Sanitary insert unit

Abstract

A sanitary insert unit which is fittable on the water outlet of a sanitary outlet fitting and has a flow-restricting or control device with a flow-restricting or control element. The flow-restricting or control device or at least the flow-restricting or control element thereof is guided displaceably under pressure of inflowing water from a starting position counter to a restoring force into a flow-restricting or control position. A jet splitter is connected downstream on an outflow side of the flow-restricting or control device. The jet splitter divides the water flowing therethrough into a multiplicity of individual jets. A guide pin protrudes from the jet splitter on an inflow side. The flow-restricting or control element of the flow-restricting or control device is displaceably guided on the guide pin. The sliding path is limited between the jet splitter and a sliding stop on a pin end region of the guide pin facing away from the jet splitter.

Claims

1. A sanitary insert unit (1, 100) which is fittable on a water outlet of a sanitary outlet fitting, comprising: a flow-restricting or control device (5) with a flow-restricting or control element (6), the flow-restricting or control device (5) or at least the flow-restricting or control element (6) thereof is guided displaceably under pressure of inflowing water from a starting position counter to a restoring force into a flow-restricting or control position, a jet splitter (8) connected downstream on an outflow side of the flow-restricting or control device (5), said jet splitter dividing water flowing therethrough into a multiplicity of individual jets, a guide pin (10) protruding from the jet splitter (8) on an inflow side thereof, the flow-restricting or control device (5) or the flow-restricting or control element (6) thereof is displaceably guided on said guide pin (10), a sliding stop (11) arranged at a pin end region of the guide pin (10) facing away from the jet splitter (8), a sliding path of the flow-restricting or control device (5) or of the flow-restricting or control element (6) thereof is limited between the jet splitter (8) and the sliding stop (11), the sliding stop (11) is a cross-sectional extension of the guide pin (10), and an encircling slide-on slope is provided on the cross-sectional extension of the guide pin (10) facing away from the jet splitter.

2. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flow-restricting or control element (6) comprises a guide opening (12), and for a relative displacement of the flow-restricting or control element (6) and the guide pin (10), the guide opening (12) is guided on the guide pin (10).

3. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein a guide opening (12) is located centrally in the flow-restricting or control element (6).

4. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein an encircling slide-on slope is provided on a circumferential edge region of the flow-restricting or control element (6), and said circumferential edge region faces the guide pin (10) and bounds a guide opening (12) of the flow-restricting or control element (6).

5. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pin end region of the guide pin (10) which bears the cross-sectional extension is split or divided into at least two pin segments (15, 16), and the at least two pin segments (15, 16) are deflectable from a starting position into a sliding position closer to one another.

6. A sanitary insert unit (1, 100) which is fittable on a water outlet of a sanitary outlet fitting, comprising: a flow-restricting or control device (5) with a flow-restricting or control element (6), the flow-restricting or control device (5) or at least the flow-restricting or control element (6) thereof is guided displaceably under pressure of inflowing water from a starting position counter to a restoring force into a flow-restricting or control position, a jet splitter (8) connected downstream on an outflow side of the flow-restricting or control device (5), said jet splitter dividing water flowing therethrough into a multiplicity of individual jets, a guide pin (10) protruding from the jet splitter (8) on an inflow side thereof, the flow-restricting or control device (5) or the flow-restricting or control element (6) thereof is displaceablv guided on said guide pin (10), a sliding stop (11) arranged at a pin end region of the guide pin (10) facing away from the jet splitter (8), a sliding path of the flow-restricting or control device (5) or of the flow-restricting or control element (6) thereof is limited between the jet splitter (8) and the sliding stop (11), the sliding stop (11) is a cross-sectional extension of the guide pin (10), an encircling slide-on slope (13, 14) is provided on the cross-sectional extension of the guide pin (10), the pin end region of the guide pin (10) which bears the cross-sectional extension is split or divided into at least two pin segments (15, 16), and the at least two pin segments (15, 16) are deflectable from a starting position into a sliding position closer to one another, the pin segments (15, 16) are arranged around a plug-in opening (17) formed in the guide pin (10), and a securing pin (18) which prevents a deflection of the pin segments (15, 16) with respect to each other is insertable into the plug-in opening (17).

7. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 6, further comprising an insert housing, and an attachment screen or filter screen (19) held releasably on the insert housing.

8. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 7, wherein the attachment screen or filter screen (19) is releasably latchable on the insert housing.

9. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 6, further comprising an attachment screen or filter screen (19) connected upstream of the flow-restricting or control device (5).

10. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the attachment screen or filter screen (19) bears the securing pin (18).

11. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 7, wherein the flow-restricting or control device (5) is a throughflow-quantity regulator and comprises an annular and elastically deformable flow-restricting body (20) which engages around the flow-restricting or control element (6) and which, between itself and at least one adjacent, profiled circumferential wall of the sanitary insert unit, bounds a control gap that is variable under the pressure of the inflowing water.

12. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 11, wherein the attachment screen or filter screen (19) bounds a screen interior in which the flow-restricting or control device (5) or at least the flow-restricting or control element (6) thereof is displaceably guided.

13. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 12, wherein, in the starting position, the flow-restricting or control element (6) is provided above the flow-restricting body (20) in the screen interior of the attachment screen or filter screen (19).

14. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a restoring spring that generates the restoring force, the restoring spring is configured as a helical compression spring.

15. The sanitary insert unit as claimed in claim 14, wherein the flow-restricting or control element (6) around which the elastic flow-restricting body engages includes the profiled circumferential wall with a control profiling (21) on said circumferential wall.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Developments according to the invention emerge from the claims and the description in conjunction with the drawings. The invention is described in more detail below with reference to a preferred exemplary embodiment.

(2) In the drawings:

(3) FIG. 1 shows, in a perspective side view, a sanitary insert unit which consists of an inflow-side attachment screen or filter screen, an outflow-side, ventilated jet regulator and a flow-restricting or control device arranged inbetween,

(4) FIG. 2 shows the sanitary insert unit from FIG. 1 in a pulled-apart perspective illustration of the individual parts thereof,

(5) FIG. 3 shows the insert unit which is already shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and is likewise illustrated here in a longitudinal section and the flow-restricting or control device of which has a flow-restricting or control element which is guided displaceably on a guide pin between the starting position shown here and a flow-restricting or control position,

(6) FIG. 4 shows the sanitary insert unit from FIGS. 1 to 3 in a detailed illustration likewise sectioned longitudinally here in the region of a securing pin which is integrally formed on the attachment screen or filter screen, which securing pin protrudes into a plug-in opening, which is open on the end side, in the guide pin,

(7) FIG. 5 shows the insert unit, which is likewise shown here in a longitudinal section, in the flow-restricting or control position of the flow-restricting or control element of the flow-restricting or control device thereof,

(8) FIG. 6 shows a sanitary insert unit which is illustrated in a longitudinal section and likewise consists here of an inflow-side attachment screen or filter screen, an outflow-side, ventilated jet regulator and a flow-restricting or control device arranged inbetween, wherein, in the case of the insert unit illustrated here, the entire flow-restricting or control device is guided displaceably and is located here in a starting position,

(9) FIG. 7 shows the insert unit from FIG. 6 in the flow-restricting or control position of the flow-restricting or control device thereof, and

(10) FIG. 8 shows the insert unit, which is already shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in a pulled-apart perspective illustration of individual parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(11) FIGS. 1 to 8 illustrate a sanitary insert unit in two embodiments 1, 100, which insert unit has an insert housing. The insert housing, which includes here of an inflow-side housing part 2 and an outflow-side housing part 3 connected releasably thereto, can bear an external thread on its housing outer circumference, with which external thread the insert unit 1, 100 can be screwed into an internal thread on the water outlet of a sanitary outlet fitting (likewise not shown here).

(12) The insert units 1, 100 illustrated here instead have, on the end-side housing circumferential edge region thereof of the inflow-side housing part 2 thereof, an annular flange 4 which serves as an insert stop and up to which the insert units 1, 100 are insertable into a sleeve-shaped outlet mouthpiece (not illustrated further here). With the aid of said outlet mouthpiece, the sanitary insert units 1, 100 illustrated here are fittable on the water outlet of a sanitary outlet fitting.

(13) The sanitary insert units 1, 100 have a flow-restricting or control device 5 which either has to restrict the flow of water flowing therethrough or to adjust said flow to a fixed maximum throughflow capacity. This flow-restricting or control device 5 is designed here as a throughflow-quantity regulator which has to adjust the water volume flowing therethrough per unit of time to a fixed maximum value irrespective of the pressure. For this purpose, the flow-restricting or control device 5 has a flow-restricting or control element 6 which is engaged around by an annular flow-restricting body 20 made of elastic material. When the flow-restricting or control device 1, 100 is operationally ready, the flow-restricting body 20, between itself and a control profiling 21 provided on the circumference of the flow-restricting or control element 6, bounds a control gap. As the pressure of the water flowing through rises, the flow-restricting body 20 produced from elastic material is increasingly pressed into the control profiling 21 in such a manner that the control gap is constricted. Since, as the pressure of the water flowing through increases, the elastically deformable flow-restricting body 20 is increasingly molded into the control profiling 21 of the flow-restricting or control element 6, the control gap can be varied under the pressure of the water flowing therethrough in such a manner that the flow-restricting or control device 5 is capable of adjusting a fixed maximum throughflow capacity irrespective of the pressure.

(14) The jet splitter 8 of a ventilated jet regulator 9 is connected downstream on the outflow side of the flow-restricting or control device 5 in the insert units 1, 100. The jet splitter 8 has to divide the water flowing therethrough into a multiplicity of individual jets. The jet splitter 8 is of cup-shape design here. Throughflow openings 24 which are preferably spaced apart uniformly from one another in the circumferential direction and in which the individual jets are formed are provided on the circumferential wall of said cup shape. The plate-shaped base of said cup shape, at which a central guide pin 10 protrudes counter to the throughflow direction, serves as an impact surface at which the water coming from the flow-restricting or control device 5 is deflected in the direction of the throughflow openings 24. Since the throughflow openings 24 and the subsequent flow guidance in the region of the inflow-side housing part 2 constitute a cross-sectional constriction, the individual jets are accelerated in the region of the throughflow openings 24 in such a manner that a negative pressure is formed on the outflow side of the jet splitter 8 and in particular in the interior of the outflow-side housing part 3. As a consequence of said negative pressure, ambient air is sucked into the lower housing part 3 by ventilation openings 25 arranged on the housing circumference of the outflow-side housing part 3 and is mixed in said lower housing part with the water flowing therethrough before the water enriched in this manner with ambient air is shaped in a homogenizing device, which forms the outflow-side end side of the lower housing part 3 and is configured as a perforated structure, to form a homogeneous, non-sputtering and sparkling-soft water jet.

(15) It becomes clear from a comparison of FIGS. 1 to 5, on the one hand, and of FIGS. 6 to 8, on the other hand, that the flow-restricting or control device 5 or at least the flow-restricting or control element 6 thereof is guided displaceably on the guide pin 10 protruding on the inflow side over the jet splitter 8. The sliding path of the flow-restricting or control device 5 or of the flow-restricting or control element 6 thereof is limited between the jet splitter 8 and a sliding stop 11, which is arranged at the pin end region of the guide pin 10 facing away from the jet splitter 8. In order to be able to displaceably guide either the entire and operationally ready flow-restricting or control device 5 (cf. FIGS. 6 to 8) or else only the flow-restricting or control element 6 thereof (cf. FIGS. 1 to 5) on the guide pin 10 the flow-restricting or control element 6 of the insert units 1, 100 has a, here centrally arranged, guide opening 12, in which guide opening 12 the guide pin 10 is displaceably guided. The sliding stop 11 is designed as a cross-sectional thickening or cross-sectional extension of the guide pin 10. In the case of the insert units 1, 100 illustrated here, an encircling slide-on slope 13, 14 is provided both on the cross-sectional extension of the guide pin 10, which cross-sectional extension serves as a sliding stop 11, and on the circumferential edge region of the flow-restricting or control element 6, which circumferential edge region faces the guide pin 10. That pin end of the guide pin 10 which bears the cross-sectional extension is split into at least two pin segments 15, 16, which pin segments 15, 16 are deflectable from a starting position into a sliding position close to each other. When the flow-restricting or control element 6 is pushed or pressed onto the guide pin 10, the exerted sliding movement, which is oriented in the longitudinal direction of the pin, is converted by means of the slide-on slopes 13, 14 into a radial deflection movement of the pin segments 15, 16 toward each other.

(16) It becomes clear from a comparison of FIGS. 2 to 4 and 6 and 7 that the pin segments 15, 16 are arranged around a plug-in opening 17 formed in the guide pin 10. A securing pin 18 which prevents a deflection of the pin segments 15, 16 with respect to each other is insertable into said plug-in opening 17. The insert units 1, 100 have an inflow-side attachment screen or filter screen 19 which filters out the lime or dirt particles which are entrained in the inflowing water and which could otherwise impair the correct operation of the flow-restricting or control device 5 or of the jet regulator 9 in the insert housing 1, 100. The attachment screen or filter screen 19 is held releasably, and is preferably latchable releasably, at the screen outer circumference thereof on the insert housing of the insert unit 1 or 100. By attaching the attachment screen or filter screen 19 to the insert unit 1, 100, the securing pin 18, which is integrally formed in one piece on the inside of the attachment screen or filter screen 19, is pushed into the plug-in opening 17 of the guide pin 10 and prevents an unintentional falling apart of the insert unit 1, 100.

(17) The flow-restricting or control device 5, which is in the form of a throughflow-quantity regulator, of the insert unit 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5 has a flow-restricting or control element 6 which is guided displaceably under the pressure of the inflowing water from the starting position shown in FIG. 3 counter to the restoring force of a restoring spring 7 into the flow-restricting or control position illustrated in FIG. 5. The annular flow-restricting body 20 rests on a support ring 22 which is inserted into the jet splitter 8 as far as an annular step 23 on the inner circumferential side. In the flow-restricting or control position according to FIG. 5, the flow-restricting body 20 located on the support ring 22 is positioned level with the control profiling 21, which is provided on the flow-restricting or control element 6, and can be molded under the pressure of the throughflowing water into the control profiling 21 depending on the pressure. While, in the starting position (shown in FIG. 3) of the insert unit 1, a comparatively wide annular gap still remains free between the flow-restricting or control element 6 and the elastic flow-restricting body 20, through which annular gap the water can flow practically unobstructed even at low water pressures and water quantities, in the flow-restricting or control position shown in FIG. 5 the water can still just pass through the control gap of the flow-restricting or control device 5, which is now operationally ready, if an increased water pressure has pressed the flow-restricting or control element into the annular opening of the flow-restricting body 20 counter to the restoring force of the restoring element 7. In said flow-restricting or control position according to FIG. 5, the flow-restricting or control device 6 adjusts the quantity of water flowing therethrough per unit of time to a fixed maximum value.

(18) By contrast, in the case of the insert unit 100 shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the entire and operationally ready flow-restricting or control device is moved between the starting position (shown in FIG. 6) and the flow-restricting or control position depicted in FIG. 7. For this purpose the flow-restricting or control device 5 of the insert unit 100 has a regulator housing 101 which is guided displaceably on the guide pin 10. The regulator housing 101 has an annular groove into which the elastic flow-restricting body 20 is placed. The central flow-restricting or control element 6, which is engaged around by the flow-restricting body 20, is formed in the regulator housing 101 by the annular groove. The control profiling 21, into which the elastic flow-restricting body 20 can be molded as the water pressure increases, is provided on at least one of the circumferential sides of the annular groove. In the flow direction behind the flow-restricting body 20, in the region of the control profiling 21, at least one throughflow direction 102 is provided on the groove base, through which the quantity of water adjusted by the flow-restricting or control device 5 has to pass. It becomes clear from a comparison of FIGS. 6 and 7 that the restoring element 7, which is in the form of a helical compression spring here, presses the flow-restricting or control device 5 of the insert unit 100 in the direction of the attachment screen or filter screen 19 and holds same in the starting position. In said starting position, the regulator housing 101 is arranged at a distance above a support 103. The support 103 is designed here as an annular disk which has a central support opening 104. In the starting position shown in FIG. 6, the water flowing through the insert unit 101 can still flow past the regulator housing 101 of the flow-restricting or control device 5, even at low water pressures, because of the large-sized support opening 104 in the direction of the jet splitter. By contrast, in the flow-restricting or control position shown in FIG. 7, the regulator housing 101 rests tightly on the support 103, and therefore the support opening 104 is closed and the water flowing through the latter only has to pass through the operationally ready flow-restricting or control device 5. So that the regulator housing 101 can rest tightly on the support 103 in the flow-restricting or control position shown in FIG. 7, an annular seal 105, in the form here of a lip seal, is provided on that edge region of the support 103 which bounds the support opening 104. In the flow-restricting or control position shown in FIG. 7, the at least one throughflow direction 102 of the flow-restricting or control device 5 opens into the support opening 104 of the insert unit 100.

(19) It can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 that the attachment screen or filter screen 19 bounds a screen interior, wherein the flow-restricting or control device 5 or at least the flow-restricting or control element 6 is displaceably guided into said screen interior of the attachment screen or filter screen 19. In order to keep the friction between the guide opening 12 provided in the regulator housing 101, on the one hand, and the guide pin 10, on the other hand, as low as possible, guide ribs are provided on the inner circumference, which bounds the guide opening 12, of the flow-restricting or control element 6, which is of sleeve-shaped design here, said guide ribs being oriented in the longitudinal direction of the flow-restricting or control device 5 and forming a contact surface which is merely in the shape of a line between the inner circumference of the flow-restricting or control element 5 and the guide pin 10.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

(20) 1 Insert unit (according to FIGS. 1 to 5)

(21) 2 Inflow-side housing part

(22) 3 Outflow-side housing part

(23) 4 Annular flange

(24) 5 Flow-restricting or control device

(25) 6 Flow-restricting or control element

(26) 7 Restoring spring

(27) 8 Jet splitter

(28) 9 Jet regulator

(29) 10 Guide pin

(30) 11 Sliding stop

(31) 12 Guide opening

(32) 13 Run-on slope (on the guide pin 10)

(33) 14 Run-on slope (on the flow-restricting or control core 6)

(34) 15 Pin segment

(35) 16 Pin segment

(36) 17 Plug-in opening

(37) 18 Securing pin

(38) 19 Attachment screen or filter screen

(39) 20 Flow-restricting body

(40) 21 Control profiling

(41) 22 Support ring

(42) 23 Annular stop

(43) 24 Throughflow openings

(44) 25 Ventilation openings

(45) 100 Insert unit (according to FIGS. 6 to 8)

(46) 101 Regulator housing

(47) 102 Throughflow opening

(48) 103 Support

(49) 104 Support opening

(50) 105 Annular seal