Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The invention concerns a change-over separating filter for
plumbing into water mains in the domestic and care field, with a
housing embodying a cylindrical chamber to which are connected
two peripherally spaced discharge holes and one discharge hole
at least roughly bisecting the circumferential distance,
threaded connections being assigned to the openings and
embodying a pivoted valve piston inside the chamber that is non-
rotatably and axially linked with an operating lever positioned
externally to the housing and cylindrically embodied in the area
of the cylindrical chamber across cross-sectional areas.
As well as serving as a hand-held shower, change-over separating
filters of this type serve to connect additional hydraulically
powered apparatus, providing the option of activating either the
handheld shower or such apparatus. For elderly and disabled
persons, hydraulically operated so-called bath lifts are in use.
With the aid of a change-over separating filter according to the
invention such lifts can be connected to the change-over
separating filter at any time, rendering them operational as and
when needed.
A multiplicity of change-over separating filters in the form of
threeway valves is known. Many bathtub fittings integrate such a
change-over separating filter in order to allow the switch from
bathwater to shower mode, in which case the fitting has a
threaded connection for the shower hose. A diverse range of
different fittings is commercially available, with add-on
connections for the shower sometimes being located on the top,
sometimes on the bottom, or in still other fittings even
laterally on the drain cock. Direct connection of a change-over
separating filter is not possible in many cases since the
operating lever would then jolt against a fixture component.
The purpose of the invention is to embody a change-over
separating filter such that it is immediately applicable in
conjunction with at least such fittings as are most commonly
available commercially without having to use e.g. an adapter.
According to the invention this task is solved by having the
valve piston coupled with the operating lever by means of a
detachable~plug and socket connection featuring at least two
different coupling settings.
In actual fact the task could conceivably be solved by making
the operating lever so small as not to project beyond the
housing contour at any point, though in that case handling -
particularly for disabled persons - would be considerably
complicated. The solution according to the patent, on the other
hand, allows the utilization of longer and hence more easily
operated levers which, depending on the situation in which the
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change-over separating filter is fitted, can nevertheless be
coupled non-rotatably to the valve piston in at least two
different rotating positions, bringing the swivelling range of
the operating lever into a different circumferential area.
It therefore falls within the framework of the invention to
provide a square or hexagonal spigot on one of the parts
enveloping the valve piston and the operating lever, and to fit
the other part with a complementary matching recess. By
contrast, however, a particularly preferred form of the
embodiment consists of one of these parts having a multiplicity
of axial webs in the circumferential area arranged so as to have
the same diameter and spacing, the other of the two parts having
corresponding complementary axial grooves, thus enabling the
operating lever to be sensitively adjusted in the
circumferential direction relative to the valve piston.
Advanced embodiments of the invention then consist of the
operating lever featuring a pivoting circular collar borne in a
cylindrically hollow and possibly offset extension of the
cylindrical chamber. For its part, the valve piston is pivoted
in the cylindrical chamber, allowing bearing of the operating
lever per se to be dispensed with, although the valve piston
preferentially embodies a cage packing at its circumference and
in order not to subject this to stress from rocking strains this
additional feature of the invention serves to prevent the
induction of any rocking forces originating from the operating
lever.
Another advanced embodiment of the invention also consists of
the valve piston featuring an end-flange that engages with a
cylindrical aperture section of the housing contiguous with the
cylindrical chamber. The valve piston can thus be inserted into
the housing in one direction only, the operating lever then
being connected to the valve piston by means of an axial screw
actuable from one of the frontal faces and passing through a
coaxial hole in the valve piston or operating lever and screwed
into a flush screw hole on the other of these two parts. The
screw head is accommodated preferably in a frontal recess in
either of these two revolving parts, preferably in the operating
lever, and can be concealed by means of a cap.
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The invention is described in more detail with the aid of the
drawing, which represents an example of the embodiment.
It shows:
Fig. 1 A view of a change-over separating filter with operating
lever;
Fig. 2 An axial sectional view through the change-over
separating filter as per Fig. 1; and
Fig. 3 A radial sectional view along the line A-A in Fig. 2.
A housing 10 has a cylindrical clearance hole 12 to which two
discharge holes 14, 16 and an inlet hole 18, respectively, are
connected via radial channels. The three apertures 14, 16, 18
are radially aligned, their respective axes intersecting along
the longitudinal axis 22 of the housing 10. The two discharge
openings 14, 16 are positioned diametrically opposite each other
and are thus arranged equiaxially. The inlet hole 18 is
perpendicular. The latter has an internal thread, while both
discharge holes 14, 16 are allocated outlet threads. In the
cylindrical chamber 12 of the housing 10 is a pivoted valve
piston 24 contoured predominantly like a cylindrical shell
structure but displaying in the axial area of the bore holes 20
a flattening 27 extending over a circumferential angle of
roughly 150. This flattening 27 creates a hollow formed like a
segment of a circle, which in certain revolving positions
connects the radial channel of the inlet hole 18 with that of
either of the discharge holes 14, 16. The valve piston 24 pivots
through 90. Both rotating end positions are defined by stops,
the valve piston 24 featuring an annular flange 26 on its right-
hand side, illustrated in Fig. 2, accommodated in a cylindrical
shoulder 28 of the housing 10 and near which a projection 30
extends axially inwards, reaching into a circumferential recess
of the housing 10, the peripheral angle of which is equal to the
nominal angle of rotation of the valve piston 24 plus double the
width of the projection 30.
The valve piston 24 is provided with two axially spaced circular
grooves 32, 34, which between them house the axial area of the
bore holes 20. Both circular grooves 32, 34 are interconnected
through two axial grooves 36. This grooving arrangement contains
a cage packing 36 which seals off the axial area of the radial
channels 20 externally and between two peripheral areas.
The annular piston 24 is connected non-rotatably but detachably
with a hand lever 40. The hand lever 40 features a circular
collar 42 pivoted in a cylindrically hollow extension 44 of the
toroidal chamber 12. Engaging with the circular collar 42 is a
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shoulder 46 of the valve piston 24, positioned coaxially to
these and featuring a number of tightly spaced axial fins 48 at
its periphery. The inner circumference of the circular collar 42
of the operating lever 40 is complementarily embodied; the
operating lever 40 can therefore be sensitively adjusted in
respect of its rotating position relative to the valve piston
24. To this end the operating lever 40 merely needs to be
axially retracted from the housing 10 and pushed back into a
suitable new rotating position. Axial securing of the operating
lever 40 at the valve piston 24 is achieved by means of a screw
50 passing through a central hole in the operating lever 40 and
screwed into a coaxial screw hole on the shoulder 46. The head
of the screw ~0 is located in a frontal recess 52 of the
operating lever 40, which can be sealed with a cap.
Were the change-over separating filter shown in the figures to
be screwed to a threaded outlet on the bottom of a drain cock,
the operating lever 40 would certainly collide with the outlet,
assuming the threaded shoulder is only short. According to the
invention, however, the operating lever 40 can be secured, once
twisted e.g. through 180, to the valve piston 24, so as to point
down to the left instead of the illustrated position pointing up
to the right. The swivelling range of the hand lever 40 is then
underneath the housing 10.
The same applies if the shower water connection piece is fitted
to the top of the blender fitting. The housing 10 is then fitted
overhead, as it were. Here again the operating lever 40, which
then extends downwards, can fall foul of the fitting, which can
be avoided by replugging the hand-held operating lever 40 into a
different socket. Owing to the sensitivity of the axial
denticulation between the shoulder 46 of the valve piston 24 and
the operating lever 40, the relative rotating position of the
operating lever 40 can be positioned in the range favourable at
any given time, providing a high degree of operating facility.
