GB2100841A

GB2100841A - Water tap

Info

Publication number: GB2100841A
Application number: GB08214734A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Adolf Gottwald; Wilfried Koster
Original assignee: Friedrich Grohe Armaturenfabrik GmbH and Co
Current assignee: Grohe Water Technology AG and Co KG
Priority date: 1981-05-21
Filing date: 1982-05-20
Publication date: 1983-01-06
Also published as: IT8221370A0; NL8202040A; BE893179A; SE8203104L; ES265339Y; DE3120210A1; IT1150922B; DK226482A; FR2511407A1; ES265339U

Abstract

The visible part of the valve body of this sanitary water tap consists essentially of a pipe bend, one end of the pipe bend being supported rotatably in a sleeve (3) which is fixed either to a sanitary unit or to a building wall. The other freely projecting leg of the pipe bend is provided with a mixing valve inserted in the end; the supply and, if necessary, the discharge lines being passed through the sleeve (3) and the pipe bend (1) in the form of flexible hoses (4). The hoses (4) form a flexible connection between the permanently installed supply mains and the valve body (21). The hoses (4) can easily be connected to the valve body (21) by pulling out the valve body (21) from the pipe bend (1). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Water tap valve This invention relates to single-grip mixing valves.

The well known types of tap and mixing valves used for sanitary purposes generally have a relatively complicated cast body which is expensive to produce. In addition to the relatively expensive casting process, considerable weight must be attached to the costs of grinding and polishing operations which are mainly carried out manually to produce the required surface finish.

Moreover, a mixing valve of the type described at the beginning is well known from the publication DE-AS 1 6 00 856. In this publication a single grip mixing valve is shown with the discharge orifice mounted near to the grip and which is fixed at one end to a hollow cylindrical supporting body.

In this arrangement, the supporting body is fixed to the sanitary fitting with its base surface inclined to the central axis in such a way that the whole valve stands out inclined from the sanitary fitting.

Optional swivelling of the valve is not provided for.

Furthermore, it is well known, e.g. for ease of installation, to connect sanitary valves with flexible, pressure resistant hoses instead of rigid copper pipe to the fixed main supply system in the building, or to connect the discharge arm of a sanitary fitting which car be moved in different planes to the mixing unit with a flexible hose.

According to the present invention there is provided a sanitary tap valve in particular a single grip mixing valve, with a hollow cylindrical supporting body for mounting near to a sanitary fitting such as a washbasin or sink, bath etc., the supporting body being in the form of a pipe bend with straight ends and which on the one hand is fastened to the sanitary fitting or building wall so as to swivel, and on the other hand is fitted with a mixing valve and/or tap valve.

The measures in accordance with the invention enable in particular the visible valve-body to be produced for example from a cylindrical semifinished tube by a simple deflection and bending process. The pipe bend can with advantage be given an angle of bend in the range from 450 to 1 350 so that the leg which is pivoted to the sanitary fitting or even inclined to the vertical can be fitted to a stationary sleeve so that the whole valve can be moved through a large swivelling range ensuring optimum free space below the discharge outlet. In addition, by arranging the operating element in the immediate vicinity of the discharge outlet, the operation of the valve is made very much easier and, in particular, from the ergonomic point of view, a greater degree of operating convenience is afforded.

The tap and/or mixing valve can be inserted in the space in the straight projecting leg of the pipe bend and a ring with a discharge orifice and which is rotatable coaxially with the central axis and which surrounds the discharge orifice of the mixing valve can be mounted on the end face of the leg, and by means of which, in addition to the swivelling facility, the direction of the emerging waterjet can be changed. The connection of the valve to the supply mains installed in the building can be appropriately carried out with flexible hoses passing through the pipe bend, the lengths of the hoses being such that during assembly they can be pulled out of the free leg of the bend, plugged into corresponding holes in the end face of the valve and secured in position so as to rotate by means of a locking plate which engages radially in the valve body.For this purpose, the locking plate can be proportioned so that after insertion of the valve body in the free leg through the internal wall of the pipe it is held securely in position.

The valve body can be secured in position in the pipe leg in a simple manner by means of fixing screws passing radially through the pipe wall. The use of flexible hoses for the water supply in the pipe bend effectively prevents heating of the pipe bend which could be caused by the hot water supply.

It is expedient for the internal diameter of the pipe bend to be chosen so that in addition to the supply hoses, another hose for the return flow of the water, e.g. for supplying a separately mounted hand shower, can also be accommodated. Apart from this, operating elements, e.g. for wash basin discharge fittings, can be simply fixed to the pipe without difficulty.

Finally, due to the tubular design of the valve body, a considerable amount of material can be saved compared with the traditional method of casting the valve body.

Pipes of different section, e.g. square section pipe, can of course be used to implement the invention in addition to the preferred cylindrical pipe.

One embodiment of the invention is shown on the drawing and is explained in more detail as follows.

In the drawings:- Figure 1 is a side view of a mixing and tap valve in part section; Figure 2 is a plan view of the mixing and tap valve in accordance with Figure 1; Figure 3 is a section on plane Ill of the mixing and tap valve in accordance with Figure 1.

In the case of the fitting shown on the drawing, a mixing and tap valve 2 is fitted in a straight projecting leg of a pipe bend 1. The other leg of the pipe bend is supported by a sleeve 3 attached for example to the body of a wash stand. For this purpose, the pipe bend has an angle bend a of about 750, the sleeve being mounted approximately vertically. By this means the mixing and tap valve 2 is accommodated in the free leg of the pipe bend with a slight inclination and the emerging water jet is discharged forward with a corresponding inclination. The mixing and tap valve 2 with its valve body 21 is inserted into the leg of the pipe bend 1 and secured in place with radially fitted fixing screws 5. Holes for the cold and hot water supplies are situated on the internal end face of the valve body 21.Flexible hoses 4 are provided for the supply lines and are connected to the valve housing 21 by means of plug ends 41 and secured non-rotatably in position with a locking plate 42 which is inserted radially in the valve body. A water outlet orifice 22 is situated at the projecting end of the valve body 21 discharging into an annular space 23 which in turr is surrounded by a ring 6 coaxial to the central axis. The ring 6 in this arrangement is situated on the one side adjacent to the end face of the free leg of the pipe bend 1 and on the other side adjacent to the headpiece 71 with a radially projecting operating lever. An outlet orifice 61 is fitted radially to the ring 6 so that the direction of the emerging water jet can be varied by turning the ring 6.

The cylindrical spigot of the sleeve 3 engages with the pipe bend and is secured rotatably in position with a locking pin 32. A masking ring 31 is slipped over the transition between the pipe bend 1 and the sleeve 3 to cover the joint. In addition to the vertical arrangement of the sleeve 3 shown on the drawing, it can also be inclined to the perpendicular, and it can not only be fixed to a sanitary appliance, but also directly on the wall.

The sanitary tap valve can be assembled in the following manner: The sleeve 3 is first fixed to a sanitary unit or a building wall and the hoses 4 are passed through the sleeve 3 and the pipe bend 1 and connected to the mixing and tap valve 2 which is not yet inserted in the pipe bend; they are then secured with the locking plate 42. The valve body 21 can then be inserted in the tube bend 1 and securely held in position with the fixing screws 5.

After connecting the hoses 4 to the supply mains for hot and cold water the mixed water temperature can be adjusted by swivelling the operating lever and the flow can be controlled by moving it up and down. Well known and extensively used valve cartridges may be used for the mixing and tap valve. The mixed water generated in the mixing and tap valve 2 flows via the discharge orifice 22 into the annular space 23 from where it is discharged in a direction depending on the setting of the ring 6. In addition to the ability to swivel afforded by the ring 6, the whole valve can be swivelled as required about the sleeve 3 or its movement can be limited by stops, thus enabling the valve to serve a large area of the sanitary unit.

Claims

1. Sanitary tap valve in particular a single grip mixing valve, with a hollow cylindrical supporting body for mounting near to a sanitary fitting such as a washbasin or sink, bath etc., the supporting body being in the form of n pipe bend with straight ends and which on the one hand is fastened to the sanitary fitting or budding wcll so as to swivel, and on the other hand is fitted with a mixing valve and/or tap valve.

2. Sanitary tap valve in accordance with Claim 1, the angle of bend of the pipe bend (a) being within the range of 450 to 1350.

3. Sanitary tap valve in accordance with Claim 1 or 2, one leg of the pipe bend being mounted on a sleeve formed as a swivel bearing which can be attached to the sanitary fitting, and a mixing and/or tap valve with a discharge opening being fitted in the other leg, the supply lines to the valve being constructed of loose sliding hoses which pass through the sleeve and the pipe bend.

4. Sanitary tap valve in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 3, comprising a mixing and/or tap valve securely held in place with fixing screws fitted radially in the pipe bend.

5. Sanitary tap valve in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 4, comprising hoses with plug connections connected to the end face of the valve body and mounted rotatably in position by means of a securing plate which engages with the valve body at right angles to the direction of plugging.

6. Sanitary tap valve in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 5, comprising a rotatable ring with an outlet orifice concentrically arranged on the end face of the free leg of the pipe bend and which encloses an annular space within the valve body supplying the discharge opening with water.

7. Sanitary tap valve in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 6, comprising a hose for the mixed water discharge, e.g. to a separately mounted shower head, fitted in the pipe bend in addition to the water supply hoses.

8. Sanitary tap valve substantially as herein before described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.