Water dispenser

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10053349-B2
Application number	US-201615200214-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 1, 2016
Priority date	Aug 21, 2015
Publication date	Aug 21, 2018
Grant date	Aug 21, 2018

Abstract

A water dispenser is provided. The water dispenser may include a main body, a rotator installed to be rotatable in a horizontal direction in the main body and including a water discharger, a rotation guide rail having a predetermined curvature within the main body, and a rotation guide protrusion provided in the rotator and slidably coupled to the rotation guide rail to guide rotation of the rotator.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A water dispenser, comprising:
a main body having a front surface, a first side surface located on a left side of the front surface and a second side surface located on a right side of the front surface, and an upper surface connecting the front surface and the first and second side surfaces from above;
a rotator provided in the main body to be horizontally rotatable;
a water discharger extending from an outer circumferential surface of the rotator to protrude laterally from the main body and configured to be horizontally rotatable continuously from the front surface to the first and second side surfaces, the water discharger having a water discharge port to dispense water;
an operation module spaced upward from the rotator, installed on the upper surface of the main body to be horizontally rotatable and configured to receive a control command to discharge water through the water discharge port; and
a connector that connects the rotator and the operation module in a vertical direction so that the operation module is horizontally rotated in a same direction during horizontal rotation of the water discharger.

2. The water dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the operation module is horizontally rotatable by 90 degrees in a left direction and 90 degrees to a right direction with respect to the front surface of the main body.

3. The water dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the water discharger is horizontally rotatable from the first side surface of the main body to the second side surface opposite to the first side surface, and
wherein the water discharger protrudes from the first side surface and the second side surface during the horizontal rotation.

4. The water dispenser of claim 1 , wherein a horizontal rotation center of the rotator and a horizontal rotation center of the operation module are located on a same axis within the main body.

5. The water dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the connector includes:
a coupling ring provided at the rotator and located at a position radially distant from a horizontal rotation center of the rotator; and
a coupling protrusion protruding from a bottom of the operation module and inserted into the coupling ring.

6. The water dispenser of claim 5 , further comprising:
a first water discharge pipe connected to a water flow channel and provided on a horizontal rotation center axis of the rotator;
a second water discharge pipe provided in a direction intersecting the first water discharge pipe and connected to the water discharge port; and
a pipe fitting portion connecting the first water discharge pipe and the second water discharge pipe,
wherein the first water discharge pipe is fixed and the second water discharge pipe and the pipe fitting portion are rotatable together in correspondence with the horizontal rotation of the rotator.

7. The water dispenser of claim 6 , wherein a central ring through which the first water discharge pipe passes is provided at the horizontal rotation center axis of the rotator.

8. The water dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the operation module is horizontally rotatably mounted on the upper surface of the main body while being inclined toward the water discharger.

9. The water dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the main body has an opening extending horizontally along the front surface up to portions of the first and second side surfaces, and
wherein the water discharger protrudes through the opening to be horizontally rotatable along the opening.

10. The water dispenser of claim 9 , wherein the water discharge port is located to protrude from the first and second side surfaces of the main body when the water discharger is located at ends of the opening.

11. The water dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the rotator is formed in a circular shape, and
wherein the front surface of the main body is formed in a semicircular shape which is convex forwardly corresponding to an outer shape of the rotator rotating along an inner circumference of the front surface of the main body.

12. The water dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the operation module includes:
a display to display information related to a mode selected by a user input; and
a water discharge button configured to be pushed.

13. The water dispenser of claim 12 , wherein the water discharge button is located within the display.

14. The water dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the rotator is provided at a lower portion thereof with a rail accommodation recess formed at a position radially distanced from a horizontal rotation center of the rotator along a circumferential direction of the rotator, and
wherein the main body is provided therein with a support having a semicircular rotation guide rail inserted into the rail accommodation recess and supporting the rotator to be horizontally rotatable.

15. The water dispenser of claim 14 , wherein one of the support and the rotator is provided with a positioner, and
wherein another one of the support and the rotator is provided with a stop protrusion engaged with the positioner at a specific horizontal rotation position of the rotator.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc
• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Yoon Shic

Classifications

• A47J31/46

  Dispensing spouts, pumps, drain valves or like liquid transporting devices · CPC title

• B67D1/0864

  in the form of a cooling bath · CPC title

• B67D1/0004 Primary

  the beverage being stored in a container, e.g. bottle, cartridge, bag-in-box, bowl · CPC title

• B67D2210/00031

  Housing · CPC title

• B67D2210/00049

  Pipes · CPC title