Abstract:
An improved strainer in a shower bath tap valve is essentially having provided a trough respectively over the inlet passages of cold and hot water to place in a strainer comprised of support, seat and mesh; the strainer then is secured to the valve with fixation nuts so to make easier replacement of the strainer without removing couplings to both cold and hot water supply lines.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (a) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is related to an improved configuration for a strainer in a shower bath tap valve, and more particularly, to one that permits replacement of a strainer without having to remove the couplings of both cold and hot water lines. 
     (b) Description of the Prior Art 
     A shower bath tap described in the present invention relates to a fixed installation as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompany drawings. Wherein, the valve  10  is built in a seat  1  installed in a pre-drilled opening in a wall. The seat  1  adapted with a handle  2  is exposed to allow control. The valve  10  inside the seat  1  is provided with cold and hot water inlets  11 ,  12  respectively connected to cold and hot water supply lines built in the wall. Both inlets  11 ,  12  are also connected to a water outlet  13  and a drain  14 . The water outlet  13  is further connected to a diverter  3  respective to deliver the water to a showerhead  4  and a bathtub tap  5 . 
     It requires a comparatively precise cartridge to regulate and control for a proper mixture of hot and cold water. To prevent foreign matters in the inlet water from compromising the performance of the cartridge and to warrant a clean delivery of water supply, a strainer must be each provided at the hot and cold water inlets. In the prior art as illustrated in FIG. 6, a strainer  20  is each directly provided at the openings of the cold and hot water inlets  11 ,  12  of the valve  10 . However, both inlets  11 ,  12  must be respectively pivoted to a cold water supply line  6  and a hot water supply line  7 . Therefore, upon replacing the strainer, couplings to both water supply lines  6 ,  7  must be first removed since that, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the valve is inserted in the wall where provides limited space to make it difficult to pivot the valve  10  to both water supply lines  6 ,  7 . 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved configuration for a strainer in a shower bath tap valve that permits easy replacement of the strainer without having to remove the couplings to both hot and cold water supply lines. To achieve the purpose, the strainer is provided over the cold and hot water inlets. 
     The foregoing object and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts. 
     Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a shower bath tap valve. 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the shower bath tap valve. 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a preferred of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention as assembled. 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the prior art of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The following descriptions are of exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 
     Referring to FIGS. 3,  4  and  5 , a valve  10  is provided with a cold water inlet  11 , a hot water inlet  12 , a water outlet  13 , and a drain  14 . A cartridge  40  is connected to the center at the top of the valve  10 . Two strainer troughs  15 ,  16  are respectively opened at the top of the cold and hot water inlets  11 ,  12  for each to accommodate a strainer  20  before being blocked and secured with a fixation nut  30 . Both strainer troughs  15 ,  16  are respectively connected through the cold and hot water inlets  11 ,  12  at a right angle; and the diameter each of both strainer troughs  15 ,  16  is greater than that of each of both two water inlets  11 ,  12 . The strainer  20  includes a mesh support  21 , a mesh seat  22 , and a mesh  23 . Wherein, the mesh support  21  in a diameter slightly smaller than that of a circular plate  211 , which covers tip the strainer trough  15  ( 16 ). A rod  212  protrudes from the center of the top of the plate  211 . An arc positioning frame  213  in radius smaller than that of the plate  211  is formed at the bottom of the mesh support  21  so to permit the mesh  23  to cover and rest on the outer arc surface of the positioning frame  213 . The mesh seat  22  in inner radius equal to that of the positioning frame  213  relates to a cylindrical body having an open top. A gap  221  is cut on one side; and a through hole  222 , on the other side of the mesh seat  22 . A slit  223  in the direction of facing the through hole  222  is each provided on the mesh scat  22  at where close to the edge of both sides of the gap  221  so that both side frames of the mesh support  21  covered up with the mesh  23  merely to be inserted into the slit  223  and placed into the mesh seat with the mesh  23  covering up the through hole  222  to complete the assembly of the strainer  20 . The strainer  20  is then placed into the strainer trough  15  ( 16 ) of the valve  10 . As a certain direction is defined for the strainer  20  in the strainer trough  15  ( 16 ), a post  224  is downward provided at the bottom of the mesh seat  22  at where close to the through hole  222  and a circular recess  151  ( 161 ) is provided at the inner side of the strainer trough  15  ( 16 ) as illustrated in FIG.  5 . Consequently, when the strainer  20  is placed into the strainer trough  15  ( 16 ), the post  224  is inserted into the circular recess  151  ( 161 ) for the gap  221  of the mesh seat  22  to face in the direction of the opening of the water inlet  11  ( 12 ). Furthermore, the rod  212  from the mesh support  212  of the strainer  20  inside the strainer trough  15  ( 16 ) is exposed Out of the opening of the strainer inlet  15  ( 16 ) to make it easy for removing the strainer  20 . An accommodation trough  31  is formed at the bottom of the fixation nut  30  so that when the fixation nut  30  blocks the strainer trough  15  ( 16 ) and holes against the strainer  20 , the rod  212  of the strainer  20  is received in the accommodation trough  31 . With the configuration as described above, the strainer  20  can be easily removed for cleaning or replacing without having to remove the valve  10  and both water supply lines  6 ,  7 . 
     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above. 
     While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.