Laminar-flow spout-end devices

Claim 2

A non-aerated fluid flow device for a water spout for a plumbing fixture and capable of producing and continuously emitting a substantially splashless coordinated stream of water free of air or other gas, said device including a plurality of elongated nozzle sections which are all substantially cylindrical in shape and of the same diameter and splashlessly discharging all of the water received by the device without air or other gas, all of said nozzle sections being positioned peripherally about the axis of the device and all pitched at a common predetermined angle with respect to said axis, and a plurality of screens seated and stacked on a chamfered ridge of the device immediately upstream of the plurality of nozzle sections and positioned substantially symmetrically across all of the openings of all of the nozzle sections, so that solid foreign material will be filtered out and prevented from passing through the nozzle sections.

Claim 3

A fluid flow device according to claim 1 in which the bottom of the device is substantially spherical in shape so that all of the nozzle sections will have substantially the same length, notwithstanding their pitched orientations.

Claim 4

A fluid flow device according to claim 2 in which each of said plurality of screens is held within a retaining ring so that said screens are cross-meshed and held together while remaining equally spaced from each other and so that they may be seated above the chamfers of the nozzle sections.

Claim 5

A fluid flow device according to claim 2, in which said plurality of screens are larger than the chamfered ridge and become seated on the chamfered ridge by being pushed into place, the screens thereby having a spherical formation all pointed in the downstream direction.

Claim 6

A fluid flow device according to claim 4 including, in addition, a strainer which is held within a retainer positioned on and above the screens.

Claim 7

A fluid flow device according to claim 2 in which each of the screens has the same cross-mesh but the cross-meshes are oriented at different angles with respect to each other and are held oriented at said different angles.

Claim 8

A fluid flow device according to claim 6 in which the exterior of the device is longitudinally serrated so that the device may be rotated for engaging with or disengaging from a spout.

Claim 9

A non-aerated fluid flow device for continuously producing a substantially splash-less stream of water at normal velocities of water flow therethrough without the addition of air or other gas, comprising a body which may be connected to a spout, said body having a plurality of elongated longitudinal nozzle sections one of which is coaxial with the body and all of the others of which are pitched at substantially the same angle with respect to the central nozzle section, the lengths of the sections being substantially equal, and means immediately up-stream of the nozzle sections for filtering the water to prevent solid foreign material from traversing the nozzle sections of the device, said filtering means comprising a pore foam filter positioned laterally of the device across all of said nozzle sections, whereby all of the water entering the device will be discharged splashlessly through the nozzle sections without air or other gas.

Claim 10

A non-aerated fluid flow device for continuously producing a substantially splash-less stream of water at normal velocities of water flow therethrough without the addition of air or other gas, comprising a body which may be connected to a spout, said body having a plurality of elongated longitudinal nozzle sections one of which is coaxial with the body and all of the others of which are pitched at substantially the same angle with respect to the central nozzle section, the lengths of the sections being substantially equal, and means immediately up-stream of the nozzle sections for filtering the water to prevent solid foreign material from traversing the nozzle sections of the device, said filtering means comprising a pore foam filter positioned laterally of the device across all of said nozzle sections, whereby all of the water entering the device will be discharged splashlessly through the nozzle sections without air or other gas.

Claim 11

A fluid flow device according to claim 8 in which each of the nozzle sections is chamfered at its upper end so as to centralize the transmission of water through the respective nozzle sections, the filtering means being seated above all of the chamfers of said nozzle sections.

Claim 12

A non-aerated spout for a plumbing fixture having an upstream inlet for continuously receiving incoming water free of air or other gas for transmission, comprising a plurality of sUbstantially identical elongated cylindrical nozzle sections the upstream ends of which are chamfered and receive the incoming water, one of the nozzle sections being positioned axially of said spout, the other of said nozzle sections being positioned peripherally of said axial nozzle section, but their axes being pitched at a common predetermined angle with respect to the axis of said spout so that the angle of each peripheral spout section will diverge and have its apex at a common point along a line which extends up-stream of the axis of said spout, so that the spout will continuously emit a coordinated group of divergent water streams free of air or other gas through the downstream ends of the nozzle sections, and a plurality of screens each formed of wires which are perpendicular to each other, the wires of each screen being oriented at a different angle from the angles of the other screens, the screens being seated adjacent to each other immediately up-stream of said nozzle sections on chamfers at the upstream ends of said nozzle sections.

Claim 13

A non-aerated spout for a plumbing fixture having an upstream inlet for continuously receiving incoming water free of air or other gas for transmission, comprising a plurality of sUbstantially identical elongated cylindrical nozzle sections the upstream ends of which are chamfered and receive the incoming water, one of the nozzle sections being positioned axially of said spout, the other of said nozzle sections being positioned peripherally of said axial nozzle section, but their axes being pitched at a common predetermined angle with respect to the axis of said spout so that the angle of each peripheral spout section will diverge and have its apex at a common point along a line which extends up-stream of the axis of said spout, so that the spout will continuously emit a coordinated group of divergent water streams free of air or other gas through the downstream ends of the nozzle sections, and a plurality of screens each formed of wires which are perpendicular to each other, the wires of each screen being oriented at a different angle from the angles of the other screens, the screens being seated adjacent to each other immediately up-stream of said nozzle sections on chamfers at the upstream ends of said nozzle sections.