GB2392119A

GB2392119A - A nozzle for a showerhead

Info

Publication number: GB2392119A
Application number: GB0216332A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Melville Sidney Bernstein
Original assignee: Kohler Daryl Ltd
Current assignee: Kohler Daryl Ltd
Priority date: 2002-07-13
Filing date: 2002-07-13
Publication date: 2004-02-25
Anticipated expiration: 2022-07-13
Also published as: GB0216332D0; GB2392119B

Abstract

A nozzle for a shower head comprises a substantially cylindrical chamber 2, an axially directed inlet 7 provided in a first end of the chamber, a single outlet 8 at a second, opposite, end of the chamber 2, at least one tangentially directed inlet 5,5' for producing a rotational flow of water within the chamber in a first direction, at least one tangentially directed inlet 6,6' for producing a rotational flow of water within the chamber in a second direction, opposite to said first direction, and control means for independently controlling the flow of water to each of said inlets to vary the spray pattern produced at said outlet.

Description

23921 9

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO NOZZLES

The present invention relates to a nozzle for a shower head.

Conventional shower head nobles generally comprise a face provided with a plurality of apertures, commonly referred to as spray holes, through which water is emitted in a spray or like form.

Developments in shower head design gave rise to shower heads capable of producing, and switching between, different spray pattems. One development involved the development of a shower head having different sets of spray holes, usually arranged in rings of different diameter on the face of the shower head, and an outer ring provided around the shower face. By fuming the outer ring, the spray patterns produced by the shower head can be changed. A problem associated with the latter type of shower head, namely, a shower head comprising an outer ring around the face thereof, is that the operating torque of the outer ring generally increases over time due to wear and seal deterioration. Moreover, the torque required to turn the outer ring is fairly high and this can be uncomfortable to the user of the shower.

Furthermore, and although it is possible to change the spray pattern whilst the shower unit is off, due to the fact that the graphics are unreadable at the height of standard shower heads, users invariably operate the outer ring when the shower unit is on. This has the disadvantage in that the upturned face of the shower user may be sprayed with water at full pressure which may be uncomfortable. Additionally, only one shower head can be altered at a time, if other shower heads are available on the shower system.

Another disadvantage associated with known shower heads is that they tend to be prone to spray hole blockage. This is usually due to a build up of limescale.

With a view to addressing the problems associated with spray hole blockage, a shower head was developed incorporating a rubber liner having a plurality of projecting nozles. Once the shower unit was switched on, and water flowed from the mixer to the shower head, the liner flexes resulting in the projecting nozles dislodging any build-up in the spray holes provided on the shower head face.

Known shower heads rely on a flow restriction to create the required spray pattern and hence require a high pressure water supply to operate satisfactorily and a considerable amount of energy is wasted due to said flow restriction. ' An object of the present invention is to provide a nozle which is 3 capable of producing different spray pattems, operates more efficiently and operates satisfactorily with a low pressure water supply and which is not susceptible to spray hole blockage.

According to the present invention there is provided a nozle for a shower head comprising a substantially cylindrical chamber, an axially t directed inlet provided in a first end of the chamber, a single outlet at a second, opposite, end of the chamber, at least one tangentially directed inlet for producing a rotational flow of water within the chamber in a first direction, at least one tangentially directed inlet for producing a rotational flow of water within the chamber in a second direction, opposite to said first direction, and! control means for controlling the flow of water to each of said inlets to vary the spray pattern produced at said outlet.

The cylindrical chamber may comprise a plurality of co-axial cylindrical sections of different diameters, each section having at least one tangentially directed inlet for producing a rotational flow of water within the section in a 3 first direction and at least one tangentially directed inlet for producing a

rotational flow of water in a second direction, opposite to said first direction, the section closest to the axially directed inlet having a larger diameter than the section or sections closer to the outlet.

The supply of water to each inlet may be controlled by a plurality of individually controlled solenoid valves or other fluid control devices, each valve or other device being operated by said control means to control the supply to the respective inlet in order to produce the desired spray pattern at the outlet. A single master control valve may be provided for controlling the flow of water to all of the inlets by controlling operation of the solenoid valves or other fluid control devices to control the distribution of the water to the individual inlets of the chamber.

The present invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a nozle according to the invention taken along the cylindrical axis of the nozle; i Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the nozzle of Fig. 1 taken along line A-A of Fig. 1. t The nozle 1 comprises a chamber 2 having two sections, an oscillation section 3 at an inlet end of the chamber 2 and a spin chamber 4 at an outlet end of the chamber 2, the oscillation section 3, being of larger i diameter than the spin section 4 (although it is conceived that the oscillation! section could be of smaller diameter than the spin section depending on the type of spray being desired). Each section 3,4 includes two clockwise (when viewed from above as in Fig. 2) tangentially directed peripheral inlets 5, 5' arranged at 180 to one another and two anti-clockwise tangentially directed inlets 6,6', again arranged at 180 to one another. An axially directed inlet 7 is arranged to direct a jet of water directly along the cylindrical axis of the chamber 2. A single outlet opening 8 is provided opposite the axially directed

inlet 7, said outlet opening 8 communicating with a cone shaped outlet nozzle 9 from which a spray of water is produced. Thus there is provided a nozzle 1 having a total of up to nine water inlets.

The nozzle 1 is connected to a supply of water via a master control valve (not shown). Each inlet is connected to the master control valve by a: separate supply line, the flow of water to each inlet being controlled by an: individually controlled solenoid valve which operates to reduce or increase the I flow of water to the respective inlet (or alternatively may simply permit or prevent the flow of water to the respective inlet). As such the flow of water to each inlet can be varied to vary the spray pattern produced at the outlet without changing the overall flow rate through the nozzle. The solenoid valves and master control valve are controlled by an electronic controller (not shown) having a control panel whereby the user can control the flow of water to each inlet to select the desired flow pattern. The controller may be programmed with a series of pre-selected settings, each producing a different spray pattem.; A shower head incorporating the nozzle can be particularly compact.

Advantageously the nozzle could in incorporated into a panel of a shower cubicle, the outlet nozzle comprising a simple aperture in said panel, avoiding the need for a separate shower head assembly.

During tests, it was observed that a single chamber without pressure differentiation produced a hollow-cone type of spray. From the same experiments, it was also observed that a focusing aperture enhanced performance and that preferably, such aperture should not exceed 3mm in diameter. During development of the shower head in accordance with the I present invention, it was observed that: 1. A simple hollow-cone steady spray was achieved by two i complementary tangential inputs with a simple outlet nozzle and; '

2. Aggressive sprays were produced by utilising complementary and opposing tangential inputs.

In the present context, it is to be understood that a complementary input is that producing a flow of water or fluid having the same rotation.

Therefore, it was observed that through our research we had developed a shower head nozle capable of producing different spray patterns which are believed not to exhibit the problems associated with known shower heads. In particular, and the fact that the shower head nozle of the present invention comprises a single outlet nozle or single spray hole, means that it is not prone to the problems associated with limescale build-up.

Furthermore, and as the spray pattern is produced by means for rotating the flow of water which are all solenoid valve or other fluid control device controlled, there is no longer the need for twisting or turning an outer ring provided on the shower head face, that is, to change the spray pattern and few moving parts, improving reliability. That is, the shower user can switch between the different types of spray pattern by simply pressing the buttons provided on a control panel, linked to the solenoid valves. Additionally, the shower head can produce more flow patterns than known shower heads and hence, has more utility. Moreover, the shower head of the present invention can be used in a shower system having more than one shower head. The spray pattern is produced without the need for substantial flow restriction, therefore a nozle according to the invention requires less water pressure to produce the same flow rate at the outlet nozle as known shower heads, thus providing greater energy efficiency.

Whilst in the preferred embodiment each section 3,4 includes two clockwise and two anti-clockwise tangentially directed inlets to provide a greater variation in flow pattern at the outlet nozle, it is envisaged that only

i one clockwise and one anti-clockwise tangentially directed inlet may be provided in a simplified embodiment of the invention.

Although the present invention has been described in relation to a shower head, it is to be understood that same can be utilised for any device in which the spray pattern of water or a fluid originating therefrom, is desired to be changed. In particular, the nozle may be used to produce a jet of water in a jacuzi or other spa bath, said nozle being provided beneath the normal water level in the bath. When used in such an application, one or more further tangentially directed inlets may be provided connected to a supply of gas, such as air, whereby gaseous bubbles can be entrained into the liquid flow within the chamber of the nozle by a venturi effect.

Claims

1. A nozle for a shower head comprising a substantially cylindrical chamber, an axially directed inlet provided in a first end of the chamber, a single outlet at a second, opposite, end of the chamber, at least one tangentially directed inlet for producing a rotational flow of water within the chamber in a first direction, at least one tangentially directed inlet for producing a rotational flow of water within the chamber in a second direction, opposite to said first direction, and control means for controlling the flow of water to each of said inlets to vary the spray pattern produced at said outlet.

2. A nozle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical chamber comprises a plurality of co-axial cylindrical sections of different diameters, each section having at least one tangentially directed inlet for producing a rotational flow of water within the section in a first direction and at least one tangentially directed inlet for producing a rotational flow of water in a second direction, opposite to said first direction, the section closest to the axially directed inlet having a larger diameter than the section or sections closer to the outlet.

3. A nozle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the supply of water to each inlet is controlled by a plurality of individually controlled solenoid valves or other fluid control devices, each valve or other device being operated by said control means to control the supply to the respective inlet in order to produce the desired spray pattern at the outlet.

4. A nozzle as claimed in claim 3, wherein a single master control valve is provided for controlling the flow of water to all of the inlets by controlling operation of the solenoid valves or other fluid control devices to control the distribution of the water to the individual inlets of the chamber.

5. A nozzle as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising one or more further tangentially directed inlets connectable to a supply of gas, such as air, whereby gaseous bubbles can be entrained into the liquid flow within the chamber of the nozzle by a venturi effect.

6. A nozzle substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.