Abstract:
The invention concerns a thermostatic mixer valve for hot and cold water, which comprises a rotary delivery regulator device ( 15 ), a thermostatic bulb ( 17 ) positioned coaxially to said regulator device, and a mixer control device ( 16 ) working in conjunction with the thermostatic bulb. The delivery regulator device ( 15 ) and the mixer control device ( 16 ) with relative thermostatic bulb ( 17 ) are assembled and housed ready to operate in a cartridge body ( 10 ) inserted as a whole in a tap body which has means of transporting hot and cold water towards a mixer chamber and means of delivering the water towards the user point.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention concerns the field of the taps in general and refers in particular to hot and cold mixer valves with a thermostatic unit.  
         PRIOR ART  
         [0002]    Various solutions for hot and cold mixer valves for sanitation and water services including mixer valves with associated a thermostat unit to automatically control the temperature of the mixed water delivered are already well known.  
           [0003]    A mixer valve of the type presented here is made up of components combining with each other and assembled in a body which is the same body as the tap in which it is operating. To be more specific, said mixer valve includes, inside a tap body, a rotary delivery regulator device, a thermostatic bulb coaxial to the regulator device and a mixer unit which can move axially relative to the delivery regulator device in response to the dilation of the thermostatic bulb it works in association with. The tap body has two lateral holes for separate input of hot and cold water leading to a mixer chamber which houses the thermostatic bulb with mixer device and which is connected to an output passageway of the mixed water to be delivered for use. The delivery regulator unit and the mixer element are controlled separately; the mixer chamber is positioned between the regulator unit and the bottom of the tap body; the output passageway of the mixed water is at the bottom of the body; the regulator unit has two openings on a level with the mixer chamber, each working in conjunction with one of the input hot and cold water holes, and which can be positioned either far from or in total or partial coincidence with said holes for selective opening and closing of the valve; and around each opening of the delivery regulator unit there is a seal on the internal surface of the external body.  
           [0004]    This well-known production, even if functional, has however the drawback of having to assemble the components of the mixer valve directly in the tap body with the necessity of having to machine and configure this body in order to be able to correctly receive these components.  
         OBJECTIVES AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    The objective of this invention on the other hand is to put forward and supply a hot and cold water mixer valve complete with pre-assembled thermostat housed in its own body in the form of a cartridge and which can consequently be inserted as a whole in a tap body. The advantages of this solution are that the tap body does not require specific machining, the thermostatic mixer valve is pre-assembled and can be assembled and disassembled in the tap body facilitating replacement and not least, the possibility of also creating a thermostatic mixer valve which can be used in substitution for those more commonly used mixer valves employed in taps for showers or bathtubs.  
           [0006]    This objective and these advantages have been achieved in a thermostatic valve according to at least claim 1. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    Greater detail of the invention will become clear from the continuation of the description made with reference to the enclosed indicative and non-limiting drawings, in which:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 shows an enlarged cross-section of a first execution of the cartridge mixer valve in a tap body;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 shows a section of the cup housing of the cartridge body of the mixer valve;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIGS. 3 and 4 are two side views of the cup housing in FIG. 2;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIGS. 5, 6 and  6   a  show a cross-section view and two views from opposite sides of the external jacket working in conjunction with the cup housing;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 7 shows an enlarged cross-section of a construction variation of the cartridge mixer valve in a tap body;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 8 shows an external view of the mixer valve in FIG. 7;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 9 shows a section of the cup housing of the cartridge body of the mixer valve in FIG. 7;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIGS. 10 and 11 are two side views of the cup housing in FIG. 9; and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 12 is a view from the bottom of the cup housing in FIG. 9. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]    As shown, the operating components of the thermostatic mixer valve under examination are assembled and held in a cartridge body  10  inserted as a whole in a tap body  11 .  
         [0018]    According to the product in FIGS.  1 - 6 , the cartridge body  10  is made up of a cup housing  12  working in conjunction with an external jacket  13  and a top ring nut  14 . The components of the mixer valve consist basically in a rotary device  15  to regulate the delivery of the water, and a mixer element  16  to control the temperature of the mixed water delivered. This mixer device  16  is working in conjunction with a thermostatic bulb  17 , which can move axially in response to the variations in temperature the thermostatic bulb is subjected to, and is positioned with the latter on an axis with the delivery regulator device  15 .  
         [0019]    The cup housing  12 , and in the same way the external jacket  13 , have laterally, at different levels, two separate adduction slots  18 ,  19  respectively for hot and cold water, and a base with a passageway  20  for the water to flow out to be delivered. The hot and cold water reach the adduction slots or parts 18 ,  19  through respective ducts  21 ,  22  machined in the tap body  11 .  
         [0020]    The cup housing  12  and the external jacket  13  are constrained by means of a ring nut  14 . Between the cup housing and the external jacket, there is a seal  18 ′,  19 ′ placed respectively around each side slot  18 ,  19 . Around the external jacket  13  and at various levels depending on the position of the adduction slots  18 , 19  and the ducts  21 ,  22  for water delivery, there are radial seals  23  on the internal surfaces of the tap body  11  in which the mixer valve is inserted and blocked by a locking ring nut  24 . At least one further anti-leak seal  25  is also positioned at the bottom part of the housing  12 .  
         [0021]    The delivery regulator device  15  is assembled and turns in the cup housing  12  where it is held axially by the ring nut  14  and from where it protrudes in a top neck  15 ′. In order to turn, it is fitted with a knob  26  which fits onto said top neck  15 ′. Furthermore, it has two side openings  27 ,  28  positioned, respectively at the same level as the adduction slots or parts  18 ,  19  of said housing  12 . In this way, by turning the device  15 , its openings  27 ,  28  may be moved away from or to correspond partially or totally with the adduction slots  18 ,  19  to achieve variable or total opening/closing of the hot and cold water flow into the valve. The adduction slots or parts  18 ,  19  and/or the openings  27 ,  28  are not diametrally opposite, but form between them, with respect to the rotation axis of the regulator device, an angle of less than 180°, preferably between 120 and 160° so that in order to open/close the valve the regulator device  15  has only to turn very slightly. There is a seal  27 ′,  28 ′ around each opening  27 ,  28  of the delivery regulator device  15 , preferably assembled and held in position in a housing provided in the cup housing  12 .  
         [0022]    The delivery regulator device  15  is drilled and forms with the bottom of the housing  12  a mixing chamber  29  which communicates laterally with the entrance openings  27 ,  28  and at the bottom with the exit passageway  20 .  
         [0023]    The mixer device  16 ′ is positioned in said chamber on a level with the entrance openings  27 ,  28  and moves axially with respect to them by means of the thermostatic bulb  17 . This bulb is in contact with and is influenced by the temperature of the water flowing in the mixer chamber and, by dilating differently depending on the temperature of the water, causes the mixer device to move so as to close/open as a result openings  27 ,  28  of the hot and cold water delivery and correspondingly the quantities of the two different types of mixed water so as to maintain the temperature of the water delivered constant.  
         [0024]    The movements of the regulator device  16  are contrasted, as is known, by two different opposing springs  30 ,  31  respectively working in conjunction with the device itself and with a hood  32  resting on the summit of the thermostatic bulb  17 .  
         [0025]    The temperature of the mixed water can be set as required by using a second knob  33  fixed to a turning shaft  34  working in conjunction with the thermostatic bulb  17  by means of a sliding device  35  which engages spring  31  and, by means of the latter, the hood over the bulb itself.  
         [0026]    The thermostatic mixer valve set up in the form of a cartridge as described above can be inserted into a housing provided in the body of any tap  11 , blocking it in position simply by tightening ring nut  24 . For correct positioning of the mixer valve in the tap body, the housing  12  containing the operating components can be provided with reference lugs  36 .  
         [0027]    The thermostatic mixer valve, given the operating components and their combination and disposition inside the cartridge body, can also be set up to be used, in a tap body  41  with water inputs and outputs from the bottom, as replacements for the standard mixer valves without thermostats.  
         [0028]    This further mixer valve set up is shown in FIGS.  7 - 12  where the same reference numbers to indicate the same or equivalent parts have been used. In this set up, the cup housing  42  is integral or working in conjunction with a bottom adaptor  43  having two reference lugs  44 , a first inlet passageway for the hot water  45 , a second inlet passageway for cold water  46  and an output passageway for mixed water  47 . The passageway for hot water  45  is in communication with a first lateral hole  45 ′ with a first duct  48  with a first lateral slot  50  for hot water input into the mixer chamber. In the same way the cold water passageway  46  is in communication with a second lateral hole  46 ′ with a second duct  51  with a second lateral slot  52  for cold water input into the mixer chamber. The two ducts  48 ,  51  are formed by a seal  48 ′ placed diagonally on the outside of the housing and acting on the internal surface of the external jacket  49 . In this way the hot water and the cold water arriving separately from the bottom, flow up through the respective ducts  48 ,  51  until they enter the valve through their corresponding lateral slots  50 ,  52 . After mixing inside the valve, the mixed water is delivered at a preset temperature towards the point of use flowing through the output passageway at the bottom  47 .