One-piece plastic faucet body with metal-like external threads

Abstract

The present application provides an integrated plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal material, belonging to the field of faucets. The integrated plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal material comprises a body and a metal film; the body is an integrated plastic part, having at least one valve seat part and at least one support foot part connected to the bottom end of the valve seat part, and the outer surface of the support foot part is formed with external threads; the metal film is formed on the external threads of the support foot part, so that the outer surface of the support foot part has external threads imitating metal material. The integrated plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal material provided by the present application has sufficient structural strength at the support foot part through the metal film, which can ensure the firmness of installation, facilitate assembly and disassembly, and prolong the service life, while having good aesthetics and texture.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of faucets, and more specifically, relates to an integrated plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal materials. Background Art

[0002] The use of plastic injection molding to produce a roughly H-shaped one-piece faucet body component is already quite common in the relevant technology, and similar production methods and product structures have been disclosed in many patent technical documents. Taking the invention patent with the publication number 201009227 in Taiwan, China as an example, a one-piece plastic faucet body component manufacturing process and its finished product are disclosed. The faucet body uses two plastic injection techniques to form an one-piece plastic faucet body component. Secondly, the invention patent with the authorization announcement number CN 102529009 B in China discloses a method for producing a plastic faucet body and a product, which mainly uses a removable module placed in the mold cavity of the mold to inject the plastic and obtain a rough blank of the plastic faucet body, and after removing the module, a hole is opened on the closed side to obtain an one-piece plastic faucet body. Furthermore, the method for manufacturing a plastic faucet body and the finished product disclosed in the invention patent with Chinese authorization announcement number CN 102555148 B utilize a pre-formed low-melting-point core material to be placed in a mold, and then the plastic faucet body blank material is appropriately heated to a temperature exceeding the melting point of the core material to obtain a one-piece plastic faucet body finished product with a central flow channel inside. The one-piece faucet body component disclosed in the above patent technical document can directly form a plastic support foot portion with an external thread, and the one-piece faucet body component can be installed and locked on the countertop by screwing and locking the support foot portion with a screw member. It can be easily understood that the support foot portion made of all-plastic material has low strength and is prone to wear or cracking when screwing and locking. The heat dissipation effect of all-plastic material is poor, especially the support foot portion that provides hot water to pass through, which is prone to reducing the service life due to excessive temperature. The aesthetics and texture of plastic materials are also lower than those of metal materials such as copper materials, and the product value cannot be improved. Therefore, using copper-made foot sockets fixed on the supporting legs can effectively solve the above problems, but the disadvantage is that the cost is too high, especially when the price of raw materials rises, so it is necessary to seek other alternative solutions to solve the above problems. Utility Model Content

[0003] One of the purposes of the embodiments of the present application is to provide an integrated plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal material, aiming to solve the technical problem in the related art of how to effectively reduce material costs while ensuring sufficient structural strength to extend the service life of the faucet and make it have good assembly and disassembly characteristics as well as good aesthetics and texture.

[0004] In order to solve the above problems, the technical solution adopted in the embodiment of the present application is: to provide an integrated plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal material, including a body and a metal film, wherein the body is an integrated plastic part, having at least one valve seat part and at least one support foot part connected to the bottom end of the valve seat part; a section of external threads is formed on the outer surface of the support foot part; the metal film is formed on the external threads of the support foot part, so that the support foot part has the external threads imitating metal material.

[0005] Optionally, the main body is an H-shaped one-piece plastic part, having two valve seat parts, two support leg parts respectively connected to the bottom ends of the valve seat parts, and a connecting part connected to the valve seat parts; an installation valve groove is formed in each of the two valve seat parts; a water inlet channel is formed in each of the two support leg parts and the water inlet channel forms a water inlet at the bottom end of the support leg part, and a water outlet channel is formed inside the connecting part; the two installation valve grooves are respectively connected to the relative water inlet channel and the relative water outlet channel; a water outlet connected to the water outlet channel is formed in the middle section of the connecting part, and the number of the water outlet is at least one.

[0006] Optionally, the body is made of any one of nylon, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) plastic, and polyphthalamide (PPA) resin, and the nylon is a nylon material mixed with glass fiber.

[0007] Optionally, the metal film is any one of brass, copper, aluminum, stainless steel, chromium and a metal alloy.

[0008] Optionally, the thickness of the metal film is between 0.4 micrometers and 0.9 micrometers.

[0009] The beneficial effects of the one-piece plastic faucet body component with imitation metal external screw threads provided in the embodiment of the present application are:

[0010] Compared with the prior art, the one-piece plastic faucet body component with imitation metal material external thread provided in the embodiment of the present application can improve the smoothness of the surface of the external thread of the support foot part because the metal film is sputtered on the support foot part, which is beneficial to the subsequent screw assembly or loosening and disassembly operations; in addition, the above-mentioned metal film can also improve the structural strength, so that compared with the support foot part made of all plastic materials, it has better scratch resistance and wear resistance, is not easy to crack or wear, and can effectively extend the service life; sputtering the metal film on the support foot part can greatly reduce the material cost compared to installing metal feet on the support foot part, thereby improving the competitiveness of the product; the support foot part with metal film can greatly improve the aesthetics and texture of the product compared to the support foot part made of all plastic materials, can improve the heat dissipation effect, thereby ensuring a good service life, thereby improving the added value. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0012] Figure 1 A side cross-sectional view of an integrated plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal material according to the first embodiment of the present application;

[0013] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A local enlarged schematic diagram of point A;

[0014] Figure 3 This is a side cross-sectional view of an integrated plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal material according to the second embodiment of the present application.

[0015] Among them, the reference numerals in the figure are:

[0016] 1- faucet body component; 10- body; 11- valve seat; 111- valve installation slot; 12- foot part; 121- water inlet; 122- water inlet; 123- external thread; 124, chamber; 13- connected part; 131- water outlet; 132- water outlet; 20- metal film. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects to be solved by the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0018] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or indirectly on the other element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or indirectly connected to the other element.

[0019] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0020] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this application, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0021] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or communication with each other; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0022] In the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being “above” or “below” a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being “above”, “above”, and “above” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being “below”, “below”, and “below” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0023] In the present application, the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" etc. mean that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the described specific features, structures, materials or characteristics may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples, without contradiction.

[0024] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the utility model provides a first embodiment of an integrated plastic faucet body component with an imitation metal material external thread. The integrated plastic faucet body component 1 with an imitation metal material external thread comprises a body 10 and a metal film 20, and the integrated plastic faucet body component 1 with an imitation metal material external thread has an imitation metal material external thread; wherein:

[0025] The body 10 is an integrated plastic part, which is in an H-shaped structure, and has a valve seat part 11, a foot part 12 and a connecting part 13, wherein the number of the valve seat part 11 and the foot part 12 are both two, the foot part 12 is arranged opposite to the valve seat part 11 and is located at the bottom of the valve seat part 11, and the connecting part connects the two valve seat parts 11. A mounting valve groove 111 is formed in each of the two valve seat parts 11; a water inlet channel 121 is formed in each of the two foot parts 12, and the two water inlet channels 121 each form a water inlet 122 at the bottom of the foot part 12, and the water inlet channel 121 is connected to the relative mounting valve groove 111, and a section of external thread 123 is formed on the outer surface of the foot part 12. A water outlet channel 131 is formed inside the connecting portion 13 , and the water outlet channel 131 is connected to two opposite mounting valve slots 111 . At least one water outlet 132 is formed in the middle section of the connecting portion 13 , and the water outlet 132 is connected to the water outlet channel 131 .

[0026] Generally speaking, one of the two water inlets 122 is mainly used to supply cold water, and the other is used to supply hot water. When the cold and hot water enter the corresponding installation valve grooves 111 along the water inlet channels 121 in each support leg part 12 from the water inlet 122, the control valve group installed on the installation valve groove 111 can be used for switch and flow regulation control. When the control valve group is opened, the cold and hot water can be allowed to flow into the water outlet channel 131 through the control valve group and then flow out from the water outlet 132.

[0027] This embodiment is provided with two water outlets 132. In common cases, one of the water outlets 132 can be used to transport water outwards to form a faucet outlet, and the other water outlet 132 can be used to output water outwards to form a shower outlet. However, this is not limited to this, and other forms of water outlets can also be formed. Of course, only a single water outlet 132 can also be configured.

[0028] The main body 10 can be manufactured by any known plastic injection process, for example, it can be made by injection molding technology; it can be injection molded through two consecutive injection molding steps; or it can be formed by placing a removable module in the mold cavity of the mold, and then removing the module from the molded plastic faucet body and sealing the side openings; it can also be formed by placing a pre-formed low-melting point core material in the mold, and then appropriately heating the molded plastic faucet body to melt the internal low-melting point core material; etc.

[0029] The metal film 20 is formed on at least a portion of the external threads 123 of the leg portion 12, so that the leg portion 12 has external threads imitating metal material. That is, to the naked eye, at least a portion of the external threads 123 of the leg portion 12 appear to be made of metal material or have a metallic texture. In fact, the outer surface of the external threads 123 is actually a film layer formed of metal material.

[0030] Generally speaking, the metal film 20 can be formed on the external thread 123 by vacuum sputtering technology.

[0031] In another embodiment of the present application, the body 10 is made of any one of nylon, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) plastic, and polyphthalamide (PPA) resin. By using the above materials, the body 10 can have a good structural strength.

[0032] The nylon mentioned above may be a nylon material mixed with glass fiber.

[0033] In another embodiment of the present application, the metal film 20 is any one of brass, copper, aluminum, stainless steel, chrome and a metal alloy.

[0034] In another embodiment of the present application, the thickness of the metal film 20 is between 0.4 micrometers (um) and 0.9 micrometers (um).

[0035] It should be noted that after repeated experiments, the body 10 of this embodiment can form the above-mentioned metal film 20 using the following vacuum sputtering process and related parameters, and obtain a metal film 20 thickness between 0.4 micrometers (um) and 0.9 micrometers (um).

[0036]

[0037] As is known to all, the general vacuum sputtering preparation process generally includes the three steps of glow cleaning, ion bombardment and ion plating described in the above table. The sputtering material in the above process can be any one of brass, copper, aluminum, stainless steel, chrome and metal alloys, and AR refers to argon, N2 refers to nitrogen, and C2H2 refers to acetylene. By using the above process and parameter settings, a metal film 20 with a thickness between 0.4 microns (um) and 0.9 microns (um) can be formed on the surface of the outer screw thread 123 of the leg portion 12 of the body 10. The thickness of the metal film 20 can meet the dual requirements of structural strength and lower material cost at the same time.

[0038] like Figure 3 As shown, the utility model provides a second embodiment of an integrated plastic faucet body component 1 with an external thread imitating a metal material. The faucet body component 1 of this embodiment also includes a body 10 and a metal film 20, and the integrated plastic faucet body component 1 with an external thread imitating a metal material has an external thread imitating a metal material. The differences between the structure of the faucet body component 1 of the second embodiment and the structure of the faucet body component 1 of the first embodiment are mainly as follows:

[0039] The main body 10 of this embodiment has only a single valve seat portion 11 and a single support leg portion 12, and does not have the connecting portion 13 disclosed in the first embodiment; and a chamber 124 is formed inside the support leg portion 12, rather than the water inlet channel 121 in the first embodiment. The chamber 124 can be used to connect the water pipeline of the control valve group, for example, at least one water inlet pipeline and at least one water outlet pipeline pass therethrough.

[0040] As can be seen from the above, the one-piece plastic faucet body component with imitation metal material external screw thread provided by the utility model has the following beneficial effects:

[0041] First, the metal film 20 formed on the support leg portion 12 can effectively improve the smoothness of the surface of the external thread 123 of the support leg portion 12, which is beneficial to the subsequent screw-fastening assembly or unscrewing and disassembling operations.

[0042] Second, the metal film 20 can improve the structural strength of the support foot portion 12, making it more scratch-resistant and wear-resistant than the support foot portion made of all plastic materials, less prone to cracking or wear, and can effectively extend the service life.

[0043] Third, compared with the known technical solution of installing metal feet on the foot portion, sputtering the metal film 20 on the foot portion 12 can significantly reduce material costs to enhance product competitiveness.

[0044] Fourthly, compared with the conventional support leg parts made of all plastic materials, the support leg parts 12 with the metal film 20 can greatly improve the aesthetics and texture of the product, thereby increasing the added value.

[0045] Fifth, compared with the known all-plastic foot part, the metal film 20 is sputtered on the foot part 12 to improve the heat dissipation. For example, when hot water passes through the water inlet channel 121 inside the foot part 12, the heat generated can be transferred to the metal film 20 on the outer surface through the plastic foot part 12, and the metal material has a good heat dissipation effect to avoid the plastic foot part 12 from being too high, thereby ensuring a good service life.

[0046] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An integrated plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal material, characterized in that: include: The body is an integrated plastic part having at least one valve seat portion and at least one foot portion connected to the bottom end of the valve seat portion; The outer surface of the support leg is formed with external threads; The metal film is formed on the external thread of the support leg, so that the support leg has the external thread imitating the metal material.

2. The one-piece plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main body is an H-shaped one-piece plastic part, having two valve seat parts, two support leg parts respectively connected to the bottom ends of the valve seat parts, and a connecting part connected to the valve seat parts; a mounting valve groove is formed in each of the two valve seat parts; a water inlet channel is formed in each of the two support leg parts, and the water inlet channel forms a water inlet at the bottom end of the support leg part, and a water outlet channel is formed inside the connecting part; the two mounting valve grooves are respectively connected to the relative water inlet channel and the relative water outlet channel; a water outlet connected to the water outlet channel is formed in the middle section of the connecting part, and the number of the water outlet is at least one.

3. The one-piece plastic faucet body component with imitation metal material external screw thread according to claim 1, characterized in that: The body is made of any one of nylon, polyphenylene sulfide plastic, and polyphthalamide resin, and the nylon is a nylon material mixed with glass fiber.

4. The one-piece plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal film is any one of brass, copper, aluminum, stainless steel, chromium and a metal alloy.

5. The one-piece plastic faucet body component with imitation metal material external screw thread according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the metal film is between 0.4 micrometers and 0.9 micrometers.

6. The one-piece plastic faucet body component with external threads imitating metal material according to claim 2, characterized in that: The body is made of any one of nylon, polyphenylene sulfide plastic, and polyphthalamide resin, and the nylon is a nylon material mixed with glass fiber.

7. The one-piece plastic faucet body component with imitation metal material external screw thread according to claim 2, characterized in that: The metal film is any one of brass, copper, aluminum, stainless steel, chromium and a metal alloy.

8. The one-piece plastic faucet body component with imitation metal material external screw thread according to claim 2, characterized in that: The thickness of the metal film is between 0.4 micrometers and 0.9 micrometers.

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