Abstract:
A tub/shower valve assembly includes a three-position valve stem adapter for varying the depth dimension of the assembly. The stem adapter has a splined bore with stop members located at a position skewed towards one end of the stem adapter. The stem adapter can thus be pushed onto the valve stem different distances depending on which is the leading end. The stem adapter can be disposed onto the valve stem a further distance by pushing the stop members past the end of the valve stem, allowed by outward expansion of the sides of the stem adapter.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to plumbing valves, and in particular to adjustable mounting systems for use therewith.  
           [0002]    Tub/shower faucets are typically mounted through a wall surrounding the tub or the shower stall. They are anchored against rear studs and/or to the wall board, and linked to the water supply from behind the wall, and they have a valve stem that projects forward adjacent a wall opening to provide control over the valve from the room side of the wall.  
           [0003]    Most of these valves are mixer valves which accept both hot and cold water, control the proportioning and volume of water there through, and deliver a mixed outlet stream to a tub filler, shower head and/or the like when the valve is activated. See e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,799. Other such valves merely control the volume of a single supply of cold or hot water.  
           [0004]    Such valves are typically designed so that a valve stem protrudes into the room through a hole in the room wall, with a surrounding decorative escutcheon that effectively hides the wall hole. The escutcheon also prevents leakage through the wall hole and restricts heat/cold transfer between opposite sides of the wall.  
           [0005]    Since the thickness of the wall will vary depending on the construction material selected by the builder or customer, the plumbing installer often first makes a rough-in installation, and then corrects for the final materials. The final adjustment is often achieved by providing threads on the valve housing which the escutcheon can tighten down on, thus providing some range of adjustment. See e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,149.  
           [0006]    However, where the wall is particularly thin or unusually thick the amount of adjustment allowed by such threads may be insufficient, thereby requiring the plumber to reposition the valve at a time when access to the valve is restricted. This can be time consuming and may damage construction that has already occurred.  
           [0007]    Various mounting assemblies have been developed to try to address this problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,389 discloses a valve assembly with a valve extension that can be threaded to vary the position of the escutcheon. This assembly has the disadvantage of requiring many components and separate fasteners.  
           [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,009 discloses an assembly which is suitable to receive a variety of adapters. The length of the assembly can be varied by eliminating or adding extension pieces. This system requires multiple parts.  
           [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,529 provides a less complex assembly in which a plastic insert with internal splines is adjustably mounted along the length of the stem by a set screw. However, use of a set screw in this context can be awkward.  
           [0010]    Thus, a need still exists for an improved adjustable valve assembly which can be mounted through room walls of widely varying thickness.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0011]    The invention provides a valve assembly with a three-position adapter for adjustably mounting a valve handle to a valve stem. In one aspect the invention provides a valve assembly having a rotatable valve stem for controlling fluid flow through the valve assembly, a stem adapter having first and second ends with openings suitable to alternately receive pre-defined different first and second lengths of the valve stem, and a handle linked to the valve stem via the stem adapter. By flip-flopping the adapter one can switch from a setting for a thin wall to a setting for a wall of intermediate thickness.  
           [0012]    In preferred forms the stem adapter has an internal stop element located closer to the first end than to the second end, the stem is splined, and the stem adapter openings engage the stem splines to restrict relative rotation there between. The stem adapter openings can be part of a single axial opening through the stem adapter, and the stem adapter can be suitable to receive a third length of the valve stem which is different than the first and second lengths when the stop element has flexed in a radially outward direction.  
           [0013]    In another aspect the stem adapter can have planar outer surfaces that slope radially inwardly towards the first and second ends from an intermediate location there between, and the outer surfaces can join at slotted corners. There can also be a stem driver mounted to the handle and defining a socket engaging outer surfaces of the stem adapter.  
           [0014]    In yet another preferred form there can be a retainer mounted to the valve having a threaded end. A bonnet is mounted to the threaded end of the retainer to conceal the stem driver and the stem adapter such that the bonnet is rotatable with respect to the handle.  
           [0015]    In another aspect the invention provides valve assembly where there is a rotatable valve stem for controlling fluid flow through the valve assembly. A stem adapter has an opening extending through opposite first and second ends and has a radial stop member positioned closer to the first end than the second end such that the opening alternatively is suitable to receive a first distance of the valve stem from the first end and a second distance of the valve stem (different from the first distance) from the second end. The opening can also receive a third distance of the valve stem when the radial stop has flexed radially outwardly. A handle is linked to the valve stem via the stem adapter.  
           [0016]    Thus, an installer can adjust the assembly from the room side of the wall for a thin wall by having the valve stem be inserted into the end of the adapter which is closest to the stop. Alternatively, the adapter can be flipped to provide the ability for the valve stem to be inserted into an end of the adapter which is the farthest from the stop (resulting in an assembly suitable for a thicker wall). For extremely thin walls the adapter can be pushed hard onto the stem so as to cause the stop flex outwardly. This allows more of the valve stem to enter the adapter.  
           [0017]    This assembly is comprised of few parts, is inexpensive to manufacture, and is easy to assembly without complex tools. Further, unlike set screws, the parts of the present invention are not so small that they are easily dropped or lost.  
           [0018]    These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the valve assembly of FIG. 1 (when assembled and mounted through a room wall), where an adapter element is fully pressed onto a valve stem;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the FIG. 2 drawing;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2, albeit with the adapter pressed onto the valve stem somewhat less than in FIG. 2, to accommodate a thicker wall;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the FIG. 4 drawing;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but with the adapter pressed onto the valve stem even less than as shown in FIG. 4, to accommodate a still thicker room wall;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion of the FIG. 6 drawing;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of an adapter in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  9 - 9  of FIG. 8;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 10 is an top view of the adapter; and  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the adapter. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0030]    Referring first to FIG. 1, a valve assembly  10  of the present invention includes a handle  12 , a bonnet  14 , a stem driver  16 , an adapter  18 , a decorative escutcheon  20 , a retainer  22  and a valve unit  24 . One possible valve unit to be used with this construction is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,799, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.  
         [0031]    The handle  12  is used to rotate a valve stem  26  of the valve  24 , and is coupled thereto via a coupling of the stem driver  16  to the handle (so that it rotates therewith), a coupling of the stem driver  16  with the adapter  18  (so that it rotates therewith), and a coupling of the adapter to the valve stem  26  (so that it rotates therewith). The bonnet  14  shrouds this connection and the escutcheon  20  conceals the hole through the wall through which valve  24  projects.  
         [0032]    As shown in FIG. 2, the valve  24  can include a separate valve cap  25  that bolts onto a valve body and also permits a mounting of the valve body to a rear of the room wall. The usual hot and cold water supply lines link to the valve.  
         [0033]    Valve stem  26  adjusts the flow rate and temperature of the water through the valve  24  via at least rotational movement. As indicated in FIG. 1, the valve stem  26  has the usual axially extending splines  28  along its outer periphery.  
         [0034]    The valve stem  26  also has a fixed rotational stop member  30  extending parallel with the valve stem  26 . As is well known, such a member can cooperate with another member (not shown) that can be mounted on the valve stem to rotate therewith. This limits the arc of rotation of the valve stem  26  and thus provides a maximum hot temperature.  
         [0035]    As seen in FIG. 2, the retainer  22  bolts to the valve cap  25  with the valve stem  26  extending towards the room. The retainer  22  has four notches that accommodate four ribs of the valve cap and help align the retainer  22 . The escutcheon  20  fits onto and around the retainer  22 . It is large enough to conceal the wall hole, as well as any attachments between the valve cap  25  and the wall. The escutcheon  20  has two tabs at its inner diameter that mate with cut outs in the retainer  22  to properly orient graphics and/or text on the escutcheon  20  (e.g. the word “hot”, the word “cold” and an arrow there between to suggest a rotary direction).  
         [0036]    The handle  12  fits over an opening in one end of the bonnet  14 . The stem driver  16  is fixed to the handle  12  to rotate therewith by an axial bolt  32  extending outward through the opening in the bonnet  14 . The stem driver  16  has a shoulder at an outer end that is larger than the opening in the bonnet  14  so that the bonnet  14  is captured between the handle  12  and the stem driver  16  while both can rotate relative to the bonnet.  
         [0037]    Thus, once the bonnet  14  is threaded onto the retainer  22  at the inward end of the bonnet, it no longer rotates. A washer  34  can be inserted between the handle  12  and the bonnet  14  to ease rotation of the handle  12 , if desired. Alternatively, a lubricant can be provided at this position, and/or the materials can be selected to permit sliding contact.  
         [0038]    It should be noted that the stem driver  16  has a squared inward socket. This is suitable to axially slidably receive the outer walls of the adapter  18 . The adapter  18  is not bolted onto the valve stem. Rather, its internal splines permit no relative rotation between the adapter  18  and valve stem  26 , and the bonnet  14  (by virtue of being anchored to the retainer  22 ) holds the driver, and thus the adapter, axially in place on the stem.  
         [0039]    Referring next to FIGS.  8 - 11 , adapter  18  has sides with planar surfaces tapering to opposite ends from an offset intermediate location along its length. The tapered surfaces ease the insertion of the adapter  18  into the stem driver socket and ensure a tight grip at the radially outermost edges of all four sides. This reduces wobble so that the handle has a solid feel and ensures that there is no slip between the stem driver  16 , the adapter  18  and the valve stem  26 .  
         [0040]    The corners (preferably all four, but alternatively  1 ,  2 , or  3 ) of the adapter  18  have elongated slots or other cut out geometry  36  allowing for outward deflection of the sides if needed when mounting the adapter  18  onto the valve stem  26 . The slots  36  also allow the sides to be compressed inwardly when pressed into the stem driver  16 .  
         [0041]    The adapter  18  has an internally splined cylindrical bore  38  there through for engaging the splines  28  of the valve stem  26 . Small, radially inwardly projecting stop elements  40  are formed integrally with the adapter  18  in a circular pattern in valleys between the splines of the adapter  18 , at an intermediate location approximately ⅓ of the way in from one end.  
         [0042]    The adapter  18  can be mounted onto the valve stem  26  at any one of three pre-defined positions along its length, depending on the thickness of the wall in which the valve assembly is being installed. FIGS.  2 - 3  show the adapter  18  fully pressed onto the end of the valve stem  26 . Note that the sides of the adapter  26  have flexed outward slightly to allow the stop elements  40  to pass over the splines of the valve stem  26 . In this position, the stop elements  40  will be disposed in a circumferential groove  42  in the valve stem  26 . This position accommodates the least thick room walls as bonnet  14  can thread farther onto the retainer  22 .  
         [0043]    FIGS.  4 - 5  show the assembly as mounted to a wall of intermediate thickness. Here, the adapter  18  is pressed onto the valve stem  26  with the end farthest from the stop elements  40  first until they contact the end of the valve stem  26 . Note that the adapter  18  remains “wedged” into the socket of the stem driver  16 , providing a tight connection.  
         [0044]    FIGS.  6 - 7  show the assembly as mounted to a wall of even thicker construction, such as one that is wall board with tile mounted thereon (not shown). Here, the adapter  18  is pressed onto the valve stem  26  with the end nearest from the stop elements  40  first until they contact the end of the valve stem  26 . Note again that the adapter  18  is still wedged into the socket of the stem driver  16 .  
         [0045]    Thus, there are three well defined mounting positions. In one, the stem is completely forced through most of the adapter because of the ability of the sides of the adapter to flex outwardly. Two other positions are defined by an offset stop in the cavity of the adapter, and the adapter can be flipped to change between them.  
         [0046]    Thus, significant variability in room wall depth can be accommodated. Further, three specific defined starting positions are created. Of course, use of different size adapters could create even greater flexibility.  
         [0047]    The stem driver  16 , “flip-flop” adapter  18  and the retainer  22  can be made of Celcon®. The escutcheon  20  can be a stamped sheet metal, such as brass or stainless steel, and the handle  12  and the bonnet  14  can be chrome plated ABS plastic.  
         [0048]    One can easily determine which adapter position is appropriate without trial and error. One can measure the distance from the end of the retainer  22  to a flat surface at the center of the escutcheon  20  while holding it firmly against the wall. This distance will indicate the proper adapter position to select.  
         [0049]    The system can be assembled easily with minimal tools. Moreover, the assembly has no exposed fasteners, thus providing an aesthetically pleasing assembly.  
         [0050]    A preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above. However, modifications and variations to the preferred embodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art, which will be within the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the assembly can be used to mount a faucet valve on a kitchen or lavatory sink top. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to just the described embodiment. To ascertain the full scope of the invention, the following claims should be referenced.  
       INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY  
       [0051]    The invention provides an improved adjustable valve assembly for facilitating mounting of shower controls and the like on walls.