Patent Application
20090095361
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control valve unit for a faucet assembly with hot and cold water provided, the control valve unit prevents cold water from entering the hot water pipe due to pressure difference.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A conventional faucet assembly generally includes an outlet form which hot water or/and cold water flows. The hot water and the cold water are controlled by two respective handles which are able to be opened or sealed individually so that the user can get the water from the outlet at desired temperature. Some faucet assembly includes a single handle which is rotated or shifted to control the volume of the hot water and the cold water coming from outlet. In either way, the volume of the hot water and the cold water that enter the faucet assembly are controlled by two respective valves. It is noted that the hot water has to be sent to a heater to increase its temperature and then flow to the faucet so that the pressure at the faucet is reduced after a long travel distance. Therefore, when both of the two valves are opened to mix the hot and cold water, the pressure of the cold water is larger than the pressure of the hot water, the cold water tends to push the hot water backward and some cold water enters the hot water pipe. In other words, the user has to wait for a period of time to get the water at desired temperature from the outlet.
The present invention intends to provide a control valve unit for a faucet assembly and includes two control valves located at the two respective paths of hot and cold waters in the faucet assembly. Each control valve includes a sealing member biased by a spring so as to prevent the path from being opened by pressure difference of the hot and cold water.
The present invention relates to a faucet assembly which comprises two faucets each include a vale and is connected with an inlet pipe. Two respective handles are connected to the two respective valves to communicate the inlet pipes with the valves. Two connection pipes are connected to the two faucets and a conjunction portion is connected between the two connection pipes. An outlet pipe extends from the conjunction portion and has an outlet. A control valve unit includes two control valves which are respectively received in two respective recesses in the conjunction portion. The two recesses communicate with the outlet pipe. Each control valve includes a sealing member which movably seals the connection pipe corresponding thereto.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
Referring to
The conjunction portion 20 includes two recesses and each recess in the conjunction portion 20 includes a lip 212 extending inward from an inner periphery thereof. Each connection pipe 22 includes an engaging notch with which the lip 212 is engaged so that the connection pipes 22 are connected to the conjunction portion 20. Each connection pipe 22 includes a communication path 221 to communicate between the interior of the connection pipe 22 and the interior of the recess. The outlet pipe 30 is threadedly connected to the conjunction portion 20 and communicates with a mixing area 21 in the conjunction portion 20. The mixing area 21 communicates with the two recesses in the conjunction portion 20.
A control valve unit includes two control valves 50 which are respectively received in two respective recesses in the conjunction portion 20. Each control valve 50 includes a sealing member 52 which movably seals the control valve 50 from communication with the communication path 221 and the mixing area 21. Each control vale 50 includes a hollow cylindrical member 51 which has a first open end and a second open end. A groove 511 is defined in an outer periphery of the first open end of the cylindrical member 51 and a first seal 60 is engaged with the groove 511. The first open end faces the valve 40 corresponding thereto and the first seal 60 is in contact with an inner periphery of the recess. An end member 53 is securely connected to a stepped shoulder 512 in the second open end of the cylindrical member 51. A central tube 531 extends from a center of the end member 53 and a through passage is defined axially through the central tube 531. The through passage is defined through the end member 53 and communicates with an interior of the cylindrical member 51. A plurality of connection plates 532 are connected between the central tube 531 and an inner periphery of the end member 53. The sealing member 52 includes a disk 522 and a rod 521 extends from a first side thereof. The rod 521 is movably inserted into the through passage of the central tube 531 and a spring 70 is mounted to the rod 521. A neck 524 extends from a second side of the disk 522 and an end plate 525 is connected to a distal end of the neck 524. A second seal 80 is mounted to the neck 524 and movably seals an opening defined by an inner periphery of an inward protrusion formed by the groove 511. A skirt extends perpendicularly from a periphery of the disk 522 and a plurality of ribs 523 extend radially outward from an outer periphery of the skirt so as to define gaps between an inner periphery of the recess and the outer periphery of the skirt.
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While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
