Patent ID: 8074675

Claim:
A faucet including: a mounting base including an opening and an upwardly facing surface; a valve including a valve body, a valve stem having an upper end positioned above the opening of the mounting base, and a bonnet operably coupling the valve stem to the valve body; a handle base including an upper end and an open lower end, the open lower end including a cavity configured to receive the valve stem; and a glide ring coupled to the lower end of the handle base and configured to move axially with the handle base, the glide ring including a retaining surface received within the cavity of the handle base and conforming to an inner surface of the handle base, and including a downwardly facing glide surface contacting the upwardly facing surface of the mounting base and including an upper surface contacting the handle base to provide for relative movement between the handle base and the mounting base, while filling an axial clearance gap between the handle base and the mounting base such that the handle base and the mounting base are in axially spaced relation thereby preventing contact between the upwardly facing surface of the mounting base and the lower end of the handle base, the glide ring further including an annular upper portion concentrically received within the open lower end of the handle base, and an annular lower portion positioned below the lower end of the handle base and including the downwardly facing glide surface, the upper portion of the glide ring supporting a plurality of locking tabs and the lower end of the handle base includes an annular lip, the annular lip configured to be secured between the locking tabs and the lower portion of the glide ring.