Patent ID: 7673808

Claim:
A thermostatic cartridge for regulating mixing of hot fluid and cold fluid, said thermostatic cartridge comprising: a casing; a flow rate control member for controlling a flow rate of a mixture of the hot fluid and the cold fluid; a plurality of adjustment elements for adjusting the flow rate of the hot fluid and the cold fluid, each of said adjustment elements having a hot fluid passage, a cold fluid passage, and a mixed fluid passage for allowing passage of the mixture of the hot fluid and the cold fluid, said hot fluid passage, said cold fluid passage, and said mixed fluid passage being movably joined to each other, a first one of said adjustment elements being connected with respect to rotation to said flow rate control member, and a second one of said adjustment elements being connected with respect to rotation to said casing; and a thermostatic regulation device including a thermostatic element having a heat-sensitive portion located in a flow path of the mixture of the hot fluid and the cold fluid; wherein said hot fluid passage, said cold fluid passage, and said mixed fluid passage of each of said first one of said adjustment elements and said second one of said adjustment elements are arranged to be superimposed at a joining zone between said first one of said adjustment elements and said second one of said adjustment elements, and a flow of the mixture of the hot fluid and the cold fluid passing through said mixed fluid passage of each of said first one of said adjustment elements and said second one of said adjustment elements having a cross-section that is variable according to an orientation of said flow rate control member; and wherein said thermostatic element is configured and arranged such that said heat-sensitive portion extends in a direction generally parallel with a direction of flow of the mixture of the hot fluid and the cold fluid around said heat-sensitive portion, and such that at least half of said heat-sensitive portion is located downstream of said joining zone of said adjustment elements.