FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a plastic faucet structure, and more particularly to a plastic faucet structure with a built-in balancing valve that is used in recreational vehicles or mobile homes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
RVs or mobile homes commercially available in the U.S. market are required to use plastic water faucets due to the thin wall structures of RVs and mobile homes. A conventional plastic water faucet structure, as illustrated in FIG. 8, mainly consists of a water control body 40 that is made of plastic material, a valve core 50, and a balancing valve 60. The water control body 40 has a mixing chamber 41 located in its center, and the mixing chamber 41 is connected with a water outlet tube 42, a cold water inlet tube 43, and a hot water inlet tube 44. The valve core 50 controls the water flow rate into the mixing chamber 41 from both the cold water inlet tube 43 and the hot water inlet tube 44, and therefore regulates the water flow rate as well as the temperature of the water that flows out from the water outlet tube 42. The valve core 50 has a housing member 51, the housing member 51 has a housing chamber 511 located in its center and has an opening at its bottom end, and the housing chamber 511 provides space for the interposition of the balancing valve 60. The valve core 50 is installed to the top portion of the water control body 40 and encloses the mixing chamber 41, and this structure restricts the balancing valve 60 to be properly positioned between the water control body 40 and the valve core 50 by the function of balancing valve in balancing the water pressures.
The above-described conventional structure of the plastic faucet for RVs or mobile homes has obvious shortcomings and requires further improvements. Firstly, as the water control body 40, the valve core 50, the balancing valve 60 are all made of plastic materials, in addition the balancing valve 60 is simply interposed into the housing chamber 511 from the bottom end of the valve core 50, and the valve core 50 is then interposed into the mixing chamber 41 of the water control body 40, further as the plastic components of the water faucet structure has light weight and are less rigid than copper counterparts, these plastic components might not generate sufficient force to push the balancing valve 60 downwards and balance the upward pressure generated by the inlet water flow, thereby likely causing water leakage problems. In addition, as the mixing chamber 41 of the water control body 40 and the housing member 51 of the valve core 50 are all made of plastic materials, the inclusion of the housing chamber 51 into the mixing chamber 41 would unnecessarily increase the cost of materials and the complexity of assembly. Therefore, there remains a need for a new and improved plastic faucet with a built-in balancing valve for RVs and mobile homes.
The present invention provides a novel and improved plastic faucet with a built-in balancing valve for RVs and mobile homes that solves the above-mentioned problems. The novel and improved plastic faucet was developed as a result of extensive research and stringent evaluation, and is suitable for practical uses.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is intended to provide a novel and improved plastic faucet with a built-in balancing valve for RVs and mobile homes to solve the above-mentioned problems associated with conventional plastic water faucet for RVs and mobile homes.
The present invention provides a novel and improved plastic faucet with a built-in balancing valve for RVs and mobile homes, which comprises: a water control body, wherein the water control body is integrally molded with plastic material, and the water control body is formed with a mixing seat in its center, the mixing seat has in its center a housing chamber and a valve chamber separated from the housing chamber, the housing chamber is connected with a water outlet tube, the valve chamber is connected with a hot water inlet tube and a cold water inlet tube, and the outer periphery of the valve chamber has a plurality of screw holes; a balancing valve, wherein the balancing valve is interposed into valve chamber of the water control body, and the outer periphery of the balancing valve is provided with a plurality of fixing pieces, each fixing piece has a screw slot that allows a screw bolt to pass through, and this structure functions in restricting the balancing valve to be properly interposed into the valve chamber; a control rod, wherein one end of the control rod resists against a fixed valve plate and a movable vale plate, the control rod is interposed into the mixing seat, and controls water flow by resisting with the fixed valve plate against the balancing valve.
Further, the present invention has a left water flow channel and a right water flow channel formed inside, a pressure adjustment member installed between the left water flow channel and the right water flow channel, the pressure adjustment member has a wall member that separates the left water flow channel and the right water flow channel and acts in balancing the water pressures as it may slide towards the direction with lower pressure when being pushed by water in the left water flow channel and the right water flow channel.
Further, the left water flow channel and the right water flow channel are each provided with a soft cap and a spring at the end close the control rod, and the spring pushes the soft cap against the fixed valve plate.
Further, the bottom areas of the left water flow channel and the right water flow channel are each provided with a O-ring, and the O-ring prevents water leakage between the balancing valve and the hot and cold water inlet tubes.
Further, the control rod has a cover member, the cover member covers the mixing seat of the water control body, the inner periphery of top portion of the opening of the mixing seat has more or more than one concaved notches, the outer periphery of the cover member has one or more than bulged blocks, and the bulged blocks are interposed into the corresponding concaved notches of the mixing seat to prevent dislocation caused by the rotational movement of the cover member which would cause mutual dislocation between the cover member and the mixing seat.
Further, the water control body has a thread section located at the external surface of the mixing body portion, the threaded section connects the water control body to a housing part, and the control rod is enclosed into and connected with a handle grip.
Further, the water outlet tube is connected with an extension tube and the extension tube may be connected to a water outlet faucet.
Further, the water outlet tube is connected with an extension tube and the extension tube may also be connected to a shower head.
The first major objective of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved plastic faucet with a built-in balancing valve for RVs and mobile homes, which comprises a water control body that has a housing chamber and a valve chamber located inside of the mixing seat, the housing chamber is connected with a water output tube, and the valve chamber is connected with a hot water inlet tube and a cold water inlet tube. In addition, the balancing valve is interposed into the valve chamber, and is securely connected to the valve chamber by applying screw bolts through the screw holes of the balancing valve and the screw holes of the valve chamber. This structural design provides sufficient structural strength to prevent potential movement of the balancing valve driven by forces generated with high water pressure, thereby preventing water leakage at the connection sites between the balancing valve and the water control body.
The second major objective of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved plastic faucet with a built-in balancing valve for RVs and mobile homes which comprises a water control body that is integrally molded with plastic materials, and the balancing valve installed into the valve chamber of the water control body, this structural design thus reduces the number of components to be installed, allows simply and convenient installation of the balancing valve, and saves on manufacturing costs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view in the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view in the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a first viewing angle in the present invention.
FIG. 4 is sectional view of a second viewing angle in the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a third viewing angle in the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view in the present invention when being used.
FIG. 7 is another schematic view in the present invention when being used.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a conventional plastic faucet.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In order to further understand the goal, characteristics and effect of the present invention, a number of embodiments along with the drawings are illustrated as following:
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the plastic faucet with a built-in balancing valve for RVs and mobile homes of the present invention comprises a water control body 10, a balancing valve 20, and a control rod 30, wherein the water control body 10 is integrally molded with plastic materials, and has a mixing seat 11 located in the center of the water control body 10. A housing chamber 111 is formed inside of the mixing seat 11, and the housing chamber 111 is connected with a water outlet tube 12 that extends outward from the bottom end of the water control body 10. In addition, the mixing seat 11 has a plural of concaved notches 112 formed at its top inner surface. Further, the mixing chamber 11 has a separated valve chamber 13 and the valve chamber 13 is connected with a hot water inlet tube 14 and a cold water inlet tube 15, and the outer periphery of the valve chamber 13 is provided with a plurality of screw holes 131. The balancing valve 20 is interposed into the valve chamber 13 of the water control body 10, and is provided with a plurality of fixing pieces 21, wherein the fixing pieces 21 each has a screw slot 211 and function in restricting the balancing valve 20 to be properly interposed into the valve chamber 13 by locking a plurality of screw bolts 22 through the screw slots 211 of the fixing pieces 21 into the corresponding screw holes 141 located at the outer periphery of the valve chamber 13. The valve chamber 20 has in its center a left water flow channel 23 and a right water flow channel 24, and a pressure adjustment member 25. The pressure adjustment member 25 has a wall member 251 that separates the water in the left water flow channel 23 and right water flow channel 24, and the wall member 251 may slide towards either the left water flow channel 23 or the right water flow channel 24 depending on the water pressure from both flow channels 23/24 to reach a position at where the water pressures from both sides are balanced. In addition, both the left water flow channel 23 and the right water flow channel 24 resist against the bottom portion of the valve chamber 13, and each contacting area is provided with a O-ring 231/241 to prevent water leakage between the balancing valve 20 and the hot water inlet tube 14, and between the balancing valve 20 and the cold water inlet tube 15, respectively. The control rod 30 is interposed into the mixing seat 11 from the top end, is provided with a fixed valve plate 31 and a movable valve plate 32 to its lower end, and the fixed valve plate 31 resists against the balancing valve 20 to control the water flow. In addition, the left water flow channel 23 and the right water flow channel 24 each has a soft cap 26 that encloses a spring 27 at the top end of the balancing valve 20 in close proximity to the control rod 30, and the spring 27 push the soft caps 26 to achieve close contact with the fixed valve plate 31 of the control rod 30. Further, the control rod 30 is provided with a cover member 33 which covers the mixing seat 11 of the water control body 10, and the cover member 33 has at least one bulged block 331 located at the outer periphery of the cover member 33, which may be interposed into and engaged with the concaved notches 112 of the mixing seat 11 to achieve a secure connection between the cover member 33 to the mixing seat 11 by preventing the rotational movement of the cover member 33.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the balancing valve 20 has a pressure adjustment member 25 installed between the left water flow channel 23 and the right water flow channel 24, the top portion of the left water flow channel 23 and the right water flow channel 24 are each installed with a spring 27 and then a soft cap 26, the bottom end of balancing valve 20 are provided with two O-rings 231/241, and the balancing valve 20 is then interposed into the valve chamber 13 of the water control body 10 from the opening located at the top end of the valve chamber 13. Further, the left water flow channel 23 is connected to the hot water inlet tube 14, and the right water flow channel 24 is connected to the cold water inlet tube 15, respectively. The balancing valve 20 may then be properly positioned by applying a plurality of screw bolts 22 through the screw slots 211 of the fixing pieces 21 into the screw holes 131 of the valve chamber 13 to achieve close contact and secure connection between the balancing valve 20 and the valve chamber 13. The fixed valve plate 31 and the movable valve plate 32 of the control rod 30 are then interposed into the housing chamber 111 of the mixing seat 11, allowing the fixed valve plate 31 to resist against the soft caps 26 of the balancing valve 20. The control rod 30 is then installed to the movable valve plate 21, the top opening of the mixing seat 11 is covered with the cover member 33 of the control rod 30, with the connection of the cover member 33 to the mixing seat 11 being further secured by interposing the bulged blocks 331 of the cover member 33 into the concaved notches 112 of the mixing seat 11 which effectively prevents the mutual rotational movement between the cover member 33 and the mixing seat 11. In addition, the control rod 33 protrudes upwards out from the cover member 33, and operation of the control rod 33 may result in the rotational movement of the movable valve plate 32 which therefore controls water flow by adjusting the positions of the movable valve plate 32 and the fixed valve plate 31, thereby controlling the amount of cold and hot water flown from the cold water inlet tube 15 and the hot water inlet tube 14 into the left water flow channel 23 and the right water flow channel 24 of the balancing valve 20, respectively. The water may then be properly mixed after flowing through the movable valve plate 32, the fixed valve plate 31, and the housing chamber 111, and then flow out from the water outlet tube 12 of the water control body 10. When the water pressures from the hot and cold water inlet tubes 14/15 are different, the built-in pressure adjusting member 25 inside the balancing valve 20 will slide toward the water flow channel (23 or 24) with the lower water pressure as the wall member 251 is being pushed with unbalanced forces, and this structural design functions in achieving an appropriate mixing ratio of hot and cold water and a stable temperature of the water output from the water control body 10.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the water control body 10 has a threaded section 113 located at the external surface of the mixing seat 11 portion, and the threaded section 113 allows the water control body 10 to be screwed into and securely connected to a housing part 16. In addition, the control rod 30 is enclosed into and connected with a handle grip 34, and operation of the handle grip 34 may subsequently control the movement of the control rod 30. Due to the thin wall structure of the RVs and mobile homes, the U.S. requires all RVs and mobile homes to use water faucets made of plastic materials. In this situation, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the mixing seat 11 of the water control body 10 is installed to the outside of the wall structure of a RV or mobile home, allowing the housing part 16 and the handle grip 34 to be accessible from the outside of the wall structure, and the water control body 10 is securely connected to the wall structure at the site of installation of hot and cold water inlet tubes 14/15. In addition, the water outlet tube 12 is connected with an extension tube 17, and the extension tube 17 may further be connected to a faucet 18 which is securely installed to the wall structure and is accessible from the outside of the wall structure. Alternatively, the extension tube 17 may also be connected to a shower head 19 that is installed to the wall structure and is accessible from the outside of the wall structure, as illustrated in FIG. 7. The structural design of the present invention thus allows the water supply by installing the water control body 10 and water output faucet 18 or shower head 19 to one side of the wall structure, and also prevents water leakage by applying screw bolts 22 through the screw slots 211 of the balancing valve 20 into the screw holes 131 of the valve chamber 13 to ensure the close contact and the secure connection between the balancing valve 20 and the water control body 10.
With the above-mentioned structural characteristics and technical improvements, the present invention has the following advantages comparing with the conventional plastic faucets. Firstly, the water control body 10 has a housing chamber 111 and a valve chamber 13 located inside of the mixing seat 11, the housing chamber 111 is connected with a water output tube 12, and the valve chamber 13 is connected with a hot water inlet tube 14 and a cold water inlet tube 15. In addition, the balancing valve 20 is interposed into the valve chamber 13, and is securely connected to the valve chamber 13 by applying screw bolts 22 through the screw slots 211 of the balancing valve 20 into the screw holes 131 of the valve chamber 13. This structural design provides sufficient structural strength to prevent potential movement of the balancing valve 20 driven by forces generated with high water pressure, thereby preventing water leakage at the connection sites between the balancing valve 20 and the water control body 10. Secondly, the water control body 10 is integrally molded with plastic materials, and the balancing valve 20 installed into the valve chamber 13 of the water control body 10, this structural design thus reduces the number of components to be installed, allows simply and convenient installation of the balancing valve 20, and saves on manufacturing costs.
To summarize, the present invention describes a novel plastic faucet with a built-in balancing valve for RVs and mobile homes with a breakthrough in structural design, further improved new components, and advantages in practical use and commercial exploration. The present invention has not been disclosed in any published materials and thus possesses novelty.
The above description and illustrations are for one exemplary embodiment of the present invention and should not be considered to limit the scope of the implementation of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be considered as limited by the forgoing description, but includes any equivalents.
Patent Application
20150361643
