US20070151021A1

US20070151021A1 - Connector for a faucet

Info

Publication number: US20070151021A1
Application number: US11/306,643
Authority: US
Inventors: Ming-Dang Shieh
Original assignee: Horng Lai Industrial Co Ltd
Current assignee: Horng Lai Industrial Co Ltd
Priority date: 2006-01-05
Filing date: 2006-01-05
Publication date: 2007-07-05

Abstract

A connector for a faucet is particularly a curved tube in one piece. The curved tube has two ends and a twist section and further comprises a mounting base and a coupler assembly respectively attached to the two ends of the curved tube. Selectively, the twist section extends between the two ends and is smoothly swirled and bent to make the curved tube non-planar in curving direction. Thereby, the connector has a simple structure and neat appearance to reduce manufacturing cost and to increase aesthetic appreciation. Moreover, the connector directly attaches the faucet to a wash basin in a convenient way and has no leakage problem itself because the connector is one-piece without any junction seam.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector for a faucet, and more particularly to a connector that conveniently attaches the faucet to a wash basin and has a low manufacturing cost and a simple and graceful appearance.
2. Description of Related Art
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a faucet 30 is mounted on a wash basin (not shown) by connecting two conventional connectors. Each conventional connector between the faucet 30 and the wash basin comprises a first tube 10 and a second tube 20. The first tube 10 has a locking base 101 at one end to mount on the wash basin and a coupler 102 attached at the other end to connect to the second tube 20. The second tube 20 is perpendicularly attached to the first tube 10 and has a threaded flange 201 formed at a side near one end to engage the coupler 102 on the fist tube 10. Moreover, the second tube 20 operationally has a coupler 202 attached to a side near the other end to connect to the faucet 30. Thereby, water from the wash basin flows through the first tube 10 and the second tube 20 to drain out via the faucet 30.
However, the conventional connector has the following drawbacks:
1. The conventional connector is composed of two tubes 10, 20 so that the junction between the first tube 10 and the second tube 20 incurs additional attaching trouble and leakage possibility. Therefore, the conventional connector has poor utility.
2. Because the first tube 10 and the second tube 20 are respectively manufactured, the manufacturing cost of the conventional connector is correspondingly increased.
Therefore, the present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the drawbacks of the conventional connector for the faucet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a connector for a faucet, wherein the connector is a curved tube in one piece to simplify manufacturing processes and reduce manufacturing costs.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a connector for a faucet, wherein the connector has a neat and graceful appearance and is adapted to easily and stably attach the faucet to a wash basin.
To achieve foregoing main objectives, the connector being a curved tube in one piece having:
two ends; and
a twist section integrally extending between the two ends, wherein the twist section is smoothly swirled and bent to make the curved tube non-planar in curving direction;
wherein, the connector further comprises:
a mounting base attached at one end of the curved tube; and
a threaded hole defined in the other end of the curved tube.
By making the curved tube in one piece to substitute the two tubes in the conventional connector, structure of the connector is simplified and thus manufacturing cost and material cost of the connector are reduced.
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 an exploded perspective view of two conventional connectors for a faucet in accordance with the prior art;
FIG. 2 is an operational perspective view of the two conventional connectors with the faucet;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of two connectors for a faucet in accordance with the present invention; and
FIG. 4 is an operational perspective view of the two connectors with the faucet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A connector for a faucet in accordance with the present invention is substantially a curved tube in one piece. The curved tube has two ends and a twist section and further comprises a mounting base and a coupler assembly respectively attached to the two ends of the curved tube. Selectively, the twist section extends between the two ends and is smoothly swirled and bent to make the curved tube non-planar in curving direction. Thereby, the connector has a simple structure and neat appearance to reduce manufacturing cost and to increase aesthetic appreciation. Moreover, the connector directly attaches the faucet to a wash basin in a convenient way and has no leakage problem itself because the connector is one-piece without any junction seam.
With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a preferred embodiment of the connector for a faucet is a curved tube 1 in one piece, wherein two connectors are attached between the faucet 3 and a wash base (not shown) or a proper object. Each curved tube 1 has two ends and a twist section 13 extending between the two ends and further comprises a mounting base 11 formed at one end and threaded hole and a threaded hole 12 defined at the other end. The mounting base 11 is cup-shaped and adapted to engage the water base by screwing. The connector further has a coupler assembly 2 attached to the other end to engage the faucet 3. Particularly, the twist section 13 is smoothly swirled and bent to make the curved tube 1 non-planar in curving direction and to set the faucet 3 erected over the wash basin. Moreover, the twist section 13 also provides a special visual effect in design.
The coupler assembly 2 is composed of a nut 21, a cushion 22, a positioning ring 23 and an O-ring 24. The nut 21 surrounds the end having the threaded hole 12 on the curved tube 1. The positioning ring 23 has a threaded protrusion engaged the threaded hole 12 on the curved tube 1 and snugly combines with the nut 21 to keep the nut 21 in position on the curved tube 1. The cushion 22 and the O-ring 24 are clamped between the positioning ring 23 and the nut 21 to provide an anti-leakage efficiency.
When the connector is mounted between the faucet 3 and a wash basin, water from the wash basin flows through the curved tube 1 to drain out via the faucet 3.
The connector in the present invention has the following advantages:
1. Unlike the conventional connector composed of two tubes, the single curved tube 1 is one-piece that makes the attachment simplified and has no junction seam to eliminate leakage problem on itself. Therefore, the connector has excellent utility.
2. By making the connector in one piece to substitute the two tubes in the conventional connector, manufacturing cost and material cost of the connector are reduced.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims

1. A connector being a curved tube in one piece having:

two ends; and

a twist section integrally extending between the two ends, wherein the twist section smoothly is swirled and bent to make the curved tube non-planar in curving direction;

wherein, the connector further comprises:

a mounting base attached at one end of the curved tube; and

a threaded hole defined in the other end of the curved tube.