Snap Coupling With Temperature Readout for Hand Shower

The present invention relates to a snap coupling. More particularly this invention concerns such a coupling used at the end of a hose to connect a hand shower.

German patent 2,827,847 of Hans Joachim Schmidt describes a coupling of the type usable to connect a hose end to a hand shower or the like. The coupling has a male portion with a protruding tubular sleeve and a female portion with a seat shaped to receive the sleeve and provided with a latch mechanism for holding the sleeve in place. Diametrally opposite buttons on the female portion can be depressed to release the latch and allow the two parts to be separated. Such an arrangement makes it fairly simple to switch shower heads, for instance to install one with a different spray pattern.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,360 describes a fitting which can be installed immediately upstream of a shower or the like to provide a direct readout of water temperature. This gauge has a female threaded socket on one side and a male threaded nipple on the other so that it can be placed, for instance, immediately upstream of a shower head. Mounting such a bulky device on a hand shower, however, is out of the question, especially combined with the extra bulk of a snap coupling.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved snap coupling for a hand shower or the like.

Another object is the provision of such an improved snap coupling for a hand shower or the like which overcomes the above-given disadvantages, that is which can provide a readout of some parameter--pressure, temperature, flow rate--of the water being fed to the shower but that the adds insignificantly to the bulk of the hand shower.

A hand shower having an upstream end is connected to a downstream end of a hose to receive water therefrom by a fitting having a snap coupling and a display. The snap coupling has a male part fixed on one of the ends, a female part fixed on the other of the ends and fittable over the male part, and a latch in the female part for releasably retaining the male part therein. The display is mounted on one of the parts and gives a readout of a parameter of the water flowing through the coupling.

Thus according to the invention the display, which can be made very small with today's subminiature electronics, is incorporated right in the snap coupling. This makes it a very convenient retrofit and is of particular interest with a hand shower.

According to the invention the display is mounted on the male part and the female part is integral with the hand shower. The display includes a temperature sensor so that it can show temperature, normally digitally.

In accordance with further features of this invention the male part is formed with a recess on a side opposite the display, has therein a battery for powering the display, and is provided with a watertight cover for closing the recess over the battery. In addition the male part is formed with a central flow tube and with an annular compartment around this tube and the recess opens into this compartment. Conductors extend through the compartment between the battery and the display and the temperature sensor projects through the tube into the compartment. It is possible for the male part to be formed of two sections joined together at a plane crossing the compartment.

In accordance with another system according to the invention the male part is formed with a longitudinal passage for the throughflow of water and a transverse passage traversing the longitudinal passage and forming the recess. The display is mounted on an insert matingly engageable in and through the transverse recess. The transverse passage is of generally square section and the insert has an end of complementary square section and a central portion of substantially smaller size in the longitudinal passage.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following, it being understood that any feature described with reference to one embodiment of the invention can be used where possible with any other embodiment and that reference numerals or letters not specifically mentioned with reference to one figure but identical to those of another refer to structure that is functionally if not structurally identical. In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the hand shower according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a large-scale view of a detail of FIG. 1 with the shower turned 90.degree.;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are longitudinal axial sections through the male part of the coupling taken along 90.degree. offset planes;

FIG. 5 is a section taken along line V--V of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views like FIGS. 3 and 4 of a variant on the system of this invention; and

FIG. 8 is a top view of the coupling part of FIGS. 6 and 7.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 a hand shower 10 according to this invention has a handle 11 integrally formed with a female snap-coupling part 1 that fits on a male coupling part 2 provided with a temperature indicator 3 having an LCD or LED display 31. The male coupling part 2 itself is mounted on a sleeve 210 carried at the outer end of a hose 21 and adapted to fit into a wall bracket. The handle 11 has one or two latch-actuating pushbuttons 12 that can be depressed to separate the shower 10 from the hose 21 in the manner described in the above-cited German patent.

FIGS. 3 through 5 show how the male coupling part 2 has a central passage or flow tube 20 centered on an axis A and is formed of two parts joined axially at a joint 27 extending roughly perpendicular to the axis A. This part 2 forms an annular compartment 23 around the central tube 20 that opens at one side at a recess 22 housing a small battery 32 held in place by a plug 32 34. On its other side it houses the electronics of the indicator 3 that are connected via wires 24 in the compartment 23 to the battery 32 and that has a sensor wire 25 that extends into the tube 20 to detect the temperature of the water therein. The plug 34 screws in and has a seal ring 35 to make the joint water-tight, and similarly the indicator 3 has a seal ring 35 to keep water out of the electronics.

In FIGS. 6 through 8 the part 2' has a square-section passage 26 into which fits a casing 33 holding the display 31 and its electronics 3'. This casing 33 has an outer end portion 331 of a square shape complementary to the hole 26 but is centrally formed as a small-diameter cylindrical tube 330 around which the water flows and seal rings 331 are provided to each side of the passage 20 to prevent leakage. The casing 33 is held in place by a set screw or is permanently glued in. It can have a small solar cell 36 to power the assembly and a small button 37 can be provided as an on-off switch to operate it.