Touch button controlled water stop

• US 5,456,448 A
• Filed: 10/26/1994
• Issued: 10/10/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hsiao-Tsung Chou
• Original Assignee: Hsiao-Tsung Chou
• Inventors: Chou, Hsiao-Tsung
• Primary Examiner(s): Walton, George L.
• Application Number:
  US08/329,180
• Time in Patent Office: 349 Days
• Field of Search: 74/548, 74/553, 74/554, 74/110, 74/567, 74/575, 251/96, 251/230, 251/251, 251/263, 251/320, 251/321, 251/322, 251/323, 251/229, 251/284
• US Class Current: 251/230
• CPC Class Codes: E03C 1/04 Water-basin installations specially adapted to wash-basins or baths valves, faucets, mixing valves, taps F16K
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 31/44 Mechanical actuating means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/18992 Reciprocating to reciprocating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/2101 Cams
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/2133 Pawls and ratchets

Abstract

A touch button controlled water stop mainly consists of an outer sleeve, a shaft rod, an upper toothed ring, a lower toothed ring, a spring guide bush, two springs, and a plunger; the shaft rod extending through a spring, a washer, a packing sheet, and a bushing ring and subsequently passing through the hollow cylindrical outer sleeve having a shaft support formed therein, the upper toothed ring, the lower toothed ring, the spring guide bush, and another spring and ending with the plunger secured thereon by a screw. The top end of the shaft rod can be linked with a touch button actuating means and the outer sleeve can be accommodated in a rear connector so that depressing the touch button will move the upper toothed ring to engage with the lower toothed ring. Further, raised blocks formed on the outer sleeve'"'"'s inner wall confines the slide motion of the upper toothed ring and the lower toothed ring in such a way that the shaft rod will in turn dwell at two positions for each depressing. And thus the shaft rod can drive a plunger to open and close a water inlet, controlling water flow in a pipe.

Claims

1. A touch button controlled fluid valve actuating mechanism for actuating a plunger relative to a fluid opening between open and closed positions, comprising:

a) an outer sleeve having a shaft support and a plurality of dual raised blocks each having longitudinal groove therein and a retaining portion on an end thereof;

b) a shaft rod slidably located in the outer sleeve and extending though the shaft support so as to be movable between first and second positions, the shaft rod having first and second ends;

c) a touch button acting on the first end of the shaft rod;

d) a plunger attached to the second end of the shaft rod;

e) an upper toothed ring positioned on the shaft rod and located within the outer sleeve, the upper toothed ring having a plurality of first face teeth and a plurality of first raised blocks slidably engaging the plurality of longitudinal grooves of the dual raised blocks such that the upper toothed ring is slidable, but not rotatable with respect to the outer sleeve;

f) a lower toothed ring positioned on the shaft rod and located within the outer sleeve, the lower toothed ring having a plurality of second face teeth configured to engage the plurality of first face teeth and a plurality of second raised blocks each having a slant end face; and

,

g) spring biasing means acting on the lower toothed ring to urge the lower toothed ring towards the upper toothed ring such that in the first shaft rod position the second face teeth are in partial engagement with the first face teeth and the second raised blocks are slidably engaged within the longitudinal grooves thereby holding the plunger in a first position, and in the second shaft rod position the second raised blocks are out of engagement with the longitudinal grooves whereby the engagement between the first and second face teeth causes the lower toothed ring to rotate such that the slant end faces contact the retaining portion to hold the plunger in a second position until additional shaft rod movement is exerted to cause the second raised blocks to be in alignment with and movable within the grooves of the dual raised blocks to actuate the plunger to the first position.

2. A touched button controlled actuating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shaft support has a plurality of fluid holes disposed around a periphery thereof.

3. The touch button controlled actuating mechanism of claim 1 further comprising means to attach the touch button to the first end of the shaft rod.

4. The touch button controlled actuating mechanism, of claim 1 further comprising a ball element in contact with the first end of the shaft rod and the touch button.

5. The touch button controlled actuating mechanism, of claim 4 wherein the touch button comprises a movable pin.