Abstract:
A water mixer for a sink, the water mixer comprising a mixing chamber having a hot water tap pillar and cold water tap pillar for controlling a supply of hot and cold water to respective inlets of a mixing chamber. Outlets from the mixing chamber supply water to the hollow interiors of the hot and cold water tap pillars which are interconnected by a mixer conduit joined with a nozzle for discharging water to the sink. The mixing chamber is provided with a shuttle valve formed by a truncated conical poppet valve receivable in a valve seat in response to water pressure from hot and or cold mixing chamber acting of a plate member connected by shaft to the poppet valve. The pressure on the plate develops when a spray head valve is operated to cause a flow of water from the mixing chamber to the spray head.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to taps for controlling hot and cold water supplies and, in particular, to improvements to a tap arrangement having a hot and cold water mixing assembly and in addition to a hot water tap and a cold water tap, a manually operable spray nozzle carried at the end of a flexible hose for controlling the discharge of water. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The tap arrangement of the present invention is particularly useful, for example, in twin-sink units in kitchens, where a manually operable spray nozzle is operated to direct the water spray for preliminary cleansing of kitchen ware in one sink before the ware is transferred to the other sink for a final washing. While there has been a trend in modern kitchens for concealing taps and associated fittings from continuous view so far as possible and for the appearance of such parts as are visible to be made as simple and “streamlined” as possible, there is, nonetheless, a demand for tap fittings of more traditional or “period” appearance. One aspect of the above-noted demand is a demand for a hot and cold water tap/mixer assembly of the kind illustrated in FIG. 1 mounted in a horizontal panel  10  and comprising a pillar sink mixer  12  having a cold tap pillar  14  and a hot tap pillar  16  in spaced-apart relationship with the exposed bodies of the two taps being connected by a simple tubular conduit  18 . From the middle of the conduit there extends a unitary single swan-neck outlet  22 , generally in the form of a loop of inverted J-shape. The pillar sink mixer is mounted to the horizontal panel  10  at a site so that the swan neck outlet is positioned over a sink  15  to discharge into the sink hot and cold water and the mixture thereof, the proportions of the mixture being determined by the settings of the taps. Such an arrangement is herein referred to, for convenience, as a pillar sink mixer. 
     A problem exists with the traditional form of a pillar sink mixer in that it has been impossible, or at least impracticable, to provide a spray nozzle coupled by a flexible hose with the water supply to the nozzle, and the temperature of the water so supplied, being controlled by the taps of the pillar sink mixer in the same way as with other non pillar sink tap arrangements incorporating such spray nozzles. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a solution to the problem of providing a spray nozzle supplied with controlled quantities of hot and cold water by a flexible hose from a pillar sink mixer. 
     It is another object of the present invention to utilize a traditional form of a pillar sink mixer for aesthetic value and provide improved water mixing facilities to controllably vary the desired quantities of hot and cold water selectively supplied to each of two discharge nozzles. 
     SUMMARY OF PRESENT INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a water mixer for a sink, the water mixer comprising a mixing chamber having a hot water inlet and a cold water inlet, a hot water tap for controlling a supply of water from a hot water source to the hot water inlet of the mixing chamber, a cold water tap for controlling a supply of water from a cold water source to the cold water inlet of the mixing chamber, a first outlet for discharging water from the mixing chamber, shuttle valve operative within the mixing chamber in a first position to cut off water flow from the mixing chamber to the first outlet and in a second position to permit water flow from the mixing chamber to the first outlet, a nozzle outlet for discharging water from the mixing chamber, and a nozzle including a valve having an open position causing water flow from the mixing chamber through the nozzle outlet to the nozzle producing a pressure differential within the mixing chamber across the shuttle valve biasing the latter into the first position cutting off fluid flow from the mixing chamber to the first outlet, the valve of the nozzle having a closed position producing a pressurization of water within the mixing chamber to displace the shuttle valve to the second position causing water flow to the first outlet. 
     According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a pillar sink mixer comprising a hot tap pillar and a cold tap pillar having internal passageways interconnected in spaced-apart relationship by a mixer conduit joined with a single nozzle for discharging water from the conduit, a mounting pedestal including an abutment surface on an upper end of each of the hot tap pillar and the cold tap pillar for supporting engagement with a mounting surface portion with the hollow mixer conduit and the upper end of each of the hot tap pillar and the cold tap pillar tap pillar residing above the mounting surface portion, a hot water valve operable at a lower end of the hot tap pillar by a spindle extending through the hot tap pillar to a tap handle at the upper end thereof alternatively to provide or to cut off a water flow connection with a first connector of a hot water source and a hot water connector located below a first water outlet connected with the internal passageway of the hot tap pillar, a cold water valve operable at a lower end of the cold tap pillar by a spindle extending through the cold tap pillar to a tap handle at the upper end thereof alternatively to provide or to cut off a water flow connection with a cold water source and a cold water connector located below a second water outlet connected with the internal passageway of the cold tap pillar, a hot water flow separator operatively coupled between the second hot water connector and the first water outlet for preventing a flow of hot water there between, a cold water flow separator operatively coupled between the cold water connector and the second water outlet for preventing a flow of cold water there between, a mixer including a mixing chamber interconnected by water conducting conduits to the hot water connector, the first water outlet, the cold water connector and the second water outlet for discharging water to the internal passageways of the hot tap pillar and the cold tap pillar, and a hand spray nozzle connected by a flexible hose to the mixing chamber for discharging water from the mixing chamber. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These features and advantages as well as others will be more fully understood when the following description is read in light of the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a kitchen installation showing a portion of a conventional pillar sink mixer above the work surface; 
     FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a kitchen installation incorporating a pillar sink mixer in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a shuttle valve forming part of the pillar sink mixer shown in FIG.  2 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes that portion of a pillar sink mixer for aesthetic value and which is normally visible above a horizontal panel  10  and has the traditional appearance which is the same in the illustrations of FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 2 parts corresponding to parts in FIG. 1 have the same reference numerals. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, as noted previously, reference numeral  10  indicates a horizontal panel which is in section in FIG.  2  and may typically be a horizontal flange of a sink assembly or a portion, adjoining a sink, of a slab providing a work surface in a kitchen. The pillar sink mixer  12  in accordance with the present invention and as shown in FIG. 2 includes a housing component of approximately “H” shape formed by horizontally spaced cold tap pillar  14  and a hot tap pillar  16  interconnected by a tubular horizontal mixer conduit  18 . The conduit  18  has a fitting or union  20  midway between the pillars  14  and  16  from which there extends upwardly a vertical root portion of the outlet spout or swan-neck  22  (shown only partially in FIG. 2) and which is a conventional form, being, like its counterpart in FIG. 1, in the shape of an inverted “J” to provide, as with the arrangement in FIG. 1, a single downwardly-directed water outlet positioned over the sink. The arrangement may be such that the swan neck  22  can be pivoted about the vertical axis of the union  20 , while maintaining a water tight seal between the swan-neck  22  and the remainder of the fitting. The cold tap pillar  14  and a hot tap pillar  16  are controlled by a respective lever  14 A,  16 A, by which a respective tap operating spindle  14 B,  16 B, extending vertically through the respective pillars  14  and  16  and may be turned to operate a respective water valve assemblies  28 C and  28 H. 
     The two pillars  14 ,  16  extend through respective vertical bores through the horizontal panel  10 . The pillars  14 ,  16  have respective pedestals  14 C,  16 C, which engage the upper surface of the horizontal panel  10  and conceal the bores through which the portions of the pillars below the pedestals extend. In a manner known per se, the portions of the pillars extending below the pedestals are externally screw-threaded and receive conventional retaining nuts  26  which are screwed up so that the flange  10  is clamped between the pedestals  14 C,  16 C and the nuts  26 . 
     In the arrangement shown in FIG. 2, the respective valve assemblies  28 C and  28 H are secured to the lower end of each of the pillars  14  and  16 , respectively. Each of these valve assemblies incorporate a casing  30  releasable connected by a threaded union  32  with the lower end of the externally threaded lower part of the respective pillar. The casings  30  of the valve assemblies  28 C and  28 H are connected to: a cold water connector  40 C and a hot water connector  40 H, respectively; a cold water outlet  42 C and a hot water outlet  42 H; and a first inlet connector  44 A and a second inlet connector  44 B both at a higher elevation than the elevation of the cold water outlet  42 C and the hot water outlet  42 H. Each casing  30  accommodates a screw-down valve mechanism carried by a plug  50  which is screwed into a screw threaded counterbore in the respective casing  30 , the mechanism including a screw-down valve member  52  below the plug  50 . The plug  50  accommodates a valve operating mechanism, known per se, which includes a valve-operating stub shaft  56  extending axially and vertically upward through the plug  50 , the shaft  56  being rotatable sealingly within the plug  50 . A socket at the lower end of the respective operating spindle  14 B,  16 B, receives, non-rotatably with respect thereto, the upper end of the respective stub shaft  56 , the operating spindle  14 B,  16 B being, of course, coaxial with the respective stub shaft  56 . In each of the valve assemblies  28 C and  28 H, the plug  50 , valve member  52 , valve operating mechanism and shaft  56  thus, together with the lower part of the casing  30  function and operate when the spindle  14 B or  16 B and the respective stub shaft  56  are rotated in one direction to raise the valve member  52  from its valve seat (formed around the upper end of the bore through the inlet stub  40 ), so that a passage is opened for flow of water from the inlet  40  past the valve seat to the outlet  42 . The space within the interior of the respective pillar  14 ,  16 , above the plug  50  merely forms a conduit for water flow, and there is no direct connection between this conduit and the region below the plug  50  within the casing  30 . In the preferred embodiment, the valve assemblies  28 C and  28 H (known per se) are such that valve members  52  are moved from their fully open to their fully closed positions in a quarter turn of the respective stub shafts  56  and corresponding handles  14 A,  16 A about their respective vertical axes, but it will be understood that other types of taps or water valves may be used. 
     The apparatus shown also includes a hand spray  60  which is connected by a flexible hose  62  with a mixer chamber  64 , the hand spray  60 , when not in use, resting within a socket  66  mounted, as shown, in an aperture in the flange or slab  10  so that when required the hand spray can be lifted from its socket to be directed at items to be cleaned. The hand spray  60  incorporates a water valve, in known fashion, operable by a thumb lever  68 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the mixer chamber  64  comprises a generally cylindrical housing  70  having an outlet connector  72  at its lower end. The interior of housing  70  is divided into an upper chamber  78  and a lower chamber  80  by a shuttle valve  81  having valve seat member  82  which spans the interior of the housing  70  and is held in place by a retaining ring  84  screw-threadedly engaged with internal screw threading in an upper portion of the housing  70 . The valve seat member  82  has a central passage  86  there through terminating, at its upper end, in a conical valve seat  87  which cooperates with a complementary truncated conical poppet valve head  88  having a stem  90  extending downwardly, through aperture  86  into the lower chamber  80  of the shuttle valve  81 . The lower end of the stem  90  carries a horizontal circular plate  92  spaced slightly above the lower wall of the lower chamber  80  and in a position overlying the bore through the outlet connector  72  when the poppet valve head  88  is firmly engaged in a water tight relation with the valve seat member  87 . As shown in FIG. 3, a sealing “O” ring  89  is seated in a grove formed in the conical surface of the poppet valve head  88 . The upper end of housing  70  is closed by a screw cap  71 . The mixer chamber has a first pair of cold and hot lateral inlets  74 C and  74 H, respectively, adjacent the lower end of the housing, connecting with the lower chamber  80 , and a pair of lateral outlets  76  at a higher level than inlets  74 C and  74 H, connecting with the upper chamber  78 . Abutment members  102  projecting downwardly from the body of the valve seat  87  limit upward movement of the valve and thus upward movement of the plate  92  away from the outlet through connector  72 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the cold water outlet  42 C and hot water outlet  42 H of the valve assemblies  28 C and  28 H are connected to the respective ones of the inlets  74 C and  74 H, while the first inlet connector  44 A and second inlet connector  44 B of the valve assemblies  28 C and  28 H are connected to respective ones of the outlets  76  of the housing  70 . When the valve  68  in the hand-spray  60  is not actuated, no water can flow to the hand-spray from the mixing chamber  64 , because when if either or both of the valve assemblies  28 C and  28 H are open, the pressure of water entering the lower chamber  80  from the cold water outlet  42 C and hot water outlet  42 H, via the inlets  74 , operates to lift the poppet valve head  88 , stem  90  and plate  92  to allow the water to pass from the lower chamber  80  through the bore  86  into the upper chamber  78  and thence to the first inlet connector  44 A and second inlet connector  44 B via the outlet  76 , from whence the water passes within the pillars  14  and  16  and through the horizontal limb  18  to the swan neck  22  for discharge to the sink. It will be understood that, in principle, whatever the positions of the taps  14 A,  16 A, any water flowing from chamber  78  will pass equally through both of the pillars  14 ,  16 , and will be at the same temperature within both pillars. If, when either or both of the valve assemblies  28 C and  28 H is/are open, the thumboperated valve  68  on the spray head  60  is operated, the consequent pressure drop around the edges of the plate  92  as water flows from lower chamber  80  through the outlet connector  72  to the hand spray will produce a net force acting on the plate  92  so as to pull the poppet valve head  88  into engagement with valve seat  87  because the relative diameters of the plate  92  and the poppet valve head  88  are such as to ensure that the poppet valve head  88 , stem  90  and plate  92  are moved into their lowermost position when the hand spray is operated. As a result of the arrangement described, when the spray is operated, the water supply to the swan-neck  22  is automatically cut off. 
     In the present specification “comprises” means “includes of or consists of” and “comprising” means “including or consisting of”. The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, express in their specific forms or in terms for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilized for realizing the invention in diverse forms thereof. While the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the recitation of the appended claims.