Patent Application
20130020401
1. Field of the Invention
An adjustable height water drinking fountain includes a generally horizontal water drinking fountain body having front and rear ends, and an upper surface containing a water collecting basin. The fountain body is pivotally connected at its rear end with a vertical support for pivotal movement about a horizontal pivot axis. A normally closed water supply valve is operable to supply water to a faucet adjacent the basin via a supply conduit, and a drain pipe serves to remove water from the basin. Each of the water supply and drain conduits includes at least one flexible portion to permit the pivotal movement of the fountain body, whereby the fountain body can be pivoted upwardly of downwardly from a normal horizontal position for use by a standing person or by a person seated in a wheel chair.
2. Description of Related Art
Adjustable height water fountains and the like are well known in the prior art. In the early (1898) Heineken U.S. Pat. No. 599,706, a holder is disclosed for adjusting a wash basin to various heights. In the Brown U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,609, the water fountain is provided with a push bar actuating device for operation by a user in a wheelchair. Note also the public toilet facility for use by a person in a wheelchair, as set forth in the White et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,074. In the Rasmussen U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,276, the wash basin is pivotally connected for angular adjustment relative to a fixed support, and the Peck U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,757 teaches a portable fluid dispensing device having a vertically adjustable sink.
The use of conventional drinking fountains, and the fixed mounting heights thereof, have historically been in response to nationally recognized building code requirements and in particular the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). On Jul. 28, 1991, the Federal Government published the ADA in the federal register Volume 56, No. 144. In particular, Paragraphs 4.1.3 (10), 4.15 and 4.27.4 of the ADA—Accessibility Guidelines (ADA-AG) discuss drinking fountains. The U.S. Department of Justice published the final rule which revises the regulations that implement the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with an enforcement date of Mar. 15, 2012. The new federal accessibility standards will be known as the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design (SAD).
No patented prior art has been noted for either vertically adjusted drinking fountains or vertically adjusted plumbing devices that completely anticipate the invention.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable height water drinking fountain including a generally horizontal water drinking fountain body having front and rear ends, and an upper surface containing a water collecting basin, said fountain body being pivotally connected at its rear end with a vertical support for pivotal movement about a horizontal pivot axis, whereby the fountain body can be pivoted upwardly of downwardly from a normal horizontal position for use by a standing person or by a person seated in a wheel chair.
According to a more specific object of the invention, a normally closed water supply valve is operable to supply water to a faucet adjacent the basin via a supply conduit, and a drain pipe serves to remove water from the basin, each of the water supply and drain conduits including at least one flexible portion, thereby to permit upward and downward pivotal movement of the fountain body.
According to a further object, first stop means are provided for limiting the extent of downward pivotal movement of said fountain body from said normal horizontal position, and second stop means are provided for limiting the extend of upward pivotal movement of said fountain body from said normal horizontal position.
Another object is to provide a vertical front access plate containing an opening that receives the rear end portion of said fountain body, said access plate being adapted for mounting on the vertical support, together with flexible seal means for sealing the space between the upper and side surfaces of said fountain body and the edges of said access plate opening when said fountain body is in said raised position, said seal means at least partially defining said second stop means. The upper surface of the rear end of said fountain body is inclined upwardly in an arcuate concave configuration: and the seal means includes a horizontal portion that is engaged by said arcuate upper surface when said fountain body is in said raised position.
According to another feature, the adjustable height water drinking fountain is pivoted about a pivot axis that is at a higher elevation than that of the front edge of the upper surface of said fountain body; and further wherein said pivot means includes a pair of parallel laterally-spaced pivot arms arranged between and connected with the inner surfaces of the side walls of said fountain body, respectively, said pivot arms being connected for pivotal displacement about said pivot axis.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification, when viewed in the light of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Referring first more particularly to
At its rear end, the fountain top wall surface is upwardly sloped for pivotal connection with fixed horizontal pivot means 20 including a pair of parallel spaced pivot arms 22 that are rotatably supported by a pair of stainless steel support plates 24 fastened by fasteners 25 between a pair of studs 26 that are part of fixed vertical wall support means 28. Fastened to the front surface of the support means 28 is a stainless steel front access plate 30 containing an opening 32 that receives the rear end of the fountain body 4.
In accordance with a characterizing feature of the invention, at least a portion of each of the water supply conduit 14 and the drain pipe 10 is flexible, thereby to permit the fountain body 4 to be pivoted upwardly (
Referring now to
Referring again to
The front access plate 30 and the valve operating member 16 are provided with raised indicia 84 providing the appropriate operating instructions. The rear of the fountain body upper surface 4a is ergonomically shaped to allow the front access plate 30 to remain in contact with fountain body during vertical adjustment. The curvature of the top deck is algorithmically designed to stay in contact with a neoprene or rubberized gasket 78 during fountain travel, up or down, visually concealing working components at the interior of apparatus. Furthermore, the rear of the fountain body has an upwardly directed shape that forces the predominance of any nuisance water emitted from the faucet 12 during operation that does not collect and discharge into the basin 6 rather than flowing into the rear of the apparatus. This transaction occurs in the vertically adjusted high position. The front edge of the deck is ergonomically shaped to allow a person's hand or appendage to reside on the water control valve operator 16. The fountain body is recessed to allow the surface area either above or below on the water control operator 16 to be accessed by a person's hand or appendage to apply pressure upwardly or downwardly on the water control operator 16. This vertical pressure displaces the drinking fountain up or down in a prescribed range of approximately 2 inches up or 2 inches down from a center residing point. The vertical adjustment allows for the water faucet 12 to range in height of approximately 35 inches to 39 inches above the floor or grade 80. This vertical adjustment most closely follows established and recommended reach and use ranges of a varying human populous.
The access plate 30 is embossed with tactile graphics 84 including the letters “PUSH” (English version) and universally acknowledged tactile symbols for directional arrows up and down and the universal symbol of a standing person next to the up arrow and a wheelchair symbol next to the down arrow. The water control member 16 will also have embossed tactile graphics 84.
In
Fountain body 4 is preferably formed from stainless steel having a thickness consistent with current industry standards for drinking fountain deck bodies. All convex and concave edges are eased for user safety and aseptic control by manual cleaning. In particular, the front face 4c of the fountain body is sloped inward at the central residing position to produce a 90 degree vertical angle to floor or grade when manually adjusted to the high position shown in
As shown in
The steel metal support plates 24 fully anticipate varying types of vertical wall construction substrates including metal or wood studs 26, cementitious block materials (not shown), concrete (not shown), or the like. Various mechanical fasteners attach the wall carriage plate 30 to the vertical wall construction. Such attachment produces an industry standard vertical dynamic or static loading of a minimum of 300 lbs. downward or upward applied force. The steel metal support plates are also designed to be attached to an optional industry standard floor mounted steel chair carrier supports should vertical wall construction be insufficient to produce mandated vertical loading. The steel metal access plate is surface mounted to vertical wall construction.
The fountain body 4 is supported off of cantilevered arms 22 that make up a part of the ball bearing support means that allows deck movement up and down. The ball bearing means is likewise rigidly and statically attached to the support plate.
While in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Statutes the preferred forms and embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made without deviating from the invention described above.
