EP0631641B1

EP0631641B1 - Flush tank with differentiated discharge for toilet built into the wall with automatic stop of the discharge phase

Info

Publication number: EP0631641B1
Application number: EP92922169A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bruno Basler
Original assignee: BREVIND ETS
Current assignee: PUCCIPLAST Srl
Priority date: 1992-10-30
Filing date: 1992-10-30
Publication date: 1997-04-16
Anticipated expiration: 2012-10-30
Also published as: DE69219158T2; WO1994010396A1; DE69219158D1; AU2876492A; ES2099837T3; GR3024107T3; ATE151835T1; EP0631641A1

Abstract

The tank comprises a device for the activation of the flushing that causes the raising of plugging body (1) by means of a kinematic chain that provides for the rotation of hook (5) hinged to one end (6') of a balance wheel driven by activation button (9). At the end of the maximum travel of button (9) itself, this hook (5), after it has raised plugging body (1) by lever (2), thus initiating the flushing phase, is shifted by balance wheel (6) against protruding support (4') of tank (4), forcing it to release plugging body (1) and thus effect the closing of outflow hole (23) after the lever of the water has decreased to the pre-determined extent. The modalities of the sequence of operation of the flushing which is automatic, are independent of whether button (9) is kept pressed down or is immediately released after it has been pressed. With two different buttons, the differentiated flushing with two different quantities of waters is obtained.

Description

The invention relates to the field of hygienic sanitary installations, and more particularly, that of flushing tanks with differentiated drainage to be built into the wall.
As is known, one of the major problems to be solved in this field is that of making possible the maximum saving of the quantity of water used in each phase of flushing, while at the same time guaranteeing the perfect cleanliness of the bowl of the sanitary installation to which the flush tank is combined. For this purpose, the need has been pointed out for differentiating the duration of the discharge phase of the flush water depending on whether it is a matter of flushing liquid materials or else solid materials, since it has been found that, while in the latter a quantity of water equal to about 8-10 liters is necessary, in the former case 4-6 is already sufficient for complete flushing.
Prior art already offers on the subject various solutions to obtain the above mentioned differentiated discharge: since, in almost all tanks, the plugging of the hole for the discharge of the water is achieved through gravity by a plug body immersed in the water contained in the tank, the above mentioned result was obtained by making the above mentioned plug body into two coaxial members, and by making it possible, by acting on two different activation buttons, to either sustain or not sustain the weight of one of them through the activation device of the discharge.
It is clear that, by varying the overall weight of the plug body, the duration of the flushing phase of the discharge water will vary; the less the weight is, the more water will have to flow out of the tank to cause the force of gravity to again push the plug against the outflow hole, since it is no longer sufficiently counteracted by the buoyancy corresponding to the volume occupied by the immersed part of the plug body.
Various solutions, conceptually analogous to what has been presented thus far, have been described previously: some examples are patent applications GB-A-2,077,790, EPA-0,448,042, DE-A-2601282.
All these examples, in order to obtain the differentiated discharge effect described above, resort to the possibility of disengaging or not disengaging hooks that support one of the members of the plugging body. Thus, in the present application, it is not deemed necessary to describe this technical solution, already well known.
All the examples above, however, still present one drawback: that of less than absolute certainty as to the effective duration of the flushing phases, in the event the activation is performed by a child or, more generally, by a person who does not have a good knowledge of the principle for the functioning of the tank: if such a person, for example, keeps the button pressed down, after activating it, the flushing phase may last indefinitely longer than intended, in other words until the button is released. Consequently the principle of saving water, in the embodiments cited above, does not encounter rigorous certainty in application.
In order to avoid this drawback, the inventor has devised a flush tank with differentiated discharge with automatic functioning, namely so that, once the activation button is pressed, the discharge phase takes place precisely with the modalities intended as to the duration of the phase itself and the quantity of water discharged.
The object of the invention is achieved by a flush tank to be built in for toilets that is equipped with a device for the activation of the discharge of the flush water acting on a plug body immersed in the water and plugging the outflow hole, in which the initiation of the discharge phase is obtained through the essentially vertical raising of the plug body, then the discharge itself is interrupted by the effect of the subsequent lowering of the plug body caused by the force of gravity when it is not counteracted by sufficient buoyancy acting on the plug body itself, and this buoyancy is decreased to a certain extent as a result of a corresponding decrease in the level of the water contained in the tank, characterized in that said raising of the plug body is attained by means of the rotation of a lever hinged on a pivot that is in one piece with a fixed structure and with said body connected to an end exhibiting a protruding part against which a hook catches, which undergoes a push upward by the effect of the rotation of a balance arm at the end of which it is connected so as to be free to rotate, while the balance arm is pivoted, essentially at the center, on said pivot, and connected to the other end in such a way that it can rotate with respect to it, to a member protruding from the body of an activation rod that moves as one piece with a button for the activation of the flush, and all the parts are formed and sized so that, by the effect of a predetermined displacement of the activation rod, the rotation of the balance arm is such that it causes the shift of the hook to cause it to be supported against a support protruding from said fixed structure, so that, by the effect of the next pass of the rod in order to reach its maximum displacement, the hook rotates around its end joined to the balance arm, so that it disengages from the protruding part of the said lever, thus ceasing to exert any raising action on the plug body, which from that moment is acted upon only by the force of gravity and the buoyancy relative to its portion immersed in water.
The description will be given, making reference to the attached drawings:

fig. 1 represents a lateral view of the whole unit comprised of activation device/plug body of the tank that is the object of the invention;
fig. 2 represents a frontal view of the plug body predisposed for the differentiated flushing;
fig. 3 represents a detailed view of the enlarged transverse section of the area of the relative passing between the two coaxial members that comprise the plug body.

Consider figures 1 and 2.
The flushing phase, as in all flush tanks, begins when part 22 of plug body 1 is raised, this part is usually called a "float", the plug body plugs hole 23 for the outflow of the water on the bottom of the flush tank. (In the drawings the actual tank is not represented, as it can have the shapes most suitable to the individual requirements).
This raising is obtained by means of the raising of lever 2, which is connected mechanically on its end 2' to plug body 1 and is hinged on the other end on pivot 3 which is one piece with a fixed structure, as part 4 (for example, inspection window) of the tank itself. The raising of said lever 2 is caused by the action of hook 5 which catches on its protruding part, and which in turn undergoes a push upwards by the effect of the rotation of balance arm 6 at one end 6' of which hook 5 is hinged or, in more general terms, is connected so as to be able to rotate.
Balance arm 6 has its center hinged on the same pivot 3 on which lever 2 is also hinged, and its second end 6" is connected, again in such a way that it can rotate with respect to it, to protruding member 7 of the body of activation rod 8 that moves as one piece with button 9 for the activation of the flushing.
From fixed structure 4 protruding support 4' protrudes and, by suitably providing for the shaping and the sizing of all the component parts, it is possible to obtain the result that, corresponding to a preset activation course of button 9, and thus also of rod 8, there is a shift of hook 5 that brings it into contact with above mentioned protruding support 4', and that by the effect of the next pass of rod 8 necessary for reaching its maximum travel, hook 5 itself is forced to rotate around its end 5' connected to balance wheel 6, disengaging itself from protruding part 2" of above mentioned lever 2.
Thus, hook 5 ceases to exert its raising action, by means of lever 2, on plug body 1, which, from that moment, is acted upon only by the force of gravity and the buoyancy relative to its portion immersed in the water.
The plug device itself, therefore, after a preset quantity of water has gone out of the tank will be again in the condition to plug the outflow hole of the tank itself.
As already explained in the initial part of the present description it is possible to apply to the tank that is the object of the invention the device for the differentiated flushing of two different quantities (for example 4 liters and 9 liters) of water, by varying the total weight of the part of the plug body which is allowed to "float" in the water.
In the preferred embodiment represented in the drawings, this is attained by activating two devices, identical to one another, raising levers 2, 12 of which are inserted in cavities 30 and 31 respectively made in the ends of two members 1' and 1" of plug body 1, depending on whether it is intended to obtain a greater weight of the plug for a lesser duration of the flushing phase, or a lesser weight for a greater duration of the phase itself.
For the purpose of being able to vary at will the duration of the flushing phases, the inventor also makes provision to make both, or at least one 1" of above said two members coaxial, by means of the coupling of two parts 10, 11 which in turn are coaxial and free to slide with respect to one another and fixed in the relative desired position by means of fastening screw 13 or another equivalent member.
By varying their relative position before fastening them, it is possible to thus obtain, by a similar variation of the level of the water, values different from the variation in the buoyancy acting on the unit of coaxial members 1', 1" by regulating, as mentioned before, depending on the requirements, the duration of the flushing phases.
The inventor, in order to prolong the duration of the functioning without maintenance of the device, has also contrived to give a particular configuration to the two above mentioned coaxial members 1' and 1" of plug body 1 in their sliding area with reciprocal contact: more inner coaxial member 1', in this zone, has a rectangular section (square in the example represented in fig. 3), and runs between hole 20 made in the more exterior coaxial member 1" that has the same shape, but that exhibits groove 21 on all four of its sides, so as to reduce the contact surface in the sliding between the two parts, thus increasing the relative contact pressure. This allows for an easier automatic removal of the calcium deposits that tend to build up between parts 1', 1" and thus their distance is less, and this makes it possible to disregard for a suitably long period of time (depending on the depth of grooves 21) the calcium that is deposited on the walls of the grooves themselves.
The embodiment described and represented has only an exemplary purpose, and thus is not binding or limiting as regards to the concepts expressed in the attached claims.

Claims

Flush tank to be built in for toilets, equipped with a device for the activation of the discharge of the flushing water acting on a plug body (1) immersed in the water and plugging the outflow hole (23), in which the initiation of the flushing phase is obtained by the essentially vertical raising of the plug body (1), then the discharge itself is interrupted by the subsequent lowering of the plug body (1) caused by the force of gravity when it is not counteracted by sufficient buoyancy acting on the plug body itself, and this buoyancy is reduced to a certain extent as a consequence of a corresponding decrease in the level of the water contained in the tank, characterized in that said raising of plug body (1) is obtained by means of the rotation of a lever (2) hinged on pivot (3) that is in one piece with a fixed structure (4) and with said body (1) connected to an end (2') exhibiting protruding part (2") against which a hook (5) catches, which undergoes a push upward by the effect of the rotation of a balance arm (6) at the end (6') of which it is connected so as to be free to rotate, while the balance arm is also pivoted, essentially at the center, on said pivot (3), and connected to the other end (6") in such a way that it can rotate with respect to it, to a member (7) protruding from the body of an activation rod (8) that moves as one piece with a button (9) for the activation of the flush, and all the parts are shaped and sized so that, by the effect of a preset displacement of activation rod (8), the rotation of balance arm (6) is such as to effect the shift of the hook (5) to cause it to be supported against a support (4') protruding from said fixed structure (4), so that, by the effect of the next pass of the rod (8) in order to reach its maximum displacement, the hook (5) rotates around its end (5') connected to the balance arm (6), so that it disengages from the protruding part (2") of the said lever (2), thus ceasing to exert any raising action on the plug body (1), which from that moment is acted upon only by the force of gravity and the buoyancy relative to its portion immersed in water.
Flush tank according to claim 1, wherein two different activation buttons are present, and by operating on them respectively, it is possible to obtain two different durations for the flushing phase, depending on the total force bearing on plug body (1), and this body is composed of at least two coaxial members (1', 1") that are free to slide in relation to one another, of which one (1"), when the greater duration of the flushing phase is desired, is disengaged by the action of the activation device, in that it does not add its own weight to that of the other member (1'), with which it no longer forms one piece, thus obtaining a greater duration of the period of buoyancy of the plugging body.
Flush tank according to claim 2, wherein at least one (1") of said two coaxial members (1', 1") is in turn comprised of two parts (10, 11) free to be able to slide in relation to one another, and fixed in the relative desired position by fastening screw (13) or another equivalent member.
Flush according to claim 3, wherein the inner coaxial part (1') of plugging body (1) has, in the sliding area in relation to the more exterior part (1"), an essentially rectangular cross-section and slides within hole (20) made in the external coaxial part (1") that has the same shape but which exhibits grooves (21) on all four of its sides, for reducing the contact surface in the sliding between the two parts and increasing the relative contact pressure.