Patent Publication Number: US-2004046067-A1

Title: Showerhead

Description:
[0001] The present invention relates to a showerhead.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] The turning on and off of water discharged by existing showerheads is invariably controlled by means of the mains water taps to which the showerheads are connected. During normal use, showerheads are often turned off temporarily and repeatedly to save water, for example when soap or shampoo is being applied. For this purpose, the use of the mains water taps may be inconvenient, in that the previously chosen flow rate and/or temperature of the water will often be disturbed when the showerheads are turned on again.  
       [0003] The invention seeks to mitigate or at least alleviate such a problem by providing an improved showerhead.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004] According to the invention, there is provided a showerhead comprising a body having an inlet, an outlet and an internal passage for delivering water from the inlet to the outlet. The outlet comprises a plurality of apertures for discharging water. The showerhead includes a support member supporting the body for use and for delivering water from a water supply to the inlet. A valve is provided internally of the showerhead for temporarily interrupting the flow of water. The valve comprises co-operating first and second valve members movable relatively to each other for operation and includes manual operating means for causing relative movement between the valve members. The operating means is associated with an external surface of the showerhead.  
       [0005] Preferably, the body is movably connected to the support member, and the operating means is provided by the body proper.  
       [0006] More preferably, the body is slidable relative to the support member for operating the valve.  
       [0007] It is preferred that the first valve member is fixed within the body, and the second valve member is connected to the support member.  
       [0008] The valve is preferably provided wholly within the body.  
       [0009] In a preferred embodiment, the first and second valve members are tubular and are interengaged for relative telescopic movement.  
       [0010] More preferably, the tubular valve members have respective lateral openings for alignment to open the valve and mis-alignment to close the valve.  
       [0011] Advantageously, the valve is constructed to have a slightly leaking closed condition that permits a limited flow of water.  
       [0012] In a specific embodiment, the support member comprises a hollow stem for connection to a fixed water supply pipe, and the body is connected at its inlet to the stem by means of a ball joint.  
       [0013] More specifically, the body includes a ball socket slidably supported at its inlet, and the ball socket is fixedly connected to the second valve member. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
     [0014] The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:  
     [0015]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of a showerhead in accordance with the invention;  
     [0016]FIG. 2 is a right side view of the showerhead of FIG. 1;  
     [0017]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional top plan view of the showerhead of FIG. 1, showing the showerhead in an ON condition; and  
     [0018]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional top plan view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing the showerhead in a PAUSE condition. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0019] Referring to the drawings, there is shown a showerhead  100  embodying the invention, which showerhead  100  belongs to the wall-mounted type and has a generally conical body  10  and a hollow stem  20  projecting from a rear apex end of the body  10 . The stem  20  has an internally screw-threaded rear end  22  for connection to a water supply pipe fixed on the wall of a bathroom, and includes a generally spherical front end  24 . The stem  20  serves to support the body  10  for use and to deliver water supplied from the water pipe to the interior of the body  10 .  
     [0020] The showerhead body  10  has a central rear inlet opening  12 , within which a tubular ball socket  26  is co-axially located for limited relative sliding movement. The ball socket  26  receives the spherical front end  24  of the stem  20  as a ball joint such that the body  10  is swivellable within an acute conical angle, and 360° rotatable, about the stem  20  to point in a desired direction. As the ball socket  26  is slidably connected to the inlet  12 , the body  10  is also slidable relative to the stem  20  in opposite directions along the central axis of the body  10 .  
     [0021] The showerhead body  10  has a convex annular front surface  14  including a relatively large circular central opening  16  that locates a water discharge assembly  30 . The discharge assembly  30  has a circular body  34  including a convex front surface that is formed with three concentric rings of apertures  31  to  33  acting as an outlet for discharging water in different manners. The outer ring apertures  31  are considerably larger than the inner ring apertures  33 , both being circular, and the middle ring apertures  32  are generally flat.  
     [0022] The discharge assembly  30  includes three manifold passages (generally known and thus not clearly shown in the drawings for clarity) within its body  34 , whose exit ends terminate at the corresponding rings of apertures  31  to  33  for diverting water thereto for discharge. The manifold passages include respective sections of various designs and at least one of them runs through a movable device, for discharging water in different manners, including pulsation, and at different forces.  
     [0023] The assembly body  34  is manually rotatable relative to the showerhead body  10  into different angular positions for selectively connecting the entrance ends of the manifold passages to a water distribution point  40 . To facilitate rotation, the body  34  includes an external tab  35 .  
     [0024] The showerhead  100  includes a built-in valve  50  housed wholly within the body  10 . The valve  50  is provided between the stem  20  and the distribution point  40  for controlling the flow of water from the former to the latter, to offer additional control apart from the mains water tap to which the showerhead  100  is connected.  
     [0025] The valve  50  is formed by a pair of co-operating first and second tubular valve members  51  and  52  movable relatively to each other for operation. The first valve member  51  is mounted co-axially on a fixed collar  59  in the showerhead body  10 , and the second valve member  52  is jointed coaxially with the ball socket  26 . The first valve member  51  engages co-axially around the second valve member  52  for relative telescopic movement upon manual sliding movement of the body  10  relative to the stem  20 .  
     [0026] The second valve member  52  has a side hole  54  through the wall at its inner end surrounded by the first valve member  51 . The outer end wall of the first valve member  51  surrounds the collar  59  for mounting thereby, and is radially expanded to form an inner shoulder  55  aligned axially with the collar  59  and a void  56  immediately outside the collar  59 . One end of the void  56  acts as the aforesaid distribution point  40 . A hole  53  is formed between the shoulder  55  of the first valve member  51  and the collar  59 . The first (valve member) hole  53  directly communicates with the void  56 , and is positioned right next to the second (valve member) hole  54 .  
     [0027] While the showerhead body  10  is at an outer position relative to the stem  20 , the first valve member  51  is positioned relative to the second valve member  52  such that the first hole  53  is aligned with the second hole  54 , whereby the valve  50  is opened (FIG. 3). Opening of the valve  50  permits normal use of the showerhead  100  to discharge water (along path P) at a chosen flow rate and/or temperature.  
     [0028] The showerhead  100  may be switched into a PAUSE condition for temporarily interrupting the water flow by pushing the body  10  towards the stem  20 . In doing so, the first valve member  51  is slid outwardly from the second valve member  52  such that the first hole  53  moves aside and becomes out of alignment (misaligned) with the second hole  54 , whereby the valve  50  is closed (FIG. 4). Closing of the valve  50  practically stops the flow of water.  
     [0029] The valve  50  is constructed to be slightly leaking such that, while in the closed condition, it will not shut off the water flow completely. More specifically, the valve  50  will reduce the flow rate to a minimum such that water will seep out in drops for example. This can be achieved by leaving a small gap or forming a small groove in the interface between the two valve members  51  and  52 . Such a minimum flow rate, say 7.01/hr, may be required by the local safety regulation that prohibits the use of a showerhead device to completely shut off water from a mains water supply as the device is normally not made sufficiently strong to withstand the mains supply pressure.  
     [0030] The showerhead  100  may subsequently be switched back to the normal use condition by pulling the body  10  outwardly from the stem  20  thereby opening the valve  50  through realignment of the two holes  53  and  54 . As the mains water tap has not been manipulated, the previously chosen flow rate and/or temperature of the water will not be disturbed and can therefore be resumed.  
     [0031] It is clear that the showerhead body  10  proper is used as manual operating means, by gripping its external surface, for turning on and off the internal valve  50 . A separate operating member may of course be used instead, such as a press knob provided on the external surface on one side of the body  10  for depression to actuate either valve member  51 / 52 .  
     [0032] It is envisaged that the subject invention may also be applied to a showerhead of the handgrip type, in which case the showerhead body may be movable by hand relative to the handle for operating the valve, or a manual switch on the handle may be employed.  
     [0033] The invention has been given by way of example only, and various other modifications of and/or alterations to the described embodiment may be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as specified in the appended claims.