GB2077394A - Improvements in or relating to water taps - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an improved spout for a water tap for controlling water discharge and preventing drips and dribbles running rearwardly from the outlet to the tap body. There is a spout body (1) which has an outlet (3) and the body has a saddle-back formation (4) extending transversely of the waterway adjacent the outlet (3) to provide a waterfall to control and centralise water flow to the outlet. The formation (4) provides a recess (6) extending upwards and rearwardly from a lip (7) of the outlet from which, at low flow rates, drops of water will collect and fall. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to water taps This invention concerns improvements in or relating to water taps, in particular to improvements in the spout or nozzle of taps through which the water is discharged.

This invention is concerned with taps which are adapted to be mounted on a basin or other catchment such as a bath, and the invention can be applied to taps in which the water is mixed and discharged through a common spout or nozzle as well as single control taps.

The spout of a tap has to perform two essential functions, these being to control the water stream into the catchment, and at low flow rates to prevent drips or dribbles flows from creeping by surface tension effects backwards along the outside of the spout and so causing water to accumulate around the base of the tap. Usually, the tap body housing the valve and mounting the control is maintained relatively small and in order to bring the spout into a position to discharge the water into the catchment, the spout extends both forwardly and upwardly relative to the tap body.

The upward sweep of the spout tends to increase the risk of water running backwards to the base, and various expensive expedients have been adopted previously to prevent this and achieve good control of the water stream.

Such expedients include providing a special tubular device with internal vanes that is located in the nozzle or outlet of the spout. Such devices control the water stream, especially to straighten the flow for high flow rates, and often the device has a projecting dependent centre for controlling dribble or drips. Another expedient is to form the end of the spout with a special nozzle that is integral with the spout. The nozzle protrudes downwards from the end of the spout and provides an annular lip from which dribble or drips of water collect and fall.

Both of these expedients, and others, add to the manufacturing cost of the tap. The provision and fitting of the vanned flow straightener and control is costly, but where the integral nozzle is provided, special manufacturing steps are required, particularly for finishing the nozzle by scurfing and polishing where, as usual, the tap spout is cast.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved spout having features integral therewith which both control the water stream and control dribble and drip from the tap.

Other objectives and advantages of this invention will be mentioned later herein.

According to this invention, we provide for a water tap, a spout having an integral saddle-back formation in the spout wall immediately adjacent the outlet, the formation being arranged in the waterway to provide a waterfall to control and centralise the water stream immediately before discharge through the outlet, and the formation being arranged on the outside of the spout to provide a recess immediately behind the outlet to prevent water drips or dribbles creeping along the under-side of the spout from the outlet.

By providing the saddle-back formation, no special parts have to be fitted to the tap, and the formation can be cast integrally with the spout.

The provision of the formation with the recess on the underside of the spout also avoids the need to provide the special nozzle.

The saddle-back formation can be applied to various shapes and sizes of taps, and has been found to be most effective in instances even where the upward angle of the spout from the base of the tap is beyond that prescribed by Water Authorities to prevent back-siphonage.

The saddle-back formation provides the waterfall in the waterway that centralises the water flow immediately prior to discharge and also presents a smooth bend leading to the outlet.

Thus, the flow of the water is controlled at high flow rates to discharge and project from the outlet, whilst at low flow rates, the drips or dribble of water flows over the waterfall and due to the depression formed in the waterfall by the saddleback shape, the flow in centralised and will fall from the edge of the outlet at substantially the same place consistently. Where drips or dribble arises, the underside of the saddle-back formation that provides the recess defines, adjacent the outlet, an edge from which the drips or dribble fall, and the surface of the recess is so shaped that the water cannot flow across such surface by surface tension.

The provision of the waterfall formation can be applied to outlets of oval, round or substantially rectangular shape, the latter being a trend at present.

This invention is deemed to include taps including spouts according to this invention as well as the spouts per se.

In order that this invention be understood reference will be made to the accompanying drawing depicting an exemplary embodiment of a spout according to this invention. In the drawings: FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the spout; FIGURE 2 is an underneath plan view of the spout of Figure 1; FIGURE 3 is a section A-A of Figure 2; and FIGURE 4 is an enlarged section B-B of Figure 2.

The spout depicted comprises a body 1 having at one end a threaded spigot 2 for fitting the spout to a tap body (not shown). The body 1 is hollow providing a waterway leading to an outlet 3 through which water is discharged in use. In known manner, the outlet faces downwards in use to discharge the water into a catchment.

The spout is of rectangular style with a taper towards the outlet. This design is merely for styling and could be of any alternative shape.

The spout wall immediately adjacent the outlet 3 is formed with a saddle-back formation 4 that extends transversely of the waterway to provide a smooth bend leading to the outlet over which the water flows, and a central depression 5 which ensures that the water flow is centralised in the waterway for low rates of flow.

On the underside of the spout, the saddle-back formation provides a recess 6 that lies immediately behind the outlet. The recess 6 defines a lip 7 at the centre rear wall of the outlet 3 from which any drips or dribble of water flowing through the waterway would collect. The recess 6 extends upwardly away from the lip 7 so that water cannot flow over the surface of the recess 6.

As will be appreciated, the saddle-back formation can be provided simply on casting or moulding, and in finishing the outside faces of the spout, simple polishing techniques can be used employing linear traversing movements as opposed to the special techniques that have be to be used with other nozzles.

As will also be understood, the shape of the saddle-back and the angles of curvature both in the direction of flow, and transversely thereto may have to be designed in accordance with the section of the waterway and the shape and size of the outlet. However, such changes are merely considered within the scope of this invention.

Claims (7)

1. A spout for a water tap, the spout comprising a hollow body providing an internal waterway leading to an outlet, characterised in that the body is formed with an integral saddle-back formation extending in the waterway adjacent the outlet to provide a waterfall to control and centralise the water stream immediately before discharge through the outlet, and said integral saddle-back formation providing a recess on the outside of the spout immediately behind the outlet to prevent water drips or dribbles creeping along the underside of the spout from the outlet when water is discharged therefrom.

2. A spout according to claim 1 wherein the saddle-back formation extends transversely of the body and defines a smooth bend extending across the waterway and terminating at the outlet.

3. A spout according to claim 2 where the saddle-back formation is formed with a central depression for centralising the water flow through the water way to the outlet.

4. A spout according to claim 3 wherein the recess defines a dependent lip at the centre rear wall of the outlet for the collection and discharge of drips or dribbles of water coming from the outlet at low rates of flow.

5. A spout according to any one of the preceding claims further characterised in that the body is provided with a hollow threaded spigot and the end remote from the outlet for coupling the spout to a tap body.

6. A spout for a water tap substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. A water tap having a spout according to any one of the preceding claims.