1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a faucet, and more particularly to a faucet that includes a discharge spout, which serves as a valve lever.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rotary knob or a rotary lever is provided on a faucet for controlling supply or flow rate of water. Such a faucet has a disadvantage in that the user needs to rotate the knob or the lever in order to stop flow of water from the faucet after washing the hands of the user. When the user contacts and rotates the knob or the lever, his/her hands may become contaminated by dirt or bacteria on the knob or the lever.
The object of this invention is to provide a faucet, which can prevent contamination of the user's hands due to contact with the faucet after washing.
According to this invention, a faucet includes a valve tube journalled within a faucet body, and a discharge spout connected fixedly to an open end of the valve tube. A discharge end of the spout can be pushed upwardly to turn the spout from a discharging position, where an opening in the valve tube comes into alignment with a water inlet in the faucet body so that a maximum amount of water can flow downwardly from the discharge end, to a non-discharging position, where the opening is not fluidly communicated with the water inlet so as to stop flow of water from the discharge end. Because there is still some water flowing from the discharge end when the spout is rotated from the discharging position to the non-discharging position, contamination of the user's hands due to contact with the discharge end can be prevented.
These and other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
The faucet body 10 includes a closed end 11, an open end 12 opposite to the closed end 11 and having an internal thread 121, and a water inlet 13 disposed between the closed end 11 and the open end 12 so that water can be introduced from a water source (not shown) into the faucet body 10 through the water inlet 13.
The valve tube 20 is journalled within the faucet body 10, and includes a large-diameter tube portion 21, a small-diameter tube portion 22, a closed end 23 adjacent to the closed end 11 of the faucet body 10, an open end 24 extending outwardly of the open end 12 of the faucet body 10, a central hole 241 formed through the valve tube 20, and an opening 25 disposed between the closed end 23 and the open end 24. The small-diameter tube portion 22 is formed integrally with the large-diameter tube portion 21, and has an outer diameter smaller than that of the large-diameter tube portion 21 so as to define a shoulder 26 between the large-diameter tube portion 21 and the small-diameter tube portion 22.
The valve tube 20 is rotatable within the faucet body 10 to a close position shown
The retaining member 30 is tubular, is sleeved on the small-diameter tube portion 22 of the valve tube 20, is adjacent to the shoulder 26 of the valve tube 20, and has an inner diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the large-diameter tube portion 21 of the valve tube 20, a hexagonal end 31, and an externally threaded end 32 engaging threadably the open end 12 of the faucet body 10 so as to permit rotation of the valve tube 20 within the faucet body 10 and so as to prevent movement of the valve tube within the faucet body 10.
The spout 40 includes an open coupling end 41 connected fixedly to and in fluid communication with the open end 24 of the valve tube 20, and an open discharge end 42 having an end surface that is formed with a water outlet 43 (see FIG. 3). The coupling end 41 of the spout 40 is shaped as a sleeve, is disposed around the open end 24 of the valve tube 20, and has an inlet 411 in fluid communication with the central hole 241 in the valve tube 20. Each of the open end 24 of the valve tube 20 and the coupling end 41 of the spout 40 is formed with two pin holes 242, 412. The spout 40 further includes two lock pins (P), each of which extends through a respective one of the pin holes 412 in the spout 40 and into a respective one of the pin holes 242 in the valve tube 20 so as to interconnect the spout 40 and the valve tube 20 fixedly.
The spout 40 is rotatable about the valve tube 20 to a non-discharging position (A) (see
A counterweight 44 is connected fixedly to the coupling end 41 of the spout 40 such that balance of the spout 40 can be maintained when the spout 40 is disposed at either of the non-discharging position (A) and the discharging position (B).
The spout 40 further includes a hollow cylindrical spray head 45 that is connected threadedly to the discharging end 41 of the spout 40 and that is formed with a porous end wall 451.
A first O-ring (A1) is sleeved around the small-diameter tube portion 22 of the valve tube 20, and is clamped between the shoulder 26 and the retaining member 30. A second O-ring (A2) is disposed in the coupling end 41 of the spout 40, and is clamped between the valve tube 20 and a radially and inwardly extending flange 412 of the spout 40 such that a liquid-tight seal is established therebetween.
Referring to
Referring to
With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only as indicated by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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91208254 U | Jun 2002 | TW | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
985223 | Swanberg | Feb 1911 | A |
2134852 | Bogan | Nov 1938 | A |
3380478 | Garrison | Apr 1968 | A |
4019536 | Dong et al. | Apr 1977 | A |
4346735 | Raz | Aug 1982 | A |
4408631 | Uhlig et al. | Oct 1983 | A |
4727906 | Holzer | Mar 1988 | A |
4750645 | Wilson et al. | Jun 1988 | A |
4989791 | Ridenour | Feb 1991 | A |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20040169155 A1 | Sep 2004 | US |