U.S. patent number RE29,054 [Application Number 05/568,818] was granted by the patent office on 1976-11-30 for apparatus for attaching a hot and cold water plumbing fixture to building water pipes.
Invention is credited to Hermann Paul Lange.
United States Patent |
RE29,054 |
Lange |
November 30, 1976 |
Apparatus for attaching a hot and cold water plumbing fixture to
building water pipes
Abstract
A hot and cold water plumbing fixture having a pair of water
supply lines arranged parallel to each other in a fixture housing
is attached to building water pipes by means of a wall fitting
which includes a pair of connecting pipes disposed parallel to each
other adjacent one end, and extending at a substantial angle to
each other at the opposite end. The parallel end portions of such
connecting pipes are of such size and spacing that they may
telescope with the supply lines of the plumbing fixture. The
opposite ends of the connecting pipes are attached to the building
water pipes, preferably by means of a compression coupling which
allows for considerable axial tolerance between the building water
pipes and the pipes of the wall fitting. The plumbing fixture is
attached to the wall fitting by simply telescoping the water supply
lines of the fixture with the connecting pipes of the fitting, and
by then locking the fixture to the fitting by means of a locking
screw or other device. Sealing means are provided to make
water-tight the telescoped joints between the fixture supply lines
and the connecting pipes of the wall fitting.
Inventors: |
Lange; Hermann Paul (8049
Zurich, CH) |
Family
ID: |
27151189 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/568,818 |
Filed: |
April 17, 1975 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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Reissue of: |
201848 |
Nov 24, 1971 |
03856334 |
Dec 24, 1974 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Dec 2, 1970 [OE] |
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10849/70 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
285/124.3;
137/360; 285/382.7; 4/696; 285/302; 285/136.1; 285/148.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E03C
1/021 (20130101); F16L 37/56 (20130101); F16L
39/00 (20130101); Y10T 137/698 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
F16L
37/00 (20060101); F16L 39/00 (20060101); F16L
37/56 (20060101); E03C 1/02 (20060101); F16L
039/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;285/137R,137A,64,169,302,158,382.7 ;4/192,DIG.7,191,148
;137/360,359 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1,255,041 |
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Jan 1961 |
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FR |
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1,809,022 |
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Jun 1970 |
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DT |
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Primary Examiner: Callaghan; Thomas F.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Pennie & Edmonds
Claims
I claim:
1. Apparatus for attaching a hot and cold water plumbing fixture
having a housing enclosing a pair of spaced water supply lines
disposed substantially parallel to each other to hot and cold water
pipes installed in a building, said apparatus comprising a wall
fitting including a pair of connecting pipes which are arranged
parallel to each other adjacent one end and adapted to be connected
respectively to the building water pipes at their opposite ends,
said opposite ends of said pipes extending at a substantial angle
one to the other, the parallel portions of said connecting pipes
being of such size and spacing as to receive and telescope with the
spaced parallel fixture water supply lines, means holding said
connecting pipes together with the parallel end portions spaced a
fixed distance apart and permitting rotation of said connecting
pipes about an axis through said parallel end portions in order to
change the disposition of said opposite ends, said means for
holding and permitting rotation includes a plate coextensive with a
portion of the length of said connecting pipes at said opposite
ends, said plate providing a pair of spaced apertures, each of said
connecting pipes at said opposite end having a surface
complementary to for receipt in juxtaposition on said plate, a stud
projecting from each surface for receipt through each said
apertures, means received by each said stud for fastening said
connecting pipes to said plate, sealing means for making
water-tight the joint between said connecting pipes and fixture
supply lines when they are telescoped together, and means for
mechanically locking said fixture housing and said wall fitting
together when said connecting pipes and supply lines are in
telescoped engagement.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the
opposite ends of each connecting pipe telescopes into a compression
fitting by which such pipe may be attached with considerable axial
tolerance to the building water pipes. .Iadd. 3. Apparatus for
attaching a hot and cold water plumbing fixture to hot and cold
water pipes installed in a building, said plumbing fixture having a
housing enclosing a pair of spaced water supply lines disposed
substantially parallel to each other, comprising wall fitting means
including a pair of connecting pipes, said wall fitting means
supporting said connecting pipes in a manner such that they are
disposed parallel to each other adjacent one end and adapted to be
connected respectively to the building water pipes at their
opposite ends, the parallel portions of said connecting pipes being
of a size and at a spaced disposition to telescopically engage with
said water supply lines, sealing means for making water-tight the
joint between said connecting pipes and water supply lines when
they are telescoped together, and means for mechanically locking
said housing and said connecting pipes together with said
connecting pipes and water supply lines are in telescoped
engagement, said locking means comprising a first pair of elongated
ribs disposed substantially parallel with the connecting pipe axes
and projecting from the housing one into contact with each
connecting pipe, a second pair of elongated ribs also disposed
substantially parallel with the connecting pipe axes projecting
from the housing one into contact with each connecting pipe at a
position spaced circumferentially about the connecting pipes from
said first ribs, the ribs of at least one of the pairs of ribs
having a sharp edge in contact with each connecting pipe, and a
locking screw threaded into the housing bearing against both of
said connecting pipes at positions spaced circumferentially from
said ribs and pressing each of said connecting pipes against one
rib of each pair of said ribs. .Iaddend..Iadd. 4. The apparatus of
claim 3 wherein each of said ribs makes substantial line contact
with the adjacent connecting pipe. .Iaddend..Iadd. 5. The apparatus
of claim 3 wherein said ribs of said first and second pair of ribs
and said locking screw bearing portions are substantially
equicircumferentially spaced about said connecting pipes.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 6. The apparatus of claim 3 including a boss, said
boss supported in said housing and having a bore for threaded
receipt of said locking screw, said boss further forming one rib of
said first and second pair of ribs. .Iaddend..Iadd. 7. The
apparatus of claim 3 wherein the bearing portions of said locking
screw define substantially point contacts with said connecting
pipes. .Iaddend.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a slip-on connection for locking
installation of a combined hot and cold water plumbing fixture on a
wall fitting which in turn is connected to hot and cold water pipes
installed in a building.
In known connections of this kind, the pipes for hot and cold water
supply are so laid in the wall of the building that after
plastering or tiling, the fixtures can be connected to the lines
inside the wall by screw connections. For this purpose, the
building pipes must be cut just to the required length, carefully
aligned, and threaded. The building pipes are connected to the
fixture by a second operation, generally with screw connections and
unions. This work, however, is extremely time consuming, since
extensive fitting operations are commonly required. Since the two
screw connections must be at just the same distance from the wall
surface, the pipe is not cut to length until final installation,
since at the time when the pipe is being laid the wall surface is
unfinished and its specified dimensions ordinarily will not be
accurately maintained. The same applies to the distance between and
parallelism of the two pipes projecting from the wall, where
deviation from specifications often leads to considerable
difficulties in the installation of the fixture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a connection permitting a
simple, standardized and time saving operation of mounting the
fixture on the wall. This object is achieved according to the
invention by the provisions of a wall fitting such that the pipe
ends leaving the wall and the fixture lines are capable of being
telescoped one into another, with concentric packings provided
between the pipes so connected, and in that locking means such as
at least one locking screw mounted in the fixture and passing
through a space between the pipe ends are provided, so that the
wall fitting pipes can be locked together with the fixture, thereby
providing a positive mechanical fastening of the fixture at an
arbitrary depth of insertion, within preassigned tolerances,
relative to the wall fitting.
In this way it is possible to mount the fixture snugly, that is,
with no clearance, against the final wall surface, and even if the
thickness of the wall is changed later, for example by installation
of tiles, the fixture can be adjusted to the new thickness by
loosening and tightening a screw.
Thus, the invention provides improved apparatus for attaching a hot
and cold water plumbing fixture to hot and cold water pipes
installed in a building, said fixture having a housing enclosing a
pair of spaced water supply lines disposed substantially parallel
to each other. Such apparatus comprises a wall fitting including a
pair of connecting pipes disposed parallel to each other adjacent
one end and adapted to be connected respectively to the building
hot and cold water pipes at their opposite ends. The parallel
portions of said connecting pipes are of such size and spacing as
to receive and telescope with the spaced parallel fixture supply
lines. Sealing means are provided for making water-tight the joint
between said connecting pipes and fixture supply lines when they
are telescoped together, and means also are provided for
mechanically locking said fixture housing and said wall fitting
together when said connecting pipes and supply lines are in
telescoped engagement.
According to a refinement of the invention the fixture housing has
at least two supporting ribs for each pipe end, running parallel to
the latter. In further accordance with this refinement, the locking
screw is capable of being tightened against each pipe on the other
side of the fixture from the supporting ribs, so that the forces
acting on the pipes will line up the fixture exactly parallel to
the wall fitting. This eliminates any tilting during installation
such as will occur in the case of known connections, leading at
best to loss of time at installation and at worst to damage to the
fixture or to the wall fitting.
It is advantageous according to .[.a.]. .Iadd.the
.Iaddend.refinement of the invention for .Iadd.the .Iaddend.two
parallel supporting ribs to be provided in the fixture, with an
angle of about 120.degree. between them with respect to the pipe
cross section, and that a third support, more or less with point
contact, at about the same angle from each of the other two
supports, be formed by the head of the locking screw. Then each
pipe is positvely aligned on two supporting ribs parallel to each
other, as if on rails. The head of the locking screw forms a
purchase with point contact, pressing the pipe against the rails.
Thanks to this exact parallelism, the fixture can be slipped in
place with great ease, thus shortening the installation time. Upon
tightening, finally, an approximately equilateral triangle of
forces exerts an optimal distribution of pressure on the pipe,
achieving a highly effective fixation.
According to a .Iadd.further .Iaddend.refinement of the invention
an opening is provided in the bottom of the fixture housing for
inserting and turning the locking screw, which may engage a
threaded boss provided on the upper inside wall where it is
concealed from the outside. The result is that the fixture can be
built plain and continuous on top all the way to the wall surface.
The separate surrounds or trims commonly used are eliminated.
Another result is that a simple casting may form the fixture
housing. Only on the under side, where water and dirt cannot enter,
is the opening for the concealed locking screw provided. The
locking screw itself need not protrude. but may be practically
flush with the opening provided in the wall of the fixture.
Advantageously, the threaded boss itself may take the form of a
supporting rib for the two pipes in contact with it on opposed
sides. This construction provides a simplification of design
whereby the casting mold for the fixture housing may be kept
especially simple.
Another refinement of the invention provides that at least one of
the supporting ribs along a pipe should be formed with a sharp edge
for engagement with the connecting pipe of the wall fitting. In
this way, any slight tilting of the fixture relative to the wall
fitting that might occur due to relative rotation of connecting
pipe and fixture during tightening is avoided. In other words, the
parallel guidance is maintained during the locking operation as
well. .[.Means.].
A .Iadd.still further .Iaddend.refinement of the apparatus of the
invention consists in that a spectacle-shaped plate formed with a
pair of apertures through which the fixture supply lines extend is
provided inside the fixture housing, which plate is capable of
being pressed against wedge rings for seal and mechanical fixation
of the fixture. The spectacle-shaped plate guides the two pipes of
the wall fitting parallel to each other, and these pipes find their
second point of guidance in the open ends of the fixture supply
lines. .[.means.]. .Iadd.Means .Iaddend.bearing on the
spectacle-shaped plate are provided to press it and the wedge rings
toward the ends of the fixture supply lines, whereby when the
supply lines and connecting pipes are telescoped said wedge rings
may be forced into sealing engagement with the ends of the fixture
supply lines. The means bearing on the spectacle-shaped plate
advantageously is an eccentric screw forming a rotatable cam the
surface of which bears against said plate in position to move it
axially with respect to the fixture supply lines. Thus the force
exerted by the eccentric locking screw is transmitted uniformly to
the locking rings.
It is especially advantageous for the locking rings to be
wedge-shaped and engaged between the pipe ends and the fixture
lines, so that the two can be locked together in a tight and
positive connection when an eccentric screw or cam is provided to
clamp the spectacle-shaped plate, such locking means can be
actuated from the under side of the fixture, and practically no
dirt or water can get into the fixture from the outside. The
eccentric screw or cam advantageously is arranged parallel to the
plane of the spectacle-shaped plate, and is eccentric at least over
most of that portion of its length where it bears on such plate. As
a result of this, force is transmitted with complete uniformity
from the screw to the spectacle-shaped plate, maintaining and
assisting the parallel guidance of said plate.
It is likwise advantageous if the connecting pipes of the wall
fitting are held together by holding means in which their parallel
end portions are rotatable about their centerlines, along which
they telescope with the fixture supply lines. The great advantage
of angular adjustability of the connecting pipes, by a rotation
relative to the fixture, consists in that the building water pipes
inside the wall may extend toward the wall fitting at any
convenient angle. The holding means may be fixed to the wall.
To accommodate differences in distance between the wall fitting and
the building pipes, a compression coupling may advantageously be
used to join them, permitting considerable axial tolerance between
the ends of the connecting pipe-ends and the building piping
system.
Finally, to seal the telescoped connecting pipes and fixture supply
lines, compressible packing washers may be held between flared ends
of the supply lines and compression sleeves surrounding such lines.
An eccentric screw or cam mounted on the fixture housing may be
provided for adjusting a spectacle-shaped plate by which the
compression sleeves may be moved axially to compress the packing
washer and expand them into sealing engagement with the connecting
pipes of the wall fitting.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following, embodiments of the invention will be described in
some detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which
FIG. 1 shows a section of a wall fitting with parts of a fixture
connected thereto;
FIG. 2 shows a section at II--II in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of another embodiment;
FIG. 4 shows a section of a fixture connection according to still
another embodiment;
FIG. 5 shows section V--V in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of yet another embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
The arrangement of FIG. 1 consists of a wall fitting having two
connecting pipes 1 and 2 fastened to a common plate 3. In the
example, the fastening is provided by means of two nuts 4 and a
threaded stud 5 on each of the connecting pipes 1 and 2. A
compression fitting 6 of known type provides for attachment to a
building water supply line 7.
The pipes 1 and 2 are axially rotatable on the plate 3 about the
centerlines of their parallel end portion. The wall fitting
comprising the pipes and the plate is fastened to the wall by means
of a centering and attachment hole provided in plate 3. By simply
pivoting them on the threaded studs 5, pipes 1 and 2 can be
accurately aligned with building pipes 7 leading to the wall
fitting at any angle. Yet the spacing of the parallel portions of
pipes 1 and 2 remains constant in the region of their connection to
the fixture. The compression fitting connection 6 permits
compensation of length discrepancies from the supply pipes 7, due
to inaccurate cutting or assembly tolerances.
In a fixture housing 8, fixture supply lines 9 are mounted so as to
extend concentrically with pipes 1 and 2 and be telescoped into
pipes 1 and 2. The telescoped connection is sealed by packing rings
10.
In the fixture housing, a locking screw 11 is provided, passing
through a space 12 between pipes 1 and 2. As the fixture is slipped
on, the screw 11 can slide along in the space 12. After the wall
has been plastered or tiled, the fixture is slipped onto the wall
fitting and finally secured in place by drawing up the locking
screw 11. Owing to the predetermined standardized spacing from each
other of the two connecting pipes 1 and 2 of the wall fitting, and
the ease of sliding the fixture axially along the pipes, this
mounting operation is very simple and time saving.
FIG. 2, representing a section at II--II in FIG. 1, shows in detail
how the locking action is brought about by means of screw 11.
Inside the fixture housing 8 at the top, an internally threaded
boss 14 is provided, engaged by the locking screw 11. The boss has
two sharp edges parallel to the centerlines of the pipes. These
edges of the boss 14 engage with pipes 1 and 2 and prevent relative
rotation of connecting pipes and housing when the locking screw is
tightened. A second supporting edge is provided by the head of the
locking screw 11. Finally, the fixture housing 8 has a supporting
rib 16 in the center of the interior of each side. Thus each pipe 1
and 2 is guided parallel first by two supports each, 14 and 16, in
the manner of rails, and also is pressed against the rails by the
head of the locking screw 11. The screw can be inserted and screwed
or unscrewed through an opening 15 in the bottom of the fixture
housing 8. Each pipe is thus wedged in triangularly. Preferably,
the lines of support are about 120.degree. apart. Then pipes 1 and
2 are locked in place by an approximately equilateral triangle of
forces.
In the second embodiment of the wall fitting, represented by way of
example in FIG. 3, the plate 3 of FIG. 1 is replaced by a guide
fitting 20. This fitting, to be set in the wall, has two parallel
passages 21, each accepting an end portion of a connecting pipe 22.
Such end portion of the connecting pipe is freely rotatable in its
concentric passage 21, and is beaded at 23 and 24 at the ends of
the passage so that it cannot slip out of the guide fitting. In the
wall region, the connecting pipe 22 is bent at approximately a
right angle from the portion mounted in the guide fitting. By
rotating the supply pipe 22 in the guide fitting, the bent end can
easily be aligned with a supply line 7 laid in the wall at any
angle. The connection is made by means of a compression fitting 6
as in FIG. 1.
The guide fitting 20 may be a metal casting, or alternatively may
be made of synthetic materials. In the region between the passages,
a space 12 is provided in the form of an oblong hole. The front end
of the guide fitting 20 is provided with a threaded hole 25 into
which a screw is threaded to press a coverplate with packings over
the pipe openings in conventional manner, so that the supply
network installation can be hydraulically tested without
installation of the fixture.
According to another embodiment, represented by way of example in
FIGS. 4 and 5, a modified method of securing the fixture to the
wall fitting is illustrated. On the two parallel pipes 1 and 2,
there is provided a spectacle-shaped plate 30 formed with a pair of
spaced apertures through which extend the connecting pipes 1 and 2
of the wall fitting. A locking ring 31 is slipped onto each pipe 1
and 2. Contrary to the embodiments previously illustrated, pipes 1
and 2 are inserted into the fixture supply lines 9, as shown in
FIG. 4, instead of vice versa. With the aid of an eccentric cam 32
formed on a locking screw 11 and extending across the plate 30, the
spectacle-shaped plate 30 forces the locking rings 31 between
connecting pipes 1, 2 and the fixture lines 9 to form a seal.
In FIG. 5, the construction of the spectacle-shaped plate 30 and
locking screw 11 with eccentric cam 32 is shown in plan view. It
will be seen that the spectacle-shaped plate 30 is slidably
arranged on pipes 1 and 2 so that the locking rings 31 can easily
be pressed into their final position.
In a modification of the last embodiment, a compressible packing is
provided between the telescoped pipes in the example shown in FIG.
6. As in the first example of FIG. 1, the fixture lines 9 lie
concentrically within the connecting pipes 1 and 2 of the wall
fitting. The lines 9 are flared at the anterior ends to retain a
compressible packing 33, for example a rubber packing ring, from
slipping off. The other side of the packing is acted upon by a
compression sleeve 34 arranged to be axially displaceable along the
outer surface of the fixture line 9. The compression sleeve bears
against a spectacle-shaped plate 30. When the spectacle-shaped
plate is forced forward by means of an eccentric cam screw 32
mounted in the fixture housing 8, the compression sleeves are moved
forward relative to the fixture lines 9. This compresses the
packing 33 and provides the desired seal between lines 9 and the
connecting pipes 1 and 2. A locking screw 11, as in the first
embodiment described, serves for mechanical fixation of the fixture
to the wall fitting.
It should be mentioned that the wall fitting may alternatively be
made in one piece, for example as an integral casting, in which
case it is no longer possible to rotate the outwardly bent ends of
the connecting pipes 1 and 2 inside the wall. Of course it is
possible to provide pivotable elbows with such a construction, to
permit angular adjustment of the connection to the building piping
7 inside the wall.
* * * * *