US2738516A - Flush valve for toilet flush tanks - Google Patents

Description

March 20, 1956 w. v. ALLIN FLUSH VALVE FOR TOILET FLUSH TANKS Filed Aug. 25, 1951 March 20, 1956 w. v. ALLIN 2,738,516

FLUSH VALVE FOR TOILET FLUSH TANKS Filed Aug. 25, 1951 2 Shears-snee: 2

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United. States Patent O Fl-.UsH VALVE Fon TOILET FLUSH TANKS Willard v. Allin, Kansas City, M0. Application August 2S, 1951, Serial No. 243,614

1 Claim. (cl. 4 51) This invention relates tolnew and useful improvements in nsh valves, and relates lparticularly to a flush valve suitable for use in 'connection with a toilet bowl of the type receiving its operating charge of water by gravity from: a tankrdis'posed above the closet bowl.

In the common type of household toilet installation, the water'close't Ireceives water from a tank disposed thereabove, through a tubular iiush connection extending from tliebottom of the tank to the water closet. Water is maintained `normally at a predetermined level in said tank by a water line controlled by a oat valve. The flush connection is controlled by `a manually operable ush valve including a vertically seating buoyant valve member held against a valve -seat by the water head in the tank, 'but adapted when lifted olf said seat to float until the water level falls `to `a point permitting the valve to return toits seat. The valve member is normally mechanically guided, usually by an upwardly extending rod attached 'thereto and disposed slidably in fixed keepers, or by other means. Due to the lightness and necessary fragility of thepa'rts of such g'uide means, they are subject Ato easy bending and other damage, which renders them inoperable, to the annoyance and inconvenience of the users. Also, these lguide parts are normally submergedin the tank, and subject to corrosion, which weak- 'ens the parts and roughens sliding surfaces so thatvthey cannot function efficiently.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of tiush valve overcoming the above difficul- `ties, having a buoyant plug member which is substan- 'tally without 'mechanical guides, `having only ilexible members such-las light chains rattached thereto.

Another object is the `provision of a ilush valve of the class described wherein the flow of the water passing through the valve is utilized to guide the plug member to its seat.

A further object is `th'e provision of a llush valve of the 'class' described having a buoyant plug member to which is l'fixed one 5end of `a lexible member which hangs through Vthe lvalve seat and to the opposite end of which is at- "faclid n'e or more members presenting a resistance to Vthe vflow-of water, whereby lwhen said plug is raised and water ws through said seat, `said water will exert a teilsion on sidilexible `r'ner'nber to guide ,said plug back to said seat.

` Other objects are simplicity and economy of construc- 'ti'm efficiency and dependability of operation, and adaptability -forV use with virtually any pre-existing water closet and ush tank installation.

With these objects in view, `as well as other objects which vvill :appear 'in the "course of the specication, reference will bel-had to the drawing, wherein:

. Fig. l is a froitlevatonal view vof a toilet llush tank in wliich fisinstalled a liush valve embodying the present ICC Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the lower end portion of the guide chain and the llow resisting members.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line VI-VI of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a view smilar to Fig. 5, showing flow resisting members of a modified form.

Fig. 8 isV a sectional view taken on line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing flow resisting members of a second modified form.

Fig. l0 is a sectional view taken on line X-X of Fig. 9.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the several views, and the numeral 2 applies to a flush tank `ot` the usual design. Said tank is commonly rectangular in form, made Vof a ceramic material and having a removable cover 4, and mounted on a wall 6 above and behind the water closet 8, shown fragmentarily. Water under pressure enters said tank through a pipe 10 extending through the bottom wall 12 of said tank through a water-tight seal 14 provided therefor. Said pipe is provided at its inner end with a float controlled valve 16, which in turn delivers water to the tank through discharge pipe 1S. Said valve is of standard design, and need not be detailed here. It is operated by a buoyant oat which oats at the water level 22 in the tank, said float opening the valve whenever the water falls below a predetermined level, and closing the valve whenever the water rises to said predetermined level.

The flush valve body 24 isessentially tubular in form, extending through the bottom wall 12 of tank 2 and'having a water tight seal provided thereabout by a gasket 26 and nut 29. Said valve body is formed at its upper end to present a 'frusto-conical valve seat 28 for receiving the spherical valve plug member hereinafter described. A tub'ular elbow 30 is interconnected at its upper end to the lower end of valve body 24 by a watertight connection 32, and is interconnected at its lower end to water closet 8. Valve body 24 is also `provided with a lateral passageway 34 interconnected with the main passageway thereof below seat 28. An loverilow tube 36 is interconnected at its lower end with passageway 34, and extends upwardly above the normal water level of tank 2. Said overflow tube directs water to water closet 8 in the event that tloat controlled valve 16 should fail to close properly. Also, a small tube 33 is connected at one end to the discharge side of valve 16, and discharges at its opposite end into the upper end of overflow tube 36. Tube 33 directs a small stream of water through tube 36 and thence vto closet bowl 8 after the ush valve is closed, and as long as valve 16 is open. This provides adequate water to reiill the lcloset bowl after each Hush.

The iiush valve plug 4i) is spherically ball shaped, made of rubber or other elastically deformable material, and is hollow whereby to provide buoyancy. lt is of a diameter to rest in valve seat 28 as shown in Figs. l and 2. A pair of perforated tabs 42 and 44 are formed integrally with ball on diametrically opposite sides thereof. A light chain 46 or other exible member is secured at its lower end to tab 42 by ring 48, and extends upwardly above the normal water level in the tank, being connected'at its upper end in one of a series of longitudinally spaced holes 50 formed in a generally horizontal lever 52, by means of a hook 54. Said hook may be engaged in any link of the chain to vary the effective length of said chain. The length of the chain should be such as to be slightly slack when plug 40 is seated, as shown in Figs. l and 2. Lever 52 is pivoted intermediate its ends to a fixed support arm 56 carried by tank 2. by pivot pin 58. The opposite end portion `60 is engaged slidably by a pin 62 iixe'd in an arm 64, said arm in turn being fixed to a shaft 66 extending through and carried for axial oscillation in the front wall of tank 2. An operating lever 68 is secured to the outer end of shaft 66. When lever 68 is turned manually, lever 52 will be pivoted upwardly to exert tension on chain 46 and lift plug 40 from its seat. Lever 52 and its operating means are standard, and hence need not be fully detailed here.

A light chain 70 is attached at its upper end to plug tab 44 by means of ring 72 and depends downwardly through valve seat 28 into elbow 30. A pair of iiow resisting members 74 are secured in spaced apart relation to the lower end portion of chain 70, as best shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Each member is substantially conical, with its axis disposed longitudinally of the chain and with its apex toward plug 40. Each member is provided with eyes 76 secured therein for connection in chain 70.

The operation of the ush valve is substantially as follows. The parts normally have the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The valve plug ball 40 is held on seat 28 by the pressure of the water head thereover, this pressure being suilicient to overcome the buoyancy of the plug ball. The pressure beneath plug 40 is atmospheric, this space being vented to the atmospheric through the water closet and through overow tube 36. When the operator turns lever 68 and pivots lever 52 upwardly, chain 46 lifts plug ball 40 clear of seat 28, allowing water to iiow therearound. The ball thus relieved of the pressure of the water, is caused by its buoyancy to rise to the surface of the water in tank 2, and water immediately ows through seat 2S and elbow 30 to water closet 8 by gravity. Chain 70 is of such length that it hangs well down into elbow when plug 40 has risen to its maximum elevation, as shown in Fig. 3.

The current of the water flowing through elbow 30 impinges against members 74 carried by chain 70, thereby exerting and maintaining a tension on chain 70 which keeps plug ball i0 substantially in alignment above seat 28 and guides said plug ball as it falls with the water level, in order that it will engage said seat properly when the water falls to a certain minimum level above the seat. Chain 70 will be maintained taut by the water flow even after the members 74 have been carried around the bend of elbow 39. This may cause an angularity of chain 70 relative to the axis of seat 28 which will move plug ball slightly off center relative to said seat as it approaches the seat. This is not objectionable, however, since the plug is spherical and will rock into the seat.

Flow resisting members 74, as shown in Fig. 5, are conical. Their conical shape has been found useful in tending to keep them centered in elbow 30, and to prevent their lateral fluttering or oscillating which might cause objectionable rattling noises in the event they should strike the walls of elbow 30. Also, it is desirable to make members 74 solid, as shown, whereby substantial weight is imparted thereto. rThe increased weight has been found to reduce the possibility that on fast operation chain '70 may be jerked entirely out of the valve seat before water fiow therethrough is established. In many instances the iiush connection exemplified by elbow 30 is of suhcient length that chain 70 may be entirely contained therein. However, in certain instances the flush connection may be short, or virtually of no length where the tank is mounted directly on the water closet. In those cases chain 70 may hang within the water passages of the toilet bowl itself. In most instances this will not impede the operation of the device, members 74 being small enough to nass freely through the toilet bowl passageways.

However, in certain instances, it may be desirable to move the flow resisting members adjustably along chain 7d, in order that they will be positioned properly below seat 23 when the valve is opened, or to prevent their entry into the toilet bowl itself. Figs. 7 to 10 show two methods of accomplishing this adjustability. In Figs. 7

and 8, each flow resisting member 77 comprises a at circular disc having a cylindrical central hub 78 which fits slidably over chain 70. A pin 80 may be inserted through said hub and selectively through any link of chain 70 to hold the flow resistor on said chain. In Figs. 9 and 10, each flow resisting member 82 is conical :smilarly to those shown in Fig. 5, but is formed of Isoft rubber or other similar material. Each member has an axial hole S4 formed therethrough, said hole being of such size that when chain 70 is forced therethrough, the material adjacent said hole will be deformed and will grip the chain frictionally, and the member can be slid along the chain to any desired position. It is of course apparent that any number of flow resisting members which may be desirable can be attached to chain 70.

Thus it will be seen that a flush valve having definite advantages has been produced. The plug ball 40 has none of the ordinary sliding guides which are subject to corrosion, bending, or other damage. It is connected only to flexible chains 46 and 70, which permit its free movement at all times it is not actually seated. The entire structure except ball plug 40, the chains attached thereto, and the ow resisting members attached to said chain are standard. The ball plug and its attached chains and flow resistors may be produced as a unit and installed in nearly any toilet installation using a ilush tank, with almost no alteration.

While I have shown a specific embodiment of my invention, it is apparent that many minor changes in structure and operation could be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A ush valve for use in connection with a toilet installation including a ush tank normally containing water up to a certain level, a flush conduit extending between and interconnecting the bottom of said flush tank with a water closet, an upwardly opening valve seat surrounding the entrance to said flush conduit, and a vertically movable operating member carried in said tank above the normal water level therein, said ush valve comprising a buoyant plug adapted normally to be held downwardly in said seat to close the same by the water head in said tank, a exible elongated member secured at its lower end to said plug and adapted to be secured at its upper end to said operating member, whereby said plug may be lifted from said seat, whereupon said plug will float upwardly to the surface of the water in said tank, a second elongated flexible member secured at its upper end to said plug and adapted to depend therefrom through said ush conduit, said second flexible member being of sufficient length to hang downwardly through said valve seat when said plug is oating at its maximum elevation, and a plurality of enlarged ilow resistant members of conical shape secured in longitudinally spaced apart relation to the lower end portion of said second flexible member, said ow resistant members being formed of an elastically deformable material and each having a hole formed therethrough for slidably receiving said second flexible member, said holes being of a size whereby said flexible member is frictionally gripped by said ow resistant members.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 369,843 Douglas Sept. 13, 1887 422,961 Morrison Mar. 11, 1890 2,155,902 Kass Apr. 25, 1939 2,230,613 Deady Feb. 4, 1941 2,251,357 Harroun Aug. 5, 1941 2,372,848 Owens Apr. 3, 1945 2,514,062 Hoerig July 4, 1950 2,599,940 Rickena June 10, 1952

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