Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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P~UG WITH ANCHORED RETAINING PACKINGS
FOR A CARTRIDGE FOR A ~ATER FAUCET
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plug with retaining and sealing
packing for a water faucet cartridge.
n Rack~round of the Invent,on
- A water faucet cartridge contains operating parts including
means for the control of water flow and handling members and is
intended to be inserted in a removable and leak-proof fashion in
the cavity o~ a water faucet body connected to pipes. A cartridge
permits easy and rapid replacement o~ operating parts when they
have broken or when they have become worn out. The cartridge has
a packing which, when the cartridge is lnserted into the body of
the faucet, establishes a sealing hold with respect to the bottom
of the cavity of the faucet body. The plug also establishes a
sealing hold with respect to an internal member that is a part of
the means which control the water flow such as, for example, a
fixed plate made of hard material which cooperates with a mobile
plate that is operated by the handling members.
These seals have been conventionally established by packings
which extend through the plug and press against the bottom of the
cavity of the faucet body against the fixed plate (a known and
conventional arrangement shown schematically in ~ig. 1 of the
drawings). This arrangement had the disadvantage that the contact
pressure of the packing was the same against the bottom of the
cavity of the faucet body and against the fixed plate. This meant
that in many cases an excessive mounting compression had to be
applied to the fixed plate, said excessive compression obstructing
the operation of the faucet.
This is why the use of two separate packings installed on
both sides of the plug was resorted to. One packing acts against
the bottom of the faucet body, while the other packing acts
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against the fixed plate. This makes it possible to apply
different compressions to the two packings (a known and
conventional arrangement illustrated schematically in Fig. 2 of
the drawings). However, it is easy to see that similar packings
lodged in appropriate seats of the plug can be deformed or can be
expelled from their seats under high pressures or pressure surges
such as arise when the faucet is in operation. To prevent this
disadvantage elastomers that are relatively rigid are used for
packings, and relatively high mounting compressions are used on
the packings. Both of these factors impede the performance of the
faucet. Provision for special configurations of the seats that
receive the packings can be made but these are expensive and are
not always effective.
Another serious problem associated with these packings can be
observed when a cartridge is assembled by means of automatic
equipment, as is now customary. The grasp and insertion of the
packings in their seats call for appropriate work stations and
constitute an operation that is very delicate due to the
deformability of the packings and the rather poor precision of
their dimensions. Because of this packings rather frequently are
improperly installed. This results in the equipment coming to a
halt and manual action being required to remove the defective
cartridges. Furthermore, the packings that are intended for the
outside of the plug must be inserted manually after the completion
of the cartridge, otherwise they would become detached during the
assembly operations. These outside packings are also frequently
separated from the finished cartridge during transport.
One object of this invention is to provide a plug with
retaining packings for a faucet cartridge which, in addition to
permitting the application of different assembly compressions on
the two sides of the plug, also ensures that the packings cannot
be deformed or expelled from their seats even under maximum
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pressures or foreseeable pressure surges, and to substantially
facilitate the mounting of the cartridge by automatic equipment.
Summary of the Invention
According to the present invention, the packing is made in
one piece on both sides of the plug. The portion of the packing
that is on one side of the plug and the portion o~ the packing
that is on the other side of the plug have a portion of their
surfaces resting against the plug with respect to the axial
direction of the plug and linked to each other by at least one
connecting portion that extends primarily in the axial direction.
The packing is molded on the plug by injecting an elastomer in the
liquid state and then cross-linking it.
Due to these features both portions (upper and lower) of the
packing are able to accept the necessary assembly compression from
the plug against which a part of their surface rests. Thus, the
possibility of applying adequate, possibly different compressions
upon the portions of packings installed on the two sides of the
plug is assured. At the same time, the packing is positively
anchored at the bottom of the cartridge and the link between the
two portions of the packing that are on the two sides of the plug
ensures that the portions themselves cannot be deformed or
expelled from their seats even when subjected to high stresses
which are within the breaking strength of the material of which
the packings are made.
In many cases the packings can be made of an elastomer having
high yield characteristics, which is an advantage to the faucet's
proper performance.
Making these packings by an injection procedure makes it
possible to obtain the desired configurations, which in many cases
could not be achieved in any other way and which would otherwise
involve complex operations. It is possible to provide packings
with certain configurations that could not have heretofore been
-
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achieved in a convenient fashion or that would have made the
packings themselves excessively delicate. In particular, it is
possible to provide the packing shapes that exhibit differences in
extension in various directions, and shapes that are considerably
different on the two sides of the plug. It is also possible to
provide packings that are so resistant that they are not limited
to operating only statically with operationally immobile parts,
but can function properly with an operationally mobile part such
as a stopper. This makes it possible to produce cartridges with
a simpler and more economical structure.
The fact that the packings are made on the plug itself avoids
any and all operations requiring the assembly of the packings and
thus simplifies mounting of the cartridges. In particular in
automated assembly the number of work stations can be reduced and
the most frequent causes of equipment stoppage can be prevented.
Rrief Description of the Dr~wings
Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art shape of a
p~ug with packing;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of another prior art shape
of a plug with packing;
Figure 3 is a side elevational cross-sectional view of a
packing of the instant invention mounted on a plug;
Figure 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 except showing a second
embodiment of a packing of the instant invention;
Figure 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 except showing a third
embodiment of a packing of the instant invention;
Figure 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3 except showing a fourth
embodiment of a packing of the instant invention;
Figure 7 is a top plan view taken along line VII-VII in Fig.
6;
Figure 8 is a view similar to Fig. 3 except showing a fifth
embodiment of a packing of the instant invention;
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Figure 9 is a top plan view taken along line IX-IX in Fig. 8;
Figure 10 is a view similar to Fig. 3 except showing a sixth
embodiment of a packing of the instant invention, this embodiment
being a modification of the fifth embodiment shown in Figs. 8 and
9;
Figure 11 is a top plan view taken along XI-XI in Fig. 10;
Figure 12 is a view similar to Fig. 3 except showing a
seventh embodiment of a packing of the instant invention;
Figure 13 is a top plan view taken along line XIII-XIII in
Fig. 12;
Figure 14 is a view similar to Fig. 3 except showing an
eighth embodiment of a packing of the instant invention;
Figure 15 is a side elevational cross-sectional view of a
ninth embodiment of a packing of the instant invention;
Figure 16 is a side elevational cross sectional view of a
cartridge, with a flat mobile plate in contact with the packing of
the instant inventions;
Figure 17 is a view similar to Fig. 16 except showing the
operating handle and flat mobile plate in a different position;
Figure 18 is a view similar to Fig. 16 except showing the
operating handle and flat mobile plate in a different position;
and
Figure 19 is a view taken along line XIX-XIX in Fig. 18.
Descri~tion of the Preferred ~mhodiments
Figs. 1 and 2 show a plug with prior art packings. Here and
in the successive figures the reference numeral 1 indicates the
bottom of a faucet body cavity containing passages for water. The
rPm~in;ng parts of the faucet body are not shown, because they are
of no relevance to this invention. In the figures the reference
numeral 2 refers to the bottom of a cartridge and the reference
numeral 3 refers to a fixed distribution plate made of hard
material constituting a part of the flow control means in the
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cartridge. The other parts of the cartridge are omitted in Figs.
1 to 15 because they are of no_concern to this invention.
As shown in Fig. 1, prior art packings 4 are inserted through
openings in plug 2 to connect corresponding passages in the bottom
1 of the faucet cavity and in fixed plate 3 providing a seal
between both of these parts. In this case it is not possible to
apply different assembly compressions between packings 4 and
bottom 1, and between packings 4 and fixed plate 3, as is often
required.
In the prior art packing shown in Fig. 2 the above discussed
disadvantage is eliminated by employing separate packings 5 and 6
that provide a seal between plug 2 and bottom 1 of the faucet
cavity and between plug 2 and fixed plate 3. It is thus possible
to apply different mounting compressions on packings 5 and 6.
However, packings 5 and 6 are retained in their seats only by the
respective mounting compressions, and in the presence of high
working pressures and pressure surges they can be deformed in the
spaces existing between plug 2 and botto~ 1 of the faucet body
cavity and between plug 2 ~nd fixed plate 3, or they can be
ejected from their seats through said spaces. To prevent this
problem it has been proposed that seats that receive the packings
have particular configurations. However, this is not reliable and
not always sufficient. Furthermore, serious problems exist in the
assembly of the cartridges because of the need for lnserting
packings in the seats of the plug.
Figure 3 shows one embodiment of a plug with the packings
anchored in accordance with the present invention. In this case
in each passage opening in plug 2 of the cartridge there is
installed a sealing packing that has an inferior portion 7 and a
superior portion 8. Both portions are linked by a portion 9 that
extends axially through the opening o~ plug 2. Preferably the
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inferior portion 7 and the superior portion 8 have projections 10
and 11 that are disposed in corresponding cavities o~ plug 2.
Both the inferior portion 7 and the superior portion 8 of
each packing have a large portion of their surface abutting
against plug 2 of the cartridge. Because of this these portions
receive adequate compression between plug 2 and bottom 1 of the
faucet body cavity for portion 7 and between plug 2 and fixed
plate 3 for portion 8. This is why the mounting compressions
applied to portions 7 and 8 of the packing can be different.
Thus, regardless of what the pressure or the pressure surge
applied to the packing and acting inside said packing toward the
outside may be, neither portion 7 nor portion 8 of the packing is
deformed to the outside nor ejected from its seat because it is
positively retained in its seat by the link through portion 9 with
the other portion 8 or 7. When projections lO and 11 are inserted
in corresponding cavities in the plug they also collaborate in
this positive retaining action. Projections 10 and 11, when
present, can be continuous, they can be ring-shaped, or they can
exist only in sections.
As can be seen from Fig. 3 it would be very difficult to
apply to plug 2 a separate packing 7-11 having this shape and this
application could not be accomplished by automatic equipment. The
production of this packing is easy and industrially con~renient by
proceeding in accordance with the instant invention and molding it
directly on plug 2 by injecting an elastomer in the liquid state
into a suitable mold and cross-linking the elastomer. This
procedure eliminates any packing mounting operation. By
proceeding in this way the shape of the packing can be selected as
desired even though it may be complex.
The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4 is extremely similar to
the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 from which it differs only by
the presence on the lower portion 7 and on the upper portion 8 of
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peripheral projections 12 and 13 which are inserted in
corresponding cavities of plug 2. These projections, similar to
projections 10 and 11 (which they can replace), cooperate in
anchoring the packing to plug 2. These projections can also be
continuous, ring-shaped, or in sections.
In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5, peripheral
projections 12 and 13 of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4 are
replaced by portions 14 that extend through the cavities of plug
2, connecting portions 7 and 8 of the packing to each other. It
is readily apparent that portions 14 cannot extend continuaLly
along the entire periphery of the packing and must be in sections
that can be made in any number and any extent. Another embodiment
of the portions in sections extending through the plug is shown in
cross-section in Fig. 13. Portions 14 can also replace portion 9
instead of being an addition thereto. It is obvious that such an
embodiment could not be produced ~xcept by the injection procedure
of the instant invention.
-- In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 the packing
still has inferior portion 7 and superior portion 8 that have a
part of their surfaces abutting against plug 2 and a connecting
portion 9 that extends axialLy. However, portions 7 and 8 are
also peripherally anchored to plug 2 due to their toothed
configuration, as illustrated in Fig. 7. The peripheral teeth of
these portions can also be configured in an undercut ~ashion.
Alternatively, a similar embodiment can be provided without the
peripheral teeth. In this embodiment a rigid bushing 15 can be
inserted inside connecting portion 9 of the packing.
Alternatively, the bushing illustrated in Fig. 6 and labeLed
15, instead of being a separate, rigid, inserted bushing, can be
a part o~ plug 2 and in such case connecting portion 9 need not be
continuous but can be made in sections and can extend through
corresponding openings in plug 2, as described above in
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conjunction with the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5 and as
substantially illustrated in Fig. 13.
Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate how a plurality of packings of the
type described in the preceding embodiment (which in this
embodiment do not have any peripheral teeth) can be made during
the injection procedure, providing for a single injection region
16 that communicates with portions 8 of all or part o~ the
packings of plug 2. It is, however, possible to have several
common injection points when expedient by the injection technique.
This concept can be further extended, as illustrated in Figs.
10 and 11, to mold on plug 2, together with the packings described
in the preceding embodiment, a peripheral packing 17 that is
adapted to seal the opening between plug 2 and wall 19 of the
cartridge. For this purpose it is sufficient to provide
commlln;cation passages 18 between the injection spaces of packings
7, 8 and 9 and a peripheral ring-shaped injection space for
packing 17.
In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13 inferior
portion 7 and superior portion 8 are connected to each other by
connecting portions 20 which, in contrast to connecting portions
9 discussed earlier, are not continuous but are made up of
sections and go through corresponding passage openings in plug 2
similarly to the peripheral connecting portions 14 illustrated in
Fig. 5. Packings that have this configuration can also only be
made by the injection procedure of this invention.
Fig. 14 illustrates a modification of the embodiment
illustrated in Fig. 12. In this case superior portion 38 of the
packing is shaped like a lip. Due to this configuration the
packing assumes a "hydraulic effect" since its contact pressure
with respect to fixed plate 3 is determined not only by the
mounting compression but also by the pressure exerted on lip 28 by
the water. In this way, the contact pressure increases as water
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pressure increases, automatically adapting to it so that the
mounting compression, which represents the minimum contact
pressure of lip 28, can be set at a lower value. It is, of
course, to be understood that where considered advisable inferior
portion 7 of the packing can also be made in the ~orm of a lip
similar to superior por~ion 28.
Fig. 15 illustrates another embodiment of the invention.
Certain conventional cartridges are provided with lower
connections that extend into seats formed in the bottom of the
~aucet body cavity, providing a sealing hold by means of packings
applied to the connections and receiving a water thrust that
depends on the water pressure and, if applicable, on the pressure
of a spring. With the present invention it is possible to make
said connections and their packings in a single operation during
the injection of the packings of the plug. In the embodiment
illustrated in Fig. 15, each of the packings of the plug is
basically of the type shown in Fig. 5, but its inferior portion 7
extends peripherally to form a sleeve 27 and rests against the
inferior portions 7 of the pa~kings. This embodiment illustrates
how the invention can be used advantageously to facilitate the
production of certain special cartridges for faucets and make them
more economical.
It should be noted that an embodiment similar to the one in
Fig. 15 but turned upside down makes it possible to produce
connections that extend upwardly from packing 2 of the cartridge
and that are adapted to engage in corresponding cavities of fixed
plate 3.
Reference has already been made to the fact that the
particular resistance of the packings of the plug of a cartridge
enable them to function not only in a static fashion, that is to
say to establish a seal between immobile operating parts, but also
to function in a dynamic fashion, that is to say to establish a
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11
seal of the plug with respect to an operationally mobile part such
as a stopper. The stability of shape of the packings of the plug
of a cartridge makes it possible to give them shapes that have
different lengths in various directions, in other words elongated
shapes that are different from circular shapes and also shapes
that are quite different on the two sides of the plug of the
cartridge. These features of the instant invention are
illustrated in Figs. 16 to 19.
The cartridge for a mixing faucet shown in these figures,
particularly in the vertical cross-section in Figs. 16 to 18 which
illustrate it in various operating positions, comprises a shell 30
with a perimeter wall 31 to which is connected a plug 32 with the
interposition of a packing 29. In the upper part of shell 30 is
rotatably mounted a supporting ring 33 on which is pivoted a lever
34 coupled to a slide 35. This slide has a fLat stopper 36 that
can be made of, for example, inoxidizable steel. The stopper 36
has passage openings that communicate with each other in the
inside space of slide 35. Stopper 36 is intended to cooperate
directly with packings formed on plug 32.
As shown in Fig. 19, superior portion 8 of a packing for an
outlet opening (and thus the corresponding inferior portion 7) can
be circular, while superior portion 38 of the packings for the
inlet openings have, for example, a "banana" shape or the like
which permits flow control that is much more accurate than the one
attainable with circular inlet openings. Packings having this
shape made in the traditional and conventional fashion would be
readily broken by stopper 36 when it moves from a position of
occlusion (Fig. 16) to a position of complete admission (Fig. 17)
passing through intermediate positions (Fig. 18). The effective
~ anchorage of the plug of the packings of this invention, on the
other hand, enables packings having this shape to operate properly
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in contact with the mobile stopper without being dislocated or
deformed.
Furthermore, since the inferior portions 37 of the packings
for the inlet openings need not have a shape different from a
circular shape, they can have a circular shape and can be
connected to banana shaped superior portions 38 through connecting
walls 39. All the packings and packing portions 7, 8, 37, 38, 39
and 29 of plug 2, or part of them, can be made collectively from
a single injection point 16 (or from several common injection
points) and through ducts 18, as discussed earlier in connection
with Figs. 8-11. Finally, reinforcing bushings 15 can be
introduced into packings 7-9 and 37-39.
A cartridge such as the one shown in Figs. 16-19 offers
performance that substantially corresponds to those of a similar
cartridge employing a pair of plates made of hard material, one
fixed and one mobile, and is considerab~y less expensive and less
bulky.
- Other modifications and variations of the present invention
are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore,
to be understood that changes may be made in the particular
embodiments of the invention described which are within the full
intended scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
