GB2269000A

GB2269000A - Fluid control tap

Info

Publication number: GB2269000A
Application number: GB9314273A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Ainsley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-07-25
Filing date: 1993-07-09
Publication date: 1994-01-26
Anticipated expiration: 2013-07-09
Also published as: GB9314273D0; GB2269000B

Abstract

A fluid control tap for hot and cold water comprises a housing (4) containing a fixed washer (10) the bore through which interconnects an inlet (8) to the housing (4) with an outlet (6) (Fig. 2, not shown), and a control member (14), preferably a floatable ball, below the washer (10) which, on the supply of water under pressure to the inlet (8), is urged thereby into sealing engagement with the washer (10) to close the tap. A spindle (18) integral with a handle (16) of the tap extends into the housing (4) to be movable by the handle (16) to displace the control member (14) from its seating on the washer (10) thereby to open the tap. The closure member (14) and washer (10) may be housed in a cartridge (20). An upper part of the housing (4) is screwed to a lower part or received in an annular groove of the lower part (34) (Fig. 4, not shown), where it is held by a bayonet or other releasable lock. <IMAGE>

Description

FLUID CONTROL TAP This invention relates to fluid control taps, and has particular, though not exclusive, application to hot and cold water taps for use in domestic residences.

Conventional water taps incorporate a washer mounted on a jumper which, on appropriate rotation of the handle of the tap, is moved away from and towards an associated seating in the tap to control the flow of water to an outlet spout of the tap.

A common problem associated with such taps is that the washers and/or the seatings wear and/or distort, such that the taps eventually tend to drip constantly.

It is thus necessary, at regular intervals, to replace the washers, and this can be an inconvenient and timeconsuming exercise, particularly if it is necessary to drain the associated water system prior to dismantling the tap for access to the washer.

It would be desirable to be able to provide a fluid control tap less prone to wear than the established arrangements, and which facilitated replacement of the flow-control components thereof.

According to the present invention there is provided a fluid control tap comprising a housing, an inlet to said housing for fluid under pressure, an outlet from said housing, and, within said housing, a mechanism for controlling the flow of fluid from the inlet to the outlet, said mechanism including an annular washer fixed within said housing intermediate said inlet and said outlet, a control member within the housing intermediate said inlet and said washer and so arranged that, on flow of fluid under pressure from the inlet into the housing, the control member is urged by said fluid into sealing contact with the washer to prevent flow of fluid from the inlet to the outlet, and, projecting from the housing, an actuating member operable to disengage the control member from the washer to permit flow of fluid from the inlet through the washer to the outlet from the housing.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the control member comprises a spherical ball of, for example, a hard-wearing plastics material such as nylon, and the annular surface of the washer with which the control member makes sealing engagement is of correspondingly concave configuration to provide annular area contact between the control member and the washer.

Conveniently the actuating member comprises a spindle integral with a rotatable handle of the tap, the spindle having a free end located within the housing and movable, on rotation of the handle, between a closed position displaced from or just in engagement with the control member in its position of contact with the washer, and an open position urging the control member out of contact with the washer to permit flow of fluid through said washer.

The actuating member may further comprise resilient means, for example a coil spring, reacting between the handle and a fixed region of the housing in such a manner that, on depression of the handle against the bias-of said resilient means, the spindle is moved from its closed position to an initial open position which displaces the control member from its seating on the washer, and, on release of the handle, the spindle returns to its closed position.

Preferably the housing includes a lower compartment into which the inlet feeds, and a cartridge releasably secured, for example by screwing, in said compartment, the cartridge comprising a generally cylindrical chamber having an inlet in its lower wall and an outlet in its upper wall, the washer being secured to the upper wall of the chamber to bound said outlet and the control member being housed within said chamber.

With such an arrangement, and should any damage occur to the washer and/or the control member, repair can be effected merely by removing the damaged cartridge and inserting a replacement cartridge.

In one embodiment of the invention, the housing includes a lower member into which the inlet feeds and which houses the washer and the control member, said lower member having an annular channel of substantial depth formed in the bounding wall of said member, the housing further including an upper member into which fluid flows through the washer, said upper member carrying the actuating member and including a bounding wall in the form of a depending sleeve slidably received within said channel in the lower member to effect a fluid tight seal between the upper and lower members.

Preferably co-operating means are provided between the upper and lower members whereby, subsequent to location of the sleeve of the upper member into the channel of the lower member, said means can be actuated to prevent withdrawal of the upper member from the lower member.

By way of examples only, embodiments of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a first tap according to the invention: Fig. 2 is a vertical. section through the tap of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through part of a further tap according to the invention, and Fig. 4 is an exploded view, partly in vertical section, of part of a still further tap according to the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a tap including upper and lower housing portions 2,4 respectively for screw connection one to the other to complete the tap, the upper portion 2 having an outlet spout 6 therefrom, and the lower portion 4 having an inlet 8 for water under pressure.

On screw connection of the upper and lower housing portions 2,4, an annular rubber washer 10 is fixedly located therebetween to determine a flow path therethrough for water from the inlet 8 to the spout 6. The lower surface 12 of the washer is of concave configuration as best seen in Fig. 2 and for reasons which will become apparent.

Housed within the lower housing portion is a control member in the form of a spherical ball 14 of a hard-wearing plastics material such as nylon so arranged that, when water under pressure enters the housing portion 4, the ball 14 is urged against the surface 12 of the washer 10 the curvature of which corresponds with that of the surface of the ball 14. The sealing co-operation between the ball 14 and the washer 10 thus prevents flow of water from the lower housing portion 4 to the upper housing portion 2.

An actuating mechanism for the tap includes a handle 16 from which depends an elongate spindle 18, said spindle 18 extending through the upper housing portion 2 and having a free end which terminates adjacent the washer 10.

More particularly, the handle 16 and spindle 18 are mounted in the upper housing portion 2 in such a manner that, on appropriate rotation of the handle 16, the spindle 18 can be moved axially up and down within the housing portion. In the closed position of the tap (not shown), the free end of the spindle 18 is positioned just above the washer 10 such that, with water under pressure within the housing portion 4 and with the ball 14 making sealing contact with the surface 12 of said washer 10, the spindle 18 is just out of contact with the ball 14.

On rotation of the handle 16 to open the tap, the spindle 18 is moved downwardly through the central aperture in the washer 10 to force the ball 14 off its seating on the washer 10 into a displaced position within the lower housing portion 4 as seen in Fig. 2. Thus it will be appreciated that, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2, water can flow from the inlet 8 through the central aperture in the washer 10 to the outlet spout 6.

On reverse rotation of the handle 16 to close the tap, the spindle 18 is moved upwardly to permit return of the ball 14, under the pressure of water thereon, to return to its sealing position against the washer 10.

Thus it will be appreciated that at all times it is the pressure of the water itself that effectively closes the tap, the washer 10 remaining fixed in position and the ball 14 moving into and out of sealing contact with the washer. The provision of a ball of a floatable hardwearing plastics material and a washer of a flexible material such as rubber results in a combination with a potentially extensive lifetime, particularly bearing in mind that the floating nature of the ball 14 means that no single annular surface area thereof will engage the washer - the area will differ each time whereby wear of the ball 14 is virtually eliminated.

Referring to Fig. 3 there is shown an alternative embodiment of the invention in which the washer 10 and ball 14 are housed within a cartridge indicated generally at 20 and separate from the remainder of the tap. More particularly, the cartridge 20 is of generally cylindrical shape having an inlet 22 in its lower wall and an outlet 24 in its upper wall and is a screw fit into the lower housing portion 4. The washer 10 is secured, for example by adhesive, to the underside of the upper wall of the cartridge 20 coaxially with the outlet 24, while the ball 14 is contained within the cartridge 20.

The upper housing portion 2 and outlet spout 6 of the tap of Fig. 3 are not shown, the handle 16 and attached spindle 18 being secured within said upper housing portion by the threaded component 26.

A nut 28 is non-rotatably housed within the component 26, although said nut 28 can move axially relative to the component 26 for reasons which will become apparent.

A threaded extent of the spindle 18 extends through the nut 28 whereby, on rotation of the handle 16, the spindle 18 can be moved upwardly and downwardly relative to the remainder of the tap thereby to displace the ball 14 in the manner detailed with reference to Figs 1 and 2.

A coil spring 30 surrounds the upper extent of the spindle 18 and reacts between the handle 16 and the fixed component 26. Thus it will be appreciated that, on depression of the handle 16 against the bias of the spring 30, which is accompanied by guided axial movement of the nut 28 within the component 26, the free end of the spindle 18 is moved downwardly to displace the ball 14 from its seating on the washer 10 and the tap is opened. So the tap can be opened by either rotation or axial depression of the handle 16.

With such an arrangement, and should it be necessary to renew either the washer 10 or the ball 14, the complete cartridge 20 can easily be unscrewed from the lower housing portion 4 of the tap, and a replacement cartridge inserted.

Fig. 4 shows a modification of the tap of Fig. 3 in which the basic mechanism remains the same - i.e. removable screw cartridge 20 and the choice of either rotatable or push actuation of the tap by the handle 16 - but the interconnection of the upper and lower housing portions 2,4 differs.

The upper housing portion 2 includes a depending sleeve 32 while the lower housing portion 4 has formed in the bounding wall thereof an-annular recess or channel 34 adapted to receive therein the sleeve 32 whereby the tap can be assembled merely by slidably inserting the sleeve 32 into said channel 34, annular washers or 0-rings 36 reacting between the two components to effect a fluidtight seal therebetween. Clearly such a tap is very easily assembled. Co-operating means may be provided to react between each of the sleeve 32 and the recess 34 whereby, once the sleeve is inserted into the channel, said means can be actuated to prevent removal of the sleeve 32 from the channel without first of all disengaging said means.

For example, rotation of the sleeve 32 relative to the recess 34, in the manner of a bayonet connection, may effect secure connection of the components, or a radially-extending locking screw may be provided to connect the components together.

Modifications and variations to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the basic invention. The control member 4 may be other than spherical, for example conical or truncated-conical with a suitably tapered surface 12 being provided on the washer 10, while the described arrangement can be applied to mixer taps as well as conventional single hot and cold water taps.

Claims

1. A fluid control tap comprising a housing, an inlet to said housing for fluid under pressure, an outlet from said housing, and, within said housing, a mechanism for controlling the flow of fluid from the inlet to the outlet, said mechanism including an annular washer fixed within said housing intermediate said inlet and said outlet, a control member within the housing intermediate said inlet and said washer and so arranged that, on flow of fluid under pressure from the inlet into the housing, the control member is urged by said fluid into sealing contact with the washer to prevent flow of fluid from the inlet to the outlet, and, projecting from the housing, an actuating member operable to disengage the control member from the washer to permit flow of fluid from the inlet through the washer to the outlet from the housing.

2. A tap as claimed in claim 1 in which the control member comprises a spherical ball and the annular surface of the washer with which the control member makes sealing engagement is of correspondingly concave configuration to provide annular area contact between the control member and the washer.

3. A tap as claimed in claim 1 Ror claim 2 in which the actuating member comprises a spindle integral with a rotatable handle of the tap, the spindle having a free end located within the housing and movable, on rotation of the handle, between a closed position displaced from or just in engagement with the control member in its position of contact with the washer, and an open position urging the control member out of contact with the washer to permit flow of fluid through said washer.

4. A tap as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and further comprising resilient means reacting between the handle and a fixed region of the housing in such a manner that, on depression of the handle against the bias of said resilient means, the spindle is moved from its closed position to an initial open position which displaces the control member from its seating on the washer, and, on release of the handle, the spindle returns to its closed position.

5. A tap as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 in which the housing includes a lower compartment into which the inlet feeds, and a cartridge releasably secured in said compartment, the cartridge comprising a generally cylindrical chamber having an inlet in its lower wall and an outlet in its upper wall, the washer being secured to the upper wall of the chamber to bound said outlet and the control member being housed within said chamber.

6. A tap as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 in which the housing includes a lower member into which the inlet feeds and which houses the washer and the control member, said lower member having an annular channel of substantial depth formed in the bounding wall of said member, the housing further including an upper member into which fluid flows through the washer, .said upper member carrying the actuating member and including a bounding wall in the form of a depending sleeve slidably received within said channel in the lower member to effect a fluid tight seal between the upper and lower members.

7. A tap as claimed in claim 6 in which co-operating means are provided between the upper and lower members whereby, subsequent to location of the sleeve of the upper member into the channel of the lower member, said means can be actuated to prevent withdrawal of the upper member from the lower member.

8. A tap as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 in which the control member is of a hard wearing plastics material such as nylon and. the washer is of a resilient material such as rubber.

9. A tap substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2, or Fig. 3 or Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings.