MAINTENANCE METHOD FOR SHOWER HEAD"

DESCRIPTION [001] The present invention relates to a shower head, and specifically a shower head with detachable nozzles, as well as relative shower head kit and relative maintenance method.

[002] In the taps and faucets sector the production of shower heads comprising a closure plate fluidly connected to a water supply and a supply plate fitted with holes for the supply of water is known of. The two plates may be joined to each other in various ways, often with the interposition of sealing gaskets or washers or also by means of soldering, gluing and perimetral sealing screws. [003] Over time the supply holes tend to get obstructed on account of a build-up of the lime-scale contained in the water. To overcome such problem a known method is to insert nozzles, preferably made of rubber, into the supply holes which protrude from the supply plate. Such nozzles are flexible and permit the removal of lime-scale; in fact by flexibly bending the nozzles, the lime-scale, which is known to be fragile, tends to fragment and thus free the obstructed holes. [004] Despite this however, where the water is particularly hard, the total occlusion of the nozzles which cannot be freed using the traditional methods is frequently observed.

[005] As a result, it is often necessary to replace the nozzles themselves. The nozzles are in fact inserted under pressure from the inside of the supply plate and are typically made in a single piece with a membrane which also acts as a sealing gasket between the plates. In other words, the membrane ensures a hydraulic seal of the water collection chamber and makes it possible to fit the nozzles into the holes for the purpose in a single operation.

[006] In practice the shower head is dismantled and the membrane with the nozzles is removed and replaced. [007] State-of-the art shower heads have numerous drawbacks however.

[008] In fact, the replacement of the nozzles necessarily requires the total dismantling of the shower head.

[009] This operation is decidedly inconvenient to perform and in some cases, in which the plates are soldered and/or glued to each other, practically impossible. [0010] It follows that, in the event of occlusion of the nozzles, the user is often obliged to replace the entire shower head.

[0011] Often such replacement is totally unnecessary in that it is not uncommon for only some of the nozzles to be irremediably blocked, generating an uneven and sometimes uncomfortable supply of water through the non-obstructed nozzles. [0012] The aim of the present invention is to produce a shower head which overcomes the drawbacks mentioned with reference to the known technique.

[0013] Such drawbacks are resolved by a shower head in accordance with claim

1 , by a kit in accordance with claim 18 and by a method in accordance with claim

20. [0014] Other forms of embodiment of the showerhead according to the invention are described in the subsequent claims.

[0015] Further features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly from the following description of a preferred and non-limiting example of embodiment, wherein: [0016] figure 1 shows a partial perspective view of a shower head according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] figure 2 shows a partial cross-section view of the shower head of figure 1 ;

[0018] figure 3 shows a perspective view of a part of the shower head of figure 1 ;

[0019] figure 4 shows a lateral view of the part in figure 3; [0020] figure 5 shows a cross-section view of the part in figure 3, along the cross- section line V-V of figure 4.

[0021] With reference to the aforesaid figures, reference numeral 4 globally denotes a shower head.

[0022] The shower head 4 comprises a closure element 8, able to be fluidly connected to a water supply and a supply plate 12 with at least one supply hole 16.

[0023] The closure element 8 may be of any shape or have any configuration; preferably it comprises a hole, for example central, for connection to a water supply.

[0024] The supply plate 12 is preferably a thin, flat plate, provided with supply holes 16 and joined in an airtight manner to the closure element 8.

[0025] According to one embodiment, the closure element 8 and the supply plate

12 define a water collection chamber 20.

[0026] The collection chamber 20 receives the water from the closure element and channels it through the supply holes 16 of the supply plate 12. [0027] According to one embodiment, the shower head comprises a gasket positioned between the closure element 8 and the supply plate 12 so as to define the airtight collection chamber 20. Said gasket is mechanically separate from the supply nozzle 24 associable to the supply holes 16, as better described below.

[0028] According to a further embodiment, the supply plate 12 and the closure element are connected to each other in a detachable manner by means of gluing and/or soldering. The gluing and/or welding constitutes both the mechanical connection and airtight seal thus enabling elimination of the sealing gasket. [0029] The shower head 4 comprises at least one supply nozzle 24 joined to at least one supply hole 16. The supply nozzle has for example the function of facilitating cleaning of the supply holes from lime-scale obstructions.

[0030] Advantageously, the supply nozzle 24 comprises a supply portion 28 having a cylindrical body 32 of a diameter not less than the diameter of the relative supply hole 16 in which it is housed. [0031] This way the cylindrical body 32 is inserted in the supply hole 16 in a forced coupling, without play, which ensures watertightness of the inner lateral wall 36 of the supply hole 16. Thanks to such watertightness, the water can flow out of the collection chamber 20, solely through the nozzle 24 and cannot seep through to the contact portion between the nozzle and the inner lateral wall 36 of the holes 16. [0032] The supply portion 28 encloses a supply channel 40 which extends from an entry inlet 44, fluidly connected to the collection chamber 20, and leading to a supply aperture 48.

[0033] In one assembly configuration of the supply nozzle 24, the supply portion 28 protrudes essentially in a perpendicular and outward direction from the supply plate 12, from the opposite side to the collection chamber 20.

[0034] Advantageously, the nozzle 24 comprises a coupling portion 52, positioned on the opposite side to the supply aperture 48, preferably at the entry inlet 44, having a greater diameter than the diameter of the cylindrical body 32 and having a toroidal cross-section. [0035] Specifically, the coupling portion 52 has a toroidal cross-section in relation to a revolution axis parallel to an axial direction X-X of the flow of water supplied.

[0036] The toroidal cross-section facilitates the operations of insertion and extraction of the nozzle 24 from the relative supply hole 16 in that the circular geometry prevents the nozzle from sticking in the hole and facilitates the passage of the coupling portion into the supply hole 16.

[0037] The coupling portion 52 is able to be flexibly deformed and inserted in the hole 16 of the supply plate 12 from the side of an outer wall 56 of the supply plate

12.

[0038] In one coupling configuration, the coupling portion 52 terminates against an inner wall 60 of the supply plate 12, opposite the outer wall 56.

[0039] Preferably, the coupling portion 52 is an O-ring, positioned co-axially to the supply portion 28.

[0040] Preferably, said O-ring is produced in one piece with the supply portion

28. [0041] Preferably, the diameter of the toroidal cross-section of the O-ring, in relation to a through cross-section plane in the axial direction X-X, is 30-35% of the diameter of the supply hole 16.

[0042] Preferably, the outer diameter of the coupling portion is approx. 1.5 - 1.6 times the diameter of the supply hole 16. [0043] The collection chamber 20 has an axial thickness greater than the axial thickness of the coupling portion of the nozzles 24, following their insertion in the respective supply holes 16, so as to allow the water to channel itself into the supply channel 40.

[0044] According to one embodiment, the nozzle is made in a single piece in polymer material, preferably silicone. [0045] For example, the supply portion 28 is fitted with a stop collar 64 having a greater diameter than the diameter of the cylindrical body 32 able to terminate against the outer wall 56 of the supply plate 12.

[0046] Preferably, the diameter of the stop collar 64 is less than the diameter of the coupling portion 52.

[0047] The stop collar 64 and the coupling portion 52, both having greater diameters than the diameter of the cylindrical body 32, form a pair of undercuts with the cylindrical body which form bilateral constraints to the extraction or insertion of the nozzle 24 into the relative supply hole 16. [0048] Preferably, the axial height of the cylindrical body 32 is essentially equal to the axial thickness of the supply hole 16. Axial thickness means the thickness measured along a direction parallel to the axial direction X-X. [0049] According to one embodiment, the stop collar 64 is connected to the supply portion 28, on the side of the supply aperture 48, by a connection portion 68, able to permit the gripping and flexible squeezing of the nozzle 24 for assembling and dismantling the nozzle from the shower head 4. [0050] The connection portion 68 may be, for example, a truncated cone shape or may have a parabolic cross-section with concavity facing towards the supply aperture 48, so as to facilitate gripping with the fingers for assembly/dismantling of the nozzle 24.

[0051] The present invention also relates to a shower head kit, comprising at least one spare nozzle 24, able to be fitted as a replacement of one of the supply nozzles 24 of the shower head 4. [0052] Potentially, the kit may comprises the shower head 4 and a plurality of spare nozzles to replace those already fitted to the shower head in the event of obstructions caused by lime-scale.

[0053] The maintenance method for a shower head according to the present invention will now be described.

[0054] Specifically, when one or more of the nozzles obstructed with lime-scale need to be cleaned and/or replaced, the first thing is to remove the nozzles from the supply plate 12.

[0055] The nozzle 24 is removed by gripping the supply portion 28 of the nozzle with the fingers and flexibly squeezing it so as to give the nozzle, and especially the coupling portion 52, a flattened, essentially elliptical cross-section. [0056] The nozzle is then extracted, taking care to insert the coupling portion in the supply hole at its flattened, smaller end corresponding to the lesser axis of the ellipse.

[0057] The nozzle may then be cleaned of the lime-scale which has accumulated in the supply channel or replaced directly with a new nozzle. [0058] The new nozzle is then inserted in the supply hole directly from the outside of the shower head, that is from the side of the outer wall 56 of the supply plate 12.

[0059] As when dismantling, the supply portion 28 of the nozzle is grasped with the fingers and flexibly squeezed so as to give the nozzle, and especially the coupling portion 52, a flattened, essentially elliptical cross-section.

[0060] The nozzle is then inserted taking care to insert the coupling portion in the supply hole at its flattened, smaller end corresponding to the lesser axis of the ellipse.

[0061] As may be appreciated from the description, the shower head according to the present invention makes it possible to overcome the drawbacks present in the shower heads of the known technique.

[0062] Specifically, the shower head permits the removal of a single nozzle without having to dismantle or open the shower head itself.

[0063] Following the removal of the single nozzle, the latter may be cleaned of the lime-scale or simply replaced by the user in an extremely rapid and simple manner.

[0064] This solution also makes it possible to service shower heads with closure and supply plates soldered or glued to each other without having to replace them entirely. [0065] The production of a shower head kit enables the user to avail of spare nozzles and rapidly perform the necessary replacement.

[0066] A person skilled in the art may make numerous modifications and variations to the shower head described above so as to satisfy contingent and specific requirements while remaining within the sphere of protection of the appended claims.