Water Flow Rate

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention refers to a standard faucet with several internal steps that enable the user to control the faucet's opening and water flow rate in a fast and easy manner.

BACKGROUND ART

Many structures are equipped with faucets with a handle that when moved opens and closes the faucet. The handles on such standard faucets are characterized by a continuous up and down motion, whereby when the handle is all the way up, the faucet is completely open and the water flow rate is at its maximum, and vice versa. Drawing No. 1 depicts a standard faucet (100) with a handle (101) that when moved opens and closes the faucet (hereinafter the "standard faucet").

When a standard faucet is used, it is often difficult to control the degree of opening of the faucet and it is often very difficult to adjust the handle's position to obtain the desired water flow rate. This inability to easily control the flow rate, the unnecessary manipulation of the handle back and forth until achieving the desired flow rate, and the water wasted as a result constitute an inconvenience for the user and are a known problem. The present invention offers and good and efficient solution to the aforementioned problem.

THE DRAWINGS

The drawings attached to the present application are not intended to limit the scope of the invention and the possible ways of its application. The drawings are intended only to illustrate the invention and constitute only one of many possible ways of its application.

Drawing No. 1 depicts a standard faucet (100) with a handle (101) used to open and close the faucet.

Drawings Nos. 2 and 4 present a partial cross-section view of the faucet (1) with the set of internal steps (2).

Drawings Nos. 3 and 5 present cross-sections of the faucet (1) with the set of internal steps (2).

Fig 6 is an exploded drawing of the faucet (1) that includes the inner ring (10) on which the fixed series of steps (6) are engraved.

Fig 7 describes a perspective view of the faucet (1) that includes the upper part (3) and the bottom part (4).

Fig 8 describes an upper cross-section view of the upper part (3).

Fig 9 describes a side cross-section view of the faucet (1) and the moving series of steps (5) is engraved on the inner side of the upper part (3).

Fig 10 describes a top cross-section view of the upper part (3) with the moving series of steps (5)

Fig 11 describes the back view of the faucet (1).

Figs 12 - 13 describe the inner ring (10) with the fixed series of steps (6).

Figs 14 - 15 describe the inner ring (10).

The Invention

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a standard faucet with a set of internal steps such that the user may easily and rapidly open the faucet to obtain a number of pre-set water flow rates.

The faucet (1), subject of the present invention, is identical or similar in its design and structure to standard faucets, and so there is no need to describe the inner structure of the faucet (1). The innovation offered by the faucet (1), relative to standard faucets, is that it is equipped with a set of internal steps (2) that enables the user to control the water flow rate from the faucet (1) in a fast and efficient manner.

Drawings Nos, 2 - 4 depict the faucet (1) and the set of internal steps (2) that enables the user to control the opening of the faucet (1). The part of the faucet (1) with the set of internal steps (2) is shown in cross-section. The faucet (1) has the general design of a standard faucet and it comprises an upper part (3) with a handle (31) that is used to open and close the faucet (1), and a bottom

part (4) with a spout (41) through which the water flows out of the faucet. To open the faucet (1) to obtain the desired water flow rate, the user moves the handle (31), causing the upper part (3) of the faucet (1) to move relative to the bottom part (4).

The set of internal steps (2) comprises a moving series of steps (5) and a fixed series of steps (6), each of which comprises one step or more, although it is recommended that each series (5) (6) has about four steps so that the user may open and close the faucet to obtain four different water flow rates, e.g. 5%, 10%, 35%, and 100%. It is, nevertheless, emphasized that the invention and application cover and refer to faucets with a greater or lesser number of steps and other water flow rates (different degrees of opening of the faucet). The moving series of steps (5) is attached to the inner side of the upper part (3) or is an integral part of it (and is called "moving" because the upper part moves when the faucet is opened), and the corresponding fixed series of steps (6) is attached to the outer side of the bottom part (4) of the faucet or is an integral part of it (and is called "fixed" because the bottom part stays fixed in place when the faucet is opened). Since the operation of the faucet (1) also includes horizontal movement of the handle, in the right-left direction, to adjust the temperature of the water (hot - cold), the steps in the fixed series of steps (6) are not discontinuous or dot- shaped [like those on the moving series of steps (5)] but rather are continuous and run around the relevant circumference of the bottom part (4) of the faucet (1), so that when the handle (31) is moved in the right- left direction, the moving set of steps (5) moves along the fixed set of steps (6) in a smooth and continuous motion. The steps on the fixed set of steps (6) may be either continuous, i.e. ring-shaped as depicted in Drawings Nos. 4 and 5 (which is a close-up of Drawing No. 4), or may comprise a horizontal row discontinuous or dot-shaped steps as depicted in Drawings Nos. 2 and 3 (which is a close-up of Drawing No. 2), so that the user can control the horizontal movement of the handle (31) using the clicking sounds made by the steps as they slide over one another.

There is no need to further elaborate on the structure of the set of internal steps (2) since any average expert in the field understands and is familiar with the structure of similar sets of steps designed to control the opening and closing of apparatuses and machines. In professional technical lingo, the movement of a series of moving steps over a series of fixed steps is called "clicking" due to the sound emitted during the operation. It suffices to note that the moving series of steps (5) slides over the fixed series of steps (6) such that when the upper part (3) of the faucet (1) is moved, the steps click in a step-wise manner that enables the user to open the faucet (1) to several pre-set settings that define several pre- set water flow rates.

The faucet (1), subject of the present invention, has many advantages including the following. First, it enables the user to exercise fast, efficient and easy control over the water flow rate using several pre-set flow rates that correspond to the common requirements of most users. Second, the faucet (1) is very easy to manufacture since it does not require significant changes in the structure of the standard faucet or in other means, tools and machines used to manufacture standard faucets. Third, the changes that are required in the standard faucet in order to produce the faucet (1), subject of the present invention, are minor, are relatively easy to make, and incur no significant cost. In the first embodiment of the faucet (1) as described in Figs 2 - 5 the moving series of steps (5) is attached to the inner side of the upper part (3) or is an integral part of it and the corresponding fixed series of steps (6) is attached to the outer side of the bottom part (4) of the faucet (1) or is an integral part of it.

In the second embodiment of the faucet (1) as described in Figs 6 - 15 the moving series of steps (5) is attached to the inner side of the upper part (3) or is an integral part of it and the corresponding fixed series of steps (6) is attached or engraved on the inner ring (10) of the faucet (1) or is an integral part of it. The inner ring (10) is a standard part of the standard faucet as described for example in Fig. 1. In this second embodiment there is no need for adding new parts or components to the standard faucet and it is enough to engrave, attach or connect the set of internal steps (2).