Technical field of the invention

Sanitary faucets, water pipes

Technical problems

The technical problem, that is being solved by the presented invention, is the sealing between the inlet and the draining channels and the set of the ceramic valve of single lever faucets. Because of the complexity of the system, leaking can appear as a big technical problem that needs to be solved. The main problem is in the nut, that needs to provide the pressure of the cartridge on the seals between cartridge and faucet body. The nut needs to be screwed with an exactly defined torch, otherwise leaking, breaking and troubles with opening and closing of the faucet may occur.

State of the art

Many single lever faucets can be found on the market, which usually contain a valve, inlet channels and draining channel. An example of the usual technical conditions is presented on pictures 1 and 2, which show the structure of a typical sanitary faucet, one as an exploded drawing and the other as a profile intersection. The main parts are the housing 1 , ceramic valve 2, fixing nut 3, seals 4, and inlet hoses 5. The arrow 8 shows the water stream through the faucet. To assure a perfect sealing between the ceramic valve 2 and the housing 1 with the help of the seals 4, a very smooth and straight sealing surface 6 as also an exact position of the inlet channels 7 needs to be made, which can lead to very high production costs. The sealing strength on the seals 4 is assured by the fixing nut 3, which fastening moment has to be adjusted to every individual line of the faucet and cartridge, because of the proper activity of the ceramic valve. The ceramic valve is in the time of its usage constantly exposed to different forces, that work directly on the fixing nut 3, which can get loose because of the small fastening moment. The consequence of this can be the reduction of the sealing force on the seals 4, followed by incorrect sealing.

Description of the new solution

The above described technical problem can be solved by the new combined seal for sanitary faucets, where the ceramic valve gets merged with the inlet-drain canals into one whole, so we can avoid seals 4. Seals cause troubles, as they can start leaking.

The point of the new solution are the inlet hoses 14, that are attached directly into the housing of the element 12. It enables the main elements of the cartridge, that comprehend slider 18, flexible plate 19 and fixed plate 20, to be inserted into the housing of the element 12. As the inlet hoses 14 are attached directly into the housing of the element 12 , there is no need to use any special additional force of the nut to assure sealing (special longitudinal clamping is not needed), although fixation of combined seal 9 with faucet body must be carried out, but that does not have any influence on the sealing, which is the case in state of the art.

By the state of the art, the inlet hoses had to be brought to special lugs, that were separated from the valve, bounded with the valve, or were already caste into the housing of the faucet. In the new edition of the valve, the inlet hoses 14 get fixed directly to the orifices, that are made in the housing of the element 12 of the combined seal 9, so the lugs are not needed any more and so the possibility of leaking between the lug and the valve is prevented. The valve is inserted into the housing of the element 12 of the combined seal 9, the housing is made from one whole, different from the state of the art. Pictures 3 and 4 show the combined seal 9 in the faucet housing 10, fixed with fixing nut 1 1. Pictures 5, 6 and 7 show the basic parts of the element: the housing of the element 12, seals 13, inlet hoses 14 and the connecting fastener 15.

At described solution, in combined seal of sanitary faucet 9, part of which is also the housing 12 in which there are already carried out orifices for the fixation of the hoses, inlet hoses 14 are connected. These hoses 14 are fastened with connecting fasteners 15, which enables fast assembly and disassemble of the hoses 14, and the housing element 12. Connecting fasteners 15, fix the hoses 14 in a way, that enables the sides of the connecting fasteners to match with the slots on the connecting elements. This is clearly shown on the picture 7, which shows the horizontal section of the element 9 with correctly assembled fasteners 15. The connecting fasteners 15 are inserted into the housing of the element 12 through the slot 17 of suitable width, according to the width of the connecting fasteners 15.

Besides the basic advantages of the system (the elimination of the seals between the housing and the valve), the system also has following advantages, which can be considered a surprising technical result.

A. By state of the art the inlet-draining channels are led directly into the brass housing of the faucet. The technology of making the housing does not enable the realization of smooth and running canals, which are the preliminary condition for the mostly laminar flow of the water by usual water stream speed, and it assures a low noisiness of the faucet. This condition is being fulfilled with this new system. B. The new solution avoids the contact of the metal housing with water, as the contact of the water with the metal case is unwanted because of the melting of the heavy metals from the housing, which is characteristic for the actual state of the art.

C. The new system enables lower weight of the brass housing.

D. The casting of the faucet housing is simplified with the new system

E. Setting up the inlet pipes into the faucet because of the connection fastener is much simpler than the classical system, where the hoses need to be build into the faucet with a coil.

F. The new system enables the rotation of the inlet hoses round its axle, which enables easier mounting of the faucet.