JP2005282151A - Faucet device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a faucet device for reducing the number of part items for easily performing its piping work, by optionally changing the connecting direction of a pipe connecting part in response to the positional relationship between a pipe and an installation place of a mixing unit and a switching unit. <P>SOLUTION: This faucet device 1 is provided with pipe connecting members 11 and 11a communicable with valve mechanisms 4 and 20. The pipe connecting members 11 and 11a have installation parts 12 and 12a rotatably fitted and supported around the axes L1 and L2 of outer cases 3 and 19, first connecting ports 13 and 13a connected with the pipe, and second connecting ports 14 and 14a connected with a pipe different from the pipe connected to the first connecting ports 13 and 13a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a faucet device that adjusts the mixing ratio of water and hot water, for example.

  Conventionally, there is a faucet device shown in FIG. 5 as a faucet device that is used by being embedded inside a mounting wall such as a counter provided in a bathroom. The faucet device 50 includes an embedded mixing unit 51 that mixes supplied water and hot water, and a mixed water of a required temperature that is mixed and adjusted by the mixing unit 51, or a flow path of unmixed water and hot water. The unit 51 and 52 are configured to be attached to the inside of a mounting wall 80 such as a counter by the outer cases 51a and 52a.

  Further, a water supply pipe connection portion 53 and a hot water supply pipe connection portion 54 protrude in one direction on the outer periphery of the outer case 51 a of the mixing unit 51, and a water supply pipe 57 and a hot water supply pipe 58 are provided in these connection portions 53 and 54. Via a water supply source (not shown) and a hot water supply source (not shown). Then, the mixing ratio of water and hot water supplied from the water supply pipe 57 and the hot water supply pipe 58 is adjusted by a valve mechanism (not shown) built in the outer case 51 a, and this mixed water is switched via the connection pipe 59. It is supplied to the unit 52.

  A shower connection part 55 and a faucet connection part 56 project in one direction on the outer periphery of the outer case 52a of the switching unit 52, and the shower side connection pipe 60 and the faucet side connection are connected to these connection parts 55 and 56, respectively. Tubes 61 are connected to each other. The water, hot water or mixed water supplied from the mixing unit 51 is selectively supplied to the shower side connecting pipe 60 or the faucet side connecting pipe 61 via the switching unit 52.

  However, in the mixing unit 51 and the switching unit 52, the connection parts 53 and 54 and the connection parts 55 and 56 are fixed to the outer cases 51a and 52a, but the connection parts 53, 54, 55 and 56 are in the same direction. Projecting. For this reason, since the piping direction cannot be changed, depending on the positional relationship between the installation location of the mixing unit 51 and the switching unit 52 and the piping, the water supply pipe 57, the hot water supply pipe 58, the shower side connection pipe 60, and the faucet side connection pipe 61 are provided. It needs to be bent or bent. Therefore, piping connection work is cumbersome and time consuming, and when the degree of bending or bending is large or when there are many curved or bent parts, the flow resistance against the mixed water etc. passing through the inside increases and the pressure loss increases. Therefore, there is a possibility that the supply of mixed water or the like to the shower head cannot be performed smoothly.

  In order to cope with such a problem, the applicant, as shown in FIG. 6, has a connecting portion 73 that can rotate around the central axes L1 and L2 of the outer cases 71a and 72a of the mixing unit 71 or the switching unit 72. , 74, 75, 76 were filed (Patent Document 1). In the faucet device 70, the water supply pipe connection 73, the hot water supply pipe connection 74 provided in the mixing unit 71, the faucet connection 75 provided in the switching unit 72, and the shower connection 76 are all common parts. A cylindrical mounting portion 77 and a connection portion 78 projecting from the outer periphery thereof are provided. According to this configuration, the connecting portions 73, 74, 75, 76 are rotated around the central axes L 1, L 2 of the units 71, 72 to adjust the direction in which the connecting portions 78 face. Yes, the piping direction can be changed.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-325219

  However, in the mixing unit and the switching unit, two connecting portions are provided for each of the mixing unit and the switching unit, and the direction of all the connecting portions must be adjusted during piping work, The work was time consuming. Further, since a plurality of connecting portions are provided in each unit, the number of parts constituting the faucet device is increased, and it takes a lot of time to assemble the faucet device, resulting in poor productivity.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. The object of the present invention is to be able to arbitrarily change the connection direction of the pipe connection portion according to the positional relationship between the installation location of the mixing unit and the switching unit and the pipe, and to easily perform the piping work. An object of the present invention is to provide a faucet device with a reduced score.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that in the faucet device in which a pipe connection member that can communicate with the valve mechanism is provided on the outer periphery of the outer case that houses the valve mechanism, the pipe connection The member is connected to a fitting portion that is fitted and supported so as to be rotatable about the central axis of the outer case, a first connection port to which the pipe is connected, and a pipe different from the pipe connected to the first connection port. And a second connection port.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the both connection ports are provided side by side on the outer periphery of the mounting portion.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the connection ports are formed on the outer periphery of the attachment portion and on the same axis across the attachment portion.

  In any of the inventions according to claims 1 to 3, the connection direction of the connection member on the outer periphery of the outer case can be freely changed according to the positional relationship between the installation location of the faucet and the piping. it can. Therefore, piping can be connected to each connection port linearly or almost linearly, and the piping work can be performed easily and in a short time. Moreover, since the bending and bending of the piping can be suppressed, the risk of pressure loss can be prevented. Furthermore, since each connection port is integrally formed with the connection member, the number of parts can be reduced, so that assembly can be easily performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the faucet device 1 of this embodiment includes a mixing unit 2 and a switching unit 18. The mixing unit 2 is for adjusting the mixing ratio of water and hot water to obtain mixed water. The switching unit 18 is for switching the supply flow path of the water, hot water or mixed water that has passed through the mixing unit 2, and the water, hot water, or mixed water is supplied to a shower head (not shown) or a curan (not shown). It can be supplied to either one. The switching unit 18 is for switching the supply and stop of water, hot water or mixed water and adjusting the supply amount. Both the units 2 and 18 are provided with outer cases 3 and 19 constituting their skeletons, and the outer cases 3 and 19 are arranged inside the mounting wall A such as a counter with the central axes L1 and L2 being horizontal. It is attached in an embedded state. A connecting pipe 30 is installed between the rear ends of the outer cases 3 and 19, and the mixing unit 2 and the switching unit 18 are connected via the connecting pipe 30.

  An adjustment valve mechanism 4 for adjusting the mixing ratio of water and hot water is accommodated in the outer case 3 of the mixing unit 2, and a temperature adjustment handle 6 is attached to the operation shaft 5 protruding outside the attachment wall A. It has been. An outlet 7 is formed at the end of the outer case 3 to allow the mixed water adjusted by the regulating valve mechanism 4 to flow out. The outlet 7 communicates with the outlet 4 a of the regulating valve mechanism 4. One end of the connection pipe 30 is coupled to the outlet 7.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an annular water supply port 8 and a hot water supply port 9 are formed on the outer periphery of the outer case 3 so as to be adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the central axis L1 of the outer case 3, and these are connected to the communication holes 10, 10a. Is communicated with the water supply receiving part 4b and the hot water supply receiving part 4c of the control valve mechanism 4. A pipe connection member 11 is attached to the outer periphery of the water supply port 8 and the hot water supply port 9 via a seal ring 15 so as to be rotatable about the central axis L1.

  As shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 4, the pipe connection member 11 includes a hollow attachment portion 12, and a first connection port 13 and a second connection port 14 that protrude from the outer periphery of the attachment portion 12. The connection ports 13 and 14 are provided on the left and right sides. Further, the pipe connecting member 11 is fitted and supported on the outer periphery of the water supply port 8 and the hot water supply port 9 so as to be able to rotate in any direction of 360 degrees around the central axis L1. A water supply pipe 16 is connected to the first connection port 13, and a hot water supply pipe 17 is connected to the second connection port 14. The other end of each of the pipes 16, 17 has a water stop plug communicating with the water supply source and the hot water supply source, respectively. Connected.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the switching unit 18 accommodates a switching valve mechanism 20 for switching the flow path of the mixed water supplied from the mixing unit 2 in the outer case 19, and is disposed outside the mounting wall A. A flow path switching handle 22 is attached to the protruding operation shaft 21. An inlet 23 into which water, hot water or mixed water supplied from the mixing unit 2 flows is formed at the end of the outer case 19, and this inlet 23 communicates with the inlet 18 a of the switching valve mechanism 20. . The other end of the connection pipe 30 is coupled to the inflow port 23.

  An annular first discharge port 24 and a second discharge port 25 are formed adjacent to each other in the extending direction of the central axis L2 of the outer case 20 on the outer periphery of the outer case 19. , 26a communicates with the first discharge portion 18b and the second discharge portion 18c of the switching valve mechanism 20, respectively. A pipe connecting member 11 a is attached to the outer circumferences of the first discharge port 24 and the second discharge port 25 via a seal ring 27 so as to be rotatable around the central axis L2.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (b), the pipe connection member 11a includes a cylindrical attachment portion 12a, and a first connection port 13a and a second connection port 14a that protrude from the outer periphery of the attachment portion 12a. The connection ports 13a and 14a are formed on the same axis with the mounting portion 12a interposed therebetween. The pipe connection member 11a is fitted and supported on the outer circumference of the first discharge port 24 and the second discharge port 25 so as to be able to rotate in any direction of 360 degrees around the central axis L2. The first connection port 13a is connected with a currant side connection pipe 28, the second connection port 14a is connected with a shower side connection pipe 29, and the other end of each of the connection pipes 28, 29 is a currant (not shown) or a shower. Heads (not shown) are connected to each other.

The operation of the faucet device 1 configured as described above will be described.
First, when the mixing unit 2 and the switching unit 18 of the faucet device 1 are mounted inside the mounting wall A such as a counter, the direction of the pipe connecting members 11 and 11a depends on the positional relationship between the installation location and the pipe. It is determined by rotating around the central axis L1, L2.

  That is, the pipe connection member 11 is rotated on the mixing unit 2 side. In this state, if the water supply pipe 16 is connected to the first connection port 13 and the hot water supply pipe 17 is connected to the second connection port 14, the water supply pipe 16 and the hot water supply pipe 17 are bent or bent. It is possible to connect them linearly or in a state close to a straight line.

  Similarly, on the switching unit 18 side, the pipe connection member 11a is rotated, and in this state, the currant side connection pipe 28 is connected to the first connection port 13a and the shower side connection to the second connection port 14a. If the pipes 29 are connected to each other, they can be connected in a straight line or a state close to a straight line without curving or bending the currant side connecting pipe 28 and the shower side connecting pipe 29.

  That is, the pipe connecting member 11 is rotatable around the central axis L1 of the outer case 3 of the mixing unit 2, and the pipe connecting member 11a is rotatable around the central axis L2 of the outer case 19 of the switching unit 18. Each of the connection ports 13, 14, 13a, 14a of the connection members 11, 11a can be oriented in either the left or right direction. Therefore, the water supply pipe 16, the hot water supply pipe 17, the currant side connection pipe 28, and the shower side connection pipe 29 are bent at any position except when avoiding interference with the mixing unit 2 and the switching unit 18. It can be connected to the connection ports 13, 14, 13a, 14a without bending.

  When the faucet device 1 is used, the switching unit 18 is operated in a state where the mixing ratio of water and hot water (temperature of the mixed water) is arbitrarily set by rotating the temperature adjusting handle 6 of the mixing unit 2. The flow path switching handle 22 is turned to the currant side or the shower side. Then, the water and hot water supplied into the mixing unit 2 from the water supply pipe 16 and the hot water supply pipe 17 via the connection ports 13 and 14 of the mixing unit 2 are mixed or mixed at a set mixing ratio. Without being supplied to the switching unit 18 via the connection pipe 30.

  Further, in the switching unit 18, the flow path of the water, hot water or mixed water supplied from the mixing unit 2 is switched to the currant side or the shower side by the turning operation of the flow path switching handle 22, and the water, hot water or mixed water is switched. Is supplied to the shower side connecting pipe 29 via the first connecting port 13a and the currant side connecting pipe 28 or the second connecting port 14a. As a result, water, hot water or mixed water set to a predetermined temperature by the temperature adjustment handle 6 and set to a predetermined water discharge amount by the amount of rotation of the flow path switching handle 22 is discharged from the currant or shower head.

In this embodiment, the pipe connection member on the mixing unit side is provided with connection ports on the left and right sides, and the pipe connection member on the switching unit side is described on an example in which the connection port is formed on the same axis with the attachment portion interposed therebetween. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the pipe connection member on the mixing unit side has the connection port formed on the same axis with the attachment portion interposed therebetween, and the pipe connection member on the switching unit side has the connection port on the left and right sides. A pipe connection member having the same structure may be attached to both units. The connection port is formed perpendicular to the axial direction of the mounting portion, that is, the central axis direction, but is not limited to this, and is parallel to the axial direction of the mounting portion, that is, the central axis direction. It may be formed.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
The faucet device 1 is equipped with a mixing unit 2 that adjusts the mixing ratio of water and hot water, and a switching unit 18 that switches the flow path of the mixed water adjusted by the mixing unit 2. Valve mechanisms 4 and 20 are accommodated in the outer cases 3 and 19 of the units 2 and 18. On the outer periphery of each outer case 3, 19, pipe connection members 11, 11 a that can communicate with the valve mechanisms 4, 20 are attached so as to be rotatable about the central axes L 1, L 2 of the outer cases 3, 19. .

  For this reason, if the central axes L1 and L2 of the mixing unit 2 and the switching unit 18 are set to be horizontal or substantially horizontal, the pipe connection members 11 and 11a are arranged according to the positional relationship between the installation location of the faucet device 1 and the pipe. The connection direction can be directed in any direction. Therefore, the water supply pipe 16 and the like can be straightly piped along the predetermined direction with respect to the pipe connecting members 11 and 11a, and the pipe connecting work can be easily and quickly performed. Further, since the pipe is hardly bent or bent, the risk of pressure loss can be suppressed, and the mixed water or the like can be smoothly supplied to the user.

  Further, in the faucet device 1, the pipe connection members 11 and 11a of the units 2 and 18 are configured to be able to rotate 360 degrees around the horizontal central axes L1 and L2. For this reason, each piping connection member 11 and 11a can be rotated to the left or right direction around the outer cases 3 and 18, and the connection direction of these piping connection members 11 and 11a is matched with a piping direction. It can be changed freely without any blind spots.

  Furthermore, in this faucet device 1, the connection ports 13, 14, 13a, 14a of both the units 2, 18 are formed integrally with the pipe connection members 11, 11a. For this reason, since the number of parts of the faucet device 1 can be reduced, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the faucet device can be easily assembled.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which attached the faucet device of this invention to the attachment wall. It is sectional drawing of a water faucet device. It is a perspective view which shows a piping connection member, (a) is what the connection port was provided side by side, (b) is what the connection port was formed on the same axis line. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the piping connection member and outer case of a mixing unit in Fig.3 (a), (a) represents the water supply side, (b) represents the hot water supply side. It is a top view which shows the conventional water faucet device. It is a top view which shows another conventional water tap apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1: faucet device 2: mixing unit 3: outer case 4: control valve mechanism 11, 11a: pipe connection member 12, 12a: mounting portion 13, 13a: first connection port 14, 14a: second connection port 18: switching Unit 19: Outer case 20: Switching valve mechanism A: Mounting wall

Claims (3)

  In a faucet device in which a pipe connection member that can communicate with the valve mechanism is arranged on the outer periphery of an outer case that houses the valve mechanism, the pipe connection member is fitted and supported so as to be rotatable about the central axis of the outer case. A faucet device comprising: a mounting portion; a first connection port to which a pipe is connected; and a second connection port to which a pipe different from the pipe connected to the first connection port is connected.   The faucet device according to claim 1, wherein both the connection ports are provided side by side on the outer periphery of the mounting portion. 2. The faucet device according to claim 1, wherein the both connection ports are formed on the same axis along the outer periphery of the mounting portion and across the mounting portion.

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