Water saving shower head

A self-cleaning, water saver shower head which is adjustable between a drip flow condition, a fine spray, a powerful spray and a heavy, pulsating rinse stream comprising:

• an elongated, substantially hollow housing having an axial inlet port at one end for admitting water, a plurality of radial outlet ports adjacent the opposite end for expelling water and an interior mixing chamber in communication with the inlet port and the radial outlet ports;
• first cavitation means disposed at the inlet for inducing cavitation in a stream of water passing therethrough and second cavitation inducing means disposed at the radial outlet ports for inducing cavitation in a stream of water passing therethrough;
• a hollow sleeve rotatably mounted on the exterior of said housing surrounding the radial outlet ports, said sleeve including spray diffusing means extending axially outwardly from the ends of said housing adjacent the radial ports for collecting streams of water from said radial ports and dispensing the same in a spray pattern, said sleeve also mounting spray adjustment means disposed between the radial ports and said diffusing means for changing the spray pattern from said diffusing means responsive to rotation of said sleeve about said housing;
• said sleeve further comprising an internal throat, an internal converging chamber upstream of the throat, and an internal diverging chamber downstream of the throat, said diverging chamber opening into a diffusing flange which forms the spray outlet of said head, the radial outlet ports of said housing being disposed within said sleeve upstream of the converging chamber;
• said spray adjustment means further comprising a frustroconical plunger formed by the end of said housing adjacent the radial outlet ports and disposed downstream of the ports adjacent the throat whereby as said sleeve is rotated on said housing the plunger will move, selectively, into or out of the throat thereby changing the spray pattern therethrough;
• and
• drip constricting means surrounding said housing between the plunger and the radial outlets for engaging the surface of the converging chamber when the plunger is fully received in the throat to constrict the flow of water therethrough to a drip
• said drip constriction means comprising a flange extending radially outwardly from said housing, the peripheral surface of said flange defining knurled serrations so that when said flange seals against the converging chamber surface of said sleeve adjacent the throat the flow of water through said shower head will be restricted to a drip.