Shower system
AssigneeKohler Co.
InventorsChad J. Cochart, Douglas J. Brouwer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shower system includes a shower waterway and a fluid control valve. The shower waterway is configured to be coupled to a shower device. The fluid control valve is coupled to the shower waterway and comprises a valve body and a piston. The valve body includes a chamber and a reservoir. The piston is slidably coupled to the valve body and fluidly separates the chamber from the reservoir. The chamber includes a compressible gas. The piston is configured to slidably translate within the valve body to compress the compressible gas in response to a water pressure fluctuation in the shower waterway.
Claims20
A residential plumbing system comprising:
- a waterway;
- and
- a fluid control valve coupled to the waterway and comprising a hot water inlet, a cold water inlet, a mixing valve, and a water outlet, the fluid control valve further comprising:
- a valve body located along a portion of the waterway that extends within the fluid control valve between the mixing valve and the water outlet, the valve body including a chamber and a reservoir, the chamber including a compressible gas;
- and
- a piston coupled to the valve body, wherein the piston fluidly separates the chamber from the reservoir;
- wherein the piston is configured to compress the compressible gas in response to a water pressure change in the waterway.
A residential plumbing system comprising:
- a fluid control valve configured to be coupled to a waterway, wherein the fluid control valve comprises:
- a hot water inlet configured to receive a hot water feed, a cold water inlet configured to receive a cold water feed, a mixing valve configured to selectively fluidly couple the hot water feed and the cold water feed, and at least one water outlet configured to discharge a flow of water from the fluid control valve, wherein a portion of the waterway extends within the fluid control valve;
- a valve body including a chamber and a reservoir, the valve body located along the portion of the waterway that extends within the fluid control valve;
- and
- a piston slidably coupled to the valve body, wherein the piston fluidly separates the chamber from the reservoir, and wherein the chamber includes a compressible gas;
- and
- wherein the piston is configured to slidably translate within the valve body to compress the compressible gas in response to a water pressure change in the residential plumbing system.
A fluid control valve for a residential plumbing system, the fluid control valve comprising:
- a hot water inlet configured to receive a hot water feed into the fluid control valve, a cold water inlet configured to receive a cold water feed into the fluid control valve, a mixing valve configured to selectively fluidly couple the hot water feed and the cold water feed, and at least one water outlet configured to discharge a flow of water from the fluid control valve, wherein a portion of a waterway extends within the fluid control valve between (i) at least one of the hot water inlet and the cold water inlet and (ii) the at least one water outlet;
- a valve body including a chamber and a reservoir, the valve body located along the portion of the waterway that extends within the fluid control valve between the mixing valve and the at least one water outlet;
- and
- a piston slidably coupled to the valve body, wherein the piston fluidly separates the chamber from the reservoir, and wherein the chamber includes a compressible gas;
- and
- wherein the piston is configured to slidably translate within the valve body to compress the compressible gas in response to a water pressure change in the residential plumbing system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.