Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 02638466 2008-08-06
QUICK INSTALLED JOINT ASSEMBLY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a joint assembly for the water supply
pipeline, and more
particularly to a quick installed joint assembly suitable for being quickly
assembled and
capable of ensuring the pipe linkage effect.
Related Art
The faucet used in most families usually sets up on the surface of washbasin
and
connects to the water supply pipeline by a bendable connecting pipe under the
washbasin.
In generally, such connecting pipe has screw locks disposed in both ends, in
which a
leakage protective cushion is disposed over each of the screw locks. Besides,
the screw
lock in the one end is screwed to the thread portion of the water supply
pipeline. The
faucet fastened to the washbasin has a screw thread pipe screw-connected to
the bottom
of faucet body. The screw lock in the other end of the connecting pipe is
screwed to the
outer thread portion of the screw thread pipe, so as to form a water supply
pipeline. Such
structure has been disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,776 and No. 6,256,810.
The washbasin is usually mounted to the wall, and the faucet is practically
set on the
side of the washbasin close to the wall, so that the space underneath the
faucet is very
narrow and small. Therefore, it is inconvenient to operate the connection
between the
screw lock of the connecting pipe with the outer thread portion of the screw
thread pipe
in such narrow and small space, and this is a quite time-consuming and
bothersome work.
Therefore, it is necessary to design a new structure capable of being quickly
and
conveniently assembled in order to overcome the above-mentioned problems.
1
CA 02638466 2008-08-06
The pipeline structure capable of being quickly and conveniently assembled has
been disclosed in the field of electrical pipeline, such as U.S. Pat.
No.4,836,580 and No.
4,989,905 and No.6,199,920.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,580 provides a hollow fitting body screwed in a
terminal
box and a general cylindrical form of connection device is located within the
fitting body
for use in securing an end of a corrugated pipe within the fitting body. The
connection
device has a plurality of finger portions, and the fitting body has a
plurality of recesses
corresponding to the fmger portions respectively, therefore, each fmger
portion can be
received within each of the recesses. Each of the finger portions adjacent to
the
corrugated pipe has a transverse cam surface protruding outwardly for engaging
with the
concave portion of the corrugated pipe. After the corrugated pipe inserting to
the
connection device, the cam surface can fix the corrugated pipe within the
fitting body,
therefore, the electrical wires can be passed to the terminal box through the
corrugated
pipe.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,905 provides a retaining ring in a fitting body for
securing a
corrugated tube within the retaining ring. The structure of the patent No.
4,989,905 is
similar to the above-mentioned patent No. 4,836,580, wherein the differences
between
them are that the retaining ring in patent No. 4,989,905 has several extending
tabs, and
each of the extending tabs has a detent member formed on the side adjacent to
the
corrugated tube for securing the corrugated tube after the tube is inserted
into the
retaining ring, so as to fix the corrugated tube with the fitting body.
The U.S. patent No. 6,199,920 provides an improved way for the corrugated tube
capable of being loaded and unloaded repeatedly in accordance with the
above-mentioned patents. The structure is similar to patent No. 4,835,580,
which the
2
CA 02638466 2008-08-06
fmger portion adjacent to the corrugated tube has a transverse nose for
securing the
concave portion of the corrugated tube. A sloping surface is disposed in the
fitting body
and the finger portion opposing to each other. When the folder disposed in the
fitting
body is being moved by other tools, the corrugated tube can be unloaded and
the
extending detent member is separated from the corrugated tube based on the
above-mentioned sloping surface to push the fmger portion move outwardly.
Although above-mentioned three patents provide a pipeline structure capable of
quick and convenient assembly, these three patents use the skill in the
electrical pipeline
to secure the corrugated tube by their transverse component, such as cam,
detent member
or nose, extending from a side adjacent to the corrugated tube of a fmger
portion or an
extending tab, to secure the corrugated tube. However, when such structures
are applied
to the field of water pipe, it may emerge an issue of unreliable linkage.
Even though the patent No. 6,199,920 has mention that its structure can be
applied
in the water pipe, it may produce an issue of pressure change from the water
hammer
effect when a valve is suddenly closed. The changed water pressure may produce
a
strength to pull and drag the pipe, and sometimes this strength is sizable
enough to
damage the structure of the above-mentioned patents.
The components used for securing the corrugated tube in the above-mentioned
patents, such as the finger portion or the extending tab, is only used its
transverse
component that adjacent to the corrugated tube, such as cam, detent member, or
nose, to
secure the corrugated tube. The strength ensured by such structure is quite
limited, in
particularly when changing the water pressure in a moment, it may cause the
transverse
component broken and make the problem of loosing the corrugated tube, and
leads to the
fact of water pipe leaking issues.
3
CA 02638466 2008-08-06
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objective of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned issues
and to
provide a quick installed joint assembly suitable for being quickly assembled
and
capable of ensuring the pipe linkage effect.
In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a quick
installed joint assembly, which includes: a fitting body, a cylindrical sleeve
received
within the fitting body, and an inlet pipe passed through the sleeve to be
inserted within
the fitting body. The fitting body has a chamber, in which one end of the
chamber
communicates with a water supply pipeline and the other end of the chamber
communicates with an accommodation part and passes through the fitting body.
The
sleeve is slidingly disposed within the accommodation part and has a plurality
of stopper
portions spaced from one another in the sleeve. Each of the stopper portions
has a
wedge-like portion at an end far away from the sleeve, and a hook portion is
extended
outwardly from one side of the wedge-like portion. The fitting body has a
plurality of
openings corresponding to each of the stopper portions, in which each opening
passes
inwardly therethrough to the accommodation part, so that the hook portion of
the stopper
portion can be hooked on the upper surface of the openings. One end of the
inlet pipe
connects to a water outlet pipeline, and the other end of the inlet pipe
passes through the
sleeve and then is inserted witliin the chamber of the fitting body. The inlet
pipe
corresponding to the bottom of the stopper portion has a large diameter
portion.
Therefore, when the inlet pipe of the present invention passes through the
sleeve, the
large diameter portion can force each of the stopper portions to expand.
Therefore, each
of the stopper portions can be slightly curved and deformed at each of the
openings.
After the large diameter portion passes through the sleeve, the stopper
portion can be
4
CA 02638466 2008-08-06
elastic recovery due to its flexible property and lean against on the large
diameter portion,
so as to fix the inlet pipe within the fitting body and reach the effect of
quickly
installation. Moreover, when there is water pressure, the large diameter
portion of the
inlet pipe is leaning against on the bottom edge of each stopper portion to
push the
stopper portion outward until the wedge-like portion reaching the inner wall
of the
expand portion, and then the stopper portion may move inward due to its
flexible
properties. Therefore, it can produce the effect of both the clipping and
retaining to the
large diameter portion of the inlet pipe, and make the inlet pipe being
positioned reliably
within the fitting body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic three dimensional view of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an assembled sectional view of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a first diagram to show the status of usage according to the present
invention; and
FIG. 5 is a second diagram to show the status of usage according to the
present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, which shows a preferred embodiment according to
the
invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic three dimensional view of the present
invention and FIG.
2 is a schematic diagram of the present invention.
The quick installed joint assembly according to one embodiment of the
invention
includes a fitting body 1, an cylindrical sleeve 2 received within the fitting
body 1, and an
5
CA 02638466 2008-08-06
inlet pipe 3 passed through the sleeve 2 to be inserted within the fitting
body 1.
The fitting body 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention has
been
designed to a three-way configuration. The fitting body 1 has a chamber 12 in
use for the
inlet pipe 3 to be inserted, and the fitting body 1 has two joints 14 extended
from the
fitting body 1. In addition, those two joints 14 have its pipeline
communicating with the
chamber 12, and these two joints 14 are used to receive the pipelines 4a, 4b.
This fitting body 1 has an expand portion 16 at the extending end of the
chamber 12.
The expand portion 16 has an accommodation part 17 for receiving the sleeve 2,
in which
the accommodation part 17 and the chamber 12 are communicated with each other.
A plurality of stopper portions 21 is disposed spaced from one another in the
sleeve 2,
in which each of the stopper portions 21 is extended a length axially from the
sleeve 2.
Each of the stopper portions 21 at an end away from the sleeve 2 has a hook
portion 22
extending outwardly. The fitting body has a plurality of opening 18
corresponding to the
stopper portions 21, respectively. Each of the openings 18 is in the structure
configuration
of radially inwardly passing therethrough until the accommodation part 17,
such that each
hook portion 22 of the stopper portion 21 can be positioned within the
openings 18 in a
hooking relation.
One end of the inlet pipe 3 connects to a faucet 51, and the other end has an
insert
portion 31. The insert portion 31 has two 0-rings 32 in use to achieve the
seal function
after the insert portion 31 inserted within the chamber 12 of the fitting body
1. The inlet
pipe 3 corresponding to the stopper portion 21 has a large diameter portion
33, so that it
can result the effect of positioning by the stopper portion 21 being retaining
with the large
diameter portion 33, after the inlet pipe 3 is inserted within the fitting
body 1.
Please refer to FIG. 2, it is a schematic diagram of the present invention.
When the
6
CA 02638466 2008-08-06
quickly installed joint assembly is applied in the practical operation, one
end of the inlet
pipe 3 connects to the faucet 51 and the fitting body 1 is designed in a
configuration of the
three-way pipe. Therefore, the two joints 14 of the fitting body 1 are used
for receiving
the pipelines 4a, 4b, and the other end of the pipelines 4a, 4b connects to
the other group
of quickly installed joint A, B, in order to connect to the cold water control
value 52 and
the hot water control value 53.
Please refer to FIG. 3, it is an assembled sectional view of the present
invention.
From the FIG.3, each of the stopper portions 21 of the sleeve 2 forms a wedge-
like
portion 211 at an end far away from the sleeve 2, and afore-mentioned hook
portion 22 is
respectively formed by extending from one side of the wedge-like portion 211.
An upper
surface of each of the openings 18 forms a retaining surface 181 for retaining
the hook
portion 22 of the stopper portion 21, and an inside wall of the accommodation
part 17
forms a supporting surface 19 for supporting the wedge-like portion 211 of
each stopper
portion 21.
The large diameter portion 33 of the inlet pipe 3 has a upper surface 331 and
a bottom
surface 332, in which the upper surface 331 has a convex arc shape related to
the radial of
the inlet pipe 3 in use to lean against on the bottom edge 212 of he stopper
portion 21, and
the bottom surface 332 has a conical configuration related to the axis of the
inlet pipe 3.
When the inlet pipe 3 is inserted into the fitting body 1, the bottom surface
332 can prop
up the stopper portion 21, as shown in FIG.4, therefore, the large diameter
portion 33 can
pass through the sleeve 2.
When the present invention is used in practical operation, the inlet pipe 3 is
firstly
assembled underneath the bottom of the faucet 51, and then the faucet 51 is
fixed to the
washbasin. Next, the fitting body 1 disposed with a sleeve 2 is sleeved to the
bottom of
7
CA 02638466 2008-08-06
the inlet pipe 3 upwardly, so that the insert portion 31 of the inlet pipe 3
can be inserted
through the cylindrical sleeve 2 and received in the chamber 12 of the fitting
body 1. The
bottom surface 332 of the large diameter portion 33 can prop up the stopper
portions 21,
as shown in FIG 4, so that each of the stopper portions 21 are slightly curved
outwardly at
each of the openings 18. After the large diameter portion 33 passes through
the sleeve 2,
the stopper portion 21 will be elastic recovery due to its flexible property,
and then lean
against on the upper surface 331 of the large diameter portion 33, so as to
combine the
inlet pipe 3 and the fitting body 1, as shown in FIG. 3.
Please refer to FIG. 5, it is a second diagram to show the status of usage
according to
the present invention. After all the components have been connected properly,
the water
flow can move in the direction from the pipelines 4a and/or 4b passing through
the joints
14 to the chamber 12 of the fitting body 1 when the water value is turned on.
Due to the
effect of the water pressure, the inlet pipe 3 will be push outwardly by the
water pressure
until the hook portion 22 of the stopper portion 21 is retained by the
retaining surface 181
of the opening 18.
During the process, the upper surface 331 of the large diameter portion 33 is
leaning
against on the bottom edge 212 of the stopper portion 21, so as to push the
stopper portion
21 moving outwardly, as shown at the top of FIG. 5. Due to the end of the
stopper portion
21 far away from the sleeve 2 being a wedge-like portion 211, the wedge-like
portion 211
of the stopper portion 21 moves inward accordingly after the sleeve 2 is moved
until the
wedge-like portion 221 reaching the supporting surface 19 of the inside wall
of the
expand portion 16, so as to produce the effect of both the clipping and
retaining, and
make the inlet pipe being positioned within the fitting body 1 reliably.
Moreover, the stopper portion 21 is retained by the upper surface 331 of the
large
8
CA 02638466 2008-08-06
diameter portion 33 of the inlet pipe 3 based on its bottom edge 212, and the
wedge-like
portion 211 of the stopper portion 21 can be effected to move inwardly by the
supporting
surface 19. Therefore, each of the stopper portion 21 adopt its whole
structure to resist the
effect of the water pressure, which is not the same as the one disclosed by
the protruding
elements of the prior art. Hence, the stopper portion 21 of the present
invention can
results the pipeline combination effectively and reliably.
Though the present invention has been disclosed above by the preferred
embodiments, they are not intended to limit 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.
9
