Refrigeration – With separator-clarifier for cooled fluid or ice-melt – For liquid
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-08
2002-10-01
Esquivel, Denise L. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
With separator-clarifier for cooled fluid or ice-melt
For liquid
C210S234000, C210S424000, C137S547000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06457322
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a filter housing assembly for refrigerators and, more particularly, to a filter housing assembly for refrigerators, which is capable of preventing water from leaking during the replacement of filter elements and supplying water to the various portions of the refrigerator while its upper filter housing is separated from its lower filter housing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, some refrigerators have water purifying filters in their interiors so as to supply purified water to the outside of the refrigerators or produce ice using the purified water.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, the construction of a conventional filter housing assembly is disclosed.
As illustrated in the drawing, such a conventional filter housing assembly comprises an upper filter housing
10
and a lower filter housing
20
. The upper filter housing
10
is combined with the lower filter housing
20
at its lower portion. The lower filter housing
20
is provided with a filter element (not shown) in its interior.
An inlet
10
a
through which water is supplied from the outside is formed in a side of the upper filter housing
10
, and an outlet
11
through which water is discharged from the filter housing assembly is formed in the opposite side of the upper filter housing
10
. A cylindrical connecting part
16
that is inserted into the upper portion of the lower filter housing
20
is formed in the central portion of the upper filter housing
10
.
An inflow passage
10
b
that connects the inlet
10
a
of the upper filter housing
10
to the upper portion of the lower filter housing
20
is formed in the interior of the upper filter housing
10
. A valve assembly (a reference numeral not assigned) is positioned on the upper portion of the inflow passage
10
b
and serves to cut off water supply during the replacement of filter elements by selectively opening and shutting the inflow passage
10
b.
The valve assembly comprises a valve body
12
, a spring
13
and an actuating member
14
. The spring
13
is fitted into the recess
12
a
of the valve body
12
at its upper portion and into the hole
14
b
of the actuating member
14
at its lower portion. The bottom surface of the actuating member
14
is rounded off so as to be easily moved on the cam surface (will be described) of the top of the lower filter housing
20
. The actuating member
14
is moved upward and downward by the rotation of the cam surface of the lower filter housing
20
, and, consequently, the valve body
12
is moved upward and downward.
An engaging projection
18
is formed on the bottom of the upper filter housing
10
so as to engage the upper filter housing
10
with the lower filter housing
20
.
The lower filter housing
20
serves to guide water, which enters the filter housing assembly through the upper filter housing
10
, so as to pass through the filter element. A through hole
20
a
into which the cylindrical connecting part
16
a
is fitted is formed on the upper portion of the lower filter housing
20
, and a plurality of engaging projections
22
are formed along the side surface of the lower filter housing
20
. The engaging projections
22
are engaged with the engaging projection
18
of the upper filter housing
10
and allow the filtering case
20
to be combined with the filtering housing
10
securely.
The operation of the conventional filter housing assembly is disclosed hereinafter.
When the lower filter housing
20
is rotated while the connecting part
16
of the upper filter housing
10
is fitted into the through hole
20
a
of the lower filter housing
20
, the cam surface
20
b
of the lower filter housing
20
lifts up the actuating member
14
of the valve assembly that is inserted into the inflow passage
10
b.
As a consequence, the valve body
12
that is connected to the actuating member
14
through the spring
13
is moved up. When the valve body
12
is moved up, the inflow passage
10
b
is opened and, consequently, water can flow into the lower filter housing
20
through the inflow passage
10
b.
The water that is supplied to the upper filter housing
10
enters the lower filter housing
20
through one portion of the through hole
20
a
of the lower filter housing
20
. The water is purified while passing through the filter element. Finally, the purified water is discharged through the other portion of the through hole
20
a
into the connecting part
16
of the upper filter housing
10
. In such a case, the entering water and the purified water are not mixed because the connecting part
16
is deeply inserted into the through hole
20
a.
That is, the through hole
20
a
is partitioned by means of a portion
16
a
of the wall of the connecting part
16
and the filter element. The purified water discharged to the upper filter housing
10
is supplied to the ice-making unit of a freezer compartment (not shown), etc.
When the lower filter housing
20
is removed from the upper filter housing
10
by rotating the lower filter housing
20
, the actuating member
14
is lowered down. As a consequence, the valve body
12
connected to the actuating member
14
through the spring
13
is lowered down, also. The lowered valve body
12
shuts the inflow passage
10
b,
and so cuts off the water supply.
The conventional filter housing assembly has the following defects.
That is, in accordance with the conventional filter housing assembly, upon the combination of the upper filter housing
10
and the lower filter housing
20
, the inflow passage
10
b
of the upper filter housing
10
is opened. Therefore, while the actuating member
14
is moved upward by the cam surface
20
b
of the lower filter housing
20
before the upper filter housing
10
is combined with the lower filter housing
20
completely, the valve body
12
is moved up, and so the inflow passage
10
b
is opened. As a result, water that enters the filter housing assembly through the opened inflow passage
10
b
leaks through the small gap between the upper filter housing
10
and the lower filter housing
20
. At this time, the water is spouted from the gap and leaks at a high pressure because the gap is small.
In addition, since the inflow passage
10
b
of the upper filter housing
10
is shut while the upper filter housing
10
is separated from the lower filter housing
20
, water supply to the various portions of the refrigerator is completely cut off before the upper filter housing
10
is combined with the lower filter housing
20
again.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a filter housing assembly for refrigerators, which is capable of shutting the inflow passage of the filter housing assembly completely, thereby preventing water from leaking during the replacement of filter elements.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a filter housing assembly for refrigerators, which is capable of supplying water to the various portions of the refrigerator while its upper filter housing is separated from its lower filter housing.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a filter housing assembly for refrigerators, comprising an upper filter housing having an inlet, an outlet, an inflow passage and an outflow passage; a lower filter housing being detachably combined with the upper filter housing and holding a filter element for purifying water supplied through the inflow passage of the upper filter housing; a valve having a first passage hole, a second passage hole and a third passage hole so as to selectively connect the inlet to the outlet, and the inlet and the outlet respectively to the first inflow passage and the first outflow passage; and a passage control lever fixedly connected at its one end to the valve so as to rotate the valve for the selective connection of the valve.
Preferably, the valve m
Kim Ill-Shin
Kim Si-Jae
Kwon Yong-Chol
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