US3554446A

US3554446A - Water dispensing apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3554446A
Application number: US599003A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herman B Castillo; Lawrence A Burke
Original assignee: Eaton Yale and Towne Inc
Current assignee: Eaton Corp
Priority date: 1966-12-05
Filing date: 1966-12-05
Publication date: 1971-01-12
Anticipated expiration: 1988-01-12
Also published as: DE1658169A1; GB1194575A

Abstract

A water dispensing apparatus for use as a drinking fountain, said apparatus comprising a cabinet, a splash tray and water dispensing nozzle on top of said cabinet, a foot pedal member mounted near the bottom of said cabinet, valve means for controlling flow of water to the nozzle, with said valve means being positioned above said splash tray, actuating means for opening said valve means, and linkage means for operatively interconnecting said actuating means and said foot pedal member.

Description

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,715,714 6/1929 Lindmark..................... 2,781,648

Herman B. Castillo Clawson; Lawrence A. Burke, Royal Oak, Mich. [21 Appl. No. 599,003

United States Patent [72] Inventors 2/1957 Lyman 3,069,872 12/1962 Sorenscn et 2,914,252 11/1959 Sorensen et al..... 3,006,378 10/1961 Erickson et a1. 3,329,345 7/1967 Scott Primary ExaminerLloyd L. King [22] Filed D c. 5, 1966 [45] Patented Jan. 12, 1971 [73] Assignee Eaton Yale 8: Tovvne Inc.

Cleveland, Ohio splash tray, actuating for opening said valve means, and linkage means for operatively interconnecting said actuating means and said foot pedal member.

fountain, said apparatus comprising a cabinet, a splash tray and water dispensing nozzle on top of said cabinet, a foot pedal member mounted near the bottom of said cabinet, valve Attorney-Harness, Dickey & Pierce ABSTRACT: A water dispensing apparatus for use as a drinking means for controlling flow of water to the nozzle, with said valve means being positioned above said means a corporation of Ohio. by mesne assignments [54] WATER DISPENSING APPARATUS 9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[51] Int. [50] 29.5, 32, 16, 30; 251/289; 62/389-395 1 repair-since removal of'the cabinet is} necessary to 1 cesstothevalve,

op a on i-br' fob! iid Mo s." bj's t it c'pts ntm cnuo mom, 7 n i v h v' i w rvst c suited-for'pushbutton orforfoo.pedal o'pe. 1utilizingasingleyalve;ho: 'ng and a-rnimr'n vention' will become apparent fr and. appendedcelaims taken p r nsd ns i wh s in find,

7 ,be made to the drawings, how'ey This invention relates generally to water dispensing apparatus, and more particularly to wat'erdispensers of the type referred to as drinking fountains.

Water dispensers of the present type cenventionally include a cabinet havingv refrigerating apparatus thereimor at least Q means connected to a source of cold water, and a splash tray on the top thereof on which is positioned a water dispensing nozzle. Water flow is usually controlled either by a handoperated pushbutton adjacent the top of the cabinet or by'a described with reference to the drawings it should be unfoot-operated pedal positioned-adjacent the bottom thereof, 7

pushbutton directly connected to the valve. Such bubbler valves, however, are not suitable for foot pedal operation because there is no way to control the-valve other than by the pushbutton, and consequently when foot pedal operation is desired a completely different arrangement must be utilized. it

at the top of the cabinet and to locate the water contrt'al'valve somewhere within the-cabinet, connected by linkages. tothe foot pedal. in instances where both pushbutton and footpedal operation is desired the latter type of construction is used and linkages are additionally run from'th'le w e: pushbutton adjacennthe'to'p of the cabinet. as a'consequence, a manufac-i turer of "such apparatus must jr'nakeftwo" eompletely different 7 type of valves, i.e., one fortqp mounting and, one- ,forinternal 3 --mount irig.'-.Fur'thtfl f, internally mounted valves suffer the 'Accordingly;.itisa primary object of the-presentinvention 1 to rovide an i' vm d w t rfdis'ps i g-val vh ch i ay e.

L position and t en Out through the nozzle flow passage area 77 I and onthrough andout the nozzle 79.-

- i The valve boss 70 isthreaded at one end thereof so that the mounted on; theitop of dispensercabinet for of a(:- 1' cess}. and which isv particularlyfor 'therpu'shbutton.

awning- 1 mm th s. i

" nsingap aratus iniz utaway new i no. [shows w lnut FIG. 2 is'a-cross;sect nallvie and.

. a sgneii.

FI ofthe water dispensing apparatus of the invention speeifically designating -60 how the foot pedal and'itslinlrage are connected to the valve.

o'perat'edby a pushb uttonor. by :a eonnected'to the valve hy a linkage system, or by both the pushbutton and the foot pedal. Thefact that the valve is generallytop mounted on apparatus rneansthat it's installation is easy as well as that it is easily accessibleforrepair andthelike. l'n additionftheinven- 7 tion comprises aftop'mounte'd valve which .is' uniquely c'onstructedvs'u'ch that it iscapable of operation by eitherithe top mounted pushbutton or'the' bottom mounted-foot pedal or For detailed descripti n 'of the iiiventiomreference will now even get acm sisg e w s r in. conjunction with theac bm- I as'n i h vt wp ni sdv ve v is n s t operatin g'thevalvejbyfootpedals;'. I i a f 2-2 ofFlG. l;-.

i i thereon by means of a setscrew 93. The lever 92 passes is common in such cases to provide merely adispensing nozzle derstood that said drawings are rather detailed in nature and many modifications and variations of the structure shown will be apparent to those skilled in the art and therefore no limitation of the invention should be taken from the following detailed description, 1

FIG. 1 shows a water dispensing apparatus 10 which includes a housing 12 for a valve 14. The valve and the housing are mounted on the top 16 of the water dispensing apparatus 10. The apparatus also includes a foot pedal pullrod 20 connected to an over-travel spring 22 which is held on the rod 20 by a retaining clip 24. The overtravel spring 22 is connected by the extended end 26 thereof which includes a hook 28 to a lever arm 30. Lever 30 is pivotally mounted for rotation on pin 32 which. extends through a support arm 34 of the valve body 36. The slightly upward curved end 31 of the lever 30 engages the underside of a second pin 38 and the pin 38 extends through a plunger 40 which moves up and down to open and close the valve 14. The plunger 40 has at the lower end thereof a resilient plunger tip 42 which moves up and down into and out contact with the valve seat 44 which contains an opening 45 therethrough for passage of water. The plunger is mounted 'in'the valvebody 36 through a bore thereof. Once the [downward direction by the plunger return spring 56 which 7 pushes away from the fixed shoulder portion 57 against the spring seat 58 which is mounted on a'collar 60 of the plunger.

The water which flows through the valve is in an upward direction from the valve mounting boss or conduit 70, then through the. flow regulating device 72 which, as shown in FIG.

' 1.:eontains three orifices or holes 73 through which the water disadvahiages a y 6 e p and j. passesinto the' chamber 75. The material for the flow regulatdevice for use in this invention maybe found in US. Pat. No.

3,006,378.. Fromthe chamber 75 the water passesthrough the bore 45 past the resilient plunger tip 42 which is in upward ing device is generally rubber and a suitable example of such a valve bodyfcan bethre'aded thereon and the valve mounting boss c ontains and 'Oring against which the valvebody is ".z zlznitted" at-the shoulder portions 82 thereof. The female threaded portion 84,0f the valve body 36 has a recessed portion 86 within whichthe flow regulating device is held. The flowjregulating'device is held within the recess through the use .of ajglandorcollar member 88 which may-be of either the r aded n 's yp Raising-and lowering of the valve plunger 40 to open and close' thevalve'as wellas being operated by the foot pedal link linkage 20 'thelever tq which itis connected,'may as well be'operated by the'rneans" 90 which suitably may be a pushbutton, handle, lever arm, or the like. The pushbutton or handle90 is connected to the lever 92 and held in position members 100. When the water dispensing apparatus is not in use, the-lever 92'is held in an off position by the return spring 97. which pushes downwardly against the lever. The return .spring 97 is generally U-shaped and held in place by the end portion 99 which sets within the hollowed out portion 101 2 within the housing forthe v'alve.

.- Of course if the water dispensing apparatus is to be pedal operated only, then the opening 94 may suitably be filled in and in this instance the lever arm 92 and handle means 90 7 would not'be used at all, On the other hand, if the water dispensing apparatus is to be pushbutton operated only that is,

, by the means'90, the overtravel spring 22 and foot pedal pullrod 20 as well as the lever arm 30 are removed from the arrangement such that the'valve is only operated by the pushbuthilethe inv'entionis being 75 ton orhandle 90. Still further it is readily seen that the valve may be operated by both the pushbutton or handle 90 as well as the foot pedal attached to the pullrod 20 when both arrangements are left in place.

FIG. 2 shows in more detail how the lever arms 30 and 92 are pivoted about the support arm 34. Both lever 30 and lever 92 are mounted on the pin 32 which passes through the support arm 34. The lever arm 92 includes a U-shaped end having members 100 which surround the plunger 40 and pass beneath the pin 38 at the underside thereof such that when the lever 92 is pivoted in a downward direction the plunger is raised to open the valve. In addition, it should be noted that there is a clearance designated 102 between the members 100 and the plunger 40 on both sides thereof.

FIG. 3 is a further illustration-ofthewater dispensing apparatus of this invention specifically showing how the foot pedal 300 is adapted for use in the apparatus. Foot pedal 300 This in turn pulls the foot pedal pullrod 20in a downward direction and this pulls the spring 22 also in a downward direction such that the hook 28 pulls downwardly on the lever 30 shown in FIG. 1 to 'raiselthe plunger 38 and turn on-the water. The foot pedal and structureas shown in FIG. 3 includes its mounting arrangement within the cabinet and top 16 thereof. In addition it should benoted that the foot pedal 300 and pullrod are biased. in an upward direction by the return spring 306 which is supported on an interior shelf 308 within the cabinet 15. It should also be noted that on the I cabinet top 16 there is a turned up flange 310 which fits the internal portion 312 of the valve housing to thereby retain the valve and its housing and prevent same from turning, etc. once it has been mounted upon the cabinet top 16.

The advantages of the invention in accordance with the above description should be fairly apparent. First the flow regulating device is made of a flexible material such as rubber, and this provides the flow regulator with a dual function. Namely, since the flow regulator is made of a flexible material and since it contains the orifices as described, it has the function of regulating the flow rate of the water through the valve and normally this amount of flow would be in approximate figures, about 30 gallons per hour at a pressure of approximately 20 up to I50 p.s.i. In addition, the flow regulator since it is flexible material, provides a seal against which the valve seat 44 is positioned to thereby prevent leakage through the valve at the valve seat.

Another advantage is thatthe valve plunger and spring arrangement used provides the water dispensing apparatus of this invention with a safety release such as, for example, when the water coming up through the conduit 70 freezes. In such an instance, the valve acts as the safety release when pressures in the range of about 250 plus or minus 50 psi. are reached.

Still further, another advantage is that the water dispensing apparatus is easy to assemble and disassemble because the valve and it housing are top mounted on the cabinet 15 and this in turn means that since the valve and its housing are easy to get to the apparatus is easy to repair if necessary.

Still further another advantage is that with respect to the combination pushbutton pedal-type water fountains now on the market, such water fountains have remotely located valves which entail the use of long push and pullrods in connection with the remotely located valve if it is intended that the pedal water fountain be capable of dual operation, whereas the present invention requires only one long linkage for dual operation while at the same time providing easy accessibility due to the top mounted valve structure.

Still further in present known pedal operated water fountains incorporating a dual operating arrangement whereby the pedal-operated water fountain can be turned on by a top mounted pushbutton as well there have been definite drawbacks, and the reason for this is that it is difficult if not impossible to have an adaptable water dispensing structure for use as either a top or bottom operated fountain because it is too expensive to use a remotely located valve if the water fountain is to be only top operated. The present invention overcomes this in that the valve is top mounted for alla pplications and, as previously disclosed, if the foot pedal operation is desired as well, it is only necessary to add a single linkage system to thereby provide the foot pedal operation.

Still another advantage of the present invention is that the plunger 40 is constructed within the apparatus such that there is nothing exerting an upward force on the plunger when the water dispensing apparatus is not in use. By this it is meant that the lever 92 which is used to raise the'plunger in pushbutton operation has members which press jupwardly against the pin 32 passing through the plunger; howexer, these members 100 of the lever 92 are provided with a clearance as indic ated at 102 in FIG. 2 such that the members 100 do not contact the plunger when the water dispenser is. not in use. In

i addition, the lever 30 and its end portions 31 ask-shown in FIG.

2 also are clear of the plunger 40 and make no contact therewith when the water dis'penseris not in operation. Sincethere is a clearance between the plunger '40 and both the levers 92 and 30 which'actuate the plunger, this means the plunger is held in a downward position only by the spring 56, and it is not contacted by any otherv obstructions. Therefore the plunger functions to provide an accurate safety or pressure relief upon freezeup or the like.

l. A water, dispensing valve comprising: j i

a valve body and housing therefor;

a valve in said body including a movable valve stem accessible from outside said housing;

first lever means pivotally mounted on said housing and engageable with said stem to open said valve;

second and separate lever means pivotally mounted on said housing and engageable independently of said first lever means with said stem to open said valve; and each of said lever means being independently actuatable to independently open said valve;

2. The valve of claim 1, further characterized as including means normally biasing said stem in a direction to close said valve. z v

3. The valve of claim 1, wherein said levers both pivot about one and the same pin.

4. The valve of claim 3, further characterized in that said levers engage a second single pin on the stem.

5. The valve of claim 1, wherein:

said valve includes a valve seat; and

said stem includes a generally spherical resilient member engageable with the seat to control flow therethrough, said resilient member being spring biased to a closed position.

6. The valve of claim 5, wherein 'said stem when in the closed position includes means operative to prevent forces from being exerted on the stem by said levers. 1

7. A water dispensing apparatus for use as a drinking fountain, said apparatus comprising:

a cabinet; 7

a splash tray and water dispensing nozzle on top of said cabinet;

a remote member mounted on said cabinet below and spaced from said splash tray;

valve means for controlling flow of water to the nozzle, said valve means being positioned above said splash tray; actuating means for opening said valve means;

linkage means for operatively interconnecting said actuating means and said remote member;

a hand-operated member positioned above said splash tray;

and

connector means operatively interconnecting said handoperated member and said actuating means, said valve means including a valve body, and said connector means including a lever pivotally mounted on said valve body and engaging said actuating means.

for use in a drinking fountain 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein cludes a second lever pivotally mount and engaging said actuating means.

said linkage means ined on said valve body

Claims

1. A water dispensing valve for use in a drinking fountain comprising: a valve body and housing therefor; a valve in said body including a movable valve stem accessible from outside said housing; first lever means pivotally mounted on said housing and engageable with said stem to open said valve; second and separate lever means pivotally mounted on said housing and engageable independently of said first lever means with said stem to open said valve; and each of said lever means being independently actuatable to independently open said valve.

2. The valve of claim 1, further characterized as including means normally biasing said Stem in a direction to close said valve.

5. The valve of claim 1, wherein: said valve includes a valve seat; and said stem includes a generally spherical resilient member engageable with the seat to control flow therethrough, said resilient member being spring biased to a closed position.

6. The valve of claim 5, wherein said stem when in the closed position includes means operative to prevent forces from being exerted on the stem by said levers.

7. A water dispensing apparatus for use as a drinking fountain, said apparatus comprising: a cabinet; a splash tray and water dispensing nozzle on top of said cabinet; a remote member mounted on said cabinet below and spaced from said splash tray; valve means for controlling flow of water to the nozzle, said valve means being positioned above said splash tray; actuating means for opening said valve means; linkage means for operatively interconnecting said actuating means and said remote member; a hand-operated member positioned above said splash tray; and connector means operatively interconnecting said hand-operated member and said actuating means, said valve means including a valve body, and said connector means including a lever pivotally mounted on said valve body and engaging said actuating means.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said linkage means includes a second lever pivotally mounted on said valve body and engaging said actuating means.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said lever included in said connector means and said second lever included in said linkage means each operate independently of the other.