Showerhead with pin plate
AssigneeKohler Co.
InventorHiroyuki Chanseol Muraoka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spray head includes a front cover, a spray plate, and an actuator. The front cover includes a plurality of exit openings. The spray plate is oriented substantially parallel to the front cover. The spray plate includes a pin that is aligned with at least one exit opening of the plurality of exit openings. The pin is configured to selectively engage with the at least one exit opening to control a flow of water through the at least one exit opening. The actuator is coupled to the spray plate and is configured to reposition the spray plate relative to the front cover based on user input.
Claims20
A spray head, comprising:
- a front cover comprising a plurality of openings;
- a spray plate comprising a protrusion, the protrusion engageable with at least one opening of the plurality of openings to control a flow of water through the at least one opening between a plurality of spray modes;
- and
- a flexible gasket disposed between the front cover and the spray plate, the protrusion configured to engage the flexible gasket in at least one spray mode of the plurality of spray modes to generate a first spray pattern.
A spray head, comprising:
- a front cover comprising a plurality of openings;
- a spray plate comprising a protrusion, the protrusion engageable with-at least one of the plurality of openings to control a flow of water through the at least one opening between a plurality of spray modes;
- and
- an actuator coupled to the spray plate, wherein in at least one operating mode of the spray head the actuator is configured to move the spray plate toward and away from the front cover periodically to intermittently engage and disengage the protrusion with the at least one opening.
A spray head, comprising:
- a front cover comprising a plurality of openings;
- a spray plate engageable with the front cover to control a spray pattern produced at the plurality of openings between a plurality of spray modes based on a spacing between the spray plate and the front cover, the spray plate comprising a protrusion;
- and
- a flexible gasket disposed between the front cover and the spray plate, the protrusion configured to engage the flexible gasket in at least one spray mode of the plurality of spray modes to generate a first spray pattern.
A spray head, comprising:
- a front cover comprising a plurality of openings;
- a spray plate engageable with the front cover to control a spray pattern produced at the plurality of openings between a plurality of spray modes based on a spacing between the spray plate and the front cover;
- and
- an actuator coupled to the spray plate and configured to move the spray plate to adjust the spacing between at least a portion of the spray plate and the front cover, wherein in at least one of the plurality of spray modes the actuator is configured to move the spray plate toward and away from the front cover periodically.
A method, comprising:
- moving, by an actuator, a spray plate comprising a protrusion to a first position relative to a front cover to produce a first spray pattern, the moving comprising engaging the protrusion with a flexible gasket disposed between the front cover and the spray plate to produce the first spray pattern;
- and
- repositioning, by the actuator in response to user input, the spray plate toward the front cover to engage the protrusion with at least one opening of a plurality of openings on the front cover to produce a second spray pattern having a lower flow rate than the first spray pattern.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.