Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6738996
-
Patent Number
6,738,996
-
Date Filed
Friday, November 8, 200221 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, May 25, 200420 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Bennett; Henry
- Kokabi; Azadeh
Agents
- Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 004 677
- 004 675
- 004 676
- 004 678
- 239 441
- 239 548
- 239 5535
- 239 586
- 251 282
- 251 321
- 251 322
- 251 323
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A spray head for a faucet or the like has a wand body defining a flow path from an inlet to first and second outlets. Diverter seats are provided so a face seal on a diverter spool can direct flow to the first or second outlet. The spool is positioned by a trigger acting on cam surfaces formed on a toggle. A spring biases the toggle to one of two stable states. Movement of the spool by the trigger causes the toggle to change states so subsequent actuation of the trigger causes the spool to move in the opposite direction. The wand body also has a pause button that reciprocates in a chamber that is part of the flow path. The chamber includes a valve seat and the pause button has a spool having a face seal that is engageable with the valve seat to shut off flow through the spray head. A return spring causes separation of the pause button's face seal upon release of pressure on the pause button. The pause button's seals in the chamber are arranged to have equal diameters and thus provide balanced hydraulic forces on the spool.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to faucets and is particularly concerned with a faucet having a pullout spray head or wand connected to a flexible water supply tube. The spray head can be mounted on a fixed base unit or it can be detached from the base unit and pulled out to allow a user to direct water to any desired location.
It is often desirable to provide a spray head with more than one water delivery mode. Multiple delivery modes may include a spray mode and a stream mode. In the spray mode water is discharged in a relatively wide spray pattern comprising a large number of small, individual streams. In the stream mode water is discharged in a single, relatively narrow, concentrated stream. Multiple modes of this type are particularly useful in kitchen faucets, although their use is not limited to kitchens. Lavatories, showers or any other faucet, including a garden hose, may benefit from this feature.
Multiple water delivery modes are commonly provided in fixed faucets by means of a nozzle having a push-pull feature that switches the nozzle between spray and stream modes. Pullout spray heads are known that require the user to hold a button in a depressed state to get an alternate mode. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,370,713. Other spray heads require that separate buttons and/or levers be pushed to change from one mode to another. Examples are U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,220,297, 5,858,215 and 6,290,147. Still other designs use a rocker switch that require opposite ends of the rocker to be pushed to change modes. Non-pullout faucets sometimes change modes by requiring a lever to be slid or twisted, or by requiring opposing actions on a slide. Shower spray heads are known that produce different spray patterns by requiring a dial type device or a lever to be twisted in different directions to change spray modes. Garden hose nozzle designs also typically have a dial type device for changing spray modes.
One difficulty that can occasionally arise in the use of pullout spray heads is the need to momentarily shut off the water or alter its temperature. If the user is grasping the spray head in one hand and has another item, such as a pan or dish, in the other hand then there is no convenient way to manipulate the water controls., The choices are to put the pan or the spray head down, return the spray head to its base, or try to manipulate the controls with a portion of a hand that is still grasping an item. For example, a user might try to manipulate the controls with the palm of a hand while the fingers of that hand retain the spray head. Perhaps an ambitious user might try to actuate the water controls with an elbow. Obviously none of these are convenient. What is needed is a water control incorporated into the spray head. The present invention provides such a control in the form of a pause button.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is concerned with a pullout spray head which provides multiple water discharge spray patterns or modes and which permits momentary shut off of water flow with a pause button. The mode is selected by means of a single action at a single point of actuation. The user is not required to hold the actuating device in place while using the various modes. The mode is changed simply by pressing the same button, in the same direction, with each successive actuation of the button changing the discharge mode. The spray head will remain in the selected mode until, another actuation of the button or until the water is turned off, at which time the spray head reverts to a home position or mode.
The spray head of the present invention also includes a pause button that momentarily interrupts the water while the pause button is depressed. The button must be held in the depressed position to keep the flow interrupted. Release of the pause button reactivates water flow. The force necessary to actuate the pause button is independent of the water pressure, within the limits of normal household operating pressures (which range from about 10 psi to 125 psi). The pause button is especially useful when the spray head is pulled out because the primary on/off control valve may often be an inconvenient distance from the spray head. The pause feature is also useful in two-handle faucet designs where resetting of the hot/cold ratio may also be inconvenient. The pause feature is applicable to all discharge modes of the faucet.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a single handle, high arc pull down faucet incorporating the pullout spray head of the present invention.
FIG. 2
is a schematic section through the faucet of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 3
is an exploded perspective view of the pullout spray head.
FIG. 4
is a top plan view of the wand body.
FIG. 5
is a side elevation view of the wand body.
FIG. 6
is an end elevation view of the wand body.
FIG. 7
is a bottom plan view of the wand body.
FIG. 8
is a section taken along line
8
—
8
of FIG.
6
.
FIG. 9
is a section taken along line
9
—
9
of FIG.
6
.
FIG. 10
is a section taken along line
10
—
10
of FIG.
6
.
FIG. 11
is a top plan view of the trigger spring, on an enlarged scale.
FIG. 12
is a section taken along line
12
—
12
of FIG.
11
.
FIG. 13
is a front elevation view of the toggle wedge, on an enlarged scale.
FIG. 14
is an end elevation view of the toggle wedge.
FIG. 15
is a section taken along line
15
—
15
of FIG.
13
.
FIG. 16
is a bottom plan view of the toggle wedge.
FIG. 17
is a schematic vertical section through the spray head assembly, showing the interaction among the trigger, diverter and wand body.
FIG. 18
is a section through the spray head assembly, showing the diverter in the spray mode position.
FIG. 19
is a section through the spray head assembly, showing the diverter in the stream mode position.
FIG. 20
is a section through the spray head assembly, showing the diverter in the stream mode position and the pause button activated.
FIG. 21
is an enlarged section through the pause button portion of the spray head.
FIG. 22
is an exploded perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a spray head.
FIG. 23
is horizontal section through the spray head of FIG.
22
.
FIG. 24
is a vertical section through the spray head of FIG.
22
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIGS. 1 and 2
illustrate a faucet generally at
10
which incorporates the pullout spray head or wand of the present invention. The faucet
10
includes a gooseneck spout
12
and a single handle mixing valve
14
, both of which are mounted above a deck, which is shown schematically at
16
. The pullout spray head
18
is shown in its docked position at the distal end of the spout
12
. Below the deck are hot and cold water supply lines
20
,
22
, a mixed water outlet pipe
24
, a transfer line
26
, and a mixed water inlet pipe
28
. A quick connect
30
is connected to the inlet pipe. A flexible hose
32
is attached to the quick connect
30
and extends through the hollow interior of the spout to join the spray head
18
. The hose has a weight
34
on it to assist in drawing the hose back into the spout during docking.
FIG. 3
illustrates the pullout spray head
18
of the present invention. The exterior components include a main cover
36
, a trigger cover
38
, a ring
40
at the proximal end of the spray head and a tip
42
at the distal end. As used herein proximal refers to a position or direction toward the portion of the spray head nearest the hose attachment point. Distal refers to a position or direction toward the portion of the spray head nearest the water discharge point. The exterior parts have suitable decorative finishes. The ring
40
is sized to permit it to releasably connect to the end of the spout
12
for the purpose of docking the spray head to the spout. The main cover
36
has a slot
44
for receiving the trigger cover
38
. The trigger cover is made of flexible material and has a trigger dome
46
and a pause dome
48
.
The exterior components surround a wand body
50
. Details of the wand body are shown in
FIGS. 4-10
. The body has an arcuate bottom wall
52
which joins two upstanding, flat side walls
53
,
54
. The side walls have projecting tabs
55
that engage retention slots in the trigger cover
38
to hold the cover in place. A floor
56
extends between the lower edges of the two side walls. Thus, the floor
56
forms a chord across the arcuate bottom wall
52
, as best seen in FIG.
10
. Together the bottom wall and floor define a main water flow path
58
. The ends of the side walls are joined by front and rear transverse walls
60
and
62
. The rear transverse wall
62
has a pocket
63
formed just above the floor. The front wall has a bore
64
therethrough defined by a sleeve
66
. The forward or distal end of the sleeve defines a first diverter seat
68
. There are also two laterally extending, hollow embossments
69
(
FIG. 9
) on the distal face of the front wall
60
. These embossments have branch passages
71
therein that are in fluid communication with the bore
64
. The branch passages have openings in the sides of the body, one of which is shown at
70
in FIG.
5
. The openings
70
communicate with V-shaped notches
72
cut into threads
74
formed on the exterior of a threaded annular outlet wall
76
. The outlet wall merges with the front transverse wall
60
and the arcuate bottom wall
52
, roughly at the location of an O-ring seal
78
.
At the proximal end of the wand body there is a threaded annular inlet wall
80
defining an inlet
82
. The hose can be attached to the inlet wall. The inlet wall is surrounded by a threaded outer sleeve
83
which may be used; to attach the wand ring
40
. The inlet wall
80
preferably may house a check valve
84
and a screen washer
86
(FIG.
3
). The inlet wall
80
merges with the bottom wall
52
, side walls
53
,
54
and an upstanding interior wall
88
(FIG.
8
). These walls, together with the proximal face of the rear transverse wall
62
define a pause chamber
90
. The pause chamber has an axis that is generally perpendicular to that of the wand body
50
. The pause chamber houses the pause button as-will be described below. A circular valve seat
92
is formed in the walls forming the pause chamber. The interior wall
88
has a port
94
through it to provide fluid communication from the inlet
82
to the pause chamber
90
. It will be noted that the pause chamber also communicates with the main flow path
58
and thus becomes part of the main flow path.
Returning again to FIG.
3
and the distal end of the spray head
18
, the inner surface of the outlet wall
76
has an undercut
95
into which fits a poppet valve seat
96
. This ring-shaped member has a central opening
97
. The V-shaped opening
97
provides a second outlet from the body, the first outlet being the side openings
70
. A second diverter seat
98
is formed on the inner surface of the poppet valve seat
96
. An O-ring
100
placed about the outer circumference of the seat
98
seals against the inner surface of the outlet wall's undercut portion.
A spray former
102
is attached to the outlet wall
76
. The spray former has an outer annular skirt
104
with internal threads that engage threads
74
. It will be noted in
FIG. 18
that the skirt engages a lip on the interior of the wand tip
42
to hold the tip against the wand cover
36
. The junction between the skirt
104
and the wand body is sealed by an O-ring
78
. A radial end surface
106
extends from the outer skirt
104
to an inner annular ring
108
which is attached to the end surface so as to be concentric with the skirt. There is a gap between the inner ring
108
and the outer skirt
104
which communicates with a plurality of small individual outlet openings
110
through the end surface
106
. These openings produce the spray mode of the spray head
18
.
The interior of the inner ring mounts an aerator
112
. A face seal
114
is placed between the aerator
112
and the distal radial face of the poppet valve seat
96
. This seal prevents leakage from the opening
97
in the poppet valve seat to the gap between the spray former's inner ring
108
and outer skirt
104
. Thus, when the spray head is in stream mode, water cannot find its way to the spray mode openings
110
. A cone spring
116
surrounds the aerator and has its large end bottomed against the end surface
106
of the spray former. The cone spring extends through the opening
97
in poppet valve seat
96
to engage the diverter spool as will be explained below.
The wand body
50
includes a cavity defined by the side walls
53
,
54
, floor
56
and transverse walls
62
,
64
. This cavity is completely isolated from the water flow path. As seen in
FIGS. 18-20
, a trigger, spring and diverter assembly are disposed in the cavity. The diverter assembly includes a spool
118
that is slidably mounted in the sleeve
66
and pocket
63
. The spool carries a quad cup seal
120
and a face seal
122
. The face seal is engageable with the first diverter seat
68
and the second diverter seat
98
. The other end of the spool has a pin
124
extending transversely through the spool. The pin pivotally mounts a toggle
126
to the spool. In this embodiment the toggle is in the form of a wedge.
Details of the toggle wedge
126
are shown in
FIGS. 13-15
. The wedge has two sets of cam faces
128
,
129
separated by a central section
130
. Two loops
131
underneath the cam faces have bores that allow the loops to fully surround the pin
124
. The cam faces have grooves
133
in their undersides that partially receive the pin therein. The cam faces
128
,
129
in an end view of the wedge have a triangular shape with relatively sharp lower corners as at distal corners
132
and proximal corners
134
.
A trigger spring
136
is also mounted in the wand cavity. As seen in
FIGS. 11 and 12
, the spring has two elongated legs
138
joined at one end by an upstanding bail
140
and at the other end by a U-shaped angled portion
142
. The bail
140
straddles the pocket
63
while the angled portion fits over the spool
118
. The legs
138
have notches
144
that engage extensions
145
(
FIGS. 4 and 8
) on the inner surfaces of side walls
53
,
54
to fix the longitudinal position of the trigger spring in the wand cavity. The floor
56
has wedge-shaped protrusions
147
(
FIGS. 4 and 8
) adjacent the extensions
145
. The protrusions
147
engage the underside of the legs near the notches
144
and act as fulcrums. When the trigger is in place it presses down on the angled portion
142
distally of the fulcrums with the result that the portions of the legs proximal of the fulcrums (approximately from the notches
144
to the bail
140
) are spaced above the floor and are, in effect, cantilevered from the fulcrums. This is best seen in FIG.
17
. The legs also have depressions or troughs
146
disposed generally in the vicinity of the toggle wedge
126
. The troughs are sized to enable them to be in registration with one of the wedge corners. When that happens one pair of cam corners will engage the legs while the other pair of cam corners will be disengaged from the spring's legs
138
. This causes the toggle wedge to flip back and forth, as will be further explained below.
The trigger is shown at
148
. It is pivotally mounted to the wand body by stubshafts
150
that extend into slots in the side walls
54
. One of the slots is shown at
152
. The trigger includes a pushbutton
154
disposed underneath the trigger dome
46
in the trigger cover
38
. Underneath the pushbutton are two spaced fingers
156
. Each finger is engageable with one of the cam faces
128
,
129
. The body of the trigger rests on the angled portion
142
of the trigger spring and is biased upwardly by the angled portion. Conversely, the angled portion is pressed down with the resulting cantilevering of the legs as just explained.
Turning now to the pause button, this structure is best seen generally at
158
in
FIGS. 3 and 21
. The pause button includes a pause spool
160
. The pause spool has a series of flanges which form upper, intermediate and lower recesses
162
,
164
,
166
. The upper and lower recesses receive quad cup seals
168
while the intermediate recess receives a face seal
170
. The bottom of the spool
160
has a bore
172
into which fits a spring
174
. The spring bottoms on the bottom wall which is vented to atmosphere by openings
175
(FIG.
7
). Similarly the top of the spool chamber is vented so there is no build up of any air pressure on either side of the spool as it moves up and down. A pause spool guide
176
rests in the upper end of the pause chamber
90
and is sealed thereto by O-ring
178
. A flange
180
on the spool guide engages the top flange of the upper recess
162
so as to limit upward motion of the pause spool
160
. The pause spool guide
176
is retained by a U-shaped stop clip
182
that slides through slots
183
(
FIG. 8
) in the pause chamber walls. A flexible cap
184
sits on top of the spool
160
and underneath the pause dome
48
of the trigger cover
38
.
It is pointed out that the flange outside diameters of the upper and lower recesses
162
,
166
are essentially the same. This is important to maintain evenly balanced hydraulic forces on the pause spool
160
. The only unbalanced forces on the spool are those applied by the spring
174
and the user. At the same time the face seal
170
needs to be larger than the quad cup seals in order to enable it to engage the seat
92
. This creates an assembly problem as you need to insert the pause spool with a larger central seal into a chamber sized for engagement with two smaller quad cup seals on either side of the larger seal. The pause spool guide solves this problem. The upper portion of the pause chamber is enlarged to allow passage of the face seal
170
. Then the pause spool guide fills in the extra space to allow the upper and lower quad cup seals to be the same size. If the spool guide were integral with the spool, the upper seal would have a greater area than the lower seal and the hydraulic forces on the spool would not be balanced. The separate pause spool guide resolves that issue as well as the assembly problem.
The use, operation and function of the above embodiment are as follows. Consider the pause button first. The normal condition of the pause button
158
is shown in FIG.
21
. The spring
174
urges the spool
160
upwardly so the face seal
170
is spaced from the valve seat
92
. Water can flow from the inlet
82
through the port
94
into the pause chamber
90
, past the seat
92
and into the main flow path
58
. Water pressure is present over the central portion of the spool. Since the seals
168
have equivalent, or nearly equivalent, pressurized areas, the hydraulic forces on the spool are balanced. This allows the return spring
174
to push the spool to the open position regardless of the water pressure. When a user wishes to momentarily shut off the water, he or she presses down on the pause dome
48
, causing the spool
160
to move down and carry the face seal
170
into engagement with the valve seat
92
. This condition is shown in FIG.
20
. Water can enter the upper portion of the pause chamber but it cannot flow past the seat
92
. This shuts off the water for as long as the user holds down the pause button
158
. When the user releases the pause button, the spring
174
again raises the spool
160
which removes the face seal from the seat
92
and allows flow again into the main flow path
58
.
Looking now at operation of the diverter assembly, it will be assumed for this discussion that the pause button is in the normal, open position. The diverter switches flow between two water delivery modes. In this case the modes are stream and spray, although it could be otherwise. The diverter starts out in its home position as shown in FIG.
19
. Here the spool
118
is retracted so the face seal
122
is engaged with the first diverter seat
68
. This cuts off flow into the sleeve
66
and thus flow to the branch passage openings
70
is prevented. All the flow is directed out through the poppet valve seat opening
97
, into and then out of the aerator
112
. This is stream mode. Meanwhile the top of the toggle wedge is leaning forwardly, i.e., toward the distal end of the spray head. This is because the spring legs
138
are in contact with the proximal wedge corners
134
while the distal wedge corners are in the troughs
146
and are thus largely unsupported. The spring legs
138
in this condition urge the wedge counterclockwise, as seen in FIG.
17
. The fingers
156
of the trigger
148
rest on the proximal surfaces of the cam faces
128
,
129
.
When a user actuates the trigger by pushing down on the trigger dome
46
, the trigger pivots in a clockwise manner (as seen in
FIG. 17
) about the stubshafts
150
. The downward movement of the fingers
156
on the cam surfaces causes the wedge and the spool
118
to slide forwardly. As the spool moves it carries the toggle wedge with it but the trigger spring
136
remains longitudinally stationary. As the wedge moves forwardly, the spring legs flex downwardly as the distal wedge corners
132
drive up out of the troughs
146
and onto the legs
138
. At the same time the proximal wedge corners
134
move out of engagement with the legs and into registration with the troughs. Thus, when the trigger is released, the legs act on the distal wedge corners to pivot the toggle wedge
126
clockwise. Now the top of the wedge leans toward the rear of the spray head and the distal surfaces of the cam faces are aligned with the trigger fingers.
At the same time as this motion of the wedge takes place, the spool
118
has carried the face seal
122
into engagement with second diverter seat
98
on the poppet valve seat
96
, as shown in FIG.
18
. This is the spray mode. Water flow through the valve seat
96
is prevented by engagement of the face seal
122
and second diverter seat
98
. However, the forward movement of the spool has removed the face seal from the first diverter seat
68
so water can flow into the sleeve
66
and into the branch passages
71
in the embossments
69
and from there out the openings
70
. Water will continue from there through the V-shaped notches
72
to the gap between the spray former's outer skirt
104
and inner ring
108
. Water ultimately flows out the plurality of outlet openings
110
in spray mode.
Subsequent actuation of the trigger will move the spool
118
rearwardly. Face seal
122
will then disengage the second diverter seat
98
and reengage first diverter seat
68
. At the same time the spool will drive the proximal wedge corners
134
out of the spring troughs
146
and up on to the legs
138
. Simultaneously the distal wedge corners
132
will be aligned with the troughs. With the distal wedge corners thus unsupported, the legs will flip the wedge counterclockwise so the top of the wedge leans forwardly once again, readying the spool to shift to the opposite mode upon the next actuation of the trigger. In this sense the spring legs
138
and troughs
146
can be considered an over-center spring. Moving the wedge corners in and out of registration with the troughs in effect moves them over the center position of the spring and causes the state of the toggle to change.
It can be seen in
FIGS. 18 and 19
that water pressure in the main flow path will maintain the spool in whatever state it is placed by the trigger. However, when water pressure is removed, either by the pause button being actuated or the mixing valve
14
being turned off, the cone spring
116
will cause the spool
118
to retract. The cone spring is selected so it is not strong enough to overcome water pressure but in the absence of water pressure, it will drive the spool to the home position.
An alternate embodiment of the spray head is shown generally at
186
in
FIGS. 22-24
. This embodiment utilizes several components whose functions are identical to those described above but they may be shaped somewhat differently. These include a wand body
188
that has a cavity
190
, a main flow path
192
under the cavity and a first diverter seat
194
. A second diverter seat
196
is formed in spray former
202
. A wand cover
197
surrounds the body
188
. A first flow passage for stream mode extends through an aerator
198
. A second branch flow passage for stream mode is shown at
200
in
FIG. 23. A
spray former
202
with O-rings
204
is also provided. The spray head has a two-piece trigger mechanism including a trigger button
206
and a trigger lever
208
. A spool driver
210
has first and second cam faces
212
and
214
. The spool driver
210
is guided in a channel
216
that is formed in the floor of the cavity
190
. The mode is toggled by the trigger button
206
being depressed which pushes the trigger lever
208
on to one of the spool driver cam faces
212
,
214
. The spool driver is connected to the end of a spool
218
in a manner that allows the spool driver to pivot. As in the embodiment of
FIG. 3
, the spool
218
has an elastomeric face seal
220
that is alternately engageable with one of the first and second diverter seats
194
,
196
. The face seal
220
closes one water path through aerator
198
when in engaging the second diverter seat
196
and closes the other water path
200
when engaging the first diverter seat
194
. As mentioned, the spool driver
210
has two cam faces
212
,
214
, one that causes the trigger motion to move the spool driver and spool into a spray position and one that causes the trigger motion to move the spool driver and spool into the stream mode position. Only one of the cam faces is aligned with the trigger mechanism at a time. This alignment is done by the shaped channel
216
that guides and positions the spool driver cam faces appropriately for returning to stream mode when the mechanism is in the spray mode, and returning the mechanism to spray mode when in stream mode. To position the cam faces appropriately it is necessary that the trigger lever be free to pivot side to side so that it maintains contact with the cam face as the spool driver moves through the shaped channel.
In this embodiment the trigger lever
208
must center itself to the ready position after it has pushed the spool driver to the new mode position, and the trigger button
206
has been released. One way to do this is with cantilevered leaf springs on either side of the trigger lever that push it back to center when no other force is on it. Another way of centering the trigger lever is to shape the bottom pivoting portion of it and constrain the trigger lever to within the trigger button. In this way when the trigger button is released and the trigger lever rocks back, it is forced to center itself.
Whereas the preferred form of the invention has been shown and described herein, it should be realized that there may be many modifications, substitutions and alterations thereto. For example, there could be more than two water delivery modes. Preferably, one of the modes is designated a default mode which the diverter take up whenever the water is shut off. This is so a user will know what to expect when the water is next turned on. Alternatively, a spray head could have no default mode so whatever mode it was in when water was shut off will be the one it is in when water is turned back on. In the preferred embodiment there is a default mode and it is the stream mode.
Claims
- 1. A spray head for discharging water, comprising:a body having an inlet and at least one outlet, the body having walls which define a water flow path from the inlet to the outlet and including a main path and pause chamber; a valve seat formed in the pause chamber; a spool movably mounted in the pause chamber and actuatable between an open position and a closed position, the spool being pressure balanced so that actuation force is independent of water pressure; a face seal attached to the spool, the face seal being engageable with the valve seat when the spool is actuated to the closed position to block water flow through the water flow path; and first and second seals attached to the spool on opposite sides of the face seal, the first and second seals having substantially equal outer diameters to maintain pressure balancing of the spool.
- 2. The spray head of claim 1 wherein the pause chamber has upper and lower portions, the upper portion having a greater diameter than the lower portion, said upper portion receiving a spool guide in sealing engagement therewith, the spool guide having a central bore of a diameter substantially equal to that of the lower portion, the first seal being engageable with the spool guide bore and the second seal being engageable with the lower portion of the pause chamber.
- 3. A spray head for discharging water, comprising:a body having an inlet and at least one outlet, the body having walls which define a water flow path from the inlet to the outlet and including a main path and pause chamber, said pause chamber being in fluid communication with the inlet and the main path, the pause chamber further having upper and lower portions which are vented to atmosphere; a valve seat formed in the pause chamber between the inlet and the main path; a spool movably mounted in the pause chamber and actuatable between an open position and a closed position; a face seal attached to the spool, the face seal being engageable with the valve seat when the spool is actuated to the closed position to block water flow through the water flow path; and first and second seals attached to the spool on opposite sides of the face seal, the first seal being engageable with the upper portion of the pause chamber to prevent water flow through the vented area of the upper portion and the second seal being engageable with the lower portion of the pause chamber to prevent water flow through the vented area of the lower portion, the first and second seals having substantially equal outer diameters to maintain pressure balancing of the spool.
- 4. The spray head of claim 3 wherein the upper portion of the pause chamber has a greater diameter than the lower portion of the pause chamber, said upper portion receiving a spool guide in sealing engagement therewith, the spool guide having a central bore of a diameter substantially equal to that of the lower portion, the first seal being engageable with the spool guide bore and the second seal being engageable with the lower portion of the pause chamber.
- 5. The spray head of claim 3 wherein the diameter of the face seal is greater than that of the first and second seals.
US Referenced Citations (16)