JP2023048731A - faucet cover - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a faucet cover capable of preventing a change in an interval between upper ends of an opening part while ensuring ease of work through the opening part of the faucet cover.SOLUTION: A faucet cover 7 that covers a faucet body 6 comprises: a lower cover 20 having an upward-opened opening part 33 facing a maintenance part 6a of the faucet body 6; an upper cover 21 arranged on the lower cover 20; and a maintenance cover 22 closing the opening part 33 of the lower cover 20, wherein space holding parts 37, 46 are provided to hold a space between upper ends of the opening part 33.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a faucet cover for a faucet.

A faucet is known in which a faucet body is covered with a faucet cover in order to improve the design of the faucet. This faucet cover includes a lower cover, an upper cover arranged on the lower cover, and a maintenance cover. By the way, a check valve and a water stop valve are arranged in the faucet main body for maintenance. A maintenance opening is provided in the faucet cover at a position facing the check valve and water stop valve so that the operator can operate the check valve and water stop valve without removing the entire faucet cover from the faucet body during maintenance. forming

When using a faucet, a maintenance cover is attached to the opening to close the opening, and during maintenance, the maintenance cover can be removed and the check valve and water stop valve can be operated from the exposed opening (Non-Patent Document 1, No. 351). page, exploded view of KF3008R).

KVK SHOWER&FAUCET 2021-2022 general catalog p. 351

By the way, the opening of the faucet cover is formed in a rectangular shape surrounded by a frame on the top, bottom, left, and right. However, the presence of the upper frame at the opening of the faucet cover may impede the ease of maintenance work. On the other hand, simply opening the upper part of the opening causes a problem that the distance between the upper ends of the opening tends to change.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to prevent a change in the distance between the upper ends of the opening while ensuring ease of work through the opening of the faucet cover.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, there is provided a faucet cover for covering a faucet body, the faucet cover comprising: a lower cover having an upward opening facing a maintenance section of the faucet body; and a maintenance cover that closes the opening of the lower cover.

Moreover, the space holding portion restricts the widening of the upper ends of the opening.
The opening is formed by a pair of vertical frames of the lower cover and a lower frame connecting the lower ends of the pair of vertical frames, and the space holding portion is formed in the pair of vertical frames. It is composed of a pair of recessed holes and a pair of insertion protrusions formed in the upper cover and inserted into the pair of recessed holes.

The upper cover is formed by molding a metal plate, and the length of the pair of insertion protrusions in the width direction, which is the direction connecting the pair of insertion protrusions, is greater than the length in the thickness direction.
The maintenance cover has a pair of locking protrusions, and the pair of locking protrusions are locked to the pair of vertical frames of the lower cover.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the change of the space|interval between the upper ends of an opening can be prevented, ensuring the ease of the operation|work through the opening of a faucet cover.

The perspective view of the faucet of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the faucet of the present embodiment; A perspective view of a lower cover. 4(a) is a partially enlarged front view of the lower cover, and FIG. 4(b) is a partially enlarged plan view of the lower cover. FIG. 5 is a front view of the upper cover; FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the front cover. FIG. 7(a) is a plan view of the locking projections of the front cover, and FIG. 7(b) is a plan view showing the locked state between the locking projections of the front cover and locking pieces formed on the vertical frame of the lower cover. . FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a fitting state between the concave hole and the insertion protrusion.

A specific description will be given below. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a faucet 1 of this embodiment. A faucet 1 shown in the figure is a deck-type hot and cold water mixing faucet installed on the edge of a bathtub or on a bathroom counter, etc., and discharges hot water mixed with hot water from a hot water supply pipe (not shown) and water from a water supply pipe. can do. Hereafter, hot water is a general term for hot water or cold water discharged from the faucet 1, and includes not only a mixture of hot and cold water but also water alone or hot water alone. Further, directions of use of the faucet 1 and the members constituting the faucet 1 are as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a water faucet 1 has a discharge port unit 2 at the top and a shower unit 3 at the back of the water faucet 1, so that hot water and cold water can be switched to one of them. . In the state shown in FIG. 1, the faucet 1 has rotatable handles on both sides in the width direction. Of these, the left side in the drawing is a temperature control handle 4 for adjusting the temperature of hot water, and the right side in the drawing is a switching handle 5 for switching the discharge destination and adjusting the discharge amount.

FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the faucet 1. As shown in FIG. A faucet 1 has a faucet body 6 and a faucet cover 7 . The faucet main body 6 includes a body unit 8 , an outlet unit 2 , a shower unit 3 , a temperature control handle 4 and a switching handle 5 . The body unit 8 has a metal body 9 as a main component. A hot water supply screw portion 10 connected to a hot water supply pipe and a water supply screw portion 11 connected to a water supply pipe are connected to the lower portion of the body unit 8 . A discharge port attachment portion 12 having a male screw is formed on the upper portion of the body unit 8, and the discharge port unit 2 is attached thereto. A shower attachment portion (not shown) is formed on the back surface of the body unit 8, an elbow 13 of the shower unit 3 is attached thereto, and a shower hose 14 is attached to the elbow 13. As shown in FIG. The body unit 8 has a hot water supply channel and a water supply channel formed therein, and further has a hot water mixing part and a switching part for switching the flow rate and discharge direction of hot water (none of which is shown). A rotating shaft 15 of the hot water mixing section and a rotating shaft 16 of the switching section protrude from both sides in the width direction of the body unit 8 . A temperature control handle 4 is attached to the rotating shaft 15 of the hot water mixing section, and a switching handle 5 is attached to the rotating shaft 16 of the switching section.

Four female screw holes 17 are formed in a row in the width direction on the front surface of the body unit 8 . Two of these female screw holes 17 on the left communicate with a hot water supply channel formed inside the body unit 8, and two on the right communicate with a water supply channel. Check valve units 18 are arranged in the inner two female screw holes 17 among the four female screw holes 17 . Each check valve unit 18 can prevent hot water from flowing back in the hot water supply channel and the water supply channel. In addition, a water stop valve unit 19 is arranged in the two female screw holes 17 on the outside, and the hot water supply channel and the water supply channel of each water stop valve unit 19 can be closed and opened. A front portion where the check valve unit 18 and the water stop valve unit 19 are attached to the body unit 8 serves as a maintenance portion 6 a of the faucet main body 6 .

Next, the faucet cover 7 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1 , the faucet cover 7 covers the faucet body 6 . It should be noted that covering the faucet body 6 suffices if at least a part of the faucet body 6 is covered. As shown in FIG. 2, the faucet cover 7 includes a lower cover 20, an upper cover 21 arranged on the lower cover 20, a front cover 22 as a maintenance cover arranged in front of the lower cover 20, and the upper cover 21. It is composed of side collars 23 arranged on both sides in the width direction.

The lower cover 20 shown in FIG. 3 is made of resin and has a bottomed rectangular tubular shape with an upper and front opening, and the entire surface is metal-plated. The lower cover 20 has a bottom portion 24, a rear portion 25, both side portions 26 and a front portion 27, which are integrally molded. The bottom portion 24 has a substantially rectangular shape elongated in the width direction, and two insertion holes 28 are formed through both sides in the width direction. The pair of insertion holes 28 are for inserting the hot water supply screw portion 10 and the water supply screw portion 11 when the faucet main body 6 is arranged in the lower cover 20 . The back portion 25 consists of a back wall 29 of a constant height rising upward from the back edge of the bottom portion 24 and two support ribs 30 integrally formed with the back wall 29 in front of the back wall 29 . The upper end of each support rib 30 is formed with a rear side support portion 32 having a slit 31 extending parallel to the extending direction of the rear wall 29 . The side surface portion 26 has a wall shape rising upward from both side edges of the bottom portion 24 and is connected to the back surface portion 25 . Each side surface portion 26 is formed in an arcuate shape that protrudes outward in the width direction in a plan view.

The front surface portion 27 is formed to rise upward from the front edge of the bottom portion 24, and has an upward U-shape having an opening 33 in the center with an upper opening when viewed from the front. Both sides of the opening 33 of the front face 27 in the width direction are connected to the side faces 26 to form vertical frames 34 having the same height as the side faces 26 . A lower frame 35 connecting the lower ends of the pair of vertical frames 34 is formed on the lower side of the opening 33 . That is, an upper opening 33 is formed by a pair of vertical frames 34 and a lower frame 35 in the front part 27 . The opening 33 has a height and width that do not interfere with the lower cover 20 when the faucet body 6 is placed on the lower cover 20 so that the check valve unit 18 and the water stop valve unit 19 face each other. The front surfaces of the pair of vertical frames 34 and the lower frame 35 of the front part 27 have an inner edge along the opening 33 which is integrally thin and serves as a front cover mounting surface 36 of the lower cover 20 .

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4(a), and 4(b), the upper portion of each vertical frame 34 in the front portion 27 is thicker on the rear side. A bottomed concave hole 37 is formed in the upper portion of each vertical frame 34 so as to extend vertically and open to the upper surface of the vertical frame 34 . The concave hole 37 is a rectangular hole in plan view, and is formed with a constant width and thickness. Of the pair of recessed holes 37 , an inner wall 37 a serving as an inner wall in the width direction is formed lower than the other inner walls of the recessed hole 37 . A pair of recessed holes 37 constitute a gap holding portion. A locking piece 38 projecting inward in the width direction is formed on the upper portion of each vertical frame 34 . Each locking piece 38 is formed rearward of the concave hole 37, and has a shape in which the thickness in the front-rear direction decreases toward the inner side in the width direction. A recess is formed in the front surface of each vertical frame 34 below the concave hole 37, and serves as an insertion port 39 for a front cover removing jig (such as a screwdriver).

As shown in FIG. 3 , a forward protrusion 40 extending upward is formed in the widthwise center of the bottom portion 24 , and its base end is connected to the lower frame 35 . An upper cover front support portion 42 having a slit 41 is formed at the upper end of the front projection 40 . The slit 41 is positioned on a line connecting the concave holes 37 formed in the pair of vertical frames 34 .

The upper cover 21 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 has an inverted U shape when viewed from the side and is formed by punching and bending a sheet of metal plate material. Both sides in the width direction of the upper cover 21 are open, and the lower portions on both sides in the width direction are narrow. A circular hole 43 is formed through the upper cover 21 , that is, at a position corresponding to the outlet mounting portion 12 of the body unit 8 . A downward semi-elliptical notch (not shown) is formed at the rear of the upper cover 21, that is, at a position corresponding to the shower mounting portion of the body unit 8. As shown in FIG. A front lower end portion of the upper cover 21 is bent like a crank.

As shown in FIG. 5, a front insertion portion 44 is formed in the center of the front lower end of the upper cover 21 in the width direction. Insertion projections 46 are formed on both sides of the front insertion portion 44 in the width direction with a notch 45 interposed therebetween. The length in the width direction of the insertion protrusion 46 is longer than the length in the thickness direction (thickness of the upper cover 21). The insertion protrusion 46 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front (see FIG. 8), and both corners of the lower end thereof are chamfered. The notch 45 also has a substantially rectangular shape with chamfered corners. The pair of insertion protrusions 46 constitutes a gap holding section, and can be inserted into a pair of recessed holes 37 formed in the vertical frame 34, respectively. The distance between the inner sides 46a, which are the inner sides in the width direction of the pair of insertion protrusions 46, is slightly larger than the distance between the inner walls 37a of the pair of recessed holes 37. As shown in FIG. When the pair of insertion protrusions 46 are inserted into the pair of recessed holes 37, the insertion protrusions 46 are formed with clearances on both widthwise sides of the recessed holes 37 as shown in FIG. 8 shows only one of the pair of insertion protrusions 46 and the pair of recessed holes 37 (the left side in FIG. 2), the insertion protrusions 46 and the recessed holes 37 are pairs of symmetrical shapes. The same is true for one side. The rear lower end portion of the upper cover 21 is also bent like a crank, and the lower end serves as a rear insertion portion 47 .

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the side collars 23 is made of resin and has a substantially cylindrical shape. can be brought into contact with the upper surface of the side surface portion 26 of the .

As shown in FIG. 6, the front cover 22 is formed in a rectangular plate shape and is made of resin, and its surface is plated with metal. The front cover 22 is attached to the front cover attachment surface 36 of the lower cover 20 from the front to cover the opening 33 and is substantially flush with the lower cover 20 . A pair of locking projections 48 extending rearward are formed on both sides in the width direction of the rear surface (the surface on the side shown in FIG. 6) of the front cover 22 . Mounting ribs 49 are formed on the rear surface of the front cover 22 so as to contact the edge of the opening 33 when the front cover 22 is mounted on the lower cover 20 .

As shown in FIG. 7(a), the locking protrusion 48 has a V-shaped locking groove 50 that opens outward in the width direction near the tip. The locking groove 50 is for locking the locking piece 38 of the vertical frame 34 when the front cover 22 is attached to the lower cover 20 . The locking projection 48 is formed in a circular arc shape on the distal end side of the locking groove 50 , so that when the locking projection 48 comes into contact with the locking piece 38 , the locking projection 48 is easily elastically deformed.

Next, assembly of the faucet 1 will be described. Note that the order of assembly is an example and is not limited to this order.
First, the lower cover 20 is installed and the body unit 8 is arranged inside the lower cover 20 . Next, the upper cover 21 is fitted over the lower cover 20 . Then, the rear insertion portion 47 is inserted into the slit 31 formed in the support rib 30 behind the upper cover 21 , and the rear surface of the upper cover 21 is supported by the rear support portion 32 . A front insertion portion 44 is inserted into the slit 41 of the front protrusion 40 in front of the upper cover 21 , and the front surface of the upper cover 21 is supported by the upper cover front support portion 42 . At the same time, a pair of insertion protrusions 46 formed on the upper cover 21 are inserted into a pair of recessed holes 37 formed on the vertical frame 34 of the lower cover 20, respectively. Subsequently, when the discharge port unit 2 is screwed to the discharge port mounting portion 12 of the body unit 8 through the circular hole 43 of the upper cover 21, the upper cover 21 is pressed from above by the discharge port unit 2 and assembled with the lower cover 20. Attachment becomes stronger. Then, the side collars 23 are fitted from the left and right sides of the upper cover 21, respectively, and the temperature control handle 4 and the switching handle 5 are attached from the outside of the side collars 23.例文帳に追加

Further, the front cover 22 is attached to the front cover attachment surface 36 of the lower cover 20 . When the front cover 22 is pushed into the lower cover 20, the locking groove 50 of the locking protrusion 48 and the locking piece 38 are engaged as shown in FIG. 7(b). Also, the mounting rib 49 of the front cover 22 abuts against the inner edge of the opening 33 of the lower cover 20 , whereby the front cover 22 is mounted on the lower cover 20 . Subsequently, the elbow 13 of the shower unit 3 is attached to the shower attachment portion of the body unit 8 , and the hot water supply screw portion 10 and the water supply screw portion 11 are attached to the body unit 8 through the insertion hole 28 of the lower cover 20 . As described above, the faucet 1 having the shape shown in FIG. 1 can be assembled.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the faucet 1 is assembled, a pair of insertion protrusions 46 formed on the upper cover 21 are inserted into a pair of recessed holes 37 formed on the vertical frame 34 of the lower cover 20, respectively. be. As shown in the figure, each recessed hole 37 is formed slightly wider than each insertion projection 46, and the insertion projection 46 is inserted into the recessed hole 37 in a loose fit state in the width direction. The lower end of 46 contacts the bottom surface of recessed hole 37 .

Here, since the opening 33 is an upward opening, the space between the upper ends is likely to be deformed by an external force or the like. When the upper ends of the opening 33 are widened, that is, when the upper ends of the pair of vertical frames 34 try to move away from each other (to the left in FIG. 8), the inner walls 37a of the pair of recessed holes 37 are separated from each other. The inner sides 46a of the insertion protrusions 46 are brought into contact with each other. Therefore, the pair of vertical frames 34 are restricted from moving further away from each other, and the diameter expansion between the upper ends of the openings 33 is restricted. Closing of the upper ends of the openings 33, that is, movement in the direction in which the upper ends of the pair of vertical frames 34 approach each other (rightward in FIG. 8) is similarly regulated.

When performing maintenance on the faucet 1, inserting a screwdriver or the like into the insertion port 39 formed in the vertical frame 34 causes the front cover 22 to come off from the lower cover 20 by lever action. Then, the check valve unit 18 and the water stop valve unit 19 located in the maintenance section 6a can be operated from the exposed opening 33. As shown in FIG.

According to the faucet 1 and the faucet cover 7 of the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The faucet cover 7 consists of a lower cover 20 having an opening 33 that opens upward facing the maintenance portion 6a of the faucet main body 6, an upper cover 21 arranged on the lower cover 20, and the lower cover 20. It has a front cover 22 as a maintenance cover that closes the opening 33 . A space retaining portion (the recessed hole 37 and the insertion protrusion 46) is provided to retain the space between the upper ends of the openings 33. As shown in FIG. Therefore, even if a force that expands or closes the opening 33 of the lower cover 20 acts, the distance between the upper ends of the opening 33 can be maintained. Since the opening 33 is opened upward, the opening 33 is wider in the upward direction than when there is an upper frame. Therefore, the opening 33 can be widened without changing the overall size of the lower cover 20, and the maintenance work through the opening 33 can be facilitated.

(2) The gap holding part restricts the movement of the upper ends of the opening 33 to widen, that is, the upper ends of the pair of vertical frames 34 to move away from each other (leftward in FIG. 8). Therefore, the front cover 22 fitted in the opening 33 of the lower cover 20 by internal fitting is less likely to come off.

(3) The opening 33 is formed by a pair of vertical frames 34 of the lower cover 20 and a lower frame 35 connecting the lower ends of the vertical frames 34 to each other. Further, the gap holding portion is composed of a pair of recessed holes 37 formed in the pair of vertical frames 34 and a pair of insertion projections 46 formed in the upper cover 21 and inserted into the pair of recessed holes 37 . Therefore, when the upper cover 21 is put on the lower cover 20 , the pair of insertion projections 46 of the upper cover 21 are inserted into the pair of recessed holes 37 of the lower cover 20 so that the gap between the upper ends of the openings 33 of the lower cover 20 is maintained. interval can be maintained. Moreover, since the upper cover 21 only needs to be put on the lower cover 20, the work is easy.

(4) The upper cover 21 is formed by molding a metal plate, and the length in the width direction of the pair of insertion protrusions 46 is greater than the length in the thickness direction. For this reason, the insertion protrusion 46 is resistant to deformation in the width direction, and the space between the upper ends of the opening 33 can be easily maintained.

(5) The front cover 22 has a pair of locking projections 48 that engage the pair of vertical frames 34 of the lower cover 20 . Since the pair of vertical frames 34 to which the front cover 22 is to be attached constitutes the space holding portion, the space holding function can be easily exhibited.

Note that the above embodiment may be modified as follows.
- Although the opening 33 is formed on the front surface of the lower cover 20, it may be formed on the side surface or the rear surface. Any position that faces the maintenance portion 6a of the faucet body 6 may be used.

- The pair of concave holes 37 is not limited to those that open upward. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which the recessed holes 37 are shaped to pass through the pair of vertical frames 34 in the front-rear direction, and the locking protrusions 48 are retained in the recessed holes 37 . Alternatively, a recessed hole 37 that opens to the inner side in the width direction of the pair of vertical frames 34 may be formed, and the locking projection 48 may be shaped to protrude outward in the width direction so as to be locked in the recessed hole 37 .

- The interval holding part is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, a pair of projections may be formed on the pair of vertical frames 34 and a pair of holes into which the pair of projections can be inserted may be formed on the upper cover 21 .
- The length in the width direction of the pair of insertion protrusions 46 formed on the upper cover 21 does not have to be greater than the length in the thickness direction.

・The material of each cover may be changed.
- The front cover 22 may be locked to a portion other than the vertical frame 34 .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Water faucet 6... Water faucet body 6a... Maintenance part 7... Water faucet cover 8... Body unit 20... Lower cover 21... Upper cover 22... Front cover (maintenance cover) 33... Opening , 34... Vertical frame, 35... Lower frame, 37... Recessed hole (interval holding part), 46... Insertion protrusion (interval holding part), 48... Locking protrusion.

Claims (5)

A faucet cover that covers a faucet body,
The faucet cover includes a lower cover having an opening that opens upward facing the maintenance section of the faucet main body, an upper cover arranged on the lower cover, and a maintenance cover that closes the opening of the lower cover. and
A water faucet cover provided with a space holding part for holding a space between the upper ends of the openings. 2. The faucet cover according to claim 1, wherein the space holding portion restricts expansion between upper ends of the opening. The opening is formed by a pair of vertical frames of the lower cover and a lower frame connecting lower ends of the pair of vertical frames,
2. The space holding portion is composed of a pair of recessed holes formed in the pair of vertical frames and a pair of insertion projections formed in the upper cover and inserted into the pair of recessed holes. The faucet cover according to claim 2. 4. The water according to claim 3, wherein the upper cover is formed by molding a metal plate, and the length of the pair of insertion projections in the width direction, which is a direction connecting the pair of insertion projections, is greater than the length in the thickness direction. spigot cover. 5. The faucet cover according to claim 3, wherein said maintenance cover has a pair of locking projections, said pair of locking projections locking said pair of vertical frames of said lower cover.

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