GB2316999A - A valve or faucet - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a valve (1) for controlling flow of liquids. The valve comprises of a liquid inlet (20), a valve seat (63) next to the inlet, and a valve member (40). The valve member when in a closed position, abut the valve seat to prevent flow of liquid. In an open position, liquid is allowed to flow. There is also provided a liquid outlet (43) and a main housing (10). The valve member (40) is rotatably mounted in the main housing (10) and has a spherical surface (41a) which is adapted to abut the valve seat (63). The valve member (40) is only able to move in one plane. The application also discloses a method of producing the valve member (40).

Description

Title: A Valve or Faucet and Methods for Producing Parts Therefor Technical Field This invention relates to valves and faucets for controlling liquid flow, particularly the water flow such as those used in plumbing.

Backaround Art Valves and faucets for controlling liquid flow have a long history. The most simpU faucet is a plug cock which comprises a cylindrical shaped plug having a transverse passage for liquid. The plug sits in a cock or housing in a water pipe. The device is operated by turning the plug through 900 so that the passage in the plug is aligned with the pipe and liquid flows through freely. The flow is stopped by turning the plug back so that it blocks the pipe.

This system is disadvantageous as it provides little control of the rate of liquid flow and requires twisting to operate. The manual action of twisting requires strength and may be difficult for some people. In addition the faucet must be operated by hand and this may be unhygienic in some situations.

A number of other faucets have been produced with more sophisticated valve mechanisms. on. of these is a mixer type faucet which allows hot and cold water to be mixed prior to being dispensed from the tap. The FLTC Y:XZR (TM) sold by Dorf Australia is an example.

This type of mixer tap comprises a housing which has two water inlet sources (for hot and cold water). These water inlets terminate at a concave shaped valve seat. The inlets run in at an anglo and termite at the valve seat.

The valve seat which forms part of a cavity or socket house a stainless steel ball shaped valve member. The ball is machined so that it is complementary to the socket and valve seat. The ball has three ports. A lower sect ion of the ball contains a port for hot water and a port for cold water. In use the valve is opened by positioning the ball so that the lower ports sit above the water inlets of the valve seat. Water flows into the ball, mixes and exits from the third port. The ball is held in place by a spigot and is rotatable in two planes. For example transverse rotation controls the amount of hot or cold water entering the mixer.

The above faucet is very complicated and expensive to manufacture due to the amount of machining involved. This leads to an expensive product which may not be needed in all situations.

In some countries, particularly those in the warmer regions of the world, there is a need for inexpensive, but wall made valves or faucets for water and the like. In such countries it is not necessarily desirable to have mixing of hot and cold water.

Thus it is an objet of the present invention to provide a valve or faucet for dispensing liquid which is inexpensive to manufacture but provides easy operation.

Summary of the Invention In a first aspect the invention provides a valve 1 for controlling flow of liquids such as water, said valve comprising a liquid inlet 20, a valve seat 63 adjacent to said inlet, a valve member 40 which, when in a closed position abuts said valve seat 63 preventing flow of liquid and, when in an open position, allows liquid to flow, a liquid outlet 43, and a main housing 10 chancterised in that said valve member 40 is rotatably mounted in said main housing 10 and has a convex surface 41a which is adapted to abut said valve seat 63 and wherein the valve member 40 is only able to move in one plane.

The invention also extends to methods of producing valve member 40.

Brief Descrimtion of the Drawings Fig 1A is a cut away of the valve member 40 of the invention, in the form of a rocker ball.

Fig 1B is a perspective view of the rocker ball and housing which comprises the valve of the invention.

Fig 2A is a vertical section of the valve of the invention in the open position.

Fig 2B is a vertical section of the valve of the invention in the closed position.

Fig 2C is a vertical section of the valve of the invention incorporated into a water tap.

Fig 3 is an exploded side view of the components of a water tap including the valve of the invention.

Detailed DescriDtion of the Preferred Embodiments The valve of the invention (1) is suitable for use where mixing of liquids is not required. It may be used as a hot water tap or a cold water tap, for example.

The valve 1 of the invention comprises three main components. The are main housing 10, liquid inlet 20 with valve seat 63 and valve member in the form of a rocker ball 40.

Main housing 10 is bas lly cylindrical or tubular in configuration. Liquid inlet 20 and valve seat 30 are present at the lower end of main housing 10. Valve seat housing 30 is tubular in shape and is located coaxially within main housing 10.

Rocker ball 40 is generally spherical but has a gusset shaped portion 41 with a convex face 41a. The rocker ball 40 can best be described in terms of a generally spherical shape formed as if segments of the sphere have been removed to create the gusset shaped portion 41.

Although it may be possible to produce the rocker ball by machining a sphere in this manner it is preferred to manufacture the rocker ball in one piece from a suitable material such as plastic.

Gusset shaped portion 41 has a convex face 41a adapted to glide over valve seat 63. Inlet port 42 comprises a central passage which connects with an outlet 43 in the form of ports 43a and 43b. These outlet ports 43a and 43b runs at right angles through rocker ball 40. Inlet port 42 and outlet ports 43a and 43b comprise a T-shaped configuration inside rocker ball 40. Projecting members in the form of bosses 44a and 44b are positioned just above outlet ports 43a and 43b. Stem 45 which projects from the top of rocker ball 40 runs at right angles to the axis created by bosses 44a and 44b.

Rocker ball 40 is mounted in main housing 10 by virtue of bosses 44a and 44b which sit in open ended slots lia and lib. Although in the illustrated embodiment the bosses are on the rocker ball and slots are on the main housing, this may be reversed; the bosses may be situated on the main housing and the slots may be situated on the rocker ball. Slots (lla and llb) are positioned relative to bosses 44a and 44b, valve seat housing 30 and valve seat 63 such that gusset shaped portion 41 is able to abut and, when the valve is operated, slide over the valve seat which is provided in the form of seal 63. The seal may be rubber or any other convenient material. The arrangement of the bosses and slots mean that rocker ball 40 can only move in one plane. In this case rocker ball 40 moves on a vertical axis. Different arrangement of bosses and slots would allow the rocker ball to move on a transverse axis.

Bosses 44a and 44b are non-symmetrical in that they are of different size and configuration. Corresponding slots lla and llb are also of different size and configuration. This means that rocker ball 40 cannot be incorrectly oriented during assembly. Correct orientation of rocker ball 40 within main housing 10 is very important to ensure correct functioning of the valve.

A tap 100 incorporating the valve 1 of the invention is shown in Fig 3. Tap 100 comprises a handle portion 90 which consists of handle cover 91, which is connected to handle 92 by screw 91a. Handle 92 sits on cap 93 which in turn sits on downward retaining means in the form of lock nut 60.

The function of lock nut 60 is to keep rocker ball 40 in place. Lock nut 60 is in the form of an annular ring with a groove or recess 61 for 0 ring 62. Lock nut 60 is threaded for engagement with the threaded upper section of housing 10. Screw 91a which passes through handle 92 and cap 93 engages with stem 45.

Seal 63 and spring 64 sit at upper end of liquid inlet 20 on annular lip 65. Additional 0 rings, 66a and 66b provide further sealing. Main housing 10 fits into sleeve 80 which contains tap outlet 81. Nylon rings 82, spacers 83 and flange 84 are also provided.

Adequate sealing is provided by a combination of features. Lock nut 60 with its seal 62 urges or pushes down on surface 40a of rocker ball 40. The force is guided by bosses 44a and 44b and their corresponding slots 11a and llb. This force is transmitted to seal 63. Urging means in the form of spring 64 provides an opposite force pushing or urging seal 63 upwards into convex face 41a of gusset shaped portion 41. Accurate manufacturing of lock nut 60 and accurate assembly of the valve prevents convex face 41a from contacting valve seat housing 30. This is essential to prevent wear. A prototype of the valve has been tested to 40 bar without leakage.

The valve is shown in the open position in Fig 2a. The valve is opened when inlet port 42 is positioned above liquid inlet 20. The closed position is shown in figures 2B and 2C where convex face 41a of rocker ball 40 sits over seal 63. Opening and closing of the valve when incorporated into a tap is achieved by pushing down on handle 92. Clearly this action can be easily achieved by an elbow or other body part where it is undesirable or otherwise not possible to use a hand to operate the tap.

Although any material may be used to produce rocker ball 40 it is preferred that the component be made in plastic by injection with gas assistance. While it may be produced in two hemispherical pieces that are joined together it may also be produced as a single piece. The inventors have found that they have been able to avoid the problems with plastic shrinkage by using injection with gas assistance in the upper portion of the ball. This allows the rocker ball to be produced cheaply and with uniform surfaces. Clearly such a technique is advantageous since it significantly reduces production time because there is no machining necessary. In addition rocker ball 40 is extremely smooth resulting in a long wearing surface.

Specifically the prototype has been tested to 200,000 opening and closing cycles without leakage. It was made to meet BS 5413 standard.

Similarly the ports 42, 43a and 41b do not need to be separately machined when the rocker ball is produced by injection with gas assistance. This also significantly reduces production costs.

Claims (9)

CLAMS DEFINING TEE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A valve (1) for controlling flow of liquids such as water, said valve comprising a liquid inlet (20), a valve seat (63) adjacent to said inlet, a valve member (40) which, when in a closed position abuts said valve seat (63) preventing flow of liquid and, when in an open position, allows liquid to flow, a liquid outlet (43), and a main housing (10) characterised in that said valve member (40) is rotatably mounted in said main housing (10) and has a convex surface (41a) which is adapted to abut said valve seat (63) and wherein the valve member (40) is only able to motre one plane.

2. The valve of claim 1 wherein said valve member is pivotally mounted, said mounting comprising projecting members (44a and 44b) present on one of said valve member (40) or main housing (10) which are able to locate within recess members (gila and llb) present on the other of said valve member (40) or main housing (10).

3. The valve of claim 2 wherein one of said projecting members (44a and 44b) is of different size to the other of said projecting members and said recess members (lla and llb) are of correspondingly different size to ensure correct orientation within the valve.

4. The valve of claim 1 wherein a single liquid inlet is present.

5. The valve of claim 1 comprising an urging means (64) which urges the valve seat (63) towards the convex surface of the valve member (41a).

6. The valve of claim 5 wherein said valve seat (63) is supported by a valve seat housing (30).

7. The valve of claim 4 which additionally comprises a retaining means (60) which urges said valve member (40) onto said valve seat (63).

8. A method of producing a valve member (40) for mounting in a valve or faucet the improvement comprising shaping plastic with gas assistance to form said member (40) such that it has an inlet passageway for liquid (42) and an outlet passageway for liquid (43) and forming said member (40) such that it comprises an incomplete sphere having a gusset shaped portion (41) with a convex face (41a).

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said passageways (42 & 43) are formed in a T-shaped configuration (42, 43a & 43b).

9. The method of Claim 8 wherein said member (40) is formed in a single piece.