Ceramic disk faucet

Claim 2

A faucet valve for controlling the rate of flow of fluid between a first conduit and a second conduit to be coupled to the valve, comprising first and second ceramic disks in contact with each other so as to have a common interface, the first disk having only two apertures for the flow of fluid, means in the valve to hold said first disk against rotation, said two apertures extending through said disk and coupled respectively to said first and second conduits, the second disk having an elongated unapertured cavity at the common interface of sufficient length and depth so as to provide the sole coupling between the two apertures, manually controlled means peripherally coupled to the second disk for slidably rotating the second disk about a single axis always perpendicular to the common interface for changing the position of its cavity with respect to both apertures and thereby adjusting the fluid flow rate, said manually controlled means including a substantially cylindrical rotary stem mechanically retaining the second disk at one end of said stem, said manually controlled means including means to prevent any motion other than rotary motion of the second disk and to prevent any change in the spacing between the two disks, and resilient means for applying pressure against one of the disks for continuously maintaining the two disks in physical contact with each other at the interface during all changes in pressure of the incoming fluid and during all rotations of the second disk.

Claim 3

A faucet valve according to claim 1 in which the manipulation of the stem controls only the angular rotation of the second disk, the valve including a substantially cylindrical collar within which the stem is confined so that the second disk is slidably rotatable solely about its axis.

Claim 4

A faucet valve according to claim 2 including a housing enclosing the first and second disks and the lower segment of the stem, the resilient means including cylindrical elastomer rings inserted within said apertures of said first disk to apply pressure to the first disk to maintain it in contact with the second disk at the interface, and a cap for supporting said elastomer rings and holding said elastomer rings against the first disk.

Claim 5

A faucet valve according to claim 3 including a handle coupled to the upper segment of the stem for manually imparting rotation to the stem.

Claim 6

A valve for the control of the rate of flow of fluid through a plumbing fitting, comprising a longitudinal non-translatory stem which is rotatable and movable only about its axis without being movable in any other direction, a rotatable solid disk affixed to the base of said stem and rotatable through an angle corresponding to the angle of rotation of the stem and having a longitudinal fluid coupling cavity therein, a stationary solid disk having two parallel identical apertures therein for for the flow of the controllable fluid therethrough, the rotatable disk being slidable along the adjacent surface of the stationary disk, means for applying pressure between the two disks for maintaining the two disks in continuous slidable contact with each other and independent of the fluid pressure whenever the stem is axially rotated, the cavity of the rotatable disk being variably and adjustably alignable with the two apertures of the stationary disk and variably and adjustably dis-aligned with said apertures upon the axial rotation of the stem, the cavity providing the coupling between the two apertures to control the flow of fluid through and between said apertures, two conduits respectively coupled to the two apertures of the stationary disk, one of the apertures being supplied with pressurized water and the other aperture exiting the pressurized water received from the first aperture and transmitted through the cavity of the rotatable disk, said means for maintaining the two disks in continuous slidable contact including a housing having a collar within which the stem is guided to enable the stem to be moved only in rotation about its axis for holding the rotatable disk against movement other than rotary movement, and a stationary abutment means for limiting the angular rotations of the stem and the rotatable disk, said latter means comprising projections on said stem and corresponding curvatures about the rim of the rotatable disk.

Claim 7

A valve for the control of the rate of flow of fluid through a plumbing fitting, comprising a longitudinal non-translatory stem which is rotatable and movable only about its axis without being movable in any other direction, a rotatable solid disk affixed to the base of said stem and rotatable through an angle corresponding to the angle of rotation of the stem and having a longitudinal fluid coupling cavity therein, a stationary solid disk having two parallel identical apertures therein for for the flow of the controllable fluid therethrough, the rotatable disk being slidable along the adjacent surface of the stationary disk, means for applying pressure between the two disks for maintaining the two disks in continuous slidable contact with each other and independent of the fluid pressure whenever the stem is axially rotated, the cavity of the rotatable disk being variably and adjustably alignable with the two apertures of the stationary disk and variably and adjustably dis-aligned with said apertures upon the axial rotation of the stem, the cavity providing the coupling between the two apertures to control the flow of fluid through and between said apertures, two conduits respectively coupled to the two apertures of the stationary disk, one of the apertures being supplied with pressurized water and the other aperture exiting the pressurized water received from the first aperture and transmitted through the cavity of the rotatable disk, said means for maintaining the two disks in continuous slidable contact including a housing having a collar within which the stem is guided to enable the stem to be moved only in rotation about its axis for holding the rotatable disk against movement other than rotary movement, and a stationary abutment means for limiting the angular rotations of the stem and the rotatable disk, said latter means comprising projections on said stem and corresponding curvatures about the rim of the rotatable disk.

Claim 8

A valve for the control of the rate of flow of fluid through a plumbing fitting, comprising first and second solid disks stacked together so as to be in continuous contact with each other, the first disk having a first aperture for the reception of fluid and a second substantially equal aperture for the discharge of the received fluid, an abutment means for holding the first disk stationary, the second disk having a cavity but no apertures, the cavity of the second disk fluidically coupling the two apertures to each other, a rotatable longitudinal stem the end of which has means to hold said stem perpendicular to the second disk to slidably rotate the second disk about its axis and along the adjacent surface of the first disk and to control the angle of slidable rotation of the second disk upon the surface of the first disk, the two disks being held in contact with each other throughout each rotation of the second disk, the valve having means to hold the stem non-movable longitudinally so as to maintain the surface contact between the two disks unchanged and to prevent any motion of the second disk except its rotary motion, whereby the rotation of the second disk in response to the rotation of the stem will control the volume of fluid flow from said first aperture through said cavity and exiting through said second aperture.

Claim 9

A valve for the control of the rate of flow of fluid through a plumbing fitting, comprising first and second solid disks stacked together so as to be in continuous contact with each other, the first disk having a first aperture for the reception of fluid and a second substantially equal aperture for the discharge of the received fluid, an abutment means for holding the first disk stationary, the second disk having a cavity but no apertures, the cavity of the second disk fluidically coupling the two apertures to each other, a rotatable longitudinal stem the end of which has means to hold said stem perpendicular to the second disk to slidably rotate the second disk about its axis and along the adjacent surface of the first disk and to control the angle of slidable rotation of the second disk upon the surface of the first disk, the two disks being held in contact with each other throughout each rotation of the second disk, the valve having means to hold the stem non-movable longitudinally so as to maintain the surface contact between the two disks unchanged and to prevent any motion of the second disk except its rotary motion, whereby the rotation of the second disk in response to the rotation of the stem will control the volume of fluid flow from said first aperture through said cavity and exiting through said second aperture.

Claim 10

A valve according to claim 6, in which the cavity of the second disk is formed to have a plurality of steps having ridges for reducing the noise developed by the flow of fluid through the cavity.

Claim 11

A valve according to claim 7, including elastomer means for applying pressure between the two disks to maintain them in continuous contact with each other during the rotations of the stem and the second disk.

Claim 12

A valve according to claim 8, including a housing for enclosing and retaining the stem and the two disks in their respective positions, said housing providing the abutment means an abutment for holding the first disk continuously against any movement.

Claim 13

A valve according to claim 9 in which the disks are made of alumina ceramic material.

Claim 14

A valve according to claim 10 including a thrust washer interposed between the stem and the housing, said washer having a low coefficient of friction.

Claim 15

A valve for a plumbing fitting for the control of the rate of the flow of fluid through the fitting, comprising a longitudinal stem which is rotatable about its axis but is not movable in any other direction along its axis, a first solid disk having a first aperture for receiving fluid and a second substantially identical aperture for discharging the received fluid, means for holding the first disk stationary, means for adjustably coupling the apertures of the first disk to each other to control the rate of flow of fluid between said apertures, said coupling means including a second solid disk having a cavity therein but no aperture so that fluid may flow from said first aperture through the cavity and out of the second aperture, said second disk having at least one projection which mates with a corresponding projection formed on one end of said stem so that, in response to any rotation of said stem about its axis, said second disk will slidably rotate about an axis and along the surface of the first disk to change the position of said cavity between the apertures of the first disk to control the fluid flow rate through the valve, and a stationary cylindrical collar within which the stem is rotatable to prevent any non-axial rotation of the stem and of the second disk.

Claim 16

A valve for a plumbing fitting for the control of the rate of the flow of fluid through the fitting, comprising a longitudinal stem which is rotatable about its axis but is not movable in any other direction along its axis, a first solid disk having a first aperture for receiving fluid and a second substantially identical aperture for discharging the received fluid, means for holding the first disk stationary, means for adjustably coupling the apertures of the first disk to each other to control the rate of flow of fluid between said apertures, said coupling means including a second solid disk having a cavity therein but no aperture so that fluid may flow from said first aperture through the cavity and out of the second aperture, said second disk having at least one projection which mates with a corresponding projection formed on one end of said stem so that, in response to any rotation of said stem about its axis, said second disk will slidably rotate about an axis and along the surface of the first disk to change the position of said cavity between the apertures of the first disk to control the fluid flow rate through the valve, and a stationary cylindrical collar within which the stem is rotatable to prevent any non-axial rotation of the stem and of the second disk.

Claim 17

A valve according to claim 12 including means supported beneath the first disk for continuously holding the first disk stationary, and for applying pressure against the first disk to hold it in continuous contact with the second disk throughout all rotations of the second disk.

Claim 18

A valve according to claim 13 including first and second elastomer cylindrical units which are larger in their external diameters than the diameters of the apertures of the first disk and are positioned between the first disk and the support means so as to be coaxially within the respective first and second apertures, said cylindrical units applying continuous mechanical pressure between the support means and the first disk.

Claim 19

A valve according to claim 14, including a housing for enclosing the two disks and the stem but apertured for exposing the upper end of the stem so that it may be manually rotated about a single axis to control the volume flow rate through the valve.

Claim 20

A valve according to claim 15, including a handle which is affixed to the upper end of the stem to be manipulated to control the rotary movement of the stem

Claim 21

A faucet valve for controlling the rate of flow of fluid between a first conduit and a second conduit to be coupled to the valve, comprising first and second ceramic disks in contact with each other so as to have a common interface, the first disk having two apertures extending through said disk and coupled respectively to said first and second conduits, the second disk having an elongated unapertured cavity at the common interface of sufficient length and depth so as to provide the sole coupling between the two apertures, manually controlled means peripherally coupled to the second disk for slidably rotating the second disk about a single axis always perpendicular to the common interface for adjusting the fluid flow rate without rotating the first disk and without changing the spacing between the two disks, resilient means for applying pressure against one of the disks for continuously maintaining the two disks in physical contact with each other at the interface during all changes in pressure of the incoming fluid and during all rotations of the second disk, said manually controlled means includes a substantially cylindrical rotary stem mechanically retaining the second disk at one end of said stem to control the angular rotation of the second disk and also includes a substantially cylindrical collar within which the stem is confined so that the stem is slidably rotatable solely about the same axis, a housing enclosing the first and second disks and the lower segment of the stem, elastomer means inserted within said apertures of said first disk to apply pressure to the first disk to maintain it in contact with the second disk at the interface, a cap for supporting said elastomer means and holding said elastomer means against the first disk, and a handle coupled to the upper segment of the stem manually imparting rotation to the stem, the base of the stem and the second disk having projections for limiting the slidable rotation of the second disk and the angular rotation of the stem and for Mechanically coupling both disks to each other.

Claim 22

A faucet valve for controlling the rate of flow of fluid between a first conduit and a second conduit to be coupled to the valve, comprising first and second ceramic disks in contact with each other so as to have a common interface, the first disk having two apertures extending through said disk and coupled respectively to said first and second conduits, the second disk having an elongated unapertured cavity at the common interface of sufficient length and depth so as to provide the sole coupling between the two apertures, manually controlled means peripherally coupled to the second disk for slidably rotating the second disk about a single axis always perpendicular to the common interface for adjusting the fluid flow rate without rotating the first disk and without changing the spacing between the two disks, resilient means for applying pressure against one of the disks for continuously maintaining the two disks in physical contact with each other at the interface during all changes in pressure of the incoming fluid and during all rotations of the second disk, said manually controlled means includes a substantially cylindrical rotary stem mechanically retaining the second disk at one end of said stem to control the angular rotation of the second disk and also includes a substantially cylindrical collar within which the stem is confined so that the stem is slidably rotatable solely about the same axis, a housing enclosing the first and second disks and the lower segment of the stem, elastomer means inserted within said apertures of said first disk to apply pressure to the first disk to maintain it in contact with the second disk at the interface, a cap for supporting said elastomer means and holding said elastomer means against the first disk, and a handle coupled to the upper segment of the stem manually imparting rotation to the stem, the base of the stem and the second disk having projections for limiting the slidable rotation of the second disk and the angular rotation of the stem and for Mechanically coupling both disks to each other.