Water dispenser abstract
A faucet for a water dispenser has a seat secured on a front housing.
The seat has at least one nozzle formed therein. At least one button
is provided above the seat to control the nozzle's on/off modes
when a user presses the button inwards. The button has a slot longitudinally
defined therein and a locking key is movably received in the slot.
The locking key has a finger extending downwards and blocked by
the front housing. The button cannot be pressed when the locking
key in a locked position, and can be pressed when the locking key
is moved to an unlocked position to retract the finger.
Water dispenser claims
What is claimed is:
1. A faucet for a water dispenser, comprising: a seat (4) secured
on a front side (2) of the water dispenser, the seat (4) having
at least one nozzle (41) formed therein; and at least one button
(3) provided above the seat (4) and controlling the nozzle (41)
to on and off modes by pressed towards the front side (2), the at
least one button (3) having a slot (31) longitudinally defined therein
and a locking key (1) movably received in the slot (31), wherein
the at least one button (3) cannot be pressed to turn on the nozzle
(41) when the locking key (1) is in a locked status, and the button
(3) can be pressed to turn on the nozzle (41) when the locking key
(1) is in an unlocked status.
2. The faucet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the locking key (1)
has a finger (1b) extending away from the button (3) and blocked
by the front side (2) in the locked status.
3. The faucet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the locking key (1)
has two lugs (1a, 1a') respectively formed at two sides thereof
and located in the at least one button (3) to prevent the locking
key (1) from escaping from the slot (31).
4. The faucet as claimed in claim 2 wherein the finger (1b) extends
vertically.
5. The faucet as claimed in claim 2 wherein the finger (1b) is
integrated with the locking key (1).
6. The faucet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the locking key (1)
has a protrusion (1d) formed on an outer surface thereof to provide
a grip portion for a user.
7. The faucet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the locking key (1)
has a resilient member (6) secured on the button (3), the resilient
member (6) having a first arm extending abutting an inner wall of
the button (3) and a second arm fastened in the locking key (1).
8. The faucet as claimed in claim 7 wherein the resilient member
(6) is secured on a pole (1c) formed on the button (3) and beside
the locking key (1).
Water dispenser description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a drinking-water dispenser,
and more particularly to a tap of the water dispenser.
2. Description of Related Art
There are two types of faucets for drinking-water dispensers. One
type of faucet has a lever mounted above a nozzle. When the lever
is pressed, water flows out from the nozzle. However, a user must
keep on pressing the lever to keep a constant flow of water, which
is very inconvenient.
The other type of faucet has a button to control the nozzle's on/off
statuses. When the button is pressed inwards adequately, the button
can be positioned to keep the water flowing without the need for
continual pressing by the user. When the button is pressed again,
the button can return to turn off the faucet.
However, a drawback to this faucet is that the button may not be
pressed for the second time and thus the water will keep flowing
in a wasteful manner. Furthermore, some water dispensers provide
very hot water that can be mixed with the cold water but the danger
arises that a person, especially a child may suffer scalds by unwittingly
accessing only the hot water.
Therefore, the invention provides an improved faucet that is controlled
by buttons to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The main objective of the invention is to provide a safe faucet
that cannot be turned on in a locked status to prevent the faucet
from unintentional flow of water.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will
become more apparent from the following detailed description when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front view of faucets in accordance with the invention
mounted on a water dispenser;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view along the line "A--A" in FIG.
1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view along the line "B--B" in FIG.
1;
FIG. 4 is a top view of a spring of the faucet in a non-operated
status; and
FIG. 5 is a top view of a spring of the faucet in an operated status.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 a faucet in accordance with the invention
is mounted on a front housing (2) of a water dispenser. The faucet
has a pair of buttons (3) to respectively control the on/off statuses
of a pair of nozzles (41), wherein the left nozzle is communicated
with a hot water chamber (not shown or numbered), and the right
nozzle is communicated with a cool water chamber (not shown or numbered).
The nozzles (41) are formed in a seat (4) secured on the front
housing (2) of the dispenser. The left button (3) controlling the
left nozzle (41) from which hot water is discharged has a slot (31)
longitudinally defined therein. A locking key (1) is inserted in
and movable along the slot (31). A finger (1b) is formed on an inner
side of the locking key (1) and extending downwards. When the locking
key (1) is located at the bottom of the slot (31), the button (3)
can not be pressed because the finger (1b) is blocked by the front
housing (2). Before the button is pressed, the locking key (1) must
be pushed up along the slot (31). In this embodiment, the finger
(1b) is integrated with the locking key (1), but a finger that is
a separate component and mounted on the locking key (1) is also
acceptable. At least one recess or one protrusion (1d) is formed
on the outer surface of the key (1) to increase the friction so
as to facilitate easy pushing of the key (1). Referring to FIG.
3 the key (1) further has two lugs (1a, 1a') respectively formed
at two sides thereof and located in the button (3) to prevent the
locking key (1) from escaping from the slot (31).
Referring to FIGS. 2 4 and 5 a pole (1c) is formed in the button
(3) and beside the locking key (1). A resilient member (6) is mounted
on the pole (1c), and has a first arm (not numbered) abutting an
inner wall of the button (3) and a second arm (not numbered) fastened
in the locking key (1). Under the force of the resilient member
(6), the locking key (3) pushed upwards can return to the bottom
of the slot (31).
According to the present invention, under the force of the resilient
member (6), the locking key (1) is originally located at the bottom
of the slot (31), and the button (3) can not be pressed inwards
due to the finger (1d) being blocked by the front housing (2). When
a user wants to access hot water from the dispenser, the locking
key (1) must be pushed up to retract the finger (1d), whereby the
button (3) can be pressed inwards and hot water flows out from the
nozzle (41). When the user releases the button (3) after accessing
the water, the locking key (1) will return to the bottom of slot
(31) under the force of the resilient member (6), so that the button
(3) can not be pressed unintentionally.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics
and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the
foregoing description, together with details of the structure and
function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only,
and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape,
size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention
to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the
terms in which the appended claims are expressed. |