US2974877A

US2974877A - Shower heads

Info

Publication number: US2974877A
Application number: US766802A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr John O Hruby
Original assignee: Rain Jet Corp
Current assignee: Rain Jet Corp
Priority date: 1958-10-13
Filing date: 1958-10-13
Publication date: 1961-03-14
Anticipated expiration: 1978-03-14

Description

March 14, 1961 J. o. HRUBY, JR

SHOWER HEADS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 13, 1958 J 0 N W wnm/m/ March 14, 1961 J. o. HRUBY, JR 2,974,877

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March 14, 1961 J. o. HRUBY, JR 2,974,877

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United States Patent C SHOWER HEADS John O. Hruby, Jr., Burbank, Calif., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Rain Jet Corporation, Burbank, Califi, a corporation Filed Oct. 13, 1958, Ser. No. 766,802

8 Claims. (Cl. 239-237) This invention relates generally to shower heads, and more particularly to a shower head having a fluid discharging stem which is rotatable in the head.

Shower heads of this invention, when adapted to spray water as in a shower stall, provide as the water discharging element thereof a stem having outlet orifices directed generally axially from the head, the stem being mounted for rotation whereby the streams of water emitted from the stem orifices move about throughout the shower, thus to avoid the disadvantages in prior shower heads which produce steadily directed jet streams.

. A preferred embodiment of the shower heads of the invention comprises a stem which gyrates around in the,

body of the shower head, with the stem being inclined with respect to the axis of the body, and which rotates on its axis as explained in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,639,191, issued to me on May 19, 1953.

Rotary stems of the gyratory type as described in said Letters Patent are pivoted along a transverse plane or cylindrical area intermediate the ends of the stern whereby the path traced by the stem in being gyrated is that of a three-dimensional graph known as a hyperboloid of one sheet. In being so gyrated, the stem is caused to roll along an edge in the body at which the stem is pivoted thus to impart rotation to the stem on its axis. With gyratory motion of the stem superimposed upon rotary motion thereof, the streams of water emitted from the stem are not solid streams but instead are broken up in drops, and such broken up streams move about throughout the shower.

For optimum results it is further preferred that the shower heads of this invention be constructed to embody certain concepts taught in my co-pending applications Nos. 660,002 and 710,989, filed May 17, 1957 and Jannary 24, 1958, respectively, the latter having issued on on October 20, 1 959, as Patent No. 2,909,326. In each of the fluid discharge devices of said copending application, the stem is disposed within an open cavity formed or defined by wall means in a body of the device. When this concept is embodied in the shower heads of this invention, the shower heads will provide showers of relatively low gallonage, i.e., gallons per minute per square foot of shower cross-section.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear during the course of the following part of this specification wherein the details of construction and mode of operation of several embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment of a shower head of this invention with the forward end portion of the body of the shower head being shown in central longitudinal section; v

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is an enlarged central longitudinal section through the forward end portion of the shower head shown in Fig. 1; v 1

Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken along line 4--4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal section through another preferred embodiment of a shower head of this invention; Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-section taken on line 6--6 5 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged central longitudinal section through the forward end portion of the shower head shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a cross-section taken along line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a central longitudinal section through another embodiment of a shower head of this invention;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged cross-section taken on hne 1010 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged central longitudinal section through the forward end portion of the shower head shown in Fig. 9; and

Fig. 12 is a cross-section taken along line 1212 of Fig. 11.

Referring to the drawing in greater detail, and with the use of reference numerals, there is shown in Figs.

1-4 a shower head of this invention, the same being designated generally by numeral 15. The shower head comprises a tubular body 16 which is screw-threaded around its upper end as at 17 to receive a socket nut 18 which serves to hold the body 16 on a socket ball 19. An annular gasket 20 (see Fig. 5) in the upper end of they body serves to seal the joint against leakage. The socket ball has an internally threaded boss 21 integral therewith for receiving the end of a water supply pipe 22. The ball and socket joint provides for angular adjustment of the body as is customary for shower heads. As appears best in Fig. 5, the socket has a passageway 23 formed therein and extending therethrough for flow of water from the pipe to the shower head body.

At the forward end of the tubular body 16, opposite the socket receiving end, the body is internally screwthreaded as at 26 for receiving a cap 27, the cap having an inwardly directed annular flange 28 in the forward a central opening 30 arranged axially of the body.

A tubular stem 33 extends into the body through the body opening 30. The stem projects out from the open stem against outward removal through the body opening.

As will be explained more fully hereinafter, the stem gyrates around within the body with its axis being inclined with respect to the axis of the body. To better tion of the stem on its axis, the end shoulder 37 of the collar which engages the inside shoulder of the body is of convex spherical section while the annular shoulder 29 of the body is of complementary spherical section. This arrangement provides a ball-and-socket joint, permitting the gyration and rotation of the tubular stem while preventing the leakage of water through the opening 30.

The inner endportion of the stem is designated by reference numeral 40 and it contains an inlet opening 41 for the stem. The bore of the stem is defined by inside walls 42' of the stem. 8

Referring again to the stem head 34 of the illustrated embodiments, such head is of larger diameter than the body opening 30 and is fixed upon the outer end of the stem. The head has a plurality of outlet orifices formed therein. An axially aligned orifice is designated by refend thereof defining an inside annular shoulder 29 and accommodate such gyratory motion of the stem and rota erence numeral 44. The head 34 also comprises four additional orifices 45 which are inclined outwardly from the axis of the stern. t

For the shower heads of this invention, it is intended that the several streams of water formed by the orifices will spread slightly outwardly, that is, in effect, the crosssectionalarea of the shower increases forwardly from the shower head. For the purpose of distinguishing the shower heads of this invention from lawn sprinklers, for example, as are illustrated and described in the aforesaid Letters Patent and said pending patent applications, wherein the stemoutlet orifices are directed generally radially outwardly from the stem, the orifices 45 of the shower headsof this invention are said to be so constructed that the streams of water emitted therefrom will be directed not more than about 30 from the axis of the stem. A preferred extent of inclination of the orifices 45 from the axis of the stem is about from to about i.e., they are directed generally axially from the stem. The term generally axiallyas used in this description and in the appended claims is intended to the streams of water from the orifices 45 move not only in respective circles around the axis of the stem due to rotation of the stem on its axis, but also swing outwardly from the axis of the shower head body due to the inclination of the stem as it is gyrated around in the tube cavity. Such combined motions of rotation and gyration superimposed one upon the other cause the streams of water from the orifices to be broken up asvdiscrete drops which move about in the resulting shower whereby the concen tration of drops in any cross section through the shower issubstantially uniform throughout the area of such crosssection.

From the'above, it will be apparentthat the sprinkler heads illustrated in Figs. l-4 of. the drawings embodies certain structural concepts taught in my aforesaid pending application Ser. No. 660,002. The structure hereinabove described which causes water from the shower head body 16 to enter the cavity 53 through slant opendefine an endwise direction of the streams, thereby to distinguish such direction for the streams of water from the outward direction of streams of water from a lawn sprinkler in which it is desired to cover a large lawn area around the sprinkler body.

The shower heads of this invention comprise means within the shower head body and operatively associated with the stem for actuation by flow of fluid in the body to impart rotation to the stem on its axis. Such means for imparting rotation to the stem may be any of a variety of structures. For example, such wall means may be similar in construction to the perforated partition 11 shown in U.S. Letters Patent No. 2,589,942. For the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 of this specification, such wall means comprises an elongate tube 49 secured at one end thereof within the cap 27 as by screw threads 50, while the other end of the tube 49 is closed as with a plate 51 which is force-fitted orotherwise suitably secured in the inner end of the tube. The side walls of the tube 49 on the inside thereof are designated by reference numeral 52 and these walls define a cavity 53 in the tube 49 which receives the inner end of the stem 33. Around the inner end portion 40 of the stem there is a collar 55 which is force-fitted or otherwise suitably secured around the stem. Collar 55 contacts with the inside walls 52 of the tube 49 and serves to, in effect, increase the outside diameter of the end of the stem 33, thereby to reduce the extent of inclination of the stern in the tube 49.

There is a plurality of circumferentially arranged apertures 56 formed through the side wall of the tube 49 for admitting water from the body 16 into the tube cavity 53. In the embodiment of Figs. l4,sthe apertures are formed asslits which extend longitudinally with respect to the tube 49. As best shown in Fig. 4 these slits extend through the tube side wall at angles with respect to the radii of the tube cavity, thus to cause streams of water to enter the cavity and spiral or rotate around in the tube cavity. The slits 56 are preferably tangential with respect to the tube cavity 53 and in the illustrated embodiment are four in number. The swirl of water in the tube cavity resulting from the slant of the slits 56 causes the stem 33 to revolve or gyrate within the tube cavity with the axis of the stern being inclined with respect to the axis of the tube cavity as appears best in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

In operation, water from the body enters the tube cavity 53 through the slant slits 56 and swirls around in the tube cavity. The water within the tube cavity enters the inlet opening 41 of the stem and flows through the stem bore and out through the

orifices

44 and 45. The swirl. of water in-the tube 49 causes the stem to gyrate in the tube cavity and as the collar 55 contacts the inside walls of the tube 49 the stem is caused by rolling of the collaralong said, inside wall to rotate on its axis. Thus ings or apertures 5s and then to flow out through the stem 33 produces a relatively low gallonage spray when compared to a rotary and gyratable stem structure such as is illustrated in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,639,191 in which the inlet for the stem is located so as to receive water directly from the tubular body 16, that is, without such water having first passed through inclined apertures such as those shown at 56 herein.

An outer sleeve 59 is provided for the purpose of restricting the cross-sectional area of the shower produced by the plurality of orifices 45. Such outer sleeve is slidable axially over the body 16- and is provided with a screw 69 eugageable in a longitudinal extending groove 61 formed in the body whereby the sleeve may be set at a desired extended position over the forward end of the nozzle.

Rotation and gyration of the stemin the shower head produces some noise and for the purpose of reducing the amount of noise attendant with the operation of the shower head the

collars

36 and 55 as well as the head 34 may be formed of plastics, e.g., nylon, and bonded around the body portion of the stem.

Another preferred form of a shower head of this invention having a water discharging stem which is both gyratable in the body and rotatable on its axis, is shown in the drawing in Figs. 5-8 inclusive, the same being designated, generally, by reference'numeral 65. Shower head 65 comprises a ball and socket joint 18, 9, a tubular body 16, a cap 27, and a stem 33' which are generally similar to corresponding elements of the shower head shown in Figs. l-4.

The wall means of the shower head 65 which serves to impart rotary motion to fluid passing through the head for the purpose of gyrating the stem 33 is somewhat similar in general form to the tube 49 of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-4. Such wall means comprises a tube in the shower head 65 designated by reference numeral 66. The essential portion of the tube 66 for imparting rotary motion to the stem- 33' is the inner end portion of K the tube, such inner end portion being designated 'by reference numeral 67, and in effect constituting a cup which receives the inlet end of the stem 33. Cup 67 has'inside cylindrical walls 68 and an end plate defining an open ended cavity 53 in the cup. That portion of the i tube 66 which is disposed forwardly of the cup 67 serves apertures 56 of theembodiment 15, in that the openings 70 are not slanted with respect to the radii of the tube .66,

as is the case of the apertures 56 but instead the openings 70 may be of any size and may extend radially through the side walls of the tube 66, It will be noted that the cup 67 embodies the structural concepts taught in the aforementioned copending application Ser. No. 710,989 (Patent No. 2,909,326) wherein it is explained that the nature of the forces of water which causes gyration oi the stem may not be fully understood. It is suggested that inasmuch as the rim 69 of the cup 67 is disposed forwardly of the inlet end 41' of the stem 33, the inward flow of water into the cup from over the cup rim and the change in direction of flow of water to forwardly into the stem may cause the gyration of the stem.

Referring to Figs. 9-12 of the drawings there is shown another embodiment of a shower head of this invention, the same being designated generally by reference numeral 75. It comprisesaball and socket joint at the upper end of a hollow body 16", the body having a cap 27", and a stem 76, the stern being rotatable on its long axis. The shower head 75 diiiers essentially from

shower heads

15 and 65 described hereinabove by the fact that the stem 76 of shower head 75 does not gyrate around in the body but instead only rotates on its axis.

Shower head 75 comprises a tube 77 which is secured at its forward end within the cap 27 and extends coaxially in the tubular body 16".

There is a sleeve 78 secured in the forward end of the tube to define an inwardly facing shoulder 79. At its inner end the tube 77 mounts a spider 80 having a plurality of inlet openings or apertures 81 and a centrally disposed hub 82 which serves to rotatably support the stem 76. There is a stop or collar 36" fixed around the stem for engagement with the shoulder 79 of sleeve 78 to maintain the stem against removal out through the and opening 30 of the body cap. The stem has a plurality of inlet openings 41" formed in that portion of the stem which is disposed in the body.

The inner end of the stem extends beyond the hub 82 and is closed by end plate 84. Secured around the inner end of the stem is a plurality of impeller vanes 85 which impart rotation to the stem when water flows forwardly through the shower head body.

While the instant invention has been shown and described hereinas what is conceived to be several embodiments thereof, it is recognized that'departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but it is to be accorded the full scope of the claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shower head of the class wherein a hollow shower head body having a fluid inlet end and an outer end is connected at its inlet end to a swivel joint, the joint being adapted to be connected on the end of a fluid supply pipe and having a passageway extending therethrough for flow of fluid from the pipe through the joint and into the body, the combination with said body of an elongate tubular stem, the body having an annular shoulder defining an outer end opening, the internal surface of said shoulder being of concave spherical contour, the stem extending into the body opening and having an inner end portion disposed in the body and an outer end portion disposed beyond the body opening, the stem being rotatable on its long axis in said body opening, the stem having an inlet opening formed in said inner end portion, stop means on the stem having a surface of convex spherical contour abutting the internal surface of said shoulder for maintaining the stem against outward removal through said body opening and preventing the leakage of water through said body opening, means in the body and operatively associated with the stern for actuation by flow of fluid in the body to impart rotation to the stem on its axis, and the outer end of the stem having 'an outlet orifice formed therein directed generally axially from the outer end of the stem, said orifice being directed off center from the axis of the stem.

2. The shower head of claim 1 in which said rotation imparting means comprises wall means secured in the body and defining a cavity within the body, the inner end of the stem extending into the cavity and the inlet opening of the stem being disposed in said cavity, said wall means having an inlet opening for admitting fluid from the body into the cavity for imparting rotary motion to the fluid in the cavity thereby to cause rotation of the stem on its axis and gyration of the stem around in the cavity.

3. The shower head of claim 2 in which said inlet openingof said wall means is inclined with respect to the axis of the stem.

4. The shower head of claim 2 in which said wall means comprises a tube secured at one end thereof to the body adjacent the body shoulder, the tube being axially aligned with said body opening and having its side walls spaced inwardly from the inside walls of the body, the other end of the tube being closed.

5. The shower head of claim 2 in which said Wall means comprises a cup, means supporting the cup spaced inwardly of the body shoulder, the cup having a rim defining said inlet opening of said wall means. 6. A shower head according to claim 1 in which said outlet orifice is inclined to an angle of about 10 from the axis of the stem.

7. A shower head according to claim 1 and comprising an outer sleeve slidable axially around the body for deflecting the stream of water from the outlet orifice to a shower of smaller cross section.

8. A shower head according to claim 1 in which the swivel joint comprises a ball and socket joint.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,919,246 Munz July 25, 1933 2,539,793 Pangborn Ian. 30, 1951 2,639,191 Hruby May 19, 1953 2,663,591 Pew Dec. 22, 1953 2,746,795 Kofoid May 22, 1956 2,850,328 Young .l Sept. 2, 1958 2,909,326 I-Iruby Oct. 20, 1959