CN1302217C - Single Control Roman Tub Faucet - Google Patents

Abstract

A single control roman tub faucet (10) includes a handle, a lever cooperating with the handle, and a cartridge valve (12) cooperating with the lever. The valve (12) can provide a maximum flow rate of at least 7.8 GPM. The spool valve (12) has a valve seat (32) and a lower valve plate (18). The valve seat (32) includes an upper surface (58) and a lower surface (68), and a waterway extending between the upper and lower surfaces. The cross section of the outlet end of the waterway is larger than that of the inlet end. The lower valve plate (18) includes an inlet sized to mate with the outlet end of the waterway. The waterway is generally arcuate in cross-section and is defined by parallel side walls (74, 75) and non-parallel end walls (76, 77).

Description

Single Control Roman Tub Faucet

technical field

The present invention generally relates to a Roman bathtub faucet, in particular to a single-control Roman bathtub faucet.

Background technique

A standard single control faucet cartridge has a typical flow rate of about 2.5 GPM. Roman tub faucets, on the other hand, generally need to have a flow rate in the 12-18 GMP range in order to fill the tub in a reasonable period of time.

Currently, manufacturers cannot offer single control Roman tub faucets because they cannot use cartridge valves to meet the flow rates required by consumers. Scaling up ordinary cartridge valves is not a solution for a number of reasons. Attempts to scale up conventional cartridge valves for use with Roman tubs have failed, one of the reasons being excessive noise relative to increased flow rates through valves designed for low flow rates.

The second reason is: relative to the displacement of the handle, the valve plate also has a displacement. Simply increasing the size of a common cartridge valve proportionally moves the pivot point of the cartridge operating lever, which increases the displacement of the valve disc corresponding to the displacement of the handle. Common cartridge valves employ approximately 25° of handle displacement between fully closed and fully open positions. However, the same handle displacement of 25° in a proportional increase type common cartridge valve would correspond to a larger valve plate displacement, which would require a substantially larger cartridge. In turn, larger cartridges require larger faucets that go against aesthetic standards. Additionally, larger faucets are expensive to manufacture.

Contents of the invention

The present invention relates to a single control Roman tub faucet utilizing a conventional sized cartridge, thereby overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks.

The present invention provides a single-control Roman bathtub faucet, which includes: a core valve with a valve seat and a lower valve plate, the valve seat has an upper surface, a lower surface, and an inlet waterway and an outlet waterway extending between the upper and lower surfaces , the cross-section of the outlet end of the inlet waterway is larger than the cross-section of the inlet end, and the lower valve plate has an inlet whose size matches the outlet end of the inlet waterway.

Preferably, the inlet waterway includes parallel side walls and non-parallel end walls; the cross section of the inlet waterway is roughly arcuate. The faucet may also include a bump adjacent the inlet waterway. The inlet waterway includes two waterway parts, and the valve seat may further include means for positioning a gasket. The means for positioning may comprise positioning lugs and protrusions adjacent to the two waterway sections.

The present invention also provides a single-control Roman bathtub faucet, which includes: a core valve with a valve seat, an upper valve plate and a lower valve plate, the valve seat and the lower valve plate are combined to determine an inlet waterway and an outlet waterway, the The upper valve plate includes a groove combined with the lower valve plate to define a waterway connecting the inlet waterway and the outlet waterway, and the groove is deeper at the inlet waterway than at the outlet waterway.

Preferably, the valve seat defines an inlet waterway portion, the determined portion being larger at the upper surface of the valve seat than at the lower surface of the valve seat. The outer diameter of the cartridge valve is preferably less than 1.85 inches, alternatively, the outer diameter of the cartridge valve may be less than 1.75 inches.

The single-control Roman bathtub faucet of the present invention includes a handle, an operating rod matched with the handle, and a valve matched with the operating rod. The valve can provide a maximum water flow rate of at least 7.8GPM.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a single control roman tub faucet includes a cartridge valve with a valve seat and a lower valve plate. The valve seat has an upper surface and a lower surface, and a water channel extending on the upper and lower surfaces. The outlet end of the waterway has a larger cross-section than the inlet end. The lower valve plate includes an inlet sized to match the outlet end of the waterway.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the waterway includes parallel side walls and non-parallel end walls. The cross-section of the waterway is generally arcuate.

Further features and advantages of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings and claims.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a one-way control Roman tub faucet for use with the cartridge valve of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the assembled cartridge valve for use in the faucet of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the cartridge valve in Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the valve seat of the cartridge valve in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the valve seat;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the valve seat;

Figure 7 is a side view of the valve seat;

Figure 8 is the lower gasket used in combination with the valve seat;

Figure 9 is an upper gasket used in conjunction with the valve seat;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the lower valve plate of the cartridge valve in Figure 2;

Figure 11 is a top plan view of the lower valve plate;

Figure 12 is a bottom plan view of the lower valve plate;

Figure 13 is a bottom perspective view of the upper valve plate of the cartridge valve in Figure 2;

Figure 14 is a top plan view of the upper valve plate;

Figure 15 is a bottom plan view of the upper valve plate;

Figure 16 is a side view of the upper valve plate.

Detailed ways

As shown in FIG. 1 , the single-control Roman bathtub faucet 10 adopts the cartridge valve 12 shown in FIGS. 2-3 . The cartridge valve 12 includes a chamber 14 , an upper valve plate 16 , a lower valve plate 18 , and an operating rod 22 connected to a bushing 24 by a pivot pin 26 . The bushing 24 is connected to a valve coupler 28 which matingly engages the bushing 24 with the upper valve plate 16 so that the operating rod 22 can move the upper valve plate 16 relative to the lower valve plate 18 . Valve seat 32 is attached to the bottom surface of chamber 14 and cooperates with chamber 14 to hold bushing 24, valve coupler 28, upper valve plate 16 and lower valve plate 18 in their respective positions. The upper gasket 34 shown in Figure 9 provides a watertight seal between the valve seat 32 and the lower valve plate 18, while the lower gasket 36 shown in Figure 8 provides a watertight seal between the valve seat 32 and the water supply pipe (not shown). In the preferred embodiment, the upper and lower valve plates 16, 18 are made of a common ceramic material.

The valve seat 32 shown in FIGS. 4-7 is a circular plate 38 with a pair of water inlets 42 , 44 and an outlet 44 . The plate 38 includes a radially outwardly extending flange 48 , a pair of adjustment lugs 52 and a pair of locking lugs 54 extending upwardly from the flange 48 . The locking lug 54 includes a finger 56 that engages the cavity 14 to hold the valve seat 32 in its position. The upper surface 58 of the plate 38 includes a gasket groove 62 extending around the inlets 42 , 44 and the outlet 46 to receive the upper gasket 34 . Locating tabs 64 extend upwardly between inlets 42, 44 and engage slots 66 in upper gasket 34 to facilitate positioning and retaining upper gasket 34 in that position. The upper surface 58 also includes an arcuate ridge 60 extending along the outer edge of each inlet 42 , 44 to retain the upper gasket 34 in the gasket groove 62 . The lower surface 68 of the plate 38 includes a gasket groove 72 that receives the lower gasket 36 .

The inlets 42, 44 are arcuate and include generally parallel side walls 74, 75 and sloped end walls 76, 77 at the ends of the openings. The end walls 76 , 77 slope circumferentially outward from the lower surface 68 of the plate 38 to the upper surface 58 so that the cross-section of the inlets 42 , 44 at the upper surface 58 is greater than at the lower surface 68 . In this way, the contact surface of the inlets 42, 44 between the valve seat 32 and the lower valve plate 18 is relatively large. The enlarged opening at the contact surface improves the response of the cartridge to displacement of the faucet handle, and the sloped wall 76 also reduces the noise of the water flow.

The lower valve plate 18 shown in Figures 10-12 includes a pair of arcuate inlets 78, 82 aligned with and sized to match the enlarged inlets 42, 44 at the upper surface 58 of the valve seat 32. The outlet 84 is aligned with and sized to match the outlet 46 of the valve seat 32 . The upper surface 86 of the lower valve plate 18 includes an arcuate groove 88 extending along an arc of about 52° centered on the inlets 78 , 82 and extending from adjacent the inlets 78 , 82 to the outlet 84 . The upper surface 86 also includes a plurality of arcuate lubrication grooves 92 . The lower surface 94 of the lower valve plate 18 includes a gasket groove 96 that mates with and corresponds to the upper gasket groove 62 of the valve seat 32 to receive the upper gasket 34 .

The upper valve plate 16 shown in FIGS. 13-16 includes a lower surface 98 and a groove 102 that sealingly engages the upper surface 86 of the lower valve plate 18 . Tank 102 includes a pair of stepped side walls 104 , a vertical end wall 106 and a curved end wall 108 that closely matches the arc of inlets 78 , 82 . As shown in FIG. 16, the groove 102 has a non-uniform depth, being deeper adjacent to the curved end wall 108. As shown in FIG. The inclination of the slots facilitates redirection of the flow of water from the inlets 78, 82 to the outlet 84 and also reduces noise.

In the closed position, the upper valve plate 16 is positioned so that the slot 102 covers the outlet 84 with a curved end wall 108 adjacent, but not overlapping, the inlets 78,82. When the faucet handle is moved to the open position, the tank 102 begins to overlap one or both inlets 78 , 82 , providing a cold and/or hot water path from the inlets 78 , 82 to the outlet 84 . In common single control valves, the amount of hot and cold water is controlled by the lateral position of the handle.

The cartridge valve of the present invention has been tested by an independent laboratory with the following results: Valve operation (% maximum open) fluid velocity fluid percentage 100% open 12.8GPM 100% 50% open 7.1GPM 55.47% Mixing position of the valve fluid velocity Fluid Percentage (% Maximum Flow) -100% (completely cold) 8.0 62.5% -50% 11.0 85.9% 0% (middle position) 12.8 100% +50% 10.7 83.6% +100% (full heat) 7.8 60.9%

Notice:

The test is only done at 50% and 100% with a fluid pressure of 60psi.

In the middle position of mixing hot and cold water, the position of the valve is considered to be rotated 0% of the maximum rotation angle.

Negative and positive % maximum rotation angles to rotate the valve to the cold water and hot water positions respectively.

The above data show that the present invention provides a single control Roman tub faucet with fluid velocities as high as 12.8 GPM, which is within the range of fluid velocities of conventional dual control Roman tub faucets. Importantly, this fluid velocity is achieved by a cartridge valve having an outside diameter of approximately 1.67 inches.

While describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art should recognize from the above discussion, drawings and claims that changes can be made without departing from the concept and scope defined by the claims. Amendments and Variations.

Claims (6)

1. A single control Roman tub faucet comprising: A cartridge valve with a valve seat and a lower valve plate, the valve seat has an upper surface, a lower surface and an inlet waterway and an outlet waterway extending between the upper and lower surfaces, the cross-section of the outlet end of the inlet waterway is larger than the cross-section of the inlet end, the lower surface The valve plate has an inlet sized to match the outlet end of the inlet waterway. 2. The faucet of claim 1, wherein the inlet channel includes parallel side walls and non-parallel end walls. 3. The faucet of claim 2, wherein the inlet channel is generally arcuate in cross-section. 4. The faucet of claim 1, further comprising a ridge adjacent the inlet waterway. 5. The faucet of claim 1, wherein the inlet waterway includes two waterway sections, and the valve seat further includes means for positioning the gasket. 6. The faucet of claim 5, wherein the means for locating includes locating lugs and protrusions adjacent the two waterway sections.

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