Patent Publication Number: US-11639597-B2

Title: Multifunctional water outlet device

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application 201920184313.5, filed on Feb. 1, 2019. Chinese Patent Application 201920184313.5 is incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure relates to a faucet of bathroom fixtures, and in particular relates to a multifunctional water outlet device. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     At present, water usually ejects out from an outlet of existing faucets in a horizontal direction or a downward direction. A disadvantage of the structure of the existing faucets is that when the user needs to gargle after eating, the user gargles by holding water in his or her hand or with a cup. The structure of the existing faucets is not convenient for the user when gargling. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure provides a multifunctional water outlet device to solve deficiencies related to gargling of the existing techniques. In order to solve the aforementioned technical problems, a technical solution of the present disclosure is as follows. 
     A multifunctional water outlet device comprises a water inlet, a first water outlet, a first waterway connecting to the water inlet and the first water outlet, a second water outlet, a second waterway connecting to the water inlet and the second water outlet, and a control switch configured to control opening and closing of the first waterway and the second waterway. Spray patterns of water flowing from the first waterway and water flowing from the second waterway are different. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the second water outlet comprises a functional water member, and the water flows through the functional water member to obtain a preset spray pattern. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the functional water member is at least one of a mouthwash module, a spray water module, or a sheet water module. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the control switch drives water to eject out from the first water outlet in a horizontal direction or in a downwardly inclined direction after passing through the first waterway, or to eject out from the second water outlet in an upwardly inclined direction or upward in a vertical direction after passing through the second waterway 
     In a preferred embodiment, an angle between the second water outlet and an axial direction of the multifunctional water outlet device ranges from 0° to 90°. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the first waterway and the second waterway are defined in part by a first waterway portion connected to the water inlet. The first waterway is further defined in part by a second waterway portion, and the second waterway is further defined in part by a third waterway portion. The second waterway portion connects to the first water outlet and a water outlet end of the first waterway portion. The third waterway portion connects to the second water outlet and the water outlet end of the first waterway portion. The control switch is disposed at an intersection of the water outlet end of the first waterway portion, a water inlet end of the second waterway portion, and a water inlet end of the third waterway portion. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the control switch comprises a water stopping assembly and a transmission assembly. The transmission assembly is configured to drive the water stopping assembly to move from the water inlet end of the third waterway portion to the water inlet end of the second waterway portion to control the first waterway to be closed and the second waterway to be open synchronously. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the multifunctional water outlet device comprises a body, and the transmission assembly comprises a valve body, a switching valve shaft configured to move relative to the valve body in an axial direction of the switching valve shaft, and a pressing member disposed on the body. A first end of the switching valve shaft comprises a sealing ring. The pressing member is connected to a second end of the switching valve shaft. When the pressing member moves relative to the body due to an external force, the switching valve shaft drives the sealing ring to move from the water inlet end of the third waterway portion to the water inlet end of the second waterway portion. 
     In a preferred embodiment, an elastic member abuts between the pressing member and the switching valve shaft. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the body comprises the first waterway and the second waterway. The first water outlet and the second water outlet are respectively disposed at an upper side and a lower side of the body in an axial direction, and the pressing member is disposed on the upper side, the lower side, or a front end of the body in the axial direction. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the multifunctional water outlet device comprises a body comprising the first waterway and the second waterway, and the control switch is an electromagnetic valve. 
     Compared with the background art, the technical solution has the following advantages: 
     The multifunctional water outlet device of the present disclosure comprises a first water outlet and a second water outlet. The water can eject out from the first water outlet in a horizontal direction or in a downwardly inclined direction, thereby enabling the user to perform regular hand washing and washing of items for use. Moreover, the water can eject out from the second water outlet upward in a vertical direction or in an upwardly inclined direction, thereby enabling the user to conveniently perform daily hygiene operations such as gargling and face washing. The second water outlet is disposed with a functional water member, so that water flows out from the second water outlet to form a mouthwash, spray water, or sheet water pattern, thereby adapting to different needs of the user, such as gargling and face washing. 
     The first waterway and the second waterway of the multifunctional water outlet device of the present disclosure share the water inlet, so that the structure of the multifunctional water outlet device is compact. 
     In a further proffered embodiment of the present disclosure, the first waterway and the second waterway share the first waterway portion connected to the water inlet, so that the structure of the multifunctional water outlet device is relatively compact. The control switch of the multifunctional water outlet device controls the second waterway to be closed while the first waterway is opened simultaneously. When the user is gargling, the water flow is configured to be concentrated in the second waterway, which ensures a height of the water flowing out from the second water outlet. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       The present disclosure will be further described below with the combination with the accompanying drawings and the embodiments. 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a perspective view in a first view angle of Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates a perspective view in a second view angle of Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a cross-sectional view of a first state of Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure in which a mouthwash module is disposed. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a cross-sectional view of a second state of Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure in which the mouthwash module is disposed. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates a cross-sectional view of Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure in which a spray water module is disposed. 
         FIG.  6    illustrates a cross-sectional view of Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure in which a sheet water module is disposed. 
         FIG.  7    illustrates a cross-sectional view of Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure in which the pressing member is disposed on a lower side of the body in an axial direction. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiment 1 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1 - 6   , a multifunctional water outlet device comprises a body  1 , a first waterway  2 , and a second waterway  3 . The body  1  comprises a water inlet  11 , a first water outlet  13 , and a second water outlet  12 . The first waterway  2  connects to the second water outlet  12  and the water inlet  11 , and the second waterway  3  connects to the first water outlet  13  and the water inlet  11 . The body  1  is further disposed with a control switch  14  configured to control opening and closing of the first waterway  2  and the second waterway  3 . The second water outlet  12  and the first water outlet  13  are respectively disposed on an upper side and a lower side of the body  1  in an axial direction of the body  1 . 
     The control switch  14  drives water from the water inlet  11  to eject out from the second water outlet  12  in a horizontal direction or in a downwardly inclined direction after passing through the first waterway  2 , or eject out from the first water outlet  13  in an upwardly inclined direction or upward in a vertical direction from the water inlet  11  after passing through the second waterway  3 . Spray patterns of water flowing from the first waterway  2  and water flowing from the second waterway  3  are different. 
     The water flowing out from the second water outlet  12  in the downward direction is suitable for washing hands and the like. The water flowing out from the first water outlet  13  in the upward direction is suitable for gargling or washing face. The aforementioned different functions require different spray patterns. Especially with respect to the first water outlet  13 , the water flow needs to eject to a preset height. Therefore, the spray patterns of the second water outlet  12  and the first water outlet  13  are different. In order to obtain different spray patterns, the first water outlet  13  is disposed with a functional water member  131 , and the water flows through the functional water member  131  to obtain a preset spray pattern. 
     As shown in  FIGS.  3 - 6   , the functional water member  131  is at least one of a mouthwash module, a spray water module, a sheet water module, etc. The mouthwash module, the spray water module, and the sheet water module are common in existing techniques. Therefore, this embodiment will not describe a shaping principle for achieving the various spray patterns and a structure of the functional water member  131  anymore. The functional water member, such as an aerator, can be disposed in the second water outlet  12  to make the water flowing out of the second water outlet  12  form a different spray pattern. 
     The multifunctional water outlet device comprises the second water outlet  12  and the first water outlet  13 . Therefore, water ejecting out from the second water outlet  12  in a horizontal direction or a downwardly inclined direction is suitable for washing hands and the like, while water ejecting out from the first water outlet  13  in an upwardly inclined direction or upward in a vertical direction is suitable for gargling, face washing, and the like. The first water outlet  13  is disposed with the functional water member  131 . In this way, the water flowing out of the first water outlet  13  forms different spray patterns, such as mouthwash water, splash water, or sheet water, and adapts to different needs of the user, such as gargling and face washing. 
     In this embodiment, in order to make the water flowing from the first water outlet  13  more convenient for the user to use, an angle between the first water outlet  13  and an axial direction of the multifunctional water outlet device ranges from 0° to 90°. 
     In order to make a structure of the multifunctional water outlet device compact, the first waterway  2  and the second waterway  3  are both defined in part by a first waterway portion  20  connected with the water inlet  11 . The first waterway  2  is further defined in part by a second waterway portion  21  connected to a water outlet end of the first waterway portion  20  and the first water outlet  13 , and the second waterway  3  is further defined in part by a third waterway portion  31  connected to the water outlet end of the first waterway portion  20  and the second water outlet  12 . The control switch  14  is disposed at an intersection of the water outlet end of the first waterway portion  20 , a water inlet end of the second waterway portion  21 , and a water inlet end of the third waterway portion  31 . The second waterway portion comprises a water hole  400  and a flow controller  300 , and the flow controller  300  is disposed in front of the water hole  400  in a direction of flow of water. Water from the water hole  400  defines an annular water  221  between the functional water member  131  and the first water outlet  13 . 
     In this embodiment, the control switch  14  comprises a water stopping assembly  141  and a transmission assembly  142 . The transmission assembly  142  is configured to drive the water stopping assembly  141  to move from the water inlet end of the third waterway portion  31  to the water inlet end of the second waterway portion  21  to control the first waterway  2  to be closed and the second waterway  3  to be open synchronously. 
     Specifically, the transmission assembly  142  comprises a valve body  1421  disposed on the body  1 , a switching valve shaft  1422  disposed with a sealing ring at a first end of the switching valve shaft  1422 , and a pressing member  1423  disposed on the body  1 . The switching valve shaft  1422  is configured to move relative to the valve body  1421  in an axial direction of the switching valve shaft  1422 , and the pressing member  1423  is connected to a second end of the switching valve shaft  1422 . When the pressing member  1423  moves relative to the body  1  due to an external force, the sealing ring is configured to move by the switching valve shaft  1422  from the water inlet end of the third waterway portion  31  to the water inlet end of the second waterway portion  21 . The sealing ring is the water stopping assembly  141 . The pressing member  1423  is a pressing button. 
     In order to make the pressing member  1423  automatically reset after the user stops pressing the pressing member  1423 , an elastic member  1424  is disposed between the pressing member  1423  and the switching valve shaft  1422 . 
     The pressing member  1423  is disposed on an upper side, a lower side, or a front end of an axial direction of the body  1 . In this embodiment, the pressing member  1423  is disposed on the upper side of the axial direction of the body  1  for convenience. 
     The second waterway comprises a flow regulator  300 . 
     A width of a first water inlet  201  of the first waterway  2  is larger than a width of a second water inlet  301  of the second waterway  3 . 
     When the control switch  14  is in an initial position, water flows out of the first waterway  2 . When the control switch  14  is switched due to an external force, water flows out of the second waterway  3 . When the water is closed, the external force is released, the control switch  14  is reset to the initial position due to the elastic member  1424 , and water flows out of the first waterway  2 . 
     As a simple alternative of this embodiment, the control switch  14  can also be an electromagnetic valve. 
     Embodiment 2 
     Referring to  FIG.  7   , a difference between this embodiment and the Embodiment 1 is as follows. The pressing member  1423  is disposed on the lower side of the axial direction of the body  1 . Moreover, an axis of the pressing member  1423  and an axis of the switching valve shaft  1422  are not coaxial. A transmission of the pressing member  1423  and the switching valve shaft  1422  is achieved by a wedge  1425 . When the pressing member  1423  is pressed down, the pressing member  1423  abuts a first end of the wedge  1425  to push the wedge  1425  to rotate, and a second end of the wedge  1425  abuts the switching valve shaft  1422 , thereby pushing the switching valve shaft  1422  to be switched. The other portions in Embodiment 2 are the same as those in Embodiment 1 and will not be described here. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.