary fitting either to different types of connection wall-side installation lines, for example, to screw terminals of different diameters or to a thread-free wall line connection, including the kit includes suitable adapters.

The publication GB 2 480 508 A discloses a pipeline which is adapted at a terminal end to be able to connect another line thereto either by screwing or by plugging. For this purpose, the connection end is provided with an external thread for direct screwing on of the other line and with an internal thread into which an adapter piece can be screwed with one end, the remaining area of the adapter piece being designed as a slip-on sleeve for pushing on the other line.

The invention is based on the technical problem of providing a connection system of the type mentioned, which can be implemented with little effort and which is flexible for sanitary fittings of different connection or connection types used.

The invention solves this problem by providing a connection system with the features of claim 1. In this connection system, the S-pipe connection piece is designed with its two connecting pieces, on the one hand with its wall connection contour for connection to a wall-side installation line and on the other hand with its fitting connection contour in the form of a thread directly for connecting a sanitary fitting of a screw connection type as a first type of connection is suitable. In addition, the connection system includes an adapter piece with an adapter connection contour for attachment to the fitting connection contour of the fitting-side connection piece of the S-pipe connection piece and with a counter-connection contour for attaching a sanitary fitting, which has a corresponding connection contour of a connector type as a different from the first, second connection type.

Thus, the connection system is suitable in a simple manner for connecting sanitary fittings of two different types of connection, including either the adapter piece is attached to the fitting connection piece of the S-pipe connection piece or not. With the connection system it is possible to replace a sanitary fitting of the type with screw connection connection contour by one of the type with connector connection contour without for this purpose the S-pipe connection must be unscrewed from the wall-side installation line and replaced with another S-tube connection piece , Rather, the S-pipe connection piece can remain in the installation line, and it must only be screwed to the adapter piece with its executed in this case as an adapter adapter connection contour to the executed in this case as thread fitting connection contour of the S-pipe connection piece. Then, the sanitary fitting with connector connection contour can be set on the adapter piece, especially at its matching connector Gegenanschlusskontur.

In a development of the invention, the wall connection contour of the wall connection piece can be, in particular, a thread or a plug connection contour.

In one development of the invention, the adapter piece is an adapter sleeve whose adapter connection contour is formed on its sleeve inner side and whose mating connector contour is formed on its sleeve lateral surface. In an embodiment of this structurally advantageous realization of the adapter piece, the sleeve lateral surface has a fastening region in the form of a contact surface for a fastening screw provided on the corresponding sanitary fitting connection contour. With the fixing screw, the plug connection of the sanitary fitting can be secured or fixed to the adapter piece. In a further embodiment of this measure, the fastening region is formed by a conical section of the sleeve lateral surface, the diameter of which increases towards the fitting side. This ensures in a structurally advantageous manner, the attachment of the sanitary fitting on the adapter piece and thus the S-tube fitting against accidental loosening and keeps the fitting or a housing thereof safe and backlash, e.g. in play-free wall system.

In one embodiment of the invention, the lateral surface of the adapter sleeve has a sealing ring groove. By inserting a corresponding seal so that a sealing function for the outside of the adapter sleeve is provided. In a further embodiment, the sleeve lateral surface adjacent to the Dichtungsringnut a larger outer diameter than in the attachment area for the fitting-side fixing screw. Thus, the sealing function is radially outside of the mounting area, so that it can be kept unaffected by the mounting area.

In one embodiment of the invention, the sealing ring groove has a smaller distance from a fitting end face of the adapter sleeve as the attachment area for the fastening screw of the sanitary fitting, ie the mounting area is protected by the direction of fitting before her lying sealing area on the outside of the adapter sleeve against water ingress.

Fig. 1

eine Schnittansicht einer Mischbatterie mit Steckverbindungs-Anschlusskontur, die über ein erfindungsgemäßes Anschlusssystem an wandseitigen Installationsleitungen angeschlossen ist,

Fig. 2

eine Seitenansicht einer beim Anschlusssystem von Fig. 1 verwendeten Adapterhülse,

Fig. 3

eine Längsschnittansicht der Adapterhülse von Fig. 2,

Fig. 4

eine Schnittansicht längs einer Linie IV-IV von Fig. 1,

Fig. 5

eine Schnittansicht längs einer Linie V-V von Fig. 1 und

Fig. 6

eine Schnittansicht entsprechend Fig. 1 für eine an wandseitige Installationsleitungen mit S-Anschlüssen wie im Anschlusssystem von Fig. 1 angeschlossene Mischbatterie mit Schraubverbindungs-Anschlusskontur.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and will be described below. Hereby show:

Fig. 1

a sectional view of a mixer tap with connector connection contour, which is connected via an inventive connection system to wall-side installation lines,

Fig. 2

a side view of the connection system of Fig. 1 used adapter sleeve,

Fig. 3

a longitudinal sectional view of the adapter sleeve of Fig. 2 .

Fig. 4

a sectional view taken along a line IV-IV of Fig. 1 .

Fig. 5

a sectional view taken along a line VV of Fig. 1 and

Fig. 6

a sectional view accordingly Fig. 1 for a wall-mounted installation cable with S-connections as in the connection system of Fig. 1 connected mixer tap with screw connection connection contour.

An in Fig. 1 shown mixer 1 is of a type with connector connection contour and has a known structure, which therefore need not be discussed here in detail. It is useful, for example, for a shower system or bathtub system and includes in a housing 2 two user-controllable control valves 3, 4, such as a mixing valve and a quantity control valve to controllably supplied cold water and hot water fed into a mixing chamber and fed from there to an outlet, for example a shower head or a bath enema leads. In Fig. 1 the mixer tap 1 is shown in its assembled state, in which it rests with its housing 2 against an on-site wall 5 and covers two wall openings 6, 7. In the two wall openings 6, 7, the connection ends are each a wall-side installation line 8, 9 for the supply of cold water or hot water.

The mixer tap 1 is connected to the two installation lines 8, 9 via a connection system according to the invention, which includes an S-tube connection piece 10, 11 for connection to each of the two installation lines 8, 9. The two S-pipe fittings 10, 11 are identical in construction of known type with an S-shaped angled center section 12, to which a wall-side connecting piece 13 and on the other side a fitting-side connecting piece 14 connect on one side. The wall connection piece 13 has a longitudinal center axis 13a, which is parallel to a longitudinal center axis 14a of the fitting connection piece 14 and offset laterally relative thereto, as resulting from the S-shaped angling of the center portion 12. The wall-side connecting piece 13 has a wall connection contour 13b in the form of an external thread, with which it is screwed fluid-tight into the free end of the respective wall-side installation line 8, 9, to which the latter has a corresponding internal thread. In the view of Fig. 1 the left-hand installation line 8 together with the associated S-connection 10 are cut along the longitudinal center in order to be able to better recognize the details mentioned, while the right-hand installation line 9 together with the S-connection 11 screwed in are shown uncut.

For the respective S-connection 10, 11, the connection system according to the invention has an adapter piece 15 designed as an adapter sleeve in the example shown here, which is inserted in the FIGS. 2 and 3 is shown separately in a side view and a longitudinal sectional view. The adapter sleeve 15 has an adapter thread contour as an internal thread 16, with which it can be screwed onto a realized as an external thread fitting connection contour of the fitting-side connecting piece 14 of the S-pipe fitting 10, 11. On its jacket outer surface, the adapter sleeve 15 is provided with a sealing ring groove 17 into which an O-ring seal can be inserted. Seen from a dash panel end 18, in the assembled state of Fig. 1 facing the sanitary fitting 1 and facing away from the wall 5, the adapter sleeve 15 hhter the Dichtungsringnut 17 has a mounting portion in the form of a contact surface 19, which is formed by a slightly conically extending lateral surface portion in the axial direction. Specifically, the outer diameter of the sleeve in this conical mounting region 19 decreases in the direction away from the sealing ring groove 17, ie in the direction of a wall-side front end 20 of the adapter sleeve 15. In this case, the sleeve lateral surface adjacent to the Dichtungsringnut 17 has a larger outer diameter than in the mounting portion 19. This causes an advantageous sealing function for the adapter sleeve 15th

The mixer 1 each has a cylindrical receptacle 21, 22 for receiving the associated, provided with the screwed-on adapter sleeve 15 Armaturanschlussstutzens 14 of the relevant S-terminal 10, 11 on. For assembly, the mixer tap 1, after previously the two S-ports 10, 11 have been screwed with its wall-side connecting piece 13 in the associated, wall-side installation line 8, 9, with its housing 2 attached to the plant against the wall 5 and thereby on provided with the screwed adapter sleeves 15 fitting connection piece 14 of the S-ports 10, 11 attached, so that the fitting connection piece 14 are received with the respective surrounding adapter sleeve 15 in the respectively associated, cylindrical receptacle 21, 22 of the mixer 1. This connector of the mixer 1 to the two S-ports 10, 11 is then secured by screwing each an associated mounting screw 23, 24, which in the sectional views of 4 and 5 can be seen, in which the simplicity of installation cables 8, 9 are omitted.

Like from the 4 and 5 can be seen, the respective fastening screw 23, 24 radially, that is arranged transversely to the longitudinal center axis 25 of the adapter sleeve 15 and thus also the fitting fitting connection socket 14 of the S-ports 10, 11, and presses against the conical mounting portion 19 of the adapter sleeve 15. As a result, the mixer tap 1 is securely and without play fixed to the two plugged fitting connection piece 14 of the S-ports 10, 11 and secured against loosening or removal of the S-terminals 10, 11 and thus of the wall 5. Since the fastening region 19 and the respective radial fastening screw 23, 24 are located axially behind the sealing ring groove region 17, ie in the direction of the wall 5, they remain free of penetrating water. The adapter sleeve 15 thus provides by its outer contour to the connector connection contour of the mixer tap 1, which is formed by the respective cylindrical receptacle 21, 22, mating mating contour ready.

The connection system according to the invention not only allows the connection of sanitary fittings with connector connection contour, as shown in the Fig. 1 to 5 but also the connection of sanitary fittings of the conventional type with screw connection terminal contour. An example of this is in Fig. 6 in a sectional view accordingly Fig. 1 shown. In this example, the sanitary fitting is a conventional, rod-shaped mixer 26 with analog, user-operable control valves 3, 4 as in the example of Fig. 1 , The mixer 26 can be using the two same S-tube fittings 10, 11 as in the example of Fig. 1 to the two wall-side installation lines 8, 9 in the wall openings 6, Connect 7, including the two S-ports 10, 11 are screwed in the same way with its wall connection piece 13 in the associated installation line 8, 9.

For the mixer 26 of Fig. 6 acts the external thread of the fitting-side Anschussstutzens 14 of the respective S-port 10, 11 directly as Gegenanschlusskontur, with each associated an associated connection contour of Schraubverbindungstyp, which is provided on the mixer 26 and is formed in the example shown by a provided with an internal thread union nut 27 , For mounting on the previously screwed into the installation lines 8, 9 S-terminals 10, 11, the mixer 26 is applied with their union nuts 27 bearing lugs to the front ends of the fitting connection piece 14 of the S-ports 10, 11, and then the two union nuts 27 screwed onto the fitting connection piece 14 of the S-ports 10, 11. The adapter sleeve 15 remains unused during the assembly of this mixer 26 with screw connection terminal contour. The mixer 26 has no housing which rests against the wall 5 and the wall openings 6, 7 covers. Instead, the wall openings 6, 7 covered by conventional Abdeckrosetten 28, 29.

It is understood that the S-ports 10, 11 perform in all applications with and without adapter its usual function, depending on the rotational position for an installation tolerance compensation parallel to the plane of the on-site wall 5 to provide, i. in the vertical and lateral direction by the fitting connection piece 14 during insertion of the S-port 10, 11 in the installation line 8, 9, quasi describes a circular line in this plane.

As the embodiments shown and make clear above, can be connected to the connection system according to the invention plumbing fixtures both the plug connection type and the screw connection type to wall-side installation lines, without the need for different S-ports are required. Sanitary fittings of Schraubverbindungstyp can be mounted in the usual way directly eg with union nuts on the provided with matching threads S connections. For mounting sanitary fittings of the connector type, the same S-type connections are used, in addition, only their fitting connection piece are provided with the adapter piece, which is the appropriate mating connection contour for the connector connection contour of the sanitary fitting having. For a change between the two sanitary fitting types, therefore, only an additional component in the form of the adapter is required. When changing a fitting, the S-connection screwed into the wall-side installation line does not need to be unscrewed, but can remain in it. It must then be attached or removed only the adapter piece.

It is understood that the invention in addition to the examples shown in the same way further alternative embodiments with other terminal contours. For example, the wall connection contour of the S-tube connecting piece can be a plug-in contour with which the S-tube connecting piece is connected to a wall-side installation line. The adapter piece in each case has the fitting connection contour which matches the fitting connection contour of the S-tube connecting piece, the fitting connection contour of the S-tube connecting piece corresponding to the first sanitary fitting connection type. The adapter piece can be realized as a sleeve or alternatively as a component of another form, on which the said connection contours are formed.

Claims (8)

1. A connector system for connecting sanitary fittings of different types of connection to wall-sided installation lines, comprising

   - an S-pipe connector piece (10, 11) including a center portion (12) and two connector stubs adjoining on both sides to the center portion with parallel longitudinal axes (13a, 14a) offset relative to another, and where among them a wall connector stub (13) has a wall connector contour for mounting to a wall-sided installation line (8, 9) and a fitting connector stub (14) has a fitting connector contour in the form of a thread for mounting a first sanitary fitting (26) which includes a connector contour (27) of a screw connector type as a first connector type matching to the fitting connector contour of the fitting connector stub, and

   - an adaptor piece (15) including an adaptor connector contour (16) for mounting to the fitting connector contour of the fitting connector stub (14) and a counter connector contour for mounting a second sanitary fitting (1) which includes a connector contour of a plug-in connector type as a second connector type differing from the first connector type and matching to the counter connector contour.
2. The connector system according to claim 1, further characterized in that the wall connector contour of the wall connector stub is a thread or a plug-in connector contour.
3. The connector system according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that the adaptor piece (15) is an adaptor sleeve with its adaptor connector contour (16) provided on its sleeve internal surface, and the counter connector contour provided on its sleeve lateral surface.
4. The connector system according to claim 3, further characterized in that the sleeve lateral surface has a fixing region (19) in the form of an abutment face for a fixing screw (23, 24) provided on the corresponding sanitary fitting connector contour.
5. The connector system according to claim 4, further characterized in that the fixing region (19) is constituted by a conical portion of the sleeve lateral surface with the diameter of the conical portion increasing towards the side of the fitting.
6. The connector system according to any one of the claims 3 to 5, further characterized in that the sleeve lateral surface has an annular sealing groove (17).
7. The connector system according to claim 6, further characterized in that the sleeve lateral surface has a larger outer diameter adjacent to the annular sealing groove (17) than in the fixing region.
8. The connector system according to claim 6 or 7, further characterized in that the annular sealing groove (17) has a smaller distance to an end face of the adaptor sleeve on the side of the fitting than the fixing region (19).

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