Faucet spout accessory

An auxiliary handle is attached to a pivotal faucet spout. The handle has a high thermal resistance. When used to pivot the faculet spout, heat from a hot spout will not be transferred to the use's hand.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an accessary for use with a pivotal faucet 
spout and in particular to such an apparatus which provides an auxiliary 
handle for moving the spout which handle has high thermal resistance 
thereby obviating the transfer of heat from a hot spout to a users hand. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Pivotal faucet spouts are a common and useful device for kitchen and 
laundry room sinks. The pivotal spout permits the faucet to be moved 
either from one to the other of a plurality of side by side sinks, a 
common arrangement in most households, or into various positions to 
faciliate rinsing of pots and pans to provide access to the sink for large 
objects. 
It is also common that when the sink faucet is being used for such purposes 
as rinsing dishes and the like, the user operates the sink at very high 
water temperatures to both increase the effectiveness of the rinsing and 
for sanitation reasons. Unfortunately, faucet spouts are typically 
fabricated of metal and the use of high water temperatures produces a 
correspondingly high faucet spout temperature. Frequently these 
temperatures are well above pain level temperatures (about 105.degree. to 
120.degree. ). The result is that the user, when attempting to reposition 
the faucet spout during use, will burn their hand or fingers or attempt to 
move the spout with an object such as a pot or pan which frequently 
results in splashing or water and similar undesirable events. 
In its broader aspects, the invention is an auxiliary knob made from a 
flexible, resilient material such as rubber and which includes a ring 
portion adapted to slip firmly over the distal end portion of a faucet 
spout and a protruding knob portion fixedly secured to the ring portion 
and extending upwardly therefrom when the ring portion is received over 
the faucet spout. The entire auxiliary knob is preferably manufactured as 
an integral, molded unit and is made from a material having a low 
coefficent of conductivity when compared with the coefficent conductivity 
of metals. The apparatus further preferably includes a connecting portion 
which is an integral part of the protruding portion which is of smaller 
cross-section then the distal end or knob portion thereof thereby further 
reducing the effective temperature of the protruding portions that can be 
gripped by the finger or hand. The protruding portion can be fabricated to 
simulate various objects such as mushroom, flowers, and the like and can 
be provided in a variety of colors for aesthetic purposes. 
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an auxiliary knob 
which can be affixed to conventional faucet spouts to provide a means for 
maneuvering the spout when the spout is hot without burning the users hand 
or fingers. 
Another object of the invention is to provide such a device which is simple 
and inexpensive and can be installed on existing faucet spouts without 
modification or tools. 
Yet another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus which 
is aestheticaly pleasing without detracting from its intended function and 
purpose. 
Another object of the invention is to provide such a device which includes 
a ring portion of resilient material which can be slidably yet firmly 
engaged with a variety of faucet spouts. 
Another object of the invention is to provide such a device which includes 
a protruding knob portion made of a material having low thermal 
conductivity and including a reduced cross-section connective portion and 
an enlarged knob portion to further reduce heat transfer to the enlarged 
knob portion.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings, there shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 a faucet 
knob indicated generally at 10 which comprises a ring portion 12 and an 
upwardly (as viewed in the drawings) extending gripping portion 14. 
The ring portion 12 will be of generally rectangular transverse 
cross-section or at least of cross-section that it has a generally flat 
internal surface 16. The circumferential dimension of the ring portion 12 
may be of any desired length it however being necessary that the 
circumferential dimension be smaller than the circumferential dimension of 
the distal portion 18 of a conventional pivoting faucet spout 18. The ring 
portion 12 is further made of a suitable resilient elastic material such 
as rubber. Accordingly, the ring portion 12 can be forcibly slid over the 
end 20 of the faucet spout 18 with the surface 16 thereof further engaging 
the external surface of the spout portion 18. It is further desirable that 
the ring portion 12 be fabricated of a material which exhibits a 
reasonably high friction with the faucet surface so that, when installed, 
the knob 10 will not slip or slide. 
The gripping portion 14 is preferably formed as an integral part of the 
ring portion 12 and of the same material. The gripping portion 14 includes 
a connecting portion 20 and an enlarged knob portion 22. Accordingly, the 
heat transfer from the ring portion 12 through the reduced cross-section 
portion 20 and to the knob portion 22 is reduced. Additionally, by 
utilizing materials such as rubber or a variety of resilient and elastic 
plastics, all of which exhibit relatively high thermal resistance factors, 
heat transfer to the knob portion 22 is relatively low enabling the knob 
portion 22 to remain at a substantially lowered temperature than the spout 
18. Additionally, by utilizing materials having low thermal transfer 
coefficients, heat transfer to the skin is reduced whereby even at 
elevated temperatures, heat transfer to the skin is reduced thereby 
obviating the possibility of burns and disconfort to the user. 
In FIGS. 1 and 2, will be observed that the knob portion 22 is configured 
to resemble a mushroom. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the knob portion 22 is 
configured to resemble a rose. Other configurations having aesthetic 
properties will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
In summary, the invention is seen to comprise a resilient, elastic ring 
portion 12 which is adapted to be slipped frictionally over a conventional 
spout portion 18 of a pivotal faucet spout assembly. The configuration of 
the device enables it to frictionally engage the spout. The configuration 
of an upwardly extending griping portion, which includes the reduced 
diameter portion 20 and the knob portion 22, provides a device in which 
the knob portion 22 will be at a lower temperature than the spout and will 
have substantially reduced thermal transfer properties. Accordingly, a 
person using the faucet, particularly when using same at high 
temperatures, will be able to easily grasp the knob portion 22 to move the 
faucet in any convenient position without experiencing pain or injury. 
While there have been described above the principles of this invention in 
connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that 
this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to 
the scope of the invention.