SANITARY KIT, SANITARY FUNCTIONAL ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A SANITARY FUNCTIONAL ARRANGEMENT

Abstract

A sanitary construction kit (1) having at least one outflow element (2), at least one control element (3), and at least one connection element (4) by way of which the outflow element (2) is fluidically connectable to the control element (3). At least two functionally dissimilar control elements (3) which selectively, individually or together, are fluidically connectable to the outflow element (2) are provided.

Claims

1. A sanitary construction kit (1), comprising: at least one outflow element (2), at least two control elements (3), and at least one connection element (4) by which the at least two outflow elements (2) are fluidically connectable to the control element (3).

2. A sanitary construction kit (1), comprising: at least one outflow element (2), at least one control element (3), at least one connection element (4) by which the outflow element (2) is fluidically connectable to the control element (3), and at least one distributor (5) to which at least any two elements out of the at least one control element (3), the at least one connection element (4) or the at least one outflow element (2) are simultaneously connectable.

3. The sanitary construction kit (1) according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one connection element (4) is configured to be plug-connectable, or the at least one connection element (4) is configured to be variable in terms of shape.

4. The sanitary construction kit (1) according to claim 1, further comprising at least one connector element configured for connecting to a supply network (16).

5. The sanitary construction kit (1) according to claim 1, further comprising a functional unit including one of a further control element (3), a sensor (6), an actuator (7), a flow heater (8), or a current generator (9), that is connectable to at least one of the control element (3), the outflow element (2), the connection element (4).

6. The sanitary construction kit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one connection element (4) comprises at least two dissimilar ones of the connection elements (4) having conforming connectors.

7. The sanitary construction kit (1) according to claim 1, further comprising fastening means (10) configured on a functional carrier (11) for fastening at least one of the at least one outflow element (2), the at least one control element (3), or the at least one connection element (4).

8. The sanitary construction kit (1) according to claim 1, further comprising at least one bifurcation element (12) configured to form a distributor (5) is selectively connectable to the at least one connection element (4).

9. The sanitary construction kit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one control element (3) has a manual operating element (13), and the manual operating elements (13) of two dissimilar control elements (3) have at least one of a conforming external contour or external dimension.

10. The sanitary construction kit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one outflow element includes at least two dissimilar ones of the outflow elements (2) that are selectively connectable to the at least one control element (3) by the at least one connection element (4).

11. The sanitary construction kit (1) according to claim 1, further comprising a current generator (9) that is operatively connectable to a water circuit (19) comprising the outflow element (2).

12. The sanitary construction kit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one control element (3) is at least one of a manually controllable, temperature-controlled, or pressure-controlled valve.

13. The sanitary construction kit (1) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one connection element (4) is at least one of composed of a temperature-resistant material or configured as a flexible hose.

14. A sanitary functional assembly (15), comprising: at least one outflow element (2), at least two control elements (3), at least one connection element (4) by which the outflow element (2) is fluidically connected to the at least two control elements (3), the at least two control elements (3) are dissimilar, and at least one of (a) the at least two control elements (3) are fluidically disposed in parallel or in series, or (b) each said control element (3) is assigned a common outflow element (2).

15. A sanitary functional assembly (15), comprising: at least two outflow elements (2), at least one control element (3), at least one connection element (4) by way of which the at least two outflow element (2) are fluidically connected to the control element (3), the at least two outflow elements (2) are dissimilar, and at least one of the outflow elements (2) are fluidically disposed in parallel or in series, or each said outflow element (2) is a common control element (3).

16. The sanitary functional assembly (15) according to claim 14, wherein the at least two two control elements (3) are fed from a common distributor element (5).

17. The sanitary functional assembly (15) according to claim 14, wherein the at least two control elements (3) are in each case fed from a separate supply connector (16).

18. A method for producing a sanitary functional assembly (15), comprising: equipping a functional carrier (11) with the functional assembly (15), entering at least one dimension of the functional carrier (11), entering a desired scope of functions, selecting at least one outflow element (2), at least one control element (3) and at least one connection element (4) from a sanitary construction kit (1), generating a circuit diagram with a desired scope of functions being implemented, generating a layout for placing the selected elements of the sanitary construction kit (1) within the at least one dimension, and machining the functional carrier (11) according to the layout in order to produce the functional assembly (15).

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the at least one connection element (4) is selected from a predefined number of standard shapes.

20. The method according to claim 18, further comprising during machining, configuring at least one receptacle channel (20) for the at least one connection element (4) in the functional carrier (11).

21. The method according to claim 18, further comprising determining which fluidic bifurcations are required for generating the circuit diagram, and selecting a matching bifurcation element (12) from the sanitary construction kit (1) for each bifurcation.

22. The method according claim 18, further comprising, for generating the layout, uploading or computing at least one shape of the at least one connection element (4).

23. The method according to according to claim 18, further comprising configuring at least one of an externally accessible opening for receiving the at least one outflow element (2) or the at least one control element (3) on the functional carrier (11).

24. The method according to claim 18, further comprising using at least two dissimilar ones of the control elements (3).

25. The method according claim 18, wherein at least two of the outflow elements (2) that are at least one of selectively operable or fed from a common supply connector (15) are disposed above a common collection vessel.

26. The method according to claim 18, wherein the functional carrier is part of an item of furniture or of a sanitary installation.

27. A sanitary functional assembly (15) produced by the method according to claim 18, wherein there are at least two of the control elements (3) that are fed from a common supply connector (16) and are routed toward an individually assigned outflow element (2).

28. (canceled)

29. An item of furniture (17) comprising the sanitary functional assembly (15) according claim 14.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] The invention will now be described in more detail by means of a plurality of exemplary embodiments but is not limited to these exemplary embodiments. Further exemplary embodiments are derived by combining the features of individual claims or a plurality of claims with one another and/or with individual or a plurality of features of the exemplary embodiments.

[0047] In the figures:

[0048] FIG. 1 shows a first potential variant of embodiment of a sanitary functional assembly according to the invention of a sanitary construction kit according to the invention;

[0049] FIG. 2 shows a second potential variant of embodiment of a sanitary functional assembly according to the invention of a sanitary construction kit according to the invention;

[0050] FIG. 3 shows a third potential variant of embodiment of a sanitary construction kit according to the invention of a sanitary functional assembly according to the invention;

[0051] FIG. 4 shows a fourth potential variant of embodiment of a sanitary functional assembly according to the invention of a sanitary construction kit according to the invention;

[0052] FIG. 5 shows a fifth potential variant of embodiment of a sanitary functional assembly according to the invention of a sanitary construction kit according to the invention;

[0053] FIG. 6 shows components of a sanitary construction kit according to the invention for configuring the various sanitary functional assemblies;

[0054] FIG. 7 shows a special variant of embodiment of a sanitary functional assembly according to the invention of a sanitary construction kit according to the invention, in a perspective view, having a plurality of outflow elements of dissimilar design;

[0055] FIG. 8 shows the variant of embodiment from FIG. 7, wherein the water jets configured dissimilarly by the individual outflow elements are illustrated;

[0056] FIG. 9 shows a further variant of embodiment of a sanitary functional assembly, formed from a sanitary construction kit;

[0057] FIG. 10 shows a further variant of embodiment of a sanitary functional assembly, formed from a sanitary construction kit; and

[0058] FIG. 11 shows a further variant of embodiment of a sanitary functional assembly, formed from a sanitary construction kit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] A plurality of exemplary embodiments of sanitary functional assemblies of a sanitary construction kit according to the invention are shown in FIGS. 1-5, 7-11, said sanitary functional assemblies being in each case denoted by the reference sign 15.

[0060] The sanitary construction kit 1 (cf. FIG. 6) is specified to enable a sanitary functional assembly 15 to be configured in that the desired components of the sanitary construction kit 1 are connected to one another according to a construction manual.

[0061] The sanitary construction kit 1 comprises at least one outflow element 2 from which a fluid, in particular a water jet, exits during the use of a sanitary functional assembly 15.

[0062] In order to be able to control the exit from the outflow element 2, the sanitary construction kit 1 has at least one control element 3 and at least one connection element 4 by way of which the outflow element 2 is fluidically connectable to the control element 3, or in the assembled state is connected to the latter.

[0063] The sanitary construction kit 1 comprises at least two functionally dissimilar control elements 3 which selectively, by way of the at least one connection element 4, are fluidically connectable to the outflow element 2.

[0064] The sanitary construction kit 1, or the variants of embodiment of the sanitary functional assembly 15 from FIGS. 2, 6 and 7, respectively, has/have a distributor 5 to which two or more, preferably functionally dissimilar, control elements 3 and/or connection elements 4 and/or outflow elements 2 are simultaneously connectable, or in the assembled state are connected.

[0065] In order to enable ideally simple assembling, the at least one connection element 4 is configured so as to be plug-connectable. In order to prevent a plugged connection to be released, the at least one connection element 4 and/or the component connected thereto can have a latching and/or blocking mechanism for fixedly connecting the components to one another.

[0066] In order to be able to configure a multiplicity of sanitary functional assemblies 15 of dissimilar designs, the at least one connection element 4 is configured so as to be variable in terms of shape. Pre-shaped connection elements 4 and/or connection elements 4 of dissimilar length may also be present.

[0067] The sanitary construction kit 1 and/or the sanitary functional assembly 15 has/have at least one connector element for connecting to a supply connector 16 (in particular of a supply network). One connector element can be provided per supply network, in particular per connector, for a functional assembly 15 which is specified for being connected to a plurality of supply connectors 16 of a supply network or of a plurality of supply networks, thus in particular a warm water connector and a cold water connector.

[0068] The sanitary construction kit 1 comprises at least one functional unit. The at least one functional unit can have one or a plurality of functions. Examples to this end can include: at least one further control element 3, a sensor 6 and/or an actuator 7, for example a flow heater 8 and/or a current generator 9. The functional unit is connectable directly to the control element 3 and/or to the outflow element 2, and/or indirectly by way of a connection element 4.

[0069] The sanitary construction kit 1 furthermore comprises at least two dissimilar connection elements 4 having conforming connectors, said connection elements 4 being in particular of dissimilar shape and/or dissimilar length. In this way, a user can select a connection element 4 that matches the installation situation and meets the requirements.

[0070] The sanitary construction kit 1 comprises a plurality of fastening means 10 for fastening the at least one outflow element 2 and/or the at least one control element 3 and/or of the at least one connection element 4 to a functional carrier 11.

[0071] The sanitary construction kit 1 comprises at least one bifurcation element 12, in particular a more than twofold bifurcating bifurcation element 12, by way of which at least one connection element 4 for forming the distributor 5 is selectively connectable.

[0072] In order to be able to perform manual regulation, the at least one control element 3 has a manual operating element 13. The manual operating elements 13 of two dissimilar control elements 3 here have a conforming external contour and/or external dimension so as to be able to be selectively used by a user while requiring the same space.

[0073] The sanitary construction kit 1 and/or the sanitary functional assembly 15 have/has at least two outflow elements 2, preferably two dissimilar outflow elements 2 from FIGS. 2, 7 and 8. Said outflow elements 2 can in particular be of dissimilar flow rate classes and/or jet shapes and/or jet types. The outflow elements 2 are selectively connectable or connected to at least one control element 3 (cf. FIGS. 2, 7 and 8).

[0074] A variant of embodiment which has a current generator 9 is shown in FIG. 4. Said variant of embodiment can additionally comprise an electric interim storage 14 which is operatively connectable, or operatively connected, to a water circuit 19 comprising the outflow element 2. For example, the current generator 9 can serve for supplying the current of a consumer of the sanitary construction kit 1 or of an external consumer such as, in particular, a light 21, in particular an illumination of an item of furniture. The current generator 9 can be fluidically connectable, or connected, to the control element 3 and/or the connection element 4 and/or the outflow element 2.

[0075] The sanitary functional assemblies 15 and/or items of furniture 17 and/or sanitary installations 18 comprising a sanitary functional assembly 15 shown in FIGS. 1-5 have in each case at least one outflow element 2, at least one control element 3 and at least one connection element 4 by way of which the outflow element 2 is fluidically connected to the control element 3, wherein at least two dissimilar control elements 3 are present, wherein the control elements 3 are fluidically disposed in parallel or in series, and/or each control element 3 is assigned an individual and/or a common outflow element 2.

[0076] In the variant of embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the two control elements 3 are fed from a common distributor element 5.

[0077] In the variants of embodiments from FIGS. 1-5, a functional carrier 11 is in each case equipped with a sanitary functional assembly 15.

[0078] A variant of embodiment having in each case a plurality of, in particular four, dissimilarly configured outflow elements 2 is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. For example, the outflow elements 2 can be configured for shaping jet shapes of dissimilar shape. In particular for configuring at least one or a plurality of jet shapes selected from: aerated, non-aerated, pulsed, spray, continuous, CO2-enriched (can also be achieved by way of a functional unit), filtered (can also be achieved by way of a functional unit), unfiltered, distilled (can also be achieved by way of a functional unit). Alternatively or additionally thereto, the jet can be heated or unheated, in particular when a functional unit configured as a flow heater 8 is provided. Furthermore, alternatively or additionally, the jet can be cooled, in particular when a functional unit configured as a flow chiller is provided.

[0079] The control element 3 can be operated manually, for example by way of the manual operating element 13. The control element 3 can comprise a valve which is preferably able to be regulated by means of the manual operating element 13. The manual operating element 13 can, for example, be configured as an on/off push button, and/or be connected to a push-push adjustment mechanism (controlled only by pushing, similar to a ballpoint pen). Alternatively or additionally, the manual operating element 13 can be adjusted by a rotation, and/or the flow rate can be regulated by a valve.

[0080] The control element 3 can also be regulated in an automated manner. In particular, the control element 3 can be connected to a sensor 6, particular a temperature sensor, so as to establish an, in particular automated, feedback control as a function of a measured value, in particular a temperature-sensitive feedback control.

[0081] FIG. 9 shows a further sanitary functional assembly 15 according to the invention. Components and functional units which in terms of function and/or construction are equivalent or identical to the preceding exemplary embodiments are denoted by the same reference sign and are not described separately once again. Therefore, the explanations pertaining to FIGS. 1 to 8 apply in analogous manner to FIG. 9.

[0082] In the exemplary embodiment as per FIG. 9, three supply connectors 16 are present: a cold water connector 24, a warm water connector 25 and a hot water connector 26. Additionally to the hot water connector 26 and/or instead of this hot water connector 26, a connector for carbonized water, potable water, particularly purified water and/or for a further fluid such as soap, oil, milk, etc., may also be present.

[0083] The hot water connector 25 and the cold water connector 24 are routed to a common control element 3 which is configured as a mixer unit 27, for example as a 2-way valve. The mixer unit 27 is routed to a control element 3 which is configured as a shut-off valve.

[0084] The hot water connector 26 is routed to a further control element 3 which is likewise configured as a shut-off valve.

[0085] Both control elements 3 are connected to a combination unit 23, for example a distributor 5 which is operated in the reverse direction. The combination unit 23 routes both fluids to a common outflow element 2. The control elements 3 are thus disposed in parallel.

[0086] In a further exemplary embodiment, a warm water connector is configured instead of the hot water connector 26, while the warm water connector 25 shown in FIG. 9 and the mixer unit 27 are not present.

[0087] If the control elements 3 in this case are configured as valves having an opening which is preferably adjustable in a stepless manner or in fine steps, a mixer unit is thus implemented from elementary individual components. This demonstrates that a sanitary construction kit 1 does not necessarily have to have a mixer unit in order for a function of a mixer unit to be implemented.

[0088] FIG. 10 shows a further sanitary functional assembly 15 according to the invention. Components and functional units which in terms of function and/or construction are equivalent or identical to the preceding exemplary embodiments are denoted by the same reference sign and are not described separately once again. Therefore, the explanations pertaining to FIGS. 1 to 9 apply in analogous manner to FIG. 10.

[0089] The supply connector 16 is routed to an assembly in series of a control element 3 as a shut-off valve and of a control element 3 as a switchover unit 22. The switchover unit 22 can have two or three (or more than three) switching positions, for example for each of the two (or a plurality of) outflow elements 2 (i.e. at least two switching positions) and/or a common switching position for both outflow elements 2 (third switching position).

[0090] FIG. 11 shows a further sanitary functional assembly 15 according to the invention which, like the embodiment of FIG. 9, has three supply connectors 16. Wherein the number of supply connectors can be easily changed to more or fewer than three. For example, the supply connector 24 here can be a cold water connector, the supply connector 25 can be a sparkling water connector, thus for carbonated water, and the supply connector 26 can be a hot water connector, in particular for boiling water. Each supply connector 16 is connected to one control element 3 way of a connection element 4. In this example, all control elements 3 are configured as shut-off valves which are controllable by way of a manual operating element 13, for instance a push button (for example having a push-push mechanism).

[0091] The embodiment moreover has three outflow elements 2 which by way of a connection element 4 are in each case connected to one of the control elements 3. In this way, each supply connector 16 is routed to a separate outflow element 2. In this way, a beverage station in which the different beverages are strictly separated can be configured, for instance. As a result, an improved allocation may be possible and a spatial separation can take place.

[0092] The functional assembly 15 can be configured in a manner similar as is shown in FIG. 7, for example.

[0093] FIG. 6 by way of example shows the component parts of a sanitary construction kit 1 according to the invention, from which the sanitary functional assemblies 15 described can be formed, wherein for the purpose of visualizing the idea, only a limited number of copies of the component parts are in each case shown here. Connection locations 28 for connecting the connection elements 4 can in each case be seen.

[0094] The invention thus relates in particular to a sanitary construction kit 1, having at least one outflow element 2, at least one control element 3, and at least one connection element 4 by way of which the outflow element 2 is fluidically connectable to the control element 3, wherein at least two functionally dissimilar control elements 3 which selectively are fluidically connectable individually or conjointly to the outflow element 2 are comprised.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0095] 1 Sanitary construction kit [0096] 2 Outflow element [0097] 3 Control element [0098] 4 Connection element [0099] 5 Distributor [0100] 6 Sensor [0101] 7 Actuator [0102] 8 Flow heater [0103] 9 Current generator [0104] 10 Fastening element [0105] 11 Functional carrier [0106] 12 Bifurcation element [0107] 13 Manual operating element [0108] 14 Electric storage [0109] 15 Sanitary functional assembly [0110] 16 Supply connector [0111] 17 Item of furniture [0112] 18 Sanitary installation [0113] 19 Wasser circuit; water line system [0114] 20 Channel [0115] 21 Light [0116] 22 Switchover unit [0117] 23 Combination unit [0118] 24 Cold water connector [0119] 25 Warm water connector [0120] 26 Hot water connector [0121] 27 Mixer unit [0122] 28 Plug-in location