Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FIXING STRUCTURE OF A FAUCET AND AN OPERATING METHOD
THEREOF
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing structure of a faucet fixed on a
support plate and an operating method thereof.
Description of the Prior Art
A conventional device for a top mounting of a faucet disclosed in US
5,535,776 contains a fitting seat inserted into an opening of a support plate
used
in a kitchen equipped with a water tank, and the fitting seat includes a
column
with screws extending downward to the support plate and used to receive a body
of the faucet, the column of the fitting seat includes a plastic pad, a spaced
ring,
and a metal retaining loop fitted thereon and screwed with a nut. A user
applies a
torque wrench to insert a screwing element into an orifice of a vertical wall
of
the fitting seat via a casing of the faucet to limit a relative movement
between
the faucet and the fitting seat, thus assembling the faucet.
However, many related components of such a conventional device for the top
mounting of the faucet have to be installed below the water tank, limiting
installing space and having a complicate installation.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-
described
disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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The primary object of the present invention is to provide a fixing structure
of a
faucet and an operating method thereof that is capable of overcoming the
shortcomings of the conventional fixing structure of a faucet.
To obtain the above objectives, a fixing structure of a faucet provided by the
present invention contains:
the faucet including a housing, the housing including a mouth formed on a
bottom end thereof and at least one through aperture radially formed on a
peripheral side of the bottom end thereof; the faucet including an inlet pipe
unit
connected with a bottom end of thereof and extending downward through the
mouth of the housing;
a locking member being operated to move between an engaging position and a
disengaging position along the through aperture;
a positioning device including a fitting seat, and the fitting seat including
a
bottom face to be abutted against a top wall of the opening of the support
plate,
a channel defined therein to receive the inlet pipe unit of the faucet, one
slot
disposed on least one portion of an outer surface thereof to slide the locking
member of the housing located at the engaging position, the slot including at
least one tooth and at least one retaining recess such that the locking member
passes through the tooth to be retained in the retaining recess and is limited
by
the tooth to move backward so that the mouth of the housing is fixed on the
fitting seat.
To obtain the above objectives, an operating method of a fixing structure of a
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faucet provided by the present invention contains steps of
a. preparing, wherein a faucet, a locking member, and a positioning device are
provided; wherein
the faucet includes a housing, the housing includes a mouth formed on a
bottom end thereof and at least one through aperture radially formed on a
peripheral side of the bottom end thereof; the faucet includes an inlet pipe
unit
connected with a bottom end of thereof and extending downward through the
mouth of the housing;
a locking member is operated to move between an engaging position and a
disengaging position along the through aperture;
a positioning device includes a fitting seat, and the fitting seat including a
bottom face, a channel defined therein, one slot disposed on least one portion
of
an outer surface thereof, the slot includes at least one tooth and at least
one
retaining recess;
b. installing the locking member, wherein the locking member is fixed in a
through aperture of a housing so as to move between an engaging and a
disengaging positions along the through aperture, thereafter the locking
member
is controlled to be located the engaging position;
c. positioning the positioning device, wherein a top wall of a fitting seat of
the
positioning device is retained on the top wall of an opening of a support
plate.
d. aligning the faucet, wherein the bottom end of the housing of the faucet is
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aligned to the fitting seat, and the locking member is aligned with the
longitudinal slot; thereafter the inlet pipe unit is inserted into the channel
of the
fitting seat;
e. fitting the faucet, wherein the bottom end of the housing of the faucet is
slidably fitted to the fitting seat, and the locking member slides downward
along
the longitudinal slot to pass through the al least one tooth to retain with
the
retaining recess so as to pass the at least one tooth along the lateral slot
to retain
with one selected retaining recess, hence the locking member is limited so
that it
can not rotatably return to an original position, thereby positioning the
faucet on
the positioning device and finishing an installation of the faucet.
Thereby, the fitting seat is fitted directly during installing the faucet,
thus
positioning the fitting seat quickly and easily without a rotating operation.
The positioning device is capable of being operated on the support plate to
position the faucet easily and quickly.
The projections are fixed around an inner surface of the fitting seat and
located at the top end of the opening of the support plate to arrange the
screwing
elements and the engagement blocks so that a receiving space of the channel of
the fitting seat are increased to insert the inlet pipe unit easily.
Because the tab is located at the middle section of the inner side of the
contacting portion, the contacting portion of the engagement block is retained
on
the bottom wall of the support plate stably, hence the positioning device is
fixed
on the support plate securely.
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The engagement block is comprised of the metal base and the plastic clamping
piece to obtain a strong structure and a tight engaging function, such that
the
contacting portion contacts with the bottom wall of the support plate tightly.
Also, the rib of the plastic clamping piece is applied to increase an
engagement
effect.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. i is a perspective view showing the assembly of a faucet according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing partial exploded components of a fixing
structure of the faucet according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line A-A of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line B-B of Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a housing of the faucet
according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the assembly of a positioning device of
the fixing structure of the faucet according to the preferred embodiment of
the
present invention;
Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the assembly of a fitting seat of the
fixing
structure of the faucet according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 8 is a top plan view showing the assembly of the fitting seat of the
fixing
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structure of the faucet according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the exploded components of the fitting
seat of the fixing structure of the faucet according to the preferred
embodiment
of the present invention;
Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the exploded components of an
engagement block of the fixing structure of the faucet according to the
preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 11 is a cross sectional view taken along the line C-C of Fig. 6 and
showing two engagement blocks are close to each other;
Fig. 12 is a cross sectional view showing the two engagement blocks leave
away from each other;
Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing the operation of the fixing structure of
the faucet according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 14 is another perspective view showing the operation of the fixing
structure of the faucet according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 15 is a cross sectional view showing the operation of the fixing
structure
of the faucet according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 16 is a cross sectional view showing the assembly of a locking member of
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a fixing structure of a faucet according to another embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 17 is a top plan view showing the assembly of a fitting seat of a fixing
structure of a faucet according to another embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 18 is a cross sectional view showing the assembly of a housing of a
fixing
structure of a faucet according to another embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 19 is a perspective view showing the assembly of a fitting seat of a
fixing
structure of a faucet according to another embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 20 is a plan view showing the assembly of a fitting seat of a fixing
structure of a faucet according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention will be clearer from the following description when
viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of
illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present
invention.
Referring to Figs. 1-4, a fixing structure of a faucet according to a
preferred
embodiment of the present invention comprises a faucet 10, a locking member
20, and a positioning device 301.
The faucet 10 is fixed on a support plate 1 with an opening 1 a, and the
support
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plate 1 is used in a kitchen cupboard equipped with a water tank, wherein the
faucet 10 is fixed on the support plate 1 of the water tank.
The faucet 10 in this embodiment is a single-handle faucet and comprises a
housing 11, the housing 11 includes a valve (not shown) to mix cold and hot
waters together disposed therein and an operating bar 12 disposed on one side
thereof to be rotated to control the valve, and the valve includes an inlet
pipe
unit 13 connected with a bottom end of the valve, the inlet unit 13 includes a
first inlet pipe 131 to flow the cold water and a second inlet pipe 132 to
flow the
hot water, the housing I1 includes an outlet tube 14 connected on a top end
thereof and allowing to be rotated to adjust a watering angle. The faucet 10
is a
well-known prior art, so further remarks are omitted. The housing 11 includes
a
mouth 111 formed on a bottom end thereof and a through aperture 112 radially
formed on a peripheral side of the bottom end thereof. In this embodiment, the
through aperture 112 includes threads attached therein as shown in Fig. 5.
The locking member 20 is operated to move between an engaging position P 1
and a disengaging position along the through aperture 112 as illustrated in
Fig.
15. In this embodiment, the locking member 20 is a screw bolt to screw with
the
through hole 12 and to be rotated to move between the engaging and the
disengaging positions P1, P2.
As illustrated in Fig. 6, the positioning device 301 includes a fitting seat
30,
two limiting rods 40, two screwing elements 50, and two engagement blocks 60.
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Referring to Fig. 7, the fitting seat 30 includes a bottom face 31 to be
abutted
against a top wall lb of the opening la of the support plate 1, includes a
channel
32 defined therein to receive the inlet pipe unit 13 of the faucet 10,
includes a
longitudinal slot 33 disposed on and extending axially along an outer surface
thereof, and a lateral slot 34 extending along a circumferential direction
thereof
to communicate with the longitudinal slot 33, the lateral slot 34 includes
three
teeth 35 arranged therein, between any two adjacent teeth 35 is defined a
retaining recess 36, and between a rearmost tooth 35 and a first fence 341 of
a
distal end of the lateral slot 34 is defined one retaining recess 36 as well,
there
are three retaining recesses 36 defined in this embodiment to be selected to
retain with the locking member 20.
The fitting seat 30 includes two opposite projections 37 fixed around an inner
surface thereof and located at a top end of the opening 1 a of the support
plate 1
as shown in Fig. 8.
The fitting seat 30 further includes two sealing pads 38 attached on the outer
and the bottom surfaces thereof individually as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4
to
engage with an inner surface of the mouth 111 and the top wall lb of the
opening 1 a of the support plate 1.
The fitting seat 30 includes a direction remaking element 39 arranged on a top
end thereof to guide an installation in a circumferential direction of the
fitting
seat 30. In this embodiment, the direction remaking element 39 is formed in an
arrow shape.
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The fitting seat 30 is provided to receive the housing 11, and in operation,
the
locking member 20 located at the engaging position P 1 of the housing 11 is
aligned with the longitudinal slot 33 of the fitting seat 30, and then it is
fitted to
the fitting seat 30 by using the mouth 111 as shown in Fig. 13, so that the
locking member 20 slides downward to a terminal position of a lower side of
the
housing 11 along the longitudinal slot 33, thereafter the housing 11 is
rotated so
that the locking member 20 further slides along the lateral slot 34, such that
the
locking member 20 passes through at least one tooth 35 to engage with one of
the retaining recesses 36. Of course, the housing 11 is capable of being
further
rotated so that the locking member 20 engages with another retaining recess
36,
hence the housing 11 is fixed on the positioning device 301 securely as shown
in
Fig. 14.
To generate a flexible deformation of the tooth 35 of the fitting seat 30 so
that
the locking member 20 enters into a predetermined retaining recess 36, and the
fitting seat 30 has a strong structure as illustrated in Fig. 7 and 9, a first
component 30a made of a hard material and a second component 30b made of a
plastic material are pre-formed, wherein the second component 30b is formed in
a C-shaped ring shape so as to be retained in a C-shaped groove 300 pre-formed
on an outer surface of the first component 30a, thus forming the fitting seat
30;
wherein the first component 30a is made of a hard material, such as a metal
material, to generate a main part of the fitting seat 30, enhancing a
structural
reinforcement of the fitting seat 30, such as the projections 37. The second
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component 30b is used to form main parts of the longitudinal slot 33 and the
lateral slot 34, such as the teeth 35 of the lateral slot 34 to cause a
flexible
deformation.
The two limiting rods 40, as shown in Fig. 6, are parallel to each other and
connected to the projections 37of the fitting seat 30, and a distal end of
each
limiting rod 40 extends downward to a bottom end of the support plate 1 via
the
channel 32. In this embodiment, the limiting rod 40 is retained in a first
bore 371
of the projection 37 of the fitting seat 30.
Each screwing element 50, as illustrated in Fig. 6, is parallel to a centrally
axial line L of the fitting seat 30, inserted into the projection 37of the
fitting seat
30, and is adjacent to the limiting rod 40, a distal end of the screwing
element 50
extends downward to the bottom end of the support plate 1 via the channel 32.
In this embodiment, the screwing element 50 is movably rotated to be further
inserted into a second bore 372 of the projection 37, and a head end 51 of the
screwing element 50 is limited above the second bore 372.
Each engagement block 60 is screwed with the screwing element 50 and
engaged on a bottom wall lc of the support plate I by using the screw element
50 and the limiting rod 40 so that the positioning device 301 is fixed on the
support plate 1 stably.
With reference to Fig. 10, the engagement block 60 is comprised of a metal
base 61 and a plastic clamping piece 62 connected on the metal base 61. The
metal base 61 includes a contacting portion 611 and a tab 612 located at a
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middle section of an inner side of the contacting portion 611; the contacting
portion 611 extends radially from the centrally axial line L of the fitting
seat 30,
and includes two first orifices 613 formed thereon to retain two posts 621
extending from a bottom end of the plastic clamping piece 62 respectively; the
tab 612 includes a second orifice 614 to screw with the screwing element 50;
the
plastic clamping piece 62 is semilunar, and includes a notch 622 arranged on a
top end thereof and a rib 623 formed around a peripheral side of the top end
thereof to engage with the bottom wall 1 c of the support plate 1.
An operating method of a fixing structure of a faucet includes steps of:
a. preparing, wherein a faucet 10, a locking member 20, and a positioning
device 301 are provided;
b. installing the locking member 20, wherein the locking member 20 is fixed
at an engaging position P1 of a through aperture 112 of a housing 11;
c. positioning the positioning device 301, wherein a top wall lb of a fitting
seat 30 of the positioning device 301 is retained on the top wall 1b of an
opening
1 a of a support plate 1.
If two engagement blocks 60 on two screwing elements 50 are not able to be
inserted through an opening is of the support plate 1, the engagement blocks
60
are tamed to be close to each other so that a distance between the engagement
blocks 60 is lowered until the engagement blocks 60 are capable of passing
through the opening 1 a of the support plate 1 as illustrated in Fig. 11;
thereafter, the screwing elements 50, the engagement blocks 60, and the
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limiting rods 40 are inserted downward from the opening la of the support
plate
1 until a bottom face 31 of the fitting seat 30 of the fixing device 301 abuts
against the top wall lb of the support plate 1, and then two head portions 51
of
the two screwing elements 50 are individually rotated toward a predetermined
direction above the fitting seat 30 by ways of a specific tool so that the
adjacent
engagement blocks 60 are actuated to rotate so as to leave away from each
other
as shown in Fig. 12, hence the engaging blocks 60 move upward along the
screwing elements 50 respectively until they engage with the bottom wall lc of
the support plate 1;
d. aligning the faucet 10, wherein the bottom end of the housing 11 of the
faucet 10 is aligned to the fitting seat 30, and the locking member 20 is
aligned
with the longitudinal slot 33 as shown in Fig. 13; thereafter the inlet pipe
unit 13
is inserted into the channel 32 of the fitting seat 30;
e. fitting the faucet 10, wherein the bottom end of the housing 11 of the
faucet
10 is slidably fitted to the fitting seat 30, and the locking member 20 slides
downward along the longitudinal slot 33;
f. rotating and positioning the faucet 10, wherein the housing 1l of the
faucet
11 is rotated toward a predetermined direction as illustrated in Fig. 14 so
that the
locking remember 20 passes the at least one tooth 35 along the lateral slot 34
to
retain with one selected retaining recess 36 as shown in Fig. 3, hence the
locking
member 20 is limited so that it can not rotatably return to an original
position,
thereby positioning the faucet 10 on the positioning device 301 and finishing
an
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installation of the faucet 10.
Referring to Fig. 16, the locking member 20 is a pulling shaft on which a
resilient element 21 to be compressed is fitted so that the pulling shaft is
acted
by the resilient element 21 to be located at the engaging position PI and is
pulled outward to move toward the disengaging position P2.
The fitting seat 30 includes three retaining recess 36, and when the locking
member 20 is fixed on.a middle recess 36, the operating bar 12 is located at a
right side of the faucet 10, and when the locking member 20 is located at the
other two retaining recess 36, the operating bar 12 is located at a front end
of the
right side of the faucet 10 or a rear end of the right side of the faucet 10
to be
adjusted by the user.
Furthermore, the fitting seat 30 of the positioning device 301 is moved
forward or toward a desired installing position by using the direction
remaking
element 39 to be further fixed, therefore after the faucet 10 is positioned in
the
fitting seat 30, the operating bar 12 is located at a right side of the
support plate
1 as shown in Fig. 13. Accordingly, the installation direction and position of
the
fitting seat 30 will determine a position of the operating bar 12 after
installing
the faucet 10. In other words, the position of the operating bar 12 is
controlled
by controlling an installing direction of the fitting seat 30.
For example, if desiring to position the operating bar 12 on a left side of
the
support plate 1, a longitudinal slot 330, a lateral slot 340, a plurality of
teeth 350,
and retaining recesses 360 are provided on another end of the outer surface of
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the fitting seat 30 relative to the longitudinal slot 33 as shown in Fig. 17
so that
the user positions the locking member 20 in any selected retaining recess 360
to
locate the operating bar 12 at the left side of the support plate 1.
Moreover, another through aperture 112 is provided on another end of an outer
surface of the housing 11 as illustrated in Fig, 18 to locate the operating
bar 12
at the left side of the support plate 1.
With reference to Fig. 19, the fitting seat 30 and the teeth 35 in the lateral
slot
34 are arranged along a bottom fringe 342 of the lateral slot 34 so that the
locking member 20 is retained with one selected retaining recess 36.
As shown in Fig. 20, the lateral slot 34 is capable of not being provided on
the
fitting seat 30, e.g., the longitudinal slot 33 only includes a plurality of
teeth 35
disposed thereon, among the teeth 35 and a second fence 331 are defined three
retaining recesses 36 so that the locking member 20 passes at least one tooth
35
to retain with one selected retaining recess 36, such that after the housing
11 of
the faucet 10 is fitted into the fitting seat 30, it is positioned without
using one
rotating process.
The locking member 20 is installed in the housing 11 in advance and
positioned at the disengaging position P1, and after the positioning device
301 is
fixed on the support plate 1, the housing 11 is fitted into the fitting seat
30 of the
positioning device 301 and is rotated toward a predetermined direction so that
the locking member 20 is rotated to pass through the longitudinal slot 33 and
slide into the lateral slot 34, thereby positioning the housing 11.
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The operating method of the fixing structure of the faucet further comprises
removing steps of: moving and limiting the locking member 20 on the
disengaging position P2, and lifting the faucet 10 having the housing 11
upward
so that the faucet 10 is removed to be maintained and replaced quickly and
easily without any rotating operation.
As shown in Fig. 20, the fitting seat 30 is fitted directly during installing
the
faucet 10, thus positioning the fitting seat 30 quickly and easily without a
rotating operation.
The positioning device 301 is capable of being operated on the support plate 1
to position the faucet easily and quickly.
The projections 37 are fixed around an inner surface of the fitting seat 30
and
located at the top end of the opening I. a of the support plate 1 to arrange
the
screwing elements 50 and the engagement blocks 60 so that a receiving space of
the channel 32 of the fitting seat 30 are increased to insert the inlet pipe
unit 13
easily.
Because the tab 612 is located at the middle section of the inner side of the
contacting portion 611, the contacting portion 611 of the engagement block 60
is
retained on the bottom wall 1 c of the support plate 1 stably, hence the
positioning device 301 is fixed on the support plate 1 securely.
The engagement block 60 is comprised of the metal base 61 and the plastic
clamping piece 62 to obtain a strong structure and a tight engaging function,
such that the contacting portion 611 contacts with the bottom wall 1 c of the
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support plate 1 tightly. Also, the rib 623 of the plastic clamping piece 62 is
applied to increase an engagement effect.
While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with
the present invention, it is clear to those skilled in the art that further
embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present
invention.
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