Patents by Inventor Bernd Bischoff

Bernd Bischoff has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5758690
    Abstract: A faucet has a base provided with a valve for supplying water under pressure and a tubular U-shaped spout having an inner end pivotal in the base and an opposite downwardly directed outer end forming a downwardly open seat. A hose has an inner end connected in the base to the water-supply valve, an intermediate portion extending through the tubular spout, and an outer end carrying an end fitting formed with a rearwardly directed abutment and fittable in the seat of the spout in a seated position with the abutment engaged against the spout outer end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1998
    Assignee: Friedrich Grohe AG
    Inventors: Jurgen Humpert, Eckhard Gransow, Bernd Bischoff
  • Patent number: 5730176
    Abstract: A mixing valve has a housing, a valve cartridge fixed in the housing and having valve elements movable to vary rate and temperature of flow through the cartridge, and a handle connected to the valve elements and movable through a predetermined angular displacement about a temperature-adjustment axis to vary the temperature of flow through the cartridge and a flow-adjustment axis orthogonal to the temperature-adjustment axis to vary the rate of flow through the cartridge. A sleeve-like casing surrounding the cartridge is rotatable on the housing about one of the axes and is traversed by the handle. Interengaging formations on the casing and on the housing axially retain the casing on the housing except in a predetermined angular position of the casing on the housing relative to the one axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1998
    Assignee: Friedrich Grohe AG
    Inventors: Bruno Heimann, Bernd Bischoff, Kerstin Keiter
  • Patent number: 5377367
    Abstract: A hand-shower wall rod has vertically spaced and horizontally extending upper and lower brackets secured to a wall and a vertical tube with upper and lower ends respectively seated in the brackets. A soap-dish fixture has a body having a lower end formed as a soap dish and an upper end formed as an eye engaged around the lower bracket. The body is swivelable about a horizontal central axis of the lower bracket. A spring unit releasably holds the body in a normal position with the lower end below the lower bracket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 3, 1995
    Assignee: Friedrich Grohe Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Bernd Bischoff
  • Patent number: 5356078
    Abstract: An adjustable shower assembly has a housing provided with a water-supply tube defining a seat, a core element fixed in the seat and having a stem extending from the seat along an axis and having an outer end formed with a noncircular boss generally centered on the axis, and a diverter formed with a central bore fitted over the stem and provided with at least two throughgoing passages. The diverter is at least limitedly rotatable on the stem. An end plate is formed with at least two sets of nozzles associated with the respective passages in respective angular positions of the diverter on the core element and formations on the end plate and diverter axially and rotationally fix the end plate on the diverter. A washer having a central hole complementary to and interfitting with the boss of the stem bears axially backward on the diverter and a screw threaded axially into the stem and bearing axially backward on the washer retains the diverter and end plate axially on the core element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 18, 1994
    Assignee: Friedrich Grohe Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Bernd Bischoff
  • Patent number: 5318263
    Abstract: A rod assembly for mounting a hand shower on a wall has an elongated rod formed at each end with a transversely throughgoing and laterally closed hole and respective holder bodies each formed with a seat in which the respective end of the rod is complementarily engageable. Each body is formed with a passage alignable with the hole of the respective rod end when same is fitted thereto. Respective screws engageable through the aligned holes and passages of the rod and bodies with the wall secure the rod to the bodies and the bodies to the wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 1992
    Date of Patent: June 7, 1994
    Assignee: Friedrich Grohe Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Bernd Bischoff, Detleff Hochstein
  • Patent number: 5297735
    Abstract: A hand shower has a shower housing having an inner end formed centered on an axis with an axially open central recess and an outer end carrying a shower head. A male coupling part adapted to be fixed to the end of a supply hose has a tubular outlet end engageable axially in the housing inner end. A latch element can be displaced radially of the axis in the inner end between a holding position engaging and axially retaining the coupling part in the recess and a freeing position allowing the coupling part to move axially freely into and out of the recess. The housing has a central feed tube forming the inner and outer ends and at least one rigid outer housing part surrounding and completely enclosing the central feed tube. Furthermore the shower includes a pair of such latch elements radially oppositely displaceable between the positions. These elements can be fitted without soldering or fusing into the housing for a very inexpensive and simple assembly of the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 29, 1994
    Assignee: Friedrich Grohe Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Bruno Heimann, Eckhard Gransow, Rudolf Haufe, Bernd Bischoff
  • Patent number: 5213267
    Abstract: A shower has a housing defining an axis, a conduit in the housing normally supplied with water under pressure and having an axially forwardly open outlet end, and a shower head having an axially rearwardly directed face axially confronting the outlet end and rotatable on the housing about the axis. The shower head is provided with at least two sets of axially forwardly directed spray nozzles and is formed with respective axially rearwardly open passages connected to the sets of nozzles. A seal disk extending across the axis between the outlet end and the rear face of the shower head is formed with an axially throughgoing hole and is fixed in the housing against rotation about the axis while being limitedly axially movable in the housing. An elastically compressible seal ring engaged axially between the outlet end of the conduit and the seal disk around the seal-disk hole presses the seal disk axially forward against the rear face of the shower head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 1992
    Date of Patent: May 25, 1993
    Assignee: Friedrich Grohe Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Bruno Heimann, Bernd Bischoff
  • Patent number: 5172862
    Abstract: A shower head has a body having a wall and forming therewith a pressurizable compartment. This wall has an inner face in the compartment and an outer face and is formed therebetween with an array of throughgoing perforations. Respective flexible tubular extensions are provided on the outer face of the wall at the perforations. These extensions can be deformed to flake off lime formations adhering to the extensions. The extensions can be unitary with the wall, in which case the wall is made of an elastomer, or respective tubular liners in the perforations having outer ends projecting past the outer face can form the respective extensions. In this case each liner can have laterally projecting inner and outer ridges respectively bearing against the inner and outer faces of the wall. Furthermore each liner has a predetermined diameter of between 1 mm and 2 mm, preferably 1.2 mm, and each extension extends beyond the outer face by a distance generally equal to the respective diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1992
    Assignee: Friedrich Grohe Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Bruno Heimann, Friedrich Wagner, Bernd Bischoff, Hans-Peter Strelow