GB2182419A

GB2182419A - Water mixer valve assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2182419A
Application number: GB08602242A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alessio Orlandi
Original assignee: Galatron SRL
Current assignee: Galatron SRL
Priority date: 1985-09-19
Filing date: 1986-01-30
Publication date: 1987-05-13
Also published as: IT8505227A0; GB8602242D0; ATA28186A; CH669437A5; DE3600959C2; FR2587434B1; GB2182419B; DE3645220C2; IT1186980B; NL8600441A; DE3600959A1; FR2587434A1; AT393154B

Abstract

A mixer valve assembly for mixing hot and cold water comprises a cartridge body member (10) which includes two opposed watertight plates, one plate (11) being fixed and the other (12) being displaceable on, and with respect to, the fixed plate (11) by means of an operating lever (13) pivotally mounted on a transversely extending pin (29), the lever being capable of rotating with a support bush (30) rotatably mounted 18 within the cartridge body (10), the fixed plate (11) having two inlet apertures formed therein for the separate reception of hot and cold water and a delivery aperture (21) for the outflow of hot water, cold water or a mixture of hot and cold water, the displaceable plate (12) including a mixing chamber or passage (23) providing selective communication between either one or both water inlet apertures and the delivery aperture (21), the mixing passage or chamber having one end open to the fixed plate (11) and its opposed end closed by a plate cover disc (24) affixed to the displaceable plate, wherein the plate cover disc (24) is provided with a central rib or projection member (25) having radiused lateral surfaces, the operating level (13) having a bifurcated end region, the bifurcated arms (28) bounding a recess (27) which engages the rib or projection member (25) on the plate cover disc (24) to cause translational and rotational movement of the displaceable plate (12) on the fixed plate in consequence upon the pivotal and rotational movements of the operating lever (13). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Water mixer valve assembly The present invention relates to a mixer valve assembly for hot and cold water. More particularly, the present invention relates to an assembly of the type which comprises a cartridge body member and two opposed plates, one of which is fixed and the other is displaceable with respect to the fixed plate. An operating lever which is both vertically and rotationally displaceable causes the positioning of the displaceable plate on the fixed plate.

For the purpose of mixing hot and cold water in sanitary equipment, mixer taps are known which incorporate mixer valve assemblies. Such valve assemblies comprise a pair of opposed ceramic plates in which separate inlets for hot and for cold water are provided.

The assemblies further include a delivery outlet for delivering hot water, cold water or a mixture of the hot and the cold water. One of the ceramic plates is generally fixed to a cartridge body whilst the other plate is positioned on and is displaceable with respect to the fixed plate by means of an operating lever which can be displaced both vertically and rotationally.

The vertical movement of the operating lever is normally associated with the opening and closing of the valve thereby causing delivery of water or the prevention of such delivery. The rotational movement of lever causes corresponding rotational movement of the displaceable plate on the fixed plate. In so doing, the inlet passages for either or both of the hot water supply and the cold water supply are partially or wholly closed, thereby controlling the proportions of such hot and cold water in the delivered water.

In a known arrangement the operating lever is mounted on a transversely extending pin so as to be free to move in a vertical direction.

The lever engages a disc affixed to the displaceable plate by means of a coupling projection which also acts as a means for causing translational movement and positioning of the plate. The shank of the lever is, moreover, diametrically fixed in an axially mounted bush which rotates within the cartridge body so as to allow the operating lever to rotate. Angular movements of the displaceable plate are therefore possible and the proportions of hot and cold water in the delivered water can be varied.

The axis of rotation of the bush is coaxial with the cartridge body. However, in order to permit angular movement, the displaceable plate must be mounted radially on a fulcrum within the cartridge body so that it can also move in a diametrical direction. This makes it necessary to provide an interengaging radial tooth or projection and a corresponding radial recess or notch on the cartridge body and on the plate to provide the mutual coupling to enable the plate to effect the necessary movement.

Known mixer valve assemblies also suffer from the disadvantage of noise problems. This is due to the passage of water through the mixing chamber provided in such assemblies.

Accordingly, silencers or flow dividers in the form of filter grids, must be inserted in the chamber. In addition, the cartridge body is usually an integrally formed structure. This means that a seat, which is designed to retain the stacked components of the assembly, must be force-fitted in the assembly and this must also be provided with passages for the inflow and outflow of water, which passage must correspond to those formed in the fixed plate. An arrangement of this type also has the disadvantage that it does not provide correct and accurate control at the outset over the degree of binding, and hence the ease of movement, of the various stacked components. Auxiliary means of adjustment must therefore be provided and the effectiveness thereof depends predominantly on the expertise of the manufacturer or installer.

Finally, it should be noted that the use of these known mixer valve assemblies necessitates the use and fitting of a suitable block or seat between the base of the valve and the bottom of the chamber in the tap in which the valve assembly is mounted, unless very complex and costly tap castings are used. The block or seat, which is generally made of brass, also has a high cost and must be so shaped as to allow water to pass from the valve delivery aperture, which is normally located at the rear of the tap, towards the tap delivery outlet at the front of the tap.

The present invention therefore seeks to provide an improved hot and cold water mixer valve assembly which is generally of the type described hereinbefore but in which a different form of coupling between the operating lever and the displaceable plate is provided, thereby avoiding the need for radially pivoting the displaceable plate and to ensure better control thereof. In a further aspect, the invention seeks to provide a mixer valve assembly which is quiet in use and does not necessitate the use of filters or other types of flow divider.

The invention further seeks to provide a mixer valve assembly for hot and cold water which has a relatively simple structure and which is simply assembled, thereby eliminating the use of a traditional fitted base. At the same time, the invention seeks to provide an arrangement in which there is convenient adjustment, at the time of instaliation, of the degree of freedom of movement between stacked components and in which all additional means of adjustment can be eliminated.

Furthermore, the invention seeks to provide an assembly in which wear on the components which occurs when they are compressed together more than necessary for operation is eliminated.

In a subsidiary aspect, the invention seeks to provide an assembly which obviates the need for the provision of a fitted block or seat in the tap in which the valve assembly is to be used or for providing a complex casting to produce the tap.

According to the present invention there is provided a mixer valve assembly for mixing hot and cold water comprising a cartridge body member which includes two opposed watertight plates, one plate being fixed and the other being displaceable on, and with respect to, the fixed plate by means of an operating lever pivotally mounted on a transversely extending pin, the lever being capable of rotating with a support bush rotatably mounted within the cartridge body, the fixed plate having two inlet apertures formed therein for the separate reception of hot and cold water and a delivery aperture for the outflow of hot water, cold water or a mixture of hot and cold water, the displaceable plate including a mixing chamber or passage providing selective communication between either one or both water inlet apertures and the delivery aperture, the mixing passage or chamber having one end open to the fixed plate and its opposed end closed by a plate cover disc affixed to the dispiaceable plate, wherein the plate cover disc is provided with a central rib or projection member having radiused lateral surfaces, the operating lever having a bifurcated end region, the bifurcated arms bounding a recess which engages the rib or projection member on the plate cover disc to cause translational and rotational movement of the displaceable plate on the fixed plate in consequence upon the pivotal and rotational movements of the operating lever.

Two embodiments of a mixer valve assembly in accordance with the present invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure I shows a vertical cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a mixer valve assembly in accordance with the present in invention; Figure 2 shows a transverse cross-sectional view taken along the line ll-ll in Fig. 1; Figure 3 shows perspective views of a control lever and a plate cover disc forming part of the assembly shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the mixer valve assembly illustrated in Fig. 1 mounted in a tap assembly using a fitted insert; Figure 5 shows an elevational view, partially in cross-section, of a second embodiment of a mixer valve assembly in accordance with the present invention;; Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the body memberlforming part of the assembly illustrated in lEig. 5; and Figure 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the valve assembly illustrated in Fig. 5 mounted in a tap for the delivery of water.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a mixer valve assembly which comprises a cartridge body member 10 which includes valve means. The valve means comprises a fixed lower plate 11 and a displaceable upper plate 12. The plates 11 and 12 are opposed to one another and are made of a ceramic or other suitable material. The plate 12 rests on the plate 11 and is displaceable by means of an operating lever 13 which preferably has a rectangular cross-section and which is provided with a handle portion 22.

The cartridge body 10 comprises a lower channel-shaped member having a base wall 14' and a peripheral wall 14, and an upper cover member 15. The cover member 15 includes a central tubular collar portion 16 and, around its periphery, is provided with hook members 17 which engage in apertures 18 made in the peripheral wall 14 of the channelshaped member. The hook members 17 and the apertures 18 permit the snap-fit assembly of the body member 10.

The lower plate 11 rests on the base wall 14' of the body member 10 and is provided, in a known manner, with two apertures 19 and 20 for receiving, respectively, hot and cold water provided by two corresponding pipes or conduits 39 and with a further aperture 21 for the delivery of the water. The apertures 19, 20 and 21 coincide with an equal number of passages formed in the base wall 14' of the channel-shaped member. The displaceable plate 12 has, in turn, a mixing passage or chamber 23 which is open to the lower plate 11. The chamber 23 is closed at its upper end of a plate cover disc 24 affixed to the plate 12 and engaged by the operating lever 13. Depending upon the position of the displaceable plate 12 relative to the fixed plate 11, access to the mixing chamber or passage 23 from the inlet apertures 19 and 20 can be controlled. In one position, access from both apertures 19 and 20 is blocked and no water passes into the delivery aperture 21. In other positions, one or both apertures 19 and 20 are wholly or partially in communication with the delivery aperture 21 and an adjustable flow of hot water, cold water or a mixture thereof is provided.

Advantageously, the face of plate cover disc 24 opposed to the mixing passage or chamber 23 is provided with a shaped and/or discontinuous surface 24' which constitutes a flow divider. This reduces the noise of the water passing through the chamber 23. The opposed or upper face of the plate cover disc 24, as can be seen in Fig. 3, has a centrally disposed rib or projection member 25 having radiused lateral surfaces bounded by two re cesses 26.

The rib or projection member 25 of the plate cover disc 24 engages in a recesss 27 formed in the lower end of the operating lever 13. For this purpose, the lower end of the lever 13 is provided with a bifurcated end region, each arm 28 of which has radiused surfaces which are inserted into the recesses 26 formed laterally of the rib or projection member 25.

The operating lever 13 is pivotally mounted on a pin 29 which is fixed transversely in a support bush 30. The bush 30 is rotatably mounted in the upper collar portion 16 of the cover member 15 of the cartridge body 10 and includes a flanged base portion 31. The flange of the base portion 31 engages between the plate cover disc 24 and the cover member 15. The flanged portion 31 also has radially extending shoulder portions 31' which are designed to limit its rotation and that of the displaceable plate 12.

In practice, the fixed plate 11, the displaceable plate 12 with the plate cover disc 24 and the flanged portion 31 of the bush 30 bearing the operating lever 13 are stacked and retained in a watertight manner between the base 14' and the cover member 15 of the cartridge body under a predetermined load which permits the movement of the displaceable plate 12 and the corresponding plate cover disc 24 between the fixed plate 11 and the flanged portion 31 when the operating lever 13 is actuated.

Movement of the operating lever 13 on the pin, through the engagement of the bifurcated arms 28 with the rib or projection portion 25 of the plate cover 24, cause diametral movement of the displaceable plate 12 on the fixed plate 11 so as to open or close the water passages in the mixer valve.

Rotation of the operating lever 13, together with the support bush 30, around the axis of the bush causes the rotation of the displaceable plate 12 on the fixed plate 11 and hence the flow of the hot and the cold water.

The plate 12 rotates as a result of the torsional forces applied by the bifurcated arms 28 of the operating lever 13 on the rib or projection member 25 of the plate cover 24, concentric with the latter and the displaceable plate 12.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, the mixer valve assembly is mounted in a chamber 32 formed in the body of a tap 33. This is achieved by inserting a block or member 40 of a known type between the base of the cartridge body 10 and the base of the chamber with the object of defining a passage for water from the delivery outlet 21 of the valve assembly towards the delivery outlet 34 of the tap.

The body member 10 of the mixer valve assembly may, in accordance with a preferred aspect of the invention, have feet 35 provided on its base. Such an arrangement is shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. The feet 35 are designed to stand directly on the base of chamber 32 in the tap body 33 in which the valve assembly is mounted. The feet 35 maintain the base 14' of the cartridge body member 10 off the base of chamber 32, thereby defining a space or chamber 36 for the passage of water from the delivery outlet 21 of the valve, which is normally located at the rear, to the delivery outlet 34 of the tap 33.

The feet 35 may be integrally formed with the base wall 14' of the body member 10 and two feet have apertures 37 and 38 formed therein for the inflow of hot and cold water, which apertures are aligned with the apertures 19 and 20 in the fixed plate 11 which are connected to the water delivery pipes 39. The outlet aperture 21 in the fixed plate 11 opens into the chamber 36.

This eliminates the need for using insertion members between the base of the mixer valve and the bottom of the chamber within the tap body, with the consequent advantages of reducing costs and simplifing the assembly.

Claims

1. A mixer valve assembly for mixing hot and cold water comprising a cartridge body member which includes two opposed watertight plates, one plate being fixed and the other being displaceable on, and with respect to, the fixed plate by means of an operating lever pivotally mounted on a transversely extending pin, the lever being capable of rotating with a support bush rotatably mounted within the cartridge body, the fixed plate having two inlet apertures formed therein for the separate reception of hot and cold water and a delivery aperture for the outflow of hot water, cold water or a mixture of hot and cold water, the displaceable plate including a mixer chamber or passage providing selective communication between either one or both water inlet apertures and the delivery aperture, the mixing passage or chamber having one end open to the fixed plate and its opposed end closed by a plate cover disc affixed to the displaceable plate, wherein the plate cover disc is provided with a central rib or projection member having radiused lateral surfaces, the operating lever having a bifurcated end region, the bifurcated arms bounding a recess which engages the rib or projection member on the plate cover disc to cause translational and rotational movement of the displaceable plate on the fixed plate in consequence upon the pivotai and rotational movements of the operating lever.

2. A mixer valve assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the rib or projection on the plate cover disc is bounded by two lateral recesses into which the bifurcated arms of the operating lever extend.

3. A mixer valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the face of the plate cover disc facing the mixing passage or chamber formed in the displaceable plate has a shaped and/or discontinuous surface which acts as a flow divider.

4. A mixer valve assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the cartridge body member comprises a channel-shaped member having a base wall and an upstanding peripheral wall, a cover member including a central tubular collar the cover member and the channel-shaped member each being provided with co-operating snap-fit members around their peripheries, the two opposed plates, the displaceable plate cover disc member and the bush supporting the operating lever being stacked between the cover member and the base of the channel-shaped member.

5. A mixer valve assembly as claimed in claim 4, in which the base of the channelshaped member is provided with apertures which are aligned with the apertures formed in the fixed plate and is locatable on an insert block or member disposed in the lower region of the chamber of a water delivery tap assembly into which the mixer valve assembly is to be incorporated.

6. A mixer valve assembly as claimed in claim 5, in which the base of the channelshaped member is provided with feet portions capable of resting on the base of the chamber of the water delivery tap assembly into which the mixer valve assembly is to be incorporated so as to define a space or chamber between the two bases for the passage of water to the discharge outlet of the tap, two of the feet having apertures aligned with the inlet apertures in the mixer valve assembly, the outlet aperture of the valve assembly opening into the space or chamber.

7. A mixer valve assembly as claimed in claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4 or Figs.

5 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A water tap assembly incorporating a mixer valve assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7.