US1789493A

US1789493A - Automatic flushing valve

Info

Publication number: US1789493A
Authority: US
Inventors: John K Northrop
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1929-01-12
Filing date: 1929-01-12
Publication date: 1931-01-20
Anticipated expiration: 1948-01-20

Description

Jan. 20, 1931. J. K. NORTHRQP v I 9 AUTOMATIC FLusaiue VALVE Filed Jan. 12. 1929 //V vs 7'02 JOHN m NOE? H/; A 7'TOP/VE" Patented an '20, 1931 JoHn 1r. noa'rnnor, or 1211111341113, CALIFORNIA AUTOMATIC nnusnmq VALVE Application mense 12, 1929. Serial No. 331,982.

My invention relates to flushing valves, and particularly to automatic valves for flushing sewerage systems'at stated intervals.

An object ofmy invention isto provide 5 an automaticflushing valve which does not require special manholeconstruction,- and is interchangeable with manuallyoperated working partsgare not exposed to the highly corrosive action of sewer gases.

Further objects of my invention are to provide a valve having few and simple working parts, which. is easy; to'install, and one whichis adjustable thru a wide range ofvop- I crating conditions. 9

'My invention possesses otherobjects and valuable features, some of which will beset forth in the following descriptionof my in-' vention which is illustrated inlthe drawings forming part of the specification. Itis tobe understood that I do not limitmyself to the showing made by the said description and drawings, as I may adopt varying forms of I my invention within the scope-of'thefcla-im's. The drawing is a side elevation of a valve embodying my invention,installed in a flush ing manhole of the usual type. The manhole is shown in section. l a

s5 Considered broadly, I invention comprises a valve gate having suitable operating means attached thereto. I A float'is mov: ably mounted withrespect'to the operating means, and is arranged to engage this means 40 at its limits of motion to actuate the valve. In this manner the opening and closing of the valve are accomplished suddenly, and the motion of the gateitself has no'bearing on the motion permitted the float, and hence on the head of; water available for flushing.

Furthermore, as will be shown, this arrangement permits the valve seat tobe placed vertically, which tends to keep it clear of obstruction, and also permits the valve to be p closed while still under water, which' not aweb 17 between the two halves.

m anhole, or to a 'distance governed the quantity of'wate'r it is desired tostore, 1n case i only contributes tothe same result, but also prevents the escape of sewer gases.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawing,-,thevalve is installed ina manhole fiof the-usual type, thru the side of which, adjacent the bottom, passesthe sewer pipe 7.-'-Over the end of the pipe the,

ring 8-is cemented, which has, the valve seat 9 formed on its face. a 7 The valve itself is'of the'type disclosed i'n V my copending application, Serial No; 255,617,

' filed February 20, 1928 and comprises agate 11, loosely hinged on: pin 12 to hang in front of the seat, The gate has a gasket 1,3,

' .on its face to ensure tight contact with the seat, and-from itsback projects an arm 14 to which an operating lever l6is pivotally mounted; The arm-14 is preferably doubled. or forked to receive the end of the lever, with secured the ring 8 adjacent the valve "seat-are a pair of bars18 whose ends are bent V 7 inwardly to provide inclined fulcra19. v The, I

lever 16 is'bent, anditsshorterand'approxim atcly vertical arm carries a-pin 21 which engagesthe fulcra-when thelever is pressed downward, so that thegate is pressed inward against the'seat and also partially lifted from the pin 12. 1

Asthus far described, the valve is identical with that ofmy previousdisclosure.-. The lever 16, however, diifers from that there f shown inhaving astop 22 which engages the web17 to limit its. motion with respect to the gate, and also in having a divided outer end betweenfthe forks of :which a fitting23 is; pivoted on the pin 24. :The fitting serves to attach to'the lever a rod 26 which extends upwardtoa point adjacent the :top of the the manhole is over 8 feet deep; 1 r a I Setin the masonry of the manholeand held 7 by means of a tang 27 .is a horizontal forked 7 bracket 28, near the outer: end of whichis'95 pivoted a toggle lever 29. :This lever is also forked, and a bronze tension spring .30 between the forks of the bracket andlever connects the two to give vthem the familiar spring-toggle action, The pivoted "end of the lever is carried out in arcuate form withor pivot pins. The other parts may be of the pivot at the center, and an adjustable U- shaped stop 31 is mounted on the arcuate portion to limit the throw of the lever. The stop is secured to the lever by a set screw 32. The force required to carry the toggle past center varies with the throw, and by setting the stops, the action of the valve may be regulated.

The rod 26 is connected with the toggle lever by a fitting 33 which is similar to the fitting 23 connecting it with the valve lever. Mounted on the rod is a float 34 whichhas a tube 36 passing through its center. The-tube is of such size as to slide easily on the rod. An adjustable stop 37 is also mounted on the rod to limit the motion of the float thereupon.

In use, a constant small stream of water is allowed to flow into the manhole, gradually filling it, and raising the float on the rod. This continues until the float strikesthe stop 37, as shown in the drawing, after which the water level continues to rise on the float until its buoyancy is suflicient to overcome the force of the spring 30, raising the toggle lever and with it the rod and the operating lever of the valve. Since the mechanical. advantages of the spring decrease rapidly with motion, and the float is deeplysubmerged and therefore stores considerable ener y before it can overcome the force of the spring, the instant the toggle lever starts to lift it carries past center and opens the valve wide. As the water in the manhole escapes, the spring 30 keeps the valve open while the float slides downthe rod until it strikes the lever 16, where it rests until its weight, unsupported by the water, is suflicient again to throw'the toggle and close the valve.

v The amount of water remaining in the manhole when the valve closes maybe adj usted by the stop 31, regulating the throw of the toggle lever. The water level at which flushing takes place may be regulated in a similar manner, and also by adjusting the stop 37'. A similar stop may, of course, be mounted on the rod below the float to connect the'two operatively before the float sinks to the level of the lever 16. v

An important feature of the device is that it is fully interchangeable with the manually operated valve described in my previous application, requiring only the substitution of the lever 16 in so far as the valve itself is concerned. Changing requirements in a sewer-' age system frequently make changes from automatic tomanual operation or the reverse desirable, and with I this apparatus such changes may be made with a minimum of trouble and expense.

It is understood that the parts of the valve should preferably be resistant to corrosion. Not only the spring for holding the valve open and closed should be made of bronze or 65 similar material, but also the various hinge iron or steel galvanized or otherwise treated to prevent rust. i

I claim:

1. An automatic flushing valve comprising a valve seat, a movably mounted gate engageable with said seat, a fulcrum adjacent the seat, a lever mounted on the gate and engageable with the fulcrum to press the gate against the seat, arod connected to the lever,

a float slidably mounted on said rod, and

means for limiting the movement of the float upon the rod to connect operatively the rod and float.

2. An automatic flushing valve comprising a valve seat,.a movably mounted gate engageable with said seat, a fulcrum adjacent the seat, a lever movably mounted on the gate and engageable with the fulcrum to press the gate against the seat, means for limiting the movement of the lever with respect to the gate,'a rod connected to the lever, a float slidably mounted on said rod, and means for limiting the movement of the float upon the rod'to connect operatively the rod and float.

3. An automatic flushing valve comprising a valve gate, a spring actuatedtoggle operatively connected to said gate, a float arranged to throw said toggle to operate the valve, and an adjustable stop arranged to limit the movement of the toggle.

4. A valve comprising a gate, a spring connected to open and close the gate, and a float arranged to initiate the action of thespring, and means for adjusting the float pressure required to initiate said action. I

5. An automatic flushing valve comprising a valve gate, means for suddenlyopening said gate, a float for operating said opening means, and means for adjusting the force on said float required to operate said gate.

7 6. An automatic flushing valve comprising a valve seat, a movably mounted gate engageable'with said seat, a fulcrum adjacent the seat, al'ever mounted on the gate and engageable with the fulcrum to press the gate against the seat, means for limiting the movement of the lever with respect to the gate, and control means for actuating the lever to operate the gate.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand. v 7 JOHN K. NORTHROP.