Nozzle control for spray head assembly

A spray head assembly comprising a housing shell, a movable actuator arm including a handle and an actuator shaft, said housing shell defining a spray-head compartment into which said actuator shaft of said actuator arm extends and from which liquid is sprayed through at least one spray-nozzle pore, and a liquid-supply pipe defining a liquid-supply passageway leading into said spray-head compartment, wherein the assembly further includes:

• a resilient poppet member positioned inside said liquid-supply passageway for being moved away from a valve seat having a valve-seat passageway therethrough for allowing flow of water from said water-supply passageway into said spray-head compartment, said poppet member being driven closed by liquid flow toward said spray-head compartment;
• a rigid valve shaft extending from said spray-head compartment through said valve-seat passageway to said poppet member for moving said poppet member away from said valve seat against liquid flow in said liquid-supply passageway;
• a mechanical movement transmitter coupled between said actuator shaft and said valve shaft for transmitting motion from said actuator shaft into axial motion of said valve shaft to thereby move said poppet member away from said valve seat when said handle of said actuator arm is moved;
• wherein is further included a relatively-rigid, annularly-shaped, separate flange, mounted on said valve shaft extending radially outwardly from said valve shaft, said flange having a bearing face for impinging on a sealing face of said poppet member directed substantially toward said valve seat and having a maximum outer diameter which is only slightly smaller than an inner diameter of said valve-seat passageway whereby said separate flange almost completely fills said valve-seat passageway so as to significantly impede a flow of liquid through said valve-seat passableway;
• wherein said valve shaft has at least two different diameter portions so as to form a shoulder at a transition between a larger diameter portion and a smaller diameter portion, said separate flange having a central opening which is large enough for receiving said smaller diameter portion but which is not large enough for receiving said larger diameter portion so that said separate flange impinges against said shoulder, said valve poppet having a hole therein for receiving an end of said smaller diameter portion for holding the valve poppet on said smaller diameter portion of said valve shaft and impinging on said flange to hold said flange on said valve shaft.