Patent Abstract:
An extension assembly for effectively extending a faucet stem to facilitate the maintenance of a faucet assembly. The extension assembly includes a stem extender which connects to a faucet stem, an extension tube which fits over the stem extender and determines the length by which the faucet stem is extended, and an optional adapter for interfacing between the faucet stem and the stem extender.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/500,194 filed Jun. 23, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to faucet and plumbing fixtures. More particularly, this invention relates to an assembly for effectively extending faucet stems so as to facilitate the repair, maintenance and replacement of a faucet. 
     Currently, it can be very difficult to repair, maintain and replace faucet systems, since the hardware conventionally used to secure faucets to sinks or other structures is typically located within a tight space within a cabinet as a result of the sink to which the faucet is mounted. Therefore, there is a need to facilitate access to such hardware to facilitate the repair, maintenance and replacement of faucet assemblies. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an extension assembly adapted to serve as an extension for a faucet stem. The assembly is applicable to any form of faucet, including but not limited to ball, disc, or compression faucets having one or more handles. 
     According to a first aspect of the invention, the extension assembly includes a stem extender having a hollow interior entirely therethrough, and an extension tube having a hollow interior entirely therethrough that is sized to fit over the stem extender. The stem extender includes an internal thread within an upper portion thereof and an external thread at a lower portion thereof. The internal thread is adapted for threadably coupling with a threaded stem of a faucet assembly. The extension assembly further includes a nut adapted to threadably couple with the external thread of the stem extender to secure the extension tube on the stem extender. 
     An optional aspect of the invention is the inclusion of an adapter for installation between the faucet stem and the stem extender. The adapter has an internal thread within an upper portion thereof for threadably coupling with the stem and an external thread at a lower portion thereof for threadably coupling with the internal thread within the upper portion of the stem extender. 
     Other aspects and advantages of this invention will be better appreciated from the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of an extension assembly of the present invention, as well as an example of conventional hardware for attaching a faucet assembly to a sink. 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  represent top view and cross-sectional views of an adapter for use with the extension assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of a stem extender of the extension assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b  represent two cross-sectional views of alternative configurations for the stem extender of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of an extension tube of the extension assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     To facilitate the following description, terms such as “upper,” “lower,” “above,” “below,” “right,” “left,” etc., will be used in reference to the view shown in  FIG. 1 , and are relative terms that indicate the construction, installation and use of the invention and therefore help to define the scope of the invention. 
       FIG. 1  schematically depicts a faucet assembly  1  mounted to a sink  2 . As should be readily understood, the sink  2  may be of any type to which a faucet assembly might be mounted, and the sink  2  may be mounted to a cabinet or any other suitable structure. While shown as a single-handle faucet assembly whose handle  1 A is integrated into the spigot  1 B, from the following discussion it will become apparent that multiple-handle faucet assemblies are also within the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the faucet assembly  1  could be of the type that has a single handle or two handles spaced apart and to either or both sides of the spigot  1 B, as well as a sprayer that is separate from or integrated with the spigot  1 B. As is conventional, the faucet assembly  1  includes threaded stems  3  that extend downward through the top of the sink  2 , by which the faucet assembly  1  can be secured to the sink  2 . The area represented in  FIG. 1  would typically be located behind a sink bowl  20  with which the faucet assembly  1  is installed. On the lefthand side of  FIG. 1 , a conventional nut  4  is represented as being positioned for threading onto the lefthand stem  3  of the faucet assembly  1 . The stem  3  and nut  4  form a common configuration for fastening a faucet to a sink, and therefore will not be described in any further detail. 
     An exploded view of an extension assembly  5  according to an embodiment of the invention is represented in the righthand side of  FIG. 1 . Various components of the assembly  5  are represented (not to scale) in  FIGS. 2 through 6 . The extension assembly  5  is represented in  FIG. 1  as including a stem extender  6 , a floating extension tube  7 , a nut  8  and an adapter  10 . For use with the single-handled faucet assembly represented in  FIG. 1 , the invention utilizes the adapter  10  which, as more readily apparent in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , has female threads  12  adapted to thread onto the external (male) threads of the stem  3 , and has male threads  11  adapted to thread into internal (female) threads located within a bore  9  in the upper end of the extender  6 . For certain types of faucets, for example, two-handled faucets, the adapter  10  is not required and the threaded bore  9  within the upper end of the stem extender  6  enables the extender  6  to be directly threaded onto the stem  3 . 
     The stem extender  6  is adapted for assembly with the extension tube  7  by sliding the tube  7  onto the exterior of the extender  6 . The lower end of the stem extender  6  is provided with male threads  14 , allowing the nut  8  to be threaded onto the extender  6  to secure the extension tube  7  on the extender  6 . By tightening the nut  8 , the upper end of the tube  7  is forced into engagement with the sink  2  to secure the faucet assembly  1  to the sink  2 . 
       FIG. 1  evidences the relative advantage provided by the current invention over the conventional method provided by the nut  4  and stem  3 . Those knowledgeable in the art will appreciated that access to the nut  4  is typically complicated by the presence of a sink bowl  20  (represented in phantom in  FIG. 1 , which may extend a considerable distance downward from the sink  2 . In contrast, by installing the extension assembly  5  instead of the nut  4 , the length of the extension tube  7  effectively lowers the location of the nut  8  relative to that of the conventional nut  4 , with the result that the nut  8  of the extension assembly  5  is far more accessible and, as a result, much easier to fasten and loosen. 
     From the cross-sectional view of the stem extender  6  depicted in  FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b , it can be seen that, in addition to the threaded bore  9  in its upper end, the remainder of the stem extender  6  defines a hollow cavity  13 . In  FIG. 5   a , a shoulder  15  is between the threaded bore  9  and the cavity  13  of the extender  6 , and the shoulder  15  defines an opening that fluidically connects the internally threaded upper end of the extender  6  with the cavity  13  within the remainder of the extender  6 . As required for conventional two-handle faucet installations in which each stem  3  is hollow and water flows through the stem  3  to the faucet, the opening defined by the shoulder  15  allows water to flow from the upper section to the lower section of the extender  6 , and then through a hose (not shown) to the faucet  1 . The shoulder  15  is preferably configured to accept a flat or cone washer  18  ( FIG. 1 ) that prevents leakage at the interface with the stem  3 . In  FIG. 5   b , the shoulder  15  and its opening are omitted for use in a faucet assembly in which a waterline (not shown) is directly connected to the stem  3 , in which case it is preferred that the waterline extends entirely through the extender  6  to the stem  3 . Such a configuration for the extender  6  may be desired or necessary for single- and double-handle faucet assemblies whose handle or handles are spaced apart from a spigot, and may also be utilized for sprayers, soap dispensers and other devices that may be associated with the faucet and mounted directly to the sink or to a cabinet or counter top on which the sink is installed. 
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the extension tube  7 . As evident from the foregoing, the extension tube  7  has a hollow interior  16  entirely therethrough to enable its installation over the exterior of the stem extender  6 . The tube  7  is free-floating in that it lacks any internal or external threads by which the tube  7  is directly secured to the extender  6 , enabling the tube  7  to move freely over the extender  6 . Each of the axial ends of the tube  7  is defined by a flange  17 , which in combination help to distribute the clamping force generated as the tube  7  is brought into engagement with the sink  2  when the nut  8  is tightened on the male threads  14  of the stem extender  6 . 
     The extension assembly  5  may be installed by first screwing the adapter  10 , if present, onto the extender  6 . Next, the adapter  10  and extender  6  are screwed onto the stem  3  of the faucet assembly  1 . The faucet assembly  1  is then installed on the sink  2  by sliding the extender  6  through the top of the sink  2 . The extension tube  7  is then slid over a portion of the extender  6  exposed under the sink  2 . Finally, the nut  8  is screwed on the end of the extender  6  to secure the faucet assembly  1  and extension assembly  5  to the sink  2 . 
     While the invention has been described in terms of a particular embodiment, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. For example, the physical configuration of the components of the extension assembly  5  could differ from those shown, and the components could be fabricated from various materials using various processes. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8