Patent Publication Number: US-2019194916-A1

Title: Deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present application generally relates to water faucets and, more particularly, relates to a deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     At present, a deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet in the United States market is required to install a temperature control device alone to meet the standard requirements of anti-scald. In order to meet the standard requirements of anti-scald, an existing deck-mount bathtub faucet needs to additionally purchase an independent thermostatic valve. 
     However, the existing deck-mount bathtub faucets at least have the following disadvantages. 
     Firstly, in order to connect the independent thermostatic valve with the bathtub faucet, additional connecting waterways are required. Therefore, the user needs to pay additional money for installing the additional thermostatic valve. The added connecting pipeline will also increase heat loss and result in the waste of energy. As a result, the user needs to pay more for the use cost. 
     Secondly, the flow of the bathtub faucet on the current market is generally too small, it will take a long time for injecting water in the bathtub, and the heat loss is large, which will increase the user&#39;s cost. 
     In addition, the added thermostatic valve can only be hidden in the bathtub or separately fixed on the surface of the bathtub, and the water temperature cannot be adjusted easily. 
     In view of the foregoing, what is needed, therefore, is to provide a deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet having the advantages of simple structure, easy to install and use. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One object of the present application is to overcome the disadvantages in the conventional deck-mount bathtub faucet and to provide a deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet having the advantages of simple structure, easy to install and use. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, a deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet includes: 
     a thermostatic valve, installed on a deck, and connected with a hot water inlet, a cold water inlet and a mixed water outlet, hot water from the hot water inlet and cold water from the cold water inlet mixed in the thermostatic valve to a certain temperature and flows out of the mixed water outlet; and 
     a diverter valve, installed on a deck, and connected with the mixed water outlet, the diverter valve is provided with a first outlet pipe connecting with a faucet which is installed on a deck and a second outlet pipe connecting with a shower, the mixed water from the mixed water outlet into the diverter valve flowing into the faucet or the shower after being controlled by the diverter valve. 
     According to one aspect of the present application, the thermostat valve is installed on a deck of the bathtub and is provided with a temperature adjusting handle for adjusting the water temperature. 
     According to one aspect of the present application, the flow rate of the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet is no less than 10 gpm at 60 psi dynamic pressure. Under the premise of meeting the requirements of installation diameter, the bathtub is set up to be filled with hot water in a shortest time, which can reduce the heat loss and save energy. 
     According to one aspect of the present application, the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet is provided with a handheld shower fixed on an adjustable handheld holder of a shower bracket, or the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet has a fixed shower with a switching valve and a handheld shower, the mixed water from the second water outlet pipe flows out of the fixed shower or the handheld shower after being controlled by the switching valve installed on the shower bracket. 
     According to one aspect of the present application, the diverter valve is provided with a replaceable cartridge, and the diverter valve may be provided with cartridges of different sizes. In this case, the water flow rate of the outlet can be further increased. 
     According to one aspect of the present application, the thermostatic valve includes a body, a thermostatic cartridge installed in the body and a rib clamped on the periphery of the thermostatic cartridge, the body has a positioning groove, and the rib has a protruding part correspondingly accommodated in the positioning groove. 
     According to one aspect of the present application, the body is provided with a plastic positioning sleeve surrounding the thermostatic cartridge, the bottom of the plastic positioning sleeve is provided with a positioning surface and a positioning rib, the positioning surface and the positioning rib are matched with the periphery of the thermostatic cartridge and the groove arranged on the thermostatic cartridge. 
     According to one aspect of the present application, the top of the plastic positioning sleeve is provided with a positioning groove, the thermostatic cartridge is provided with a temperature adjusting handle, the temperature adjusting handle is provided with a positioning convex point, and the positioning convex point can rotate within the range of the positioning groove. 
     According to one aspect of the present application, the top of the plastic positioning sleeve is provided with a groove, and the plastic positioning sleeve is coupled with a hand decorative cover, the hand decorative cover is provided with a positioning flange, and the positioning flange is correspondingly accommodated in the groove. 
     Compared with the prior art, the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application has the following advantages: 
     Firstly, the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet has an adjustable temperature thermostatic valve, which can make the outlet water temperature meet the user&#39;s requirements, save time and water that users waste when adjusting the temperature, and simplify the connecting pipelines of the products. 
     Secondly, the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application takes the characteristics of large flow rate into account, so that the bathtub can be filled with hot water in a short time, thereby reducing the heat loss and saving energy. 
     More importantly, a deck-mount bathtub faucet in the United States and Canada market is required to install a temperature control device alone to meet the standard requirements of anti-scald, the deck-mount large flow thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application has its own temperature control device, the user only need to purchase this product to meet the standard requirements and reduce the user&#39;s additional cost. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached drawings. It may be understood that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in no way limit any changes in form and detail that may be made to the described embodiments by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the described embodiments. 
         FIG. 1  depicts a perspective of a deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet according to one embodiment of the present application, which is provided with a fixed shower and a handheld shower; 
         FIG. 2  depicts a perspective view of a deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet according to another embodiment of the present application, which is provided with a handheld shower only; 
         FIG. 3  depicts an exploded view of a deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet according to one embodiment of the present application; 
         FIG. 4  depicts a partial assembly view of a thermostatic valve shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  depicts a perspective view of a plastic positioning sleeve in a thermostat valve shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  depicts another partial assembly view of a thermostat valve shown in  FIG. 3 , wherein a plastic locating sleeve has been installed on the body; 
         FIG. 7  depicts yet another partial assembly view of a thermostat valve shown in  FIG. 3 , wherein a handle decorative cover has been installed on the body; 
         FIG. 8  depicts a perspective view of a thermostatic valve shown in  FIG. 3 , wherein a temperature adjusting handle has been installed on the thermostatic cartridge; and 
         FIG. 9  depicts a cross-sectional view of an assembled thermostatic valve shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRING EMBODIMENTS 
     In order to make the purposes, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention be clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail hereafter with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein are only intended to illustrate but not to limit the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 9 , a deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application includes: 
     a thermostatic valve  10 , installed on a deck and connected with a hot water inlet  100 , a cold water inlet  102  and a mixed water outlet  104 , hot water from the hot water inlet  100  and cold water from the cold water inlet  102  is mixed in the thermostatic valve  10  to a certain temperature and flows out of the mixed water outlet pipe  104 ; and 
     a diverter valve  20 , installed on a deck and connected with the mixed water outlet  104 , the diverter valve  20  is provided with a first outlet pipe  200  connecting with a faucet  30  which is installed on a deck and a second outlet pipe  202  connecting with a shower  40 , the mixed water from the mixed water outlet  104  into the diverter valve  20  flows into the faucet  30  or the shower  40  after being controlled by the diverter valve  20 . 
     The existing bathtub faucet on the market requires the installation of an ASSE 1070 or ASSE 1016 thermostatic valve after installing a Roman bath faucet. The thermostatic valve  10  of the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application replaces the structure of the existing deck-mount bathtub faucet and the thermostatic valve, which can (i) save the cost of products and the installation costs; (ii) save energy and reduce the loss of heat and pressure from superfluous pipelines and equipments; (iii) easy to repair, which can be repaired on a deck. 
     According to one embodiment of the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application, under the premise of meeting the requirements of the installation pipe diameter, the flow rate of the thermostat valve  10  is no less than 10 gpm at 60 psi dynamic pressure. At present, the flow rate of the existing bathtub faucets on the market are generally only about 6 gpm under the same condition. The deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application can rapidly fill the bathtub with water in a short time, reduce the time of water injection, avoid the loss of water temperature, save energy and save running costs. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , according to one embodiment of a deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present invention, the shower  40  includes a fixed shower  400  and a handheld shower  402 . The fixed shower  400  and the handheld shower  402  are mounted on a shower bracket  50 , and the shower bracket  50  has a switching valve  60 . The mixed water from the second water outlet pipe  202  flows out of the fixed shower  400  or the handheld shower  402  after being controlled by the switching valve  60 . In the illustrated embodiment, the switching valve  60  is provided with a switching handle  602 , the switching handle  602  has a length of no less than 2.5 inches and a maximum rotation torque of 0.55 Nm. In this case, the switching valve  60  can be actuated without exertion and the opening operation can be completed within 10 seconds, which meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , according to one embodiment of the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application, the shower bracket  50  is provided with an adjustable handheld holder  502 , and the handheld shower  402  is movably installed on the shower bracket  50  through the adjustable handheld holder  502 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , according to one embodiment of the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application, the handheld shower  402  is provided with a strap  404  that is available for people with no fingers, which meets the requirement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 to 9 , according to one embodiment of the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application, the thermostatic valve  10  includes a body  120 , a thermostatic cartridge  122  installed in the body  120  and a rib  130  clamped on the periphery of the thermostatic cartridge  122 . The body  120  has a positioning groove  124 , and the rib  130  is provided with a protruding part  134  correspondingly accommodated in the positioning groove  124 . 
     According to one embodiment of the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application, the body  120  is provided with a plastic positioning sleeve  140  surrounding the thermostatic cartridge  122 , a bottom of the plastic positioning sleeve  140  is provided with a positioning surface  142  and a positioning rib  144 , the positioning surface  142  and the positioning rib  144  are matched with the periphery of the thermostatic cartridge  122  and the groove arranged on the thermostatic cartridge  122 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , according to one embodiment of the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application, top of the plastic positioning sleeve  140  is provided with a groove  146 , and the plastic positioning sleeve  140  is coupled with a hand decorative cover  160 , the hand decorative cover  160  is provided with a positioning flange  162 , and the positioning flange  162  is correspondingly accommodated in the groove  146 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , according to one embodiment of the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application, the top of the plastic positioning sleeve  140  is provided with a positioning groove  170  which defined by two flanges apart from each other. The thermostatic cartridge  122  is provided with a temperature adjusting handle  180 . The temperature of the mixed water can be adjusted to a predetermined appropriate temperature by the temperature adjusting handle  180 . The temperature adjusting handle  180  is provided with a positioning convex point  182 , and the positioning convex point  182  can rotate within the range of the positioning groove  170 . Matching of the positioning convex point  182  and the positioning groove  170  not only can limit the temperature of the mixed water to a desired temperature, but also can prevent the temperature adjusting handle  180  from rotating excessively to cause the thermostatic cartridge  122  to be damaged. 
     Compared with the prior art, the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet according to the present invention has the following advantages: 
     Firstly, the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application has an adjustable temperature thermostatic valve, which can make the temperature of the outlet water meet the user&#39;s requirements, save time and water that users waste when adjusting the temperature, and simplify the connecting pipelines of the products. 
     Secondly, the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application takes the characteristics of large flow rate into account, so that the bathtub can be filled with hot water in a short time, thereby reducing the heat loss and saving the energy. 
     More importantly, the deck-mount thermostatic bathtub faucet in the United States and Canada market are all required to install a temperature control device alone to meet the standard requirements of anti-scald, the deck-mount large flow thermostatic bathtub faucet of the present application includes a temperature control device, the user only need to purchase this product to meet the standard requirements and reduce the user&#39;s additional cost. 
     The variation and modification of the above-described embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art to which the present invent based on the disclosure and teachings of the above specification. Therefore, the present invent is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and described above, modification and variation of the present invent are intended to be within the scope of the claims of the present invent. In addition, although specific terms are used in this specification, such terms are used for convenience only and are not intended to limit the invent in any way.