Valve assembly capable of indicating depth

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10627005-B2
Application number	US-201816021274-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 28, 2018
Priority date	Feb 8, 2018
Publication date	Apr 21, 2020
Grant date	Apr 21, 2020

Abstract

A valve assembly capable of indicating a depth contains: a body and a protective cover. The body includes a holder. The protective cover is connected with the holder of the body, and the protective cover includes a fitting portion configured to fit with the holder, a peripheral portion surrounding the fitting portion, and at least one connection portion configured to connect with the fitting portion and the peripheral portion. The peripheral portion has an external fence, a front fence, a marking portion formed on at least one side of the peripheral portion, and multiple indication parts arranged on the marking portion and configured to denote depths among the multiple indication pails and the front fence respectively.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A valve assembly capable of indicating a depth comprising:
a body including a holder;
a protective cover connected with the holder of the body, and the protective cover including a fitting portion configured to fit with the holder, a peripheral portion surrounding the fitting portion, and at least one first connection portion configured to connect with the fitting portion and the peripheral portion;
wherein the peripheral portion has an external fence, a front fence, a marking portion formed on at least one side of the peripheral portion, and multiple indication parts arranged on the marking portion and configured to denote depths relative to the front fence, respectively;
wherein the holder includes a cold-water inflow connector horizontally extending from a first side thereof, a hot-water inflow connector horizontally extending from a second side of the holder opposite to the cold-water inflow connector, a first outflow connector vertically extending from a top of the holder, and a second outflow connector vertically extending from a bottom of the holder opposite to the first outflow connector; wherein the cold-water inflow connector has a cold-water inflow seat configured to connect with a cold-water inflow pipe, and the hot-water inflow connector has a hot-water inflow seat configured to connect with a hot-water inflow pipe; wherein the holder further includes a first coupling portion and a second coupling portion extending on an outer wall of the holder;
wherein the valve assembly further comprises a positioning plate including an opening configured to fit with the holder of the body, a first fixing portion and a second fixing portion which are arranged on a peripheral side of the positioning plate and respectively connect with the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion; wherein the positioning plate also has at least two recesses formed on the peripheral side thereof; and wherein the fitting portion of the protective cover has at least two flexible feet arranged thereon so as to retain with the at least two recesses of the positioning plate respectively, thus removably connecting the positioning plate with the body.

2. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of the multiple indication parts has at least one elongated element longitudinally arranged thereon.

3. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 2 , wherein each elongated element is any one of a through hole and a recessed slot.

4. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 2 , wherein each elongated element is a rib.

5. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 2 , wherein each indication part further has a size symbol corresponding to each elongated element so as to denote a depth between each elongated element and the front fence.

6. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fitting portion of the protective cover has a cylindrical fence in which a notch is defined so as to fit with the outer wall of the holder; the protective cover further includes a capping portion configured to cover the notch, and the protective cover includes a second connection portion configured to connect with the cylindrical fence and the capping portion; the second connection portion is manually snapped by a user so as to remove the capping portion from the fitting portion.

7. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the second connection portion comprises multiple elongated wings configured to be manually snapped by twisting the capping portion.

8. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the positioning plate is made of metal.

9. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the positioning plate is annular, and the positioning plate includes the opening defined therein, the first fixing portion, the second fixing portion, and the at least two recesses which are formed around the opening.

10. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the holder of the body includes an abutting fence formed thereon; the positioning plate includes an outer face and an inner face configured to contact with the abutting fence.

11. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion of the body is a threaded hole, each of the first fixing portion and the second fixing portion is a through hole so that a first screw bolt screws with one of the threaded holes via one of the through holes, and the positioning plate is screwed on the body quickly and securely.

12. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the positioning plate includes an outer face and an inner face; each of the at least two flexible feet has a hook formed on a distal end thereof so that each flexible foot retains with the inner face of the positioning plate via one of the at least two recesses after flexibly deforming.

13. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fitting portion of the protective cover has a cylindrical fence, each of the two flexible feet extends outward from the cylindrical fence, and the cylindrical fence has a notch defined therein and configured to fit with the outer wall of the holder; the protective cover further includes a capping portion configured to cover the notch, and the protective cover includes a second connection portion configured to connect with the cylindrical fence and the capping portion; and the second connection portion is manually snapped by a user so as to remove the capping portion from the fitting portion.

14. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the second connection portion has multiple elongated wings configured to be manually snapped by twisting the capping portion.

15. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 13 further comprising a screwing sleeve configured to screw with the holder, and the notch of the protective cover is fitted with the screwing sleeve.

16. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the positioning plate further includes two locking orifices defined on the peripheral side thereof; each of the at least one first connection portions has a passing orifice defined thereon, wherein each passing orifice has a concaved fence formed on an outer end thereof so as to guide a respective second screw bolt to screw with a respective locking orifices after the respective second screw bolt moves into the respective passing orifice.

17. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein an angle between the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion of the holder is 180 degrees, and an angle between the first fixing portion and the second fixing portion of the positioning plate is 180 degrees so that the first fixing portion and the second fixing portion respectively connect with the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion, alternatively, the first fixing portion and the second fixing portion respectively connect with the second coupling portion and the first coupling portion.

18. The valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the cold-water inflow seat and the hot-water inflow seat vertically extend upward in a first direction of the body, and the cold-water inflow seat and the hot-water inflow seat vertically extend downward in a second direction of the body; wherein the angle between the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion of the holder is 180 degrees so that when the body is rotated between the first direction and the second direction, the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion are replaced by each other; the angle between the first fixing portion and the second fix

Assignees

• Globe Union Ind Corp

Inventors

• Chang Tachun
• Xiao Yueping
• He Kaizhong

Classifications

• F16K11/00

  Multiple-way valves, e.g. mixing valves; Pipe fittings incorporating such valves · CPC title

• B23P19/10

  Aligning parts to be fitted together · CPC title

• G01B5/18

  for measuring depth · CPC title

• F16K27/12 Primary

  Covers for housings · CPC title

• E03C1/023 Primary

  with flow distribution, e.g. diverters · CPC title