US2205801A

US2205801A - Flush valve operator

Info

Publication number: US2205801A
Application number: US301557A
Authority: US
Inventors: Thomas P Newman
Original assignee: Crane Co
Current assignee: Crane Co
Priority date: 1939-10-27
Filing date: 1939-10-27
Publication date: 1940-06-25
Anticipated expiration: 1957-06-25

Description

T- P. NEWMAN 2,2

FLUSH VALVE OPERATOH Filed 001;. 27, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 T. P. NEWMAN I 2,25,M

FLUSH VALVE OPERATOR FiledOcc. 27, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 25, 1940 r rrlc FLUSH VALVE OPERATOR Thomas P. Newman, Geneva, 111., assignor to Crane O'o., Illinois Chicago,

Application October 27,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a mechanism pertaining to flush valve operating or tripping devices, and more particularly, it relates to a novel valve tripping mechanism for use on folding or pivot- 5 able water closets where it is desired to supply the closet bowl with a water seal or priming flush upon predetermined movement of the said bowl from an inoperative to an operative position. A folding or pivotable type closet bowl and a dual type flush valve, both of which are referred to in this specification, are more completelyillustrated and described in the patent applications Serial No. 214,428, filed June 18, 1938, and Serial No. 253,062, filed January 2'7, 1939, respectively, in which I am a co-inventor ofthe first named patent application.

One of the more important. objects of this invention lies in the provision of a flush valve tripping mechanism which operates the valve handle or actuator during the unfolding movement of the closet bowl and which, when the closet is in the unfolded or operative position, functions to effect a complete release of the valve handle from the tripped position.

A further object is to provide a flush valve tripping device which preferably is so constructed and so arranged that it positively actuates the valve handle during the unfolding movement of the closet bowl but which does not actuate the valve handle during the folding up movement of the closet bowl.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an easily adjustable and conveniently removable flush valve operating mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of this invention it is believed will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: i

Fig. 1 is a side exterior view slightly in plan perspective of a folding closet bowl embodying my invention and in which figure the bowl is shown in the operative and unfolded position.

Fig. 2 is a partly sectional view of a dual type 4 5 flush valve showing the relative positioning of the valve tripping mechanism with respect to the bowl when the valve and the closet bowl are in the operative position.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the flush valve 1,; and the tripping device showing progressively by the solid lines and the dotted lines the manner in which the tripping mechanism permits the return of the closet bowl to the folded position without actuation of the flush valve.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the valve 111., a corporation of 1939, Serial No. 301,557

handle in the tripped or operated position during the movement of the bowl and valve from the folded to the unfolded position.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings. 5

The following brief description of a typical installation embodying a preferred construction of my invention is provided for illustrative purposes only and it is. of course, to be clearly understood that the invention may be applied to other de- 19 vices in which a similar means of actuation is desirable.

Referring to Fig. 1, the folding closet bowl generally designated I is shown in the unfolded or operative position and is mounted upon a pivot- I able hollow trunnion 2, the said bowl and trunnion being interconnected by the water supply and discharge conduits 3 and 4, respectively. Flushing water is supplied to the fixture for the usual purpose through the pipe 5 having connection with a suitable source of water supply (not shown) and with the direction of the water flow being taken as indicated by the arrow. Preferably, but not necessarily required, in connection with the control of such water supply, a stop valve 25 6 is provided so that in the event it is necessary to make adjustments upon the assembly, or to make repairs or inspection of the fixture, the stop valve may be used to shut off the water supply to the fixture. The latter valve is attached by means of a suitable pipe connection 1 to the lower portion of the hollow trunnionbase or bearing 8.

The trunnion 2 comprises a hollow journaled 'tube which is preferably internally partitioned to r cause one end to provide a suitable passageway for the inlet water supply between the bearing 8 and the conduit 3, and to cause the other end of the trunnion to provide a suitable passageway for the discharge water between the discharge conduit l and the outlet 9. The trunnion 2, addition to providing water passageways for the flushing operations of the bowl, also provides a journaled support for the bowl which permits the upward rotational movement of the bowl about the horizontal axis of the trunnion to the folded or inoperative position.

A dual type flush valve generally designated H 'is preferably, although not necessarily, at-- tached to the side of the bowl I and interconnects the inlet conduit Swith the usual internal flushing water passageways (not shown) of the bowl. A dual type flushing valve is provided in connection with the bowl for the manifold purposes of furnishing the bowl with an automatically supplied priming or sealing water flush upon movement of the bowl from the folded or inoperative position to the unfolded or operative position and, after the bowl has been used, to furnish a discharge flush upon manual tripping or operation of the flush valve in the preferred manner hereinafter described at greater length.

Attention is now directed to Fig.2. The con struction of the dual valve H comprises a casing which, as illustrated, is divided into two chambers l2 and I3 both of which are'interconnected by means of the port M. Each of the chambers i2 and i3 is provided with a valve closure member l5 which may be actuated by tilting the stem I6 thereof to one side. The manual means of operation provided to trip the valve comprises the foot pedal l! which, when depressed, causes the lever l8 to move inwardly, thus forcing the plunger IE) to move forward against the action of the spring 2! to tilt the stem IS. A tiltable handle 22 for independent actuation is preferably provided with a roller 23 near its outermost end and which functions in connection with the chamber I3 for forcing a plunger identical to E9 to move forward and to trip the similarly mounted valve contained in the chamber I3. The complete construction and manner of operation of the dual type flush valve, as has been previously mentioned, appears in another patent application, Serial No. 253,062.

More particularly, the present invention concerns an adjustable and removable mechanism for actuating the tiltable valve handle 22 and comprises the arm 24 and the pawl 25 which are preferably mounted upon the trunnion bearing 8, although these parts may be otherwise mounted with relation to the bowl.

An apertured lug 26 is provided upon the upper portion of the trunnion bearing 8, and the arm 24, which has its lower end provided with the slot or elongated aperture 21, is attached to the lug 25 by the bolt 28. The slot 21 is preferably made elongated in order to furnish a means for the coarse vertical and horizontal adjustment of the pawl 25. Vernier, or more accurate adjustment of the pawl position, is provided for by the set screw 29 which extends through the branch member 3| and with the lower end of the screw 29 abutting the bearing 8.

The uppermost end of the arm 24, as more clearly shown in the sectional portion of Fig. 3, extends into a recess 32 within the pawl 25, the latter member being rotatably mounted and attached to the arm 24 by the pin 33. Rotational movement of the pawl is limited in the counter-- clockwise direction by a preferably rubber bumper 34 abutting the shoulder 35 to limit such movement, while in the clockwise direction rotational movement is resisted by the leaf-spring 35 and is further restricted by the end wall portion of the recess 32. The spring 36 is provided to effectively index or to maintain the pawl normally in a substantially vertical position.

As shown in Fig. 2, the bowl and flush valve are in the unfolded or operative position and, assuming that it is desired tofold up or to move the closet to the inoperative position, the fixture may be rotated in a clockwise direction about the axis of the trunnion 2 whereupon, as shown by the solid lines in Fig. 3, the roller 23 contacts the upper end surface portion of the pawl 25. Inasmuch as during the folding up movement of the fixture it is not desirable to trip the handle 22 and flush the bowl, the pawl 25 is made to rotate about the pin 33 and, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, the pawl assumes a rocked position which permits the valve handle to proceed therepast without actuation of the handle 22. Upon further movement of the fixture toward the inoperative position the pawl is released from contact with the roller'23, whereupon the spring 36 then returns the pawl to the indexed position.

As shown in Fig. 4, the bowl and the flush valve are in the process of being moved from the inoperative to the operative position. At this stage of its operation, the roller 23, as shown, contacts with the upper surface portion of the indexing pawl 25 and as the fixture l continues to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, the valve handle is tilted or canted upwardly to actuate the valve and to furnish the closet bowl with a priming flush. Further movement of the bowl toward the operative position releases the tilted valve handle 22 and allows the latter to return to its normal untripped position, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1, thus completing its cycle of operation between respective folded and unfolded positions of the closet bowl.

Having thus described my invention in a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be expressly understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In combination, a foldable type closet bowl, a flush valve therefor, means for actuating the said flush valve upon unfolding movement of the said bowl, the said means comprising a tiltable valve actuator, tripping means for the said actuator, the said tripping means including an arm fixedly mounted upon a stationary base, a pawl rotatably secured to the end of the said arm in the path of the said actuator, the said pawl providing indexing means, whereby upon folding movement of the said closet bowl the said pawl releases to permit untripped movement of the said valve actuator and upon unfolding movement of the said closet bowl the said pawl is indexed to trip the said valve actuator.

2. In combination, an arcuately'movable closet bowl, a flush valve therefor, means for actuating the said flush valve upon movement of the bowl to an operative position, said latter means comprising a pivotally mounted actuator, means for pivotally moving the said actuator, the said latter 7 means including an arm fixedly mounted with relation to the said bowl, an indexing member in the arcuate path of the actuator rotatably secured to the said arm, whereby upon arcuate movement of the said closet bowl in one direction 4 valve actuator and a tripping means for the said P actuator, the said tripping means including an adjustable arm fixedly mounted relative to the said bowl, a pawl loosely secured to the end of the said arm in the path of the said actuator, the

said pawl having indexing means, whereby upon folding movement of the said closet bowl the said pawl is moved to permit untripped movement of the said valve actuator and upon unfolding movement of the said closet the said pawl is held relatively fixed totrip the said valve actuator.

4. In an arcuately movable Water closet bowl having a flush valve in" connection therewith, the said flush valve having automatic means of actuation, the said antomatic means comprising respective tiltable means and tripping means for the said tiltabie means, the said tripping means including an arm mounted upon a stationary base, a pawl in, pivotal relation with the said arm and positioned in the path of the said tiltable THOMAS P. NEWMAN.