Showerhead with remote porting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11278919-B2
Application number	US-201816188916-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 13, 2018
Priority date	Nov 13, 2017
Publication date	Mar 22, 2022
Grant date	Mar 22, 2022

Abstract

A showerhead may include a first plenum in fluid communication with a first group of nozzles, a second plenum in fluid communication with a second group of nozzles, and a water direction assembly in fluid communication with the first plenum, the second plenum, and a fluid inlet, and alternatingly fluidly connecting the first plenum and the second plenum with the fluid inlet. The water direction assembly may include a turbine and a shutter arranged to oscillate between positions, oscillation of the shutter alternatingly fluidly connecting the first and second plenums with the fluid inlet.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A showerhead comprising:
a first group of nozzles and a second group of nozzles;
a first plenum in fluid communication with the first group of nozzles, the first plenum including an inlet and a larger outlet laterally offset from the inlet;
a second plenum in fluid communication with the second group of nozzles, the second plenum including an inlet and a larger outlet laterally offset from the inlet; and
a water direction assembly in fluid communication with the first plenum, the second plenum, and a fluid inlet, the water direction assembly disposed upstream of the first plenum and the second plenum and alternatingly fluidly connecting the inlet of the first plenum and the inlet of the second plenum with the fluid inlet.

2. The showerhead of claim 1 , wherein:
fluid connection of the first plenum with the fluid inlet fluidly disconnects the second plenum from the fluid inlet; and
fluid connection of the second plenum with the fluid inlet fluidly disconnects the first plenum from the fluid inlet.

3. The showerhead of claim 1 , wherein the water direction assembly directs all of the water received from the fluid inlet at a first instance in time to the first plenum and directs all of the water received from the fluid inlet at a second instance of time to the second plenum.

4. The showerhead of claim 1 , further comprising a faceplate, wherein nozzles in the first group of nozzles are intermixed amongst nozzles in the second group of nozzles across the faceplate.

5. The showerhead of claim 1 , wherein the first group of nozzles and the second group of nozzles are positioned radially outward of the fluid inlet.

6. The showerhead of claim 1 , further comprising a first flow plate and a second flow plate collectively defining the first plenum and the second plenum.

7. The showerhead of claim 6 , wherein:
the first plenum and the second plenum are positioned on a first side of the first flow plate; and
the water direction assembly is positioned on a second side of the first flow plate opposite the first plenum and the second plenum.

8. The showerhead of claim 7 , wherein a plurality of ports are defined through the first plate to fluidly connect the first plenum and the second plenum with the fluid inlet via the water direction assembly.

9. The showerhead of claim 7 , wherein:
a first plurality of distribution apertures are defined through the second plate and are in fluid communication with the first plenum and the first group of nozzles; and
a second plurality of distribution apertures are defined through the second plate and are in fluid communication with the second plenum and the second group of nozzles.

10. The showerhead of claim 9 , wherein the first plurality of distribution apertures and the second plurality of distribution apertures are separated from each other by one or more blocking walls.

11. The showerhead of claim 1 , wherein the water direction assembly comprises a shutter that oscillates between a first position fluidly connecting the first plenum with the fluid inlet and a second position fluidly connecting the second plenum with the fluid inlet.

12. The showerhead of claim 11 , wherein the water direction assembly further comprises a turbine coupled to the shutter, rotation of the turbine oscillating the shutter between the first and second positions.

13. The showerhead of claim 12 , further comprising a cam eccentrically coupled to the turbine, the cam operable to oscillate the shutter between the first and second positions as the turbine rotates.

14. The showerhead of claim 1 , further comprising:
a faceplate;
a first bank of nozzles comprising the first group of nozzles and distributed along the faceplate;
a second bank of nozzles comprising the second group of nozzles and distributed along the faceplate amongst the first bank of nozzles;
a turbine;
a cam eccentrically coupled to the turbine; and
a shutter coupled to the cam such that eccentric movement of the cam oscillates the shutter to alternatingly fluidly connect the first and second banks of nozzles with a fluid inlet.

15. The showerhead of claim 14 , wherein:
the faceplate includes a plurality of nozzle rows spaced radially from one another; and
each nozzle row includes an equal number of nozzles from the first and second banks of nozzles.

16. The showerhead of claim 14 , wherein the nozzles of the first and second banks of nozzles include the same nozzle diameter.

17. The showerhead of claim 1 , wherein the first group of nozzles and the second group of nozzles are arranged as parallel linear nozzle rows.

18. The showerhead of claim 1 , wherein the first plenum and the second plenum are disposed laterally adjacent each other on a same level within the showerhead.

19. The showerhead of claim 1 , wherein the first plenum at least partially surrounds the second plenum.

20. The showerhead of claim 1 , further comprising a first nozzle chamber and a second nozzle chamber fluidly connecting the first plenum and the second plenum with the first group of nozzles and the second group of nozzles, respectively.

Assignees

• Water Pik Inc

Inventors

• Quinn Michael J
• Peterson Preston
• Rogers Craig

Classifications

• B05B1/1636 Primary

  by relative rotative movement of the valve elements (B05B1/1672 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B05B3/16

  driven or controlled by the liquid or other fluent material discharged, e.g. the liquid actuating a motor before passing to the outlet {(comprising liquid driven rotors wherein the rotation of the outlet element is reversible B05B3/0432; the outlet elements being rotated by a deflecting element successively moved into the discharged jet by the action of a biasing means and out of the discharged jet by the discharged jet with the rotation of the outlet elements being reversible B05B3/0461)} · CPC title

• B05B1/18

  Roses; Shower heads · CPC title

• B05B1/169

  having three or more selectively effective outlets · CPC title

• B05B1/083

  the pulsating mechanism comprising movable parts · CPC title