GB1599531A - Water taps and control valves - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO WATER TAPS AND CONTROL VALVES (71) We, ARMrrAGE S HANKS GROUP DMITED of Armitage, Rugeley, Staffordshire WS15 4BT, a British Company, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a Patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particul larly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to water taps or con trol valves.

In accordance with the invention we provide a water tap or control valve comprising a spindle adapted to be rotated to vary the flow through the tap or valve body, an adaptor which is angularly fast with the spindle, a knob which is angularly fast with the adaptor, an indicia holder connected to the assembly of the knob and the adaptor so as to connect the knob and adaptor together, and an indicia plate mounted in the holder, the indicia plate or the indicia plate and the holder serving to obscure the end of the spindle in normal usage of the tap or valve and the indicia plate additionally serving to provide an indication of the intended function of tap or valve or being purely ornamental.

One example of the use of the invention is in connection with ordinary domestic water taps, which are commonly mounted in pairs to control hot and cold water supplies respectively, and in such case the indicia plate may be coloured, usually blue for cold and red for hot, or bear some other indication such as the letter C or H as the case may be. Another application of the invention may be in diverter fittings, where the knob or handle is used to vary the flow between for example a shower head and a bath spout. In this case the indicia plate may bear an appropriate legend and for example an arrow indicating the direction of movement for a required result.

The knob and adaptor together with the indicia plate and holder may be axially fast with the spindle, in which case removal of the indicia plate, or preferably the indicia plate and holder together, may allow access to the (for example) screw which fixes these parts to the spindle, so that they may be removed for example to allow access to the stuffing gland to enable the same to be tightened or repacked when required.

Alternatively however the complete assembly may be secured to the spindle as a friction fit, or wedge fit, so that the knob and adaptor can be removed as a complete assembly by a levering action or by an axial pull, foi the same purposes.

In a preferred construction, the indicia holder is provided with flexible legs or prongs adapted to snap-engage through aligned apertures in the knob and adaptor to serve the function of holding the knob and adaptor together axially and possibly also affording additional security in the angular senses.

One presently preferred embodiment of the invention is now more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein only the knob, adaptor, indicia plate and indicia holder are illustrated, and wherein: Figure 1 is an exploded sectional elevation of the parts mentioned.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the adaptor, forming part of the assembly; Figure 3 is an underneath plan view of the indicia holder; and Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of the complete assembly.

Turning now to the accompanying drawings, the adaptor generally indicated by the reference numeral 10 may be made as a plastics moulding, and is generally circular in plan view as seen in Figure 2. The upper portion of the adaptor is provided with a generally hexagonal (in this embodiment) well 12 for the purpose of keying with a complementary hollow boss 14 provided on the knob, the knob being generally indicated by the reference numeral 16. On its underface, the adaptor 10 has a recess 18 which may be generally complementary in shape to the end of the tap spindle (not shown) which is to be received therein. For example, if the spindle is square, the aperture may be square.However, it is preferred to provide a generally star-shaped aperture 18 having a contour comparable to that of two superimposed squares of equal dimensions, but with one turned at 45 relative to the other, and this provides eight possible positions for the adaptor relative to the spindle.

Alternatively the recess 18 may receive a complementary component with a bore shaped to be angularly fast with the spindle and its periphery serving to hold the adaptor on the component as an angularly fast fit.

In the illustrated embodiment, the adaptor has a circular bore 20 opening from the recess 18 to the well 12 to enable a screw to be passed through to engage in the end of the spindle for securing the parts together, but as mentioned other alternatives are possible.

The adaptor is provided with a series of, for example, six equi-spaced slots 22 disposed adjacent to its periphery, and these slots are arcuate as seen in plan view and open through the adaptor from the upper face (as seen in Figure 1) to the lower face. The radially inner faces of the slots converge upwardly (Figure 1) and the radially outer face of each slot intersects a generally radial extension of the slot to the outer periphery of the adaptor to form a shoulder for the purpose of engaging with the tips of prongs provided on the indicia holder, as explained hereinafter.

The knob or hand-wheel is made of sheet metal and is preformed to the required contour, and this may be made by a pressing technique to a suitable finished form. Usually the knob or hand-wheel will be generally cup-shaped (the cup being inverted in use) and with the skirt or cylindrical wall of the cup formed into a series of generally axially extending ribs, which may vary in cross-sectional shape and depth along their length, so as to provide a series of flutes between the ribs to enable the user to grasp the knob and rotate it.

As mentioned, the knob has a projection 14 which is complementary to the well 12, and this is centrally apertured at 24 for the fixing screw if used. Additionally, the knob has a series of generally arcuate slots 26, which may be equal in number to the slots 22, or possibly the adaptor may have six slots and the knob three slots, or other variations may be made in these numbers.

The indicia holder is generally indicated by the reference numeral 28, and may also be made of plastics material, for example as an injection moulding. It serves to mount an indicia plate 36 and comprises a generally flat plate 30 to seat on the top of the knob, a central aperture 32, so that if the indicia plate 36 is removed without removing the indicia holder, a tool can be inserted through that aperture to obtain access to the screw (if used), a peripheral rib 34, so that the indicia plate 36 can seat within that rib, and a series of prongs 38.

The prongs 38 are at the same spacing as the slots 26, so that they can be passed through the slots, to pass through the slots 22 (it being assumed that all of these parts are aligned) and the prongs have enlarged tips or feet 40 to engage behind the shoulders on the adaptor as mentioned.

It will be appreciated that assembly is merely a matter of closing the knob on the adaptor, and snap-engaging the prongs with the slots so that indicia holder serves to hold the assembly of knob and adaptor together.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A water tap or control valve comprising a spindle adapted to be rotated to vary the flow through the tap or valve body, an adaptor which is angularly fast with the spindle, a knob which is angularly fast with the adaptor, an indicia holder connected to the assembly of the knob and the adaptor so as to connect the knob and adaptor together, and an indicia plate mounted in the holder, the indicia plate or the indicia plate and the holder serving to obscure the end of the spindle in normal usage of the tap or valve and the indicia plate additionally serving to provide an indication of the intended function of tap or valve or being purely ornamental.

2. A tap or valve as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the knob and the adaptor have aligned slots, and the indicia holder has prongs to engage through those slots to hold the assembly of knob and adaptor together.

3. A tap or valve as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 wherein the knob comprises a preformed sheet metal body of generally cup-shaped configuration within which the adaptor is enclosed.

4. A tap or valve substantially as described with reference to, and as shown in, the acaccompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (4)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. the spindle. Alternatively the recess 18 may receive a complementary component with a bore shaped to be angularly fast with the spindle and its periphery serving to hold the adaptor on the component as an angularly fast fit. In the illustrated embodiment, the adaptor has a circular bore 20 opening from the recess 18 to the well 12 to enable a screw to be passed through to engage in the end of the spindle for securing the parts together, but as mentioned other alternatives are possible. The adaptor is provided with a series of, for example, six equi-spaced slots 22 disposed adjacent to its periphery, and these slots are arcuate as seen in plan view and open through the adaptor from the upper face (as seen in Figure 1) to the lower face. The radially inner faces of the slots converge upwardly (Figure 1) and the radially outer face of each slot intersects a generally radial extension of the slot to the outer periphery of the adaptor to form a shoulder for the purpose of engaging with the tips of prongs provided on the indicia holder, as explained hereinafter. The knob or hand-wheel is made of sheet metal and is preformed to the required contour, and this may be made by a pressing technique to a suitable finished form. Usually the knob or hand-wheel will be generally cup-shaped (the cup being inverted in use) and with the skirt or cylindrical wall of the cup formed into a series of generally axially extending ribs, which may vary in cross-sectional shape and depth along their length, so as to provide a series of flutes between the ribs to enable the user to grasp the knob and rotate it. As mentioned, the knob has a projection 14 which is complementary to the well 12, and this is centrally apertured at 24 for the fixing screw if used. Additionally, the knob has a series of generally arcuate slots 26, which may be equal in number to the slots 22, or possibly the adaptor may have six slots and the knob three slots, or other variations may be made in these numbers. The indicia holder is generally indicated by the reference numeral 28, and may also be made of plastics material, for example as an injection moulding. It serves to mount an indicia plate 36 and comprises a generally flat plate 30 to seat on the top of the knob, a central aperture 32, so that if the indicia plate 36 is removed without removing the indicia holder, a tool can be inserted through that aperture to obtain access to the screw (if used), a peripheral rib 34, so that the indicia plate 36 can seat within that rib, and a series of prongs 38. The prongs 38 are at the same spacing as the slots 26, so that they can be passed through the slots, to pass through the slots 22 (it being assumed that all of these parts are aligned) and the prongs have enlarged tips or feet 40 to engage behind the shoulders on the adaptor as mentioned. It will be appreciated that assembly is merely a matter of closing the knob on the adaptor, and snap-engaging the prongs with the slots so that indicia holder serves to hold the assembly of knob and adaptor together. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A water tap or control valve comprising a spindle adapted to be rotated to vary the flow through the tap or valve body, an adaptor which is angularly fast with the spindle, a knob which is angularly fast with the adaptor, an indicia holder connected to the assembly of the knob and the adaptor so as to connect the knob and adaptor together, and an indicia plate mounted in the holder, the indicia plate or the indicia plate and the holder serving to obscure the end of the spindle in normal usage of the tap or valve and the indicia plate additionally serving to provide an indication of the intended function of tap or valve or being purely ornamental.

2. A tap or valve as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the knob and the adaptor have aligned slots, and the indicia holder has prongs to engage through those slots to hold the assembly of knob and adaptor together.

3. A tap or valve as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 wherein the knob comprises a preformed sheet metal body of generally cup-shaped configuration within which the adaptor is enclosed.

4. A tap or valve substantially as described with reference to, and as shown in, the acaccompanying drawings.