Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WATER-FLOW FILTERING STRUCTURE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of Invention
The invention relates to a water outlet member, more particularly to a water-
flow
filtering structure that can be applied to a water outlet of a tap.
Related Art
Water-flow filtering structure is widely applied, and is commonly mounted at
water
outlets of various taps. Currently, the common water-flow filtering structure
approximately includes a shell body, which can be mounted at a water outlet of
a tap, a
filter ring, which can be mounted inside the shell body, and a water-flow
regulator having a
filter screen, which can be mounted within the filter ring. The water-flow
regulator has
the function of filtering and regulating a water-flow preliminarily. The
filter ring has the
function of secondarily filtering the water-flow and producing a uniform,
mild, and
non-splashing water-flow. Furthermore, some filter rings may be provided with
slots on
their sidewalls, so that a vacuum effect is produced after the water-flow is
flowed through
the sidewall. Then, air is breathed from the slot to be mixed with the water,
impinging on
the screen within the filter ring to produce bubbles and water waves. Such a
water-flow
filtering structure is generally called a bubble-type water-flow filtering
structure, and one
without the slot is generally called a laminar-flow-type water-flow filtering
structure.
Although the common water-flow filtering structure has the functions of
filtering and
regulating the water-flow, under the requirements of the environment
protection and energy
saving, how to save the water quantity becomes an extremely important topic.
For
example, U.S. Patent publication US2006/0144962 discloses a water-flow
filtering
structure with the concept of water saving. In addition to the conventional
shell body,
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filter ring and water-flow regulator, the water-flow filtering structure
further includes a
water quantity regulator and a preliminary filter screen. The water quantity
regulator
includes a core region and an ascending chamfer. The core region surrounds
around a
throttle body and constitutes a control gap in combination with the ascending
chamfer.
The core region can be communication-connected to the lower water-flow
regulator.
Furthermore, the preliminary screen covers on top of the water quantity
regulator. As such,
the water-flow can flow towards the water-flow regulator through the primary
filtration of
the preliminary screen and the control gap. Wherein, when the water-flow
flowing
through the preliminary screen is enhanced, the water-flow will impinge on the
throttle
body on the water quantity regulator to produce outward-diffusion and
deformation,
making the control gap smaller, thereby a water-saving effect of regulating
the water
quantity can be achieved.
However, the Patent above has the following shortcomings. First, although the
water-flow filtering structure has the water-saving function, it adds a water
quantity
regulator compared to the conventional water-flow filtering structure, thus it
needs to
increase a molding mold and an assembly procedure, increasing the production
and
assembly cost relatively. Second, in the water-flow filtering structure, water-
filtering
holes are not only distributed in a central region of the preliminary screen,
but also
distributed at a periphery of the preliminary screen. In addition, the
periphery of the
preliminary screen is opposite to the ascending chamfer around the water
quantity regulator
in a small gap. Hence, when the water-flow flows through the respective water-
filtering
holes of the preliminary screen, especially flows through the water-filtering
holes at the
periphery of the preliminary screen, an impinging water flow will be produced
on the
ascending chamfer, so that the preliminary screen is liable to encounter a
counteracting
force of the impinging water-flow and ascends upward to produce a drifting or
floating
phenomena, thereby resulting in deflection. Furthermore, impurities and
foreign matter
contained in the water also easily accumulates on the ascending chamfer, then
jams in the
small gap between the ascending chamfer and the preliminary screen to cause
deflection of
the preliminary screen, thereby influencing the smoothness of water outlet and
the effect of
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water filtering. Third, in a practical use of the water-flow filtering
structure, it is found
that an evident noise is still produced due to the impinging of the water-
flow, especially
after the water-flow flows through the control gap. Because no special water
flow
resistance is designed, the water-flow rapidly flows through the water-flow
regulator, and
impinges on the screen in the filter ring to produce the evident noise. In
view of the
several shortcomings of the Patent above, there does exist a great space to be
improved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of the present invention is directed to a water-flow
filtering structure.
It is expected that the water-flow filtering structure can effectively reduce
the number of
built-up members to reduce the production and assembly cost, while keeping the
original
function of filtering and water saving.
A secondary object of the present invention is directed to a water-flow
filtering
structure. It is expected that the water-flow filtering structure can reduce a
counteracting
force of the impinging produced by a water-flow on a water-filtering upper
cover, to
prevent the water-filtering upper cover from deflecting due to drifting or
floating. It is
also expected that the water-flow filtering structure can reduce the
deflection of the
water-filtering upper cover due to jamming of impurities and foreign matter in
the water, to
ensure the quality of water-flow filtering and the smoothness of water outlet.
A further object of the present invention is directed to a water-flow
filtering structure.
It is expected that the water-flow filtering structure can provide a proper
guide and a
resistance limitation for the water-flow after the water-flow flows through a
control gap
formed between the water-filtering upper cover and a water-saving piece, to
achieve an
effect of lowering the flow speed to reduce the noise.
In order to achieve the objects above, the present invention provides a water-
flow
filtering structure, including:
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a filter ring;
a water-saving piece, detachably mounted at a front side of the filter ring
along a flow
direction, a core region is disposed in a center thereof, the core region
surrounds around a
throttle body, and a plurality of diverging holes are disposed at a periphery
of the core
region;
a water-filtering upper cover, detachably mounted at a front side of the water-
saving
piece along the flow direction, a plurality of water-filtering holes are
disposed throughout
an outside central region thereof, an inner chamber is defined on an inner
side thereof for
making the water-filtering holes communicate with each other, the inner
chamber is
separated from the throttle body of the water-saving piece by a control gap,
the inner
chamber can be in communication with the lower respective diverging holes.
The water-flow filtering structure further includes a shell body, for mounting
and
positioning the filter ring.
The filter ring of the water-flow filtering structure further includes a body
and a
plurality of filter screens; the body has an inner space for mounting and
positioning the
screens in the below, and a circular top edge; a sidewall of the water-saving
piece can be
properly embedded into the inner space, and an annular positioning edge is
extended
around the water-saving piece, the annular positioning edge can be positioned
against the
circular top edge.
A step edge is disposed at a periphery of the upper respective diverging holes
of the
water-saving piece in the water-flow filtering structure, and an annular
positioning edge
positioned against the step edge is relatively disposed at a periphery of the
water-filtering
upper cover.
A top setting surface of the respective diverging holes of the water-saving
piece of the
water-flow filtering structure is separated from an opposite bottom surface of
the
water-filtering upper cover by a predetermined distance.
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The core region in the center of the water-saving piece of the water-flow
filtering
structure is formed by a columnar structure axially being extended upward from
a center of
the top surface.
The core region of the water-flow filtering structure has a first columnar
portion with a
large diameter located in the below, and a second columnar portion being
extended from a
center of the first columnar portion. The throttle body detachably covers and
surrounds
around the second columnar portion and supported by a top surface of the first
columnar
portion.
A plurality of choke columns are distributed around the first columnar portion
of the
water-flow filtering structure. Flow intervals with predetermined sizes are
formed
between the choke columns, and between the choke columns and the first
columnar portion.
The diverging holes are disposed in a peripheral region of the choke columns.
A plurality of guiding blocks as a whole are extended from an outer sidewall
of the first
columnar portion of the water-flow filtering structure in a circumferential
direction by a
predetermined interval. The guiding block is at least partially located at a
periphery of the
throttle body relatively.
The choke columns of the water-flow filtering structure include a plurality of
choke
columns located in an inner region, and a plurality of choke columns located
in a peripheral
region. Each of the choke columns in the inner region is relatively disposed
between any
two adjacent guiding blocks in an adaptive flow interval respectively. Each of
the choke
columns in the inner region is respectively arranged with two peripheral choke
columns in
a symmetrical triangle shape.
Utilizing the water-flow filtering structure of the present invention, first,
since only two
built-up members (the water-filtering upper cover and the water-saving piece)
can achieve
the filtering and water-saving effects obtained by three built-up members of
the
conventional water-flow filtering structure (the preliminary screen, the water-
flow regulator,
and the water quantity regulator), the structure can be effectively simplified
and thus
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reduces the production and assembly cost. Second, since the water-filtering
holes of the
water-filtering upper cover are distributed only in the central region
relative to the inner
chamber, the counteracting force of the impinging of the water-flow on the
water-filtering
upper cover after the water-flow flows through the water-filtering holes can
be reduced,
thereby preventing deflecting due to drifting or floating. Also, a design of
replacing the
conventional ascending chamfer by the inner chamber can avoid the accumulation
of
impurities and foreign matter in the water to cause the water-filtering upper
cover to be
jammed, resulting in a deflecting situation, which also can ensure the
smoothness of water
outlet and the effect of water filtering. Third, the flow intervals with
proper sizes are
formed between the outer sidewall of the first columnar portion, the
respective two adjacent
guiding blocks and the respective choke columns of the water-saving piece
under the
control gap, and between the respective guiding columns in the inner region
and the
respective guiding columns in the peripheral region, furthermore, the
respective diverging
holes are disposed at the periphery of the choke columns, consequently, after
the
water-flow flows through the control gap, the water-flow will be subject to
route guiding
and resistance limitation by the flow intervals, so that the flow speed of the
water-flow is
effectively slowed down, thereby achieving the effect of reducing the noise.
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 are not limitative of the
present invention,
and wherein:
FICz 1 is an overall outside view of the water-flow filtering structure
according to a
first embodiment of the present invention;
FICi 2 is a detailed three-dimensional exploded view of the water-flow
filtering
structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
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FIG 3 is a general three-dimensional exploded view of the water-flow filtering
structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the water-flow filtering structure
according to the first
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional outside view of a water-saving piece without a
throttle
body according to the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a flow direction according to the present
invention, in
which a water-flow flows from a water-filtering upper cover according to the
first
embodiment of the present invention, through the water-saving piece to a
filter ring;
FIG 7 is a schematic diagram of a part of a flow direction according to the
present
invention, in which a water-flow flows through a control gap of the water-flow
filtering
structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention, flows
into between the
respective two adjacent guiding blocks, through the flow intervals formed
between the
guiding blocks and the respective choke colunms, towards the respective
diverging holes;
and
FIG. 8 is an overall outside view of the water-flow filtering structure
according to a
second embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 to 4 illustrates the water-flow filtering structure according to a
first embodiment
of the present invention. The water-flow filtering structure mainly includes a
shell body
(not shown), a filter ring 10, a water-saving piece 20, and a water-filtering
upper cover 30.
The built-up members are illustrated below respectively.
The shell body is usually spirally mounted and fixed to a water outlet of a
predetermined water-outlet member, such as tap. The shell body is a
conventional member,
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and not a main technical characteristic of the present invention.
The filter ring 10 is detachably mounted and positioned inside the shell body.
The
filter ring 10 of this embodiment includes a body 11, and four filter screens
12 mounted and
positioned inside the body 11 in a posterior position along the flow
direction. The body 11
has an inner space 111 and a circular top edge 112. A plurality of slots 113
in
communication with outside are disposed on a sidewall of the body 11, so that
a vacuum
effect is produced when a water-flow flows through the body 11, and thus air
is breathed
from the slots 113 to be mixed with the water-flow, impinging on the screens
12 to produce
bubbles and water waves. The filter ring 10 is a conventional member, and not
a main
technical characteristic of the present invention.
Further referring to FIG. 5, it can be found that the water-saving piece 20 is
detachably
mounted inside the filter ring 10 at a front side along the flow direction.
The water-saving
piece 20 includes a top surface 21, a bottom surface 22, a core region 23
axially being
extended upward from a center of the top surface 21, a sidewall 24 being
extended upward
from a periphery of the top surface 21, and an annular positioning edge 25
being
horizontally extended outward from the sidewall 24. The water-saving piece 20
can be
positioned against the top edge 112 of the filter ring 10 by the annular
positioning edge 25.
The core region 23 of this embodiment is a columnar structure, and
approximately includes
a first columnar portion 231 with a large diameter located in the below and a
second
columnar portion 232 being extended from a center of the first columnar
portion 231. A
throttle body 26, which may be an 0-ring, is supported on a top surface of the
first
columnar portion 231, and the throttle body 26 detachably covers and surrounds
around the
second columnar portion 232. Furthermore, a plurality of guiding blocks 233 as
a whole
are extended from an outer sidewall of the first columnar portion 231 in a
circumferential
direction by a proper interval. The guiding block 233 is at least partially or
entirely
located at a periphery of the throttle body 26 relatively. A plurality of
choke columns 211
projecting upward from the top surface 21 are distributed around the first
columnar portion
231. Flow intervals with proper sizes are formed between the choke columns 21,
and
between the choke columns 21 and the outer sidewall of the first columnar
portion 231, the
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guiding block 233. The choke columns 211 of this embodiment are distributed in
a
circular shape with the first columnar portion 231 as the center. The choke
columns 211
include a plurality of choke columns 211 located in an inner region and a
plurality of choke
columns 211 located in a peripheral region, each of the choke columns 211 in
the inner
region is relatively disposed between any two adjacent guiding blocks by an
adaptive flow
interval respectively, and each of the choke columns 211 in the inner region
is respectively
arranged with two choke columns 211 in the peripheral region in a symmetrical
triangle
shape. Also, a plurality of diverging holes 212 are disposed on the top
surface 21 in the
peripheral region of the choke columns 211 of the water-saving piece 20, the
diverging
holes 212 pass through the bottom surface 22 and can communicate with the
screens 12
inside the filter ring 10. A step edge 241 is disposed on a top inner side of
the sidewa1124
of the water-saving piece 20.
The water-filtering upper cover 30 is detachably mounted at a front side of
the
water-saving piece 20 along the flow direction. In this embodiment, an annular
positioning edge 31 is extended around the water-filtering upper cover 30
horizontally, for
positioning the step edge 241 of the water-saving piece 20 against the annular
positioning
edge 31. Furthermore, a plurality of water-filtering holes 32 are disposed
throughout a
central region of an outer top surface of the water-filtering upper cover 30,
and an inner
chamber 33 is defined on an inner side of the water-filtering upper cover 30
for making the
water-filtering holes 32 communicate with each other. Further, the inner
chamber 33 is
separated from the throttle body 26 of the water-saving piece 20 by a control
gap ^, as
shown in FIG. 4, the inner chamber 33 can be in communication with the lower
respective
diverging holes 212. Also, the bottom surface of the inner side of the water-
filtering upper
cover 30 in the periphery of the inner chamber 33 is properly positioned
against the top
edges of the respective guiding blocks 233 and the choke columns 211 of the
first columnar
portion 231 of the water-saving piece 20, so that the water-flow flowing
through the control
gap~lcan be guided to flow into between the respective two adjacent guiding
blocks 233,
through the flow intervals formed by the guiding blocks 233, the respective
inner choke
columns 211 and the respective peripheral choke columns 211, to the respective
diverging
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holes 212.
Referring to FIG. 2 to 4, in assembly of the water-flow filtering structure of
the present
invention, at first, the throttle body 26 covers and surrounds around the
second columnar
portion 232 of the water-saving piece 20, and the throttle body 26 is
positioned against the
top edge of the first columnar portion 231. Then, the annular positioning edge
25 around
the water-saving piece 20 is positioned against the top edge 112 of the filter
ring 10.
Thereafter, the annular positioning edge 31 of the water-filtering upper cover
30 is
positioned against the step edge 241 of the water-saving piece 20, thus the
assembly of the
main members of the water-flow filtering structure is accomplished. Finally,
the main
members above are placed into the shell body, and spirally fixed onto a water
outlet of a
predetermined water-outlet member, thus the mounting operation of the water-
flow filtering
structure is accomplished.
Referring to FIG 6, in use of the water-flow filtering structure of the
present invention,
when a water-flow flows towards the water outlet of the water outlet member,
the
water-flow first enters the inner chamber 33 inside the water-flow filtering
structure from
the respective water-filtering holes 32 in the central region of the water-
filtering upper
cover 30, then through the control gap ^ between the inner chamber 33 and the
throttle
body 26 on the water-saving piece 20, flows in order into the flow intervals
between the
outer sidewall of the first columnar portion 231, the respective two adjacent
guiding blocks
233 and the respective relative inner choke columns 211 of the water-saving
piece 20, then,
flows along the flow intervals between the inner choke columns 211 and the
peripheral
choke columns 211 towards the peripheral respective diverging holes 212,
finally, flows in
order through the respective diverging holes 212 and the respective screens 12
of the filter
ring 10 out of the water outlet, and produces a bubbly water-flow with bubble
and water
wave effect.
Referring to FIG. 8, the water-flow filtering structure of a second embodiment
of the
present invention is shown. It is approximately the same as the water-flow
filtering
structure of the first embodiment above, except that the above slots 113 are
not designed on
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the sidewall of the filter ring 10. Consequently, when a water-flow flows
through the filter
ring 10, the vacuum effect and the water outlet effect with bubbles and water
waves will not
be produced. Rather, the laminar-flow-type water-outlet effect is achieved;
accordingly,
the present invention is also suitable as the laminar-flow-type water-flow
filtering structure.
In view of the description above, the features and effect of the present
invention is
generalized as follows:
1. The water-flow filtering structure of the present invention expertly
combines the
core region and the throttle body portion of the water-flow regulator and the
water quantity
regulator in the conventional water-flow filtering structure into a water-
saving piece 20,
utilizes the sidewall of the inner chamber 33 inside a water-filtering upper
cover 30 to
surround around the throttle body 26 by a proper interval, instead of the
ascending chamfer
of the conventional water quantity regulator, to form the desired control gap
^, so three
built-up members (the water-flow regulator, the water quantity regulator and
the
preliminary screen) of the conventional water-flow filtering structure can be
simplified as
two built-up members (the water-saving piece 20 and the water-filtering upper
cover 30).
Accordingly, the present invention can effectively reduce the number of built-
up members
while keeping the original filtering and water-saving functions, and thus can
reduce the
development and fabrication of molding molds and the assembly procedure,
thereby
reducing the production and assembly cost.
2. In the water-filtering upper cover 30 of the water-flow filtering structure
of the
present invention, since the water-filtering holes 32 are designed to be only
distributed in
the central region relative to the inner chamber 33, in contrast to the all-
round distribution
design in the conventional water-flow filtering structure, the design can
reduce the
impinging from the water-flow after the water-flow flows through the water-
filtering holes
32, thereby reduces the counteracting force upward encountered by the water-
filtering
upper cover 30, so that the water-filtering upper cover 30 is not deflected
due to drifting or
floating. Furthermore, the sidewall of the inner chamber 33 is used instead of
the
conventional ascending chamfer. In the design, there is no elongate gap formed
between
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the conventional ascending chamfer and the preliminary screen, preventing the
water-filtering upper cover from being deflected due to jamming of impurities
and foreign
matter in the water. Accordingly, the smoothness of water outlet and the
effect of water
filtering can be ensured.
3. The present invention utilizes the following designs. Flow intervals with
proper
sizes are formed between the outer sidewall of the first columnar portion 231,
the
respective two adjacent guiding blocks 233 and the respective inner choke
columns 211,
and between the inner choke columns 211 and the peripheral choke columns 211
in the
water-saving piece 20 under the control gap ^, and the respective diverging
holes 212 are
located at the periphery of the choke columns 211. By these designs, after the
water-flow
flows through the control gap ^, the water-flow is subject to the route
guiding and the
resistance limitation by the flow intervals, so that the flow speed is slowed
down, and thus
the noise is reduced. In contrast, in the conventional water-flow filtering
structure, the
water-flow rapidly flows through the diverging holes 212 without hindrance
after the
water-flow flows the control gap, resulting in the evident noise.
4. The water-flow filtering structure of the present invention is obtained
only by
improving the three built-up members of the conventional water-flow regulator,
water
quantity regulator, and preliminary screen, so the filter ring 10 with the
slots 113 in the
sidewall or being sealed may be optionally combined. Accordingly, the water-
flow
filtering structure of the present invention is broadly suitable as the bubble-
type or
laminar-flow-type water-flow filtering structure.
In summary, the present invention has an excellent progressive utility over
the same
type of products, and no identical structure is found in technical documents
relating to this
type of structure at home and abroad. Accordingly, the present invention
conforms to the
requirements for a utility model patent.
However, the foregoing are only several preferred feasible embodiments of the
present
invention, and all equivalent changes made according to the specification and
the claims
should be within the scope of the present invention.
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