The present disclosure relates to a spray head, in particular for an ablutionary appliance or fitting. More particularly, it relates to a spray head having a non-drip mechanism and to an ablutionary fitting employing the spray head. Whilst the disclosure is particularly suited to use in a shower, it need not be limited to such use.

Known shower spray heads are prone to dripping after the shower system has been turned off, due to residual water within the shower spray head and in the connecting hose and/or pipes. In addition to any irritation caused by the sight and sound of dripping water, this can lead to bathroom surfaces remaining wet and slippery for longer, so increasing the chance of accidents. Slowly dripping water may also lead to damp problems within the bathroom or shower room.

Some or all of the residual water within the shower spray head and in the connecting hose and/or pipes may drip from the shower spray head some time, e.g. several minutes or even hours, after the shower system has been turned off. This may be unexpected and/or disturbing. Further, it may lead to user complaints concerning the components, e.g. valves, within the shower system, which may in fact be perfectly fine. In attending to such user complaints, potentially unnecessary inspection, maintenance and/or replacement of valves and other components within the shower system may be carried out. Various factors may cause the delayed dripping of the residual water within the shower spray head and in the connecting hose and/or pipes, including for example changes in temperature, air pressure or air flow in the room.

A first aspect provides a spray head comprising:

a spray plate including at least one aperture; and

at least one resiliently deformable element configured to prevent flow of a fluid through the aperture when a pressure of the fluid is at or below a threshold fluid pressure;

wherein when the pressure of the fluid is above the threshold fluid pressure the resiliently deformable element elastically deforms to allow flow of the fluid through the aperture. The use of a resiliently deformable element that is reactive to the pressure of the fluid within the spray head ensures that the spray head operates as normal when water is flowing under pressure but that when pressure is removed the deformable element can prevent dripping of water that remains within the spray head. As the resiliently deformable element deforms elastically when pressure above the threshold fluid pressure is applied, it will then return to its previous shape when water pressure drops to or below the threshold fluid pressure, ensuring dripping is prevented after each use of the spray head.

The at least one aperture may include a nozzle. A nozzle can improve the spray characteristics of the spray head.

The spray head may further comprise a nozzle mat that forms each nozzle, the nozzle mat being interposed between the spray plate and the at least one deformable element. The nozzle mat may act to improve the fluid jets formed by the spray head and/or may simplify construction of the spray head.

The resiliently deformable element may prevent water flow through each nozzle when the pressure of the fluid is below the threshold fluid pressure.

The at least one resiliently deformable element may include a protrusion that extends into the aperture. The protrusion may further prevent dripping by improving sealing of the aperture.

The protrusion may have a cross-sectional shape that corresponds to a cross-sectional shape of the at least one aperture or nozzle. The protrusion may therefore abut the aperture or nozzle and/or may ensure that the distance between the protrusion and aperture or nozzle is constant about its perimeter and/or down its length.

The protrusion may be cylindrical. The protrusion may have at least one open end and/or may be hollow at least in part. The protrusion may be conical at least in part. The use of a cylindrical or conical protrusion may be beneficial when the nozzle and/or aperture are substantially circular, cone-shaped, or cylindrical. As such, the protrusion may correspond to the shape of the aperture or nozzle. An end of the protrusion may be shaped to correspond to an interior of the aperture or nozzle. The end of the protrusion may have a chamfer that corresponds to the interior of the aperture or nozzle. The chamfer may enhance sealing of the protrusion within the aperture or nozzle.

The protrusion may comprise a recess. The recess may help to ensure uniform and/or repeatable deformation of the protrusion when the water pressure is above the threshold fluid pressure.

The recess may have any suitable shape. For instance, the recess may be a cylindrical recess.

A mouth of the recess may be in an end face of the protrusion. The recess may therefore start at one end of the protrusion and extend upwards through the protrusion.

The deformable element(s) may be provided in a 1 : 1 ratio with the apertures. The spray head may have the same number of deformable elements as apertures in the spray plate. Each deformable element may be associated with a corresponding aperture. Alternatively, there may be more apertures than deformable elements. For instance, deformable elements may be associated with apertures at one or more specific regions of the spray plate.

The at least one deformable element may be supported by a support plate spaced apart from the spray plate. Providing the at least one deformable element supported by a support plate may make manufacture simpler and/or provide enhanced alignment of the deformable element(s). The at least one deformable element may be joined to the support plate. The at least one deformable element may be integrally formed with the support plate.

The threshold fluid pressure may be substantially equal to ambient air pressure.

The fluid may be water.

The fluid may have a temperature of at least 0°C, up to or at least 5°C, up to or at least 15°C, up to or at least 45°C and/or up to or at least 65°C. The spray plate may include any number of apertures. For example, the spray plate may include up to or at least 10 apertures, up to or at least 50 apertures, up to or at least 100 apertures and/or up to or at least 200 apertures, or may include any other number of apertures.

The spray head may comprise a fixed shower head or may comprise a handheld shower head. The spray head may alternatively comprise a tap or other fluid, e.g. water, fitting, for use either indoors or outdoors in a domestic, industrial or commercial setting.

A second aspect provides a fluid delivery system comprising a spray head according to the first aspect, the spray head being in fluid communication with a water supply.

The fluid delivery system may comprise a shower system. The spray head may comprise a fixed shower head or may comprise a handheld shower head.

A third aspect provides an ablutionary fitting comprising a spray head according to the first aspect.

The ablutionary fitting may comprise a tap, a faucet or a shower. The ablutionary fitting may comprise an overhead shower or a shower handset.

A third aspect provides a kit of parts arranged to form a spray head according to the first aspect, a fluid delivery system according to the second aspect or an ablutionary fitting according to the third aspect.

The skilled person will appreciate that except where mutually exclusive, a feature or parameter described in relation to any one of the above aspects may be applied to any other aspect. Furthermore, except where mutually exclusive, any feature or parameter described herein may be applied to any aspect and/or combined with any other feature or parameter described herein.

A non-limiting example of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows an example embodiment of a spray head;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a nozzle of the spray head of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is an ablutionary system including the spray head of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a spray head 100 comprising a face plate 102 and a back plate 104 that are engaged together to form a chamber 106. The face plate 102 and back plate 104 are both formed of plastics, but other materials may also be suitable, these being known to the skilled person. The spray head 100 of this embodiment is configured for use as a shower head, but other uses may also be known to the skilled person and this is not intended to be limiting to the scope of the disclosure. An opening 108 is formed in the back plate 104 for the receipt of fluid, for example water, from a fluid source, as indicated by arrow 110. In the present example, the opening 108 is attached to a joint - in this case a ball joint 112 - which allows the back plate 104 to pivot relative to the ball joint 112 and connected inlet 112. This pivoting allows for directing of the spray from the face plate 102. For ease, the term “water” will be used from hereon in, but this is not intended to be limiting and other fluids may be used.

The face plate 102 includes a plurality of apertures 114 through which water may pass, under pressure. Adjacent to the face plate 102 is a nozzle mat 116 that is shaped so as to form nozzles 118 within the apertures 114, for the passage of water. The nozzle mat 116 is, in this embodiment, formed of an elastomeric material, which may comprise a rubber or polymer.

Above the nozzle mat 116 and within the chamber 106 is positioned a support plate 120. The support plate 120 includes a series of passages 122 through which water can pass in order to travel to the nozzles 118. The support plate 120 also supports resiliently deformable elements 124, which are positioned within each nozzle 118.

The resiliently deformable elements 124 respond to the fluid pressure within the spray head 100 in order to allow or prevent water from passing through the nozzles 118. At or below a threshold fluid pressure, which is decided by the design of the nozzles 118 and deformable elements 124 and will be readily determinable by the skilled person, the deformable elements 124 prevent water from passing through the nozzles 118. This prevents dripping of the spray head 100 when water pressure is removed. Above the threshold fluid pressure, the deformable elements 124 deform to an extent at which water can pass the deformable elements 124 and exit the spray head 100 through the nozzles 118.

As can be seen in Figure 2 - an enlarged view of a single deformable element 124 - in the present embodiment, the deformable elements 124 each include a protrusion 126 that extends into the nozzle 118 created by the nozzle mat 116. Figure 2 shows the protrusion 126 in its rest state, i.e. with the fluid below the threshold fluid pressure, and therefore the protrusion 126 seals the nozzle 118, preventing the flow of fluid through the aperture 114. The protrusion 126 is supported by the support plate 120. For instance, the protrusion 126 may be joined to the support plate 120 by bonding, although other forms of attachment may also be used. In other embodiments, the deformable element 124 could be formed as a part of the support plate 120. In alternative embodiments, the support plate 120 may be omitted and the deformable elements 124 could be mounted to another part of the spray head 100 such as the face plate 102 or back plate 104.

The protrusion 126 is substantially cylindrical and extends from the support plate 120 down into the aperture 114. In the depicted embodiment, the deformable element 124 is shaped to contact the nozzle 118 such that no gap is provided through which water can pass. In practice, a small gap may still be present that is of a size small enough that the surface tension of water prevents the passage of water, but no gap at all may be preferred. A chamfer 128 provided at a distal end of the protrusion 126, which conforms to the slope of the nozzle 118, providing a cone-shape to the end of the protrusion 126. The chamfer 128 provides a greater area of contact between the protrusion 126 and nozzle 118, in order to enhance sealing. Whilst a chamfer 128 or other shaping feature is desirable to enhance sealing by having conforming surfaces of the nozzle 118 or aperture 114 and protrusion 126, and can mitigate for imperfections or tolerances in the manufacturing or assembly process, this feature may be omitted whilst still retaining adequate operation of the deformable element 124.

A recess 130 is provided in the deformable element 124 that assists with ensuring the deformation or collapse of the deformable element 124 is reliable and repeatable. The recess 130 allows a wall 132 of the deformable element 124 - which surrounds the recess 130 - to be easily deformed relative to a rest position. In the present embodiment, opposing sides of the wall 132 are pressed together towards the centre of the deformable element 124 when the water pressure is above the threshold fluid pressure

It will be apparent that the size, shape, and material involved in the construction of the deformable element 124 will affect the threshold fluid pressure. Therefore, the skilled person will know that by making changes to these features, the operating characteristics of the spray head 100 can be altered.

In use, water will enter the chamber 106 through the inlet 112 and opening 108. The water admitted to the chamber 106 will be pressurised, for example by mains water pressure, either directly or through a boiler or an instantaneous water heater, water tank pressure, or by pumping, and will therefore be forced through the chamber 106 and the passages 122 in the support plate 120. The pressure of the water will then press upon the walls 132 of the deformable element 124, forcing a gap to be created between the deformable element 124 and the nozzle 118, allowing the passage of water out of the spray head 100. It will be appreciated that the water flows around the outside of the deformable elements 124.

When water is stopped from flowing into the spray head 100, through removal of water pressure by the closing of a valve or other flow prevention mechanism, there is no longer any motive force on the water in the chamber 106. As such, the deformable elements 124 will elastically return to their rest position, preventing the flow of water through the nozzles 118 and apertures 114. Any water within the spray head 100 will therefore be held until water pressure is once again raised above the threshold fluid pressure. As water is incapable of passing the deformable element 124, no dripping of the spray head 100 will be possible.

Where allowed by design requirements, the nozzle mat 116 may be omitted, the nozzles 118 being formed directly by the face plate 102 of the spray head 100. In this case, the deformable elements 124 may prevent passage of water through the apertures 114 themselves, for example by sealing directly with the edges of the apertures 114 or face plate 102. For convenience, the preceding example has been discussed primarily in relation to spray heads for showers. The skilled person will appreciate that other applications of the anti-drip mechanism are possible, such as in spray heads for use in the kitchen or on hosepipes, taps or pressurised drink dispensers. Similarly, the example embodiments are primarily discussed in terms of using water, but the skilled person will understand that the disclosure would equally apply to other fluids.

Figure 3 shows the spray head 100 of Figure 1 as part of an ablutionary system 1000. The spray head 100 is attached to a valve 1002 and a water source, which in this case is a water tank 1004. The water tank feeds a water pump 1006 which pressurises water to pass it through the valve 1002 to the spray head 100. The valve 1002 can be rotated to selectively allow or disallow flow to the spray head 100. It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments above- described and various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concepts described herein. Except where mutually exclusive, any of the features may be employed separately or in combination with any other features and the disclosure extends to and includes all combinations and sub-combinations of one or more features described herein.