Patent Application
20230374762
The present invention relates generally to a sanitary ware, and more particularly to a shower column with a liftable showerhead.
Conventional showerheads generally have a hose connected to a faucet. During controlling the faucet to output water, a plurality of spraying holes of the showerhead sprays out water columns for users to shower. With the aforementioned showerhead, a showerhead holder of the showerhead is provided on a wall of a bathroom. When users would like to empty two hands for shower, the showerhead could be fixed to the showerhead holder. At this time, users could shower under the showerhead.
The conventional showerheads allow the showerhead to be fixed to the showerhead holder, thereby allowing users to shower freely. However, usually only one showerhead holder is provided on the wall, or only one showerhead holder is provided at high position and at low position respectively, so that the position of fixing the showerhead is restricted by the position of the showerhead holder, and the height of the showerhead cannot be adjusted freely, which causes inconveniences and limitations in use.
In view of the above, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a shower column with a liftable showerhead, which could allow different users to freely adjust a height of the showerhead by providing a telescopic tube assembly connected to a water source and a showerhead.
The present invention provides a shower column with a liftable showerhead including a faucet, a top base, an outer rod, a telescopic tube assembly, and a showerhead structure. The faucet has a main body, wherein the main body has a first outlet hole. The top base has a connector and an upper base connected to the connector. The outer rod is a hollow tubing body, wherein two ends of the outer rod are engaged with the main body and the upper base respectively. The first outlet hole faces towards the outer rod. A front surface of the outer rod has an elongated hole which extends along a longitudinal direction of the outer rod. The telescopic tube assembly has an inner tube, wherein a bottom end of the inner tube along the longitudinal direction of the outer rod is engaged with the first outlet hole in a sealed way. A liftable tube slidably fits around the inner tube in a sealed way and has a liftable outlet hole communicating with the inner tube. A spring is provided inside the liftable tube and abuts against a top end of the inner tube along the longitudinal direction of the outer rod to be compressed by the liftable tube. The showerhead structure has a sprayhead and a connecting base connected to the sprayhead, wherein the sprayhead has a plurality of spraying holes. The connecting base has a connecting channel communicating with the spraying holes. The connecting base passes through the elongated hole and is detachably engaged with the liftable tube. The connecting channel communicates with the liftable outlet hole.
During installing of the present invention, the faucet and the top base are engaged with the wall of the bathroom. The faucet introduces the water source. When users need to shower, the height of the showerhead structure could be raised or lowered. During adjusting the height of the sprayhead, the liftable tube of the telescopic tube assembly would move with the height of the sprayhead, ensuring the continuous communication between the sprayhead and the water pathway in the telescopic tube assembly. After completing the adjustment of the height of the sprayhead, users control the faucet to control the first outlet hole to output water, allowing water to pass through the inner tube, the liftable tube, the liftable outlet hole, the connecting channel, and finally to be sprayed out from the spraying holes of the sprayhead for users to shower.
With the aforementioned design, the sprayhead of the showerhead structure could be raised or lowered by a certain height to meet various requirements of users at different heights. Alternatively, by adjusting the height of the water columns sprayed out from the sprayhead, users could focally rinse the destinated part, facilitating users to use.
The present invention will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of some illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which
In the description below, the terms “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right” and their derivatives, should be interpreted from the exploded view of the present invention in
As shown in
The main body 12 has at least one inlet hole 121 for introducing a water source. In the current embodiment, the main body 12 provides with an inlet hole 121, wherein the inlet hole 121 and the first outlet hole 122 are provided on a top portion of the main body 12 and extend along a longitudinal direction of the outer rod 30 (i.e., a top-bottom direction). The first outlet hole 122 is located at a front side of the inlet hole 121. A valve 14 is provided in the main body 12. The inlet hole 121 and the first outlet hole 122 communicate with the valve 14. At least one controlling button 16 is disposed on the main body 12 and is connected to the valve 14 to control the communication between the inlet hole 121 and the first outlet hole 122. In the current embodiment, the inlet hole 121 is provided on the top portion of the main body 12. However, in other embodiments, the inlet hole 121 could be provided at the rear end of the main body 12 for communicating with a water pipe on the wall of the bathroom.
As shown in
The telescopic tube assembly 40 has an inner tube 42, a liftable tube 44, and a spring 46, wherein the inner tube 42 is a tubing body extending along the top-bottom direction, and a bottom end of the inner tube 42 is engaged with the first outlet hole 122 in a sealed way. The liftable tube 44 is a tubing body extending along the top-bottom direction and fits around the inner tube 42 from top down in a sealed and slidable way. The liftable tube 44 has a liftable outlet hole 441 communicating with the inner tube 42. In the current embodiment, a top end of the liftable tube 44 is a closed end, and the liftable outlet hole 441 is provided on a front side of a top portion of the liftable tube 44 which is opposite to the wall. A spring 46 is provided in the liftable tube 44. In the current embodiment, the spring 46 is a constant force compression spring, wherein a bottom end of the spring 46 abuts against a top end of the inner tube 42, and a top end of the spring 46 abuts against an inner wall of the top portion of the liftable tube 44 to be compressed by the liftable tube 44.
The showerhead structure 50 has a sprayhead 52 and a connecting base 54. The sprayhead 52 has a plurality of spraying holes 521. The connecting base 54 is connected to the sprayhead 52 and has a connecting channel 541 therein, wherein the connecting channel 541 communicates with the spraying holes 521. The connecting base 54 penetrates through the elongated hole 32 of the outer rod 30, and is detachably engaged with the top portion of the liftable tube 44. The connecting channel 541 communicates with the liftable outlet hole 441 of the liftable tube 44.
During installing the shower column with the liftable showerhead 100 of the first embodiment, the main body 12 of the faucet 10 and the connector 22 of the top base 20 are engaged with a wall of a bathroom, wherein the faucet 10 introduces water source from the inlet hole 121 for shower. Referring to
When a height of the showerhead structure 50 is about to be adjusted, users could push the sprayhead 52 to lift or decline, at this time the liftable tube 44 of the telescopic tube assembly 40 would change the height position with the movement of the sprayhead 52, wherein the liftable tube 44 would be lifted or declined in a sealed way along a tubing wall of an outer periphery of the inner tube 42 during such process. When the sprayhead 52 moves within the boundary of the elongated hole 32, the telescopic tube assembly 40 could continuously supply the water source to the showerhead structure 50 to spray out water columns by sliding, extending, and retracting the liftable tube 44 relative to the inner tube 42, thereby users could freely adjust a height of the sprayhead 52 before or during shower.
In the current embodiment, water is inputted from above the shower column with the liftable showerhead 100. As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
A rear end of the connecting base 54 has a connecting tube 542 that matches with the recess 442 of the liftable tube 44. The connecting channel 541 passes through the connecting tube 542, wherein the connecting tube 542 opens at a rear end of the connecting channel 541. A bottom portion of the connecting tube 542 has a protrusion 5421, wherein the protrusion 5421 is inserted into the locking groove 4431. A rear end periphery of the connecting tube 542 abuts against the sealing ring 445, allowing the liftable outlet hole 441 to communicate with the connecting channel 541 in a sealed way. A top portion of the connecting tube 542 has a protruding member 5422, wherein the protruding member 5422 has a through hole 5423 which passes through along the front-rear direction. An engaging screw 543 passes through the through hole 5423 to be engaged with the engaging screw hole 4441, thereby allowing the connecting base 54 to be detachably engaged with the liftable tube 44.
In the current embodiment, the sprayhead 52 is designed in a way that an angle between the sprayhead 52 and the connecting base 54 is adjustable, thereby not only the height of the sprayhead 52 of the showerhead structure 50 could be adjusted but also allowing a direction that water columns spray out from spraying holes 521 to be adjusted by the way of pivoting the sprayhead 52 relative to the connecting base 54. As shown in
The sprayhead 52 includes a head 522 and a pivot base 523, the pivot base 523 is connected to a rear end of the head 522 and is provided between the two pivot arms 545, wherein a rear surface of the pivot base 523 has a second curved surface 524 which curves along the top-bottom direction. An annular gasket 548 is disposed between the first curved surface 524 and the second curved surface 544. The spraying holes 521 are provided on a bottom surface of the head 522. A delivering channel 525 is formed in the pivot base 523, wherein a front end of the delivering channel 525 communicates with the spraying holes 521, and a rear end of the delivering channel 525 passes through a middle of the second curved surface 524, allowing the delivering channel 525 to communicate with the connecting channel 541 of the connecting base 54 in a sealed way. In practice, the annular gasket 548 is not limited to a circular shape, but could be a gasket in different shapes which has a through hole (for example: a quadrilateral gasket with a through hole).
The pivot base 523 has an inner axial hole 526 which penetrates through the pivot base 523 along the left-right direction, wherein a middle of the inner axial hole 526 communicates with the delivering channel 525, and two ends of the inner axial hole 526 are connected to and communicate with the outer axial hole 5451. A bolt and nut assembly 56 passes through and is engaged with the outer axial hole 5451 and inner axial hole 526, allowing the sprayhead 52 to be pivotally connected to the connecting base 54 via the pivot base 523 to pivot to adjust the angle relative to the connecting base 54. A middle of the bolt and nut assembly 56 forms a neck 561 at a position matching with the delivering channel 525, thereby increasing the amount of water passing through the neck 561 from the delivering channel 525. A front end of each of the two screws 547 opposite to a head thereof abuts against the annular gasket 548 to adjust a tightness that the annular gasket 548 compressing against the second curved surface 524, wherein a friction between the annular gasket 548 and the second curved surface 524 provides a resistance for the sprayhead 52 to stay at a certain angle relative to the connecting base 54, preventing the sprayhead 52 from hanging down relative to the connecting base 54.
Apart from the aforementioned first embodiment of the present invention which is designed for water inputting from the top, a shower column with a liftable showerhead 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in
In the second embodiment, the inlet channel 26 inside the top base 20 is omitted. The connector 22 and the upper base 24 are only for the purpose of fixing the top end of the outer rod 30. At least one inlet hole 121 of the faucet 10 is provided at a rear end of the main body 12. More specifically, the faucet 10 has two inlet holes 121 provided on a left side and a right side of a rear surface of the main body 12, so that each of the inlet holes 121 is connected to a water pipe on a wall of a bathroom when the main body 12 is engaged with the wall of the bathroom. Accompanying with the structure of the two inlet holes 121, two aforementioned controlling buttons 16 are respectively provided on a left side and a right side of a front surface of the main body 12. Similarly, a valve 14 is provided in the main body 12, wherein each of the inlet holes 121 and the first outlet hole 122 respectively communicate with the valve 14. Each of the controlling buttons 16 is connected to the valve 14 to control the communication between each of the inlet holes 121 and the first outlet hole 122.
In the second embodiment, the structures of the outer rod 30, the telescopic tube assembly 40, and the showerhead structure 50 are the same as that of the first embodiment; the way of adjusting the height of the showerhead structure 50 and the way of adjusting the angle of the sprayhead 52 are the same as that of the first embodiment as well.
It must be pointed out that the embodiments described above are only some preferred embodiments of the present invention. All equivalent structures which employ the concepts disclosed in this specification and the appended claims should fall within the scope of the present invention.
