Friedrich Grohe Aktiengesellschaft

Harald Dickel

Bruno Heimann

Jurgen Humpert

Eckhard Gransow

A faucet has a tubular faucet arm, a water-pressurizable hose in the arm having an outer end, and a head housing mounted on the hose outer end, extending along an axis, formed with a radially throughgoing slot, and dimensioned to be grasped in one hand. Body structure in the head communicates with the hose outer end and forms first and second valve seats and a nozzle assembly mounted on the body structure forms a first outlet communicating with the first valve seat and a second outlet communicating with the second valve seat. A valve element is displaceable in the body structure between a first end position engaging the first seat and diverting flow from the hose to the first outlet and a second end position engaging the second seat and diverting flow from the hose to the second outlet. A lever partially projecting through the slot from the housing is pivoted on the body structure. This lever is coupled to the valve element for displacing it from the first and position to the second end position on depression of the lever toward the housing. Normally a spring is braced between the body structure and the valve element to urge the valve element into the first end position.

Dual-flow faucet head

A valve assembly has a housing having an abutment and a valve cartridge in the housing having an actuating stem displaceable about a flow-control axis for varying a flow rate between a maximum flow and a minimum flow and about a temperature-control axis for varying temperature of the flow. A handle connected to the stem carries another abutment engageable with the housing abutment in a position of the valve cartridge corresponding to partial flow through the cartridge. A deflectable override button on the handle is operable to displace the handle abutment out of engagement with the housing abutment.

Single-lever mixing valve with override

A shield is used in combination with a wall having an outer surface and formed with a throughgoing hole having an edge and with a plumbing fixture almost entirely recessed behind the wall surface and having a control part projecting forward through the hole past the surface. The shield is elastically deformable waterproof and is formed unitarily with a cup-shaped body generally surrounding the plumbing fixture and with an annular bellows-type cuff surrounding the control part and having a rear edge unitarily joined to the body and a front edge fixed to the wall surface at the hole edge. The plumbing fixture also has a laterally projecting connection nipple behind the wall adapted to be mated with a pipe behind the wall and the body is formed with a laterally throughgoing orifice fitted tightly around the nipple. Furthermore the shield is unitarily formed with an annular flange projecting laterally from the front edge of the cuff and fixed to the wall surface at the hole edge.

Leak shield for recessed valve

An escutcheon used with a plumbing fixture that is recessed in a wall and that has a part projecting through the wall itself has a plate shaped to fit around the part flatly against the wall and formed offset from the part with a throughgoing hole. Structure fixed relative to the fixture forms a throughgoing hole offset from the part snugly receiving a radially expansible anchor tube also extending through the plate hole and having an enlarged head lying against an outer face of the plate. A screw engaged in the tube radially expands same into tight engagement with the structure hole.

Growing community of inventors

Iserlohn, Germany

Harald Dickel