KR101750453B1

KR101750453B1 - Shower Head Capable of Self-Cleaning

Info

Publication number: KR101750453B1
Application number: KR1020150129193A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 김옥동; 김성준; 송명기; 안찬우
Original assignee: 동아대학교 산학협력단
Priority date: 2015-09-11
Filing date: 2015-09-11
Publication date: 2017-06-23
Also published as: KR20170031523A

Abstract

In accordance with the present invention, when a user presses a flow control valve protruding outward on a side surface of a shower head, the flow path is changed by the flow control valve so that water introduced into the shower head flows out to the outer surface of the handle portion of the shower head, The directional control valve for a shower head according to the present invention has a plurality of main injection holes for spraying water at an upper portion thereof, And a connecting portion connected to a shower hose at a lower portion of the main body, wherein the washing body is formed at one side of the valve chamber formed between the main spray hole and the connecting portion, A valve block inserted into the valve chamber to have a size smaller than that of the valve chamber, and having a main flow path communicating with the connection portion at one end and communicating with the main injection hole at the other end; A first connection channel and a second connection channel which are provided in the head body so as to slide relative to the head body by a user's operation and selectively connected to the main channel by the sliding movement, And a branch flow path communicating with the other end of the valve block and communicating with the other end and leading all or a part of the water flowing through the second connection flow path to a space formed between the outer surface of the valve block and the valve chamber; And a control unit.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a directional control valve for a shower head,

The present invention relates to a shower head, and more particularly, to a shower head, and more particularly, to a shower head, which, when a user presses a flow control valve protruding outward from a side surface of a showerhead, And to a directional control valve for a shower head capable of cleaning the outer surface of the shower head so that the outer surface of the shower head can be cleaned.

The shower head is configured such that the water supplied from the faucet portion through the shower hose is sprayed in a plurality of rows through the perforated plate formed with the plurality of injection holes to maximize the surface area of the supplied water to the human body and increase the water injection speed And is used for improving the cleaning effect.

However, one of the problems that arise when using the shower in the bathroom of the home or in the public bath is that the shower is released from the hand by the contaminants such as soap water on the handle of the shower head, causing injury to the user, It is broken case.

In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0099576 discloses a shower head in which a main flow path communicated with a main injection port used for a shower is formed and a cleaning flow path communicated with a cleaning hole And a lever for changing the flow path is provided on a side surface or one end of the shower head so that water supplied through the shower hose is supplied to the main jet port through the main flow path during the shower to perform showering, There is disclosed a self-cleaning shower head capable of washing an outer surface of a showerhead by causing water supplied through a shower hose to flow through a washing channel and being sprayed through a washing hole when a dirty substance is to be washed, .

However, such a conventional self-cleaning showerhead requires two separate flow passages in the main body of the showerhead, so that it is difficult to actually manufacture the showerhead. The structure of the valve and the lever for selectively opening and closing the two flow paths is complicated, There is a problem that the position of the lever is disposed at the end of the shower head and the user is inconvenient to press with a finger.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0099576 (published on April 13, 2014) Korean Registration Practice No. 20-0415716 (registered on April 28, 2006) Korea Public Utility Model No. 20-2011-0005743 (Published on June 10, 2011)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a shower head, The directional control valve for a shower head can be easily cleaned by cleaning the outer surface of the shower head by allowing the water to flow out to the outside of the handle portion of the shower head.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a directional control valve for a shower head capable of cleaning a handle, comprising a plurality of main injection holes for spraying water thereon, A head main body having a valve chamber communicated between the main injection hole and the connecting portion, at least one or more washing holes being formed on at least one side of the valve chamber so as to open to the outside; A valve block inserted into the valve chamber to have a size smaller than that of the valve chamber, and having a main flow path communicating with the connection portion at one end and communicating with the main injection hole at the other end; A first connection part which is slidably installed in the head body and which is installed on one side of the head body so as to protrude to the outside of the head body and slidably moves with respect to the head body by a user's operation, The whole or a part of the water flowing through the second connection passage is communicated between the outer surface of the valve block and the valve chamber And a flow path control valve having a branch flow path leading to the space.

A directional control valve for a shower head capable of cleaning a handle according to another aspect of the present invention includes a main spray hole for spraying water at an upper portion thereof and a connecting portion connected to a shower hose at a lower portion thereof, A head body formed to communicate with a valve chamber between a spray hole and a connection portion, and at least one or more cleaning holes formed on at least one side of the valve chamber to open to the outside; An upper partition wall and a lower partition wall spaced apart from each other at an upper portion and a lower portion of the head main body so as to partition the valve chamber and vertically penetrate the upper and lower flow passages; A valve block having a smaller diameter than the valve chamber and inserted into the valve chamber and having a main passage communicating with the upper passage at one end and communicating with the lower passage at the other end, and; A valve body installed in the valve block so as to be slidable and having one side portion protruding outwardly of the head body and slidably moving with respect to the head body by a user's operation, The connection channel and the second connection channel are connected to each other in such a manner that all or a part of the water communicated with the second connection channel and the other end communicates with one end and flows through the second connection channel is connected between the outer surface of the valve block and the valve chamber A flow control valve having a branch flow path leading to a space formed therein; And an elastic member for elastically supporting the flow path control valve with respect to the head body or the valve block.

According to the present invention, when the user desires to self-clean the shower head, if the button portion of the flow control valve provided on the side surface of the head body is pressed, water flowing through the main flow path flows out to the outside of the valve block, So that the head body can be cleaned. Therefore, the shower head can be easily self-cleaned with a simple structure.

In particular, since the shower head of the present invention has a structure in which a valve block having a size slightly smaller than that of the valve chamber is installed inside the valve chamber to fill the inner space of the valve chamber, water discharged to the outside of the main flow path for washing is quickly cleaned So that it is possible to minimize the amount of water remaining in the valve chamber even after the cleaning operation.

1 is a perspective view of a shower head according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view of the shower head of FIG. 1;
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view seen from the side of the shower head of Fig. 1; Fig.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the flow control valve of the shower head of Fig. 1;
5 is a projection view of the flow control valve of Fig.
6A and 6B are cross-sectional views of the showerhead of FIG. 1, each showing an initial state and a self-cleaning state of the showerhead.
Figs. 7A and 7B show longitudinal sectional views of the shower head of Fig. 1 taken from the front, respectively showing the initial state of the shower head and self-cleaning state.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the shower head according to another embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the side, similar to FIG. 3. FIG.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a directional control valve for a shower head according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 3, a shower head according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a head body 10, a valve block 20, a flow control valve 30, and an elastic member 40 .

The head main body 10 may have various tubular shapes such as a cylindrical shape, an elliptical tubular shape, and a polygonal tubular shape. A plurality of main injection holes 11 through which water is sprayed are formed in the upper portion of the head main body 10 and a connecting portion 12 connected to the shower hose H is formed at the lower end. And the hole 16 is formed so as to open to the outside.

The head body 10 is formed so that one side is opened, and a side plate 17 is coupled to the opened side to form a single cylinder.

The cleaning hole 16 is a passage through which the water in the head body 10 is discharged to the outside when the outer surface of the head body 10 is to be cleaned.

A valve chamber 13 in which the valve block 20 is installed is provided at an upper portion and a lower portion of the head body 10 so as to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance from the upper partition wall body 14 and the lower partition wall body 15, . The cleaning holes 16 are formed to communicate with the valve chamber 13. The upper partition wall 14 and the lower partition wall 15 are formed with an upper passage 14a and a lower passage 15a, respectively, in the vertical direction. The upper end of the upper flow path 14a communicates with the upper end formed with the main injection hole 11. The lower end of the lower flow path 15a communicates with the flow path formed in the connection portion 12. [ The water supplied through the shower hose H is supplied to the main injection hole 11 through the lower flow path 15a and the main flow path 21 and the upper flow path 14a of the valve block 20, .

The valve block 20 is inserted and fixed in the valve chamber 13. A predetermined space is formed between the valve block 20 and the valve chamber 13 so as to have a size corresponding to that of the valve chamber 13 but smaller than that of the valve chamber 13, Thereby forming a flow path through which water for washing flows during self-cleaning. A main flow path 21 communicating with the upper flow path 14a of the upper partition wall member 14 and the lower flow path 15a of the lower partition wall 15 is formed on the upper and lower portions of the valve block 20, A valve mounting groove 22 in which the flow control valve 30 is installed is formed approximately in the middle of the valve block 20. The valve mounting groove 22 is formed so that both side surfaces thereof are opened, and the upper surface and the lower surface communicate with the main flow path 21.

The valve block 20 fills the inside of the valve chamber 13 to reduce the volume of the valve chamber 13 so that the water can be quickly discharged to the outside through the washing hole 16, And acts to prevent a large amount of water from accumulating in the valve chamber 13 after self-cleaning.

The flow control valve 30 is provided inside the valve mounting groove 22 of the valve block 20 so as to be slidable laterally in the left and right directions to distribute water flowing through the main flow passage 21 to the main flow And supplies the part of or the whole to the outside of the valve block 20. The flow control valve 30 is provided with a button portion 32 protruding outwardly from the head body 10 and slidingly moves with respect to the valve block 20 by a user's operation.

4 and 5, the flow control valve 30 includes a first connection passage 33 and a second connection passage 34 selectively connected to the main passage 21 by sliding movement, All or part of the water communicated with the second connection passage 34 at one end and communicated with the upper end of the flow control valve 30 through the second connection passage 34 is introduced into the valve block 20, And a branch passage 35 leading to a space formed between the outer surface of the valve chamber 13 and the valve chamber 13. A portion of the flow control valve 30 where the first connection passage 33 and the second connection passage 34 and the branch passage 35 are formed is referred to as a flow passage portion 31, And is slidably received in the valve mounting groove 22. The button portion 32 is formed to extend laterally on one side portion of the flow path portion 31 and protrude outward through an opening portion 17a formed to be opened on one side surface of the head body 10.

In order to smoothly flow out the water outflowed when the water for washing flows out through the branch flow path 35 of the flow path control valve 30 to the outside of the valve block 20, An outlet guide groove 25 is formed in a concave shape on one side surface of the upper end of the valve mounting groove 22. The outlet guide groove 25 is formed in the branch passage 35 when the second communication passage 34 and the main passage 21 are communicated with each other by the sliding movement of the passage control valve 30 to the inside of the valve block 20 As shown in Fig.

1 to 3, the elastic member 40 is installed between one side of the valve chamber 13 and one side of the flow control valve 30 at the inside of the valve chamber 13, Thereby elastically supporting the valve 30. The elastic member 40 applies an elastic force to the flow control valve 30 so that if the user does not apply an external force by pressing the button portion 32 of the flow control valve 30, the flow control valve 30 is pushed laterally, So that the connection flow path (33) is kept in communication with the main flow path (21). In this embodiment, a compression coil spring is applied to the elastic member 40.

The showerhead of the present invention configured in this way functions as follows.

The first connection passage 33 of the flow control valve 30 is connected to the upper and lower main portions of the valve block 20 in a state in which the user does not apply the force to the button portion 32 of the flow control valve 30, Thereby maintaining the state of communicating with the flow path 21 (see Figs. 6A and 7A).

In this state, when the user opens the water receptacle to use the shower head for the original purpose such as showering or hair winding, water is supplied into the shower head through the shower hose H. The water supplied through the shower hose H is supplied to the lower main flow passage 15a and the lower main flow passage 21, the first connection flow passage 33 of the flow control valve 30, the upper main flow passage 21, (14a), is supplied to the main spray hole (11), and is sprayed to the outside through the main spray hole (11) to spray a thin water line of several stems.

When the user presses the button portion 32 of the flow control valve 30 when the user wants to wash the shower head by soap bubble or foreign substance on the shower head after using the shower head, The elastic force of the elastic member 40 is absorbed inside the groove 22 and the sliding movement is made inward.

When the flow control valve 30 slides to the inside of the valve mounting groove 22, as shown in FIGS. 6B and 7B, the second connection flow passage 34 of the flow control valve 30 is closed The water flowing through the main flow path 21 flows through the second connection flow path 34 while communicating with the main flow path 21 of the main flow path 20. A part of the water flowing into the second connection passage 34 flows through the branch passage 35 and flows through the end of the branch passage 35 formed on the upper surface of the passage control valve 30, Outward.

The water flowing out through the upper end of the branch passage 35 flows out to the space between the valve block 20 and the valve chamber 13 through the outflow inducing groove 25 of the valve block 20, 10 to the outside through the plurality of cleaning holes 16 to self-clean the outer surface of the head body 10.

When the self-cleaning of the shower head with respect to the head main body 10 is completed and the user removes the force pressing the flow path control valve 30, the flow path control valve 30 is rotated by the elastic force of the elastic member 40 The first connection passage 33 of the flow control valve 30 is communicated with the main flow passage 21 of the valve block 20 to return to the original state of the shower block 20, There is a state that can do.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the user intends to self-clean the shower head, the user simply presses the button portion 32 of the flow control valve 30, the water flowing through the main flow path 21 flows into the valve block 20, And then flows out to the outer surface of the head main body 10 through the cleaning hole 16 to wash the head main body 10. Therefore, the shower head can be easily self-cleaned with a simple structure.

Particularly, the showerhead of the present invention has a structure in which the valve block 20 having a size slightly smaller than the valve chamber 13 is installed inside the valve chamber 13 to fill the inner space of the valve chamber 13, The water discharged to the outside of the main flow channel 21 can be quickly discharged to the outside through the cleaning hole 16 and the advantage of minimizing the amount of water remaining in the valve chamber 13 even after the cleaning operation have.

In the embodiment described above, the second connection passage 34 of the flow control valve 30 is formed so that the upper end portion and the lower end portion thereof are opened, and a part of the water supplied through the main flow passage 21 during the self- And the other part is discharged to the main injection hole 11 through the main flow passage 21 on the upper side of the valve block 20 and the upper flow passage 14a of the upper partition wall 14, So that water is injected to the outside through the main injection hole 11. However, when the upper portion of the second connection passage 34 is closed, the water introduced into the second connection passage 34 flows into the entire flow branching passage 35, and water flows out only through the cleaning hole 16 , And water is not sprayed to the outside through the main spray hole (11).

The lower flow path 15a of the lower partition wall 15 and the main flow path 21 on the lower side of the valve block 20 and the main flow path 21 on the upper side of the valve block 20, The lower flow path 15a of the lower partition wall 15 and the main flow path 21 of the lower side of the valve block 20 are connected to each other as shown in FIG. A guide tube 50 for guiding the flow of water is inserted into the upper main passage 21 of the valve block 20 and the upper main passage 14a of the upper partition wall 14 to connect the above- May be prevented from leaking from the respective channel connection portions.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. And it is to be understood that such modified embodiments belong to the scope of protection of the present invention defined by the appended claims.

H: Shower hose 10: Head body
11: main spray hole 12: connection part
13: valve chamber 14; The upper partition wall
14a: upper flow path 15: lower partition wall
15a: Lower flow path 16: Washing hole
20: valve block 21: main flow path
22: valve mounting groove 25: outlet guide groove
30: flow control valve 31:
32: button portion 33: first connection channel
34: second connection channel 35: branch channel
40: elastic member 50: guide tube

Claims

And a connecting portion 12 connected to the shower hose is formed at a lower portion of the main injection hole 11 and a connection portion 12 is formed between the main injection hole 11 and the connection portion 12. The main injection hole 11, A head body 10 having a chamber 13 formed therein and having at least one or more cleaning holes 16 formed on at least one side of the valve chamber 13 so as to open to the outside;
The valve chamber 13 has a smaller size than the valve chamber 13 and is inserted into the valve chamber 13 so that one end thereof communicates with the connection portion 12 to receive water and the other end to communicate with the main injection hole 11 A valve block (20) having a main flow path (21);
The head main body 10 is slidably installed within the head main body 10, and one side of the head main body 10 is protruded to the outside of the head main body 10 to be slid with respect to the head main body 10 by a user's operation. A first connection channel 33 and a second connection channel 34 which are selectively connected to the flow path 21 and one end communicated with the second connection channel 34 and the other end communicated with one end, A flow control valve 30 having a branch flow passage 35 for leading all or a part of the water flowing through the flow passage 34 to flow out to a space formed between the outer surface of the valve block 20 and the valve chamber 13, Wherein the directional control valve for the shower head is capable of cleaning the handle.

The valve block according to claim 1, wherein the valve block (20) is formed with a valve mounting groove (22) in which the flow control valve (30) is installed, and the valve mounting groove (22) Wherein the directional control valve for the shower head is capable of cleaning the handle.

The valve control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the flow control valve (30) includes the first connection passage (33), the second connection passage (34), and the branch passage (35) And a button portion 32 which is formed so as to extend laterally on one side surface of the flow path portion 31 and protrudes outside the one side surface of the head body 10 Directional control valve for a shower head capable of cleaning the handle.

3. The valve device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an elastic member (40) for elastically supporting the flow control valve (30) with respect to the head body (10) or the valve block (20) Directional control valve for washable showerhead.

The valve apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the valve chamber (13) is partitioned by an upper partition wall (14) and a lower partition wall (15) respectively formed at upper and lower portions of the head body (10) And a lower flow path (15a) communicating with the main flow path (21) of the valve block (20) are formed in the lower partition wall (15) and the lower partition wall Directional control valve.

The valve block according to claim 1, wherein the valve block (20) is slidably moved to the inside of the valve block (20) so that the second connection passage (34) and the main passage And an outlet guide groove (25) communicating with an end portion of the branch flow path (35) when the valve is communicated is recessed.

The water treatment system according to claim 1, wherein one end of the second connection passage (34) is closed so that the water that flows into the second connection passage (34) flows outwardly through the branch passage (35) Wherein the shower head is detachably connected to the shower head.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the lower flow path (15a) of the lower partition wall (15) is inserted into the main flow path (21) of the valve block (20) and the upper flow path (14a) of the upper partition wall And a guide tube (50) for guiding the flow of the water.

And a connecting portion 12 connected to the shower hose is formed at a lower portion of the main injection hole 11 and a connection portion 12 is formed between the main injection hole 11 and the connection portion 12. The main injection hole 11, A head body 10 having a chamber 13 formed therein and having at least one or more cleaning holes 16 formed on at least one side of the valve chamber 13 so as to open to the outside;
The upper and lower portions of the head body 10 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance so as to define the valve chamber 13. The upper and lower flow passages 14a, A partition wall member (14) and a lower partition wall member (15);
The valve chamber 13 has a smaller size than the valve chamber 13 and is inserted into the valve chamber 13 so that one end communicates with the upper passage 14a and the other end communicates with the lower passage 15a, A valve block (20) having a main flow passage (21) forming a passage through which the fluid flows;
The valve block 20 is slidably installed inside the valve block 20 and has one side portion protruding outwardly of the head body 10 and slidingly moved relative to the head body 10 by a user's operation, A first connection passage 33 and a second connection passage 34 which are selectively connected to the main passage 21 and one end communicates with the second connection passage 34 and the other end communicates with one end, A flow control valve 30 having a branch flow passage 35 for leading all or a part of the water flowing through the connection flow passage 34 to flow out to a space formed between the outer surface of the valve block 20 and the valve chamber 13 );
And a resilient member (40) for elastically supporting the flow control valve (30) with respect to the head body (10) or the valve block (20).

The valve assembly according to claim 9, wherein the valve block (20) is slidably moved to the inside of the valve block (20) so that the second connection passage (34) and the main passage And an outlet guide groove (25) communicating with an end portion of the branch flow path (35) when the valve is communicated is recessed.

The water treatment system according to claim 9, wherein one end of the second connection passage (34) is closed so that water introduced into the second connection passage (34) is entirely discharged to the outside of the valve block (20) through the branch passage Wherein the shower head is detachably connected to the shower head.