Emergency Eye Wash Fountain

In accordance with the present invention an assembly is provided which permits almost any sink faucet to be converted to an eye wash station in a very simple manner without interfering with normal faucet operation.

As described below a pair of eye wash nozzles are mounted upon a unit which is separate from and removably attached to a conduit on an adapter which comprises a valve body which permits normal water flow through inlet and exit means when attached to a sink faucet or other water supply.

A valve member positioned within said adapter can quickly divert water flow into the conduit to which the eye wash nozzle unit is attached. The provision of a separate and separable unit for the eye wash nozzles permits application to and removal from the water supply without the necessity of removing the adapter which can remain in place permanently if so desired. The nozzle unit can then be cleaned and stored for use when desired or may remain in attached position.

The adapter unit is designed to project rearwardly from the faucet exit and the eye wash nozzles which are mounted upon the separate attachable unit are so designed that they are positioned to the rear of the downspout of the faucet and at the same time project upwardly at a desired angle so that in use the head and eyes of the user cannot accidentally or inadvertently come in contact with said nozzles. In such arrangement the faucet downspout would prevent such contact as further described below.

As further described herein a valve body is provided with a threaded inlet attachable to a standard faucet. The valve body is provided with a pull out knob which is spring loaded to keep a valve in closed position during normal water flow but when pulled out during water flow the flow is diverted to a separate conduit to which a spray nozzle assembly is removably attached as described further below. When the pull out knob is activated while the water flow is on, water pressure holds the spring loaded valve open leaving the hands free, and the water flows into a pair of spaced apart anti-splash aerator type nozzles angled toward the face and positioned behind the faucet downspout as a protection to the user.

This invention relates to an emergency eye wash fountain assembly which can be attached to a conventional sink faucet. Such fountains which comprise a pair of flushing nozzles are in common use in laboratories and factories, and any work areas where there is any risk of eye damage due to the presence of corrosive or irritating materials. Such fountains are usually legal requirements for employee safety in such establishments.

Various types of eye fountains are known and in general use. For example, an attachable apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,829. Separate fountains with integral spray nozzles are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,599,251, 3,629,876 and 3,413,660.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a front view in perspective of the assembly mounted upon a faucet.

FIG. 2 is a side view in perspective of the assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view partially in cross section showing a side view of a nozzle tube attached to a sleeve member as it is positioned for attachment to the eye wash conduit shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a view in vertical transverse cross section of the valve body and nozzle attachment structure which is designed to be attached to a faucet.

FIG. 5 is a view in vertical cross section of the tube and nozzle of FIG. 3, shown as a projection thereof.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 which show front and side elevational views of the assembled device, valve body 10 is shown with its vertically threaded end 11 attached to faucet downspout 12 and with its normal water flow outlet 13. A pair of tubular arms 14 and 14a extending outward are attached to opposite sides of a sleeve 15 which is closed at one end and with its open end is designed to slide over and be attached to a conduit mounted upon the valve body as described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

Tubular arms 14 and 14a are attached to and communicate with a pair of upwardly extending tubular conduit members 16 and 16a at the ends of which are attached a pair of spray nozzles 17 and 17a. These tubular members relatively short and are attached in an angular position with respect to arms 14 and 14a and sleeve 15 so that a spray will be directed at an angle to a user as shown for example in FIG. 2. As shown also in FIG. 2, the dimensions of the sleeve 15 and conduits 16 and 16a are selected so that the nozzles 17 and 17a will be behind the downspout 12 thus preventing possible direct contact of eyes of a user with the nozzles or at least preventing too close contact with the spray.

Water flow to the nozzles is controlled by means of a pull out knob 18 mounted on shaft 19, and as described further below when knob 18 is pulled out, water flow is diverted from the faucet to the nozzles and the spray exits through the opening 20 thereof.

In FIG. 3, conduit 16 with nozzle 17 is shown attached at one side to arm 14 and to sleeve 15 (also shown in FIG. 2), said tube 14 communicating with the interior of the sleeve as shown. The sleeve is then designed to snugly fit and slide over a corresponding male conduit on the valve body as described with reference to FIG. 4 and to be secured by means of a set screw 21a which is screwed into threaded opening 21 upon attachment as described below. In so attaching the sleeve, it is positioned over conduit 22 of FIG. 4 for a distance such that water flow into tubular arms 14 and 14a is unrestricted.

As shown in FIG. 4, Valve body 10 is shown with its threaded water inlet opening 11 attachable to the downspout of a faucet. The normal water outlet 13 may have a flow distributor in the form of a housing 23 attached by threads to the valve body and containing, if desired, a perforated water flow distributing member 25 supported within a plastic sleeve 26 and provided with a gasket 27. The valve body as shown is provided with a water inlet 28, gasket 29 and water flow channels or chambers 28a, 28b and 28c through which water flows when the faucet is used for normal flow. Chamber 28b is provided with a valve head 30 having an "0" ring 31 thereon designed to seat against the interior of chamber 28b and against the opening to conduit 22 to normally close off channel 28d, as shown. The valve member is attached to valve stem 19 which is surrounded by an open spring 32 which urges the valve into closed position to permit normal water flow through channels 28a, 28b and 28c. When knob 18 is pulled out, spring 32 is compressed and valve 30 is then opened to permit water flow through 28, 28a, 28b and then through channel 28d into conduit 22. This permits the water to flow from channel 28d into tube 14 as shown in FIG. 3 and similarly into tube 14a mounted upon the opposite side of sleeve 15. The valve spring tension is designed to permit the valve to remain in open position under water pressure during water flow when the knob is pulled out and continue flow through the spray nozzles as long as desired. When this is no longer required, upon pushing the knob 18 in or upon shutting off the water, the spring will again urge the valve into closed position to permit normal flow through the faucet. "0" rings are provided at 29 to seal attachment to the faucet at 33 to seal the connection between conduit 22 and sleeve 15 and at 34 to seal the valve stem 18.

The exact opening of channel 28d is preferably provided with a restricted orifice 28e in order to effect a pressure drop in the water flow. For example, where a water pressure of 30 psi is present the diameter of 25d would be about 0.175-0.185 in. and the orifice diameter would be about half of that or about 0.08 in. to 0.09 in.

As shown in FIG. 5, nozzle assembly 16 is shown in cross section with the connection to tube 14 shown in outline with the water flow through channel 16a engaging a pair of small diameter steel balls 17a which agitate and modify the water flow prior to exit through the tip of the nozzle 17. The steel balls are retained in position by a screen 17b which is positioned at the base of the nozzle orifice as shown and a space is provided between the base of the nozzle 17 and the recess in which the balls are retained and channel 16a to allow movement of the balls under water pressure to permit agitation. An O-ring 17c is provided in oder to seal the nozzle as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. Nozzle opening may have a diameter approximately the diameter of conduit channel 28d or in the example described of about 0.18-0.19 in. Of course the dimensions of the channels and nozzles can be experimentally varied depending on water pressure and desired aspects of the spray produced.

The valve body and tubular attachments may be made of steel, brass, aluminum, zinc or suitable plastics, but preferably of stainless steel or chromium plated brass. As described above, this device with its two piece construction provides various advantages such as the ability to attach and utilize the eye wash arrangement only when and for so long as needed and to remove for cleaning or otherwise. In addition, the provision of a by-pass conduit as a component of the faucet attachment permits such conduit to be used for the attachment of other devices or other types of nozzles if so desired.

Other embodiments of the device as described above may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.