JPH0652105B2 - Cartridge for a single-control lever mixer tap having a connecting pipe reinforced by an elastic device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cartridge for a mixing faucet having a control lever which moves about a single pivot point, in which the sealing force between the water passages of the cartridge and corresponding water passages from the body of the faucet is obtained by a tubular member provided with a resilient spring element.

BACKGROUND ART In a conventional single-handle faucet having a cartridge housed in a cavity in the body, the hot and cold water outlet passages that extend through the metal base of the faucet define elongated counterbore holes for the passage of water into the cavity housing the cartridge. A resilient sealing tubular member and a bias spring are inserted into the counterbore. The ring is elongated and resembles a tube. The tube exerts a radial force against the wall of the counterbore that houses it and is urged by the spring to project outward from the counterbore onto the bottom wall of the cavity in the body. In this configuration, when a cartridge housing a valve mechanism for controlling flow is inserted into the cavity in the faucet body, the resilient tubes projecting from each counterbore in the body base are held in place by the front contact surface of the cartridge base around the inlet of the same cartridge. The allowable movement of the rubber tube pressed by the spring is sufficient to compensate for expected changes in distance between the base of the cartridge and the base of the faucet body due to manufacturing tolerances or changes in component dimensions caused by thermal expansion.

The conventional mixer valve has several drawbacks.
First, the faucet requires a precisely formed counterbore in the base of the body to receive the rubber tube for positioning the cartridge. While forming the contour of the base is not difficult, the cylindrical wall of the counterbore must be precisely finished to ensure a radial seal for the rubber tube. Precisely finishing this counterbore is technically challenging and costly. Second, the assembly of each rubber tube and the spring within the counterbore is delicate and difficult because the counterbore is located at the base of the cavity in the faucet body, thus limiting accessibility for easily positioning the spring and rubber tube. Subsequent repairs or replacement of the rubber tube are also difficult.

What is needed is a mixer valve that has a cartridge and eliminates the inherently difficult and expensive labor and all the difficulties involved in assembling and disassembling and inspecting the seals of conventional mixer valves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a cartridge for a mixer faucet having a control lever that moves about a pivot point, the cartridge comprising: a fixed plate having two passages through which cold and hot water pass, and a movable plate located on the fixed plate and movable relative to the fixed plate, the movable plate being moved by the control lever to distribute water from the two passages in the fixed plate; two water passages provided in the base of the cartridge and communicating respectively with the two passages in the fixed plate are aligned with the passages for cold and hot water and the passages for hot water, respectively, provided in the bottom of the body of the faucet, when the cartridge is placed in the body of the faucet; the two water passages provided in the base of the cartridge include counterbore holes that open to the outer surface of the base of the cartridge, and these counterbore holes house tubular sealing devices having resilient means, the tubular sealing devices protruding outward only from the outer surface of the cartridge base and adapted to abut the inner surface of the bottom of the body of the faucet.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the base (i.e., bottom) of the cavity formed by the metal body of the faucet to accommodate the cartridge requires only one smoothing operation, which can be easily performed. The tubular sealing member (i.e., the tubular sealing device with the resilient means) housed within the counterbore of the cartridge base is brought into forward contact with the smooth surface of the base of the faucet body, and the cartridge is inserted into the pre-formed cavity within the faucet body. The counterbore for the tube located within the cartridge base is not difficult to operate, since these counterbore holes are readily accessible. Furthermore, since the cartridge is made of a plastic material and can be integrally molded with the necessary counterbore holes, extra operation steps are generally not required. When the counterbore holes are outside the cavity, the counterbore holes at the end of the cartridge are easily accessible, which greatly facilitates the subsequent insertion and disassembly of the resilient tubular sealing member. Also, whenever the cartridge is removed from the faucet body, the tubular members protrude from the counterbore and can be easily inspected without removing them from the counterbore.

In the application of the present invention, an elastic tubular seal member commonly used in mixer valve faucets can be used. This elastic seal member has a tubular body with a constrained tip, which defines a shoulder for contacting the end of a helical spring inserted inside the tubular body. The elastic tubular body can also be used to ensure elasticity and thereby provide its own biasing force sufficient to generate a compressive force. In this case, the spring that loads the seal is constituted by the seal itself. Furthermore, the seal member can be configured so that the pressure of water flowing into the elastic seal member deforms it and presses it against the faucet body with sufficient force to create an effective seal.

Alternatively, the tubular sealing member can be made of a fairly rigid material and provided with a deformable O-ring that radially seals against the counterbore in the cartridge and forwardly contacts the base of the cavity in the faucet body. This resilient biasing member for compressing the sealing member can be a helical spring, or it can be made of a resilient coupling. In this latter case, the coupling can be made so that water pressure therein tends to deform it, advantageously increasing the biasing force applied to the sealing member to provide a forward compressive sealing force against the end of the cavity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a faucet body housing a cartridge according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the elastic seal shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a top view of the fixing plate shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the lower part of the faucet body showing a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the lower part of the faucet body showing a third embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the lower part of the faucet body showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the lower part of the faucet body showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in Figure 1, the faucet has a metal body 1 formed therein with a cavity or chamber 2 for receiving a cartridge. Hot and cold water supply passages 4 and 5 are formed in body 1 and terminate at the bottom 3 of chamber 2. An annular chamber 6 is positioned to receive the mixed water from the cartridge and direct it to a spout (not shown) in a conventional manner. Body 1 is closed by a screw cap 8 which seals against body 1 with a resilient O-ring seal 7.

The cartridge has a passage 1 for hot water and cold water.
The cartridge includes a cage-type housing 9 having a base 10 with holes 11 and 12. A passage 13 provides an outlet for mixed water from the cartridge housing 9 to the annular chamber 6 of the main body 1. A fixed plate 16 made of a hard material such as a rigid plastic or ceramic is attached to the interior of the cartridge base 10 and secured by screws 21. A seal 22 is located under compression on the plate 16. The fixed plate 16 has lower passages 17 and 19 for the entry of hot and cold water, which are aligned with the passages 11 and 12 in the base 10. At their upper portions, the passages 17 and 19 have cavities 18 and 20, respectively.
0 and cooperates with a movable plate 23 made of a hard material to distribute the water. Said plate 23 is located on a fixed plate 16 and can be moved translationally and rotationally within a certain controlled range defined by the housing 9 by means of guides 24 in a rotatable drive ring 25.
A lower half bearing 26 connected to the housing 9 rests against the lid 8 of the faucet body 1 and forms a half seat for a pivot ball 27. Extending from the ball 27 are an inner arm 28 and an outer arm 29,
The inner arm acts on the slide 24 and the outer arm is connected to the control lever 30.
The seat for 7 is completed by an upper half bearing 31 mounted in the lid 8 of the tap body, which applies a compressive force by means of a seal 32 to seal against the lower half bearing 26 and pivot ball 27.

The two-way control lever 30 moves the guide 24, which drives the movable plate 24 translationally and rotationally, and the fixed plate 1
The cavities 18, 20 of the faucet 6 are selectively opened in different proportions to allow various amounts and ratios of hot and cold water to pass through, which are then mixed and exit the faucet, thus controlling the flow rate of the mixed water and the ratio of hot to cold water.

The structure of the faucet and cartridge that has been illustrated and described is as follows:
The application of the present invention is merely illustrative and is not limited to the faucet and cartridge configurations described, but rather the present invention is generally applicable to any cartridge for a mixing faucet of the type in which a compressive seal between a water tube passage in the cartridge and a counterbore in the body of the faucet is ensured by a sealing element and a spring biasing device.

In the application of the present invention, the cartridge housing 9
Counterbore holes 14, 15 are located in the base 10 of the faucet body 1, and these correspond to the inlet passages 11, 12 for hot and cold water when the cartridge is inserted into the cavity 2 of the faucet body 1 and placed on the supply passages 4, 5 of the body 1. A sealing member 33 is located in the counterbore holes 14, 15 together with a metal spiral spring 36. The member 33 is made of an elastomer material, is tubular, and is pressed into a lower part forming a shoulder. The spring 36 is compressed between the shoulder 34 of the member 33 and the upper base of the counterbore holes 14, 15, thus pressing the member 33 against the cavity surface 3. The counterbore holes 14, 15 and the spring 36
The seal member 33 is dimensioned such that, when inactive, the lower shoulder 34 of the seal member 33 projects axially relative to the cartridge base 10.
As shown in the figures, member 33 has a ring-shaped projection 35, shown in its installed state in Figure 1, which is not visible when it is pressed against the walls of counterbore holes 10, 11. Said ring-shaped projection 35 makes frictional contact against the side walls of counterbore holes 14, 15 to form a seal therebetween.

When the cartridge 9-26 is inserted into the cavity 2 of the faucet body 1, the member 33 is supported by its lower shoulder end 34.
are in sealing contact with the lower end surface 3 of the cavity 2, aligned about the passages 4 and 5, and biased by respective springs 36. In this manner, the passage 4 of the body 1 is in fluid communication with the passage 11 of the cartridge base 10, and the passage 5 of the body 1 is in fluid communication with the passage 12 of the cartridge base 10, with the sealing members 33 preventing lateral outward leakage from the passages 4, 5 and 10, 11. At the same time, the force of the springs 36 also acts to bias the counterbore holes 14, 1
The water pressure acting on the base 10 of the cartridge 5 presses the entire cartridge against the lid 8, maintaining a compressive force on its components including the fixed plate 16 and the movable plate 23.

It will be appreciated that the spring 36 need not transmit a large force, but merely ensures that the sealing member 33 maintains an appropriate compressive force when pressure is removed from the bottom surface 3 of the cavity 2. When water pressure is applied, it acts in part on the sealing member 33 over an area exactly equal to the difference between the maximum cross-sectional area of the sealing member and the opening area of the shoulder 34. The resulting force acts as a biasing force on the spring, and the compressive force on the bottom surface 3 of the cavity 2 increases at the same level as the pressure increases, thereby keeping the net overall force at the appropriate value at all times.

1, it will be readily apparent that this novel structure overcomes the problems previously described with the prior art.
The counterbore holes 14, 15 are easily formed and readily accessible when the cartridge is not inserted into the faucet cavity. The seal member 33 and spring 34 in the counterbore holes 14, 15 in the cartridge base 10 are
Assembly and disassembly of the member 33 is extremely easy when the cartridge is removed from the faucet body 1. Furthermore, the sealing shoulder 34 of the member 33 is accessible when the cartridge is removed from the cavity 2 and can be easily removed, if necessary, in the respective counterbore holes 14, 15.
It can be easily replaced.

FIG. 4 shows the spring 3 shown in FIG. 1 in relation to the pipe 33.
1 shows a sealing member 37 configured to eliminate the need for a counterbore 6. Member 37 is made of a resilient material and extends to the end of each counterbore located in the base 10 of the cartridge. It is sufficiently resilient to generate the necessary biasing force for forward compression against the bottom end 3 of the cavity 2 containing the cartridge. The resilient member 37 extends to the end of the counterbore in the base of the cartridge and, when subjected to a compressive force, will not only compress forwardly against the base of the counterbore, but also
It also provides a radial seal to the cylindrical wall.

Figure 4 shows the cartridge in order to prevent accidental rotation.
1 shows how the sealing member 37 can pass through the cavity provided by the base 3 of the chamber 2. The counterbore at the bottom end 3 allows the counterbore in the base 3 to receive the member 37 without requiring precise measurement accuracy in its diameter or interface.
Nor does it require precise measurement accuracy for its outer peripheral wall, which need only be smooth at its front base, adding no great expense. In the event that the elastic material from which the member is made is not stiff enough to prevent the cartridge from rotating, it is possible to form an extension of the cartridge from the collar surrounding member 37 so as to be partially received in a counterbore in the base 3 of cavity 2.

According to FIG. 5, the elastic members 38 act in the same principle as those of FIG. 4, but with the added feature that their walls are curved inwards.
The hydraulic pressure stabilizing within member 38 causes the arcuate portion of its wall to bend radially, thereby causing the cartridge base 10
A force is generated that tends to increase the distance from the member 37 to the base 3 of the cavity 2 of the faucet body 1. In this way, the elastic force is effectively increased to stabilize the forward compression force between the member 37, the base 10 and the base 3 of the body 1.

Figure 6 shows how the resilient member 33 of Figure 1 can be replaced with a tube 43 made of a fairly rigid material with an O-ring seal made of a resilient elastomeric material. O-ring 44 houses the cartridge. It is positioned forward to stabilize tension with the base 3 of chamber 2, and O-ring 45 is positioned circumferentially to create a seal against the cylindrical wall of counterbore 14 or 15. The biasing force for loading tube 43 is provided by a metal helical spring 36 as shown in Figure 1.

The case described herein, in which the tubular sealing member is made of a fairly rigid material, is particularly suited to preventing accidental rotation of a cartridge projecting into a counterbore at the bottom end 3 of the chamber 2, as shown in FIG.

The metallic helical spring 36 of Figure 6 may be replaced by a tube of resilient elastomer material which, from the standpoint of its resilience, acts equivalently to the member 37 of Figure 4. The tube may have an inwardly bowed wall, as shown at 46 in Figure 7, so that water pressure acting on the inner surface of the tube 46 causes the inwardly bowed portion of the wall to bend radially outward, thereby securing the cartridge base 1.
0 away from the base 3 of the cavity 2 in the body of the faucet. In this way, the elastic force is increased to ensure a forward compression force on the pipe to press the cartridge and provide a proper seal.

It has been shown that the hydraulic pressure applied to the device of the present invention is capable of transmitting a significant force on the cartridge, maintaining the interior portions of the cartridge in contact with the appropriate pressure. Unlike prior art embodiments incorporating this principle, the present invention achieves this effect without the costly work required to finish the body cavity.

The actual shape described uses only two passages for hot and cold water in the cartridge base 10 and the bottom end 3 of the faucet body, and the mixed water is fed into the base 10.
While the invention has been shown to be directed to a base in which the mixed water exits the base without returning to the hollow end 3, it should be understood that the invention is equally applicable to cases in which there are one or more return passages for the mixed water to exit the base. Furthermore, if a tubular seal is previously placed on the faucet body or cartridge (see those shown in Figures 4 and 5), the forward bias may be transmitted to the faucet body or cartridge.
The counterbore formed in the base of the cartridge by the sealing member can extend all the way through to the fixed plate, so that the sealing member can be made to press directly against the underside of the fixed plate, eliminating the need to insert a seal between the fixed plate and the base of the cartridge.

Variations and modifications of the present invention are contemplated without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (7)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A cartridge for a mixer faucet having a control lever that moves about a pivot point, comprising: a fixed plate having two passages through which cold and hot water pass, and a movable plate located on the fixed plate and movable relative to the fixed plate, the movable plate being moved by the control lever to distribute water from the two passages in the fixed plate; two water passages provided in the base of the cartridge and communicating respectively with the two passages in the fixed plate are aligned with the passages for cold and hot water and the passages for hot water provided in the bottom of the body when the cartridge is placed in the body of the faucet, the two water passages provided in the base of the cartridge include counterbore holes that open to the outer surface of the base of the cartridge, and these counterbore holes house tubular sealing devices having elastic means, the tubular sealing devices protruding outward only from the outer surface of the base of the cartridge and adapted to abut the inner surface of the bottom of the body of the faucet. [Claim 2] A cartridge as described in claim 1, wherein the tubular sealing device is formed of a resilient elastomeric material and defines a tubular member having a restrained end, which defines a shoulder for supporting contact with a helical spring inserted inside the tubular member, the tubular member being adapted to be pressed against the inner surface of the body. [Claim 3] A cartridge as defined in claim 1, wherein said tubular sealing means are made of a resilient elastomeric material extending to the base of each counterbore and providing sufficient resilience of its own to ensure a resilient biasing force, said biasing force providing compression. [Claim 4] A cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the tubular sealing device itself is made of a wall portion that is bowed inward, and the pressure of the water passing through causes the wall portion to bend radially outward, increasing the elastic force between the cartridge and the mixing valve body. 5. The cartridge of claim 2, wherein said tubular sealing means is made of a substantially rigid material;
a cartridge having a first elastomeric ring radially inserted between it and the counterbore and a second elastomeric ring at the projecting end of said tubular seal means, said second elastomeric ring mounted in sealing contact with said inner surface of said body. 6. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein said tubular sealing means is made of a substantially rigid material;
a cartridge having a first elastomeric ring radially inserted between it and the counterbore and a second elastomeric ring at the projecting end of said tubular seal means, said second elastomeric ring mounted in sealing contact with said inner surface of said body. 7. The cartridge of claim 6, wherein said resilient means comprises a sleeve made of a resilient material, axially inserted between the inner end of said tubular sealing device and the inner end of said counterbore.