US2346542A - Water-flow silencer - Google Patents

Description

April 1944- w. F. PETERSON ET AL 2,346,542

WATER-FLOW .SILENGER Original Filed Aug. 11, 1937 Patented Apr. 11, 1944 WATEE-FLOW SILENCER Walker F. Peterson and Albert U. Walter, Baltimore, Md., assignors to Quiet Flow Devices, Inc., Baltimore, Md, a corporation of Maryland Original application August 11, 1937, Serial No. 158,622, now Patent No. 2,288,945, dated May Divided and this application April 24, 1939, Serial No. 269,764

9 Claims.

This invention relates to means for preventing noise incident to the flow of water at high velocities and is particularly desirable in flow control devices. This application is a division of our application Number 158,622, filed August 11, 1937, which has matured into Patent N 0. 2,283,945 granted May 26, 1942.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of means for avoiding the noise which occurs when a jet or stream of water at high velocity is deflected.

In our prior patents, 2,037,737; 2,089,223 and 2,089,224, we have described devices for controlling the flow of liquids with substantial quietness. We have found, however, that noises may arise at other points of the system although these noises are to be distinguished from those produced in retarding or throttling liquids under the conditions stated in said patents. For example, when a jet of water at high velocity encounters a surface, noise is produced. The velocity referred to is not that at the point of discharge from the nozzle, but at the point of impact with the surface. Although th velocity of the discharged stream decreases rapidly, as the jet mixes with water already present in the chamber, yet space and constructional considerations often require that the jet be deflected at a relatively short distance from the nozzle or orifice from which it is discharged and before it velocity is sufficiently reduced so that it does not make noise when it encounters a surface and is deflected.

Accordingto the present invention, noise at this point is substantially prevented by providing an impact surface of a definite character for receiving the jet. The character of this surface is of primary importance in determining the critical velocity of the jet at which the noise occurs.

An illustrative form of practicing the present invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional View of a conventional flush tank for a toilet, with a device of the present nature employed therein.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the lower end of the supply pipe, showing a silencing device thereon.

In this drawing, a conventional flush tank I of the type used for toilets i illustrated as having a flushing pipe connection 2, commonly called a tail piece, by which it is connected to the closet bowl. The upper end of this flushing pipe is normally closed by the flush valve 3 which may be operated for flushing by the usual trip lever (not shown). The flush tank is to be filled with water to a predetermined level, this water being introduced from a water supply connection 4 through the so-called supply pipe 5 which has an enlarged flange 38 at the floor of the tank and extends upwardly in the flush tank and has, at its upper end, a ballcock body 6 rigidly secured thereto. In the body 6 is a vertically movable, valve-closure member I for engaging a valve seat.

Th valve closure member I is actuated by the float l l, which is connected by a float stem Ho and a linkage 39 for forcing the valve closure member I downwardly and into closed position when the water level in the tank has risen to the predetermined level. Such a linkage is set out and claimed in our copending application Ser. No. 269,765, filed Apr. 24, 1939.

The water which passes the valve closure member l in an open position of the latter, moves partly through the refill tube 8 while the bulk thereof is discharged through the so-called drop tube or discharge tube I 2 into the tank. The discharge tube |2 is illustrated as being a flattened tube of the type described and claimed in either our Patent 2,037,737, granted April 21, 1936, or our Patent 2,089,224, granted August 10, 1937, and delivers a'thin sheet of water in a downward direction. In either case, the discharge tube l2 functions as a flow retarding device and the discharge or jet issuing therefrom is of high velocity.

In order to avoid noise of splashing, the lower or discharge end of the tube I 2 must be below the minimum level of the water in the tank, which means that it must be within 1 inch or less of the bottom of the tank in presently standard structures. It has been found that under the relatively high pressures of water supply systems of various cities, this high velocity jet would cause a noise upon striking the bottom of the tank I or the flange 38 of the supply pipe 5.

In the illustrated form, an impact member 48 is formed integrally with the casting which provides the flange 38 and supply pipe 5 and is so located as to receive the jet from the discharge tube l2. The upper or impact surface of the member 40 may be at any angle to the direction of the jet issuing from the discharge tube. In order to secure th desired dispersion of the water in the illustrated case and to facilitate casting, this surface is shown as sloping away from the axis of the discharge tube I2 and inclining at a slight angle in each direction from the center of its length. The angle of impact to be employed depends upon the deflection to be accomplished.

It has been found that when the upper or impact surface of the member is provided with roughening, the roughening causes an action in the nature of diffusion, so that the jet is broken up into innumerable fine streams which dissipate into the main body of water without noise. The surface of castings as ordinarily produced is not sufiiciently rough or sharp in texture for the elimination of noise thereby: and this is particularly true after the casting has been rumbled or sand blasted in the usual way. As pointed out in our aforesaid prior patents, various factors influence the critical velocity, above which noise occurs: and reference is made theretofor a discussion of these factors.

By roughening or roughened surface throughout this specification and claims is meant a surface having elevations and depressions throughout its efiective area of the nature of the surface of ordinary sand paper of the types known commercially as #3/0 to #3, or similar to those resulting from cutting full or partial depth grooves with the adjacent grooves spaced 16 to 80 to the inch, orsimilar to the surface of a single or double cut file with a coarseness from bastard to dead smooth, or a knurled surface of like spacing. With such surfaces the successive elevations and depressions are spaced from one another by distances of the order of one-sixteenth to oneeightieth of an inch, and quietness is attained with all normal supply pressures of water while employing the structure illustrated in the drawme.

It has been found that the minimum depth of the depressions between the elevations should not be less than 0.005 inch.

In Figure 2, the impact surface of the illustrated member 40 is shown as having a plurality of grooves of the aforesaid character formed thereon. Specifically, the oughening is shown as a series of ribs and grooves spaced twenty to an inch with the grooves having a depth of about .020 inch, and directed parallel to the thin sheet of water discharged from the flattened drop tube l2.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited only to the illustrated forms shown, but it may be employed in many ways within the scope of the appended claims. t

We claimf 1. An assembly for the discharge of a liquid comprising a supply pipe, a passageway communicating with the supply pipe and including means for restricting the flow of liquid through the passageway, said passageway having an orifice for directing a liquid jet substantially parallel to the supply pipe and a member psitioned on the supply pipe at an angle to the liquid jet discharged from said passageway for receiving the impact thereof, said member having jet for receiving the impact thereof, said member having an imperforate impact receiving surface whichis characterized by successive elevations and depressions, the elevations being spaced apart distances of the order of one-sixteenth to one-eightieth of an inch, and means for maintaining a supply of liquid about said roughened surface substantially throughout the duration of flow of said jet.

3. A quiet discharge structure for liquids, comprising a chamber for receiving discharged liquid and for retaining a supply of liquid therein substantially throughout the course of the discharge, a discharge nozzle and means for delivering liquid therethrough into the chamber, said nozzle ,being located beneath the liquid level in the chamber substantially throughout the period of delivery of liquid through the nozzle, and means presenting a roughened surface opposite to and in the path of the jet of liquid from said nozzle, said roughened surface having successive elevations and depressions spaced apart between onesixteenth and one-eightieth of an inch.

4. A quiet discharge structure for liquids, comprising a conduit having a discharge opening, and a chamber for receiving liquid discharged through said opening, said chamber including means for maintaining liquid above the level of said discharge opening'and means presenting an imperforate roughened surface opposite said opening and in the path of the jet of liquid therefrom, said roughened surface having successive elevations and depressions spaced apart between one-sixteenth and one-eightieth of an inch.

5. A quiet discharge device for liquids, comprising a conduit having a discharge opening through which the liquid may flow in the form of a thin sheet, a chamber for receiving liquid discharged through said opening and for retaining liquid above a predetermined minimum liquid level during such discharge, said chamber including means located below said minimum liquid level presenting a roughened surface opposite and in the path of the sheet of water, said roughened surface having successive ele- -vations and depressions in the form of ribs spaced apart between one-sixteenth and oneeightieth of an inch and disposed substantially parallel to the said sheet.

6. A quiet discharge device for liquids, comprising a conduit having a discharge opening through which the liquid may flow in the form of a thin sheet, a chamber for receiving liquid discharged through said opening and for retaining liquid above a predetermined minimum liquid level during such discharge, said conduit opening being located below said minimum liquid level, said chamber including means located below said minimum liquid level presenting a roughened surface opposite and in the path of the sheet of water, said roughened surface having successive elevations and depressions in the form of ribs spaced apart between one-sixteenth and one-eightieth of an inch and disposed substantially parallel to the said sheet.

'7. A device for quietly receiving the impact of a liquid jet moving at high velocity, comprising means having successive elevations and depressions spaced apart between one-sixteenth and one-eightieth of an inch for providing a roughened surface disposed across the path of the jet for deflecting and breaking up the same into innumerable fine streams, and means for maintaining a supply of liquid about said roughened surface substantially throughout the duration of flow of said jet.

8. A device for quietly receiving the impact of a liquid jet moving at high velocity, comprising means having successive elevations and depressions spaced apart between one-sixteenth and one-eightieth of an inch for providing a roughened surface disposed in the path of and at an angle to the jet for deflecting and breaking up the same into innumerable fine streams, and means for maintaining a supply of liquid about said roughened surface substantially throughout the duration of flow of said jet.

9. A quiet flow device for a liquid jet having the form of a thin sheet. comprising a member extending across the liquid jet for receiving the impact thereof, said member including an impact receiving portion having two surfaces at an angle to each other, the edge formed at the juncture of the surfaces being in the path of the jet and substantially at a right angle to the plane of the thin sheet, said surfaces having successive elevations and depressions, the elevations being spaced apart distances of the order of onesixteenth to one-eightieth of an inch.

WALKER F. PETERSON. ALBERT U. WALTER.

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