US 4,709,715 AGranted

Retractable pre-rinse unit with automatic shutoff

AssigneeHayes-Ivy Manufacturing, Inc.

InventorSilsby H. Knight

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Abstract

A pre-rinse unit incorporates a normally closed water shutoff valve connected to the lower end of a vertical riser pipe carrying a source of water. An outer tube is rotatably and longitudinally slidable on the riser pipe. A pair of rotatable arms are mounted for rotation at one end to the upper end of the vertical riser pipe above the outer tube for rotation about a horizontal axis and the arms carry cams contacting a cam follower ring whose lower surface abuts the outer tube. A concentric coil spring surrounding the vertical riser pipe and interiorly of the hollow tube, abuts a lower collar fixed to the riser pipe, interiorly of the tube, at its lower end and its upper end abuts the cam follower ring. Stop means carried by the riser pipe limits pivoting of the arms. At the outboard end of the arms, a hollow sleeve fixed to the arms at right angles thereto slidably receives a flexible hose connected at one end to the upper end of the riser pipe, whose opposite end bears a urethane foam insulated handle and spray head assembly. A set screw carried by the sleeve adjustably locks the hose to the arms and determines the vertical height position of the spray head. A cam fixed to the lower end of the hollow tube contacts a cam follower on a pivotable lever having an end remote from the cam follower which bears on a spring biased plunger of the shutoff valve to automatically open the shutoff valve in response to downward movement of the outer tube upon rotation of the paired arms by pull down of the handle and spray head assembly. Automatic termination of water supply occurs upon release of the handle and spray head assembly and reverse rotation of said paired arms.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A retractable pre-rinse unit comprising a vertical upright tubular assembly comprising a fixed vertical internal riser pipe having upper and lower ends, an outer tube of a diameter in excess of that of said riser pipe, a normally closed water shutoff valve connected to said internal riser pipe at the lower end thereof for connecting to a source of water, means for mounting said outer tube concentrically on said vertical riser pipe above said shutoff valve for movement axially and for rotation about its axis on said riser pipe, a flexible hose fixably connected at one end coaxially to the upper end of said riser pipe, a spray head fixably coupled to the other end of said hose, means rotatably mounted to the upper end of said fixed vertical internal riser pipe for supporting said hose in arcuate, semi-loop form with said spray head pointing downwardly and to a side of said tubular assembly for raising and lowering said spray head parallel to said vertical upright tubular assembly and being spaced laterally therefrom, spring biasing means mounted externally of said internal riser pipe and operatively engaging said outer tube for biasing said outer tube upwardly away from said valve, stop means carried by said vertical riser pipe for limiting vertical movement of said outer tube away from said valve, means responsive to outer tube movement axially on said vertical internal riser pipe toward said shutoff valve and against said spring biasing means for opening said normally closed shutoff valve, and cam means carried by said hose supporting means and operatively engaging said outer tube for effecting vertical movement of said outer tube on said riser pipe against the bias of said spring biasing means in response to manual pull down of the spray head to open said normally closed valve.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.