U.S. patent number 3,642,213 [Application Number 04/734,955] was granted by the patent office on 1972-02-15 for laminar flow device for bathtub fill spouts.
This patent grant is currently assigned to American Standard Inc.. Invention is credited to Richard G. Parkison, Guillermo J. Vanegas.
United States Patent |
3,642,213 |
Parkison , et al. |
February 15, 1972 |
LAMINAR FLOW DEVICE FOR BATHTUB FILL SPOUTS
Abstract
This invention involves a fluid flow device which is in the form
of a spout-end for a plumbing fixture such as a bathtub, and which
is devised to establish a substantially silent, smooth clear and
laminar flow of water into the plumbing fixture. The spout-end
includes two adjacent flat screens of different meshes, followed in
the path of flow by a fluid straightener, such as a "rosette," for
establishing a plurality of paths which are substantially parallel
to each other, and then followed by another pair of screens both of
which are concavely shaped at substantially different radii of
curvature so that a gap or chamber is centrally formed between the
two concaval screens for diverting the parallel streams into a
tapered or converging stream which is substantially continuous and
laminar.
Inventors: |
Parkison; Richard G.
(Louisville, KY), Vanegas; Guillermo J. (Louisville,
KY) |
Assignee: |
American Standard Inc. (New
York, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
24953742 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/734,955 |
Filed: |
June 6, 1968 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
239/590;
239/553 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E03C
1/086 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E03C
1/086 (20060101); E03C 1/02 (20060101); B05b
001/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;239/428.5,450,502,548,552,553,553.3,553.5,590,590.3,590.5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Wood, Jr.; M. Henson
Assistant Examiner: Culp, Jr.; Thomas C.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A substantially laminar nonaerated spout-end comprising a
housing having a linear axis, a plurality of contiguous flat
screens adjacent the entrance of the housing, the contiguous flat
screens being of different sized meshes which are displaced from
each other by a predetermined angle, a device made of screened
material and positioned downstream of said flat screens and forming
a plurality of substantially parallel paths which parallel the axis
of the housing, a pair of curved screens of different curvatures,
the rims of said curved screens being contiguous so that the curved
screens provide therebetween a chamber, a retainer crimped to the
rims of said curved screens for holding the curved screens in a
predetermined spaced relation to each other, a holder positioned at
the entrance of the housing for holding the flat screens, the
screened device and the curved screens in position on a ledge of
said housing, the fluid traversing said housing emerging as a
substantially smooth, laminar and noiseless coordinated stream.
2. A spout-end according to claim 1 in which the housing is made of
plastic and the wall of which is provided with steps directed
toward the axis of the housing for pointing the emergent stream
toward the axis of the housing.
3. A spout-end according to claim 2 in which the meshes of the
curved screens are displaced from each other by a predetermined
angle.
Description
This invention relates to fluid flow devices and, more
particularly, to fluid flow devices especially adaptable for
plumbing fixtures such as, for example, bathtubs and providing a
spout-end for producing a substantially silent laminar stream of
fluid flowing noiselessly into the plumbing fixture.
It is not uncommon in conventional spouts for bathtubs and in
spout-ends for bathtub fittings to emit water into the bathtubs in
a turbulent stream so that the flow into the bathtub is both noisy
and splashy. Considerable research and development efforts have
been directed toward devising a spout structure which would be free
of splash and substantially laminar and silent. Efforts to achieve
this in the past have not been successful especially with
relatively inexpensive spout structures.
In accordance with this invention, a spout-end is devised which
substantially overcomes the limitations and adverse features of
prior devices. The spout-end of this invention, briefly described,
comprises a structure which includes among other things, two
substantially flat contiguous screens of different meshes which are
aligned so that their meshes are not parallel to each other, one of
the screens having a fine mesh and the other a courser mesh, the
screens being followed by a "rosette" element so arranged and
formed as to yield a plurality of more or less distinct channels or
streams which are substantially parallel to each other in the path
of fluid flow, and then followed by another pair of screens which
are herein described as concaval (or spherical) in shape and having
different degrees of curvature so that the two curved screens are
spaced from each other so that the maximum spacing will be at the
axis of the device, the two curved screens deflecting the parallel
streams passing through the rosette so as to taper the streams into
a common laminar pattern which yields a clear, substantially
splashless and virtually noiseless stream. The stream emitted by
the device of this invention will remain substantially unchanged in
its general pattern at different fluid flow rates, except that the
diameter of the converging stream will be changed.
This invention will be better understood from the more detailed
description hereinafter following when read in connection with the
accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 depicts a lateral cross-sectional view of the combination of
a spout and a spout-end for a plumbing fixture according to the
invention;
FIG. 2 shows a side elevation view of a retainer for holding the
screens within the spout-end;
FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the retainer of FIG. 2 taken
along the line 3--3;
FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the retainer when seen along line 4--4
of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 depicts a front elevational view of the body or housing of
the spout-end;
FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the body or housing
when observed along line 6--6 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 shows a top plan view of the body or housing as seen along
line 7--7 of FIG. 5;
FIGS. 8 and 9 show plan views of the upper and lower flat screens,
respectively;
FIG. 10 shows a ribbon of screen material before formation into a
rosette;
FIG. 10A shows the same material when shaped as a rosette;
FIG. 11 shows a retainer for the curved screens; and
FIGS. 12 and 13 depict the upper and lower curved screens,
respectively.
Throughout the drawing and the specification the same reference
characters will be employed to designate the same or similar
parts.
Referring to the drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 a general
arrangement of a spout 10, a wall 20 above the bathtub and a
spout-end 30, so arranged and combined that water may normally flow
through the aperture of the spout 10 and then through the spout-end
30 to provide a stream of water 15 which is to be substantially
laminar as well as substantially noiseless.
The spout-end 30 includes a housing or body 32 which is externally
threaded at 34 so as to be readily connectable to the corresponding
external threads 35 of the spout 10 of the plumbing fixture
illustrated as attached to the wall 20. The housing 32 is arranged
to receive two flat screens 38 and 40 which have meshes of
different degrees of fineness. The upper screen 38 preferably has a
finer mesh than the adjacent flat screen 40. The screen 38 which is
of finer mesh will serve principally to filter the incoming fluid
so that substantially no dirt or other foreign material will be
trapped within the spout-end. The courser screen 40 will function
primarily to distribute the incoming fluid across the entire
cross-sectional area of the housing 32. Both screens 38 and 40 are
held in physical contact within the housing 32 by retaining ring 46
which may be externally threaded, as shown at 47, so as to mesh
with the internal threads 48 at the upper end of the housing 32. If
desired, the retainer ring 46 need not be threaded but may be
slightly tapered so as to fit tightly, like a tapered cork, into
the upper end of the housing 32 and held in that position
continuously.
The two screens 38 and 40 are in close physical contact with each
other and so oriented that the respective component wires of the
two screens are not parallel to each other but are preferably
offset or biased at a considerable angle with respect to each
other, such as 45.degree..
Adjacent to the lower flat screen 40 there is positioned a rosette
50 which provides a plurality of substantially parallel channels to
straighten the stream. The rosette 50 is preferably made of a
continuous length of screen material 52 as shown in FIG. 10A,
having a width which is uniform throughout and about equal to the
vertical dimension of the rosette 50 shown, for example, in FIG. 1.
The screen material 52, when formed into the rosette 50, provides a
plurality of radially disposed passageways 54 having a wall member
56 circumscribing the passageways 54. As observed from FIGS. 10 and
10A, the screen strip 52 is folded into a sinuous cavity. When the
strip 52 is assembled and appropriately bent into the form shown in
FIG. 10, it will define a rosette pattern having a plurality of
uniform substantially parallel passageways 54 when viewed in the
direction of the flow path, the passageways extending radially of
the spout-end. A substantially similar rosette and its method of
construction are shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,321,140,
issued May 23, 1967, and assigned to the same assignee.
The rosette 50 is then followed by a pair of screens 62 and 64
which are of different concaval (or spherical) shapes and
dimensions as shown in FIGS. 1, 12 and 13 so that the two screens
62 and 64 have their respective radii located along the axis of the
spout-end but at different positions along that axis. The curved
screens are crimped together or otherwise held by an annular
retaining ring 66, shown in FIG. 11, the assembly being seen more
clearly in FIG. 1. The two curved screens 62 and 64, like the flat
screens 38 and 40, have square or rectangular meshes which are
crossed or biased at an angle such as 45.degree..
The housing 32 has a substantially flat annular section or ledge 70
upon which the retaining ring 66 is supported as shown, for
example, in FIG. 1. The rosette 50 is seated on the peripheral
retaining ring 66. The parallel flat screens 38 and 40 are in turn
positioned on and above the rosette 50 and are maintained in
contact with each other in their respective positions by the upper
retaining ring 46 after it is inserted or threaded into the upper
end of the housing or body 32. It will be observed that the inner
wall of the housing 32 has its greatest dimension, i.e., its
diameter, at the upper end 72 of the housing 32. Hence, the flat
screens 38 and 40 are held in close contact with each other within
the segment 72 of the housing 32 (the greatest internal dimension
of the spout-end body 32). The dimension of segment 72 is a bit
wider than the cylindrical wall 73 of the housing 32 where the
retaining ring 66 is positioned. Immediately following the ledge or
peripheral rim 70 and the cylindrical wall 73, the inner contour of
the housing 32 is linearly tapered at 74 in the downstream
direction to further reduce the dimension, namely, the internal
diameter, of the housing 32. The linearly tapered rim 74 is then
followed by a cylindrical wall 76 which provides the minimum
dimension or diameter of the housing 32. It will be observed that
the dimensions of the housing 32 become reduced in the downstream
direction of fluid flow and the smallest dimension is reached at
the exit port 76.
Water or other fluid entering the spout-end at the upper end of
housing 32 traverses the screen 38 so that dirt and other foreign
materials will be filtered and detained by screen 38. The courser
screen 40 will then spread or distribute the filtered influent
liquid substantially over the entire cross-sectional dimension 72
of the housing 32. As the liquid passes screen 40 of larger mesh,
it travels through the parallel paths of rosette 50, the rosette
serving to straighten the influent liquid into a plurality of
longitudinal fluid channels or streams. The channelled streams are
in communication with each other through the screened walls of the
rosette 50 which allows pressure equalization between the walls and
hence an equalization of velocity of fluid flow. All of these
channels or streams therefore transmit fluid at about the same
velocity and in the same direction, that is, in parallel paths. The
several channels or streams then impinge upon the concaval screens
62 and 64 which, much like conventional light lenses, deflect the
respective channels or streams, about the way conventional light
lenses do, so as to direct the several channels or streams toward
the common center or axis of the housing 32. These separate
channels or streams will thence be merged or coordinated into a
substantially uniform or composite stream, as shown at 15, which
will be tapered to a predetermined degree as it emerges from the
lowermost substantially cylindrical opening or exit port 76 of the
housing 32. The tapered wall 74 of the housing 32 is designed to
assist in directing, i.e., pointing, the several streams into their
coalescing, coordinated and laminated pattern.
The curvilinear screens 62 and 64, as shown in FIG. 1, have their
rims contiguous to each other, but the spacing between these
screens beyond their rims increases and is at its maximum dimension
at about the axis of the housing 32. A chamber resembling a light
lens is formed by the screens 62 and 64. The screens so shaped and
arranged have been found to taper the several streams into a
compacted pattern.
The water emitted from the exit port of the spout-end housing 32 of
this invention will form a substantially smooth, clear and
uninterrupted stream which is not turbulent and remains
nonturbulent even after it impinges upon the base of the bathtub or
other fixture. The impact upon the base of the fixture will be
substantially free of splash and it will be noiseless to a very
large extent. This pattern of flow, with its improved
characteristics, will be maintained notwithstanding fairly wide
changes in the rates of fluid flow through the spout-end.
The spout-end of this invention is relatively simple and easily
constructed because it is composed of a plurality of readily
available components which can be assembled even by unskilled
personnel. The device is therefore easy to manufacture in quantity
and at low cost.
In one model of a spout-end constructed according to this
invention, the flat screens 38 and 40 and the curved screens 62 and
64 were made of monel wire of 0.008 in. diameter and all of the
screens, except screen 38, were sewn into a square weave at about
30 units per linear inch. The wire of screen 38 was woven into a
square weave with some 40 units per linear inch. The screen
material for the rosette 50 was monel wire of a diameter of 0.0095
in. having 40.times. 36 meshes per square inch and a width of about
0.69 in. before it was sinuously shaped and a width of 0.39 in.
after it was so formed. Obviously, the body 32 and the retainer 46
may be made of any materials, such as metals or plastic.
It is quite important that the device embody at least one flat
screen such as 38, although good operation can be achieved with two
or more flat screens. It is also important to have at least one of
the concaval or spherical screens in the structure, but good
operation can be achieved with two or more concaval or spherical
screens. Moreover, if two or more curved screens are employed, they
may have the same or different concavity or sphericity.
It is important to have the area of the exit port 76 somewhere
between six-tenths to nine-tenths of the area at the inlet to the
device. Moreover, the dimensions downstream of the tapered section
74 should be at least one-sixteenth of an inch in length. The
meshes of the screens should be any of the sizes Nos. 16 to 40. The
device should be designed and constructed for velocities not
exceeding a predetermined value, such as 4 feet per second.
While this invention has been shown and described in certain
particular arrangements merely for the purpose of illustration and
explanation, it will be clearly understood that the invention and
its components may be arranged in other and widely varied
organizations without materially departing from the spirit of the
invention and the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *