GB2085127A - Water taps and mixer taps - Google Patents

Abstract

A water tap includes a body part and a flexible diaphragm 18 adapted to bear at one side against a seating 16 to close the valve, a chamber 48 being formed on the other side of said diaphragm with which inlet pressure of water can communicate to hold the diaphragm on its seating, a pilot valve 26 being provided to allow the escape of water from said chamber so that the inlet pressure of water acting against the flexible diaphragm can displace the latter away from its seating. The pilot valve is actuated by a pin 40, upon depression of a push button 64. The mechanism between the push button 64 and the pin 40 causes the pin to extend and retract on successive depression of the button. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Water taps and mixer taps The invention relates to water taps and mixer taps.

Many kinds of tap mechanisms are known. If the mechanism is purely mechanical, a substantial manual force may be necessary to close the tap against the incoming supply pressure. Alternatively, in orderto reduce the manual effort required the mechanism may be designed so that the control member has a considerable mechanical advantage, but of course with the penalty that the control member requires considerable movement to open or close the tap. On the other hand of course a designer of such a tap may decide on a compromise so that a moderate amount of effort and a moderate amount of movement is required.

If the tap is not purely mechanical but incorporates a solenoid valve or other auxiliary means to operate it in response to very light finger pressure or in response to a signal from an electrical proximity switch, an electric supply to the tap is required. For this reason the operation of a tap by auxiliary means it not an ideal solution.

The object of the invention is to provide a water tap or mixer tap which can be operated by fingerlight pressure but which does not require an auxiliary power supply such as electricity.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a water tap including a body part; a flexible diaphragm adapted to bear at one side against a seating to close the valve; a chamber formed on the other side of said flexible diaphragm and to which the inlet pressure of water can communicate to hold the diaphragm on its seating; and a pilot valve member which can be opened to allow the escape of water from said chamber so that the inlet pressure of water acting against the flexible diaphragm can displace the latter away from its seating, said pilot valve member being associated with a pilot valve unseating pin and with mechanism which on successive depressions of an operating button causes the effective length of said pilot valve seating pin to be increased and then decreased so that a first depression of said operating button causes the opening of the tap and a second depression of said button causes the closure of the tap. The flexible diaphragm will preferably be provided with a small hole through which the inlet pressure of water at one side of said diaphragm can communicate with the chamber formed on the other side of said diaphragm to hold the diaphragm on its seating.In this case a stem portion of the pilot valve member will preferably extend through the small hole in the diaphragm, with a small clearance to permit the passage of water, the movement of the stem portion through the hole each. time the tap is opened or closed providing a self-cleaning action tending to keep the hole free of obstruction.The mechanism which on successive depressions of the operating button causes the effective length of the pilot valve unseating pin to be increased and then decreased may be constituted by the kind of mechanism found in a "Biro" (Registered Trade Mark) pen, that is to say a mechanism including an indexable spacerelementwhich on successive depressions of the operating button is, effectively, first of maximum thickness and then of minimum thickness whereby the effective length of the pilot valve unseating pin is first made longer and then made shorter so that the pilot valve member is first held open and then allowed to close.The tap may include an adjustable pilot valve cartridge assembly and an adjusting sleeve which can be rotated by the user of the tap whereby a body part of the valve cartridge assembly can be adjusted up or down to impede the movement of the flexible diaphargm away from its seating to a lesser or greater degree so that the rate of flow of water from the tap can be controlled.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a mixer tap with so-called side cock mechanisms for hot and cold water respectively, each of said side cock mechanisms being constructed as described above.

In order that the invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, the same will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a lower portion of a water tap embodying the invention, the tap being in closed condition, Fig. 2 is a view of a part of the tap of Fig. 1 shown in open condition, Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 and illustrating a possible modification, Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a further form of tap embodying the invention, Fig. 5 is a view of a mixer tap embodying the invention, and Fig. 6 is an exploded view of a mechanism, forming a part of each tap, which will presently be referred to.

The water tap mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 is of a kind which can be fitted beneath a conventional outlet, that is to say it is a so-called "below the deck" fitting. The mechanism includes an upstanding main body part 10 in a screwthreaded lower part of which is located an upstanding sleeve element 12 formed integrally with a screwthreaded adaptor 14 forming a water inlet. An upstanding annular seating 16 is formed within the sleeve element and a relatively thick central portion of a flexible diaphragm 18 is shown to be seated on said seating 16. A downwardly lipped peripheral edge portion of the flexible diaphragm is shown to be clamped against an annular seating of complementary shape within the sleeve element by a pilot valve body member 20. A small hole 19 extends axially through the central portion of the flexible diaphragm.A plurality of radial passages 22 extend through the lower part of the upstanding wall of the sleeve element and open into an upwardly extending annular flow passage 24 which is defined between the wail of the sleeve ele ment and wall of the main body part and continues upwards between the wall of the pilot body member and the main body part.

The pilot valve body member 20 has a valve member 26 which is urged upwardly, by a spring 28, into seating engagement with a seating 30 surrounding a flow passage 32, the latter being able to communicate with the upwardly extending annular flow passage 24 by way of a cross bore 34. The spring 28 is pre-loaded by a screwthreaded plug 36 which is located, as shown, within the pilot valve body member 20, the downwardly extending stem portion 38 of valve member 26 passing freely through an axial hole in said plug.

A pilot valve unseating pin 40 is slidably mounted in an upper part of the pilot valve body and is urged upwardly, away from the valve member 26, by a light coil spring 42. Means are provided whereby the unseating pin 40 can, at will, be located in a raised inoperative position as shown in Fig. 1, in which position the valve member 26 is held in engagement with its seating by the spring 28, or be located in a depressed operative position as shown in Fig. 2, in which position the unseating pin holds the valve member away from its seating against the pressure of spring 28. These means are constituted by a mechanism generally indicated 44 which is substantially the kind of mechanism found in a "Biro" type pen whereby it can be retracted and extended on successive depressions of an operating button.The mechanism includes an indexable spacer element so that on successive depressions of an operating button (not shown) of the tap, transmitted to the mechanism 44 by way of an operating rod 46, the effective length of the pilot valve unseating pin 40 is first made longer and then made shorter whereby the valve member 26 is held open and then allowed to close.

The operation of the tap is as follows: When the valve member 26 is closed as shown in Fig. 1, the water supply pressure, passing through the hole 19 in the flexible diaphragm, acts within a pressure chamber 48 on the upper side of said diaphragm so that the latter is held firmly on its seating 16. Consequently, since the water inlet cannot communicate with the radial passages 22 the tap is tightly shut. However, when the operating handle (not shown) is depressed and then released the valve member 26 is held open so that the water pressure in chamber 48 is released and the diaphragm is able to open underthe pressure of the water inlet supply and the water can flow through the radial passages 22 and through the upwardly extending annular flow passage surrounding the pilot valve body member.When it is desired to reclose the tap, a further brief depression of the operating handle (not shown) re-closes the valve member 26 on its seating so that pressure is once more able to build up in the chamber 48 to urge the flexible diaphragm into engagement with its seating.

It has been found that the tap just described has a number of advantages. For example, since the clos ure of the tap is brought about by the build of up water pressure in the chamber 48 the closure of the flexible diaphragm on its seating is non-concussive.

Afurtheradvantage is that, since the valve member 26 is so very small and the force of the springs 28 and 42 is very light, the manual effort required to open or close the tap is very small. The operating handle (not shown) does not need to be held depressed by the user throughout the period of water flow. Brief finger pressure alone is required to change from "no flow" to "full fiow" and further brief finger pressure effects a further change from "full flow" to "no flow".

Various modifications may be made. For example, in Fig. 3 there is illustrated a possible modification in which the stem portion 38 of valve member 26 has been made somewhat longer and devoid of the small head element which it is shown to have in Figs.

1 and 2. As shown, the stem portion is sufficiently long to extend through the small hole 19 in the central portion of the flexible diaphragm. There is a small clearance between the stem portion and the side walls of the hole to permit the passage of water into the chamber 48. However, since the hole 19 is partly restricted by the stem portion this extends the closing time of the tap. The movement of the stem portion through the hole each time the tap is opened or closed provides a self-cleaning action which keeps the hole free of obstruction.

Referring nowto Fig. of the drawings, in the complete tap assembly there illustrated the main body part 10 is provided with an integral spout 50 having a cored flow cavity 52. Also in this embodiment the upstanding annular seating 16 and the screwthreaded adaptor 14 are formed integrally with the main body part.

The downwardly lipped peripheral edge portion of the flexible diaphragm is in this case clamped against an annular seating member 11 which bears against a shoulder in a lower part of a generally cylindrical cavity in the body part. The pilot valve body member 20, which clamps the peripheral edge portion of said diaphragm against said seating member, has screwth readed engagement within the body cavity and has an upper portion 21 which overlies said body part. An adjustable pilot valve cartridge assembly is located within the pilot valve body member and includes a cartridge body 54 within a lower end of which the valve seating 30 is formed.The valve member 26 is arranged to close against the valve seating 30 as in the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 1, but in this case the stem portion 38 on which the valve member is formed extends freely through the hole 19 in the flexible diaphragm and into the hollow interior of the screwthreaded adaptor 14. At its lower end the stem portion is provided with a spring abutment member 56 and the spring 28, locwted within the adaptor 14, reacts against the hollow plug 36 which is in this case located near the lower end of the adaptor.

The cartridge body 54 is formed integrally with an adjusting head 58 which overlies the upper portion 21 of the pilot valve body member 20. An intermediate sleeve portion 60 of the cartridge body has screwth readed engagement within the upper portion 21 of the pilot valve body member 20. A manually operable adjusting sleeve 62 is keyed onto the adjusting head 58 and has a skirt portion which extends downwards and shrouds the upper portion 21 of the pilot valve body member from view. The adjusting sleeve can be rotated by the user of the tap so that the cartridge body can be adjusted up or down with the result that the lower end of the latter can impede the movement of the flexible diaphragm away from its seating to a lesser or greater degree whereby the rate of flow of water from the tap can be controlled.When a required rate of flow has been brought about, the tap can of course subsequently be opened or closed in the same way as the tap previously described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, that is to say by a single depression of the operating button.

The tap in Fig. 4 is shown to be provided with an operating button 64 which is slidably located within the sleeve portion 60 of the cartridge body and which abuts against the upper end of the operating rod 46. The operating button 64 is held captive within the sleeve portion 60 by means of the adjusting sleeve which can abut, as shown, against a narrow shoulder formed around said button. A projecting portion of said button can however be acted upon by light finger or hand pressure by the user and can be depressed against the action of a coil spring 66.

Referring now to Fig. 5, a mixer tap there illustrated is shown to be provided with so-called side cock mechanisms, generally indicated 68 and 70, for hot and cold water respectively, each of which is substantially of the same design as the tap just described with reference to Fig. 4 except that of course the flow cavity in each case communicates with the common discharge spout 72. Each side cock mechanism is shown to be provided with a manually operable adjusting sleeve 62 whereby the rate of flow of the particular water supply can be adjusted and with an operating button 64 by means of which the particular water supply can be switched on or off.

Means will of course be provided in normal manner whereby the streams of hot and cold water will be kept separate until they are able to merge as they issue from the spout, where this is necessary to comply with the water Byelaws.

A mixer tap embodying the invention is particularly useful because, assuming reasonably constant temperatures of the hot and cold water supplies, if desired the rate of flow of both water supplies can be balanced by the adjustment of the manually operable sleeves to give a required temperature of mixed water delivered from the spout 72 and the flows of cold, hot or mixed water can then be switched on and off simply by finger light pressure on the respec.

tive operating buttons.

The mechanisms 44 which have been referred to as being substantially of the kind found in a "Biro" type pen whereby it can be retracted and extended on successive depressions of an operating button will generally be familiar to those skilled in the art.

However, for the avoidance of doubt Fig. 6 illustrates the essentials of one such mechanism by way of example. The mechanism is shown to include an indexable spacer element generally indicated 74 which has four equally spaced radial projections 76 capable of abutting against or sliding between four equally spaced castellations 78 within a fixed sleeve part, according to the orientation of said spacer element. The spacer element is shown to be capable of being displaced away from the castellations 78 by means of an abutment member 80 formed at the lower end of the operating rod 46, and capable of sliding over a cylindrical portion of the spacerele- ment.The abutment member is formed with eight equally spaced serrations 82 and the end surface of said abutment member is slightly concave so that the tips of the serrations projecting downwards to co-operate with side surface of the radial projections 76 of the spacer element, that is to say, the projecting ends of a pair of the serrations can be engaged between each adjacent pair of radial projections 76 of the spacer element In addition to the foregoing elements there are ramp surfaces (not shown) within the fixed sleeve part capable, in combination with the action of the serrations against the radial projections 76, of causing the spacer element to be rotated in increments of movement each time it is displaced downwards and returned by spring pressure. The arrangement is such that on each reciprocation the spacer element is rotated through one eighth of a turn so that its radial projections are able to bear against the castellations 78 and then to pass freely between them on successive reciprocations.

It will be understood that the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 6 is illustrative of one kind of mechanism which can be used. Other mechanisms could be divised which could be associated with the pilot valve unseating pin so that on successive depressions of the operating button the effective length of the unseating pin could be increased and then decreased so that a first depression of said operating button causes the opening of the tap and a second depression of said button causes the closure of the tap.

Claims (7)

1. Awatertap including a body part; a flexible diaphragm adapted to bear at one side against a seating to close the valve; a chamber formed on the other side of said flexible diaphragm and to which the inlet pressure of water can communicate to hold the diaphragm on its seating; and a pilot valve member which can be opened to allow the escape of water from said chamber so that the inlet pressure of water acting against the flexible diaphragm can displace the latter away from its seating, said pilot valve member being associated with a pilot valve unseating pin and with mechanism which on successive depressions of an operating button causes the effective length of said pilot valve unseating pin to be increased and then decreased so that a first depression of said operating button causes the opening of the tap and a second depression of said button causes the closure of the tap.

2. A water tap according to claim 1, in which the flexible diaphragm is provided with a small hole through which the inlet pressure of water at one side of said diaphragm can communicate with the chamber formed on the other side of said diaphragm to hold the diaphragm on its seating.

3. A water tap according to claim 2, in which a stem portion of the pilot valve member extends through the small hole in the diaphragm, with a small clearance to permitthe passage of water, the movement of the stem portion through the hole each time the tap is opened or closed providing a selfcleaning action tending to keep the hole free of obstruction.

4. Awatertap according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the mechanisms which on successive depressions of the operating button causes the effective length of the pilot valve unseating pin to be increased and then decreased is constituted by the kind of mechanism found in a "Biro" (Registered Trade Mark) pen, that is to say a mechanism incluidng an indexable spacer element which on successive depressions of the operating button is, effectively, first of maximum thickness and then of minimum thickness whereby the effective length of the pilotvalve unseating pin is first made longer and then made shorter so that the pilot valve member is first held open and then allowed to close.

5. Awatertap according to any one of the preceding claims, including an adjustable pilot valve cartridge assembly and an adjusting sleeve which can be rotated by the user of the tap whereby a body part of the valve cartridge assembly can be adjusted up or down to impede the movement of the flexible diaphragm away from its seating to a lesser or greater degree so that the rate of flow of water from the tap can be controlled.

6. Awatertap according to any one of the preceding claims, being a mixertapwith so-called side cock mechanisms for hot and cold water respectively, each of said side cock mechanisms being constructed as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

7. Awatertap constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 or Fig. 3 or Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings.