Abstract:
An interlocking control valve which can be used to control the flow of fluids such as water and gas. The control valve features a push button on the end of a handle which permits the interlocking valve to engage the valve stem when the push button is pressed. A fixed washer is provided with a hole-and-groove cutout, thereby preventing rotation of the handle with respect to the washer unless the push button is pressed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates to the field of valves used to control the flow of fluids. More specifically, the invention comprises an interlocking control handle which can be employed as a safety device for preventing a child from actuating a gas or water valve. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Conventional water faucets feature control valves which a user can rotate to actuate water flow. Various control schemes are used in the prior art for control of water flow from a faucet. One common scheme employs two control valves, where one control valve regulates the volumetric flow rate of water from a hot stream and a second control valve regulates the volumetric flow rate of water from a cold stream. In this control scheme the hot water stream and cold water stream mix before the water is discharged from the faucet. A second common control scheme involves a single control valve which regulates the temperature of the water discharged from the faucet. In this scheme a single valve regulates the ratio of hot water volume to cold water volume. Sometimes an additional control valve is provided to control the overall flow rate of water through the faucet. 
   These conventional flow control valves are generally easy to operate as only a small amount of torque or rotational force is required to turn the valve. This can present a hazardous condition for a small child who is left unsupervised around a bath tub or shower. Incidents of drowning or scalding are not uncommon since most parents cannot always be aware of what their children are doing. 
   Although many inventors have sought to make a child-proof control valve, many of these devices have presented their own drawbacks. One problem with many of these prior art devices is that many adults find the devices too cumbersome to use. It is therefore desirable to provide a new control valve that is both child-proof and comfortable for adults to use. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is an interlocking control valve which can be used to control the flow of fluids such as water and gas. The control valve features a push button on the end of a handle which permits the interlocking valve to engage the valve stem when the push button is pressed. A fixed washer is provided with a hole-and-groove cutout, thereby preventing rotation of the handle with respect to the washer unless the push button is pressed. 
   The invention provides all of these features, advantages, and objects along with others that will become apparent with reference to the following description and accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view, showing the external components of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a cut-away view, showing the internal components of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view, showing the fixed washer. 
       FIG. 4A  is a top view, showing an embodiment of the fixed washer. 
       FIG. 4B  is a top view, showing an embodiment of the fixed washer. 
       FIG. 4C  is a top view, showing an embodiment of the fixed washer. 
       FIG. 5A  is a cross-section view, showing the present invention in the locked position. 
       FIG. 5B  is a cross-section view, showing the present invention in the unlocked position. 
   

   REFERENCE NUMERALS IN THE DRAWINGS 
   
     
       
             
             
             
             
             
           
         
             
                 
                 
             
           
           
             
                 
               10 
               interlocking controller 
               12 
               push button 
             
             
                 
               14 
               mount shaft 
               16 
               handle 
             
             
                 
               18 
               valve stem 
               20 
               spring 
             
             
                 
               22 
               button shaft 
               24 
               spring bracket 
             
             
                 
               26 
               fixed washer 
               28 
               button stem 
             
             
                 
               34 
               cutout 
               36 
               key 
             
             
                 
               38 
               mount plate 
               40 
               slit 
             
             
                 
               42 
               screw holes 
               44 
               groove 
             
             
                 
               46 
               hole 
               48 
               mounting surface 
             
             
                 
               50 
               notches 
               52 
               detachable end 
             
             
                 
               54 
               valve stem keyway 
               56 
               valve stem receiver 
             
             
                 
               58 
               screw hole 
               60 
               tightening screw 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The external features of the present invention are shown in  FIG. 1 . Interlocking controller  10  is provided for control of fluid flow through a valve. Interlocking controller  10  is mounted to a valve stem (not shown) protruding from mounting surface  48 . Mounting surface  48  in customary applications is usually a shower wall or counter top. The controller is generally composed of handle  16 , mount shaft  14 , fixed washer  26 , and mount plate  38 . Handle  16  is illustrated as a simple bar-type handle but can be any shape conducive to gripping. Push button  12  is positioned on one side of handle  16 . The reader will note that bar-type handle design and location of push button  12  provides a comfortable gripping surface as the user is able to position their thumb over push button  12  and wrap the other four fingers around handle  16 . 
   The internal components of the interlocking control handle are shown in  FIG. 2 . A preferred embodiment of the interlocking controller has detachable end  52  at the end of handle  16  opposite push button  12 . Detachable end  52  is made detachable to facilitate the assembly of the internal components of the handle. Button shaft  22  is spring-biased to bear against push button  12 . Spring  20  and spring bracket  24  are provided to supply resistance to the movement of push button  12  in the direction of detachable end  52 . The force supplied by the spring is ideally adapted so that a young child would be unable to press push button  12  into handle  16 . The resistive force is ideally limited, however, to that which can be overcome by the normal hand strength of an older child or adult. 
   Push button  12  is seated within a bore in handle  16  in such a manner that it is free to move a fixed distance within the handle. Accordingly, push button  12  can be positioned in either the pushed position or the unpushed position. 
   Button stem  28  is attached in substantially perpendicular relation to button shaft  22 . A preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes a threaded attachment of the button stem  28  to button shaft  22  for simpler manufacture and assembly. In this version, button stem  28  has a threaded shank (not shown) which can be threadedly connected to a threaded bore on button shaft  22 . The attachment means could just as easily be reversed in that button stem  28  could have a threaded bore and button shaft  22  could have a threaded shank. 
   The interlocking controller is also provided with valve stem receiver  56  which functions to connect the controller to valve stem  18 . Valve stem  18  passes through mount plate  38  and through fixed washer  26  and is finally received within valve stem receiver  56 . Various mechanism can be used to connect fixed valve stem  18  to valve stem receiver  56 . A simple means to attach valve stem  18  to valve stem receiver  56  and mount shaft  14  of handle  16  is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . Screw hole  58  is provided in mount shaft  14  for receiving tightening screw  60 . When valve stem  18  is inserted into valve stem receiver  56 , the installer can screw in tightening screw  60 , thereby preventing the accidental detachment of handle  16  from valve stem  18 . 
   The reader will note that button stem  28  also passes through fixed washer  26 . This feature causes the handle to be locked when the push button is in the unpushed position and unlocked when the push button is in the pushed position as will be explained subsequently. 
     FIG. 3  illustrates the attachment of fixed washer  26  and mount plate  38 . Fixed washer  26  has cutout  34  and key  36 . Mount plate  38  is placed over valve stem  18  and can be attached to the mounting surface by screwing mount plate  38  to the mounting surface through screw holes  42 . Slit  40  is also provided for receiving key  36  of fixed washer  26  when it is placed over valve stem  18 . Multiple slits  40  can be placed around mount plate  38  (in a circle) and multiple keys  36  can be placed around the lower perimeter of fixed washer  26  to ensure that the orientation of cutout  34  does not accidentally change with respect to mount plate  38  when the handle is turned. The use of multiple slits and multiple keys also allows the installer to finely adjust the orientation of fixed washer  34  so that the locked position of the handle corresponds with the off position of the valve. 
   Several versions of fixed washers are illustrated in  FIGS. 4A ,  4 B, and  4 C.  FIG. 4A  shows the top of fixed washer  26  with cutout  34  which is comprised of hole  46  and groove  44 . As explained above, fixed washer  26  is adapted so that it does not move relative to mount plate  38  and mounting surface  48 . Groove  44  is adapted to receive button stem  28  when push button  12  is in the unpushed position. Hole  46  is large enough to receive button stem  28  and mount shaft stem  32  when the push button  12  is in the pushed position, thereby allowing the two components to be rotated within hole  46  when handle  16  is turned. Because of the shape of cutout  34  and the stationary nature of fixed washer  26 , handle  12  cannot turn when push button  12  is in the unpushed position and button stem  28  is positioned in groove  44 . 
     FIG. 4B  shows another version of fixed washer  26  and cutout  34 . In this version, groove  44  and hole  46  appear more distinct, unlike the fixed washer in  FIG. 4A  which smoothly contours the two components together. 
   A third version of the fixed washer is shown in  FIG. 4C . This version features notches  50  in hole  46 . Notches  50  allow the valve to be locked in various incremental positions. This feature not only prevents a small child from turning on the water faucet but also prevents them from adjusting the temperature once it has been set. 
     FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate cross-sectional views the internal components of the interlocking controller when the push button is in the unpushed position and the pushed position. The cross-sections are observed directly above the top of fixed washer  26  and directly below the bottom of mount shaft  14 . Push button  12  is shown in the unpushed position in  FIG. 5A . The reader will observe the relationship between push button  12  and the position of button stem  28  with respect to cutout  34  and button stem groove  30 . When in the unpushed positing button stem  28  is seated in groove  44  of fixed washer  26 . Valve stem  18  is seated in hole  46 , but because of the shape of cutout  34  and the location of button stem  28  within groove  44 , handle  16  will not turn. 
     FIG. 5B  illustrates the internal components of the interlocking controller assembly when push button  12  is in the pushed position and the handle is slightly turned. As shown in  FIG. 5B  cutout  34  does not restrict the movement of handle  16  when push button  12  is in the pushed position. Button stem  28  mates against the outside of valve stem receiver  56  when the push button is pushed. Accordingly, the space between button stem  28  and valve stem  18  represents the width of valve stem receiver  56 . The reader will observe that button stem  28  and valve stem  18  jointly occupy hole  46  thereby permitting the handle to be turned. 
   The reader will appreciate that in each of the above mentioned embodiments of the present invention, the restricting means (such as cutout  34  and other components of the invention responsible for restricting the movement of interlocking controller  10 ) are substantially enveloped by interlocking controller  10 . This feature prevents the critical moving parts responsible for restricting the movement of interlocking controller  10  from being exposed to the environment and the user, thereby preventing injury to the user and damage to interlocking controller  10 . 
   The preceding description contains significant detail regarding the novel aspects of the present invention. It should not be construed, however, as limiting the scope of the invention but rather as providing illustrations of the preferred embodiments of the invention. As an example, many variations of hole  46  and groove  44  can be utilized for cutout  34 , and notches  50  can be included an any of these variations. Such a variation would not alter the function of the invention. In addition, many shapes could be used for the handle without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should be fixed by the following claims, rather than by the examples given.