GB2251378A

GB2251378A - Shower unit incorporating water mixing assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2251378A
Application number: GB9126885A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher Terrell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-12-14
Filing date: 1991-12-16
Publication date: 1992-07-08
Anticipated expiration: 2011-12-16
Also published as: GB9126885D0; GB2251378B

Abstract

A personal shower incorporates a mixing assembly (15) which receives hot and cold water. Mixed warm water is supplied from the assembly along a hose (21) to a shower head (19). The hose is held to the mixing assembly by a hose support (24) and operation of the shower to turn on the water and to control the mixing of hot and cold water is effected by manual movement of the support with the hose extending from it. The assembly is circular and made up of a fixed first portion (22) with a second portion (23) rotatable with respect to the first portion. Water mixing is controlled by two co-operating ceramic discs, one having tapered holes so that, as the second portion is rotated, the flow of cold water decreases and the flow of hot water increases. <IMAGE>

Description

PERSONAL SHOWER SYSTEM TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a personal shower system having mixing means for receiving hot water and cold water, a shower head and a hose connecting the head to the mixing means.

BACKGROUND ART Personal shower systems are known which receive a supply of both hot and cold water to produce an output at the desired volume and temperature, without requiring an additional energy source. In sophisticated systems of this type, means may be provided for selecting a specific water temperature along with thermostatic control means for automatically controlling the water mixing, so as to maintain the selected temperature. Such a system is shown in United Kingdom patent publication number 2232080.

A problem with the known sophisticated systems is that they are prohibitively expensive, particularly in the "do it yourself" market. As an alternative to thermostatic control, separate manual controls may be provided for each of the hot and cold supplies but it is difficult to obtain the required water mix. It is also known to provide mixing means with a manually operable temperature control but this adds to the complexity and expense of the system.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved personal shower system of the type for receiving hot and cold water. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved personal shower system of the aforesaid type having relatively few component parts which can be easily connected to water supplies.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a personal shower system having mixing means for receiving hot and cold water, a shower head and a hose connecting said head to said mixing means, characterised by support means connecting said hose to said mixing means, wherein the flow of water from the mixing means to the shower head is controlled by manual movement of the support means.

Thus, an advantage of the present invention is that it allows the number of component parts to be significantly reduced because the output hose itself provides the means for manually controlling water flow.

Possibly, the support means connecting the hose to the mixing means may control the supply of water, that is to say, it controls on and off, while the temperature of the water may be controlled by thermostatic means.

However, in a preferred embodiment, manual movement of the connecting means controls the relative amounts of hot and cold water supplied to the head, thereby controlling both water floe and temperature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 shows a personal shower system having mixing means for receiving hot and cold water, a shower head and a hose connecting the head to the mixing means; and Figure 2 details the mixing unit shown in Figure 1.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A personal shower system is shown in Figure 1 having a water mixing assembly 15 mounted flush against a wall 16. Pipes carrying hot and cold water enter the mixing assembly 15 from behind the wall 16. The mixing assembly 15 is designed such that it can turn the water fully off without requiring additional valves or taps.

An upper mounting bracket 17 is secured to the wall 16 and a vertical head support rail 18 is held between the upper mounting bracket 17 and the mixing assembly 15. A shower head 19 is mounted to the head support rail 18 by means of a head clamp 20 and water is supplied to the shower head 19 from the mixing assembly 15 via a hose 21.

The mixing assembly 15 consists of a first portion 22, which remains stationary relative to the wall 16 and has mounted thereon a second portion 23, arranged to rotate relative to the first fixed portion 22. Extending from the second portion 23 is a hose support 24 which connects the hose 21 to the mixing assembly 15.

Furthermore, in addition to providing the function of connecting the hose 21 to the mixing assembly 15, the pipe support 24 also provides the means by which manual adjustment of water flow and water mix is effected.

At the centre of the second portion 23 of the mixing assembly 15 is a release button 25 which extends outwards from the second portion of the chamber and is manually depressed before the second portion 23 may be rotated relative to the first portion 22.

An assembly diagram for the components making up the mixing chamber is shown in Figure 2. A cold water pipe 30 and a hot water pipe 31 are positioned behind the mounting wall 16, so as to bring water into the mixing chamber 15. At the heart of the mixing chamber 15 is a first ceramic disc 32 which co-operates with a second ceramic disc 33. The co-operating surfaces of the ceramic discs are extremely smooth and, under the influence of pressure supplied by spring 34, do not allow water to escape, except through holes 35a and 35b of the first ceramic disc which co-operate with holes 36a and 36b, respectively, of the second ceramic disc 33.

Water passing through holes 36a and 36b enters a mixing chamber 37, defined by a mixing chamber defining member 38. Within the mixing chamber 37, the hot and cold water mix so as to provide warm water to the hose 21.

In operation, the mixing assembly 15 acts as a valve and completely shuts off the supply of any water to the hose 21 when the second portion 21 of the assembly 15 has been rotated fully counter-clockwise. In this position, the holes 35a and 35b of the first ceramic disc, forming the main operating component of the first portion of the assembly 15, are fully blocked by solid areas of the second ceramic disc 33. To operate the shower,the hose support 24 is held in the palm of either hand and the release button 25 is depressed by means of the thumb of said hand. The second portion 23 of the assembly 15 is now rotated clockwise, whereby the large leading edge of hole 36a starts to overlap with hole 35a, thereby allowing cold water to enter into the mixing chamber 37.Upon further rotation, the small leading edge of hole 36b starts to overlap with hole 35b, thereby allowing a smaller amount of hot water to enter the mixing chamber 37. As can be seen from the Figure, further clockwise rotation results in a decreasing hole size being presented before hole 35 and an increasing hole size being presented before hole 35b. Thus, the amount of hot water supplied to the chamber 37 increases while the amount of cold water supplied to the chamber 37 decreases. This allows the user to select the desired mix of hot and cold water and upon releasing the release button 25, the second portion 23 of the assembly 15 is restrained in position, thereby insuring that any inadvertent force applied to the hose 21 does not result in the mix of hot and cold water being changed.

The shape of holes 36a and 36b is such as to provide increasing hot water flow and decreasing cold water flow upon clockwise rotation. Other shapes may be chosen but preferred dimensions will depend upon local characteristics, for example, the pressure of the hot water supply.

In order to compensate for pressure variations during operation, a thermostatic control device may be included in the mixing assembly. In addition, a non-return valve may be included in-line with the cold water supply, thereby ensuring that hot or mixed water from the mixing chamber 37 cannot be forced back up the cold water supply pipe 30. Similar non-return valves may also be provided in line with the hot water supply.

Claims

1. A personal shower having mixing means (15) for receiving hot water and cold water, a shower head (19) and a hose (21) connecting the shower head to the mixing means; characterised by support means (24) connecting the hose to the mixing means, wherein the flow of water from the mixing means (15) to the shower head (19) is controlled by manual movement of the support means (24).

2. A shower according to claim 1, wherein said manual movement controls the relative amounts of hot and cold water mixed by the mixing means.

3. A shower according to claim 2, wherein the support is rotated to control the flow of water and the hot and cold mixing.

4. A shower according to claim 3, wherein the mixing means is circular and has a first fixed portion (22) and a second portion (23), wherein manual operation of said support (24) causes said second portion to rotate relative to said first portion.

5. A shower according to claim 1, wherein water flow is controlled by the relative position of holes made in two co-operating discs.

6. A shower according to claim 5, wherein said discs are ceramic.

7. a shower according to claim 5, wherein the holes in one of said discs is elongated, such that the overlapping area of a first pair of holes in respective discs increases while the overlapping area of the other co-operating holes decreases during said manual operation.

8. A water mixing assembly for a personal shower having means for receiving hot and cold water and a support for supporting an outlet hose; characterised in that said assembly is circular and includes a first portion for mounting to a wall and a second portion rotatable relative to said first portion, wherein rotation of said second portion is effected by applying manual force to said support means to control the water mixing characteristics of the assembly.

9. An assembly according to claim 8, including locking means for locking the position of the second portion relative to the first portion and manually operable release means for releasing said locking means.

10. An assembly according to claim 8, including first and second ceramic discs having co-operating holes for the hot and cold water, wherein the first disc is mounted to said fixed portion and the second disc is mounted to the rotatable second portion.