GB2345703A

GB2345703A - Internal overflow fitting for a siphon-discharge flushing cistern

Info

Publication number: GB2345703A
Application number: GB9927022A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Muirhead; Michael Rice
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-11-18
Filing date: 1999-11-17
Publication date: 2000-07-19
Also published as: GB9825218D0; GB9927022D0

Abstract

A water cistern control means for a cistern (1) having a siphonic flushing mechanism (2), the water cistern control means comprising a body (13) having a passageway (15) adapted to communicate with a discharge /sparge pipe outlet of the cistern flushing mechanism, and a valved aperture (19) opening into said passageway, and wherein a valve member (23) of said valved aperture is adapted to operate to said aperture in response to a rise in water level in the cistern above a pre-determined level whereby the opening of the valve inhibits the siphonic flushing action. The valve member is mounted pivotably to said body and opening movement of the valve member is controlled by a float connected to the valve member. The valve member is disposed in such a way and has the pivot axis located such that the opening movement causes the valve member to move over centre thereby once triggered it remains open even if the water level subsequently falls.

Description

Title: Water Cistern Control Means The present invention relates to a water cistern control means.

Water cistems incorporate a flushing means for discharging water from the cistern.

Many cisterns utilise a siphonic system which after actuation of the flushing means acts to continue water discharge until the level of water in the cistern drops the below the level of an inlet to the flushing mechanism, thereby breaking the siphonic action and terminating the flushing operation. Water cisterns incorporate a valve mechanism to control replenishment of the water in the cistern from a water supply. Usually the valve mechanism is controlled by a float so that water flows into the cistern when the level of water in the cistern drops below a level at which the valve normally operates to close off the supply of water, the float acting to move a lever controlling opening and closing of the valve.

In the event that the inlet valve fails and water continues to be supplied, an overflow line connected to the cistern drains off the excess water. Usually the overflow line is led to an external outlet where the presence of water draws attention to the leaking valve. Proposals have been made to direct the overflow into the outlet from the cistern so that the overflowing water is directed to the toilet connected to the cistern. This has the avantage that it avoids the need for the overflow line to be piped outside. However, with such an arrangement any leak may go unnoticed. In either case there is no incentive for the leak to be repaired other than the risk of being found to be in breach of water wastage regulations which require a user to rectify leaks.

Increasing attention is being paid to minimising water wastage and especially those caused by leaks, and water authorities are more diligent in enforcing the regulations. It would be advantageous if leaks were drawn to the attention of the user It is an aim of the present invention to provide a water cistern water overflow device.

Another aim is to provide a means of drawing attention to overflowing cisterns. A still further airn of the invention is to provide a means of minimising water usage in a cistern.

Accordingly, a first aspect of the invention provides a water cistern control means for a cistern having a siphonic flushing mechanism, the water cistern control means comprising a body having a passageway adapted to communicate with a discharge/sparge pipe outlet of the cistern flushing mechanism, and a valved aperture opening into said passageway, and wherein a valve member of said valved aperture is adapted to operate to open said aperture in response to a rise in water level in the cistern above a pre-detemlined level whereby the opening of the valve inhibits the siphonic flushing action.

In a preferred embodiment the valve member is mounted pivotably to said body.

Opening movement of the valve member is preferably controlled by a float connected to the valve member. Preferably the valve member is disposed in such a way and has the pivot axis located such that the opening movement causes the valve member to move over centre thereby once triggered it remains open even if the water level subsequently falls.

More preferably the body incorporates a water inlet opening into said passageway and, in use, the inlet is disposed at a level in the cistern below the normal water level in the cistern such that the passageway fills with water up to the same level as water in the cistern. More particularly the inlet is disposed at a level below the normal full water level by a distance which gives the required volume of flush. I. e. when the water level in the cistern during flushing drops to the level of the said inlet it causes the siphonic action of the flushing cistern to be broken and thereby terminate the flushing action. More preferably the positioning of the water inlet passageway is adjustable. This is conveniently achieved by using a telescopic arrangement. This allows the quantity of water to be discharged to be tailored to a specific cistern.

The above-described float may comprise a cork or other buoyant material attached to the valve member. Alternatively the valve member may be formed as a hollow moulding so that it acts as a float. Where the body incorporates the aforesaid water inlet, failure of the inlet valve mechanism causes the water within the body to rise and the action of the water causes the float to move to open the valve member.

The aforedescribed mechanism may be provided as a separate item to be fitted to existing cistern flushing mechanisms or may be incorporated into a flushing mechanism for example moulded as part of the pipework of the flushing mechanism.

The device has the avantage that by inhibiting operation of the flushing mechanism it draws the user's attention to a potential problem and dictates early attention to facilitate use of the toilet. The provision of the water inlet passageway, especially one which is adjustable, is advantageous from the point of view of water utilisation. The mechanism is simple and reliable.

The present invention will now be described further by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings ; in which: Figure 1 is an schematic sectional front view of a cistern incorporating the water control means of the present invention, and Figure 2 is a sectional view of one embodiment of water cistem control means according to the invention.

Referring to the drawings, a toilet cistern is shown at 1 and incorporates a siphonic flushing mechanism 2 of conventional design which discharges water into a sparge 3 leading to a toilet. The arrangement shown is given by way of example only and the cistern may be of closed coupled configuration as an alternative to that illustrated. The cistern contains water and the normal water level is represented by dotted line 5. The normal flush down level is represented by dotted line 7. When the water level in the cistern reaches this level the siphonic action is broken by adrnitting air into the inlet in the underside of housing 9 of the flushing mechanism 2. The mechanism for admitting water into the cistern and the control valve therefor is omitted as the arrangement can be of any conventional design.

According to the present invention, the cistern is provided with a water control means shown at 11 and comprising a body 13 incorporating a passageway 15 which has an opening 17 which opens into the sparge pipe 3 and a valve aperture 19. The passageway also has a water inlet 21. The valved aperture 19 is controlled by a movable valve member 23, which in the illustrated embodiment is mounted pivotably to the body 13 at 25. The solid outline in Figure 2 shows the valve member in the closed position in which the aperture 19 is sealed.

The dotted outline shows the open position of the valve member.

A flange 27 is carried by the body adjacent the aperture 17 and provides a means of securing the water control means to the sparte pipe where fitted to an existing flushing mechanism. In one embodiment a hole is formed in the sparge pipe to receive the open end 17 of the body 13 and the flange is provided with self-adhesive tape to secure it to the sparge pipe.

Any other convenient fixing means may be utilise as an alternative.

The water inlet 21 is formed at the end of a telescopically adjustable branch of 15a of a passageway 15.

The valve member 23 is formed with a float 29.

The operation of the water cistern control means will now be described. In normal operation the valve member will be in its closed position as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Because the passageway 15 opens into the cistern at 21, the water level in passageway 15 will correspond to the water level in the cistern. When the water level is up to or less than the normal water level illustrated by arrow 5, the valve member 23 remains closed. When a flushing operation is commence the water level will drop, but where the control means of the present invention is provided the flushing action will terminate when the water level drops to that represented by dotted line referenced 31 since at this point air will be allowed into water inlet 21 and since this communicates with the sparge pipe 3 the siphonic action will be terminated. This will result in a water saving between the reduced flushed down level and the normal flush down level as represent by arrow A. The position of the adjustable end 15b of passageway 15 is adjusted so that the difference between the normal full water level and the water saving flush down level gives the desired volume of water for flushing. Pipe 15b is slidably adjustable on pipe 1 Sa in the direction indicated by arrows 33.

In the event that the valve inlet mechanism fails and the water level in the cistem rises above the normal water level, the level of water in passageway 15 will also rise. Because the valve member 23 carries a float 29 the presence of water in the passageway will cause the valve member to be displaced in an anti-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 2. The pivot axis 25 is disposed so that opening movement causes the valve member to go over centre. The arrangement shown in the drawing is to be taken as an example and not limiting to the specific relationship of the pivot and valve. The weight of the valve member is utilised to ensure adequate sealing in the closed position. The float may comprise a buoyant material such as cork adhered to the float member or more particularly the valve member may be formed with a hollow float element. It is not necessary for the float element to be disposed within the passageway when the valve member is in the closed position and in an alternative embodiments the float may be disposed externally. It is preferred that the pivot axis is below the opening 19 so that on opening the valve member is displaced into the position where it remains open even after the water level has been reduced. In an alternative embodiment it may be repositioned be it at an upper portion thereof or at any convenient intermediate location.

In the overflow position water will overflow down the sparge pipe see arrow 35 by way of opening 17. The conventional overflow may be omitted when such a device is provided.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A water cistern control means for a cistern have a siphonic flushing mechanism, the water cistern control means comprising a body having a passageway adapted to communicate with a discharge/sparge pipe outlet of the cistern flushing mechanism, and a valved aperture opening into said passageway, and wherein a valved member of said valved aperture is adapted to operate to open said aperture in response to a rise in water level in the cistern above a pre-determined level whereby the opening of the valve inhibits the siphonic flushing action.
2. A water cistern control means as claimed in claim 1 in which the valve member is mounted pivotably to said body.
3. A water cistern control means as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which opening movement of the valve member is controlled by a float connected to the valve member.
4. A water cistern control means as claimed in any one of claims 1, 2 or 3 in which the valve member is disposed in such a way and has the pivot axis located such that the opening movement causes the valve member to move over centre thereby once triggered it remains open even if the water level subsequently falls.
5. A water cistern control means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the body incorporates a water inlet opening into said passageway and, in use, the inlet is disposed at a level in the cistern below the normal water level in the cistern such that the passageway fills with water up to the same level as water in the cistern.
6. A water cistern control means as claimed in claim 5 in which the inlet is disposed at a level below the normal full water level by a distance which gives the required volume of flush.
7. A water cistern control means as claimed in claims 5 or 6 in which the positioning of the water inlet passage is adjustable.
8. A water cistern control means as claimed in claim 7 in which the body comprises two parts which are relatively movable telescopically to adjust the position of the water inlet passage.
9. A water cistern control means as claimed in claim 3 in which the float is cork.
10. A water cistern control means as claimed in claim 7 in which the valve member is formed as a hollow body in order to act as a float.
11. A water cistern control means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims when provided as a separate item to be fitted to an existing cistem water flushing mechanism.
12. A water cistern control means as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10 when incorporated into a cistern water flushing mechanism.
13. A water cistern control means constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.