GB2472611A

GB2472611A - A filter means for a shower

Info

Publication number: GB2472611A
Application number: GB0914071A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher Richard Burke
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-08-12
Filing date: 2009-08-12
Publication date: 2011-02-16
Also published as: GB0914071D0

Abstract

The invention relates to a filter means 12 suitable for fitting to a shower. The filter means / unit 12 preferably comprises an anti-bacterial filter 14 which can be replaced. The filter 14 is ideally cylindrical in shape, and is preferably interposed lengthwise relative to the shower head, and is adapted for flow straight through it. The filter means may be provided with a housing 16, and can be retro-fitted to an existing fixed shower head (pictured) or wandering shower head (see part 70, figure 8). The filter means and its housing may be held in place relative to the shower head / component by a threaded bolt 22 engagement.

Description

Title: SHOWERS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to showers.

BACKGROUND

Most showers are either of the fixed-head kind (often used in a situation where it is required to make it difficult for theft or vandalism, e.g. in commercial or public situations, e.g. at a swimming pool), e.g. a spray faucet fixed on the wall, or of the kind comprising a hand-held shower head on a wander hose. Since the showers produce spray, some of it may be very fine and easy to inhale, which can introduce bacteria into the lungs, e.g.Iegionella pneumophila.

THE INVENTION

The present inventor has had the idea to fit filter means to a shower, more particularly an anti-bacterial filter, preferably a filter that is replaceable. For an anti-bacterial filter, the shower should preferably be specially adapted, e.g. to ensure that there is a good seal before the filter so that none of the water flow can bypass the filter, and e.g. to reduce or minimise any pressure drop in the water flow to or from the filter since an anti-bacterial filter has very fine orifices and is likely itself to introduce a considerable pressure drop, so much so that the shower might not have enough pressure to function properly. Because of the need for health safety and the natural reluctance of people to spend money, the inventor considers it important to provide such filter means in a form in which they can be retro-fitted to an existing shower, this is more important with a fixed head shower where the whole (expensive) head would otherwise have to be replaced to renew the filter means, not so important for a wander head shower where it is customary to replace the head and wander hose from time to time (which indeed often appear to be made to deteriorate readily simply to 0) 20 promote replacement sales).

One aspect of the invention provides: In or adapted for fitting to a shower, filter means.

The filter means may have any one or more of the following further features, as the case will allow: * having or adapted to have an anti-bacterial filter.

* having or adapted to have a replaceable filter (e.g. the filter means comprising a housing for a replaceable filter).

* comprise a filter housing adapted to be retro-fitted in the shower and containing or adapted to contain a filter.

* in or adapted for fitting to a fixed head shower: * adapted for fitting to a suitable fixed head shower having a spray member and retaining means for the spray member, and adapted to be fitted in place of the spray member using the same retaining means.

* comprising engagement means suitable to be engaged by retaining means, and a bearing surface suitable to engage sealingly with a cooperating surface of a suitable fixed head shower under the action of suitable said retaining means engaging said engagement means and said fixed head.

* adapted for retro-fitting to a suitable fixed shower head comprising a spray member and a suitable bearing surface for the spray member and retaining means to hold the spray member sealed against such surface, the filter means comprising a suitable bearing surface and engagement means to engage suitable such retaining means by which the filter means can be held with its said bearing surface in sealed engagement with said bearing surface of the head.

* comprising a spray member, e.g. a perforated disk.

* in which said engagement means comprise bolt-engagement means.

* adapted for retro-fitting to a suitable fixed shower head comprising a spray member and a suitable bearing surface for the spray member and a threaded bolt to hold the spray member sealed against such surface, the filter means comprising a suitable bearing surface and bolt-engaging means by which the filter means can be held with its said bearing surface in sealed engagement with said bearing surface of the head.

When testing a hollow-fibre membrane, anti-bacterial filter, it was sometimes found difficult to maintain adequate pressure to produce a spray from the shower. A number of factors were found to contribute to solving this problem: Features having particular, but not exclusive application to a fixed head shower: * adapted for straight-through flow.

* adapted for the filter to be elongate.

* adapted for the filter to be cylindrical.

* adapted for the filter to be interposed lengthwise in the shower flow path.

* having an inlet and outlet in-line with each other and adapted to have the elongate filter in-line between them.

0 * having a narrowing of the flow passage into the filter means.

0) * having a smooth narrowing of the flow passage into the filter means.

Features having particular application to a wander head shower: * in or adapted for fitting to a wander head shower.

* in or adapted for fitting to a hand-held wander head of a shower.

* comprising a filter housing in, or adapted to be fitted in, a handle of a hand-held wander head of a shower.

* comprising housing means to house a replaceable filter.

* said housing means comprising a connector for connection to a wander hose, a connector for connection to a spray head, and a break in the housing means between these connectors adapted for insertion at the break of a replaceable filter.

* such that the flow from one connector to the other, effectively from the hose to the head, cannot bypass the filter.

* in which the filter is sealed to the housing such that the flow from one connector to the other, effectively from the hose to the head, cannot bypass the filter.

* in which the filter is sealed to the housing at each end of the filter so that the flow from one connector to the other, effectively from the hose to the head, cannot bypass the filter.

* said housing means comprising a connector for connection to a wander hose, a connector for connection to a spray head, and a break in the housing means between these connectors adapted for insertion at the break of a replaceable filter. In practice, the filter is sealed to the housing at at least one end, preferably the hose end, and more preferably at each end of the filter (by closing the break, independently of whether or not the housing is connected yet to the hose and/or spray head) so that the flow from one connector to the other, effectively from the hose to the head, cannot bypass the filter. This is particularly important for anti-bacterial filtering. One might think that one could simply disconnect either connector to insert there a replaceable filter and reconnect the connector to engage a seal there; but, after much experiment, the inventor has found that there is too much risk of such a seal at either connector becoming defective in use and allowing bypass flow, e.g. due to one or both connectors (which are usually threaded and could be thought to be able to be tightened to engage a seal with the filter) becoming loosened with continued use, or simply not being correctly tightened to engage the seals, e.g. by an inexperienced or careless person, or being over-tightened by such a person to damage the seals. Once the idea of a purpose-made break in the housing is thought of for inserting the filter, this can be designed to avoid these difficulties.

* The filter may be a hollow-fibre membrane filter, may be a cylindrical filter, may be that appearing under catalogue reference ETM obtainable from the Toray Group of Companies of Japan via their websitewww.torayvino.com.

Further aspects of the invention provide: * A method of retro-fitting filter means to a shower, in which a joint in the shower is opened and the filter means is interposed there, e.g. any such filter means as described above.

* A method of replacing a filter in a shower, in which the filter is extracted from a filter housing and a replacement filter substituted, preferably independently of disconnection of the housing from a member (e.g. a hose or a fixed, e.g. 0) faucet, supply fitting) for supplying water to the housing, preferably without such disconnection, and preferably with sealing or unsealing of the filter to the housing independently of disconnection of the housing from a spray head.

* A method of showering in which there is used any such filter means or shower.

* A person, animal or article showered using any such filter means or shower or method.

PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION RELATING TO THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded view of a fixed head shower embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the Figure 1 embodiment, assembled together; Figure 3 is a front view of the assembled embodiment; Figure 4 is a horizontal section along the line B-B of Figure 2; Figure 5 is an isometric rear view of the filter housing member of the Figure 1 embodiment; Figure 6 is a side view of a wander shower head embodying the invention; Figure 7 is a rear view of the Figure 6 embodiment; Figure 8 is a section on the line A-A of Figure 7; and Figure 9 is an exploded view corresponding to Figure 6.

Referring to the drawings, in a first embodiment, Figures ito 5, a fixed head shower 10 comprises filter means 12 containing an anti-bacterial filter 14 which is replaceable in a housing i6 adapted to be retro-fitted in the shower 10.

Before such retro-fitting, the shower 10 comprises only a wall-mounted fixed head fitting (sometimes called a faucet) i8 with a spray plate like spray plate 20 but having a single central opening 2i at which the spray plate is engaged by the head of a bolt 22 the far end up of which engages in a threaded opening 23 in fitting 18 to ensure that the circumference of the spray plate engages a bearing surface, e.g. the front surface of an 0-ring 24, of fitting i8 in a sealing manner so that water supplied in the direction of arrow 26 to fitting i8 and entering its plenum chamber 26 will be transmitted powerfully through holes 28 in its spray plate to provide a powerful shower spray. When filter means 12 is retro-fitted to fitting 18, bolt 22 is unscrewed to release its captive spray plate and expose plenum chamber 26. The spray plate is discarded and replaced by filter housing single member 16 of which a bolt-engaging surface 30 is engaged by bolt 22 so that a bearing surface 32 of of housing 16 bears against the 0-ring 24 and a bearing service 34 of housing 16 bears against a bearing surface 33 of fitting 18, acting in a sealing manner so as to seal inlet 36 of housing 16 to plenum chamber 26 so that all water entering along the flow path indicated by arrow 26 will pass through oneorotheroffourflowopenings38ofhousing 16 into a filter-holding recess 40 in housing 16 before filter 14 has been placed in recess 40. Thus, tightening bolt 22 into opening 23 effects the required sealing together of the bearing surfaces 24, 32, 33, 34. Next, filter 14 is placed in recess 40 with one end against a flat sealing ring 42 and the other end against a brass plate 44 that has a large central opening 46 and bears at its periphery against housing member 16 to which spray plate 20 is fastened with two bolts 50, such that there is sealing by means of an 0-ring 48 and water flow from filter 14 passes through opening 46 to a plenum chamber 52 and out through spray plate 20. (There is a blind annular chamber 54 which simply serves to reduce the amount of material in the plastics moulding forming 0) member 16.) Bolt 22 and bearing surfaces 32, 34 serve as retaining means for the spray member 20, as well as for the like spray member provided before the retro-fitting. Bolt-engaging surface 30 serves as engagement means suitable to be engaged by retaining means, i.e. bolt 22, and bearing surfaces 32, 34 are suitable to engage sealingly with cooperating surfaces 24,33 of the fixed head shower 10 under the action of said retaining means 22,32,34 engaging said engagement means 30 and said fixed head 18.

Filter means 10 are adapted for retro-fitting to a suitable fixed shower head 18 comprising a spray member, like 20, and a suitable bearing surface 24, 34 for the spray member and retaining means 22, 24, 33 to hold the spray member sealed against such surface 24, 34, the filter means 10 comprising a suitable bearing surface 32, 34 and engagement means 30 to engage suitable such retaining means 22, 24, 33 by which the filter means 10 can be held with its said bearing surface 32, 34 in sealed engagement with said bearing surface 24, 33 of the head 18. The spray member 20 is a perforated disc 20.

Plenum chambers 36 and 52 constitute the inlet 36 to and outlet 52 from the filter means 12 and, since the flow passes straight from one to the other without any return flow paths, the filter means 12 are adapted for straight-through flow.

The filter 14 is elongate, cylindrical and interposed lengthwise in the shower flow path and the recess 40 is adapted by its shape and size for this. The inlet 36 and outlet 52 are in-line with each other and have the elongate filter 14 in-line between them. The filter means 12 have a smooth narrowing of the flow passage 36 into the filter means 12 by virtue of the conical outer boundary surface 37 of plenum chamber inlet 36. Conical surface 37 narrows in the flow direction towards flow guide means 39 in the form of four guide fins 39 arranged respectively between flow openings 38; opening 38 and fins 39 are arranged symmetrically around the axis 41 of housing 16.

In another embodiment, Figures 6 to 9, filter means 60 in the form of a handle 66, 68 are fitted to a shower 62, 64, being fitted as part of a hand-held wander head 60, 62 on a wander hose 64 of a shower and comprise a filter housing member 66 in handle 66, 68 of the spray head 62 of wander head 60, 62; and comprise housing means 66, 68 to house a replaceable filter 70. The housing means 66, 68 comprise a connector 72 for connection to a wander hose 64, a connector 74 for connection to a spray head 62, and a break 76, 78 in the housing means between these connectors 72, 74 adapted for insertion at the break of a replaceable filter 70. The filter 70 is sealed to the housing 66, 68 at each end of the filter 70 (by closing the break 76, 78, independently of whether or not the housing 66, 68 is connected yet to the hose 64 and/or spray head 62) so that the flow from one connector 72 to the other 74, effectively from the hose 64 to the head 62, cannot bypass the filter 70. A resilient sealing member 80 is placed at the bottom (as seen in Figure 8) of housing member 66, filter 70 is placed above it, the break's threaded portions 76, 78 are engaged, and housing member 68 is then tightened to member 66 holding the inlet (lower, as seen in Figure 8) end of filter 70 in sealing engagement with member 80 and hence with the flow from hose 64 when this is connected to member 66. When spray head 62 is threadedly mounted to member 68, by means of threaded portion 74 engaging threaded portion 75, the flow from hose 64 to spray head 62 is in a straight line.

In a method of retro-fitting the filter means 12 or 60 to a shower 10 or 62, 64, a joint 18, 22 or 62, 64 in the shower 10 or 62, 64 is opened and the filter means 12 or 60 is interposed there.

Q 20 In a method of replacing a filter 14 or 70 in a shower 10 or 62, 64, the filter 14 or 70 is extracted from a filter housing 16 or 66, 68 and a replacement filter 14 or 70 is substituted, independently of disconnection of the housing 16 or 66, 68 from a member 18 or 64 (i.e. fixed, faucet, supply fitting 18 or hose 64) for supplying water to the housing 16 or 66, 68, and in fact without such disconnection, and with sealing or unsealing of the filter 14 or 70 to the housing 16 or 66, 68 independently of disconnection of the housing 16 or 66, 68 from a spray head, like 20 or 62.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, that features of the different embodiments disclosed herein may be omitted, selected, combined or exchanged and the invention is considered to extend to any new and inventive combination thus formed. Where a preference or particularisation is stated, there is implied the possibility of its negative, i.e. a case in which that preference or particularisation is absent.

Many variations of the invention and embodiments hereinbefore described will be apparent to people skilled in the art and all such variations are to be considered as falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS1. In or adapted for fitting to a shower, filter means.
2. Filter means as claimed in claim 1, having or adapted to have an anti-bacterial filter.
3. Filter means as claimed in claim 1 or 2, having or adapted to have a replaceable filter.
4. Filter means as claimed in claim 3, comprising a housing for a replaceable filter.
5. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, which comprise a filter housing adapted to be retro-fitted in the shower and containing or adapted to contain a filter.
6. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, in or adapted for fitting to a fixed head shower.
7. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, adapted for fitting to a suitable fixed head shower having a spray member and retaining means for the spray member, and adapted to be fitted in place of the spray member using the same retaining means.
8. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising engagement means suitable to be engaged by retaining means, and a bearing surface suitable to engage sealingly with a cooperating surface of a suitable fixed head shower under the action of suitable said retaining means engaging said engagement means and said fixed head.
9. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, adapted for retro-fitting to a suitable fixed shower head comprising a spray member and a suitable bearing surface for the spray member and retaining means to hold the spray member sealed against such surface, the filter means comprising a suitable bearing surface and engagement means to Q engage suitable such retaining means by which the filter means can be held with its said bearing surface in sealed engagement with said bearing surface of the head.
10. Filter means as claimed in claim 9, in which said engagement means comprise bolt-engagement means.
11. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, adapted for retro-fitting to a suitable fixed shower head comprising a spray member and a suitable bearing surface for the spray member and a threaded bolt to hold the spray member sealed against such surface, the filter means comprising a suitable bearing surface and bolt-engaging means by which the filter means can be held with its said bearing surface in sealed engagement with said bearing surface of the head.
12. Filter means as claimed in any one of claims ito 5, in or adapted for fitting to a wander head shower.
13. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a spray member.
14. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, adapted for straight-through flow.
15. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, adapted for the filter to be elongate.
16. Filter means as claimed in claim 15, adapted for the filter to be interposed lengthwise in the shower flow path.
17. Filter means as claimed in claim 15 or 16, having an inlet and outlet in-line with each other and adapted to have the elongate filter in-line between them.
18. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, having a narrowing of the flow passage into the filter means.
19. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, having a smooth narrowing of the flow passage into the filter means.
20. Filter means as claimed in any one of claims ito 5 or 12 to 19, in or adapted for fitting to a hand-held wander head of a shower.
2i. Filter means as claimed in any one of claims ito 5 or i2 to 19, comprising a filter housing in, or adapted to be fitted in, a handle of a hand-held wander head of a shower.
22. Filter means as claimed in claim 21, comprising housing means to house a replaceable filter.
23. Filter means as claimed in claim 22, said housing means comprising a connector for connection to a wander hose, a connector for connection to a spray head, and a break in the housing means between these connectors adapted for insertion at the break of a replaceable filter.
24. Filter means as claimed in claim 23, such that the flow from one connector to the other, effectively from the hose to the head, cannot bypass the filter.
25. Filter means as claimed in claim 24, in which the filter is sealed to the housing such that the flow from one connector to the other, effectively from the hose to the head, cannot bypass the filter.
26. Filter means as claimed in claim 25, in which the filter is sealed to the housing at each end of the filter so that the flow from one connector to the other, effectively from the hose to the head, cannot bypass the filter.
27. Filter means as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising said filter.Q
28. Filter means substantially according to any example hereinbefore described.0)
29. Filter means substantially according to any example hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
30. A shower comprising filter means as claimed in any preceding claim.
31. A shower as claimed in claim 30, when appendant directly or indirectly to claim 6, comprising a xed head shower.
32. A shower as claimed in claim 30, when appendant directly or indirectly to claim 12, comprising a wander head shower.
33. A method of retro-fitting filter means to a shower, in which a joint in the shower is opened and the filter means is interposed there
34. A method as claimed in claim 33, in which the filter means are as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 29.
35. A method of retro-fitting filter means to a shower substantially according to any example hereinbefore described.
36. A method of retro-fitting filter means to a shower substantially according to any example hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
37. A method of replacing a filter in a shower, in which the filter is extracted from a filter housing and a
38. A method as claimed in claim 37, which is carried out independently of disconnection of the housing from a member for supplying water to the housing.
39. A method as claimed in claim 37 or 38, which is carried out with sealing or unsealing of the filter to the housing independently of disconnection of the housing from a spray head.
40. A method of replacing a filter in a shower, substantially according to any example hereinbefore described.
41. A method of replacing a filter in a shower, substantially according to any example hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
42. A method of showering, in which there is used filter means or a shower substantially according to any example hereinbefore described.
43. A method of showering, in which there is used filter means or a shower substantially according to any example hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
44. A person, animal or article showered using filter means or a shower substantially according to any example hereinbefore described.
45. A person, animal or article showered using filter means or a shower substantially according to any example hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. a)