Direct access spray selection engine for water delivery devices
AssigneeKohler Co.
InventorsEvan Yee, Brian S. Core
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A water delivery device includes an inlet connector, a sprayface assembly, and a selection engine. The inlet connector is configured to couple the water delivery device to a water supply. The sprayface assembly includes a plurality of nozzles that are configured to produce a plurality of spray patterns. The selection engine fluidly couples the inlet connector to the sprayface assembly and controls flow to each one of the plurality of nozzles to determine the spray pattern produced at the sprayface assembly. The selection engine is configured to switch directly from any one of the plurality of spray patterns to any other one of the plurality of spray patterns in response to a single actuation of the selection engine.
Claims20
A water delivery device, comprising:
- an inlet connector for coupling the water delivery device to a water supply;
- a sprayface assembly comprising a plurality of nozzles that are configured to produce at least three spray patterns;
- and
- a selection engine and controlling flow to the plurality of nozzles to determine the spray pattern produced at the sprayface assembly, the selection engine including:
- a housing fluidly coupling the inlet connector to the sprayface assembly;
- a plurality of valve elements disposed within the housing;
- and
- an actuator coupled to the plurality of valve elements and configured move each of the plurality of valve elements in response to a single actuation to switch directly from any one of the at least three spray patterns to any other one of the at least three spray patterns.
A selection engine for a water delivery device, comprising:
- a housing defining a bore, an inlet port, and a plurality of outlet ports fluidly coupled to the inlet port by the bore;
- and
- a pivot plate disposed in the bore and pivotably coupled to the housing, the pivot plate comprising a plurality of plugs, each plug configured to selectively fluidly couple the inlet port to a respective one of the plurality of outlet ports.
A selection engine for a water delivery device, comprising:
- a housing defining a bore, an inlet port, and at least four outlet ports;
- and
- a plurality of disks rotatably received in the bore, the inlet port selectively fluidly coupled to a first pair of the at least four outlet ports by a first disk of the plurality of disks, and is selectively fluidly coupled to a second pair of the at least four outlet ports by a second disk of the plurality of disks, the first disk arranged in parallel with the second disk.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.