Control head for water purifier

In a water purifying apparatus including a reverse osmosis unit, inlet means defining a flow path between the unit and a source of tap water, outlet means defining a flow path between the unit and a purified water outlet, drain means defining a drain flow path between the unit and a waste water outlet, and an inlet valve controlling the flow of tap water through the inlet means, the improvement comprising:

• a drain valve for controlling the flow of waste water through the drain flow path, said drain valve including means defining a flow channel adapted for communication with the drain flow path, and control means selectively movable among a fully closed position for preventing flow through said flow channel, a fully open position permitting substantially unrestricted flow through said flow channel and at least one intermediate position permitting restricted flow through said flow channel.

In a water purifying apparatus including a purifying unit, means defining flow paths among the unit and a source of tap water and a purified water storage tank and a waste water drain and accommodating flow of purified water from an outlet of the purifying unit to the storage tank, and a normally-open inlet valve disposed in a flow path from the source to the inlet of the purifying unit for controlling the flow of tap water from the source to the purifying unit and closable in response to the filling of the storage tank to a first predetermined volume to shut off the supply of tap water, the improvement comprising:

• means defining a bypass path between the outlet of the purifying unit and the waste water drain, normally-closed bypass valve means for controlling the flow of water through said bypass path, and means for opening said bypass valve means to cause purified water to flow through said bypass path to the waste water drain instead of to the storage tank, thereby to prevent filling of the storage tank to the first predetermined volume and consequent closure of the inlet valve.