Sanitary faucet with improved flow restriction feature and foam control feature

Abstract

A sanitary faucet with a foam control feature adaptable for dispensing pressurized fluids. The sanitary faucet includes a valve body, a plunger assembly, a flow restrictor assembly and an adjusting screw assembly. Also disclosed is a method of variably regulating fluid flow pressure and the production of foam in the sanitary faucet.

1 . A sanitary faucet for dispensing fluids comprising: 
 (a) a valve body having a valve bore and in inlet port;    (b) a plunger assembly substantially disposed in the valve bore;    (c) a flow restrictor assembly which includes: 
 (i) a shank that has a first shank end removably attached to the inlet port of the valve body and a second shank end removably attached to a source of the dispensing fluid;  
 (ii) a flow restrictor member disposed within the shank having a head that communicates with the plunger assembly; and  
   (d) an adjusting screw assembly that regulates movement of the flow restrictor member within the shank.    
   
   
       2 . A sanitary faucet according to  claim 1 , wherein the valve bore is oriented axially and further comprising a radial bore communicating with the axially oriented valve bore.  
   
   
       3 . A sanitary faucet of  claim 1 , wherein the faucet further comprises a handle assembly threadedly connected to the radial bore of the valve body.  
   
   
       4 . A sanitary faucet of  claim 1 , wherein the handle assembly comprises a pivotable lever that engages the plunger assembly, whereby the plunger assembly moves forwardly when the handle assembly is moved rearwardly and moves rearwardly when the handle assembly is moved forwardly.  
   
   
       5 . A sanitary faucet of  claim 1 , wherein the plunger assembly further comprises: 
 a plunger member with a socket on a top surface thereof for receiving the handle assembly;    an axial boss with an axial hole at a front end of the plunger member;    a biasing member; and    a seal retainer attached through the biasing member to the axial hole of the valve stem.    
   
   
       6 . A sanitary faucet of  claim 1 , wherein the faucet further comprises a spout removably attached to the outlet port of the valve body.  
   
   
       7 . A sanitary faucet of  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting screw assembly further comprises: 
 (i) an angularly positioned adjusting screw bore communicating with the valve bore; and    (ii) an adjusting key capable of at least one 360° rotation.    
   
   
       8 . A sanitary faucet of  claim 7 , wherein the angle between the screw bore and the valve bore is about 45°.  
   
   
       9 . A sanitary faucet of  claim 5 , wherein the seal retainer further comprises at least one orifice located adjacent to a head of the seal retainer.  
   
   
       10 . A sanitary faucet of  claim 9 , wherein the diameter of the orifice is about 0.005 to 0.09 inches.  
   
   
       11 . A sanitary faucet of  claim 1 , wherein the valve body, the plunger assembly, the flow restrictor assembly and the screw adjusting assembly, or parts thereof are made of stainless steel.  
   
   
       12 . A sanitary faucet of  claim 1 , wherein the valve body, the plunger assembly, the flow restrictor assembly and the screw adjusting assembly, or parts thereof, are made of food grade plastics.  
   
   
       13 . A sanitary faucet according to  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting screw assembly is rotated clockwise to restrict movement of the flow restrictor when the dispensing fluid source has increased pressure.  
   
   
       14 . A sanitary faucet according to  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting screw assembly is rotated counter-clockwise to permit increased movement of the flow restrictor when the dispensing fluid source has reduced pressure.  
   
   
       15 . A method of dispensing a fluid that is capable of foaming, the method comprising: 
 (I) providing a faucet having: 
 (a) a valve body having a valve bore;  
 (b) a plunger assembly substantially disposed in the valve body;  
 (c) a flow restrictor assembly which includes: 
 (i) a shank that has a first shank end removably attached to the inlet port of the valve body and a second shank end removably attached to a source of the dispensing fluid;  
 (ii) a flow restrictor member disposed within the shank having a head that communicates with the plunger assembly; and  
 
 (d) an adjusting screw assembly that regulates movement of the flow restrictor assembly within the shank;  
   (II) attaching a source of the dispensing fluid to fluid communication with the valve body;    (III) rotating the adjusting screw assembly, wherein movement of the flow restrictor is regulated such that the fluid entering the valve body has a desired pressure sufficiently low to avoid causing foaming in the liquid;    (IV) permitting fluid of a desired pressure to enter the valve body, thereby immersing the plunger assembly with fluid;    (V) forwardly moving a handle assembly, resulting in the plunger assembly being rearwardly moved, thereby opening a passage for the fluid to flow over the head, around the plunger assembly, and out of the valve body, the fluid being dispensed substantially without foam.    
   
   
       16 . A method according to  claim 15 , wherein the adjusting screw assembly is rotated clockwise to restrict movement of the flow restrictor when the source of the dispensing fluid has increased pressure.  
   
   
       17 . A method according to  claim 15 , wherein the adjusting screw assembly is rotated counter-clockwise to permit increased movement of the flow restrictor when the source of the dispensing fluid has reduced pressure.  
   
   
       18 . A method of creating foam for a sanitary faucet for dispensing fluids, comprising: 
 (I) using a faucet that includes: 
 (a) a valve body having a valve bore and an inlet port;  
 (b) a plunger assembly substantially disposed in the valve body, and having: 
 (i) a plunger member with a socket for receiving a handle assembly on a top surface thereof;  
 (ii) an axial boss with an axial hole at a front end of the plunger member;  
 (iii) a biasing member; and  
 (iv) a seal retainer connected through the biasing member to the axial hole of the valve stem, and having a transverse hole communicating with the axial hole  
 
   (II) attaching a source of the dispensing fluid to the inlet port of the valve body;    (III) immersing the plunger assembly with fluid of desirable pressure;    (IV) rearwardly moving a handle assembly whereby the plunger assembly is forwardly moved thereby largely closing a passage for the fluid, resulting in the fluid being forced to flow through the axial hole and the transverse hole of the seal retainer, towards the outlet port and out of a spout attached to the outlet port, wherein fluid is dispensed is with foam.