CN101384775A - Pipe fittings with two-part putty trough - Google Patents

Abstract

A plumbing fitting has a putty groove defined between an internal insert and an external decorative shell. In one form, a terminal end of the shell also captures the insert inside the housing. This allows formation of a deep putty groove even in those circumstances where the outer shell is very thin and is flared at the bottom.

Description

Pipe fittings with two-part putty trough

technical field

The present invention relates to plumbing fittings having grooves for containing a sealant at the interface between the plumbing fitting and the countertop or wall against which the plumbing fitting is mounted. More specifically, the present invention relates to multi-part structures for defining such putty pockets.

Background technique

Plumbing fittings such as faucets, spouts and valve control handles are well known. See, eg, US Patent No. 6,345,643. Typically such fittings are mounted to the deck or vertical wall through openings formed in the deck or vertical wall. This allows the fitting to be connected to a pipeline or other plumbing-related controls.

In a bathroom or other environment, water tends to seep between the downward/inward end of the fitting and the adjacent countertop or wall, and then through the opening. The traditional way is therefore to surround the opening either by a preformed gasket or more commonly by a continuous band of sealant/putty. When using such a sealant, it is desirable to press the fitting firmly against the surface to which it will be mounted so that gaps are minimized. However, this may cause the putty to seep outward if the putty is not restrained with the structure it contains. This may require some extra work to clean the unit and in some cases may make the putty slightly visible.

Therefore, conventionally a restricted groove is provided on the underside/inside of the fitting to receive the putty. The groove is often provided in an associated putty plate on which the valve housing is placed. See, for example, US Patent No. 5,960,490, in which a putty plate is provided with downwardly opening putty grooves inwardly from its perimeter only.

The trouble is that traditional escutcheons for plumbing fittings are usually made of relatively thin material to reduce cost and weight. Therefore, providing a putty groove of sufficient depth directly in a thin shell escutcheon can be problematic. Using a separate putty board for the putty trough helps to address this concern. The less decorative putty may be slightly visible when the casing/escutcheon is on that putty though.

Another complication is that as plumbing fitting escutcheons are made more and more flared and bell-shaped (eg, for cosmetic reasons), it can be difficult to locate the putty groove adjacent the outer radius of the escutcheon.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide a plumbing fitting having an improved putty sump configuration, particularly when the escutcheon is bell-shaped.

Contents of the invention

The present invention provides a plumbing fitting that includes a housing (eg, a decorative escutcheon) defining an outer shell having a hollow interior. There is also a base, which is inserted into the interior of the housing and connected to the housing. A putty well is formed on the underside of the fitting partly by the base and partly by the end of the housing. For example, the end of the housing may define an outer side wall of the slot, with a portion of the insert forming the opposite side of the slot.

When used in connection with the disclosure herein, up and down directions (e.g. downside) mean that if the fitting is mounted to a vertical wall, the terms will be interpreted to mean that the up direction is outwards away from the wall. direction, and the downward direction (for example, the lower side) is the direction towards the wall.

Also, when the term "putty tank" is used, the putty itself does not have to be present or to be used. Rather, it means that there is a groove designed to receive a sealant, whether the sealant is specifically putty or not.

In a preferred form of the first embodiment of the invention, the end of the housing extends inwardly from the peripheral edge of the base (so that the base remains in the housing), the base comprising an annular ring extending axially to define the inner wall of the putty trough. lock up. The putty trough is preferably circular and its side walls are correspondingly circular.

In another preferred form, a putty slot is located radially outwardly from the opening through the base, the putty slot being located radially proximate to the outer periphery of the base. The housing may have a generally bell-shaped flared end that receives the base.

Most preferably, these structures are incorporated into the flow control handle assembly. However, these structures can be incorporated into a variety of other plumbing fittings, such as faucets, spray nozzles, shower mixers, and the like.

In another aspect, the invention provides a plumbing fitting. Therein there is a housing defining an outer shell with a hollow interior, the housing comprising a flared lower portion having a lower end, the height of which lower portion decreases in a radially outward direction, the lower end of the housing providing the outer wall of the putty trough on the underside of the fitting , wherein the putty groove opens axially downward. There is also an annular base inserted into the interior of the housing at its lower portion and decreasing in height in a radially outward direction, the base having a radially inner wall defining a putty groove and an underside of a back wall and cooperating with the lower end of the housing to define a putty groove.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a plumbing fitting having a first component and a second component. The first and second parts are formed separately and then joined to cooperate to form a putty groove on the underside of the fitting for receiving a sealant such as putty. In any event, the first part forms a first side wall of the putty trough and the second part forms a side wall of the putty trough opposite the first side wall of the putty trough.

It should be appreciated that the structure of the present invention allows deep putty grooves to be formed from relatively thin materials. Further, a putty trough may be positioned at the base of the bell design. Furthermore, the structure of the present invention facilitates the visual concealment of putty or other sealants after installation.

The putty trough will typically have a closed loop configuration, such as circular, oval, rectangular, square, or other such shape. However, this is not strictly required, but highly preferred. Furthermore, while it is preferred to have the trough positioned around the countertop opening or shower enclosure opening, the putty trough may be located adjacent to other structures.

The housing/escutcheon/casing may be formed to hold the base inside the housing. In particular, when the ends of the housing extend inwardly from the peripheral edge of the base at the underside of the base, the ends act both as groove walls and connectors. In this way, a secure connection is obtained without the need for separate fasteners required for joining the two members.

Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. The following description is only a description of preferred embodiments of the present invention. Reference should be made to the claims for purposes of determining the full scope of the invention, since the preferred embodiment is not the only embodiment within the scope of the claims.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of the invention in the form of a water control valve handle assembly;

Figure 2 is an exploded assembly view of some of the components;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of certain components of the assembly taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1, with certain other components shown in phantom;

Figure 4 is an enlarged detailed cross-sectional view of the area indicated as area 4-4 in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, but showing similar parts of an alternative embodiment.

Detailed ways

1-4 illustrate a first preferred handle assembly 10 . Assembly/pipe fitting 10 includes handle 12 , elbow 14 , slide washer 16 , housing shell or escutcheon 18 , coupling sleeve 20 , fastener 22 , and base insert 24 . The handle 12 has a gripping area and a threaded end that screws into one end of an elbow 14 . The other end of the elbow 14 has a square stud (not shown) that fits into a square opening in the sleeve 20 and receives a fastener 22 in a threaded opening (not shown) in the stud.

The sleeve 20 has a splined interior to engage the splined end of a conventional valve stem 26 of a flow control valve 28 (shown in phantom in FIG. 3 ) connected to a water inlet line (not shown). Valve 28 may be any conventional valve, such as a 1/4 turn spool. A suitable bracket (not shown) secures the valve to the deck 30 (see FIG. 3 ), and the threaded inner diameter 31 of the seat insert 24 is screwed onto the body or bracket of the valve to mount the fitting to the deck 30 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , escutcheon 18 forms the decorative body of accessory 10 . The escutcheon 18 may be made in a single piece (although two or more pieces are also possible) from a suitable thin metal. The interior of the escutcheon 18 is hollow and houses the sleeve 20, base insert 24 and valve structure.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , the escutcheon 18 has the shape of a chess piece, including a head 32 , a narrow body 34 and a flared bell-shaped end 36 . End 36 flares radially outward like a bell. As the ends 36 are flared outwardly, the vertical height of the ends 36 decreases. Like end 36 of escutcheon 18 , base insert 24 is also flared radially outward and of reduced height such that base insert 24 abuts the inside surface of escutcheon 18 at its radially widest point.

As best shown in FIG. 4 , the end 38 of the escutcheon 18 wraps around the base insert 24 and extends radially inwardly along the underside of the base insert 24 . The edge surface of the tip of the escutcheon 18 thus forms a circular radially outward side wall 40 of a downwardly opening putty groove 42 extending continuously in a circle very close to the radially outer periphery of the fitting.

The inner side wall 44 of the putty groove 42 is formed by the radially outwardly facing surface of the rib 46 of the base insert 24 . The rib 46 extends axially downward beyond an adjoining lower surface 48 of the base insert 24 , wherein the lower surface 48 is radially outward from the rib 46 and forms the upper, back wall of the putty groove 42 .

In the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 4 , the surface 48 extends at approximately the same height as at the outer periphery of the base insert 24 (rather than at the height at the edge radius) so that the end 38 of the escutcheon 18 forms the entire outside of the putty groove 42 wall. However, this is not required and an additional downwardly extending portion of the base insert 24 may join the end of the escutcheon to form the outer side wall.

In addition to cooperating with the base insert 24 to form the putty pocket, the coiled configuration of the end 38 of the escutcheon shown in FIG. 4 retains the base insert 24 within the hollow interior of the escutcheon 18 . The escutcheon 18 wraps tightly around the peripheral upper and lower surfaces of the base insert 24 such that a tight, secure connection is formed between the two components. Therefore, no separate fasteners are required to join the two components.

In an alternative construction of the fitting, as shown in Figure 5, the end 38A does not wrap around the underside of the base insert. Instead, the end 38A extends axially straight down to form the outer side wall of the stucco putty groove. As a result of this configuration, the putty groove is wider and extends closer to the outer periphery of the fitting. In this case, however, the base insert is not held by the escutcheon, and additional fasteners will be required to connect the escutcheon to the base (eg, mating threads; adhesive; mechanical fastening). In both cases, however, the escutcheon 18 can surround the perimeter of the base to conceal the base and any other internal structures, thereby giving the accessory a clean and finished appearance.

Due to the depth of the resulting groove, enough putty can be used to form an effective seal. However, end 36 will prevent seepage of putty to a visible location.

While there has been shown and described what are presently considered to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, in certain configurations, the housing may form the outer and back walls of the putty trough, while the insert forms only the inner side walls. Accordingly, various alternatives and modified embodiments are conceivable within the scope of the following claims.

Industrial applicability

The present invention provides a plumbing fitting with an improved putty sump to control leakage from the fitting.

Claims (19)

1. A pipe fitting, comprising: a housing defining an outer shell having a hollow interior; and a base non-integral to the housing inserted into the interior of the housing and connected to the housing; Wherein, a part of the putty tank is formed by the base, and a part is formed by the end of the shell. 2. The plumbing fitting of claim 1, wherein an end of the housing defines an outer sidewall of the groove. 3. The plumbing fitting of claim 2, wherein an end of the housing extends inwardly from a radial peripheral edge of the base. 4. The plumbing fitting of claim 2, wherein said base includes an annular ring at a central location of said base, said annular ring extending axially to define an inner side wall of said putty groove. 5. The plumbing fitting of claim 1, wherein the base is retained within the interior of the housing by ends of the housing. 6. The plumbing fitting of claim 1, wherein said base is annular and an end of said housing defines an annular outer sidewall of said putty groove having a circular configuration. 7. The plumbing fitting of claim 6, wherein the putty slot is located radially outward from the opening through the base. 8. The plumbing fitting of claim 7, wherein the putty groove is located proximate the outer periphery of the base. 9. The plumbing fitting of claim 1, wherein the housing has a flared end that receives the base, the flared end having a greater radial dimension than a central portion of the housing. 10. The plumbing fitting of claim 1, wherein the housing defines a housing for one of a faucet, a spout, and a flow control valve. 11. A pipe fitting, comprising: A housing defining an outer shell having a hollow interior, the housing comprising a flared lower portion having a lower end, the lower portion decreasing in height in a radially outward direction, the lower end of the housing being provided on the underside of the fitting the outer wall of a putty trough opening in an axially downward direction; and an annular base inserted into the interior of said housing at said lower portion and decreasing in height in a radially outward direction, said base having an underside defining a radially inner wall and a back wall of said putty groove, and cooperating with the lower end of the housing to define the putty groove. 12. The plumbing fitting of claim 11, wherein the lower end of the housing extends inwardly from a peripheral edge of the base at the underside of the base. 13. The plumbing fitting of claim 12, wherein the underside of the base includes an annular ring of the base extending axially downwardly to define an inner wall of the putty groove. 14. The plumbing fitting of claim 13, wherein the annular ring extends axially downward beyond a radially opposite outer portion of the underside of the base. 15. The plumbing fitting of claim 14, wherein the base is retained within the interior of the housing by a lower end of the housing. 16. The plumbing fitting of claim 14, wherein the lower end is the end of the housing. 17. The plumbing fitting of claim 11, wherein the putty slot is located radially outward from an opening through the base and is located proximally to an outer radial periphery of the base. 18. The plumbing fitting of claim 11, wherein the housing defines a housing for one of a faucet, a spout, and a flow control valve. 19. A plumbing fitting comprising: a first part and a second part, said first and second parts being formed separately and then joined to cooperate to form a putty groove on the underside of said fitting for receiving a sealant, Wherein, the first component forms a first side wall of the putty tank, and the second component forms a side wall of the putty tank opposite to the first side wall of the putty tank.

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