IMPROVED BATHTUB WALL TAP ASSEMBLY

Abstract: A tap assembly for bathtub or the like, is provided with a connecting device comprising a fastening member (13) to be installed on a wall (M), between the hot and cold wall water outlets (11, 12), supporting means (17, 18) for the tap assembly body (1), locking means (25) for locking the tap assembly body (1) to the fastening member (13), and flexible pipes (20, 21) connecting the water wall outlets (11, 12) to the tap water inlets (7, 8), the tap assembly body (1) being rearwardly provided with a recessed portion (10) adapted to house said fastening member (13), said supporting means (18, 19) and said flexible pipes (20, 21).

Description: IMPROVED BATHTUB WALL TAP ASSEMBLY DESCRIPTION The present invention generally relates to tap assemblies for bathtubs and the like, especially to external and wall tap assemblies and, more particularly, to a connecting device therefor which is capable of correcting possible errors occurring during the installation of the water supply wall outlets. Such errors may be caused for example by differences of the spacing between the water supply outlets and the water tap inlets or by differences in the lenght of the projecting portions of the water supply wall outlets. It is known that, for the installation of the tap assemblies for bathtubs and the like, eccentric connectors fastening the water supply wall outlets to the water tap inlets are now used. For aesthetical reasons, these fastening devices are then covered with metallic or plastic discs the purpose of which is to hide the fastening devices from sight. These covering discs are unaesthetical and also have a thickness which, in case of tap assemblies to be fastened to a wall, prevents their correct installation. As a matter of fact, during the installation of these tap assemblies, the distance between the centers of their connectors seldom corresponds to the distance between the centers of the water wall outlets. With the use of said eccentric connectors the distances between said centers can be made corresponding to each other. For example, this is obtained in the following manner. Firstly, the eccentric connectors are watertight screwed on the water wall outlets already installed and then they are angularly adjusted in order to increase or decrease the distance between their centers until it becomes equal to that of the water inlets of the tap assemblies. Secondly, the pair of eccentric connectors are connected to an internally threaded cap which is screwed on the external threads of the eccentric connectors and on the tap assembly water inlets. In designing the above mentioned hydraulic tap assemblies, the configuration thereof is always a major condition for bringing about attractiveness and commercial success and therefore the present invention aims at mating the aesthetical aspect and the connecting advantage of the known tap assemblies. The present invention is intended to provide a wall connecting device for bathtub tap assemblies which eliminates the use of the covering discs which have been heretofore used for the installation of external and wall tap assemblies and, further, to allow the possible errors caused by differences of the spacing between the water supply outlets and the water tap inlets or by differences in the lenght of the projecting portions of the water supply wall outlets to be corrected. More particularly, the wall connecting device for bathtub tap assemblies according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprimes: - a fastening member to be installed on a wall, between the hot and cold wall water outlets, - supporting means for the tap assembly body, - locking means for locking the tap assembly body to the fastening member, and - flexible pipes connecting the water wall outlets to the tap water inlets, the tap assembly body being rearwardly provided with a recessed portion adapted to house said fastening member, said supporting means and said flexible pipes. According to a feature of the present invention the fastening member is comprised of a bracket to be fixed to the wall by means of screw anchors. According to another feature of the present invention the supporting means comprise pins fastened to the tap assembly body and reference bushings provided on the bracket and adapted to receive said pins. According to a further feature of the present invention the locking means for locking the tap assembly body to the fastening member comprise a dowel which is screwed within a bore in the tap assembly body and adapted to engage said fastening member. The present invention will be now described more in detail in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an elevation view of the tap assembly looking from the rear and adapted to house the connecting device according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a cross section taken along line 11—11 in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the tap assembly partially sectioned along line III—III in Fig. 2. Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a bathtub tap assembly exemplified in this case by a hot and cold water mixing tap assembly adapted to be attached to a wall over a bathtub. The tap assembly comprises a body 1, a spout 2, an actuating lever 3, a shower attachment 4 with a switching lever 5 and a mixing cartridge 6. The mixing cartridge 6 has hot and cold water inlets 7 and 8. The tap assembly body 1 is rearwardly provided with a vertical partition 9 defining a rear recess 10 adapted to house the connecting device of the invention for connecting the tap assembly to the cold and hot water outlets 11 and 12 projecting from the wall and externally threaded. The connecting device of the present invention comprises a bracket 13 provided with two bores 14 arranged one over the other and adapted to receive the screws 15 of two screw anchors 16 fixed to the wall M intermediate the water supply outlets 11 and 12. The bracket 13 is provided with two reference bushings 17 projecting therefrom and having the same distance from the centerline of the bracket and being adapted to receive two support pins 18 which are fixed, for example in threaded relationship, in two corresponding cylindrical seats 19 provided in the partition 9 of the tap assembly body. Two flexible pipes 20 and 21 are provided for connecting the tap assembly to the water supply wall outlets 11 and 12. One end of the flexible pipe 20 is attached to the cold water supply wall outlet 11 by means of the fitting 22, while the other end is attached to the cold water inlet fitting 7 of the mixing cartridge 6. One end of the other flexible pipe 21 is attached to the hot water supply wall outlet 12 by means of the fitting 23, while the other end is attached to the hot water inlet fitting 8 of the mixing cartridge 6. In the rear upper surface of the tap assembly body 1 an internally threaded bore 24 is provided for receiving a dowel 25 adapted to engage the upper portion of the bracket 13 in order to lock the tap assembly thereto. The connecting device of the invention is fastened in the following manner. The first operation consists in installing the bracket 13 to the wall M by means of the screw anchors 16 and the corresponding screws 15 and in fastening the flexible pipes 20 and 21 to the cold and hot water inlet fittings 7 and 8 of the mixing cartridge 6. Thereafter, the flexible pipes 20 and 21 are screwed on the hot and cold water supply wall outlets 11 and 12. Thereafter, the two support pins 18 are inserted in the corresponding reference bushings 17 of the bracket 13 and the tap assembly body is locked to the bracket 16 by means of the dowel 25. The tap assembly, being supported by the bracket 13 by means of the dowel 25 and the pins 18 inserted in the bushings 17 and fixed in the cylindrical seats 19 provided in the tap partition 9, is therefore indirectly attached to the wall M. This system permits the following major advantages to be obtained: - installation of the tap assembly without errors which can occur by differences in the spacing between the water supply outlets and the water tap inlets or by differences in the projecting lenght of the water supply wall outlets, - a very simple and ready installation of the tap assembly, - reduction of noise produced by the customary eccentric connectors heretofore used by all the manufacturers, and - a perfect aesthetical configuration of the tap assembly fastened to the wall .

Claims: C L A I M S 1) Wall connecting device for tap assemblies of bathtubs or the like, characterized in that it comprimes: - a fastening member (13) to be installed on a wall (M) , between the hot and cold wall water outlets (11,12), - supporting means (17,18) for the tap assembly body (1), - locking means (25) for locking the tap assembly body (1) to the fastening member (13), and - flexible pipes (20,21) connecting the water wall outlets (11,12) to the tap water inlets (7,8), the tap assembly body (1) being rearwardly provided with a recessed portion (10) adapted to house said fastening member (13), said supporting means (18,19) and said flexible pipes (20,21). 2) Wall connecting device according to claim 1, characterized in that said fastening member (13) is comprised of a bracket (13) to be fixed to the wall (M) by means of screw anchors (15,16). 3) Wall connecting device according to claim 1, characterized in that said supporting means (17,18) comprise pins (18) fastened to the tap assembly body (1) and reference bushings (17) provided on the bracket (13) and adapted to receive said pins (18). 4) Wall connecting device according to claim 3, characterized in that said reference bushings (17) are fixed to said bracket (13). 5) Wall connecting device according to claim 3, characterized in that said reference bushings (17) are integral with said bracket (13) . 6) Wall connecting device according to claims 1 and 3, characterized in that said tap assembly body (1) is provided with a partition (9) defining said recessed rear portion (10) of the tap assembly body (1) and having cylindrical seats (19) for threadily receiving said pins (18). 7) Wall connecting device according to claim 1, characterized in that said locking means (25) for locking the tap assembly body (1) to the fastening member (13) comprise a dowel (25) which is screwed within a bore (24) in the tap assembly body (1) and is adapted to engage said fastening member (13).

Inventors: VISCONTI MARCO, VISCONTI, MARCO
Applicants: RAF RUBINETTERIE, RAF RUBINETTERIE S.P.A.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: E03C1
IPC codes: E03C1