Information
-
Patent Grant
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6467816
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Patent Number
6,467,816
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Date Filed
Tuesday, August 21, 200123 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, October 22, 200222 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
- Nicholson; Eric K.
- Dunwoody; Aaron
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 285 35
- 285 308
- 285 309
- 285 315
- 285 316
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International Classifications
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Abstract
A water pipe joint includes a main body, a control sleeve, and an elastic element. The main body is provided with a plurality of expansion holes and receiving slots. The elastic element is disposed in a receiving gap of the main body. The control sleeve is provided with a plurality of retaining blocks and resilient pieces. The control sleeve is joined with the main body such that the retaining blocks of the control sleeve are slidably received in the receiving slots of the main body, and such that the retaining blocks of the control sleeve are acted on by the elastic element and the resilient piece to extend out of the expansion holes of the main body, so as to be detachably engaged with a water discharging connector.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a water pipe, and more particularly to a water pipe joint.
2. Description of Related Art
As shown in
FIG. 1
, a water pipe joint of the prior art comprises a hollow main body
10
which is provided at one end with a hose connector
101
and a locking nut
2
. The main body
10
is provided at other end with a spring
17
fitted thereover, walls
11
, and an expansion hole
12
. Located between two walls
11
is a guide slot
110
for receiving a driven piece
13
which is provided with a retaining block
130
. The retaining block
130
is extracted and retracted via the expansion hole
12
. The driven piece
13
is pushed by a driving piece
15
. The main body
10
is provided with a protruded edge
103
for stopping a stop piece
16
of a control sleeve
14
. The spring
17
is forced backward by the control sleeve
14
, so as to enable the retaining block
130
to retract into the expansion hole
12
. As a result, the water discharging connector
1
can be inserted into a through hole
102
of the main body
10
. As the control sleeve
14
is let go, the driven piece
13
is forced by the driving piece
15
, thereby causing the retaining block
130
to jut out of the expansion hole
12
. The main body
10
is thus joined with the water discharging connection
1
which can be connected with a hose or sprinkler.
Such a prior art water pipe joint as described above has several drawbacks. In the first place, it is rather complicated in construction and is therefore not cost-effective. In addition, the prior art water pipe joint is vulnerable to failure or clogging. In view of the fact that the control sleeve
14
and the main body
10
cannot be separated easily once they are joined together, the prior art water pipe-joint cannot be repaired or maintained with ease. Moreover, the control sleeve
14
and the retaining block
130
are made separately by injection molding, thereby resulting in a substantial increase in production cost.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a water pipe joint which is free of the drawbacks of the prior art water pipe described above.
The features, functions, and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
shows an exploded view of a water pipe joint of the prior art.
FIG. 2
shows an exploded view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3
shows a longitudinal sectional view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4
shows a cross-sectional view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5
shows an exploded view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6
shows a longitudinal sectional view of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7
shows an enlarged view of a portion indicated by a circle “A” as shown in FIG.
6
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As shown in
FIGS. 2-7
, a water pipe joint embodied in the present invention comprises a main body
20
, a control sleeve
30
, and an elastic element
40
.
The main body
20
has an outer cylindrical body
21
, an inner cylindrical body
22
, and a gap “H” located between the outer cylindrical body
21
and the inner cylindrical body
22
. The outer cylindrical body
21
is provided in the periphery with a plurality of slide slots
211
, whereas the inner cylindrical body
22
is provided with a plurality of expansion holes
23
, and a plurality of receiving slots
24
corresponding in location to the slide slots
211
of the outer cylindrical body
21
. The receiving slots
24
and the expansion holes
23
are provided at the juncture with a guide bevel
25
.
The control sleeve
30
has a connection ring
31
and a plurality of projections
32
, with each having two track slots
33
corresponding in location to the slide slots
211
of the main body
20
. The projections
32
are provided in the underside with an expansion slot
34
and a resilient piece
35
extending slantingly from the expansion slot
34
and having at the free end thereof a retaining block
36
.
The elastic element
40
is received in the gap “H” between the outer cylindrical body
21
and the inner cylindrical body
22
such that one end of the elastic element
40
urges the control sleeve
30
, and that other end of the elastic element
40
urges the main body
20
, thereby enabling the control sleeve
30
and the main body
20
to slide smoothly. As a result, a water discharging connector
1
can be securely retained by the retaining blocks
36
of the control sleeve
30
.
In combination, the control sleeve
30
is joined with the main body
20
in conjunction with the elastic element
40
such that the track slots
33
of the projections
32
are joined with the position confining edges
212
of the outer cylindrical body
21
, such that the retaining blocks
36
of the control sleeve
30
can be displaced in the receiving slots
24
of the inner cylindrical body
22
, and such that the retaining blocks
36
of the control sleeve
30
can be acted on by the elastic element
40
and the resilient pieces
35
of the control sleeve
30
to jut out of the expansion holes
23
of the main body
20
to retain the water discharging connector
1
. The retaining blocks
36
of the control sleeve
30
can be retracted into the receiving slots
24
of the inner cylindrical body
22
, so as to become disengaged with the water discharging connector
1
.
In using the water pipe joint of the present invention, a water admitting connector
201
of the main body
20
is connected to a water pipe in conjunction with a fastening nut
2
.
The present invention described above is to be regarded in all respects as being merely illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without deviating from the spirit thereof. The present invention is therefore to be limited only by the scope of the following claim.
Claims
- 1. A water pipe joint comprising:a main body having an outer cylindrical body and an inner cylindrical body, said outer cylindrical body and said inner cylindrical body defining a gap therebetween, said outer cylindrical body having a plurality of slide slots formed in a periphery thereof, said inner cylindrical body having a plurality of expansion holes formed through a wall thereof, said inner cylindrical body having a plurality of receiving slots corresponding respectively in location to said plurality of slide slots of said outer cylindrical body, said main body having a plurality of guide bevels positioned at junctures of said plurality of receiving slots of said inner cylindrical body and respective expansion holes of said plurality of expansion holes of said inner cylindrical body; a control sleeve having a connection ring and a plurality of projections, each of said plurality of projections having a pair of track slots slidably cooperative with respective slide slots of said plurality of slide slots on said outer cylindrical body, each of said plurality of projections having an expansion slot formed in an inner surface thereof and a resilient piece extending from said expansion slot, said resilient piece having a retaining block formed at a free end thereof; and an elastic element received in said gap of said main body said that one end of said elastic element exerts a resilient force against said control sleeve and an opposite end of said elastic element exerts a resilient force against said main body, said control sleeve being joined to said main body such that said pair of track slots of each of said plurality of projections are joined with a plurality of projections are joined with a plurality of position confining edges of said outer cylindrical body, the retaining blocks of said control sleeve being displaced in respective receiving slots of said plurality of receiving slots of said inner cylindrical body, the retaining blocks retained entirely interior of the expansion holes and being cooperative with said elastic element and the resilient pieces of said control sleeve so as to jut out of respective expansion holes of said plurality of expansion holes of said main body so as to retain a water discharging connector therein, the retaining blocks of said control sleeve being retractable into respective receiving slots of said inner cylindrical body so as to enable disengagement from said water discharging connector.
US Referenced Citations (8)