Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SHOWERHEAD WITH ROTATIONALLY ADJUSTABLE HANDLE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a showerhead structure, and more particularly
to a
hand-held showerhead, in which a water inlet control function is configured at
a tail end of a
handle, so that a water outlet head becomes thinner in volume, thereby
reducing the weight
of the water outlet head.
Related Art
Currently, a hand-held showerhead, especially the hand-held showerhead
structure with
a multi-stage or multi-mode adjustment function for adjusting water-spraying
modes,
substantially includes a handle portion, a water-outlet base, and a rotary
member. The
handle portion is mainly provided for a user to hold and guides a water flow
from a water
inlet end to a water outlet end. The water-outlet base is mounted and fixed at
the water
outlet end of the handle portion and is communicated with the water outlet
end, so as to
utilize the twists and turns of flow channels therein to guide the water flow
to move
downward. The rotary member is movably fastened on the water-outlet base for
the user to
rotationally adjust to a desired water-spraying mode. The rotary member
further includes
an outlet valve, an operation frame, and a face cover portion. The outlet
valve is formed by
an upper cover, a middle cover, and a lower cover connected to one another. A
plurality of
chambers is defined between the upper cover, the middle cover, and the lower
cover. A
plurality of holes is provided at predetermined positions of the upper cover,
the middle cover,
and the lower cover. When the user turns to adjust the rotary member to make
the
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predetermined holes of the upper cover be aligned with the water flow of the
water-outlet
base, the water flow from the water-outlet base is guided to the holes
corresponding to the
lower cover through the corresponding chambers therebetween, so as to achieve
a
predetermined water-spraying effect.
Since the rotary member is installed on the water-outlet base, one end of the
entire
hand-held showerhead is heavier than the other end, so that the user has an
unbalanced
feeling when holding the hand-held showerhead.. Moreover, the water-outlet
base has a
large area, such that a force applied by the user has a large moment when the
rotary member
is rotationally adjusted, which causes greater effort and brings
inconveniences. Besides,
with the rotary member additionally disposed at the water-outlet base, the
structure at the
portion of the water-outlet base is rather complex., and the variations and
flexibilities in the
appearance design are reduced.
Therefore, the above hand-held showerhead structure in the prior art may have
the
following problems.
1. The rotary member (water outlet switch) is disposed at the water-outlet
base (head of
the showerhead), such that the water-outlet base llas more structural elements
and becomes
complex, and the thickness thereof must be increased.
2. Since the water-outlet base (head of the showerhead) has more structural
elements,
the weight of the entire water-outlet base is increased, so that the user has
a top-heavy and
unbalanced feeling when holding the showerhead with a hand.
3. The water-outlet base (head of the showerhead) has a large area, such that
a large
moment of force is required when switching the water outlet (turning the
rotary member),
thereby bringing inconveniences to the operation.
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4. The water-outlet base (head of the showerhead) has a complex structure and
increased elements, such that the available space is reduced, and the
flexibilities and
variations in the appearance design of the water-outlet base are reduced
accordingly, and
thus the configurations thereof cannot be easily varied.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a hand-held showerhead
structure, in
which a rotationally adjusting structure is disposed at a tail end of a handle
to reduce a
moment of the applied force, thereby facilitating the operation. In the prior
art, the
adjusting structure is disposed at an expanded head of the showerhead and thus
it is
inconvenient for kids or children having small palms to apply a force.
However, the
showerhead is convenient for children to hold when the adjusting structure is
disposed at the
handle.
The present invention is also directed to a hand-held showerhead structure,
which is
suitable for enabling an overall head structure of the showerhead to become
thinner and
lighter, so as to avoid an unbalanced situation when being held by a user.
The present invention is further directed to a hand-held showerhead structure,
which
enables a head structure of the showerhead to be designed into various
configurations.
In order to achieve the above objectives, a showerhead with a rotationally
adjustable
handle is provided in the present invention, which includes a handle unit, a
water outlet head
unit, and a water inlet control unit.
The handle unit is provided with a hollow structure therein and has a first
communicating pipe, a second communicating pipe, and a third communicating
pipe
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penetrating therethrough.
The water outlet head unit has a cover cap and an outlet valve assembly. The
cover cap
is connected to a first end of the handle unit and provided with an
accommodating space for
accommodating the outlet valve assembly. The outlet valve assembly is
connected to one
ends of the first communicating pipe, the second communicating pipe, and the
third
communicating pipe.
The water inlet control unit is connected to a second end of the handle unit
and is rotated
to control a water inlet state, so as to guide a water flow into any one or a
combination of any
two of the first communicating pipe, the second communicating pipe, and the
third
communicating pipe to flow towards the outlet valve assembly.
Through the showerhead with the rotationally adjustable handle of the present
invention,
the head structure of the showerhead becomes thinner and lighter, and thus it
is easily
designed into various configurations. Moreover, the user adjusts the water
inlet control unit
with a smaller force moment than that of the water outlet head unit when
adjusting a water
outlet state, which is more convenient and saves labor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed
description
given herein below for illustration only, and thus is not limitative of the
present invention,
and wherein:
FIG 1 is a schematic view of a structure according to a preferred embodiment
of the
present invention;
FIG 2 is an exploded view of the structure according to the embodiment of the
present
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invention;
FIG 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a water outlet head unit according
to the
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a water inlet control unit
according to the
embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a partial top view of the water inlet control unit according to the
embodiment of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIGs. 1 to 3 are schematic views of a structure according to a preferred
embodiment of
the present invention. The illustrations are mainly given below with reference
to FIGs. 1 to
3, in which the structure is illustrated below in detail with reference to
FIGs. 4 to 5. FIG 1
is a schematic view of a structure according to a preferred embodiment of the
present
invention. FIG 2 is an exploded view of the structure according to the
embodiment of the
present invention. FIG 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a water outlet
head unit
according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG 4 is a longitudinal
sectional
view of a water inlet control unit according to the embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG 5 is a partial top view of the water inlet control unit according to the
embodiment of the
present invention.
A showerhead 1 with a rotationally adjustable handle according to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention mainly includes a handle unit 2, a water
inlet control
unit 3, and a water outlet head unit 4.
The handle unit 2 is provided for a user to hold conveniently and has a hollow
structure
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therein. A first end of the handle unit 2 is connected to the water outlet
head unit 4 and a
second end is connected to the water inlet control unit 3. The end of the
handle unit 2
connected to the water inlet control unit 3 is provided with a ring groove 21
surrounding a
peripheral wall thereof and provided with a plurality of rib strips 22
disposed around the
peripheral wall. An axial direction of each of the rib strips 22 is the same
as that of the
handle unit 2 itsel In addition, the handle unit 2 has a first communicating
pipe 51, a
second communicating pipe 52, and a third communicating pipe 53 penetrating
therethrough.
The water inlet control unit 3 sequentially includes a first fixing member 31,
a first plug
32, a second plug 33, a third plug 34, a second rotary member 35, a first
rotary member 36,
and a second fixing member 37.
The first fixing member 31 is an approximately cylindrical-shaped structure. A
peripheral wall of one end of the first fixing member 31 connected to the
handle unit 2 is
provided with the same number of recessed grooves 311 at positions
corresponding to the rib
strips 22 of the handle unit 2 and has a hook portion 312 therein. The rib
strips 22 may be
embedded in the recessed grooves 311 to prevent the first fixing member 31
from rotating,
and the rib strips 22 are clipped in the ring groove 21 of the handle unit 2
by the hook portion
312 to fix the first fixing member 31 and prevent the first fixing member 31
from moving
axially. The first fixing member 31 has a first water inlet hole, a second
water inlet hole,
and a third water inlet hole (not shown) at central positions thereo The
first fixing
member 31 is provided with a protrusion 313 having a rectangular section
axially protruded
from the other end thereof, and the protrusion 313 has a screw hole 314 at a
center thereof
The second rotary member 35 is movably connected to the other end of the first
fixing
member 31 and provided with a first plug 32, a second plug 33, and a third
plug 34
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therebetween. The first plug 32, the second plug 33, and the third plug 34 are
disposed
corresponding to the first water inlet hole, the second water inlet hole, and
the third water
inlet hole (not shown), and a spring Ll is installed between each of the plugs
32, 33, and 34
and each of the water inlet holes to provide a buffer space.
Moreover, the second rotary member 35 is provided with a first water inlet
groove 351,
a second water inlet groove 352, and a third water inlet groove 353 of
different lengths (as
shown in FIG 5) at a top portion thereof and at positions corresponding to the
first plug 32,
the second plug 33, and the third plug 34. Therefore, a water flow
sequentially passes
through each of the water inlet grooves 351, 352, and 353 of the second rotary
member 35
and the corresponding plugs 32, 33, and 34, as well as the corresponding water
inlet holes of
the first fixing member 31. In addition, the second rotary member 35 is
provided with a
through-hole 354 at a center of the top portion thereof (as shown in FIG. 5)
for the protrusion
313 of the first fixing member 31 to pass therethrough.
Furthermore, six sets of rib strips 355 are protruded around an outer
periphery of the
second rotary member 35 and spaced apart by a predetermined interval. A
recessed groove
356 is formed at a center of each set of rib strips 355, and a pressing
portion 357 (as shown
in FIG 4) is radially recessed between two sets of rib strips.
The first rotary member 36 is a hollow cylindrical-shaped structure and has a
raised rib
361 axially disposed on an inner periphery thereof corresponding to the
recessed groove 356
between each set of rib strips 355 of the second rotary member 35. The raised
rib 361 is
engaged with the recessed groove 356 between each set of rib strips 355, so as
to fit the first
rotary member 36 on the second rotary member 35. Therefore, the first rotary
member 36
is rotated to drive the second rotary member 35 to rotate, and meanwhile, each
of the water
inlet grooves 351, 352, and 353 is controlled to move relative to the
corresponding plug 32,
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33, and 34, so as to further control the water flow to flow through any one or
a combination
of any two of the plugs.
In usage, the user may fix the handle unit 2 and then rotate the first rotary
member 36, or
fix the first rotary member 36 and then rotate the handle unit 2. In order to
enable the user
to rotate or fix the first rotary member 36 more conveniently without
slipping, the first rotary
member 36 is further provided with an anti-slip portion 362 on an outer
periphery thereof.
The anti-slip portion 362 may be a structure formed by a plurality of axial
anti-slip recessed
grooves, but not limited thereto.
The second fixing member 37 has a rectarigular depressed portion 371 at one
end
thereof, so as to be engaged with the protrusion 313 of the first fixing
member 31, and the
rectangular depressed portion 371 is installed in the second rotary member 35
and the first
rotary member 36. The first fixing member 31 and the second fixing member 37
are
fixedly screwed together by a screw S, and meanwhile, the first rotary member
36 and the
second rotary member 35 are clamped between the first fixing member 31 and the
second
fixing member 37.
An annular stopper portion 372 for stopping one end of the first rotary member
36 far
away from the first fixing member 31 is protruded at a central position
between both ends of
the second fixing member 37. The stopper portion 372 is further provided with
a plurality
of stopper grooves 373 (as shown in FIG 5) on a surface thereof facing the
first fixing
member 31.
In order to control the water inlet mode more stably, a spring L2 and a
positioning
member 38 are disposed between the inner periphery of the first rotary member
36 and the
outer periphery of the second rotary member 35, i.e., in the pressing portion
357 of the
second rotary member 35. One end of the spring L2 is pressed against the
pressing portion
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357 and the other end is pressed against the positioning member 38. One end of
the
positioning member 38 is pressed against the spring L2 and the other end is
pressed against
one of the stopper grooves 373 of the stopper poi-tion 372 of the second
fixing member 37.
The first rotary member 36 is rotated to drive the second rotary member 35 to
rotate, and
meanwhile, the positioning member 38 is moved to be pressed against a
different stopper
groove 373, such that the water flow flows through different water inlet
grooves 351, 352,
and 353.
Therefore, through the above structure, the user controls the water inlet
control unit 3
disposed at the second end of the handle unit 2 to rotate the first rotary
member 36, so as to
position the positioning member 38 in different stopper groove 373, thereby
controlling
positions of the first water inlet groove 351, the second water inlet groove
352, and the third
water inlet groove 353 corresponding to the first plug 32, the second plug 33,
and the third
plug 34. Therefore, the water flow passes through a single plug (the first
plug 32, the
second plug 33, or the third plug 34) or simultaneously passes through any two
plugs (the
first plug 32 and the second plug 33, the first plug 32 and the third plug 34,
or the second
plug 33 and the third plug 34), thereby achieving a multi-stage control of the
water outlet.
The water flow passing through the first water inlet hole flows towards the
first
communicating pipe 51, the water flow passing through the second water inlet
hole flows
towards the second communicating pipe 52, and the water flow passing through
the third
water inlet hole flows towards the third communicating pipe 53.
The water outlet head unit 4 in this embodiment includes a cover cap 41
connected to
the handle unit 2 and an outlet valve assembly 6. The cover cap 41 is provided
with an
accommodating space 42 (as shown in FIG. 3) for accommodating the outlet valve
assembly
6 (as shown in FIG 2) and three hook grooves 43.
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The outlet valve assembly 6 sequentially includes a first water outlet joint
61a, a second
water outlet joint 61b, a third water outlet joint 61 c, an upper cover 62, a
middle cover 63, a
water aerator 64, a blade 65, a water outlet ring 66, a lower cover 67, and a
face cover 68.
Each of the water outlet joints 61a, 61b, and 61c is configured into the same
L-shaped
structure. One end of each of the water outlet joints 61a, 61b, and 61c is
connected to the
communicating pipe 51, 52, or 53 and the other end is disposed at the upper
cover 62. The
first water outlet joint 61a is connected to the first communicating pipe 51,
the second water
outlet joint 61b is connected to the second communicating pipe 52, and the
third water outlet
joint 61c is connected to the third communicating pipe 53.
The upper cover 62 has three hook ribs 624 protruded upward and disposed
corresponding to the recessed grooves of the cover cap 41. The hook ribs 624
may be
embedded in the hook grooves 43 to be fixed. The upper cover 62 is disposed
with an inner
water outlet hole 621, a middle water outlet hole 622, and an outer water
outlet hole 623 on
circumferences thereof with different radiuses. The inner water outlet hole
621 is disposed
adjacent to a center of the upper cover 62, the outer water outlet hole 623 is
disposed
adjacent to a periphery of the upper cover 62, and the middle water outlet
hole 622 is
disposed between the inner water outlet hole 621 and the outer water outlet
hole 623.
Therefore, the first water outlet joint 61a, the second water outlet joint
61b, and the third
water outlet joint 61c are disposed at one end of' the upper cover 62, i.e.,
correspondingly
disposed at the inner water outlet hole 621, the middle water outlet hole 622,
and the outer
water outlet hole 623 respectively. Preferably, a spring L3 is disposed
between each of the
water outlet joints 61a, 61b, and 61c and each of the water outlet holes 621,
622, and 623,
such that a buffer space is provided when the water outlet joints 61a, 61b,
and 61c are
installed at the water outlet holes 621, 622, and 623.
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The middle cover 63 has an inner ring portion 631, a middle ring portion 632,
and an
outer ring portion 633 disposed corresponding to the inner water outlet hole
621, the middle
water outlet hole 622, and the outer water outlet hole 623 respectively. The
water flow
enters the inner ring portion 631 after passing through the inner water outlet
hole 621. The
water flow enters the middle ring portion 632 after passing through the middle
water outlet
hole 622. The water flow enters the outer ring portion 633 after passing
through the outer
water outlet hole 623.
The water aerator 64, the blade 65, and the water outlet ring 66 are disposed
between the
middle cover 63 and the lower cover 67. The water outlet ring 66 has a
plurality of water
outlet holes 661 at fixed positions spaced apart by a predetermined interval.
The water
aerator 64 is disposed corresponding to the position of the inner ring portion
631. The
blade 65 and the water outlet ring 66 are disposed corresponding to the
position of the
middle ring portion 632. Therefore, a bubbly water flow is formed, after the
water flow
passes through the inner ring portion 631 and then passes through the water
aerator 64.
When the water flow passes through the middle ring portion 632, it drives the
blade 65 to
move in the middle ring portion 632. Through the movement of the blade 65, the
water
flow is blocked when the blade 65 moves to the water outlet holes 661. When
the blade 65
leaves away from the water outlet holes 661, the water flow flows out via the
water outlet
holes 661.
The lower cover 67 has an inner ring area 671, a middle ring area 672, and an
outer ring
area 673 disposed corresponding to the inner ring portion 631, the middle ring
portion 632,
and the outer ring portion 633 of the middle cover 63 respectively. After
passing through
the water aerator 64, the water flow flows towards the inner ring area 671.
After passing
through the blade 65 and the water outlet ring 66, the water flow flows
towards the middle
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ring area 672. In addition, the water flow flowing out via the outer water
outlet hole 623
directly flows towards the outer ring area 673 of the lower cover via the
outer ring portion
633 of the middle cover 63. The water outlets with different sizes are
respectively
distributed at the inner ring area 671, the middle ring area 672, and the
outer ring area 673 of
the lower cover 67 for the water flow to pass therethrough. Through bonding
the lower
cover 67 with the cover cap 41, the upper cover 62, the middle cover 63, the
water aerator 64,
the blade 65, and the water outlet ring 66 may be secured therein.
The face cover 68 may be embedded in the lower cover 67 and distributed with
water
outlets of different sizes corresponding to the inner ring area 671, the
middle ring area 672,
and the outer ring area 673 of the lower cover 67, so as to enable the water
flow at different
areas to flow out in a large quantity.
Through the above structure, the structures for controlling the water outlet
disposed at
the water outlet head unit are reduced to reduce the weight of the water
outlet head unit of
the showerhead. The overall structure of the water outlet head unit becomes
thinner and
has more flexibilities and variations for appearance design, so as to change
the
configurations and appearances thereof. Furthermore, when the user takes a
shower and
wants to adjust a water flow state, the moment of the force applied to adjust
the water inlet
control unit is relatively small, since the radius of'the water inlet control
unit is smaller than
that of the water outlet head unit, and thus it is more convenient for the
user to apply a force
and perform the operation.
In view of the above illustrations, the features and efficacies of the hand-
held
showerhead structure of the present invention are listed as follows.
1. The multi-stage switching function is moved from the head of the showerhead
to the
end portion of the handle, such that the head obviously becomes thinner and
lighter.
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2. Since the head of the showerhead becomes thinner in volume, it also becomes
lighter
in weight, so that the showerhead gives the user a balanced feeling when being
held by the
user.
3. When the user switches the water flow mode while taking a shower, the
moment of
the applied force is reduced, such that the operation is easier and saves
labor.
4. Since the head structure of the showerhead becomes thinner, the head
structure has
more flexibilities and variations in design, such that the configurations and
appearance
thereof may be varied more easily.
To sum up, the present invention meets the inventiveness requirements among
similar
products. Furthermore, not only the specific constructions disclosed never
appeared in the
products of the same kind, but also have never been published at home and
abroad before the
instant application. Therefore, the present application meets the requirements
of a utility
model patent, and thus the present application is filed for a patent according
to the law.
The foregoing is merely intended to illustrate preferred embodiments of the
present
invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and
variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without
departing from the
scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended
that the present
invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they
fall within the
scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
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