US2021813A - Toilet flush - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 19, 1935. L. w. STEVENS TOILET FLUSH Filed June 15, 1954 Patented Nov. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOILET FLUSH Llewellyn W. Stevens, Needham, Mass.

Application June 15, 1934, Serial No. 730,760 7 17 Claims.

The present invention relates to fiush tanks and valves, for toilets particularly, but applicable to other more or less analogous uses where a rapid and copious flow of water may be required for a brief length of time, while long periods may elapse during which the water should be prevented from flowing. Inasmuch as the toilet flushing use is the one which I have had particularly in mind in developing the form of the invention herein shown and described, I will in the following specification explain the purpose and utility of the invention with reference to that use; but without intending thereby to imply any unnecessary limitation in the scope of the invention or the protection which I claim for it.

Essential or important features of flush valves are that they be capable of delivering a large enough volume of water, suddenly enough, to flush the toilet completely, with economy in expenditure of water, that the valve be leakage tight and remain so without attention and repair over the longest possible period of time, that it be operable manually to release the flushing charge of water with a minimum of muscular effort, and that it be efiicient after even long periods of disuse. The flushing attachments of the character to which I have reference, heretofore used, consist of a tank to hold the water, a float controlled inlet valve to maintain the water supply in the tank automatically at a given level, and an outlet valve which is opened by an external handle and is held open by a float device or trip mechanism until the desired amount of water has been discharged. The valves heretofore used are not permanently leakage tight, but begin to leak after short periods of use, with wastage of the water and failure to maintain a sufficient quantity in the tank to perform the flushing operation satisfactorily at need. They also include metal parts which are subject to corrosion by chemical action of the water and to injury otherwise by abrasion. The main object of this invention is to provide a valve or valve substitute which is sealed by the water contained in the tank, hence is leakage-proof, and may be made of noncorrodible materials, while possessing all the essential and desirable qualities of a flush valve. Although the valve substitute of this invention differs from the common types of valve in having no contacting valve body and seat, yet for convenience of description I will generally refer to it as a valve hereafter in this specification. Other objects are to provide a novel and improved trip device for holding the valve open until the predetermined quantity of water has been discharged, which is not liable to get out of order; and to provide other improvements which are set forth in the following specification.

In the drawing,--

Fig. 1 is a horizontal section of a flush tank '5 showing in plan view the elements of my novel flush valve and accessories in place therein;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the flush valve and its accessories shown in open position, and showing also both in section and in elevation fragments of the tank in which it is installed;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2, showing the valve in closed or sealing position;

Fig. 4 is a cross section of the valve takenon line 4-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the Valve holding trip device as seen from the left hand side of Figs. 1 and 3.

Like reference characters designate the same parts wherever they occur in all the figures.

The principle'on which my novel flush valve operates is that of the U-tube type of manometer; the equivalent of a U-tube, or a series of U-tubes in tandem, in which the water supply for flushing purposes is the sealing medium confining a body, or a series of bodies, of air, between the tank outlet and the head of water in the tank. Such U-tube equivalent is constructed of separable parts, one of which is removed from or uncovered by the water every time the tank is discharged, while the other remains submerged in the water, whereby the bodies of air and water necessary to maintain the seal when the valve is closed, are constantlyrenewed. Inasmuch as the practical limitations of space for installation preclude making the U-tube element of as great height as the depth of water maintained in the tank, it is practically necessary to provide the valve with the equivalent of two or more U-tubes in series. The embodiment here illustrated has been designed for a conventional design of flush tank adapted to contain water to a depth of about ten inches, and in which the operating mechanism is capable of lifting the valve between two and three inches.

The design of flush valve here illustrated comprises two main members, one of which is normally stationary, being secured to the bottom of the tank, and the other is liftable. The stationary member is composed of a series of coaxial ornested, preferably cylindrical, walls or rings 6, 1, 8, 9 and I0, rising vertically from a base H which is secured by any suitable means to the tank bottom preferably in central alinement with the discharge tube I2 which leads from the 55 with such tube.

- stantial height or depth, proportioned to the available lift of the movable member. In combination with the base ll they form in effect a series of nested cups with spaces between their respective walls. The innermost cup has no bottom, for the base contains a central hole in register with the outlet tube I2, wherefore the ring 6 forms an upward continuation of the discharge passage.

The movable member consists of similar walls or rings i3, it, l5, l6 and I1 connected to a base l8 so as to constitute in effect a nested series of coaxial inverted cups, of which the base I8 forms the inverted bottom common to all. The inverted cup series are widths or diameters intermediate those of the upright series, except that the outermost wall I1 is larger than the wall It. A concentric tube E9 of smaller diameter than the ring or wall 6 passes through the base l8 in leakage-tight connection therewith and rises to a height enabling it to serve as an overflow if the tank is filled above the prescribed limit. It serves the function of a closure for the innermost inverted cup so long as the water level in the tank is within such limit.

The upper edges of the rings 1-!!! inclusive preferably lie in the same horizontal plane; and the lower edges of the rings l3-il inclusive are also preferably in a single horizontal plane. The location of the latter plane, however, may be shifted by raising and lowering of the movable member to a position in which the movable member is entirely above the fixed member, as shown in Fig. 2, and a position in which two sets of rings are interleaved with the lower edges of the movable set, near but separated from, the base of the fixed member, and the upper edges of the stationary rings near, but separated from, the base N3 of the movable member. The raised position of the movable member should be high enough to make the circumferential area between the adjacent rims of the ring 6 and tube i9 as great as the transverse area within the ring 6, in order to permit as rapid an outflow of water as the tube 5 can accommodate. While the movable member remains in raised position, water is discharged from the tank; and when the tank water level has descended below the lower edges of the inverted cups, any water which may have entered these cups flows out and is replaced by air. The lowest level to which the water supply may descend is that of the plane in which the upper edges of the rings 6-H] lie, The spaces surrounded by these rings, except that of the innermost one, are then filled with water.

The valve is closed by descent of the movable member to substantially the position shown in Fig. 3, whereupon the interleaved rings of the two members form in effect a series of U-tubes in tandem connection. The water legs of these U-tubes are designated w, 112 w and W in Fig. 3, and the air spaces by a, a a and 0. There is also a space 20 between the outer rings 10 and ll in which water enters from the body of the tank as the level rises in the latter, compressing the air originally in that space and thereby causing a distribution of air pressure and water throughout the other spaces between the interleaved rings. Thus an air pressure exists in the space 0; equal to the head of water in the leg w; in the space 0. equal to the sum of the water heads to and m and so on, until the pressure in the outermost air space becomes equal to the sum of the water columns in all of the Water legs. In the foregoing description, the term water column is intended to mean the height of water in any water leg above the water level in the next outer air space or leg.

The valve is capable of sealing in the tank a head of water equal to the air pressure in the air space (1 With a perfect distribution of air and water, the maximum head thus maintainable would be approximately equal to the number of water columns multiplied by the height of overlap of the two sets of rings. It is found in practice, however, the water columns as above defined are not always and in all instances as high as such overlapping height, wherefore in order to maintain a given height of water in the tank, with a given limit of lift of the valve,

the number of overlapping rings is made greater than the theoretically sufficient number.

The movable and stationary members of the valves are so designed as to diameters and thickness of their rings, that the two groups of rings will intermesh readily and with sufficient clearance to preclude capillary and siphonic action. The spaces between the contiguous interleaved rings must be at least wide enough to permit free flow of air and water past one another in achieving the distribution which is effected by the rising water head as the tank fills. Oneeighth of an inch is a sufficient, although not the minimum operative, width of such spaces;

But the spaces may be made of any greater width, limited only by the dimensions of the tank itself.

The upper member is guided in its movements, and centered with respect to the lower member, by vertical tubes 23 on the outside of the outer ring I1 of the upper member, and rods 2| rising from the base i! of the lower member into these tubes and having a free sliding fit therein. Preferably there are three such guide tubes and rods spaced equally around the circumference of the valve, but their number and distribution may be varied. The rods are of course long enough to project into the tubes when the upper member is fully raised, and the tubes are long enough to enclose the rods when this member is fully lowered, and are closed. at the top except for a vent of such dimensions as to cause the tube and rod to coact in the manner of a hydraulic check in cushioning descent of the movable member. While other types or forms of guide may be used satisfactorily, that just described has advantages over others for construction purposes.

The upper valve member is raised by lifting mechanism. One of many devices which may be used for the purpose is shown herein, con sisting of a handle 22 on the outer end of a shaft 23 which passes through a. bushing 24 secured in the front wall 25 of the tank. An arm 25 on this shaft is connected by a link 2'! with the short arm of a lever 28 pivoted at 29 to a bracket 3!] secured to the bushing. The long arm of this lever swings in a vertical plane beside the overflow tube l9 and carries a wiper 3| beneath a roll 32 pinned to the adjacent side of the tube. Turning of the handle raises the wiper from its lowered position, shown by full lines in Fig. 2, to a raised position approximating that shown by dotted lines in the same figure, thereby lifting the upper valve member.

Said valve member is held in its raised position while the tank discharges, and is then released and allowed to descend, by a trip device containing novel features for which I claim protection. A latch abutment 33 is connected to one side of the movablemember and constructed to present a square abutting surface 34 at its lower end, and an inclined surface at its outer side. A latch or trip lever 35 is pivoted at 36 to the base of the fixed valve member and carries a complemental abutment 31 adapted to underlie and arrest the abutment shoulder 34 when the movable valve member is raised. Preferably this complemental abutment is made as a roll suitably journaled to the lever 35 at a height adapting it to support the movable member at the height prescribed for permitting free discharge of the Water.

shown in broken lines.

The trip lever carries a combined water weight and float 38 which is actuated by gravity and the water in the tank to put the trip lever in looking and releasing positions. The combined float and weight device is a closed box or can,

" light in weight and having thin walls, which is entirely closed, water and air tight, except for one or more holes 39 in its sides and a small drainage opening 40 in its bottom. The holes 39 are large enough to permit passage of air and water in either direction, and are at points low enough with respect to the top of the boxto entrap enough air to serve as a float when submerged, and to retain enough water to act as a weight, withdrawing the abutment roll 3! from the abutment latch, when the water in the tank subsides to its low level. As this weight is located entirely at one side of the vertical through the pivot 38, it becomes effective to withdraw the lever, overcoming the resistance to such withdrawal caused by the weight of the upper valve member, when the water has subsided to approximately the level shown in Fig. 2. It is there shown by full lines as about to release the upper valve member after having withdrawn from the locking position The height of the bottom of the box, and of the holes 39 with respect to its bottom and top, are established by calculation and design so as to give the necessary buoyancy for automatic latching when the tank is full, and to hold the upper valve member elevated until after the water level has fallen low enough to permit water to drain out of the inverted nest of cups. The openings 39 permit the quantities of air and water in the float-weight device to be renewed and reestablished with each use of the is emptied and left out of service. It is so small that the leakage loss through it during operation is negligible.

A considerable weight is needed to sink the air filled upper member into the water filled lower member. To furnish such a weight, without at the same time so loading the upper member as to make it difiicult to be raised by the lifting mechanism, was a problem which I have solved by providing a water weight 4| on top of the upper valve member. The water furnishing this weight is held in an open cup 42 of suitable width and depth, which is refilled with each filling of the tank. Its content of water adds nothing to the weight of the valve when lifted for flushing,

being balanced by the water in the tank; but after the tank water has run out, its fullaweight becomes available to lower the valve member. There is a small drainage hole 43 in the side of cup 42 near the bottom, for the same purpose as the drainage hole 40, the capacity of which is so small that no appreciable reduction of the effective weight occurs during operation. 7 v

The upper valve member descends until arrested by a stop 44, which is here shown as a part of the trip lever 35 beneath the latch member 33. In its descent, the excess quantities of air and water trapped in the nested cups escape by the pathsof least resistance, leaving enough air and water to be afterwards distributed by the rising head in the tank to form manometer 001- umns of the nature previously described. As the quantities of water and air necessary for this purpose are automatically renewed, in excess, with each flushing use, the valve remains'serviceable and incapable of leaking. 1 5 A feature of this valve of great practical value is that all of its parts may be molded from bakelite or some other suitable plastic which is impervious to corrosive action by water. This statement applies to both elements of the valve, as well as to all other parts of the entire assemblage.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An outlet valve for liquid containers comprising a plurality of upright stationary cups in nested arrangement having a central outlet, and a plurality of inverted cups in nested arrangements, the walls of which are respectively positionedand dimensioned to pass into and. out of interleaved relationship with the walls of the first series of cups by up and down movement, and the walls of both sets of cups being spaced apart from one another widely enough when in such interleaved arrangement to avoid capillary action. 4 2. A discharge valve comprising a stationary member having an outlet and a movable member adapted to be raised and lowered with respect to said stationary member; said two members having cooperating means adapted to form a series of U-tubed manometers in tandem between said outlet and the liquid space of a container in which the discharge valve may be placed, whereby the liquid content of the container when entrapped between said members may form a liquid seal ef- 45 fective to sustain a head of the same liquid in the container greater than the height and lift of the movable member, and provisions for raising said movable member to a height clear of the stationary member. 3. The combination with a tank adapted to contain liquid and having an outlet, of a stationary valve member having an opening in register with said outlet, and a movable valve member adapted to be raised'clear of the stationary memher and to be lowered into complemental relationship therewith so as to form in effect a, series of U-tube manometers in tandem between the outlet and the liquid containing space of the tank.

4. The combination with a tank having an out- 0 let, of a number greater than two, of substantially coaxial rings having substantial height, the space surrounded by the innermost ring being in communication with said outlet, and the annular 7 spaces between the rings being closed at the botraising the second series of rings to a height clear of the first named group of rings.

5. A flush apparatus comprising a tank having an outlet, a group of more than two nested upright cups having an opening through the bottom of the innermost cup in register with said outlet, a set of more than two nested inverted cups, the walls of which are spaced and dimensioned so as to be placeab-le in and out of interleaved relationship with the walls of the upright cups, with spaces between adjacent walls wide enough for pressure-equalizing opposite flow of water and air, and guiding means for the inverted cups arranged to effect such interleaved relationship when the inverted cups are lowered, while permitting them to be raised to a height such that liquid may flow from the tank to the outlet between the rims of the upright and inverted cups.

6. A flush apparatus comprising a tank having an outlet, a group of more than two nested upright cups having an opening through the bottom of the innermost cup in register with said outlet, a set of more than two nested, inverted cups, the walls of which are spaced and dimensioned so as to be placeable in and out of interleaved relationship with the walls of the upright cups with room between adjacent walls for interchange of air and water, means for raising the inverted cups to a position where their lower rims are above the top rims of the upright cups, a detent for holding the inverted cups in such raised position, and means controlled by the liquid in the tank for releasing said detent after the level of liquid in the tank has subsided below the rims of the inverted cups.

7. A flush apparatus comprising a tank having an outlet, a group of nested upright cups having an opening through the bottom of the innermost cup in register with said outlet, a set of nested inverted cups, the walls of which are spaced and dimensioned so as to be placeable in and out of interleaved relationship with the walls of the upright cups, the number of cups and the spacing of their walls being suflicient to entrap water and air and permit flow of water and air into alternate spaces between the interleaved walls to form a plurality of U-tube manometers in tandem, effective to sustain a head of water in the tank greater than the height and lift of the lnverted cups, a detent having a float element which is buoyant in the liquid contents of the filled tank and thereby made potentially operative for arresting the raised inverted cups, the latter having a latch element engageable with said detent when in raised position clear of the upright cups, the detent being gravity operated to release said latch element when the liquid in the tank subsides to a level below the rims of the raised inverted cups.

8. In a flush tank and valve combination, a stationary valve element, a liftable valve element adapted to prevent discharge of water from the tank when lowered, and to permit such discharge when raised, having a latching abutment, a detent cooperative with said abutment to hold said movable valve element in raised position, and a combined float and weight associated with said detent located to be submerged when the tank is full, said float having an air-containing upper space, the buoyancy of which when submerged makes the detent potentially operative to interlock with said abutment upon raising of the movable valve element, and a water-containing lower portion which is out of water when the tank is discharged and the weight of which is then sufiicient to cause release of the detent.

9. In a flush tank having an outlet, a liftable valve element for opening and closing said out let, a detent pivotally mounted at a low point and having an abutment at a height above its pivot adapted to pass under a complemental abutment on said valve element when the latter is raised, an air entrapping float and a water container connected to said detent in a position to be sub- 10 merged and uncovered by rise and descent of water in the tank, and to exert force tending to place the detent abutment under the latch abutment of the valve element when submerged, and to displace said abutment when uncovered by subsiding water.

10. In a flush tank having an outlet, a liitable valve element for opening and closing said outlet, a detent pivotally mounted at a low point and having an abutment at a height above its pivot adapted to pass under a complemental abutment on said valve element when the latter is raised, an air entrapping float and a water container connected to said detent in a position to be submerged and uncovered by rise and descent of water in the tank, and to exert force tending to place the detent abutment under the latch abutment of the valve element when submerged, and to displace said abutment when uncovered by subsiding water, said float and container being open for entrance of air and water when, respectively, uncovered by, and submerged in, the water in the tank.

11. In a flush tank having an outlet, a liftable valve element for opening and closing said outlet, having a latching abutment, a detent pivotally mounted in position to interlock with said abutment when the valve element is raised, a hollow receptacle closed at top and bottom and having an opening at an intermediate height in its side adapted to permit inward and outward flow of air and water, connected to said detent in a position such that it is submerged in water when the tank is full and above water when the tank is empty, and at one side of a vertical line through the pivot of the detent.

12. The combination with a tank having an outlet, of an outlet valve comprising a coaxial series of upright cups in communication with said outlet through the innermost cup, and otherwise closed at the bottom, an inverted series of cups closed at the top and arranged to be interleaved with the upright cups, and to be withdrawn therefrom, guiding means for centering said inverted cups with respect to the upright cups and guiding the movement of the inverted cups, said guiding means comprising rods rising from the upright cups and tubes carried by the inverted cups in which said rods are slidingly fitted, said rods and tubes being spaced apart around the circumference of the cups.

13. The combination with a tank having an outlet, of an outlet valve comprising a coaxial series of upright cups in communication with said outlet through the innermost cup, and otherwise closed at the bottom, an inverted series of cups closed at the top and arranged to be interleaved with the upright cups, and to be withdrawn therefrom, guiding means for centering said inverted cups with respect to the upright cups and guiding the movement of the inverted cups, said means comprising rods rising from the upright cups and tubes carried by the inverted cups in which said rods are slidingly fitted, said tubes being closed at their upper ends and having (I vent openings whereby they act as hydraulic checks to retard descent of the inverted cups from a raised position.

14. The combination with a tank having an outlet, of an outlet valve comprising a coaxial series of upright cups in communication with said outlet through the innermost cup, and otherwise closed at the bottom, an inverted series of cups closed at the top and arranged to be interleaved with the upright cups, and to be withdrawn therefrom, means for lifting the inverted cup assemblage to a position entirely withdrawn from the upright cup assemblage, and a water weight connected to said inverted cup assemblage in position to be submerged when the tank is full and to be above the level to which the water subsides by discharge through the outlet.

15. The combination with a tank having an outlet, of an outlet valve comprising a coaxial series of upright cups in communication with said outlet through the innermost cup, and otherwise closed at the bottom, an inverted series of cups closed at the top and arranged to be interleaved with the upright cups, and to be withdrawn therefrom, a water container carried by the inverted cup series in position to be suband to displace entrapped water and air therein, when the water content of the tank is discharged. 16. A toilet flush comprising a tank having an outlet, a valve comprising a two part U-tube manometer having a plurality of air and water 5 legs in series, one of the parts of which is stationary in connection with the outlet, and the other of which is shiftable from a position in relation with the fixed part wherein it creates a seal by entrapment of water to prevent flow of the tank water through the outlet, to a raised position where it permits such outflow and is above the level to which the water in the tank then subsides, whereby its interior spaces are cleared of water and filled with air. 1'7. In a toilet flush tank having an outlet, a manometer outlet valve comprising a fixed element in connection with the outlet and a liftable element interleaved with the fixed element to provide a number of alternate air and water legs in tandem arrangement suificient to balance a head of water in the tank greater than the height and lift of said liftable element, and means for separating the movable member from the fixed member for flushing, to a position where the fixed section is open to be filled with water and the movable section is clear of the water when the tank is empty and whereby the supply of air in its air spaces is renewed.

LLEWELLYN W. STEVENS.

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