US 11,920,328 B2
Spout with slider diverter
Oscar Romero, Lake Forest, CA (US); and Haibo Cai, Xiamen (CN)
Assigned to ASSA ABLOY Americas Residential Inc., New Haven, CT (US)
Filed by ASSA ABLOY Americas Residential Inc., New Haven, CT (US)
Filed on Jun. 22, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/354,506.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/050,591, filed on Jul. 10, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0010534 A1, Jan. 13, 2022
Int. Cl. E03C 1/02 (2006.01); E03C 1/04 (2006.01)
CPC E03C 1/023 (2013.01) [E03C 1/0404 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A faucet assembly comprising:
a spout configured to receive a water flow, the spout including:
a body that defines an interior cavity;
a central axis that extends along a length of the body between a proximal end and a distal end of the body;
a slot located between the proximal end and the distal end of the body; and
an outlet located at the distal end of the body; and
a diverter at least partially housed inside the interior cavity of the spout, the diverter including:
a housing having a front end defining an internal opening and an opposite rear end, wherein the internal opening of the housing is spaced from and in fluid communication with the outlet of the spout, the housing defining a compartment having an opening aligned with the slot on the body of the spout, and defining one or more passageways inside the interior cavity of the spout, the one or more passageways being positioned around the compartment to allow passage of the water flow through the housing towards the outlet of the spout;
an actuator that includes a shaft that extends through the slot of the spout and into the compartment defined by the housing of the diverter, and a plunger connected to the shaft, the plunger being configured to slide in a first direction parallel to the central axis from a resting position to a diverting position, and configured to slide in a second direction parallel to the central axis from the diverting position to the resting position, the first and second directions being opposite directions, and the plunger being configured to seal the internal opening of the housing so as to block the water flow towards the outlet of the spout and divert the water flow away from the spout when in the diverting position; and
a spring housed inside the compartment, wherein the spring is configured to move the plunger in the second direction from the diverting position to the resting position when the water flow is turned off.
 
11. The diverter of claim 10, further comprising a spring housed inside the compartment, wherein the spring returns the actuator from the diverting position to the resting position when the water flow is turned off.