Mixer tap

Claim 1

In a mixer tap comprising means defining a body having a chamber and an end wall which defines a part of the chamber; means defining an outlet for the chamber; means defining two inlet apertures in side-by-side spaced relation opening onto the end wall; valve actuating means comprising a rigid hard slide defining a flat valving surface, a spherical ball mounted relative to the body to pivot about the centre of the ball, a rod carried by the ball, and means connecting the ball to the slide whereby the rod is capable of shifting the slide in directions parallel to the valving surface; means for supporting the slide in the chamber and allowing the slide to move in directions parallel to the valving surface while maintaining a given orientation of the slide relative to the inlet apertures: the improvement comprising in combination two rigid hard tubular seats respectively mounted to be slidable axially of the seats in the two inlet apertures and having rigid hard flat first ends defining inlet ports slidably and sealingly engaging the valving surface and opposite second ends, the inlet apertures defining inner shoulder means spaced from the second ends of the seats axially of the seats, a resiliently yieldable self-sealing assembly interposed between and in a compressed state between the second end of each seat and the corresponding shoulder means and radially sealingly engaging the corresponding inlet aperture whereby the seat is sealingly combined with the inlet aperture and has its first end biased gainst the valving surface, the support means providing a rigid abutment for the slide in a direction perpendicular to the valving surface, the slide having an outer contour which has two contour portions defining two lateral notches which extend the entire thickness of the slide and constitute valving edges of said flat valving surface which are respectively cooperable with the two ports to be capable of selectively closing for zero flow and uncovering for maximum flow the two ports selectively simultaneously and separately according to the orientation of the rod about the centre of the ball, the parts of the ports and seats uncovered by the slide valving edges of the notches being outside said outer contour of the slide.