Patent Grant
7914052
Reference is made to my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/465,648, filed Aug. 18, 2006, now abandoned, which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field
The field is fluid couplings, in particular connectors for use in mounting showerheads or other position-sensitive devices such as fluid couplings and pipes to threaded supply lines.
2. Prior Art
Fluid couplings are used to connect a pipe or other fluid conveying device to another pipe or utilization device, such as a showerhead or faucet. It is desirable and usually essential that such a fluid coupling be able to prevent relative rotation between the two connected devices. For example it is important that a showerhead not rotate about the axis of its water supply pipe; otherwise, water exiting the showerhead could be misdirected or the showerhead could tilt to an undesirable position. Heretofore various fluid couplings for preventing such rotation were known.
Mueller, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,512,298 (1919), shows a pipe union with corrugations on one mating face to resist rotation through the use of friction between two pipe segments.
Syverson, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,998 (1957), shows a coupling for a grease gun in which two facing surfaces within the coupling have teeth or serrations that prevent relative rotation of the two halves.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,563,469 (1969), Stacey shows a spray showerhead having internal splines that are used to create a spray effect.
Williams, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,774 (1984), shows a coupling having rotation prevention means comprising a ring of cavities or depressions on two facing members and a ball that is placed in two mating cavities to prevent rotation.
Lipski, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,573 (1989), shows a showerhead adapter in which the angle of a showerhead handle can be adjusted and locked. This concept is similar to Syverson's.
Kirchner et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,791 (1995), show a push-fit, splined connector for joining a fluid supply line and a pipe in a non-rotatable manner.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,939 (2000), Bischoff et al. show a showerhead holder comprising a wall-mountable bracket and a body that can be oriented as desired then locked together using mating teeth.
Mack et al, in published U.S. application 20020175519, show an anti-rotation arrangement for a submersible well pump comprising a coupling with mating teeth on facing surfaces.
In published U.S. application 20020035752, Gransow et al show a two-head shower fixture with splines that prevent pivoting of the U-tube that holds the heads.
Macan et al., in published U.S. application 20050283904, show a positionable shower arm with internal splines for locking the arm in position.
The prior-art couplings described above generally prevent relative rotation of the coupled conduits. Some of these couplings relied on friction or interfering serrations on facing surfaces, but those are prone to eventual misalignment as their frictional surface wears or if the force holding the two halves together is reduced. Other prior-art couplings relied on pressure between a washer and the shower pipe. If these were over-tightened, the washers could fail and the seal became compromised.
In accordance with one aspect of a preferred embodiment, a fluid coupling is characterized by the use of a keyed or geared spline and an enclosing tightening collar that allow a showerhead to be positioned and held in any orientation without damaging a washer seal.
Supply pipe 105 terminates at the showerhead end in male threads 130. A collar 135, having female threads 140 and an internal shoulder 142 is slidably mounted on pipe 105.
Assembly 100 includes an inlet or port 145 with external male threads 150. Threads 150 are of the same diameter and pitch as threads 140 on collar 135. Port 145 further includes in its interior, starting from the entry or upstream end, a wide plain wall section 144 followed by a narrower splined or keyed section 155, followed in turn by a plain inner wall 160 that extends into an orifice 165 for admitting water from pipe 105 to the interior of assembly 100. The diameter of inner wall portion 160 is sized to slidably admit wall portion 126 of nut 110 while compressing O-ring 125 between wall portion 160 and wall portion 126. The teeth or keys within splined section 155 are sized to slidably and conformingly mate with those in splined section 120.
The outer diameter of pipe 105 is typically 1.9 cm. Spline section 120 had 18 triangular ribs, with each rib being about 1 mm high. The number of splines can be increased for greater resolution of alignment. All other components in
Port 145 communicates with left and right branches 146 and 147 which in turn are connected to two shower arms 148 and 149 which form a harp 200 (
The installation of head assembly 100 on pipe 105 is accomplished in the following steps:
At this point, assembly 100 is securely and non-rotatably affixed to pipe 105. This completes the installation of assembly 100 on pipe 105.
The embodiment and variations described and shown of my improved showerhead connector ensure that an installed showerhead will remain in a desired orientation. A collar is first slid onto the supply pipe. Then a nut is screwed onto the supply pipe, whereafter the showerhead assembly is mounted onto the nut. Mating spline sections on the nut and within a port leading into the showerhead assembly permit rotational alignment during installation, yet when engaged prevent subsequent misalignment. An O-ring seal permits alignment, then provides a long-lasting water seal. When screwed onto the assembly, the collar secures the showerhead assembly to the nut. The collar can be tightened by hand, thereby preventing unsightly wrench marks on the collar, and concealing any marks on the nut.
While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be considered limiting but merely exemplary. Many variations and ramifications are possible.
Instead of being round, the exterior shape of the collar can be square, hexagonal, octagonal, or another shape. Instead of triangular spline teeth, square, rectangular, or semicircular teeth can be used. Instead of female threads on the collar and male threads on the showerhead assembly, the genders of the threads can be reversed.
Instead of a large open orifice leading from the supply pipe through to the showerhead assembly, a flow restrictor can be inserted.
Instead of female threads on the nut, male threads can be used to mate with female threads on a supply pipe.
Instead of a single O-ring seal, two or more such seals can be used.
A smooth, round surface can be used in place of facets for a wrench. In this case, pliers or a pipe wrench can be used to tighten the nut onto the supply pipe.
Instead of the sizes described, all elements of the design can be larger or smaller.
Instead of being mounted on a fixed supply pipe, the showerhead can be mounted on a handle at the end of a water feed hose.
The number of spline ribs can be smaller or larger and the shape of the ribs can vary. Instead of having a full set of teeth or ribs on both splines, one spline can have a full set of teeth while the other spline has as few as one tooth. If a single tooth is used, it can be replaced by a pin inserted in the nut at a location that would otherwise be occupied by a tooth.
Instead of being used to couple a supply pipe with the flippable showerhead with two supporting arms as shown, the showerhead can be a simple showerhead with a single supply pipe. The union can be used to couple other fluid conduits, such as pipes, spigots, hoses, and the like.
While the present system employs elements which are well known to those skilled in the arts of showerhead and fluid coupling design, it combines these elements in a novel way which produces one or more new results not heretofore discovered. Accordingly the scope of this invention should be determined, not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1512298 | Mueller | Oct 1924 | A |
| 3064998 | Syverson | Nov 1962 | A |
| 3563469 | Stacey | Feb 1971 | A |
| 3623753 | Henry | Nov 1971 | A |
| 4674774 | Williams | Jun 1987 | A |
| 4905766 | Dietz et al. | Mar 1990 | A |
| 4919461 | Reynolds | Apr 1990 | A |
| 4927187 | Sanford et al. | May 1990 | A |
| 4964573 | Lipski | Oct 1990 | A |
| 5048871 | Pfeiffer et al. | Sep 1991 | A |
| 5094491 | Berghammer et al. | Mar 1992 | A |
| 5269385 | Sihlis | Dec 1993 | A |
| 5321205 | Bawa et al. | Jun 1994 | A |
| 5348349 | Sloane | Sep 1994 | A |
| 5586791 | Kirchner et al. | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5763833 | Bawa et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5851035 | Marc et al. | Dec 1998 | A |
| 5882044 | Sloane | Mar 1999 | A |
| 6021952 | Antoniello et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6116658 | Bohlen | Sep 2000 | A |
| 6196266 | Breda | Mar 2001 | B1 |
| 6293595 | Marc et al. | Sep 2001 | B1 |
| 6357981 | Lanham et al. | Mar 2002 | B1 |
| 6651939 | Bischoff et al. | Nov 2003 | B2 |
| 6666227 | Erickson | Dec 2003 | B2 |
| 6807983 | Erickson | Oct 2004 | B1 |
| 6913033 | Breda | Jul 2005 | B2 |
| 7390032 | Hughes | Jun 2008 | B2 |
| 7509971 | Kajuch | Mar 2009 | B2 |
| 20020035752 | Gransow et al. | Mar 2002 | A1 |
| 20020175519 | Mack et al. | Nov 2002 | A1 |
| 20050283904 | Macan et al. | Dec 2005 | A1 |
