Patent Publication Number: US-9896826-B2

Title: Touch-control faucet

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The invention relates to faucets, particularly to touch-control faucets operated by touch. 
     2. Related Art 
     Because conventional infrared sensitive faucets possess drawbacks of high cost, complicated structure and high failure rate, touch-control water-saving valves, water savers and water-saving switches have been developed. For example, non-self-closed water-saving valves are disclosed by Taiwan patent Nos. M342670 and I228578 and self-closed water-saving valves are disclosed by Taiwan patent Nos. I369459, M452280 and M382408. A common feature of these water-saving valves is to be mounted on an outlet of faucet. Also, they have a rod-shaped activator for being operated by a user. When the faucet with the water-saving valve keeps opening, the water flow can be easily switched on or off by slightly pressing the activator. And a function of water saving can be accomplished by the inner structure of the water-saving valves. 
     The self-closed water-saving valves can automatically stop water after water flows out for a short period of time, but the non-self-closed water-saving valves will not stop water until the activator is pressed again. This is the difference between the two kinds of valves. 
     There are many commercial products which are similar to the abovementioned patents in the market. For example, serial products of the 3M® one touch water-saving valve for being mounted on an outlet of faucet, also can open or close water by pressing. 
     Also this kind of water-saving valve possesses advantages of easy installation, water saving and simple structure, it is just the most serious drawback that users must directly touch the water-saving valve because dirt on the finger will contaminate the activator when a user touches the activator. According to the abovementioned patent specifications and products, the water flowing through the water-saving valve must flow through the activator, this will make the dirt on the activator will be carried by the water flow. Thus the water is contaminated. As a result, these water-saving valves cannot meet requirements of water health of some countries and are prohibited to use in specific water-using situations. 
     Conventional faucets utilizes a core shaft driven by a handle to control water flow or adjust water temperature, but such control by a core shaft is not fast and convenient enough because it needs a larger operation. Additionally, the larger operation also needs a larger space. These faucets cannot be installed if they near a wall too much or the space is limited. Also, anything cannot be put within an operating range of the faucet, this will further limit usable space. Furthermore, the control structure of the handle and core shaft will influence gorgeousness and quality of appearance of the faucet. It is adverse to increase of additional value of the product. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to provide a touch-control faucet, which can prevent the water from being contaminated by users&#39; fingers. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a touch-control faucet, which can replace the conventional core shaft. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a touch-control faucet, which can change different directions and type of water flow. 
     To accomplish the above objects, the faucet of the invention includes a main body, a positioning sleeve, a water-saving valve and an activator. The main body has an inlet end, an outlet end, a water channel and an outlet opening communicating with the water channel. The outlet opening is located on a wall of the outlet end. The positioning sleeve is fixed in the inlet end and has a water hole and a passing hole. The water hole communicates with the water channel and the outlet opening. The water-saving valve is disposed between the outlet end and the positioning sleeve and has an operating bar for controlling the water-saving valve to allow water in the water channel to flow toward the water hole. The activator has a pressing cap disposed on the outlet end. The pressing cap is slidable on the positioning sleeve and moves the operating bar when the pressing cap is pressed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of the first embodiment of the invention installed on a wall; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view along line  1 - 1  in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a briefly exploded view of the first embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the main body of the first embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a partially enlarged view of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a partially exploded view of the first embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the positioning sleeve of the first embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of the positioning sleeve of the first embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view of the second embodiment of the invention installed on a wall; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view along line  2 - 2  in  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a briefly exploded view of the second embodiment of the invention and shows a separate wall; 
         FIG. 12  is an exploded cross-sectional view of the outer outlet element separated from the shell body and temperature-control valve of the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 13  is a partially exploded view of the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 14  is an exploded view of the temperature-control valve of the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 15  is a top plan view of the inlet valve seat of the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional view along line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 15 ; 
         FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional view along line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 15 ; 
         FIG. 18  is a cross-sectional view of the mixing valve core of the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 19  is a bottom plan view of the temperature adjustment valve sleeve of the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 20  is a cross-sectional view along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 19 ; 
         FIG. 21  is a cross-sectional view along line  6 - 6  in  FIG. 19 ; 
         FIG. 22  is a cross-sectional view along line  7 - 7  in  FIG. 19 ; 
         FIG. 23  is a partially enlarged view of  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 24  is a side view of combination of the mixing valve core and temperature adjustment valve sleeve of the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 25  is a cross-sectional view along line  8 - 8  in  FIG. 24 ; 
         FIG. 26  is a cross-sectional view along line  9 - 9  in  FIG. 24 ; 
         FIG. 27  is a side view of combination of inlet valve seat and temperature adjustment valve sleeve of the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 28  is a cross-sectional view along line  10 - 10  in  FIG. 27 ; 
         FIG. 29  is a schematic view of the temperature adjustment valve sleeve in  FIG. 28  when it is clockwise rotated to a dead point; 
         FIG. 30  is a schematic view of the temperature adjustment valve sleeve in  FIG. 28  when it is counterclockwise rotated to a dead point; 
         FIG. 31  is a schematic view of the temperature adjustment valve sleeve in  FIG. 25  when it is clockwise rotated to a dead point and shows a virtual position of the second water hole in  FIG. 26 ; 
         FIG. 32  is a schematic view of the temperature adjustment valve sleeve in  FIG. 25  when it is counterclockwise rotated to a dead point and shows a virtual position of the second water hole in  FIG. 26 ; 
         FIG. 33  is a bottom view of the shell body of the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 34  is a bottom view of the inlet valve seat of the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 35  is a schematic view of the third embodiment of the invention installed on a wall; 
         FIG. 36  is a cross-sectional view along line  11 - 11  in  FIG. 35 ; 
         FIG. 37  is a partially enlarged view of  FIG. 36 ; 
         FIG. 38  is a partially exploded view of the third embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 39  is a partially exploded cross-sectional view of the third embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 40  is a partially cross-sectional view of the fourth embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 41  is a partially exploded cross-sectional view of the fourth embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 42  is a partially cross-sectional view of the fifth embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , the invention provides the first embodiment of the touch-control faucet of the invention. The touch-control faucet  1  is installed on a wall a and includes a main body  10 , a positioning sleeve  20 , a water-saving valve  30 , an activating rod  40  and a pressing cap  50 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the main body  10  has an inlet end  11 , an outlet end  12  and a water channel  13  between inlet end  11  and the outlet end  12 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5-8 , the positioning sleeve  20  is fixed on the outlet end  12  of the main body  10  and is provided with at least one water hole  21  and a passing hole  22 . In this embodiment, four water holes  21  are symmetrically arranged in a circular shape. 
     The water-saving valve  30  is disposed between the outlet end  12  and the positioning sleeve  20  and is provided with an operating bar  31  for controlling the water-saving valve  30  to allow water to flow through the water-saving valve  30 . 
     The activating rod  40  has a pushing portion  41  restricted in the positioning sleeve  20  and a rod portion  42  connecting the pushing portion  41  and penetrating through the passing hole  22 . The activating rod  40  can be linearly moved along an axis X of the positioning sleeve  20  to press the operating bar  31  of the water-saving valve  30 . 
     The pressing cap  50  is provided with an end wall  51 , a surrounding wall  52  extending from the end wall  51  and an inner space  53  defined by the end wall  51  and the surrounding wall  52 . The end wall  51  connects with the rod portion  42  of the activating rod  40 . The positioning sleeve  20  is slidably received in the surrounding wall  52 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the pressing cap  50  has a water chamber b defined by the inner space  53 , the positioning sleeve  20  and the activating rod  40  for communicating with the water holes  21 . The surrounding wall  52  is formed with a water opening  54  communicating with the water chamber b. Thereby, when a user presses the pressing cap  50 , the water-saving valve  30  will be opened through the activating rod  40  and the water flowing through the water-saving valve  30  will flow through the water holes  21  and the water chamber b and flow out from the outlet opening  54 . The end wall  51  of the pressing cap  50  may be formed with a pressing surface  55  for being pressed by a user. 
     The shown embodiment of the invention further includes a restorer  60  for restoring the pressing cap  50  after it has been pressed. The restorer  60  is an elastic element disposed between the positioning sleeve  20  and the pressing cap  50 . Preferably, the elastic element is a compression spring which is penetrated through by the rod portion  42  of the activating rod  40 . Two ends of the compression spring are separately stopped by the end wall  51  of the pressing cap  50  and the positioning sleeve  20 . When the pressing cap  50  is being pressed, the compression spring is shrunk to generate elasticity. 
     The restorer  60  is not limited to the elastic element, there still are other available solutions. For example, two magnetic elements are separately disposed at two corresponding positions of the pressing cap  50  and the outlet end  12  of the main body  10  (not shown), thus the two magnetic elements will generate magnetic repulsion when the pressing cap  50  is pressed. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . In this embodiment, the water channel  13  is formed with a valve hole  14  in the outlet end  12 . The positioning sleeve  20  has a first cylinder portion  23  with a larger diameter and a second cylinder portion  24  with a smaller diameter as shown in  FIGS. 7-8 . The first cylinder portion  23  of the positioning sleeve  20  is screwed with the valve hole  14 . The water holes  21  are located between the first cylinder portion  23  and the second cylinder portion  24 . The passing hole  22  is located at the center of the second cylinder portion  24 , and the pushing portion  41  of the activating rod  40  is stopped by the second cylinder portion  24 . The first cylinder portion  23  is further formed with an installation chamber  25  for receiving the water-saving valve  30 , and the water-saving valve  30  abuts against the bottom of the valve hole  14 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5-6 , in this embodiment, the activating rod  40  can adopt a rigid plastic or metal material. Because using such a rigid material to touch the operating bar  31  is easy to damage the operating bar  31 , the pushing portion  41  may be provided with a soft pad  43  for touching the operating bar  31 . Preferably, the soft pad  43  can be formed by a plastic plug  44  plugged atop the pushing portion  41 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5-6 , to keep smoothness of the water flow and control types of the water flow, a water guide  70  may be further provided over the water opening  54  for guiding water flow. The water guide  70  has a longitudinal water slot  71  along the axis X. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2-3 , the embodiment may further include an inlet tube  80  and a nut  90  for fixing the faucet  1  onto the wall a. One end of the inlet tube  80  is screwed to the inlet end  11 , the other end thereof penetrates an installing hole c and screws with the nut  90  to fix the main body  10  on the wall a. 
     In this embodiment, angle θ between an opening direction of the water opening  54  of the pressing cap  50  and the axis X is about 90 degrees. Thus the water flow in the main body  10  can be turned rightangularly. But angle θ is not limited to 90 degrees, any angle between 30 degrees and 120 degrees is available. 
     The water-saving valve  30  may adopt commercially available products. A common feature of these products is the function of water saving. Some of these products have a self-close function, but some of these products do not have a self-close function. When a water-saving valve  30  with a self-close function is used, it will automatically restore to stop water after the operating bar  31  is touched to open water flow. Contrarily, when a water-saving valve  30  without a self-close function is used, a user must re-press the pressing cap  50  to stop water after the operating bar  31  is touched to open water flow. However, all of these two kinds of water-saving valves can be applied in the embodiment. The water-saving valve  30  is a common component, it is applied in the embodiment as a water switch with a water-saving function. 
     The wall a for being mounted by the faucet  1  is a common level counter such as a kitchen counter, bathroom basin or any other possible counters or basins. Thus, the pressing cap  50  is located atop the faucet  1 , a user can press down the pressing cap  50 . Of course, the wall a may be vertical or at any angle. The faucet  1  can provide different pressing modes, water flow directions and flowing types if the faucet  1  is installed at different angles. It is noted that automatic restoration of the pressing cap  50  because of its own weight is possible when the pressing cap  50  must be pressed upward. Under this situation, the restorer  60  can be omitted. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 9-11 , the invention provides the second embodiment of the touch-control faucet of the invention. The touch-control faucet  2  is installed on a wall d and includes a shell body  100 , a temperature-control valve  200 , a water-saving valve  300  and a pressing button  400 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 12-13 , the shell body  100  has an installation chamber  101  whose top is formed with an embedding opening  102 . 
     The temperature-control valve  200  is embedded in the installation chamber  101  through the embedding opening  102 . The temperature-control valve  200  has an inlet portion  201  for receiving hot water and cold water, a mixing chamber  202  for mixing the hot and cold water in a predetermined ration and an outlet portion  203  for outputting mixed water. 
     The water-saving valve  300  connects the outlet portion  203  of the temperature-control valve  200  and is provided with an operating bar  301  for controlling the water-saving valve  300  to allow water from the mixing chamber  202  to flow through the water-saving valve  30  and to flow out from the outlet portion  203 . 
     The pressing button  400  has an activating portion  401  which is embedded into the outlet portion  203 . The activating portion  401  can be linearly moved along an axis X of the outlet portion  203  to press the operating bar  301  of the water-saving valve  300 . 
     This embodiment of the invention further includes a restorer  500  for restoring the pressing button  400  after it has been pressed. In detail, the restorer  500  is an elastic element disposed between a wall of the outlet portion  203  and the pressing button  400 . Preferably, the elastic element is a compression spring as shown in  FIG. 13 . 
     The restorer  500  is not limited to the elastic element, there still are other available solutions. For example, two magnetic elements are separately disposed at two corresponding positions of the pressing button  400  and a wall of the outlet portion  203  thus the two magnetic elements will generate magnetic repulsion when the pressing button  400  is pressed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , the embodiment of the touch-control faucet  2  further includes an outer outlet element  600  which penetrates the shell body  100  to connect the outlet portion  203  for draining the mixed water from the outlet portion  203 . In detail, the outer outlet element  600  includes a tube body  610  connecting the shell body  100 , a tube seat  620  fixed in the shell body  610 , an inner tube  630  connecting between the tube seat  620  and the outlet portion  203 , and a bubbling device  640  disposed on the tube seat  620 . Thereby, the mixed water from the outlet portion  203  flows through the inner tube  630 , tube seat  620  and bubbling device  640  to drain out. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 12-13 , in this embodiment, an inner wall of the installation chamber  101  if formed with a passing aperture  103 . The outlet portion  203  is formed with an inner outlet aperture  204  corresponding to the passing aperture  103  so that the inner tube  630  of the outer outlet element  600  can connect and communicate with the inner outlet aperture  204  through the passing aperture  103 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , the temperature-control valve  200  of the embodiment further includes an inlet valve seat  210 , a mixing valve core  220  and a temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230 . 
     The inlet valve seat  210 , as shown in  FIGS. 15-17 , is arranged in the installation chamber  101  and is provided with a cold water inlet channel  211  for receiving cold water and a hot water inlet channel  212  for receiving hot water, which form the inlet portion  201 . 
     The bottom of the mixing valve core  220 , as shown in  FIG. 18 , is connected with the inlet valve seat  210 . The mixing chamber  202  and a mixed water outlet channel  221  are defined in the mixing valve core  220 . The mixed water outlet channel  221  communicates with the mixing chamber  202  and located in the outlet portion  203 . 
     The temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230 , as shown in  FIGS. 19-23 , limitedly rotatably sheathes the mixing valve core  220  and is axially restrained between the mixing valve core  220  and the inlet valve seat  210 . The temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230  and the mixing valve core  220  conjointly define a cold water channel  231  and a hot water channel  232  as shown in  FIGS. 24-26 . When the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230  is rotated, the communicating volume of the cold water channel  231  and the cold water inlet channel  211  and the communicating volume of the hot water channel  232  and the hot water inlet channel  212  can be synchronously adjusted as shown in  FIGS. 27-28 , so that the mixing ratio of hot and cold water in the mixing chamber  202  can be controlled. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 14, 15 and 28 , to make the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230  restrained in a predetermined angular range to relatively rotate against the inlet valve seat  210 , a rotation restraint structure  240  can be added between the inlet valve seat  210  and the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230 . In this embodiment, the rotation restraint structure  240  includes a positioning block  241  formed atop the inlet valve seat  210  and an arc-shaped restraining trough  242  formed in the bottom of the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230  for slidably receiving the positioning block  241 . As shown in  FIG. 28 , when the positioning block  241  is approximately located middle of the restraining trough  242 , i.e., when the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230  is rotated to a middle position, the cold water channel  231  can communicate with the cold water inlet channel  211  and hot water channel  232  can communicate with the hot water inlet channel  212 . Under this condition, the mixing ratio and communicating volume are approximately identical. As shown in  FIG. 29 , when the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230  is clockwise rotated about 40 degrees to the dead point, the hot water inlet channel  212  sealingly blocks the bottom of the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230 , so that the hot water inlet channel  212  cannot communicate with the hot water channel  232  and only the cold water inlet channel  211  communicates with the cold water channel  231 . That is, only cold water can flow to the mixing chamber  202 . Contrarily, as shown in  FIG. 30 , when the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230  is counterclockwise rotated about 40 degrees to the dead point, the cold water inlet channel  211  sealingly blocks the bottom of the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230 , so that the cold water inlet channel  211  cannot communicate with the cold water channel  231  and only the hot water inlet channel  212  communicates with the hot water channel  232  only. That is, only hot water can flow to the mixing chamber  202 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 14 and 18 , in this embodiment, the mixing valve core  220  has a cylinder portion  222  and a tube portion  223  extending therefrom. The cylinder portion  222  may be used to form the outlet portion  203  and the mixed water outlet channel  221 . And the inner outlet aperture  204  is formed in the cylinder portion  222 . The tube portion  223  defines the mixing chamber  202 . The bottom of the tube portion  223  connects to the inlet valve seat  210 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 10, 14 and 20 , in this embodiment, a rotating ring  233  is formed atop the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230 , and the rotating ring  233  projects from the embedding opening  102  for being held by a user. A receiving chamber  234  is formed in the rotating ring  233  for receiving the cylinder portion  222  and the pressing button  223 . The bottom of the receiving chamber  234  is formed with a connecting hole  235  for being passed by the tube portion  223 . The cold water channel  231  and the hot water channel  232  are defined by two axial channels  236  of an inner wall of the connecting hole  235  and an outer wall of the tube portion  223 . The inner wall of the receiving chamber  230  of the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230  is formed with a through hole  237  corresponding to the inner outlet aperture  204  of the mixing valve core  220  so that the inner tube  630  can pass through the through hole  237  to connect with the inner outlet aperture  204 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 18, 25 and 26 , in this embodiment, the tube portion of the mixing valve core  220  is radially formed with a first water hole  224  and a second water hole  225 , which separately communicate with the mixing chamber  202 . The first and second water holes  224  and  225  interlace with each other axially and radially. Thus, when a user rotates the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230  to the angle as shown in  FIG. 28 , the first water hole  224  communicates with the cold water channel  231  as shown in  FIG. 26 , so that the cold water and hot water from the cold water inlet channel  211  and the hot water inlet channel  212  flow into the mixing chamber  202  in an approximate ratio to mix into mixed water. 
     As shown in  FIG. 31 , when a user rotates the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230  to the angle as shown in  FIG. 29 , the first water hole  224  and the second water hole  225  only communicate with the cold water channel  231  but do not communicate with the hot water channel  232 , so that the cold water from the cold water inlet channel  211  flows into the mixing chamber  202  through the cold water channel  231  to drain cold water. As abovementioned, under this condition, the hot water channel  232  is blocked with the hot water inlet channel  212 . 
     Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 32 , when a user rotates the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230  to the angle as shown in  FIG. 30 , the first water hole  224  and the second water hole  225  only communicate with the hot water channel  232  but do not communicate with the cold water channel  231 , so that the hot water from the hot water inlet channel  212  flows into the mixing chamber  202  through the hot water channel  232  to drain hot water. As abovementioned, under this condition, the cold water channel  231  is blocked with the cold water inlet channel  211 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 23 and 33 , in this embodiment, the shell body  100  is of a substantially cylindrical shape with a peripheral wall  104  and a support wall  105  therein. The support wall  105  divides the inner space of the peripheral wall  104  into the installation chamber  101  and a lower chamber  106 . The support wall  105  is provided with two pipeline holes  107 , two screw holes  108  and a bolt hole  109 . The pipeline holes  107  are used to be passed through by a cold water pipeline and a hot water pipeline to separately connect the cold water inlet channel  211  and the hot water inlet channel  212  as shown in  FIG. 34 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 23 and 34 , in this embodiment, the bottom of the inlet valve seat  210  is provided with two first threaded holes  213  and a second threaded hole  214 . Two screws  215  separately pass through the screw holes  108  to screw to the first threaded holes  213  for fastening the inlet valve seat  210  to the shell body  100 . Additionally, a bolt  216  passes through the bolt hole  109  to screw to the second threaded hole  214 , and a screwing element  700  is screwed to the bolt  216  which has penetrated through the wall d for fastening the inlet valve seat  210  with the shell body  100  to the wall d as shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 10, 12 and 13 , in this embodiment, the faucet  2  further includes a base ring  800  for abutting against the wall d. A positioning flange  801  is formed atop the base ring  800  for being passed by the lower chamber  106  of the shell body  100 . The wall d may be a kitchen counter. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 16 and 23 , in this embodiment, the top of the inlet valve seat  210  is formed with a first connecting chamber  217  for rotatably receiving the bottom of the temperature adjustment valve sleeve  230 . The bottom of the first connecting chamber  217  is formed with a second connecting chamber  218  for receiving the bottom of the mixing valve core  220 . Additionally, the bottom of the inlet, valve seat  210  is provided with a central hole  219  connecting the second connecting chamber  218 . A screw  238  passes through the central hole  219  to screw to a threaded hole  239  on the bottom of the mixing valve core  220  for fastening the mixing valve core  220  to the inlet valve seat  210 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 18 and 23 , in this embodiment, the mixed water outlet channel  221  of the mixing valve core  220  is formed with a screwing portion  226  for screwing the water-saving valve  300 . Additionally, the mixing valve core  220  has a body component  22   a  for forming a primary portion of the mixing valve core  220  and a cap component  22   b  screwed to the top of the body component  22   a  for forming a top wall of the mixed water outlet channel  221 . The canter of the cap component  22   b  is formed with a shaft hole  227  for slidably receiving the activating portion  401  of the pressing button  400 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 13 and 23 , in this embodiment, the pressing button  400  has a cap portion  402  and the activating portion  401  extending therefrom. The top of the cap portion  402  is formed with a pressing surface  403  for being pressed. Preferably, the pressing surface  403  is flush with the shell body  100  when it is not pressed for preventing from inadvertently touching and obtaining better appearance. To guarantee the pressing button  400  to be easily removed for cleaning or repair, the periphery of the cap portion  402  may be formed with a notch  404  for using a tool to open the pressing button  400  as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     It is noted that, the water-saving valve  30  of the embodiment also may adopt commercially available products as the first embodiment. 
     The faucet  1 ,  2  of the invention uses the touch-control water-saving valve  30 ,  300  to allow users to easily operate the operating bar  31 ,  301  of the water-saving valve  30 ,  300  by pressing the pressing cap  50  of the first embodiment or the pressing button  400  of the second embodiment for opening or closing water. Also, the water-saving valve  30 ,  300  itself has its original function of water saving. 
     The faucet  1 ,  2  of the invention can open or close water only by touching the pressing cap  50  or the pressing button  400 , so it is more convenient than the conventional core shaft. 
     The faucet  1 ,  2  of the invention makes users indirectly operating the water-saving valve  30 ,  300  by touching the pressing cap  50  or the pressing button  400 , so it can prevent the water-saving valve  30 ,  300  from being contaminated by users&#39; fingers. It meets related requirements of some countries&#39; laws. 
     The faucet  1 ,  2  of the invention can change directions and types of water flow by guiding the water passing through the water-saving valve  30 ,  300  to the water guide  70  of the first embodiment or the outer outlet element  600  of the second embodiment. In comparison with conventional water-saving valves, such a design can obtain different directions and types of water flow for satisfying different requirements of users. 
     The faucet  2  of the second embodiment of the invention has functions of opening/closing water, water saving and temperature adjustment. Particularly, the two functions of opening/closing water and temperature adjustment are independent. In other words, a user can adjust temperature by rotating the rotating ring  233  or open/close water by touching the pressing button  400 . This can enhance gorgeousness and quality of appearance of the faucet. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 35-39 , in this embodiment, the invention provides the third embodiment of the touch-control faucet, which is roughly identical to the first embodiment. 
     In this embodiment, the main body  10  is substantially L-shaped. The peripheral wall of the outlet end  12  is provided with an outlet opening  121  for replacing the outlet opening  54  of the pressing cap  50  in the first embodiment. The outlet opening  121  communicates with the water channel  13 . 
     The positioning sleeve  20  of the embodiment is connected in the outlet end  12  of the main body  10  and has a passing hole  20   b  and at least one water hole  20   a  communicating with the water channel  13  and the outlet opening  121 . 
     In this embodiment, the water-saving valve  30  is disposed between the outlet end  12  and the positioning sleeve  20 . When its operating bar  31  is pressed, the water-saving valve  30  is opened to allow the water in the water channel  13  to flow toward the outlet opening  20   a.    
     The faucet  3  of this embodiment includes an activator. In this embodiment, the activator is a pressing cap  50   a  disposed on the outlet end  12 . The pressing cap  50   a  is slidable in the passing hole  20   b  of the positioning sleeve  20 . The pressing cap  50   a  moves the operating bar of the water-saving valve  30  when the pressing cap  50   a  is pressed. 
     As the first embodiment, the faucet  3  may further include a restorer (not shown) for restoring the pressing cap  50   a  after it has been pressed. The restorer may be an elastic element disposed between the positioning sleeve  20  and the pressing cap  50   a.    
     In this embodiment, the pressing cap  50   a  is provided with an end wall  511  and an activating rod  512  extending from the end wall  511 . The activating rod  512  can slide in the passing hole  20   b  to press the operating bar  31  of the water-saving valve  30 . 
     In this embodiment, the elastic element is a compression spring which is penetrated through by the activating rod  512 . Two ends of the compression spring are separately stopped by the end wall  511  of the pressing cap  50   a  and the positioning sleeve  20 . When the pressing cap  50   a  is being pressed, the compression spring is shrunk to generate elasticity. 
     In this embodiment, the restorer may be omitted. An alternative solution is to use the elasticity of the operating bar  31  to push the activating rod  512  to restore. 
     Furthermore, the activating rod  512  has a pushing portion  513  restricted in the positioning sleeve  20  and a rod portion  514  connecting with the pushing portion  513  and penetrating through the passing hole  20   b  to connect with the end wall  511 . The pushing portion  513  can press the operating bar  31  of the water-saving valve  30 . 
     In this embodiment, a rod hole  20   c  is defined in the positioning sleeve  20  to communicate with the passing hole  20   b . The pushing portion  513  can limitedly slide in the rod hole  20   c . For example, the rod hole  20   c  and the pushing portion  513  may be shaped into corresponding polygonal hole and rod, respectively, to accomplish the effect of limited rotation. 
     In this embodiment, the inner wall of the outlet end  12  is provided with a positioning ring  122  with a through hole  123  for forming a part of the water channel  13 . The positioning sleeve  20  defines a receiving room therein. The receiving room  20   d  and the positioning ring  122  conjointly define an installation chamber  20   e  for receiving the water-saving valve  30 . The bottom  20   f  of the receiving room  20   d  is pushed and supported by the operating bar  31  for preventing the operating bar  31  from being deformed because of the water pressure. The rod hole  20   c  is located at the center of the bottom  20   f  of the receiving room  20   d , and a plurality of water holes  20   a  are disposed around the rod hole  20   f.    
     As shown in  FIGS. 40-41 , the invention further provides the fourth embodiment of a faucet. The fourth embodiment is approximately identical to the third embodiment. In the fourth embodiment, the activating rod  512  of the pressing cap  50   b  has a restraining block  515  restrained in the positioning sleeve  20  and a rod portion  516 , whose two ends separately connect the end wall  511  and the restraining block  515  through the passing hole  20   b . Either of the restraining block  515  and the rod portion  516  can press the operating bar  31 . In this embodiment, the rod portion  516  is used to activate the water-saving valve  30 . 
     Additionally, in this embodiment, the restraining block  515  can slide in the rod hole  20   c . For example, the rod hole  20   c  and the restraining block  515  may be shaped into corresponding polygonal hole and block, respectively, to accomplish the effect of limited rotation. 
     As shown in  FIG. 42 , the invention further provides the fifth embodiment of a faucet. The fifth embodiment is approximately identical to the third and fourth embodiments. In the fifth embodiment, the pressing cap  50   c  has end wall  511  and an activating rod  517  extending therefrom. The activating rod  517  can slide in the passing hole  20   b  of the positioning sleeve  20 , and an end of the activating rod  517  is provided with a first magnetic element  518 . 
     In this embodiment, the rod hole  20   c  of the positioning sleeve  20  can receive the operating bar  31  of the water-saving valve  30  and is isolated with the passing hole  20   b  for preventing the water in the rod hole  20   c  from seeping through the passing hole  20   b . This embodiment further includes a second magnetic element  50   d  in the rod hole  20   c . When the pressing cap  50   c  is pressed, the first magnetic element  518  is moved to near the second magnetic element  50   d  to generate magnetic repulsion, so that the second magnetic element  50   d  moves to press the operating bar  31 . When the pressure on the pressing cap is released, the second magnetic element  50   d  is pushed by the elasticity of the operating bar  31  to restore and the first magnetic element  518  is pushed to restore the pressing cap  50   c.    
     The contact area between the activating rod  512 ,  517  of the pressing cap  50   a ,  50   b ,  50   c  of the third, fourth and fifth embodiments and the passing hole  20   b  of the positioning sleeve  20  is obviously smaller than that between the surrounding wall  52  of the pressing cap  50  and the peripheral wall of the positioning sleeve  20  of the first embodiment. Thus, the pressing operation is easier and the effect of water resistance is better.