U.S. patent number 3,647,145 [Application Number 05/046,960] was granted by the patent office on 1972-03-07 for shower head.
Invention is credited to Merritt J. Nelson.
United States Patent |
3,647,145 |
Nelson |
March 7, 1972 |
SHOWER HEAD
Abstract
An adjustable shower head assembly including a generally
cup-shaped hollow shower head having an opening in its bottom for
passing liquid therethrough, a ball joint communicating with a
liquid source and communicating with the opening in the head, a
valve element movably associated with the head, the valve element
including a seat and a stem with a liquid passageway therethrough,
the valve element operably associated with the opening in the head
whereby rotation of the head moves the valve element from a
position restricting liquid from passing through the head to a
position allowing liquid to pass therefrom, the liquid passing
through the ball joint, through the opening into the head, through
the passageway in the stem and thence from the head.
Inventors: |
Nelson; Merritt J. (Sparta,
MI) |
Family
ID: |
21946308 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/046,960 |
Filed: |
June 17, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
239/460;
239/583 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B05B
1/3086 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B05B
1/30 (20060101); B05b 001/32 () |
Field of
Search: |
;239/437,438,439,443,457,458,456,460,451,587 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Schacher; Richard A.
Assistant Examiner: Grant; Edwin D.
Claims
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or
privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. An adjustable shower head assembly or the like, including a
generally cup-shaped hollow shower head having a bottom and
sidewalls terminating in a lip; said bottom having an opening for
passing liquid to said head; means adapted to pass liquid from a
liquid source, said means communicating with said opening in said
head; a valve element movably associated with said head, said valve
element including a seat and a stem; said stem having a liquid
passageway; said bottom of said head being exposed to said means
and including an upstanding portion extending from said sidewalls,
said opening extending through said portion and being threaded,
said stem being threaded along a portion of its length, said
threaded portion of said stem received into said threaded opening,
and said means receiving the free end of said stem in a manner
preventing rotative movement between said means and said stem; said
valve element operably associated with said opening in said head
and said means whereby rotation of said head moves said seat from a
position preventing liquid from passing from said head and by said
lip to and from a position allowing maximum liquid to escape from
said head and by said lip, the liquid passing from the source
through said means, through said opening and into said head through
said passageway in said stem.
2. The assembly as defined in claim 1, said stem being elongated
and generally flat except for said threaded portion, said
passageway in said stem comprising at least one slot in said
threaded portion.
3. The assembly as defined in claim 2, said means comprising a ball
joint positioned in said head between said bottom and said
upstanding portion, an opening passing through said joint and
including a slot for receiving the free end of said stem.
4. The assembly as defined in claim 3, said seat of said valve
element comprising a flat disc of a diameter cooperating with a
plurality of indentations in said lip on the interior of said head,
said indentations decreasing in size as they extend towards said
bottom of said head.
5. The assembly as defined in claim 4 including gripping means on
the exterior of said head.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to shower heads. More particularly, this
invention relates to a shower head assembly or the like enabling
one to adjust the water flowing therefrom by simply rotating the
shower head itself.
Many types of shower head assemblies are presently in existence.
Many of these structures are complex in construction and very
expensive because they attempt to give smoothness of operation and
easy volume variation. It is very desirable to have a simple means
provided for variation of the amount of water coming from the
shower head. It is desirable that this means be so simple that it
can be accomplished with an action which one is capable of doing
with eyes closed without the possibility of mistake being made.
Additionally, it is desirable that this adjustment in volume be
smooth and gradual. Yet, this must be accomplished with a structure
which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture. Further, if the
structure is too complex, not only is the cost prohibitive but also
one runs into problems of complexity in operation and the chance
that complex parts will cause operational difficulties.
OBJECTS AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a unique
shower head which allows the user to vary the amount of water
coming from the shower head by the simplest of actions, the
rotation of the shower head itself.
A further object of the invention is to provide such a shower head
which is extremely simple in construction, allowing it to be
relatively inexpensive and trouble-free in operation.
A further object of the invention is the provision of such a shower
head which incorporates a unique valve element cooperating with the
shower head in such a manner as to allow both passage of water
therethrough and an adjustment of the volume of water escaping from
the head.
A further object of the invention is the provision of such a shower
head which, though achieving the above objects, additionally
provides for a smooth and gradual increase or decrease in the
amount of water passing from the shower head.
These objects are accomplished, basically by the provision of a
generally cup-shaped hollow shower head having a bottom and
sidewalls terminating in a lip, said bottom having an opening for
passing liquid to said head, means adapted to pass liquid from a
liquid source, said means communicating with said opening in said
head, a valve element movably associated with said head, said valve
element including a seat and a stem, said stem having a liquid
passageway, said valve element operably associated with said
opening in said head and said means whereby rotation of said head
moves said seat from a position preventing liquid from passing from
said head and by said lip to and from a position allowing maximum
liquid to escape from said head and by said lip, the liquid passing
from the source through said means, through said opening and into
said head through said passageway in said stem.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
This invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the
art from a reading of the following specification and a study of
the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the shower head assembly or the
like of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the assembly showing the valve
element in a position preventing liquid from escaping
therefrom;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 except that the
valve element is in position allowing liquid to escape from the
assembly; and
FIG. 4 is a side view of the valve element of the assembly.
Referring more specifically to the drawings, the reference numeral
1 designates the shower head assembly or the like of this invention
(FIGS. 1 and 2). The shower head assembly 1 includes the shower
head 2, the ball joint 20 and the valve element 40.
The shower head 2 comprises a generally cup-shaped hollow member
having a bottom 3 and side walls 4 terminating in a lip 5. An
opening 6 is provided in the bottom 3 of the head 2 and a plurality
of indentations 7 are provided in the lip on the interior of the
head 2, the indentations 7 decreasing in size as they extend
towards the bottom of the head. In the embodiment shown, a flange 8
is formed on the sidewalls 4 and an insert 9 is suitably secured
against the sidewalls 4 and the flange 8. The insert 9 forms an
upstanding portion extending away from the bottom and the sidewalls
and includes an opening 10 threaded at 11. Finger grips 12 are
formed on the exterior of the head 2 adjacent the lip 5. The head 2
may be fabricated of any suitable material, such as plastic.
The ball joint 20 includes a threaded portion 21 and a ball 22 with
the liquid passageway 23 running therethrough. An opening 24 is
provided in the top of the ball 22, the opening 24 formed such that
it includes a slot 25, the purpose of which will be more fully
understood hereinafter.
The valve element 40 (FIGS. 2, 3, and 4) includes a flat
disc-shaped valve seat 41 and an elongated, generally flat valve
stem 42. The valve stem 42 includes a rounded, threaded portion 43
having at least one liquid passageway 44 cut therethrough. Drainage
openings 45 may be formed in the valve seat 41. The valve element
40 may be fabricated of any suitable material such as plastic.
In assembly, the ball 22 of the ball joint 20 is placed to lie
within the head 2 being of a diameter slightly larger than the
opening 6. The insert 9 is secured in position, allowing
directional movement of the shower head 2 with respect to the ball
joint 20 with the ball 22 lying between the bottom 3 of the shower
head and the insert 9. The fit of the ball 22 within the shower
head 2 is such that some effort is required to get directional
movement of the head. The threaded portion 21 of the ball joint is
secured to a liquid source, such as in a shower stall. The valve
element 40 is inserted into the head 2, the free end of the valve
stem 42 fitting into the slot 25 in the ball joint 20 and the
threaded portion 43 meshing with the threads 11 in the opening 10
of the insert 9.
It will now be seen that rotation of the head 2 causes movement of
the valve element 40 with respect to the head. This is because the
slot 25 prevents rotative movement of the valve element 40 along
with the head 2. Therefore, rotation of the head 2 causes the
threaded portion 43 of the valve stem to move within the threads 11
in the opening 10 of the insert 9. Thus, the valve seat 41 moves
longitudinally along the indentations 7 in the lip 5 of the head 2.
Referring specifically to FIG. 2, the valve element 40 is shown in
a position wherein the valve seat 41 abuts the sidewalls 4 of the
shower head 2. Thus, although liquid can pass from the water source
through the liquid passageway 23 and the opening 24 in the ball
joint 20 and along the passageway 44 in the valve stem 42 of the
valve element 40 into the interior of the head 2 through the
opening 10, the liquid cannot escape from the head (except through
the drainage openings 45). However, upon rotation of the head 2 by
means of the finger grips 12, the valve element 40 begins to move
longitudinally of the head 2 (FIG. 3) because the valve element is
prevented from rotation by the slot 25 in the ball joint 20. As the
valve seat 41 moves along the indentation 7 an increasing amount of
liquid is allowed to escape from the indentation 7 along the
perimeter of the valve seat 41. It will be noted that the liquid
passes from its source through the passageway 23 and the opening 24
in the ball joint 20 along the liquid passageway 44 in the valve
stem 42 and through the opening 10 in the insert 9 into the
interior of the head 2, and then through the indentations 7 in the
lip 5 of the head 2 alongside the perimeter of the valve seat 41.
Thus, by simply rotating the head 2 in one direction or the other,
liquid is either prevented from escaping from the assembly 1 or a
maximum amount of liquid is allowed to escape therefrom, the
transition between the two extremes being smooth and gradual as to
the amount of liquid escaping.
It will thus be noted that this invention has provided a unique
means for allowing the volume of water escaping from the shower
head assembly to be varied by merely rotating the shower head
itself. Through rotation of the shower head, the amount of liquid
escaping either increases or decreases smoothly and a perfect
adjustment can easily be made. This is accomplished through the
simplest of manipulations, which can be performed with one's eyes
closed. Additionally, this is accomplished with a relatively simple
structure, keeping costs down and assuring positive, long lasting
operation.
While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been provided in
detail, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art
that other embodiments may be conceived and fabricated without
departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Such other
embodiments are to be deemed as included within the scope of the
appended claims unless these claims by their language expressly
state otherwise.
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