A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to any reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a water dispensing apparatus, and more particularly to a controller of a water dispensing apparatus, which comprises an actuation member being reciprocatingly actuated not only for switching on-and-off the water dispensing apparatus but also for controllably shifting different water spraying patterns, such that the user is able to easily control different operations of the water dispensing apparatus in a one hand operatable manner.
A conventional water dispensing apparatus generally comprises a valve control provided with a single common function that the valve control can only be operated for selectively controlling to turn on or off the water dispensing apparatus. Meanwhile, the water dispensing apparatus further comprises a spray control member for controlling shifting different water spraying patterns of the water dispensing apparatus. In other words, the user must individually operate the valve control and the spray control for different operations of the water dispensing apparatus.
Therefore, the present invention solves the existing problems of the water dispensing apparatus, wherein the control of the present invention requires a single operation action not only for switching on-and-off the water dispensing apparatus but also for controllably shifting different water spraying patterns, such that the user is able to easily control different operations of the water dispensing apparatus in a one hand operatable manner.
The invention is advantageous in that it provides a water dispensing apparatus of the present invention adapted for connecting to a water source via a water hose for guiding the water to spray or irrigate. In particular, the water dispensing apparatus of the present invention provides different water spraying patterns. According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects and advantages are attained by a water dispensing apparatus, comprising a dispensing body. The dispensing body has a handle portion, a guiding portion, and an extension portion integrally extended between the handle portion and the guiding portion. The dispensing body further has an inlet channel provided at the handle portion for connecting to a water source, and an outlet channel provided at the guiding portion for guiding water to flow from the inlet channel to the outlet channel. The dispensing body further comprises a receiving cavity provided at the extension portion, wherein the receiving cavity has a water inlet end communicatively linked to the inlet channel and a water outlet end communicatively linked to the outlet channel.
The dispensing body further comprises a nozzle and a nozzle cavity formed at the guiding portion to receive the nozzle in the nozzle cavity so as to communicatively link to the front opening end of the outlet channel. Accordingly, the diameter size of the nozzle cavity is larger than that of the nozzle.
The water dispensing apparatus further comprises a control valve movably disposed in the receiving cavity at the extension portion, a control unit arranged for being actuated manually, and an actuation member. The control unit is operated in response to the actuation member to synchronizingly actuate the control valve. The control unit has a first controlling side and a second controlling side. The control valve comprises a first wheel axle and a second wheel axle. The control valve further has a water sealing member and a pusher member. The control valve is driven to rotate within the receiving cavity by the control unit. The actuation member has a front actuating end extended toward the nozzle cavity, a rear actuating end, and a guiding slot formed at the rear actuating end, wherein the pusher member is slidably engaged with the guiding slot. When the control unit is actuated manually to drive the control valve to rotate correspondingly, the actuation member is driven to move back-and-forth. By driving the head portion of the actuation member at the different locations that the head portion enters into the receiving cavity, enters into the nozzle, or withdraws from the receiving cavity, the user can selectively operate the water dispensing apparatus not only for switching on-and-off the control valve but also for controllably shifting different water spraying patterns of the nozzle via a single continuous action of the control unit.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.
The following description is disclosed to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the present invention. Preferred embodiments are provided in the following description only as examples and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The general principles defined in the following description would be applied to other embodiments, alternatives, modifications, equivalents, and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
With the aids of the Figures shown below, the content of techniques, features, and embodiments of the present invention is herein described, so as for the examiners to further understand the present invention.
In order for well understanding of the present invention, the following will provide preferred embodiments and corresponding figures for detail descriptions. Corresponding figures of the preferred embodiments of the present invention will also be applied for further illustration, so as to help those who skill in the art to implement the present invention based on the present specification, which however shall not be used to limit the scope of the present invention.
Referring to
The water dispensing apparatus further comprises a control valve 3 movably disposed in the receiving cavity 15 at the extension portion 14, a control unit 2, and an actuation member 5. The control unit 2 is operated in response to the actuation member 5 to synchronizingly actuate the control valve 3. The control unit 2 has a first controlling side 22 and a second controlling side 23. The control unit 2 further has a first hole 221 formed at the first controlling side 22 and a second hole 231 formed at the second controlling side 23. In particular, the control valve 3 is rotatably disposed in the receiving cavity 15 and is arranged to be driven to rotate by the actuation member 5. The control valve 3 comprises a first side wheel 311 and a second side wheel 312 extended parallelly with each other. The control valve 3 further comprises a first wheel axle 321 outwardly and coaxially extended from an outer side of the first side wheel 311, and a second wheel axle 322 outwardly and coaxially extended from an outer side of the second side wheel 312. The control valve 3 further comprises a first sleeve member 311a outwardly and eccentrically extended from an inner side of the first side wheel 311, and a second sleeve member 312a outwardly and eccentrically extended from an inner side of the second side wheel 312, wherein the first sleeve member 311a and the second sleeve member 312a are spacedly aligned with each other end-to-end. The control valve 3 further has a water sealing member 33, a pusher member 35, and a valve opening portion 34, which are provided between the first side wheel 311 and the second side wheel 312. Accordingly, the water sealing member 33 has a curved planar configuration extended between peripheral edge portions of the first side wheel 311 and the second side wheel 312. The pusher member 35 is eccentrically extended between the first side wheel 311 and the second side wheel 312, wherein the pusher member 35 is located opposite to the water sealing member 33. Preferably, the pusher member 35 is extended between the first sleeve member 311a and the second sleeve member 312a. The valve opening portion 24 is defined at a space between the first side wheel 311 and the second side wheel 312 and at a space between the water sealing member 33 and the pusher member 35. Preferably, the pusher member 35 has an elongated rod shape that two ends of the pusher member 35 are coupled at the first side wheel 311 and the second side wheel 312 respectively. Accordingly, the first wheel axle 321 has a first protruding portion 3211 integrally protruded from an circumferential surface thereof, and the second wheel axle 322 has a second protruding portion 3221 integrally protruded from an circumferential surface thereof. The shape of the water sealing member 33 is configured to match with the water inlet 11b that the size of the water sealing member 33 is larger than an opening size of the water inlet 11b, such that when the control valve 3 is actuated to move the water sealing member 33 at the water inlet 11b, the water sealing member 33 can water-seal the water inlet 11b to block the water therefrom.
The actuation member 5 is movably extended along the outlet channel 12a. The actuation member 5 has a front actuating end 51, a rear actuating end 52, and an enlarged head portion 511 defined at the front actuating end 51, wherein the head portion 511 has a face surface 511a defined thereat. Accordingly, the actuation member 5 has an elongated body rearwardly extended from the rear face surface 511a and an enlarged flat body frontwardly extended from the rear actuating end 52 to the elongated body. The size of the head portion 511 is larger than a diameter size of the elongated body. The flat body has a planar configuration defining two flat enlarged side surfaces. The actuation member 5 further has an inclined guiding slot 521 formed at the rear actuating end 52 on the flat body, wherein the pusher member 35 is extended through the inclined guiding slot 521. Preferably, the inclined guiding slot 521 is a straight elongated slot. In other words, the inclined guiding slot 521 is a through slot formed on the flat body, such that the pusher member 35 can pass from one flat enlarged side surface of the flat body to the other through the inclined guiding slot 521. The front actuating end 51 of the actuation member 5 is extended close to the nozzle cavity 131. A width of the front actuating end 51 of the actuation member 5 is smaller than a bore size of the nozzle cavity 131 and that of the nozzle 132. The rear actuating end 52 of the actuation member 5 is coupled at the pusher member 35 via the inclined guiding slot 521. The front actuating end 51 of the actuation member 5 is extended at a direction of the outlet channel 12a to the nozzle 132. The rear actuating end 52 of the actuation member 5 is extended at a direction of the outlet channel 12a to the control valve 3. It is worth mentioning that the pusher member 35 is driven to slide along the inclined guiding slot 521 to move the actuation member 5.
For better understanding the sliding movement of the pusher member 35 along the inclined guiding slot 521 to reciprocatingly move the actuation member 5, the inclined guiding slot 521 defines a first guiding region 521a at one end of the inclined guiding slot 521, a second guiding region 521b, and a third guiding region 521c at an opposed end of the inclined guiding slot 521, wherein the second guiding region 521b is formed between the first guiding region 521a and the third guiding region 521c.
Besides, the location of the pusher member 35 moved at either the first guiding region 521a, the second guiding region 521b, or the third guiding region 521c only illustrates the sliding movement of the pusher member 35 as an example, wherein the configurations of the first guiding region 521a, the second guiding region 521b, and the third guiding region 521c should not be limited according to the present invention.
The water dispensing apparatus further comprises a coupling unit for coupling the control unit 2 with the control valve 3. The coupling unit comprises a first coupling cap 41, a second coupling cap 42, a first coupling shaft 411 extended from the first coupling cap 41, and a second coupling shaft 421 extended from the second coupling cap 42. The coupling unit further has a first engaging slot 412 formed at the first coupling shaft 411 and a second engaging slot 422 formed at the second coupling shaft 421.
The assembling structure of the water dispensing apparatus is shown as follows. The actuation member 5 is placed at the outlet channel 12a at a position that the rear actuating end 52 of the actuation member 5 is extended into the receiving cavity 15 of the extension portion 14. The control valve 3 is disposed in the receiving cavity 15 of the extension portion 14, wherein the pusher member 35 is passed through the inclined guiding slot 521 at the rear actuating end 52 of the actuation member 5. Then, the first side wheel 311 and the second side wheel 312 are coupled with each other to couple the pusher member 35 between the first sleeve member 311a and the second sleeve member 312a. The first wheel axle 321 and the second wheel axle 322 are extended through the first hole 221 of the first controlling side 22 of the control unit 2 and the second hole 231 of the second controlling side 23 thereof respectively. Therefore, the first coupling shaft 411 is coupled at the first wheel axle 321 to sandwich the first controlling side 22 of the control unit 2 between the first coupling cap 41 and the first side wheel 311, while the second coupling shaft 421 is coupled at the second wheel axle 322 to sandwich the second controlling side 23 of the control unit 2 between the second coupling cap 42 and the second side wheel 312. Therefore, the first protruding portion 3211 of the first wheel axle 321 is engaged with the first engaging slot 412 while the second protruding portion 3221 of the second side wheel 322 is engaged with the second engaging slot 422 to lock up the control valve 3, the control unit 2, and the actuation member 5 with each other so as to complete the assembling operation of the present invention.
The operation of water dispensing apparatus is shown as follows. When the control valve 3 is driven to rotate, the pusher member 35 is moved correspondingly. In particular, since the pusher member 35 is eccentrically coupled at the control valve, the pusher member 35 is driven to rotate about the center of the control valve 3 at a position that the reciprocatingly moving path of the pusher member 35 is a pendulum path. The sliding movement of the pusher member 35 is restricted by the length of the inclined guiding slot 521. When the control unit 2 is actuated to move, the control valve 3 is driven to rotate correspondingly for driving the pusher member 35 to slide along the inclined guiding slot 521. Since the inclined guiding slot 521 is forwardly inclined to the front actuating end 51 of the actuation member 5, the pusher member 35 is slid along the inclined guiding slot 521 to move the actuating member 5 back-and-forth. In addition, the inclination of the inclined guiding slot 521 can also temporarily retain the actuation member 5 at a desired position by temporarily holding the pusher member 35 at one position of the inclined guiding slot 521.
As shown in
As shown in
It is worth mentioning that the user is able to move the control unit 2 at any point between the point A and the point B, or between the point B to the point C to selectively adjust the water volume for the spraying operation. In other words, the user is able to switch on-and-off the control valve 3 and to selectively shift different spraying patterns with different water volumes via the single continuous action of the control unit 2 between the point A and the point C.
As shown in
Furthermore, the actuation member 5 is movably coupled at the outlet channel 12a. The actuation member 5 has a front actuating end 51, a rear actuating end 52, and an enlarged head portion 511 defined at the front actuating end 51, wherein the head portion 511 has a face surface 511a defined thereat. Accordingly, the actuation member 5 has an elongated body rearwardly extended from the rear face surface 511a and an enlarged flat body frontwardly extended from the rear actuating end 52 to the elongated body. The size of the head portion 511 is larger than a diameter size of the elongated body. The flat body has a planar configuration defining two flat enlarged side surfaces. The inclined guiding slot 521 is formed at the rear actuating end 52 on the flat body and is extended rearwardly, wherein the pusher member 35 is extended through the inclined guiding slot 521. In other words, the inclined guiding slot 521 is a through slot formed on the flat body, such that the pusher member 35 can pass from one flat enlarged side surface of the flat body to the other through the inclined guiding slot 521. The front actuating end 51 of the actuation member 5 is extended close to the nozzle cavity 131. A width of the front actuating end 51 of the actuation member 5 is smaller than a bore size of the nozzle cavity 131 and that of the nozzle 132. The rear actuating end 52 of the actuation member 5 is coupled at the pusher member 35 via the inclined guiding slot 521. The front actuating end 51 of the actuation member 5 is extended at a direction of the outlet channel 12a to the nozzle 132. The rear actuating end 52 of the actuation member 5 is extended at a direction of the outlet channel 12a to the control valve 3. It is worth mentioning that the pusher member 35 is driven to slide along the inclined guiding slot 521 to move the actuation member 5.
For better understanding, the inclined guiding slot 521 defines a first guiding region 521a at one end of the inclined guiding slot 521, a second guiding region 521b, a third guiding region 521c, and a fourth guiding region 521d at an opposed end of the inclined guiding slot 521, wherein the second and third guiding regions 521b, 521c are formed between the first guiding region 521a and the fourth guiding region 521d. As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
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7124965 | Chen | Oct 2006 | B1 |
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7533833 | Wang | May 2009 | B2 |
8087597 | Cheng | Jan 2012 | B2 |
8123151 | Cheng | Feb 2012 | B2 |
8490948 | Lu | Jul 2013 | B2 |
8596558 | Lai | Dec 2013 | B2 |
20060249599 | Guo | Nov 2006 | A1 |