Faucet sealing

Abstract

A faucet improvement including a seat defining a bore, and a valve stem movable toward and away from the seat, comprising a shoulder screw threadably attachable to the stem, and having a head located in the bore, a shank, and a non-metallic O-ring extending about the screw shank to be retained in the bore between the screw head and the valve stem, the O-ring sized to seal off between the shank and the bore.

1 . For use in a faucet, which includes 
 a) a seat defining a bore,    b) and a valve stem movable toward and away from the seat,    the improvement comprising    c) a shoulder screw threadably attachable to the stem, and having a head to locate in alignment with said bore, and a shank,    d) and a non-metallic O-ring extending about the screw shank to be retained in the bore between said screw head and said valve stem,    e) the O-ring sized to seal off between said shank and said bore.    
   
   
       2 . The improvement of  claim 1  wherein the O-ring fits in the bore, between lateral surfaces defined by the valve stem and screw head; and between longitudinal annular surfaces defined by the bore and the screw shank.  
   
   
       3 . The improvement of  claim 1  wherein the top level of the O-ring is at or proximate a horizontal plane defined by the seat, the O-ring having an outer diameter less than the seat diameter.  
   
   
       4 . The improvement of  claim 1  wherein the valve stem defines a metallic lateral and annular surface engaging the seat, radially outwardly of the top level of the O-ring.  
   
   
       5 . The improvement of  claim 4  wherein the valve stem defines a metallic skirt surrounding the seat, in outwardly spaced relation to the O-ring.  
   
   
       6 . The improvement of  claim 1  wherein the O-ring consists of an elastomeric material.  
   
   
       7 . The improvement of  claim 1  wherein the radially outermost extent of the O-ring engages the bore, below the level of the seat.  
   
   
       8 . The improvement of  claim 1  wherein the engagement of the stem surface and seat defines a metal-to-metal annular seal, spaced upwardly of the annular seal defined by engagement of the O-ring with the bore.  
   
   
       9 . The improvement of  claim 1  wherein the screw head defines a flat annular surface directly below the lowermost extent of the O-ring.  
   
   
       10 . The improvement of  claim 9  wherein said screw head flat annular surface has a periphery directly below medial extent of the bulk of the O-ring.  
   
   
       11 . The method of repairing a faucet having a seat defining a bore, a valve stem, and a defective flat annular seal to manually engage the seat above the bore, and a retention screw, with replacement including: 
 i) removing the retention screw and removing the annular seal,    ii) installing an O-ring seal on the shank of said screw, or a replacement screw, the O-ring seal provided and sized to fit in said bore,    iii) and threadably attaching the screw to the stem so that the O-ring is received in said bore to seal off between the shank and said bore, and in alignment with a screw head defined by the screw.    
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11  including advancing the stem toward said bore, to engage the seat, without compressing the O-ring.  
   
   
       13 . A faucet seal repair kit, comprising: 
 i) the improvement as defined in  claim 1 ,    ii) and a container in which said improvement screw and O-ring are received, for marketing.    
   
   
       14 . The kit of  claim 13 , wherein the O-ring is bonded to a surface or surfaces defined by the screw.