US1251803A - Intermittently-operated flush-tank valve. - Google Patents

Description

c. T. MILLER. INTEBMITTENTLY OPERATED FLUSH TANK VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 18.. 19H.

1,251,803. Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

@lhuemboz CHHRLES T- MILLER,

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l c. T. MILLER. INTERM TTENTLY OPERATED FLUSH TANK VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I8. 1917.

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, CHARLES r. MILLER, or MAQ N. sarcasm. 1

INTEBMITTENTLY-OPERATED FLUSH-TAIIK- VALVE.

pecificatlon of Letters Patent. t t J n, 1,1913,

Application filed April 18, 1917. Serial No. 163,065.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES T. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Macon, in the county of Bibb and State'of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Intermittently-Operated Flush-Tank Valves, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to'flush tanks such as are used for flushing closets, etc., and particularly to the flush valves thereof.

The general object of my invention is to provide a flush valve of such construction that it will operate automatically at predetermined intervals and in this connection provide a flush tank which will operate each time that the water rises in the tank to a predetermined height.

A further ob ect is to provide a construction of this character in which the valve is opened by the upward movement of a float, due to its buoyancy, and in which the valve is further opened by the successive downward movement of the float due to the discharge of water from the tank, the valve being closed when the float has reached its lowermost position due to the discharge of a predetermined amount of water.

A further object is to provide means for closing the upper end of the overflow pipe at the time the Water is being allowed to flow out of the tank so as to prevent the gurgling noise usually incident to opening the outlet valve tank.

Still another object'is to provide a mechanism which will act automatically at predetermined intervals to operate the flush valve, the actuation of the flush valve being accomplished when the water in the tank rises to a predetermined height.

Still another object is to provide a construction in which the overflow pipe constitutes what may be termed the stem of the flush valve and to provide means actuated upon a predetermined rise of water Within the tank for vertically raising the overflow pipe to permit the contents of the tank to run out and in this connection to provide means for closing the upper end of the over.- flow pipe whereby to prevent the inrush of air due to the action or escape of water from the tank;

. Still another object in to close the overflow pipewhile the water is passing out ofthetank and thus improve the siphoning action of the closet.

Still another object is to. provide an im-. proved form of valve used in connection with the movable overflow pipe, which will not be subject to deterioration through the chemical action of the water'on the material of the valve.

A further object is to provide in a flush tank, an overflow pipe which carries the valve and which lifts to cause the opening of the valve and to provide float operated means normally holding the overflow pipe in its closed position and'urging it to this position and against the valve seat, but whicheither automatically or manually will raise the overflow pipe a predetermined dis tance and then as the water in the tank falls, will tend to raise the overflow pipe and hold it lifted while the water ispassing ofl','and' then when the water has entirely passed out of the tank, will permit the overflow pipe to fall to again close the outlet'opening.

Other objects will appear infthe course of the followingdescription.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein z? Figure 1 is a sectional'view of'a flush tank having a valve constructed in accordance with'my invention, the overflow pipe being partly in section and the float being in section V Fig. 2 is a fragmentary. elevation showing" the position of the latchwhen the float rises, Fig. 3 is a sectional view ofthe tank showing the valve and valve mechanism in elevation, the parts being in the position taken when the valve is fully opened;

Fig; 4c is a like view to Fig. 2, but showing the valve actuating parts at the moment when the valve is about to close;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the overflowpipe and the latch mechanisms; r

Fig. 6 is a view through the'lower portion of the over-{ flow-pipe and'outlet nipple when the valve "is closed.

In the accompanying drawings, A '.tlesig-.' nates the flush tank, which maybe of any: suitable construction and: is provided with the usual water inlet pipe cont-rolled by. a

float ande-is. inianyi: suitable manfragmentary vertical sectional nor. It is illustrated as such a tank as is ordinarily attached to the back of the closet, though it may be used for an overhead flush tank. The outlet nipple 62 is preferably formed with an annulus 63 at its upper end, which is held from the outlet nipple by means of radially disposed spider arms 64. This annulus 63 is perforated at a plurality of points and extending from the outlet nipple is a bracket 65, to which a vertical rod 66 is connected. The overflow pipe 67 is provided adjacent its lower end with a shoulder 68 and is screw-threaded for a collar 69. A diaphragm 70, which is preferably made of buckskin, or relatively thin leather, but may be made of any suitable material, closely surrounds the lower end of the overflow pipe 67 and is held in close contact with the shoulder 68, by means of the collar 69. The outer end of this diaphragm fits the annulus 68 and is held in tight engagement therewith by an annulus 71, through which screws 72 pass into the annulus 63. The diaphragm 70, when the overflow pipe 67 is lowered, constitutes a valve cutting off the passage of water to the out-flow pipe and this diaphragm, when the overflow pipe 67 is lowered, engages with an annular shoulder or valve seat 73 formed on the nipple.

The lower end of the overflow pipe 67 car-' 'ries a spider 74 from which extends downward a plunger 75 operating within a cylinder 7 6 constituting a dash pot, this cylinder being attached to the nipple in any suitable manner. Preferably the plunger is hollow and formed at its upper-end with an outer i will not opening and the lower end of the plunger 76 is slotted. It will be seen that this plunger constitutes a guide for the lower end of the overflow pipe, so that the overflow pipe get out of proper alinement with its seat.

The rod 66 at its upper end extends over the upper end of the overflow pipe and is provided with an eye 77, and coacti'ng with the upper end of the overflow pipe is a cap 78, having a stem 79 which passes through the eye 77-and is provided with a stop 80. The cap is also provided with a guide 81, which will center the cap with relation to the overflow pipe. It will beobvious that when the overflow pipe is raised, it will contact with the cap 78 and that then as the overflow pipe rises still farther, the stem 79 will slide upward through the eye 77 so that the overflow pipe remains closed upon an upward movement, but that when the overflow pipeis lowered and has almost reached its seat, the cap 78 will be held from any further downward movement by the contact ;i of the stop 80 with the eye 77 and the upper end of the overflow pipe will be opened, (see Fig. 1). 1

'- Mounted upon; the. rod..66, in. any.:suit-.

able manner, is ayoke 82, on which is pivotally mounted a pintle 83, this pintle carrying two arms 81 which extend toward the verflow pipe and are angularly bent at their adjacent extremities and then formed w th eyes 85. Mounted uponthe overflow pipe 67 is a clamp 86 having laterally pro ecting pins, ,trunnions, or screws 87, which engage loosely in the eyes 85. It will hence be seen that when the'arms 84 are shifted upward, the overflow pipe will be raised.

Swingingly mounted in eyes 88, formed upon the arms 81, 1s a latch. T lllS latch has downwardly extending angular arms 89 and a cross bar 90, upon which is mounted a roller 91. This cross bar 90 is disposed toward the standard 66. This latch is provided with a weight 92, which urges the latch toward the standard 66. The latch may, however, swing away from the standard 66 and toward: the overflow pipe. Mounted upon a bracketv 93 is a float lever 94, preferably made intwo adjustable sections, as will be later described, one end of this lever carrying a float 95 and the inner end having a beveled under face 96 adapted to engage the roller 91, in order to hold the valve to its seat, as will be later de-' scribed. Preferably the lever 91 is formed in two sections, which are angularly adjustable with relation to each other, by reason of being mounted upon a common clamping screw 97, so that the angle of the outer portion of the lever with relation to the inner portion thereof may be adjusted. I

Normally the parts are in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 with the beveled face 96 of the lever 91 resting upon the roller. 91 and urging the swinging latch downward and thus urging the arms 84: downward and the overflow pipe 67 downward, so as to close the discharge opening. Under these circumstances, of course, the cap 78 is sus-' overflow pipe. Now when the water which is constantly flowing into the tank 10 has risen to a predetermined height, the upward pressure upon the float 95, due to the buoyancy of the float, increases to such a degree that the beveled face 96 of the lever 94 forces the roller 91 laterally (see Fig. ll, thus releasing the engagement of the latch with the lever 9- 1. Immediately upon this release, the float 95 rises quickly through the water and the end of the lever swings down below the latch-which then swings in place with the roller over the upper end of the latch, as illustrated in Fig. 8. The upward movementof the lever 9st causes the rod 98 to move upward and engage with the collar 99 mounted upon the overflow pipe. Thus the overflow pipe will be raised by the uptank." The. float- 95; will nowcommence to fall and the lever 94 move downward. The

latch, however, has swung over the top of the nose of the lever' 9e so that the down ward movement of the float tends to lift the overflow pipe. As the overflow pipe rises it engages the cap 78 and the upper end of the overflow pipe is thus closed from the time the overflow pipe begins to rise until it has been nearly fully lowered. Vhen the float 95 has fallen to its lowest point, the nose of the lever 94: escapes from the latch, the overflow pipe is released and drops quickly closing the outflow pipe and the latch swings in beneath the beveled face 96 of the lever 9 L and theparts in their original position. It is, of course, obvious that the latch 89' might be operated by means of a manually operable trip mechanism, described in my copending application and that the construc tion illustrated in my co-pending application, as far as the lifting mechanism and latch mechanism go might be equally well applied to the lifting of the overflow pipe.

The principle of this invention is to a certain extent the same as the principle em bodied in" the form of valve illustrated in my co-pending application for patent filed coincidently with this, Serial No. 1630M, but while in this case the operation is automatic, in my co-pending case the operation is controlled by a manually operable latch. It is obvious, however, that in this present constructionthe latch might be operated manually and the same result he obtained as far as the flushing of the closetis concerned. It will also be obvious that many modifications might be made in the present construction, without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention. 7

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a'flush tank, a discharge opening having a seat, a valve engaging said seat, a normally submerged float, means operatively connected to the valve and normally hindering the upward movement of the submerged float until the upward pressure on the float.

has increased beyond a predetermined degree, said means being then shiftable out of opera.-

tive engagement with the float to permit the float tomove upward under its own buoyancy, said means then shifting automatically again mto operative engagement with the float and when the float descends acting to raise the valve until the float has descended 2,111 aiflu sh tank .hafing' a discharge opening formed with aseat, a vertically movable overflow pipe, thelower end of which C GnStItUteS' a wave theoutoverflow pipe to raise it as the float moves upward, and hold it raised upon its successive downward movement due to the d1scharge of water from the tank, the latchbeing shiftable out of operative engagement with the lever to thereby permit the float to actuate the lever and being again shiltable into the path of movement of the lever when;

the float is dropped to its lowest position.

3. A flush tank having a discharge opening and a seat surrounding the opening, a vertically movable overflow pipe, the lower end of which constitutes a valve normally closing the discharge opening, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends and having afloat at its outer end and operatively connected to the overflow pipe to cause the liftingof the overflow pipe when the lever moves upward due to the buoyancy of the float, a latch op eratively connected to the overflow pipe normally disposed beneath the adjacent end of the lever and normally preventing the upward movement of thefloat due to its buoyancy whereby said lever urges the latch downward and urges the overflow pipe to its seat, said latch being shiftableout of the path of movement of the lever to permit the float to rise under its own buoyancy and then shifting automatically into position above the adjacent end of the lever whereby when the float falls, the lever will tend to raise the overflow pipe, said lever escaping from its engagement with the latch when the float has fallen to its lowest position to thereby permit the overflow pipe to drop' to its closed position.

4. A flush tank having a discharge opening and a seat, a vertically movable overflow pipe, the lower end of which constitutes a valve normally engaging the seat, a'lever the lever, but being shifted out of position beneath the end of the lever when theflotative force on the float increases beyond a predetermined amount, operative 'connections between the lever and th'e'overflow pipe caus ing the lifting of the overflow pipe upon upward movement'of the float andthe outer end of the lever, said latch swinging into position above the adjacent endof the lever whereby upon 'a downward movement of the/"float, the inner end ofthe lever will the latch and lift it and theoverflow PlPP/ythe lever" eise'ng' e s am" '-the latch when the float has fallen to its lowest position to therebyv permit the overflow pipe to drop to its seat.

5. A flush tank having a discharge opening surrounded by a seat, a vertically movable overflow pipe, the lower end of which coacts with said seat, a supporting member extending parallel to the overflow pipe, a lever pivotally mounted upon the supporting member intermediate its ends, the outer end of the lever carrying a float, arms pivotally mounted at one end upon the supporting member, the other ends of said arms being connected to the overflow pipe, a latch swingingly mounted upon the arms and urged to apredetermined position beneath the inner end of the lever, said inner end of the lever being beveled on its under face to cause the lateral shifting of the latch by said beveled face when the flotative force on the float overcomes the resistance of said latch, said lever being operatively connected to the overflow pipe to cause the lifting of the overflow pipe as the float moves upward upon a release of said latch, said latch then swinging into position over the inner end of the lever whereby upon a downward movement of the float, the inner end of the lever will engage beneath the latch and raise it and the overflow pipe, the lever disengaging from the latch when the float has fallen to its lowermost position to thereby permit the descent of the overflow pipe to its seat.

6..In a flush tank havinga discharge opening, a vertically movable overflow pipe, the lower end of which constitutes the valve normally closing said opening, a support extending upward adjacent the overflow pipe,

arms pivotally mounted upon the support embracing the overflow pipe and pivotally connected thereto, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends upon said support, the outer end of the lever having a float, the inner end of the lever having a beveled under face, a rod pivotally connected to the lever outward of its pivotal point, extending inward and upward toward the overflow pipe and then extending directly upward and being formed with a' collar, a lug on the overflow pipe having an eye through which the upwardly extending portion of said rod passes, the collar being below the eye, and a latch swingingly mounted upon said arms and normally depending in the path of movement of the le ver and urged by gravity into said position, the beveled end of the lever engaging said latch, when the overflow pipe is in its closed position, to thereby exert a downward pressure on the overflow pipe through said arms and latch, the beveled face of the lever acting to urge the latch out of said engagement when the flotative force on the float exceeds a predetermined point to thereby permit the 65, float to rise and vertically raisethe overflow pipe through said rod, said latch then swinging into position above the inner end of the lever whereby when the float falls, the lever, by its engagement with the latch and arms, will further lift the overflow pipe, said lever when the float hasfallen to a predetermined extent slipping past the latch to permit the overflow pipe to fall. v

7. In a flush tank having a discharge opening, a vertically movable overflow pipe constituting a valve and normally closing the discharge opening, float operated means for initially raising the overflow pipe when the water in the tank'has reached a predetermined level, and still further raising the overflow pipe when the water in the tank decreases, said float' operated means disengaging from its operative connection with the overflow pipe to permit the overflow pipe to drop to its closed position when the water has been discharged from the tank.

8. A flush tank having a discharge opening provided with a seat, a vertically movable valve engageable with the seat, a normallv submerged float operatively connected to lift the valve when the float moves up ward due to its buoyancy, means operativelyv connected to the valve and in one position preventing the upward movement of the float due to its buoyancy, said means being shiftable out of operative engagement with the float upon an increase of upward pressure on the float beyond a predeterminedv degree to thereby permit the floatto rise under its own buovancy, said means then shifting automatically into another position of operative engagement with the float and acting to raise the valve still further as the float descends, said means escaping from its operative engagement with the float when the float has fallen to a predetermined position to thereby permit the valve to drop to its closed position. y

9. A flush tank having a discharge opening, a valve controlling flow through said opening, and float operated means urging the valve to its seat until the liquid in the tank has reached a predetermined height and then acting to lift the valve fromits seat until the liquid in the tank has lowered a prede- 1 15 termined degree. 7 V

'10. A flush tank having a discharge opening, a valve controlling the flow of liquid through said opening, a normally submerged float operatively connected to the valve to lift it as the float moves upward to the surface of the liquid and downward with. the liquid as the latter is discharged, and means hindering the upward movement of the float due to its own buoyancy, said means being forced out of operative engagement with the float when the upward force exerted on the float by its buoyancy has increased beyond a predetermined amount. l.- A r t. ri i ehers e ar .3

ing a valve controlling the flow'of liquid through said opening, a normally submerged float operatively connected to the valve to lift it as the float moves upward to the surface of the liquid and downward with the liquid as the latter is discharged, and means hindering the upward movement of the float due to its own buoyancy, said means being shiftable out of operative engagement with 10 the float to thereby permit the float to rise under its own buoyancy and automatically shifting back into its initial position when the float has fallen to a predetermined degree and the valve is closed.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each; by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G.

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