Abstract:
An apparatus and method in which an adaptor mechanism that can be coupled with a faucet to permit the faucet to be installed or removed from the top of the counter top surface without the need for needing installation connection materials or installation connections underneath the countertop. Lugs or feet underneath the adaptor mechanism secure or firmly grasp the underside of a countertop to secure the adaptor mechanism once coupled to the faucet to the countertop to firmly mount the faucet and adaptor mechanism in place. At least four different embodiments for coupling the faucet with the adaptor mechanism are described.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to an apparatus for easily installing/removing a faucet and a method for the same. In particular the present invention provides for an adaptor mechanism that can be coupled with a faucet to permit the faucet to be installed or removed from the top of the counter top surface without the need for needing installation connection materials or installation connections underneath the countertop. 
         [0003]    2. The Related Prior Art 
         [0004]    Faucet connections are known in the prior art. Typically such connections require considerable work and effort underneath the countertop and sink to install, remove and/or replace the faucet from the pipe connections. This can be a complex and time consuming effort and can require replacement components underneath the countertop. In addition a skilled person has a plumber may be required to handle this complex removal/installation. It would be desirable if an apparatus and method were available that would make it possible to remove/install a faucet form the top of the countertop without the need for any removal/installation effort or equipment below the countertop. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    It would therefore be desirable to provide an apparatus and a method that overcomes the drawbacks of the aforementioned prior art proposals and provides for the removal/installation of a faucet from the top of the countertop without the need for any removal/installation effort or equipment below the countertop. The present invention provides for such an apparatus and method in which an adaptor mechanism that can be coupled with a faucet to permit the faucet to be installed or removed from the top of the counter top surface without the need for needing installation connection materials or installation connections underneath the countertop. 
         [0006]    The present invention further provides for lugs or feet underneath the adaptor mechanism that can secure or firmly grasp the underside of a countertop to secure the adaptor mechanism once coupled to the faucet to the countertop to firmly mount the faucet and adaptor mechanism in place. The present invention provides at least four different embodiments for coupling the faucet with the adaptor mechanism. Other improvements and modifications will become apparent from the forthcoming description and drawings as described below in which: 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1A  shows a perspective top view of the faucet connected with the adaptor mechanism of the present invention and secured to a countertop in which the bore holes showing the screws connecting the lugs or feet of the adaptor mechanism to the countertop are shown; 
           [0008]      FIG. 1B  shows a perspective bottom view of the faucet connected with the adaptor mechanism of the present invention shown in  FIG. 1A  secured to a countertop showing the lugs or feet of the adaptor mechanism connected to the countertop; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  shows a bottom view of the adaptor mechanism having a silicon ring or an o ring that can be placed thereon to prevent water from going down into the sink cabinet; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  A is a perspective view first embodiment of the present inventions of  FIG. 1  in which the adaptor mechanism has recesses or grooves, preferably two or three on its exterior sidewall and these recesses or grooves matingly slidingly engage the protuberances or tongues on the interior walls at or near to the bottom of the faucet during coupling when the tongues of the faucet are at the bottom of the grooves of the adaptor, the tongues are then located in a track substantially perpendicular to grooves so that when the tongues are in the track and rotated, preferably clockwise it will lock the faucet in place with the adaptor; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3B  is a sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 3A  in which the adaptor mechanism has recesses or grooves, preferably two or three on its exterior sidewall and these recesses or grooves matingly slidingly engage the protuberances or tongues on the interior walls at or near to the bottom of the faucet during coupling when the tongues of the faucet are at the bottom of the grooves of the adaptor, the tongues are then located in a track substantially perpendicular to grooves so that when the tongues are in the track and rotated, preferably clockwise it will lock the faucet in place with the adaptor; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a second embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1  in which the adaptor mechanism has slits on its side wall that will serve as a spring and cause the adaptor side wall to bend inward until the faucet is firmly coupled in place with the adaptor mechanism; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a third embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1  in which the bottom of the adaptor mechanism has a 5 start thread on it exterior bottom surface for quick fastening with the 5 start thread on the interior surface if the sidewall of the faucet so that less than a ¼ circular turn is required to lock the faucet firmly in place with the adaptor mechanism; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a fourth embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1  in which the adaptor mechanism has a standard thread segmented by preferably 5 recesses on its exterior sidewall and the faucet has a standard thread segmented by preferably 5 recesses on the interior sidewall of the faucet to matingly engage each other. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]    Referring now to the drawings of  FIGS. 1-6 ,  FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of the faucet  2  connected with the adaptor or adaptor mechanism  5  of the present invention. The adaptor mechanism is  5  secured to a countertop  6  in which the bore holes  7  showing the screws  8  connecting the swinging locks or lugs or feet  9 , which can be two or three feet  9  of the adaptor mechanism  5 , to the countertop  6  as shown. The swinging locks or feet  9  are threadably connected to the bottom portions of the screws extending through the bore holes. In this manner the feet or lugs  9  can be securely fastened to the countertop  6  by adjusting and rotating the screws  8  on top of the adaptor mechanism  5  above the countertop  6  as shown in the sectional view of  FIG. 1B . Thus the installation is accomplished by sliding the adapter  5  with the two (or perhaps three) swinging locks or feet  9  through the mounting hole of the interior of the faucet  2 . By turning the two connecting elements or screws clockwise, the two swinging locks  9  turn 180 degrees to their stop and moving upwards towards the bottom of the countertop, until the adapter  5  is secured. The adapter  5  also has a groove for an o-ring or silicone to prevent water from leaking through the surface, the faucet itself has two short tongs which slides into the matching grooves of the adapter, all the way and then by turning the faucet to the right, those tongs engaging into angled groove which secure the faucet downward, a small set screw can keep the faucet in location. 
         [0016]    The faucet  2  and the adaptor mechanism can be coupled to together in one of several ways as described in the embodiments of  FIGS. 2-5  described below. For each of these four embodiments a silicon ring  11  or a ring of any other suitable commercial material can be placed on the adaptor  5  to prevent water from going down into the sink cabinet as shown in  FIG. 2   
         [0017]      FIGS. 3A-3B  illustrate a first embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1  in which the adaptor mechanism  5  has recesses or grooves  21 , preferably two or three on its exterior sidewall and these recesses or grooves matingly slidingly engage the protuberances or tongues  22  on the interior walls at or near to the bottom of the faucet  2  during coupling when the tongues  22  of the faucet  2  are at the bottom of the grooves  21  of the adaptor  5 , the tongues  22  are then located in a circumferential track  23  substantially perpendicular to the grooves  21  so that when the tongues  22  are in the track  23  and rotated, preferably clockwise, it will lock the faucet  2  in place with the adaptor  5 . The track  23  is tapered so as to be deeper near the recesses  21  and to narrow out in a clock wise direction when the tongues  22  are rotated in track  23 . 
         [0018]      FIG. 4  illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1  in which the adaptor mechanism  5  has slits  5   a  on its side wall  5   b  that will serve as a spring and cause the adaptor side wall  5   b  to bend inward until the adaptor  5  is firmly coupled in place with the faucet  2 . The slits  5   a  cause the sidewall  5   b  of the adaptor mechanism  5  to collapse or compress inward when the faucet  2  is placed over the adaptor  5 . The slitted sidewall  5   b  of the adaptor mechanism  5  will expand back to its original circumference within the interior of the faucet  2 . The adaptor  5  has at its top part a lip  26  that has a slightly wider diameter, preferably 25/1000 of an inch than that of the diameter of the slitted wall portion of the adaptor. The slitted wall  5   a  has a taper  30 , preferably 1.5 degree taper that is wider at its bottom and narrower at its top part of the slitted wall portion of the adapter  5 . The interior sidewall of a faucet  2  has an internal tapering  31  that matches and is complimentary to the tapered wall  30  of the adaptor  5  that is wider on top and narrower at the bottom so that when the faucet  2  is placed over the adaptor, the tapered walls of the faucet force the tapered walls of the adaptor  5  to collapse or bend inward until the lip of the adaptor  5  reaches a groove  27  on the interior sidewall of the faucet  2  so that the adaptor  5  expands and locks the faucet  2  in place with the adaptor  5 . A small set screw  28  on the exterior surface of the faucet  2  can set the faucet in place so that the faucet  2  does not rotate. To uninstall it so that the faucet  2  decouples from the adaptor  5 , unscrew the set screw  28  approximately three or four turns then wedge a screwdriver between the countertop  6  and the set screw  28  and simply pry the faucet  2  upward to separate from the adaptor  5 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 5  relates to a third embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1  in which the bottom  5   c  of the adaptor mechanism  5  has a 5 start thread  15  on it exterior bottom surface  5   c  for quick fastening with a 5 start thread  16  on the interior surface of the sidewall  2   a  of the faucet  2  so that less than a ¼ circular turn is required to lock the faucet  2  firmly in place with the adaptor mechanism  5  and preferably will turn approximately 50-60 degrees to lock the faucet in place with the adaptor. Thus the adaptor mechanism  5  is threadably engaged to the faucet  2  and is engaged with less than a ¼ circular turn. This makes for a fast installation/removal of the adaptor  5  and the faucet  2  from each other. It is understood that the invention is not limited to a 5 start thread and that any multiple start thread or known multiple thread that can be used instead. A lower number of multiple number of standard thread requires more turning so it will turn more than 50-60 degrees and a higher multiple number of start thread requires less turning than 50-60 degrees. I 
         [0020]      FIG. 6  shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1  in which the adaptor mechanism  5  has a standard thread  18  segmented by preferably but not limited to 5 recesses  19  on its exterior sidewall  5   b . The faucet has a standard thread  18   a  segmented by preferably but not limited to 5 recesses  19   a  on its interior sidewall. When the faucet  2  is placed over the adaptor  5 , the recesses  19   a  of the faucet  2  line up with the threaded sections  18  of the adaptor and the threaded sections  18   a  of the faucet line up with the recesses  19  of the adaptor  5  permitting the faucet  2  to slide all the way down over the adaptor  5  and then by rotating the faucet  2 , preferably clockwise, the threaded segments  18   a  in the faucet  2  will engage the threaded segments  18  of the adaptor  5  to lock the faucet in place with the adaptor  5 . Theses complimentary sets of recesses and threaded segments make for a fast installation and removal for mounting the faucet  2  together with the adaptor mechanism  5 . It is understood that that the number of segmenting recesses for the faucet and for the adaptor mechanism can vary but should be the same number for each. 
         [0021]    While presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of the disclosure, numerous changes in the arrangement of method steps and apparatus parts can be made by those skilled in the art. Such changes are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.