Fluid handling – Faucets and spouts
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-14
2004-09-07
Michalsky, Gerald A. (Department: 3753)
Fluid handling
Faucets and spouts
C004S677000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06786240
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a spout assembly, and more particularly, to one that can be externally locked to the faucet for fast assembly.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
As people now demand more on the product quality, the manufacturers also demand more on the process quality since good process quality is the only way to effective upgrade the appearance of the product. Manufacturers of products such as the dial of a wristwatch, the appearance of an automobile and assembly of sanitary ware have been improving the assembly appearance to directly promote product image and indirectly stimulate the market demands and higher selling price.
FIG. 1
of the accompanying drawing of the present invention shows a structure of the prior art of a spout assembly
20
adapted to a faucet
10
. As illustrated in
FIGS. 2 and 2A
for an assembly of the spout assembly
20
and the faucet
10
in the prior art, the spout assembly
20
is usually directly welded to a water outlet
13
on the faucet
10
to fix the spout assembly
20
to the outer circumference of the faucet
10
. However, the prior art is found with the following defectives:
1. The surface of the welded joint prevents easy access for finishing. As a protruded welded joint
22
is located at a corner where prevents easy access and the spout assembly
20
relates to a round tube making the use of mechanical tools very difficult to access for surface finish; and even the finishing is provided, the surface remains comparatively rough.
2. Surface is stripped after plating process. Since the faucet must go through the conventional welding process before entering into the next process of plating for finishing. However, during the plating process, the rough surface of the welded joint
22
will fail a consistent surface attachment of the plated surface. Consequently, the plated surface on the welded joint
22
will start to strip off to increase the percentage of defectives of a production lot.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of the spout assembly
20
that can be fixed to the faucet without welding, thus to improve the appearance of the finish product.
Another purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of the spout assembly
20
that permits to have both of the spout assembly
20
and the faucet
10
to be separately plated before fixing the spout assembly
20
to the faucet
10
for rapid assembly of the faucet at a reduced production cost.
To achieve the purposes, a connector is provided in the faucet
10
to be inserted into a locking sleeve provided in the spout assembly
20
.
REFERENCES:
patent: 6623045 (2003-09-01), Wurgler
patent: 6712094 (2004-03-01), Chen
Globe Union Industrial Corp.
Lei Leong C.
Michalsky Gerald A.
LandOfFree
Spout assembly does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Spout assembly, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Spout assembly will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3269992