Fast connector structure for cleaners

A fast connector for cleaners, which comprises: a connector body, two positioning pieces, a bottom plate and an water pipe, wherein the connector body has a water through hole in its center and the bottom portion which is expanded and formed into a recessed portion with two first openings. Two positioning pieces are reversely stacked, each having a through slot in its center, a push button at its outside, and a restored spring placed between the inner side surface of the push button and the second opening of the bottom plate which allows the positioning piece to move laterally and in opposite directions. The bottom plate has a through slot in its center, a trough on both sides of the slot, and two second openings for placing the positioning pieces.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fast connector structure for cleaners, more particularly to a fast connector structure that employs a ring member for a secured circular positioning.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional connector structure for cleaners is usually connected to a water faucet with screw bolts, and is pushed to contact the water faucet with the force generated by the screw bolts. These screw bolts have to be precisely aligned to achieve accurate positioning and a poor alignment likely causes a water leak. To solve this problem of the conventional connector structure, the inventor has previously invented a fast connector structure for cleaners as illustrated inFIGS. 9 to 11. The fast connector structure of the previous invention comprises a water pipe60and a fast connector70, wherein one end of the fast connector70is connected to the water inlet end61of the water pipe60, and the other end of the fast connector70is molded with thread701which allows it to be placed into the screw hole of the water outlet of the faucet80. The fast connector70has a horizontal slot703located in the middle portion of the water hole702, and the horizontal slot703has on one end a closed position limiting stopper704, and on the other end an opening705through the side wall of the fast connector70. The opening705is expanded downwardly and allows the interposition of a positioning piece71, which has in its center a through slot711with a size larger than the water hole72and an inner side edge714at the inner end of the positioning piece71. In addition, the positioning piece71has a push button712located at the end that protrudes out from the horizontal slot703, and there is a spring72placed between the inner side of the lower part of the push button712and the wall of the opening705which maintains the positioning piece71to be pushed outwardly. In addition, the positioning piece71has two horizontally extended portions713located at the inner ends of both its left and right borders, which are to be placed into the recessed portions706of the horizontal slot703, and the recessed portions706of the horizontal slot therefore prevent the positioning piece70to slide out from the horizontal slot703. Furthermore, the bottom end of the water hole72of the fast connector70is formed into a reamed zone707which is installed with a spring73, and the water inlet end61of the water pipe60has a recessed ring slot62, therefore when the water inlet end61of the water pipe60is inserted into the water hole702of the fast connector70, the recessed ring slot62is placed at a position that fits the horizontal slot711of the positioning piece71. As the positioning piece71is elastically pushed outwardly, the inner side edge714of the horizontal slot711is then interposed into the recessed ring slot62of the water inlet end61, thereby achieving the proper positioning of the water inlet end61of the water pipe60and preventing the detachment of the water pipe60from the fast connector70.

However, for the previously invented fast connector structure as above described, the inner side edge714of the positioning piece71blocks the recessed ring slot62at only one side and does not provides a full circle stabilization to the recessed ring slot62of water inlet end61; therefore the contacting area as well as the positioning limiting strength are limited, which likely results in the detachment of the water pipe60from the fast connector70due to high water pressure and causes a dramatically reduced convenience in practical uses.

Therefore, there remains a need for a new and improved fast connector structure to overcome the problems stated above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The goal of the present invention is to solve the following technical problem as previously described.

The present invention provides an improved fast connector structure that solves the problem of the lacking sufficient positioning strength to stably connect the water pipe to the connector.

The fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention may include a connector body, two positioning pieces, a bottom plate, and a water pipe, wherein one end of the connector body is used for being connected with the water inlet end of a water pipe, and the other end is threaded for being installed into a screw hole of the water outlet of a faucet. A water through hole is located at center of the connector body, and the connector body is connected with a ring cap by a high-frequency sealing technique and the ring cap supports additional units including a bushing liner and a spring. In addition, the bottom of the connector body is expanded, and has a recessed portion connecting to the water through hole, and edge of the recessed portion has a first opening located at opposite sides of the recessed portion. Two positioning pieces are reversely stacked, with one placed upward and in one direction whereas the other one placed downward and in an opposite direction, allowing the two positioning pieces to move laterally towards opposite directions. Each of the two positioning pieces has in horizontal slot at center portion which is bigger than the water through hole, a pushing button on its outer end that protrudes out from the first openings of the bottom portion of the connector body, and an inner end that is closed to form an arc-shaped curved stopping edge. The stopping edge of each positioning piece has a heightened lip edge along the arc-shaped curve, and this heightened lip edge together with the un-heightened center of the positioning piece at a relatively low position form a ladder-shaped structure.

The bottom plate has a through hole at center portion and a trough is horizontally formed at an upper portion of the bottom plate. A stopping edge is formed on both sides of the trough, and a second opening is formed between two stopping edges. There is a restored spring, one end of which placed into the inner space inside of each push button and the other end of which placed surrounding a rod extending from the outer surface of trough at the position of the second opening of the bottom plate. This restored spring elastically pushes the positioning piece laterally and outwardly. One end of the water pipe that has a recessed ring slot is used as a water inlet end, and the other end is used for connecting cleaners.

The advantages of the fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention over previously invented subject include:

(a) The fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention utilizes two positioning pieces to block the arc-shaped surface of the recessed ring slot at both inner and outer sides, which provides a full circle stabilization to the water pipe and allows the water pipe to be stably connected to the connector body, thereby preventing the detachment of the connector body from the water pipe due to the force generated by high water pressure.

(b) The fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention allows the water pipe to be stably connected to the connector body, thereby avoiding repeated assembly of the water pipe to the connector body due to detachment likely occur when using a conventional connector structure or the fast connector structure described in the previous invention, which is remarkably more convenient in practical uses.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Further details of the fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention, including the technical objective, the structural characteristics, and the advantages of the subject of the present invention will be described as following, with assistance of the drawings.

The fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention, as illustrated inFIGS. 1 to 5, may include a connector body10, two positioning pieces20, a bottom plate30, and a water pipe40, wherein one end of the connector body10is used for the installation of the water inlet end41of the water pipe40, and the other end is threaded for being installed into the screw hole of the water outlet opening of the faucet50. The water through hole102is located in the center of the connector body10, and the connector body10has a ring cap11, a bushing liner13, and a spring14. The bottom portion of the connector body10is expanded and forms a recessed portion103that connects to the water through hole102, and the edge of the recessed bottom portion103has two first openings104that are located at opposite sides of the recessed portion103. Two positioning pieces20are reversely stacked, with one being placed upward in one direction whereas the other one being placed downward in the direction that is opposite to that of the first one, allowing the two positioning pieces20to move laterally towards opposite directions. Each of the two positioning pieces20has a horizontal through slot201at center portion that is bigger than the water through hole102, and a push button202on its outer end that protrudes out from the first openings104of the bottom portion103of the connector body10. In addition, there is a restored spring21located between the inner end surface of each push button202and the bottom surface of the second opening34of the bottom plate30, which elastically pushes the positioning pieces20laterally and outwardly. Furthermore, the inner side edge203of the through slot201of each positioning piece20has a heightened lip edge204along the arc-shaped top curve, and this heightened lip edge204and the un-heightened center of the positioning piece20which is at a relatively low position together form a ladder-shaped structure. The bottom plate30has a through hole31at center portion thereof and a trough32on both sides of the through hole31for placing the positioning piece20, and the outer sides of the trough32are heightened to from stopping edges33. The stopped edges curve inwardly and remain open, thereby forming two second openings34located on opposites dies of the horizontal slots31. Furthermore, the end of the water pipe40that is equipped with a recessed ring slot42is used as the water inlet end41, and the other end is used for connecting cleaners.

The assembly of the fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention is illustrated inFIGS. 1,3, and4. The two positioning pieces20are reversely stacked, with the first positioning piece20being placed onto the trough32of the bottom plate30with its heightened lip edge34pointing upward, whereas the second positioning piece being placed downward with its the heighted lip edges204to be fitted into the through slot201of the first positioning piece20, thereby allowing the two positioning pieces to be closely placed and to contact each other with the borders205of two opposing positioning pieces20. These two reversely stacked positioning pieces are placed onto the trough32located at both sides of the through slot31of the bottom plate30. The restored springs21are then installed with each one being placed between the push button202and the neighboring second opening34of the bottom plate30. With the above units installed, the bottom plate is then connected to the recessed portion103of the connector body10with a high-frequency sealing technique, allowing the push buttons202to protrude out from the corresponding first openings103and the second openings34. The presence of the first and second openings, together with the function of the stopping edges33of the bottom plate30, restrict the positioning of the positioning pieces20and prevents the positioning pieces20to detach laterally as the positioning pieces20are being pushed by the rest springs21.

The installation of the fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention to a water faucet is illustrated inFIGS. 3 to 5. The water inlet end41of the water pipe40is installed by being inserted through the through slot31of the bottom plate30. During this process, the movement of the water pipe40pushes the two positioning pieces20to retract elastically, which allows the water pipe40to pass through the through slots201of the two positioning pieces20as they are properly positioned, and allows the water pipe40to be inserted into the water through hole102of the connector body10. As the water inlet end41is completely inserted into the connector body10, the recessed ring slot42is placed at a position appropriate for full circle stabilization with the two positioning pieces20. With the pushing force generated by the two restored springs21, the two positioning pieces20moves in an outward direction, allowing the inner side edges203and the heightened lip edges204of the two positioning pieces20to be interposed into the recessed ring slots42from both sides, thereby providing a full circle stabilization to the water pipe40and ensuring the stable connection of the water pipe40to the connector body10. This stable connection prevents the water pipe40to detach from the connector body10due to the force generated by high water pressure therefore increases the functional stability of the fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention in practical uses.

Uninstallation of the water pipe40from the fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention is shown inFIGS. 6 to 8. When the two push buttons202are pressed, the two corresponding positioning pieces20are moved inwardly, which push the inner side edges203as well as the heightened lip edges204to slide out from the recessed ring slot42, thereby removing the position limiting effect to the water pipe40. As the water pipe40is being pushed downwardly by the spring14placed inside of the connector body10, the water pipe40can thus be fast and readily removed from the connector body10, without disconnecting the connector body10from the faucet50. This feature thus allows the fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention to be conveniently used for daily purposes.

The fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention has the following advantages over a conventional connector structure and/or the previously invented subject: (a) The fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention utilizes two positioning pieces20to stabilize the collection of the water pipe40to the connector body10, which provides a full circle stabilization to the water pipe40and effectively prevents the detachment of the water pipe40from the connector body10due to the force generated by high water pressure; (b) The fast connector structure for cleaners of the present invention allows the water pipe40to be stably connected to the connector body10, therefore it is unnecessary for repeated assembly of the water pipe40to the connector body10due to detachment likely occur when using a conventional connector structure or the fast connector structure described in the previous invention, which is remarkably more convenient for practical uses.

To summarize, the present invention describes a novel improved fast connector structure for cleaners with a breakthrough in structural design, further improved new components, and advantages in commercial exploration. The present invention has not been disclosed in any published materials and thus possesses novelty.

The above description and illustrations are for one or more exemplary embodiments of the present invention and should not be considered to limit the scope of the implementation of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be considered as limited by the forgoing description, but includes any equivalents.