This application claims priority to Taiwanese Patent Application No. 109120419, filed on Jun. 17, 2020.
The disclosure relates to a water supply control device, and more particularly to a press-type water supply control device.
The casing 24 further has a valve inlet 241 and a valve outlet 242.
The piston 25 has an actuated portion 251 exposed from the inside space 240 to abut the actuator 26, and a valve plug portion 252 conically enlarged from the actuated portion 251 to abut the resilient member 27. The valve plug portion 252 can prevent fluid communication between the valve inlet 241 and the valve outlet 242.
To dispense water from the spout 11, the actuator 26 is pushed by a user's knee to press the actuated portion 251; the valve plug portion 252 is moved by the actuated portion 251 toward the resilient member to open fluid communication between the valve inlet 241 and the valve outlet 242. Accordingly, the water is supplied through the inlet pipe 21, the valve inlet 241, the valve outlet 242, the outlet pipe 22 and the spout 11.
To stop dispensing water, the actuator 26 is released from the user's knee to stop pressing the piston 25. The resilient member 27 urges the valve plug portion 252 to move in a direction toward the actuated portion 251. The valve plug portion 252 closes fluid communication between the valve inlet 241 and outlet 242 and prevents the water from flowing to the valve outlet 242 to stop supplying the water to the spout 11.
However, after a period of time of use, hard water residue is built up between the piston 25 and the inner surface of the casing 24 and adversely affects smooth operation of the piston 25. Because the hard water residue may even cause the piston 25 to get stuck in the casing 24, there is a room for improvement in the conventional water supply control device.
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a water supply control device that can alleviate the drawback of the prior art.
According to the disclosure, a water supply control device includes a valve unit that includes a valve casing, a piston, an actuator, and a resilient member.
The valve casing has a valve inlet, a valve outlet, and an inside space connected to the valve inlet and outlet. A portion of the inside space defines a passage hole for passage of water from the valve inlet to the valve outlet.
The piston movably extends in the inside space. The piston includes an actuated portion partially exposed from the inside space, a valve plug portion opposite to the actuated portion and disposed in the passage hole, and a diaphragm member disposed between the actuated portion and the valve plug portion and extending across the inside space. The diaphragm member prevents water from flowing to the actuated portion of the piston from the passage hole.
The actuator is to actuate the actuated portion of the piston.
The resilient member is disposed in the inside space and urges the valve plug portion to block the passage hole so that the piston is in a blocking position.
The piston is moved by the actuator to a non-blocking position, where the valve plug portion unblocks the passage hole.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.
Referring to
The valve casing 61 has a first casing part 617 and a second casing part 618 secured to each other. The first and second casing parts 617, 618 cooperate with each other to form an inside space 610. The second casing part 618 has a valve inlet 611 connected to the inlet pipe 4 and a valve outlet 612 connected to the outlet pipe 5. The inside space 610 is connected to the vale inlet 611 and the valve outlet 612. A portion of the inside space 610 near the valve inlet 611 and outlet 612 defines a passage hole 6101 for passage of water from the valve inlet 611 to the valve outlet 612.
The resilient member 64 is a compression spring disposed in the inside space 610 and made of an anti-corrosion material.
The piston 62 movably extends in the inside space 610. The piston 62 includes an actuated portion 621 partially exposed from the inside space 610, a valve plug portion 622 opposite to the actuated portion 621 and disposed in the passage hole 6101, and a diaphragm member 623 disposed between the actuated portion 621 and the valve plug portion 622 and extending across the inside space 610. The diaphragm member 623 is formed as a bonnet shape and is made of a rubber material. The diaphragm member 623 prevents water from flowing to the actuated portion 621 of the piston 62 from the passage hole 6101. The valve plug portion 622 of the piston 62 has a conical portion 624 gradually enlarged in a direction toward the resilient member 64. The resilient member 64 abuts with an end of the valve plug portion 622 and urges the conical portion 624 to block the passage hole 6101 so that the piston 62 is in a blocking position.
In this embodiment, as shown in
The piston 62 is divided into first and second piston sections 62A, 62B. The first piston section 62A has the actuated portion 621 and an engagement groove 6210. The second piston section 62B has the valve plug portion 622 and an engagement protrusion 6220. The engagement protrusion 6220 has a nipple-shaped protrusion formed with a constricted neck and a flange adjacent to the constricted neck.
The diaphragm member 623 extends across the working chamber 6103 and is movable between a junction of the piston slide hole 6102 and the working chamber 6103 and a junction of the passage hole 6101 and the working chamber 6103. The diaphragm member 623 has a peripheral edge portion 6231 fixed to the valve casing 61, and an intermediate part 6232 surrounded by the peripheral edge portion 6231. The peripheral edge portion 6231 is clamped between the first and second casing parts 617, 618. The intermediate part 6232 of the diaphragm member 623 is clamped between the engagement groove 6210 and the engagement protrusion 6220. A middle of the intermediate part 6232 of the diaphragm member 623 has a shape complementary to the nipple-shaped protrusion of the engagement protrusion 6220.
The actuator 63 includes a main lever 630 that has a pivoted portion 631 and a trigger portion 632. The pivoted portion 631 is pivotally connected to the first casing part 617. The trigger portion 632 is opposite to the pivoted portion 631. In this embodiment, the trigger portion 632 has a foot step plate. The actuated portion 621 of the piston 62 has a protruding end exposed from the inside space 610 and abutting the main lever 630 between the pivoted portion 631 and the trigger portion 632.
As shown in
Referring back to
The biasing member 67 is connected between the foot step plate of the trigger portion 632 and the mounting board 66. The biasing member 67 urges the trigger portion 632 to move away from the mounting board 66.
Referring to
As shown in
As shown in
During the movement of the piston 62 to the non-blocking or blocking positions, the diaphragm member 623 effectively prevents the water from flowing to the actuated portion 621 of the piston 62 and thereby reduces the risk of hard water scale build-up in the piston slide hole 6102.
In this embodiment, the water amount delivered from the valve outlet 612 is controllable by adjusting the degree of opening the passage hole 6101 through movement of the conical portion 624 of the piston 62 relative to a valve seat 625 defined by an inner surface of the valve casing 61 within the passage hole 6101. In particular, because the conical portion 624 and the valve seat 625 have conical surfaces, the gap between the conical portion 624 and the valve seat 625 gradually becomes large while the piston 62 is moving toward the non-blocking position. The water amount at the valve outlet 612 is maximum when the passage hole 6101 is fully opened (see
The water supply control device of the disclosure is hands-free and is convenient to be activated. A user can use his/her foot to press the trigger portion 632 of the actuator 63 to dispense water from the water dispenser 31 for washing hands. Therefore, the water dispenser 31 can dispense water without being directly touched by the user's hands, and an antibacterial effect can be achieved to prevent the user's hand from contamination. Because water can stop flowing out from the water dispenser 31 as soon as the user's foot leaves the trigger portion 632, the problem of forgetting to turn off the water supply control device of the disclosure will not occur, and water will not be wasted.
Referring to
As shown in
Notably, when the trigger portion 632 of the actuator 63 is pressed by the user's foot to move to the mounting board 66, the biasing member 67 is compressed. When the actuator 63 is released, the biasing member 67 urges the trigger portion 632 to move away from the mounting board 66 until the piston 62 moves to the non-blocking position. Through the cooperation of the biasing member 67 with the resilient member 64, the returning action of the actuator 63 is efficient. Thus, the actuator 63 can be made from a variety of materials, even from a heavy material. In this embodiment, the trigger portion 632 of the actuator 63 has a heavy weight. However, despite the heavy weight of the actuator 63, the high strength biasing member 67 is able to return the actuator 63. In addition, due to the biasing member 67 which shares the task of urging the actuator 63 with the resilient member 64, the risk of causing fatigue to the resilient member 64 can be reduced.
By virtue of the inner rod 662 and the outer tube 661, the valve casing 61 is movable toward or away from the fixing member 68A and is pivtable relative to the fixing member 68A. The water supply control device of the second embodiment is adjustable in position relative to the washbasin 32. When the water supply control device is adjusted and positioned appropriately to the washbasin 32, the extension lever 633 is allowed to be pressed by the user's knee for delivering water through the water dispenser 31.
Because the extension lever 633 is rotatable relative to the trigger portion 632 about the pivot pin 6330, the rotation of the extension lever 633 can reduce injury to the user, especially a child, by reducing the risk of hitting the user. Besides, since the extension lever 633 in use is usually exposed to an environment where people are moving past it, the clothes worn on people are easily caught by the extension lever 633. However, due to the rotatable extension lever 633, it can buffer stresses imposed thereon through a rotating movement so as to avoid damages caused to it. When the balls 67 loaded with the spring 636 respectively protrude into the two positioning holes 634 of the extension lever 633 during rotation of the extension lever 633, the extension lever 633 is locked against rotational movements. When there is an external force to rotate the extension lever 633, the extension lever 633 can be rotated.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the exemplary embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
109120419 | Jun 2020 | TW | national |