Patent Publication Number: US-2006000754-A1

Title: Water shut-off device for a water purifier

Description:
This application claims priority from PCT patent application PCT/KR2003/002316 with an International filing date of Oct. 31, 2003, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2002-0069364, filed Nov. 8, 2002. 
    
    
     I. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      A. Field of the Invetion  
      The present invention is directed to a water shut-off device for a water purifier and, more specifically, to a water shut-off device for a water purifier that can effectively block the flow of raw water at the time of changing of a used filter.  
      B. Description of the Related Art  
      Due to water pollution, the tap water supplied to every home or office could hardly be drunk as it is. There is a growing need for a water purifier that can purify polluted water (hereinafter, referred to as “raw water”) into clean water suitable for drinking (hereinafter, referred to as “purified water”).  
      The conventional water purifiers are provided with a plurality of filters for filtering the raw water. Each of the filters comprises a cylindrical casing, a filtering element disposed inside of the casing, an inlet port for introducing the raw water and an outlet port through which the filtered water is discharged. The filters are connected in series with each other so that the polluted raw water can consecutively pass through the filters and finally converted into clean purified water.  
      In the meantime, according to the conventional water purifiers, there is a need to periodically change the filters depending on the polluted condition of the filters. In the process of detaching the filters from the connector for replacement with new ones, an appropriate measure must be taken to prohibit the introduction of the raw water, which process is highly inconvenient to perform. The raw water will be leaked from the connector if the filters are removed from the connector without blocking the introduction of the raw water. In order to block the flow of the raw water, the water purifier should be provided with an electromagnetic or manual shut-off valve that is costly to purchase.  
     II. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention is to provide a water shut-off device for a water purifier that can effectively block the flow of raw water and prohibit the water from leakage when filters are removed from a connector for replacement with new ones.  
      Another object of the invention is to provide a water shut-off device for a water purifier that makes it possible to cut off the water flow in a simple and cost-effective manner, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the water purifier.  
      In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a water shut-off device for a water purifier adapted to automatically cut off the flow of raw water at the time of filter replacement, comprising: a connector having a water inlet passageway and a first connector port in communication with the inlet passageway, said first connector port provided with a valve chamber; a valve body movably fitted into the valve chamber for closing the first connector port when the filter is detached from the connector and for opening the first connector port when the filter is attached to the connector; and a filter means detachably attached to the connector, said filter means having an inlet port connectable to the first connector port of the connector, a filter element, an outlet port, and a pusher for causing the valve body to move into a position in which the first connector port is opened, when the inlet port is brought into connection with the first connector port.  
      Still other benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon a reading and understanding of the following detailed specification. 
    
    
     III. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view showing a water shut-off device for a water purifier according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a sectional view taken along line II-II in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken along line III-III in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIGS. 5 through 7  illustrate water shut-off devices for a water purifier according to other embodiments of the present invention. 
    
    
     IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for purposes of limiting the same,  FIGS. 1-7  show the present invention.  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a sectional view of a water shut-off device for a water purifier in accordance with the invention. The water shut-off device comprises a connector  10  mounted to a housing  1  of a water purifier and a filter  30  removably attached to the connector  10 . The connector  10  is provided with a water inlet passageway  12  and a first connector port  14  in communication with the inlet passageway  12 . The water inlet passageway  12  is coupled to, and receives raw water from, an introduction conduit  3 , which in turn is connected to a water source. The first connector port  14  is connected to an inlet port  32  of the filter  30  and serves to transfer the raw water in the water inlet passageway  12  to the inlet port  32  of the filter  30 .  
      The connector  10  is further provided with a second connector port  16  and a purified water discharge passageway  18  in communication with the second connector port  16 . The second connector port  16  is connected to an outlet port  34  of the filter  30  so that it can receive the purified water discharged from the outlet port  34  of the filter  30 . The purified water discharge passageway  18  is adapted to communicate with a water inlet passageway  12  of another adjoining connector  10  and constructed to transfer the purified water to the adjoining connector  10 .  
      In the meantime, the first connector port  14  of the connector  14  has a valve chamber  14   a , which is provided with a valve seat  14   b . The valve seat  14   a  is comprised of a rubber O-ring that remains secured to the first connector port  14  by means of a retainer  14   c . Disposed in the valve chamber  14   a  is a valve body  20 , e.g., in the configuration of a ball, which can make abutment with the valve seat  14   b  by the pressure of the raw water introduced into the valve chamber  14   a  through the water inlet passageway  12 , thereby closing the first connector port  14  in the same manner as a typical check valve does.  
      Such abutment of the valve body  20  with the valve seat  14   b  and the resultant closing of the first connector port  14  will cut off the flow of the raw water in the event that the filter  30  is removed from the connector  10  for replacement with a new one. This lessens the inconvenience, which would otherwise be encountered in the prior art water purifiers that requires use of a separate shut-off valve to avoid water leakage in the process of replacing the filter  30 . The valve body  20  has to be movable in the valve chamber  14   a , meaning that appropriate spacing should be left between the valve body  20  and the inner surface of the valve chamber  14   a . Leaving the spacing in this manner allows the raw water introduced into the valve chamber  14   a  to be discharged through the first connector port  14 , when the valve body  14   a  is spaced apart from the valve seat  14   b . A plurality of water flow grooves  14   d  are provided on the inner circumference of the valve chamber  14   a , as illustrated in  FIG. 2 .  
      Referring again to  FIG. 1 , it can be appreciated that the water shut-off device comprises the filter  30 , as an essential element, which includes a filtering element (not shown) that can purify the raw water. As set forth earlier, the filter  30  is provided with the inlet port  32  and the outlet port  34 . The inlet port  32  is connected to the first connector port  14  of the connector  10  and introduces the raw water from the first connector port  14 . The outlet port  34  is coupled to the second connector port  16  of the connector  10  and serves to discharge the purified water to the second connector port  16 .  
      The filter  30  is provided at the inlet port  32  with a pusher  32   a  that projects outwardly. The pusher  32   a  is inserted through the first connector port  14  of the connector  10  and pushes the valve body  20  as the inlet port  32  of the filter  30  is connected to the first connector port  14  of the connector  10 .  
      The pusher  32   a  of this construction serves to open the first connector port  14  by way of pushing the valve body  20  away from the valve seat  14   b . Such pushing and opening movement occurs simultaneously with the attachment of the filter  30  to the connector  10 , thus making it possible to introduce the raw water into the filter  30  without having to operate any separate valve. It is a matter of course that the pusher  32   a  has a diameter far smaller than the inner diameter of the first connector port  14  and, as shown in  FIG. 3 , is supported by a plurality of ribs  32   b  in the inlet port  32 .  
      The inventive water shut-off device noted above ensures that, when the filter  30  is removed from the connector  10 , the valve body  20  can close the first connector port  14  of the connector  10  under the pressure of the raw water, thereby automatically cutting off the flow of the raw water. To the contrary, when the filter  30  is attached to the connector  10 , the pusher  32   a  of the filter  30  will cause the valve body  20  to move in such a manner that the first connector port  14  of the connector  10  can be opened.  
      In a nutshell, according to the inventive water shut-off device, the flow of the raw water is automatically cut off and then resumed in the course of removing the filter  30  from the connector  10  and attaching a new filter to the connector  10 , assuring easier and convenient replacement of the filter  30  used.  
      As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the connector  10  employed in the present invention is mounted to the housing  1  of the water purifier by way of rotatably joining the pivot axis  10   a  with a support bracket  5 . Therefore, the connector  10  is swingable about the pivot axis  10   a  between a filter use position (A) and a filter replacement position (B) with respect to the housing  1  of the water purifier, as shown in  FIG. 4 . This helps assure easier replacement of the filter  30 .  
      Referring to  FIGS. 5 through 7 , there are shown other embodiments of the present invention. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a poppet is used as the valve body  20  for closing the first connector port  14  of the connector  10 . The poppet  20  is provided with a tapering poppet face  22  contactable with the valve seat  14   b  and a rod  24  projecting outwardly through the first connector port  14 . The poppet face  22  is adapted to make abutment with the valve seat  14   b  to thereby close the first connector port  14 . And, the projecting rod  24  is adapted to be depressed by the pusher  32   a  of the filter  30 . As the projecting rod  24  is depressed by the pusher  32   a , the poppet  20  is caused to move away from the valve seat  14   b  so that the first connector port  14  can be opened accordingly.  
      By way of using the poppet as the valve body  20  for closing the first valve port  14 , it becomes possible to maximize the contact area of the poppet with the valve seat  14   b , thus increasing the efficiency of closing the first connector port  14 . In case of using the poppet as the valve body  20  in this embodiment, there is no need to employ the rubber O-ring to construct the valve seat  14   b . This is because the poppet face  22  of the poppet  20  will make contact with the valve seat  14   b  at the area great enough to close the first connector port  14 . If the poppet  20  is made of elastically deformable material, e.g., soft plastic or metal, the first connector port  14  will be positively closed without having to use an additional sealing material such as the O-ring  14   b . Furthermore, using the poppet as the valve body  20  ensures that the pusher  32   a  of the filter  30  for depressing the projecting rod  24  of the poppet  20  can be shortened in length. This is due to the fact that the projecting rod  24  of the poppet  20  extends to the outside through the first connector port  14 , allowing the pusher  32   a  of short length to push the projecting rod  24  with sufficient forces.  
      Turning to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , a valve chamber  16   a  with a valve seat  16   b  is provided in the second connector port  16  of the connector  10 . A valve body  40  for closing the second connector port  16  is disposed in the valve chamber  16   a . A pusher  34   a  for pushing the valve body  40  is provided in the outlet port  34  of the filter  30  connected to the second connector port  16 .  
      According to this embodiment, the valve body  40  disposed in the second connector port  16  acts as a conventional check valve to close the second connector port  16 . This helps avoid backflow of the water from the purified water discharge passageway  18  when the filter  30  is removed from the connector  10  for replacement. Moreover, the pusher  34   a  provided in the outlet port  34  of the filter  30  will push the valve body  40  to open the second connector port  16  as the filter  30  is re-attached to the connector  10 .  
      Eventually, with the arrangement in this embodiment, backflow of the water out of the purified water discharge passageway  18  is positively prohibited even if the filter  30  is removed from the connector  10 , thus avoiding any leakage of the water in the course of filter replacement.  
      Referring finally to  FIG. 7 , which shows a further embodiment of the present invention, a third connector port  19  is formed in the connector  10  and a valve chamber  19   a  with a valve seat  19   b  is provided in the third connector port  19 . A valve body  50  for closing the third connector port  19  is disposed in the valve chamber  19   a . In addition, formed in the filter  30  is an auxiliary outlet port  36  that is connected to the third connector port  19  of the connector  10 . A pusher  36   a  for pushing the valve body  50  of the third connector port  19  is provided in the auxiliary outlet port  36 . It should be appreciated that the auxiliary outlet port  36  of the filter  30  is to discharge the water from a reverse osmosis filter element, in case of a reverse osmosis type filter being used. The auxiliary outlet port  36  is in communication with the third connector port  19 .  
      According to this embodiment, the valve body  50  disposed in the third connector port  19  can act like a conventional check valve to close the third connector port  19  and cut off the backflow of the water from the auxiliary outlet port  36 , when the filter  30  is removed from the connector  10  for replacement. In this fashion, water leakage from the third connector port  19  is avoided in the process of filter replacement.  
      As described hereinabove, the inventive water shut-off device can automatically cut off the water flow, when the filter  30  is removed from the connector  10  of the water purifier housing  1 , and allow the water flow to be automatically resumed, when the filter  30  is attached to the connector  10 , thus assuring easier replacement of the filter  30 .  
      In the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, the valve chambers  14   a ,  16   a ,  19   a  and the valve body  20 ,  40 ,  50  are respectively provided in the first to third connector ports  14 ,  16 ,  19  of the connector  10  whose configuration is male type, and the pushers  32   a ,  34   a ,  36   a  are respectively formed in the inlet port  32 , the outlet port  34  and the auxiliary outlet port  36  of the filter  30  whose shape is female type. To the contrary, it would be possible that a female type connector having a valve chamber and a valve body is used in combination with a male type filter having a pusher.  
      As set forth above, the water shut-off device of the present invention assures easier replacement of the filter, thank to the fact that the water flow is automatically cut off when the filter is removed from the connector, and the water flow is automatically resumed, when the filter is attached to the connector. Furthermore, the inventive water shut-off device helps reduce the manufacturing cost of a water purifier by making it possible to cut off the water flow in a simple and cost-effective manner without having to use a costly shut-off valve.  
      While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover various modification within the spirit and the scope of the appended claims.