The invention relates to an accessory faucet for use as a water dispenser. The faucet is of an in-line configuration and additionally includes a separable plastic air-gap module for use with a reverse osmosis unit which supplies purified water to the faucet and brine waste flow past an air-gap in the air-gap module as mandated by various government requirements.
Faucets and other valving arrangements generally with an in-line configuration for inlet and outlet flow along a common center line or axis are well known. Such faucets and other valving arrangements generally suffer from various disadvantages relating to the manufacture, assembly, mounting and/or operation thereof. Representative of prior art faucets and other valving arrangements of various configurations are the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 25,853; 428,199; 695,697; 1,016,956; 1,088,822; 1,351,780; 2,551,688; 2,664,266; 4,153,233; and 4,260,130.
Accessory faucets operable with reverse osmosis units and having air-gap means are also well known. Such faucets also suffer from various disadvantages relating to the manufacture, assembly, mounting and/or operation thereof, and generally include such features as air-gap means or bores therefor integrally built into a faucet structure, complex shapes with auxiliary bores to accommodate air gap means generally or brine flow passages specifically, brine flow passages that may become clogged, off-line inlet and outlet configurations, complicated valving, mounting and assembly arrangements, a bulky appearance, etc. Representative of such prior art are the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,620,241; 3,967,638; 4,134,419; 4,210,533; and 4,454,891.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds