Fluid handling – Systems – Dividing into parallel flow paths with recombining
Patent
1999-01-18
2000-02-01
Hepperle, Stephen M.
Fluid handling
Systems
Dividing into parallel flow paths with recombining
137607, 25112904, F16K 1100
Patent
active
060191309
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL AREA
The invention relates to a water faucet fixture according to the generic part of Claim 1.
STATE OF THE ART
Water faucet fixtures are known that comprise a mixing and shut-off unit (combination set) with a lever for manually controlling the water flow, whereby a hot water line and a cold water line open into the mixing and shut-off unit by means of which water is supplied at a certain mixed temperature and flow volume to a spout and flows out of the outlet opening of the fixture. Such fixtures are used mainly in the private sector but also in institutional kitchens, medical establishments and public facilities. In order to prevent the waste of water in public restrooms and so as to make the facilities more hygienic, water faucet fixtures are known which can be controlled contact-free instead of by manual operation in that there is a sensor, for example, an infrared sensor, below the outlet opening for water within the hand-washing area, whereby said sensor responds to the hands being held below the fixture ready for washing and it causes water to flow for a certain time or during the presence of the hands in the vicinity of the fixture or of the washbasin. In restrooms, often only cold water is supplied by an electric valve; sometimes, hot and cold water are mixed to the desired temperature by means of a mechanical regulator. The electric valve then feeds more or less heated water to the spout.
Moreover, EP 0 245 577 discloses a water faucet fixture having a lever for manually controlling the water flow and the temperature as well as also having a sensor for contact-free demand for water flow. This fixture can be operated either manually or contact-free, so that it can be used in the private sector as well as in public facilities. In order to switch over from manual to contact-free operation, the lever is mechanically secured by means of a screw in a position in which the fixture is open for the flow of liquid. The continuous flow of liquid in this position is prevented by an electric valve which only opens the water flow when water is demanded by approximation to the sensor and thus when the sensor generates a sensor signal.
GB-A 2 248 469 discloses a water faucet fixture which comprises a shut-off unit with a manual control of the water flow, whereby a water line opens into the shut-off unit by means of which water can be supplied at a certain flow volume to a spout. The water faucet fixture comprises another feed line in the form of a bypass which, while by-passing the shut-off unit, allows the supply of water from the water line into the spout, whereby the feed line can be shut off by means of an electrically actuatable valve that is controlled by the sensor signal of a proximity sensor that is capable of detecting an object brought into its detection range.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,086 describes a water faucet fixture comprising a mixing and shut-off unit with a lever for manually controlling the water flow, whereby a hot water line and a cold water line open into the mixing and shut-off unit by means of which water is supplied at a certain mixed temperature and flow volume to a spout. Moreover, the water faucet fixture comprises another feed line which, while bypassing the mixing and the shut-off unit, allows the supply of water from the water line into the spout, whereby the feed line can be shut off by means of an electrically actuatable valve.
A drawback of the known water faucet fixtures with sensor-controlled operation is that they can only be used advantageously for purposes of hand washing, while they are too inflexible for other applications, especially for use in institutional kitchens, medical establishments or in the food industry. In these sectors, a water flow that is initiated contact-free for hand-washing as well as a continuous water flow that is initiated one time for rinsing objects or for filling a container are needed at one and the same washing station, if possible. A disadvantage of the solution proposed in EP 0 245 577 is that the decision whether the fix
REFERENCES:
patent: 4709728 (1987-12-01), Ying-Chung
patent: 5095941 (1992-03-01), Betz
patent: 5322086 (1994-06-01), Sullivan
patent: 5358213 (1994-10-01), Pilolla
Brand-Gerhart Rosemarie
Hepperle Stephen M.
Kasper Horst M.
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