US3888461A

US3888461A - Quick-acting water-tap

Info

Publication number: US3888461A
Application number: US459035A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dan Bron
Original assignee: UNITROL WATER SAVING PRODUCTS Ltd
Current assignee: UNITROL WATER SAVING PRODUCTS Ltd
Priority date: 1973-04-18
Filing date: 1974-04-08
Publication date: 1975-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 1992-06-10
Also published as: IL42057A0; IL42057A

Abstract

A quick-acting water tap comprising (a) a vertical ball valve consisting of a ball freely movable above a valve seat in a housing which latter is adapted to be connected to a faucet or the like, (b) a water spout containing a through-going vertical water passage, and consisting of a spherical top part, a finger projecting out of the latter in upwards direction and an outlet pipe in downward direction, the spherical top part being movably and rotatably fastened in the housing below the valve seat with the finger - in vertical alignment of the spout - projecting through this seat and lifting the ball, while at angular displacement of the spout, caused by sideways movement of the outlet pipe, the position of the finger is below the plane of the valve seat, allowing the ball to close it.

Description

United States Patent 11 1 Bron 1 1 QUICK-ACTING WATER-TAP 175] Inventor: Dan Bron, Haifa, Israel [73) Assignee: Unitrol Water Saving Products Ltd.,

Tel-Aviv, Israel 221 Filed: Apr. 8, 1974 121 App1.No.:459,035

[ June 10, 1975 734,635 10/1932 France 251/125 Primary ExaminerMartin P. Schwadron Assistant Examiner-Robert J. Miller Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Silverman & Cass, Ltd.

[57] ABSTRACT A quick-acting water tap comprising (a) a vertical ball valve consisting of a ball freely movable above a valve seat in a housing which latter is adapted to be connected to a faucet or the like, (b) a water spout containing a through-going vertical water passage, and consisting of a spherical top part, a finger projecting out of the latter in upwards direction and an outlet pipe in downward direction, the spherical top part being movably and rotatably fastened in the housing below the valve seat with the finger in vertical alignment of the spout projecting through this seat and lifting the ball, while at angular displacement of the spout, caused by sideways movement of the outlet pipe, the position of the finger is below the plane of the valve seat, allowing the ball to close it.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 QUICK-ACTING WATER-TAP DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention relates to a quick-acting water tap to be fitted to the outlet of a faucet or a mixing battery.

With clean water resources rapidly dwindling it has become imperative to conserve water as much as possible and to prevent its waste. It is a well-known fact that turning-off a kitchen and bathroom faucet is often neglected. even if the water is running to waste, because of the inconvenient wrist movement required. Saving of water reserves could easily be accomplished is closing and opening of taps could be done by a flick of the hand, and it is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a water tap, which can be opened and closed by a horizontal movement of the hand or the arm, without the need of gripping a handle. A further object is to provide means for simple attachment of the tap to existing faucets and mixing batteries.

The quick-acting tap according to the invention consists of a) a vertical ball valve consisting of a ball freely movable above a valve seat in a housing which latter is adapted to be connected to a faucet or the like, b) a water spout containing a through-going vertical water passage and consisting of a spherical top part, a finger projecting out of the latter in upwards direction and an outlet pipe in downwards direction. the spherical top part being movably and rotatably fastened in the housing below the valve seat with the finger in vertical alignment of the spout projecting through this seat and lifting the ball, while at angular displacement of the spout, caused by sideways movement of the outlet pipe, the position of the finger is below the plane of the valve seat. allowing the ball to close it.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the spout it, at its lower end, adapted to be connected to a resilient hose used for sweeping.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, two embodiments of the quick-acting tap FIG. 1 is a cross section through an open tap,

FIG. 2 is a cross section through the tap shown in FIG. I with the spout tilted sideways,

FIG. 3 is a cross section through a second embodi ment of the tap.

With reference to FIGS. I and 2 a quick-acting water tap comprises a cylindrical housing 1, a movable spout 2, a ball valve 3 and a removable lower seat 4. The top part of the housing I is provided with an internal screw thread 11 for connection to a faucet or to the spout of a mixing battery. In a continuation of the threaded part the housing is formed as a cylindrical hollow space 12 which contains a ball valve 3 and terminates at its bottom in a conical valve seat 13 which permits closing of the tap when the ball rests thereon as shown in FIG. 2. The housing is at its bottom enlarged to form another cylindrical hollow space 15 the lowermost portion of which is internally threaded (14). and which serves to contain the upper spherical portion 2I of the spout 2. The spherical portion is continued downwards by the actual spout portion 22 in the shape of a tube with a bore 25, to the end of which tube an annular grip 23 is attached by screw thread or other bonding. which may also serve for connecting a hose.

A finger 24 with a rounded end projects out of the top of the sphere 21 in continuation of the bore 25. It is in contact with the ball valve 3 in vertical position of the spout 2 and disappears below the valve seat 13 when the spout is inclined sideways as shown in FIG. 2.

The bore 25 does not reach to the top of the sphere but ends somewhat below it, Four water passages 26 are drilled into the sphere around the finger 24 parallel to, and entering, the bore 25 which passages connect the space 15 of the housing with the outside through the bore 25 of the spout.

The spout is held in position by a flat centrally perforated disc 4 which is screwed into the housing from below. It possesses a stepped inner seat 4] for the spheri cal spout portion 21, which also serves as seal against penetration of water to the outside. To enable the sideways tilting of the spout. part of the bottom surface of the disc is cut away in the shape of an oblique recess 42 which is of a width somewhat greater than the outer diameter of the spout tube 22.

It can be clearly seen from FIGS. 1 and 2 that water passes through the tap when the spout is in coaxial alignment with the housing and the ball valve is lifted off its seat, and that the ball valve drops onto its seat 13 when the spout is tilted, entering the recess 42, thereby closing the tap.

The great advantage of the quick-acting tap is that a slight sideways movement of the hand or the arm closes or opens it. Attached to a mixing battery it permits the outflow of water at a predetermined temperature without requiring additional turning of the hot and/or cold water tap of the battery.

A modified tap is shown in FIG. 3 wherein the majority of parts are identical with those shown in the previous Figures. Herein the ball valve is provided with a central, not through-going bore 31 which is entered by the end of a connecting rod 5. The other end of this rod is pivotally connected to a pin 27 on the side of the spherical top portion of the spout, which for this purpose is vertically slotted (28) and horizontally drilled to receive the pin 27. The finger 24, appearing in the previous embodiment, is omitted in this case and the bore 25 is through-going for the total length of the spout serving as an unobstructed water passage. It can be readily seen from the drawing that a tilting of the spout to the right will allow the ball valve 3 to drop onto its seat 13 thus closing the valve.

Modifications and alterations of the quick-acting tap may be carried out by a person skilled in the art, however without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

It is, for instance. suggested to modify the flat disc 4 in such a manner that the whole bottom surface is cut out in tapering fashion, thus allowing sideways tilting of the spout in any direction.

The use of the quick-acting tap is not limited to the applications mentioned before:- it may be advantageously used without a preinstalled faucet in all cases where control of water quantities is not required. The tape may also be installed in showers, permitting a constant temperature by pre-adjustment of the hot and cold water taps.

I claim:

I. A quick-acting water-tap including a housing adapted to be connected to a faucet or the like, a valve seat within said housing, a receptacle disposed above said valve seat and a ball within said receptacle capable of being sealingly engaged upon said valve seat; said ball being freely movable within said receptacle, a water spout disposed within said housing below said valve seat, said water spout having a through water passage and comprising an outlet pipe having a spherical end portion, a finger projecting outwardly from said end portion, said water spout being fastened within. said Y housing with the spherical end portion being movably and rotatably positioned below said valve seat said water spout being movable to a position whereby said finger will engage said ball to displace same from its seated condition when said water spout is coaxial with said valve seat, said water spout being angularly displaceable relative to said housing and movable to a position withdrawing said finger thereby enabling return of said ball to its seated condition, with the degree of angular displacement determining the flow past the valve seat when the ball is unseated.

2. A quick-acting water tap as claimed in claim 1 wherein there is a perforated disc secured within the bottom part of the housing and serving as a water seal, said perforated disc also functioning to support and secure said spherical end portion within said housing.

3. A quick-acting water tap as claimed in claim 1 wherin said ball has an outwardly opening bore and said finger comprises a rod, one end of which enters said bore in said ball and the opposite end of which being pivotally connected to the spherical end portion at a point remote from the axis of said through water passage.

4. A quick-acting water tap as claimed in claim 2 in which said perforated disc is threadably engaged within the bottom part of the housing.

5. A quick-acting water tap as claimed in claim 1 in which there is at least a second valve seat spaced from and coaxial with said first-mentioned valve seat. said second valve seat being defined by a perforate disc and removably engaged within said housing, said water spout being secured within said housing by sealed engagement of said spherical end portion upon said second valve seat.

6. A quick-acting water tap as claimed in claim 5 in which said perforate disc is threadably engaged within said housing.

Claims

1. A quick-acting water-tap including a housing adapted to be connected to a faucet or the like, a valve seat within said housing, a receptacle disposed above said valve seat and a ball withiN said receptacle capable of being sealingly engaged upon said valve seat; said ball being freely movable within said receptacle, a water spout disposed within said housing below said valve seat, said water spout having a through water passage and comprising an outlet pipe having a spherical end portion, a finger projecting outwardly from said end portion, said water spout being fastened within said housing with the spherical end portion being movably and rotatably positioned below said valve seat said water spout being movable to a position whereby said finger will engage said ball to displace same from its seated condition when said water spout is coaxial with said valve seat, said water spout being angularly displaceable relative to said housing and movable to a position withdrawing said finger thereby enabling return of said ball to its seated condition, with the degree of angular displacement determining the flow past the valve seat when the ball is unseated.

5. A quick-acting water tap as claimed in claim 1 in which there is at least a second valve seat spaced from and coaxial with said first-mentioned valve seat, said second valve seat being defined by a perforate disc and removably engaged within said housing, said water spout being secured within said housing by sealed engagement of said spherical end portion upon said second valve seat.