Patent ID: 7753074

Claim:
A valve assembly for controlling water flow in a faucet, the valve assembly including: a valve body including hot and cold water inlets and an outlet; a lower disc including first, second, and third ports corresponding to the hot and cold water inlets and the outlet, the lower disc supported by the valve body; an upper disc including upper and lower surfaces, the lower surface positioned in engagement with the lower disc and including an inner channel edge and an outer channel edge defining a closed peripheral channel for selective communication with the first, second, and third ports, the closed peripheral channel extending around a center portion of the lower surface and configured to mix hot water from the first port and cold water from the second port before reaching the third port, the center portion of the lower surface configured to selectively seal the first port and the second port from the third port; and a stem operably coupled to the upper disc and supported for pivoting movement about orthogonal axes extending within a plane parallel to the upper disc; wherein translational movement of the upper disc in a first direction moves the inner channel edge to change water flow rate through the third port, translational movement of the upper disc in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction moves the inner channel edge to change the proportion of water flow through the first and second ports, and translational movement in the first direction from the third port toward the first and second ports moves the center portion to close the first and second ports.