Water filter abstract
A filter device for a water filter includes a coupling device and
a filter cartridge. A water inlet opening and a water outlet opening
are formed on the coupling device. The coupling device has an inner
casing with a reversed cone shaped through hole in the center. A
valve member controlled by an elastic element is configured within
the coupling device. The valve member, which includes a hollow rod
with through holes formed on the side wall, completely blocks the
cone shaped through hole if no filter cartridge is connected. When
the filter cartridge is securely fastened to the coupling device,
the elastic element is compressed so as to form a water inlet path
from the water inlet opening through the coupling device, the valve
member and the filter cartridge. A separate water outlet path from
the filter cartridge through the coupling device to the water outlet
opening provides filtered water ready for drinking.
Water filter claims
What is claimed is:
1. A filter device for a water filter comprising:
a coupling device including:
an outer casing comprising a hollow interior space and a base,
said base having a hole and a plurality of grooves adjacent to the
hole;
an inner casing comprising a hollow interior space, a water outlet
hole and a top plate, said top plate having a reversed conical central
through hole;
a valve member comprising a head part having a conical structure
matching said reversed conical central through hole, a hollow rod
having side-wall through holes and an annular flange, said head
part and said hollow rod being fastened together from two sides
of said top plate;
an elastic element being placed between said head part and said
annular flange for controlling said valve member, said central through
hole being completely blocked by said head part if said elastic
element is not compressed;
and a cover body having a water inlet opening and a water outlet
opening;
wherein said inner casing is affixed to said cover body and inserted
in the hollow interior space of said outer casing so that said cover
body covers said outer casing and a water outlet path is formed
from said water outlet hole to said water outlet opening;
and a filter cartridge including:
a set body comprising a set plate, a water inlet tube passing through
said set plate, a water outlet tube having an opening on said set
plate and plurality of ribs mounted on said set plate and said water
inlet tube, said water inlet tube being connected with a water inlet
hose, and said ribs each having a groove;
a fixation device comprising a tubular body having a plurality
of flanges formed thereon, said flanges being matched with said
grooves of said base of said outer casing, and said tubular body
having a central hole through which said water inlet tube is inserted
for securely fixing and coupling said set body to said fixation
device by said ribs;
a filter cylinder comprising filtering material;
and a base body connecting said filter cylinder;
wherein said fixation device is affixed to and covers said filter
cylinder;
wherein a water outlet path is formed from said water outlet tube
through the central hole of said tubular body and said water outlet
hole to said water outlet opening; and said elastic element is compressed
to form a water inlet path from said water inlet opening through
said side-wall through holes, said hollow rod and said water inlet
tube to said water inlet hose when said fixation device is inserted
into the hole of said base of said outer casing and rotated for
locking the flanges of said tubular body within said outer casing.
2. The filter device according to claim 1 wherein said head part
and the interior surface of said hollow rod have matched threads
for being screwed and fastened tightly together.
3. The filter device according to claim 1 wherein said base body
is secured within said filter cylinder by bending one end of the
side wall of said filter cylinder inward.
4. The filter device according to claim 1 wherein said fixation
device is affixed to said filter cylinder by bending one end of
the side wall of said filter cylinder inward.
Water filter description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a filter apparatus of
a water filter, and more particularly to a water filter apparatus
having a filter cartridge that turns off water supply automatically
if the filter cartridge is not properly secured with its coupling
device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A conventional water filter apparatus mainly comprises a filer
cartridge and a coupling device. The coupling device is placed between
a water supply and the filter cartridge for connecting the water
supply to the filter cartridge. There are two openings in the coupling
device. One is a water inlet opening and the other is a water outlet
opening. The water inlet opening is connected to a water tap and
the water outlet opening is connected to another independent water
supply tap where the filter cartridge is placed underneath the coupling
device.
After turning on the water tap for inserting water into the coupling
device, drinkable water comes out of the independent water supply
tap through the filtering material of the filter cartridge. In a
conventional assembly of the coupling device and the filter cartridge,
an outer thread is formed on the outer casing of the filter cartridge
and an inner thread is formed on the coupling device. By firmly
and securely fastening the filter cartridge to the coupling device,
water flows through the filter cartridge via the coupling device.
The conventional assembly of the coupling device and the filter
cartridge has at least the following disadvantages:
1. If the inner thread of the filter cartridge and the outer thread
of the coupling device are not tightly coupled with each other,
water may leak.
2. If the connection between the filter cartridge and the coupling
device is loose, the filter cartridge may fall off when the water
pressure is suddenly increased.
3. In the process of replacing the filter cartridge, a user must
remember to turn off the water supply. Otherwise, the water runs
out widely.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a
newly designed construction for the filter cartridge of a water
filter for automatically shutting off water supply when the filter
cartridge is removed or loosened.
According to this invention, the filter device comprises a coupling
device and a filter cartridge. The coupling device has an outer
casing, an inner casing and a cover body. A water inlet opening
and a water outlet opening are formed on the cover body. The inner
casing has a cone shaped through hole in the center. The coupling
device also includes a valve member that has a hollow rod on which
side-wall through holes are formed. The valve member controlled
by an elastic element completely blocks the through hole if no filter
cartridge is connected.
When a filter cartridge is connected, the elastic element is compressed
to open the cone shaped through hole. By means of the side-wall
through holes of the hollow rod and the cone shaped through hole,
a water inlet path is formed in the coupling device so that water
can be inserted into the filter cartridge and filtered by the filtering
material in the cartridge. A water outlet is also formed through
the coupling device to supply filtered water.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the construction of the essential
elements in the filter device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the filter cartridge and
the coupling device before they are engaged according to the present
invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the engaged filter cartridge
and coupling device according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1 the
filter device of a water filter in accordance with the present invention
comprises a coupling device 1 and a filter cartridge 2. The embodiment
of the coupling device 1 includes an outer cylindrical casing 11
an inner cylindrical casing 12 a cover body 13 a valve member
14 and an elastic element 15. The outer casing 11 has one end opened
and the other end defining a base with a hole 111 located in its
center. A plurality of grooves 112 are formed on the base adjacent
to the hole 111. An annular flange 113 surrounding the hole 111
and the grooves 112 is formed on the base. The annular flange 113
protrudes above the base inside the outer casing. A hollow interior
space is established inside the outer cylindrical casing 11.
The inner casing 12 which is to be inserted to the interior space
of the outer casing 11 also has a hollow interior space 122. A
plate member, which is sized to fit into the interior space of the
outer casing 11 is mounted on one end of the inner casing 12. A
reversed cone shaped central through hole 121 is formed at the center
of the plate. The inner casing 12 further comprises a hole 123 which
goes through the plate member into the hollow interior space 122.
O-rings 124 and 124' are placed on the plate member and the outer
surface of the inner casing 12.
The valve member 14 is made of a hollow rod 141. An inner thread
is formed in the inner surface of the hollow rod 141. An annular
plate is attached to one end of the valve member 14 to form a flange
144. A threaded head part 145 has a conical structure which can
be screwed onto the hollow rod 141 with the head part 145 on one
side of the plate member of the inner casing 12 and the hollow rod
141 on the other side to form the valve member 14 so that the cone
shaped central through hole can be blocked. A plurality of side-wall
through holes 142 are formed on the annular wall of the rod 141.
An O-ring 143 is affixed on the head part 145.
An elastic element 15 which has a diameter larger than that of
the hollow rod 141 but smaller than that of the flange 144 is placed
on the valve member 14 as shown in FIG. 2. The head part 145 of
the valve member 14 is then inserted to the cone shaped central
through hole 121 and screwed onto the hollow rod 141. The two conical
structures firmly coupled with each other together with the O-ring
143. A preferred example of the elastic element 15 is a spiral spring.
By means of the head part 145 and the O-ring 143 the cone shaped
through hole 121 is completely blocked if the spiral spring is not
compressed.
The cover body 13 comprises a water inlet opening 131 and an water
outlet opening 132 on one side and an annular flange 133 on the
other side. The inner casing 12 is affixed to the cover body 13
by plugging the plate member of the inner casing 12 inside the annular
flange 133. The inner surface of the annular flange 133 is attached
to the O-ring 124. The inner casing 12 is also inserted into the
outer casing 11 with the O-ring 124' firmly attached to the annular
flange 113 on the base of the outer casing 11. The outer casing
11 is therefore covered up by the cover body 13 to form the coupling
device 1.
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 the filter cartridge 2 comprises
a filter cylinder 21 a set body 22 a fixation device 23 and a
base body 24. The filter cylinder 21 has a hollow interior for the
placement of a filter material 3. The bottom end of the cylinder
21 is connected to the base body 24. The set body 22 is constructed
on a circular plate having a through hole at the center. A tubular
structure defined as a water inlet tube 223 extends out of the circular
plate of the set body 22 on both sides so that water may be supplied
from the top end of the tube 223 to the bottom end through the center
hole. A water inlet hose 25 is attached to the bottom end of the
tube 223.
A water outlet tube 221 is formed on the circular plate on the
same side where the water inlet hose 25 is attached to the water
inlet tube. The circular plate has an opening 2211 for the water
outlet tube 221 so that water can flow through. A plurality of L-shaped
ribs 222 are formed on the other side of the circular plate. The
ribs 222 are mounted both on the water inlet tube 223 and the circular
plate. A groove 2221 is formed on each rib 222.
The fixation device 23 comprises a circular plate having an O-ring
234 attached to the edge and a through hole formed in the center.
A tubular body 232 having a diameter greater than that of the water
inlet tube 223 of the set body 22 extends up from the through hole.
A plurality of flanges 233 are formed on the tubular body 232. The
flanges are to be inserted in the grooves 112 on the base of the
outer casing 11. The set body 22 is then inserted in the fixation
device 23 that is placed onto the filter cylinder 21. The L-shaped
ribs 222 ensure that the water inlet tube is securely coupled in
the tubular body 232. The edge of the filter cylinder 21 is bent
inward to fix the fixation device 23. The filter cartridge 2 is
thus formed.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 while the filter cartridge 2 is
assembled with the coupling device 1 the flanges 233 of the filter
cartridge 2 is pushed against the outer casing 11 and inserted into
the grooves 112 of the outer casing 11. The filter cartridge 2 is
then rotated with an appropriate angle so that the flanges 233 are
no longer lined up with the grooves. Therefore, the fixation device
23 is fixed on the outer casing 11 and the filter cartridge 2 and
the coupling device 1 are firmly affixed together.
The water inlet tube 223 extends out of the fixation device 23
and pushes against the valve member 14 to overcome the elastic force
of the elastic element 15 so that water from the water inlet opening
131 can pass through the central through hole 121 of the inner casing
12 and side-wall through holes 142 of the value member 14 into the
water inlet tube 223. Water comes out of the water inlet hose 25
flows through the filtering material 3 and then enters the water
outlet tube 221. The top opening 2211 of the water outlet tube 221
allows water to flow into the interior of the tubular body 232 and
pass through the hole 123 of the inner casing 12. Finally, water
comes out of the water outlet opening 132 of the cover body 13 is
ready for drinking.
From the above detailed description of the filter device in accordance
with the present invention, it can be seen that the disadvantages
of a conventional filter device have been overcome. When a filter
cartridge 2 is loosened or not connected, the valve member 14 prevents
water from entering the water inlet tube 223 by completely blocking
the central through hole 121. When a filter cartridge 2 is connected,
the elastic element 15 is compressed to open the central hole 121
and thus allows water to go through.
While the structure and features of the present invention have
become more apparent from the above detailed description and illustration,
it will be understood by a person skilled in the art that various
changes and detail may be made without departing from the spirit
and scope of the invention. |