Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CA 2925631 2017-02-28
ENVIRONMENTAL FAUCET AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING
THE SAME
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to an environmental faucet and, more
particularly, to an environmental faucet installed in kitchen.
Description of The Related Art
[0002] Faucet is a type of hardware necessary in our daily life. The new
faucet
standard GB-18145 has been enforced since Dec. 1, 2014 to regulate the
allowable
amount of heavy metal released from the faucet. However, most of conventional
faucets in the market have the problem of excessive release of heavy metal
while
qualified faucets are disadvantageous in high cost of manufacture, making them
less
competitive in the faucet market.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In view of the problems and drawbacks of the conventional techniques,
the
objective of the present invention is to provide an environmental faucet
spout.
[0004] One aspect of the present invention is to provide an environmental
faucet
capable of reducing excessive metal released in water flowing through the
environmental faucet.
[0005] To achieve the foregoing, the environmental faucet spout includes a
body, a
valve seat, a valve core, a spout, a water-intake duct, an aerator, a locking
cap and a
handle.
[0006] The body is cylindrical in shape and has a top end, a bottom end and a
tube
seat. The bottom end is connected with a water-intake duct. The tube seat is
formed
on and extends perpendicularly outwards from a sidewall of the body and is
internally
CA 02925631 2016-03-31
threaded.
[0007] The valve seat is mounted in the body and has a top end, a bottom end
and a
connected recess. The top end is externally threaded. The bottom end is
internally
threaded. The connected recess is formed in a peripheral edge wall of the
valve seat.
[0008] The valve core has a spindle formed on and extending from an outer
portion
of the valve core. An inner portion of the valve core is mounted inside the
connected
recess of the valve seat. One end of the valve core opposite to the spindle is
mounted
in the tube seat of the body.
[0009] The outlet elbow has an outer pipe and an inner pipe. The outer pipe is
made from a metal material. The inner pipe is made from a plastic material and
is
mounted inside the outer pipe. An inlet end of the outlet elbow engages the
top end of
the valve seat.
[00010] The water-intake duct has an outer pipc and an inner pipe. The outer
pipe is
made from a metal material. The inner pipe is made from a plastic material. A
top end
of the water-intake duct is securely mounted in the bottom end of the valve
seat.
[00011] The locking cap has a central coupling hole and a locidng section. The
locking section is externally threaded, is formed on a periphery of the
locking cap,
and engages an internally-threaded portion of the tube seat of the body.
[00012] The handle is securely connected with the locking cap and the valve
core.
The spindle of the valve core is mounted in the handle through the central
coupling
hole of the locking cap.
[00013] As water entering the environmental faucet in a flow path sequentially
through the water-intake duct and the outlet elbow only flow through the inner
plastic
portions of the water-intake duct and the outlet elbow, excessive heavy metal
released
in the water can be avoided accordingly.
[00014] According to the foregoing description, the present invention has the
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advantages that simplifying the manufacture, and resolving excessive heavy
metal in
drinking water.
BRIFE DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[00015] The detailed description of the drawings particularly refers to the
accompanying figures in which:
[00016] Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an environmental faucet;
[00017] Fig 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of an outlet elbow of
the
environmental faucet in Fig. I; and
[00018] Fig 3 is a partially exploded perspective view of a water-intake duct
of the
environmental faucet in F ig.1
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[00019] The purpose, construction, features, functions and advantages of the
present
invention can be appreciated and understood more thoroughly through the
following
detailed description in conjunction with the attached drawings.
[00020] With reference to Fig.!, an environmental faucet in accordance with
the
present invention includes a body 1, a valve seat 2, a valve core 3, a locking
cap 7, a
handle 8, an outlet elbow 4, a water-intake duct 5, and an aerator 6.
[00021] The body I takes the form of a cylindrical tube, has a top end, a
bottom end
and a tube seat 1-1. The top end is connected with an inlet end of the outlet
elbow 4,
the bottom end is connected with the water-intake duct 5, and the tube seat 1-
1 is
formed on and extends perpendicularly outwards from a sidewall of the body 1
and is
internally-threaded. The valve seat 2 is mounted in the body 1, and has a top
end, a
bottom end and a connected recess 2-1. The top end is externally threaded. The
bottom end is internally threaded. The connected recess 2-1 is formed in a
peripheral
wall of the valve seat 2. The valve core 3 has a spindle 3-1 formed on and
extending
from an outer portion of the valve core 3, and an inner portion of the valve
core 3 is
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mounted inside the connected recess 2-1 of the valve seat 2. The valve core 3
is
laterally mounted in the valve seat 2 through the tube seat 1-1 of the body 1.
[00022] The locking cap 7 has a central coupling hole 7-1 and an
externally-threaded section formed on a periphery of the locking cap 7. The
handle 8
is securely connected with the locking cap 7 and the valve core 3. The spindle
3-1 of
the valve core 3 is mounted in the handle 8 through the central coupling hole
7-1 of
the locking cap 7 and one end of the valve core opposite to the spindle 3-1 is
mounted
in the tube seat 1-1 of the body 1. The externally-threaded section of the
locking cap 7
engages the internally-threaded portion of the tube seat 1-1 of the body 1,
such that
the handle 8 is mounted on the tube seat 1-1 of the body 1 to receive the
valve core 3
and the locking cap 7 inside the tube seat 1-1 of the body 1 and the handle 8.
[00023] With reference to Fig. 2, the outlet elbow 4 has an outer pipe4-1, an
inner
pipe 4-2, a PP (Polyproplene) tube connector 4-3 and a nut 4-4. The outer pipe
4-1 is
made from stainless steel, and the inner pipe 4-2 is made from plastic. The
inner pipe
4-2 is mounted into the outer pipe 4-1. A first 0-ring 4-21 is mounted on an
inlet end
of the inner pipe 4-2 and is mounted between the inner pipe 4-2 and the outer
pipe 4-1
to avoid the inner pipe 4-2 to come off the outer pipe 4-1. The PP tube
connector 4-3
is securely connected with bottom portions of the outer pipe 4-1 and inner
pipe 4-2 by
means of laser welding to seal and join the bottom portions of the outer pipe
4-1 and
the inner pipe 4-2 through the PP tube connector 4-3. The nut 4-4 is mounted
around a
periphery of the outer tube 4-1 and is located above the PP tube connector 4-
3. An
inlet end of the outlet elbow 4 engages the externally threaded top end of the
valve
seat 2 with the nut 4-4 through threaded connection, and a second 0-ring 4-5
mounted between an outer surface of the PP tube connector 4-3 and an inner
surface
of the valve seat 2 to form hermetic seal between the outlet elbow 4 and the
valve seat
2. The aerator 6 is made from an ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) plastic
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material and is mounted on an outlet end of the outlet elbow 4.
[00024] With reference to Fig. 3, the water-intake duct 5 has an outer pipe 5-
1 and
an inner pipe 5-2, the outer pipe 5-1 is made from a metal material, and the
inner pipe
5-2 is made from plastic. The inner pipe 5-2 mounted into the outer pipe 5-2.
The
outer pipe 5-1 is externally threaded across an outer surface of the outer
pipe 5-1. The
inner pipe 5-2 is axially mounted through the outer pipe 5-1, and a top end of
the
water-intake duct 5 is securely mounted in the bottom end of the valve seat 2
through
threaded connection and is mounted into the body I.
[00025] Water enters the environmental faucet in a flow path sequentially
through
the inner pipe 5-2 of the water intake duct 5, the inner pipe 4-2 of the
outlet elbow 4,
and the aerator 6. Therefore, metal portions of the present invention are used
for
connecting and fastening different elements of the environmental faucet, such
that the
water only flows through the plastic portions instead of the metal portions.
Since
water does not directly contact with the metal portions at all, excessive
heavy metal
release in the water can be avoided to ensure safe drinking water.
