NZ229491A - Mixing valve with adjacent flat sealing and porting faces; one face rotatable - Google Patents

Description

NEW ZEALAND l*l;Korm 2 2 9 4 9 1 PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (To be furnished in Duplicate) Where priority as provided by subsection (2) or (3) of section 1) of the Patents Act 1953 is desired in respect of one or more provisional specifications, quote number or numbers and date 229491 or dates No.

Date. 9th June, 1989 (a) Insert title of Invention. (a) IMPROVED MIXING VALVE (b) State (in full) name, address dnd nationality of applicant or applicants as in application form (c) Here begin full description of invention. The continuation of the specification should be upon paper of the same size as this form, on one side only with the lines well spaccd and with a margin of 2.5cm on the left hand side of the paper. The completion of the description should be followed by the words "What I (or we) claim is" after which should be written the claim or claims numbered consecutively (see note below). The specification and the dup-licale thereof must be signed ill the end.

^ I, VICTOR KEITH RELF a New Zealand Citizen with residential address at 44 El Dorado Leader, Pauanui Beach, 2850, via Thames, New Zealand.

HEREBY declarc the invention, for which I/we pray that a patent may be granted to me/us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to Mixing Valves and particularly to domestic Shower~Mixlng~ Vaives"o?"Mixing Taps.

NOTE. The claims must relate to a single invention, must be clear and succinct, and must be fairly based.on the matter disclosed in the specification. They should form in brief a clear statement of that which constitutes the invention. Applicants should be careful that their claims include neither more nor less than they desire to protect by their patent. Any unnecessary multiplicity of claims or prolixity of language should 229491 Referring to earlier Relf Research Ltd. application numbers 154-021, and 157-815 in which is described a single handed, single point mixing valve comprising a fixed body member, a rotating cylindrical member or rotor and two suitably disposed sealing members mounted in the rotating cylindrical member. This configuration allows a functional disadvantage called "high pressure by-pass leakage" due to the resilient sealing members being mounted in the rotating member and so being moveable from direct control over the actual flow through the inlet ports. However this configuration has a maintenance advantage due to the ready access obtained to the resilient sealing members when the rotating cylindrical member is removed from the body member. An alternative method we have used to control the "high pressure by-pass leakage" problem is to locate the said sealing members in the fixed body member and axially to the inlet ports, however this introduces some difficulties in servicing and/or replacing the sealing members as they are less accessible when fitted on the cylindrical interior of the fixed body member.

The purpose of the invention, the subject of this specification, is to offer a practical solution to the problems described in both earlier constructions and at the same time retain the simplicity and performance advantages of each as described above.

To describe a preferred form of the invention, the subject of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 illustrated the main components and Fig.2 shows a more detailed view of the same components, separate and assembled.

A Mixing Valve, is described comprising a two part body member (1-2) the base body part (2) optionally with fixing means (4) and said base part (2) containing inlet connections (3h3c) for hot and cold water supplies said connections leading to internal inlet ports (5h 5c) in which are concentrically fitted sealing members (13h 13c) on face (17a) and arranged to be addressed and opened and closed proportionally by the sealing face (17b) of a rotating cylindrical member (6). The top body part (1) is fixed to the base body part (2) by suitable means such as screws or clamps and sealed around the perimeter to prevent water leakage from between the two body parts, together described as the body member (1-2). The aforesaid rotating cylindrical member (6) is contained within the top body part (1). o ? ?491 As described above a cylindrical rotating member (6) is contained within the top body part (1) of the body member (1-2) and the base or porting end (14) with face (17b) of said cylindrical rotating member (6) addressing and bearing functionally against the sealing members (13h 13c) disposed on the face (17a) in the base body part (2) of the body member (1-2). Operating means (11) are provided for externally and manually rotating the cylindrical member (6) and also any other necessary sealing rings (16a 16b) and driving members (not shown) as may be specifically required. Proportioning ports (7h 7c) are suitably shaped and arranged in the base (14) of the cylindrical rotating member (6) proportionally covering and uncovering the said sealing members (13h 13c) allowing liquid to enter the said ports (7h 7c) as member (6) is rotated.

It is further envisaged that the said ports in the cylindrical rotating member are internally connected within the said cylindrical member to a Venturi configured mixing chamber (15). To describe this chamber in more detail, the port (7c) receiving the higher pressure quid supply connects to a jet (8) directed to the throat of a Venturi (9) creating a low pressure area within the chamber, which induces the lower pressure liquid supply into the mixing chamber (15) from the associated low pressure supply port (7h). To recapitulate, the effect of this arrangement is to eliminate or reduce back pressure from the higher pressure liquid supply within the mixing chamber and encourage the inflow of the lower pressure liquid supply. This -weW known Venturi principle applied to the mixing of unequal pressures in a shower valve is well known and the subject of earlier patents mentioned above.

In this preferred form of the invention the throat of the Venturi (9) is a part of the cylindrical member (6) but may alternatively comprise a part of another associated fitting, for example the showerhead or Rose (18) (stem only shown) that may be attached directly into the top body part at outlet (12).

The novelty in which this invention differs from other earlier ones is the introduction of the two liquid flows from the rear end of the cylindrical member rather than the sides and thence into an internal Venturi and that the two principal parts of the well known Venturi system, the jet and the throat may be either together in the one member or separated as described in the previous paragraph. 22 9 49 1 aMiME The considerable advantages of this arrangement allows the easy removal of the rotating cylindrical member (6) contained in the top body member (1) as one unit giving immediate frontal access to the sealing members (13h13c) situated in the base body part (2) of the fixed body member (1-2), thereby preserving the best features of prevention of "high pressure by-pass leakage" while also providing direct access to to the seals for servicing.

It is further envisaged that the rear or porting face (14) of the cylindrical rotating member (6) may be added to with an inserted or attached disc (10) of a hardened or longer lasting material from that used in the manufacture of the whole member. The said disc (10) is mechanically attached to the rotating cylindrical member and provides the porting face (17b).

Claims (7)

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 229491

1. A mixing valve comprising a two part body member in which one part is a base part and is provided with hot and cold inlet connections leading to a sealing means and an adjustable porting means in which sealing and porting faces lie on two adjacent flat surfaces, one surface a fixed part of the said base part and one rotationally adjustable surface is at one end of a cylindrical member which is located within the other part of the two part body member, whereby said cylindrical member is rotated by external means proportionally covering and uncovering said porting faces to allow a manually controllable, variable mix of hot and cold water supply through the mixing valve.

2. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 1 in which the sealing means are concentric with the inlet porting passageways of the liquids to be mixed.

3. A mixing valve as claimed in claims 1 or 2 in which the cylindrical member includes a mixing chamber incorporating a Venturi mixing system to assist the induction of the low pressure supply in an unequal pressure situation.

4. A mixing valve as claimed in claim 3 in which the discharge or outlet from the mixing chamber comprises the throat of the Venturi system.

5. A mixing valve as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the flat surface of the porting face of the cylindrical member is made of a harder or different material from the remainder of the mamber.

6. A mixing valve as claimed in claims 3, 4, or 5 when claims 4 or 5 are dependant upon claim 3 in which the discharge from the mixing chamber is axial to the rotational movement of the cylindrical member.

7. A mixing valve as claimed in any one of the preceding claims that is actuated by axially mounted external means. Dated at Pauanui Beach this 1st Day of June, 1990 / ? *0: If, Applicant