EP0056502B1 - Water aerating device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an aerator device for water jet, comprising a sprayer device for water jet, an air intake, a mixing chamber and a flow orifice provided with means for regulating the jet.

Such aerators are widely used especially for spouts of sinks, sinks and bathtubs, to obtain a regular spray with little tendency to produce spurts, as well as to reduce the noise of the tap. But these dispositfs.pos different problems especially by the fact that an effective spraying is generally obtained by passing the jet through many very small holes which are in front of walls which, struck by thin partial jets, pulverize them. The production of very small holes does not lend itself to mass production, and on the other hand it is not possible to increase the diameter of the holes without compromising either the effectiveness of the spraying or the silence of the device. In addition, the presence of very small holes crossed by the water flow quickly leads to their congestion and therefore to the need to replace the device, not being practically possible to effectively clean the engorged holes.

It is also known (Italian Knapp patent no 884.663) to make several jets of water converge which, by colliding with each other at a central point, spray effectively. But, in this case, the spraying carried out at a single central point has the drawback of making it necessary to use a sphere or other similar body which has the function of stabilizing the jet and which, moreover, by the Venturi effect , gives rise to air intake for ventilation.

A water sprayer comprising two elements provided with crowns of apertures, superimposed directly in contact with each other and which can take different respective positions, is shown by the publicaton DE-B-1.107.607 (Aghnides). However, in this case, the openings of each ring have different dimensions between them, in order to achieve two distinct conditions, adapted to different flow rates of the aerator. Consequently, even if, by chance, the arrangement of the openings would be such as to allow the edges of certain openings of one element to cooperate with the edges of certain openings of the other element in the direction proposed by this invention, and that the 'this condition was not foreseen, said cooperation could only be verified for part of the openings, so that we would get a too irregular water jet to be accepted.

A water sprayer comprising two superimposed elements having openings is also provided by the publication DE-A-2.012.606 (Andersson), but in this case said elements are not superimposed directly-enccontact eptre them, on the contrary they are spaced one on the other, so that in no case the edges of the openings of one element could not cooperate with the edges of the openings of the other element to establish restricted passage lights.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and economical manufacturing aerator device which is free from the drawbacks of known aerators or which presents them in reduced measure and, in particular, which does not require the execution of very small holes, all ensuring effective spraying and aeration of the jet even when a sphere or the like is not used for stabilization.

An auxiliary object of the invention is that of providing an aerating device which can be easily adapted for application on hydraulic devices having very different flow rates, such as the spouts of sinks, sinks and baths.

The main object of the invention is achieved by means of a water jet aerator comprising a water spraying device, an air intake, a mixing chamber and a flow orifice provided with means for regulating the jet. , in which the spraying device comprises two elements superimposed directly in contact with each other, each of these elements having at least one ring of openings of relatively large dimensions, the openings of each element all being identical to each other and regularly spaced, and said elements being oriented relative to each other so that the opposite edges of each opening of an element form restricted passage openings by cooperating with the contiguous edges of two successive openings of the other element.

In this way one can obtain very narrow passage lights, capable of effectively spraying the jet and reducing noise, although the elements of the device are provided with relatively large openings and, therefore, easy to manufacture. In addition, possible clogging can be easily eliminated by separating the two elements which, then, can be effectively cleaned.

The composition of the spraying device with two elements also makes it possible to also achieve the auxiliary object of the invention, which can be achieved by preparing a plurality of second elements, superimposable on the first element of the spraying device and having different characteristics, or alternatively by providing for the possibility of superimposing the second element on the first in different positions, or even, in certain cases, by simply omitting the second element.

In addition, each light produces a small inclined jet which converges towards the jet, inclined in the opposite direction, of the contiguous light, so that the two jets spray reciprocally upon meeting, without the need for the presence of a wall. This ensures high spray efficiency and further reduces noise. Since the spraying by reciprocal shock of jets is carried out, in this case, in a plurality of points arranged in a crown, the air can penetrate freely between the different jets and it is then entrained by the sprayed flow, even if no not use a stabilization sphere or other body similar capable of producing suction by Venturi effect.

• la figure 1 montre l'aérateur vu en plan dans la condition de pulvérisation maximale;
• la figure 2 le montre d'une manière analogue dans une condition de pulvérisation réduite;
• la figure 3 montre une section verticale de l'aérateur, faite selon la ligne III-III de la figure 2;
• les figures 4 et 5 montrent le développement de sections faites respectivement selon les lignes IV-IV et V-V des figures 1 et 2; et
• la figure 6 montre en plus grande échelle un détail de la section selon la figure 4.

The sudites and other features and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following description of an embodiment given by way of nonlimiting example, represented diagrammatically in the appended drawing in which:

• FIG. 1 shows the aerator seen in plan in the maximum spraying condition;
• FIG. 2 shows it in an analogous manner in a reduced spraying condition;
• Figure 3 shows a vertical section of the aerator, made along line III-III of Figure 2;
• Figures 4 and 5 show the development of sections made respectively along lines IV-IV and VV of Figures 1 and 2; and
• FIG. 6 shows on a larger scale a detail of the section according to FIG. 4.

The number 1 indicates the aerator body, consisting of a socket which ends at the top with a thread 2 for mounting on the end of a hydraulic device. In the bushing 1 is mounted a cyclinder 3, the lower end of which defines a flow opening provided with threads 4 for regulating the jet; on the threads 4, a mixing chamber 5 is formed in which the ambient air can arrive through openings 6 made in the wall of the cylinder 3 and through the gap defined between the cylinder 3 and the sleeve 1. These parts are characteristic of most aerators and must not be modified for the application of the invention, they can therefore be of any kind and shape.

The mixing chamber 5 is closed above by a first element 7 substantially in the form of a disc having a ring of openings 8, in this case equidistant circular holes arranged on a single circumference. The holes 8 have a diameter large enough to allow easy manufacture, for example by molding of plastic material, of the element 7. In addition, the disc 7 preferably forms a cavity for placing the second element of the sprayer therein.

The second element of the sprayer is in turn formed by a disc 11 also having a ring of openings 12, in this case circular holes in number equal to the number of holes 8 of the first element 7 and arranged on a circumference of the same diameter . The holes 12 also have a diameter large enough to allow easy manufacture, for example by plastic molding, of the element 11; moreover, in the form shown, the holes 12 are smaller than the holes 8. The diameters of the holes 8 and 12, the diameter of the circumference on which they are arranged and their number, are chosen so that, when the two discs 7 and 11 are superimposed with the respective holes 8 and 12 offset, as shown in FIG. 1, the opposite edges of each hole of one element form restricted passage openings with the contiguous edges of two successive holes of the other element. In this way, passage lights are made so narrow that one wishes, even starting from holes of remarkable diameter. The lights formed are, in number, twice the number of holes of each element, and they can be proportioned to the most severe requirements of an aerator for small flow, for example for washbasin, whose requirements of ventilation and silence are the most rigorous.

As is particularly apparent from the diagram in FIG. 6, due to the arrangement of the edges of the offset holes 8 and 12, which determine the passage openings, these are crossed by inclined jets (continuous line arrows) and converging which are collide with each other and pulverize forming a flow of finely pulverized water (arrows with broken lines) which, in the mixing chamber 5, mixes effectively with air, thus forming an aerated jet regulated by the nets 4.

There is however the possibility of superimposing the disc 11 on the disc 7 with the respective holes 12 and 8 aligned, instead of offset, as shown in Figures 2 and 5. In this case, the spraying is reduced to that which is due to the subdivision of the jet by the action of the holes 12, while the holes 8 of larger diameter remain inactive; in exchange, the device is suitable for a much greater flow. This arrangement can therefore be adopted to be able to use the same aerator, which in the configuration according to FIGS. 1 and 4 is indicated for small flows, for example in a washbasin, in a higher flow application, such as a kitchen sink. cooked. To facilitate the arrangement of the disc 11 in one of the correct positions relative to the disc 7, the disc 11 has a handle 13 for gripping it and it is provided with a centering stud 14 which can be inserted into one or the 'other of two corresponding holes 9 and 10 presented by the disc 7 (Figures 1 and 2). Naturally, this arrangement, which serves as an example, could be replaced by a non-circular conformation of the elements 7 and 11, or by other means of mutual reference, however arranged.

It is naturally possible to provide discs 11 of different characteristics, interchangeable on the same aerator device to adapt it to different requirements. In addition, the device can be adapted to even greater flow rates, with consequent reduction in spraying, by simply omitting the application of the element 11 and leaving the only holes 8 of the element free to exercise their function. 7.

Although the holes 8 and 12 have been illustrated as circular, they can, of course, be replaced by openings of any shape, for example rectangular; however the circular conformation of the holes determines, by their mutual intersection, narrow passage lights of biangular shape, particularly effective for this application.

- In special cases, in which the separability of elements 7 and 11 which form the sprayer is not requested, these elements can be fixed to each other permanently during manufacture and, in this case, the mutual references 9, 10 and 14, as well as the grip 13, can be omitted.

A gasket 15 is normally superimposed on the device described, for mounting without losses in a flow spout.

Claims (6)

1. A water jet aerating device, comprising a water pulverizer device, an air intake (6), a mixing chamber (5) and a delivery orifice provided with jet regularization means (4), the pulverization device having two members (7 and 11) superimposed to and directly in contact with one another, each of these members (7 and 11, respectively) being provided with at least one ring row of openings (8 and 12, respectively) of relatively large size, characterized in that the openings (8 or 12) of each member (7 or 11) are all identical to each other and are uniformly spaced, and in that said members (7 and 11) are positioned relative to each other in such a manner that the opposite edges of each opening (12) of a member (11) form restricted passages by cooperating with the adjacent edges of two successive openings (8) of the other member (7), all said passages thus producing small jets each one sloping towards each other, which meet and mutually pulverize each other (Figure 6).

2. An aerating device according to claim 1, characterized in that the second member (11) of the pulverizer may be mounted on the first member in two different positions, in one of which the openings (8, 12) of the members (7, 11) cooperate with each other in the stated manner, whilst in the other position the two ring rows of openings substantially register with one another.

3. An aerating device according to claim 2, characterized in that said two mounting positions of the second member (11) on the first member (7) are defined by mutual registration means, such as retainer pins (14) and bores (9, 10), or non circular configurations.

4. An aerating device according to claim 1, characterized in that the openings (12) of the second member (11) of the pulverizer are smaller than the openings (8) of the first member (7).

5. An aerating device according to claim 1, characterized in that the openings (8, 12) of the two members (7, 11) of the pulverizer are circular in shape and, by their cooperation, they define passages each of which is limited by two circle arcs (Figure 1).

6. An aerating device according to claim 1, characterized in that both members (7, 11) of the pulverizer are made by molding of plastics.

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