GB2404719A

GB2404719A - Mixer valve

Info

Publication number: GB2404719A
Application number: GB0318615A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jim Gilling
Original assignee: COLD EXTRUSION EQUIPMENT CO Ltd
Current assignee: COLD EXTRUSION EQUIPMENT CO Ltd
Priority date: 2003-08-07
Filing date: 2003-08-07
Publication date: 2005-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 2023-08-07
Also published as: GB2404719B8; GB2404719B; GB2404719A8; GB0318615D0

Abstract

A mixer valve 1 for a thermostatic shower unit has a cold water inlet 11 and a hot water inlet 12 provided on an upper valve housing 6. A standard thermostatic cartridge 3 mixes the cold and hot water together so that mixed water at a preselected temperature is supplied to a pump unit (not shown) through a mixed water outlet 13 provided on a lower valve housing 7. To enable the mixer valve 1 to be used as an ''off the shelf'' component in a variety of different thermostatic shower units having different component part layouts, the upper valve housing 6 can rotate relative to the lower valve housing 7 so that the angle between the cold and hot water inlets 11 and 12 and the mixed water outlet 13 can be selectively varied.

Description

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TITLE Mixer valves

DESCRIPTION Technical Field

The present invention relates to mixer valves and in particular to mixer valves containing a thermostatic cartridge for use in thermostatic shower units.

Background Art

In a thermostatic shower unit, cold water from the mains supply and hot water from a hot water tank or a combination boiler is fed separately into a mixer valve and mixed together so that the water leaving the mixer valve is at a preselected temperature. The mixing is carried out within a standard thermostatic cartridge. The mixed water is then fed to a pump unit and supplied at pressure to a shower head.

It is normal for a manufacturer to design and build all the various component parts of the thermostatic shower unit. However, this is not always cost effective and it would often be more convenient if one or more of the components was a standard "off the shelf' component that could be purchased directly from another source and then simply incorporated into the manufacturer's thermostatic shower unit. At the moment this is not possible because of the difficulties in designing the other component parts of the thermostatic shower unit or the overall layout to accommodate an "off the shelf' component.

There is therefore a need for a mixer valve that can be used as an "off the shelf' component and is easily connectable to the other component parts of a thermostatic shower unit in a variety of different ways.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides a mixer valve for a thermostatic shower unit comprising a water inlet for cold water, a water inlet for hot water and a water outlet for mixed water, wherein the water inlets are rotatable about an axis of the mixer

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valve so that the angle between the water inlets and the water outlet can be selectively varied.

Because the angle between the water inlets and the water outlet can be selectively 5 varied, the mixer valve can be connected to a variety of different thermostatic shower units having their own internal pipe work and arrangement of component parts. For example, a certain manufacturer may have a preferred design where the pipe work for the water inlets and the pipe work for the water outlet are positioned on opposite sides of the space where the mixer valve is to be installed. The angle between the water 10 inlets and the water outlet of the mixer valve can then be selectively varied to be 180 degrees. On the other hand, a different manufacturer may have a preferred design where the pipe work for the water inlets is positioned on one side of the space where the mixer valve is to be installed and the water outlet of the mixer valve is to be connected directly to a pump unit which is positioned such that the water outlet must 15 extend at right angles to the pipe work for the water inlets. The angle between the water inlets and the water outlet of the mixer valve can then be selectively varied to be 90 degrees. Thus it can be seen that the present invention provides a mixer valve that is easily adapted to be installed in a variety of different thermostatic shower units.

20 It will be obvious to the skilled person that the angle between the water inlets and the water outlet is not limited to the examples given above but can be selectively varied to be any value depending on the installation requirements.

The mixer valve preferably includes a standard thermostatic cartridge for mixing the 25 cold and hot water from the cold and hot water inlets to a preselected temperature.

Once the angle between the water inlets and the water outlet has been selectively varied, any further rotation can be prevented by a locking means such as a grub screw or other mechanical fixing, for example. Further rotation will also be prevented once 30 the mixer valve is installed in the thermostatic shower unit and the water inlets and the water outlet are connected to the internal pipe work or other component parts.

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The water inlets for cold and hot water are preferably provided on a first valve housing and the water outlet for mixed water is preferably provided on a second valve housing. The first valve housing is preferably rotatably mounted on the second valve housing so that the angle between the water inlets and the water outlet can be 5 selectively varied by rotating the first valve housing relative to the second valve housing.

The second valve housing preferably includes a cylindrical collar having on its radially inner surface an annular groove. A connecting portion of the first valve 10 housing is preferably cylindrical and is sized so that it can be received within the cylindrical collar. The outer surface of the cylindrical portion is preferably provided with at least one radial projection that extends into the annular groove to secure the first and second valve housings together in such a way that they can rotate relative to each other.

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For ease of assembly it is preferred that the first and second valve housings are releasably secured together. The cylindrical collar therefore preferably includes at least one axial slot for accommodating the at least one radial projection. The cylindrical portion of the second valve housing can then be received within the 20 cylindrical collar when the radial projection and the axial slot are radially aligned. To secure the two valve housings together, the first valve housing is rotated relative to the second valve housing so the radial projection extends into the annular groove. If there is a need to replace the thermostatic cartridge then the first valve housing can be easily removed by rotating it relative to the second valve housing until the radial 25 projection is radially aligned with the axial slot.

The second valve housing preferably includes a mounting bracket or plate so that the mixer valve can be secured to another component part or a surface of the thermostatic shower unit.

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The cold and hot water inlets are preferably provided on the same side of the first valve housing and at the same height. However, it will be readily appreciated that the

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cold and hot water inlets can be provided anywhere on the first valve housing and at different heights.

A standard thermostatic cartridge usually has a cold water side and a hot water side. 5 The mixer valve therefore preferably includes means for directing cold water from the cold water inlet to the cold water side of the thermostatic cartridge and directing hot water from the hot water inlet to the hot water side of the thermostatic cartridge. The means can be a divider insert positioned between the first valve housing and the thermostatic cartridge and which defines a cold water annulus in fluid communication 10 with the cold water inlet and the cold water side of the thermostatic cartridge and a hot water annulus in fluid communication with the hot water inlet and the hot water side of the thermostatic cartridge.

Drawings

15 Figure 1 is an exploded view of a mixer valve according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a top view of the assembled mixer valve of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing how the two housing parts of the mixer valve of Figure 1 are connected together;

20 Figure 5 is a top view of the assembled mixer valve of Figure 1 showing an alternative arrangement of water inlets and water outlet; and

Figure 6 is a top view of the assembled mixer valve of Figure 1 showing a further alternative arrangement of water inlets and water outlet.

25 With reference to the drawings, a mixer valve 1 is assembled from the following components: a cover 2, a standard thermostatic cartridge 3, a divider insert 4, upper and lower o-rings 5a and 5b, an upper valve housing 6, a lower valve housing 7 and an o-ring 8.

30 The cover 2 has a substantially rectangular aperture 9 for receiving an upper part 10 of the thermostatic cartridge 3. The upper valve housing 6 is formed with an inlet 11 for cold water and an inlet 12 for hot water.

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The thermostatic cartridge 3 mixes together the cold water and hot water from the cold and hot water inlets 11 and 12 and mixed water at a preselected temperature is supplied from a lower part of the thermostatic cartridge to an outlet 13 formed on the 5 lower valve housing 7. A control knob or lever (not shown) is attached to the upper part 10 of the thermostatic cartridge to select the temperature of the mixed water. The thermostatic cartridge 3 is divided into a cold water side 3a and a hot water side 3b by an o-ring 14. Because the cold and hot water inlets 11 and 12 are formed at the same height, a divider insert 4 is received within the upper valve housing 6 and directs the 10 cold water from the cold water inlet 11 to the cold water side 3 a of the thermostatic cartridge 3 and the hot water from the hot water inlet 12 to the hot water side 3b of the thermostatic cartridge by means of cold and hot water annuluses 4a and 4b (Figure 3).

An upper o-ring 5a provides a watertight seal between the divider insert 4 and the 15 upper valve housing 6 and a lower o-ring 5b provides a watertight seal between the divider insert and the lower valve housing 7. O-rings 15a and 15b (Figure 3) provide a watertight seal between the thermostatic cartridge 3 and an upper part of the divider insert 4 and the upper valve housing 6 respectively.

20 The lower valve housing 7 includes a cylindrical collar 16 (Figure 4). An annular groove 17 is formed on the radially inner surface of the collar 16 and a pair of axial slots 18 are formed on opposite sides of the collar and extend between the top of the collar and the annular groove. The upper valve housing 6 has a cylindrical portion 19 that is sized so that it can be received within the collar 16. A pair of radial projections 25 20 are provided on each side of the cylindrical portion 19 (only one of which is shown).

A T-shaped mounting bracket 21 is formed on the lower valve housing 7 so that the assembled mixer valve 1 can be attached to another component part or a surface of the 30 thermostatic shower unit.

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To assemble the mixer valve 1, the divider insert 4 is placed inside the upper valve housing 6. The thermostatic cartridge 3 is inserted into the divider insert 4 and the cover 2 is placed over the upper part 10 of the thermostatic cartridge and secured to the upper valve housing 6. Both the cover 2 and the divider insert 4 are prevented 5 from rotating relative to the upper valve housing 6 by a raised tab 22 which is received within a slot 23 in the cover and a shallow recess 24 in the divider insert 4. The upper valve housing 6 is positioned above the lower valve housing 7 so that the radial projections 20 are radially aligned with the axial slots 18 as show in Figure 4. The cylindrical portion 19 of the upper valve housing 6 can then be inserted into the 10 cylindrical collar 16 until the radial projections 20 are axially aligned with the annular groove 17. To complete the assembly, the upper valve housing 6 is rotated relative to the lower valve housing 7 so that the radial projections 20 are received within the annular groove 17. The upper valve housing 6 is then free to rotate within the cylindrical collar 16 so that the angle between the cold and hot water inlets 11 and 12 15 and the mixed water outlet 13 can be selectively varied.

Figure 2 shows one possible arrangement where the cold and hot water inlets 11 and 12 and the mixed water outlet 13 are positioned on opposite sides of the assembled mixer unit 1. In Figure 5, the upper valve housing 6 has been rotated clockwise by 90 20 degrees relative to the lower valve housing 7 such that the cold and hot water inlets 11 and 12 are positioned at right angles to the mixed water outlet 13. Similarly, in Figure 6, the upper valve housing 6 has been rotated anticlockwise by 90 degrees relative to the lower valve housing 7.

25 To install the assembled mixer valve 1 in an existing thermostatic shower unit, the lower valve housing 7 is attached to another component part or a surface of the unit using the mounting bracket 21. The mixed water outlet 13 is connected to existing pipe work that will supply the mixed water to a pump unit or directly to the pump unit itself. The upper valve housing 6 is rotated relative to the lower valve housing 7 until 30 the cold and hot water inlets 11 and 12 are aligned with existing pipe work and can be connected together. When the thermostatic shower unit is operated, cold water is fed from the mains supply through the existing pipe work to the cold water inlet 11.

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Similarly, hot water from a hot water tank or a combination boiler is fed through the existing pipe work to the hot water inlet 12. The cold and hot water is separated by the divider insert 4 and supplied to the cold and hot water sides 3a and 3b of the thermostatic cartridge 3 respectively. Mixed water is supplied from the thermostatic 5 cartridge 3 to the mixed water outlet 13 where it is fed to the pump unit.

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Claims

1. A mixer valve for a thermostatic shower unit comprising a water inlet for cold water, a water inlet for hot water and a water outlet for mixed water, wherein the water inlets are rotatable about an axis of the mixer valve so that the angle between

5 the water inlets and the water outlet can be selectively varied.

2. A mixer valve according to claim 1, further comprising a thermostatic cartridge.

10 3. A mixer valve according to claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising locking means for preventing further rotation of the water inlets once the angle between the water inlets and the water outlet has been selectively varied.

4. A mixer valve according to any preceding claim, wherein the water inlets are 15 provided on a first valve housing and the water outlet is provided on a second valve housing.

5. A mixer valve according to claim 4, wherein the first valve housing is rotatably mounted on the second valve housing.

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6. A mixer valve according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the second valve housing includes a cylindrical collar having on its radially inner surface an annular groove and the first valve housing includes a cylindrical portion that is received within the cylindrical collar and has on its outer surface at least one radial projection

25 that extends into the annular groove.

7. A mixer valve according to claim 6, wherein the cylindrical collar includes at least one axial slot for accommodating the at least one radial projection so that the cylindrical portion of the first valve housing can be received within the cylindrical

30 collar when the radial pro jection and the axial slot are radially aligned.

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8. A mixer valve according to any of claims 4 to 7, wherein the second valve housing includes a mounting bracket.

9. A mixer valve according to claim 2, further comprising means for supplying 5 cold water from the cold water inlet to a cold water side of the thermostatic cartridge and supplying hot water from the hot water inlet to a hot water side of the thermostatic cartridge.

10. A mixer valve substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings.

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