Patent Publication Number: US-2006016908-A1

Title: Shower head assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a shower head assembly, and more particularly to a shower head assembly attached to a wall.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      A conventional shower head comprises a main body attached to a wall, and a water outlet panel mounted on the main body and formed with a plurality of water outlet holes. However, the main body and the water outlet panel are integrally combined with each other in a rolling press manner, so that the water outlet panel cannot be detached from the main body, thereby causing inconvenience to a user in maintenance of the inside of the water outlet panel.  
      The closest prior art of the conventional shower head was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,166. However, when the rotation bolt  38  is rotated to pull the inner shade  8  and the water outlet panel  10  to press the sealing ring  16 , the inner shade  8  is easily deformed or distorted due to the stress to form a gap between the water outlet panel  10  and the inner shade  8 , thereby producing leakage. In addition, the water outlet panel  10  and the inner shade  8  are integrally combined with each other in a riveting manner, so that the water outlet panel  10  cannot be detached from the inner shade  8 , thereby causing inconvenience to a user in maintenance of the inside of the water outlet panel  10 .  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a shower head assembly, comprising a main body, a locking seat, a water outlet panel, a mounting disk, and an adjusting bolt, wherein: 
          the main body has a central portion formed with a mounting recess having a side formed with a positioning hole;     the locking seat is mounted on the main body and has a first end formed with a mounting portion secured in the positioning hole of the main body and having a peripheral wall formed with a plurality of water inlet holes each communicating with an inside of the main body;     the water outlet panel is mounted on the main body and has a surface formed with a plurality of water outlet holes each communicating with the inside of the main body;     the mounting disk has a central portion formed with a column having an inside formed with a screw bore, a peripheral wall formed with an annular fixing ring secured on the water outlet panel and an intermediate portion formed with an annular mounting ring located between the column and the fixing ring; and     the adjusting bolt is rotatably mounted in the mounting portion of the locking seat and has a distal end screwed into the screw bore of the column of the mounting disk to pull the mounting disk and the water outlet panel to move upward.        

      The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a shower head assembly, wherein the mounting disk and the water outlet panel are pulled to move upward by rotation of the adjusting bolt to closely press the sealing ring between the end flange of the main body and the support section of the water outlet panel, so that the water outlet panel is combined with the main body closely without producing leak, thereby providing a sealing effect efficiently.  
      Another objective of the present invention is to provide a shower head assembly, wherein the mounting disk is combined with the water outlet panel, and the mounting ring of the mounting disk provides a hanging effect during the plating process, thereby facilitating the plating working process of the shower head assembly.  
      A further objective of the present invention is to provide a shower head assembly, wherein the mounting disk and the water outlet panel are removed from the main body by rotation of the adjusting bolt, thereby facilitating a user cleaning the water outlet holes and the nozzles of the water outlet panel.  
      A further objective of the present invention is to provide a shower head assembly, wherein the water directly flows through the water inlet holes of the locking seat into the inside of the main body, and directly flows outward from the water outlet holes and the nozzles of the water outlet panel, so that the water flow rate is smooth and constant.  
      Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a shower head assembly in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the shower head assembly as shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a plan cross-sectional view of a locking seat of the shower head assembly taken along line  3 - 3  as shown in  FIG. 2 ;  
       FIG. 4  is a plan cross-sectional view of a water outlet panel of the shower head assembly taken along line  4 - 4  as shown in  FIG. 2 ;  
       FIG. 5  is a plan cross-sectional view of the shower head assembly as shown in  FIG. 1 ; and  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic operational view of the shower head assembly as shown in  FIG. 5  in use. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring to the drawings and initially to  FIGS. 1-5 , a shower head assembly in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a main body  10 , a locking seat  20 , a locking nut  30 , a mounting disk  40 , a water outlet panel  50 , a sealing ring  60 , and an adjusting bolt  70 .  
      The main body  10  has a central portion formed with a circular mounting recess  11  having a side formed with a positioning hole  12 . The positioning hole  12  of the main body  10  has a square shape and has four chamfered corners. The main body  10  has a central portion formed with a peripheral wall formed with an end flange  13  disposed at an upright state.  
      The locking seat  20  is mounted on the main body  10  and has a triple-stepped cylindrical shape. The locking seat  20  has a first end formed with a mounting portion  25  secured in the positioning hole  12  of the main body  10  and having a peripheral wall formed with a plurality of water inlet holes  252  each communicating with an inside  15  (see  FIG. 5 ) of the main body  10 . The mounting portion  25  of the locking seat  20  has a stepped-shape cross-section and is inserted into the mounting recess  11  of the main body  10 . An O-ring  23  is mounted on a side of the mounting portion  25  of the locking seat  20  and urged on a wall of the mounting recess  11  of the main body  10 . The mounting portion  25  of the locking seat  20  has a square shape and has four chamfered corners to match a profile of the positioning hole  12  of the main body  10 . Each of the four chamfered corners of the mounting portion  25  of the locking seat  20  is formed with an outer threaded section  251 . The locking seat  20  has a mediate portion formed with a substantially arc-shaped abutment  22  rested on a top of the main body  10 . An O-ring  23  is mounted on a side of the abutment  22  of the locking seat  20  and urged on the main body  10 . The locking seat  20  has a second end formed with an outer thread  21 .  
      The locking nut  30  is mounted in the main body  10  and secured on the mounting portion  25  of the locking seat  20  to fix the locking seat  20  on the main body  10 , so that the main body  10  is urged between the locking seat  20  and the locking nut  30 . The locking nut  30  has a stepped shape and has an inside formed with an inner thread  31  screwed onto the outer threaded sections  251  of the mounting portion  25  of the locking seat  20 .  
      The water outlet panel  50  is mounted on the main body  10  and has a surface formed with a plurality of circular recesses  51  each formed with a water outlet hole  511  each communicating with the inside  15  of the main body  10 . The water outlet panel  50  has an edge formed with a plurality of through holes  55 . The water outlet panel  50  has a peripheral wall formed with an oblique section  52  having a distal end formed with a horizontal support section  53  rested on the end flange  13  of the main body  10  and having a distal end formed with a hook-shaped upward curved snapping section  54  snapped onto the end flange  13  of the main body  10 .  
      The sealing ring  60  is mounted between the end flange  13  of the main body  10  and the support section  53  of the water outlet panel  50 .  
      The mounting disk  40  is secured on the water outlet panel  50  and received in the main body  10 . The mounting disk  40  has a central portion formed with a column  42  having an inside formed with a screw bore  420 , a peripheral wall formed with an annular fixing ring  41  secured on the water outlet panel  50  and an intermediate portion formed with an annular mounting ring  43  located between the column  42  and the fixing ring  41 . The mounting ring  43  of the mounting disk  40  is located at a level greater than that of the fixing ring  41  as shown in  FIG. 5 . The column  42  of the mounting disk  40  has a peripheral wall formed with a plurality of radially arranged connecting ribs  421  each extended through and combined with the mounting ring  43  and the fixing ring  41  to connect the column  42 , the mounting ring  43  and the fixing ring  41 . The fixing ring  41  of the mounting disk  40  has a peripheral wall formed with a plurality of fixing holes  411  combined with the through holes  55  of the water outlet panel  50  by a plurality of nozzles  56 .  
      The adjusting bolt  70  is rotatably mounted in the mounting portion  25  of the locking seat  20  and has a distal end screwed into the screw bore  420  of the column  42  of the mounting disk  40  to pull the mounting disk  40  and the water outlet panel  50  to move upward.  
      In operation, referring to  FIGS. 1-6 , the locking seat  20  is mounted on a universal connector  90  which is mounted on a wall (not shown). An urging nut  80  is mounted on the universal connector  90  and is screwed onto the outer thread  21  of the locking seat  20 , and an O-ring  81  is urged between the locking seat  20  and the universal connector  90 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 6 , the water from the wall flows through the universal connector  90  and the water inlet holes  252  of the locking seat  20  into the inside  15  of the main body  10 , then passes through the mounting disk  40  and finally flows outward from the water outlet holes  511  and the nozzles  56  of the water outlet panel  50  for use.  
      Accordingly, the mounting disk  40  and the water outlet panel  50  are pulled to move upward by rotation of the adjusting bolt  70  to closely press the sealing ring  60  between the end flange  13  of the main body  10  and the support section  53  of the water outlet panel  50 , so that the water outlet panel  50  is combined with the main body  10  closely without producing leak, thereby providing a sealing effect efficiently. In addition, the mounting disk  40  is combined with the water outlet panel  50 , and the mounting ring  43  of the mounting disk  40  provides a hanging effect during the plating process, thereby facilitating the plating working process of the shower head assembly. Further, the mounting disk  40  and the water outlet panel  50  are removed from the main body  10  by rotation of the adjusting bolt  70 , thereby facilitating a user cleaning the water outlet holes  511  and the nozzles  56  of the water outlet panel  50 . Further, the water directly flows through the water inlet holes  252  of the locking seat  20  into the inside  15  of the main body  10 , and directly flows outward from the water outlet holes  511  and the nozzles  56  of the water outlet panel  50 , so that the water flow rate is smooth and constant.  
      Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.