US2744257A - Water closet flushing tank - Google Patents

Description

May 8, 1956 J. VYMER WATER CLOSET FLUSHING TANK Filed May 7, 1954 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIll/IIA INVENTOR. Jasc/ y mer M144 United States Patent 9 WATER CLOSET FLUSHING TANK Josef Vymer, Prague, Czechoslovakia Application May 7, 1954, Serial No. 428,297

3 Claims. (Cl. 4-43) The present invention relates to improvements in a universal air-seal flushing device, in particular for waterclosets and the like and the main object of the invention is to provide a valve-less flushing device for controlling the discharge from the tank.

In a number of flushing devices for water-closets of a hitherto known construction the water in the tank is retained by means of a trap. The air enclosed between two levels of the water in the trap acts as a closing means for the water and thereby replaces a mechanical valve. The devices of this kind are open to objection on the grounds of their complexity and unreliable operation.

The present invention relates to a universal air seal flushing device of a new type, free from the above drawbacks. The new device may be used either as a flushing tank for automatically discharging the liquid from time to time, or with the addition of known retaining means and a valve, controlled by a float, as a flushing device for water-closets which discharges the liquid only after the retaining means has been released.

The air seal flushing device according to the present invention comprises a trap with a-siphon, mounted in the bottom of the tank and consisting of a discharge tube, a siphon cap and a trap tube, extending above the bottom of the tank, a covering bell loosely seated on the top of the siphon cap, a float rigidly connected with the covering bell and containing a ballast of variable weight, said float having a smaller diameter than the covering bell and extending above the top of the liquid in the tank, said covering bell together with the float being adapted to be automatically lifted by the buoyancy of the covering bell and of the submerged part of the float.

It is a great advantage of the device according to the present invention that, by a change of the weight of the ballast, the height of the surface of the water in the tank may be changed, and further that the operation of the device, when equipped with the known retaining means and valve controlled by a float, is independent of the way in which it is handled, and that the flushing device cannot be set in operation, unless the water in the tank reaches the predetermined height, thus avoiding any failure in operation.

With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

The invention is diagrammatically represented in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal section of an air-seal flushing device embodying this invention; and

Fig. 2 is a modified embodiment thereof.

Referring in detail to Fig. l of the drawing, it will be seen that tank 1 of the flushing device comprises, in its lower part, a trap tube 2 which extends into the tank 1 so as to provide an elevated border 3. The trap tube 2 is provided at its lower end with a closing wall 4 and a valve 5 in the latter to permit cleaning and emptying of the trap tube 2. A discharge tube 6 extends in a watertight manner through the wall 4, said tube 6 being pro- 2,144,257 Patented May 8, 1956 vided with ribs 7, on which a siphon cap 8 is fitted. The cap 8 is closed on top and there provided with a twosided or external and internal projection 9.

A covering bell, generally identified by the reference numeral 10, rests loosely on the external part of the projection 9 of the cap 8, said bell having the shape of a hollow cylinder closed on top by a water-tight wall 11. It is important that the bell 10 should not sit with its wall 11 against a plane top surface of the siphon cap 8, because adhesion between the two parts could then easily occur, and such adhesion would interfere with a proper operation of the device. On the other hand, correct flow conditions in the interior of the siphon cap 8 require the top wall of the cap to be curved downwards towards the center of the discharge tube 6 to act as deflecting means for the flow of liquid. These two conditions are fulfilled by the projection 9 extending to both sides of the top wall of the siphon cap 8. A float 12 is rigidly connected with the bell 10, and extends above the maximum height H of the surface of the liquid in the tank 1. The float 12 has a smaller diameter than the lower broad cylindrical portion 13 of the bell 10, and the portion 13 is connected by an annular radially directed flange 14 with the narrower tubular portion of the bell 10. The bell 10 and float 12 are secured to a lever 15 mounted for rocking movement around a pivot 16. The bell 10 and the float 12 are therefore adapted to rock between their basic position (shown in full lines) and an elevated position (shown in dotted lines). The amplitude of the rocking movement may be limited by a finger 17 which, in the elevated position abuts against the side wall of the tank 1, but the provision of such a limit stop is not indispensable, since the bell can rise only to a fixed height which is determined by the height H.

The float 12 is adapted to receive ballast 18 consisting of sand, shot pellets or the like, by means of which the weight of the float l2 and the bell 10, and consequently the height of the surface of the liquid in the tank may be controlled, as will be explained hereinafter.

The tank 1 is provided with a valved water supply pipe 19 which regulates the period of time necessary for filling the tank during the automatic operation of the device.

The device described above in connection with Fig. l operates as follows:

The empty tank 1 is supplied with water through the valve controlled pipe 19 until the water rises as high as the elevated border 3 of the trap tube 2, whereupon the water overflows into the space 20, within the trap tube. As soon as the water level in the space 20 reaches the lower edge of the siphon cap 8, it closes the air in the space 20 thereby producing an air-seal of the water. During the further rise of the water in the tank 1, the water in the space 21 within the siphon cap 8 also rises a corresponding extent and, when the tank is filled to the height H, measured from the elevated border 3, the water in the space 21 rises to the same height H measured from the lower edge of the siphon cap 8. It may be proved by calculation that the buoyancy of the bell 1t) and of the submerged part of the float 12 is determined by the volume of a body limited by the outer surface of the bell 10, the submerged part of the float 12 and the height H. The buoyancy of the bell 10 and float 12 is therefore in no way influenced by the diameters of the tubes 2 and 6 and the siphon cap 8.

The amount of ballast 18 added in the float 12 is such that the weight of the bell 10 and of the float 12 increased by the weight of the ballast 13 and lever 15 is just balanced by the buoyancy when the height H to the surface of the water is reached. Speaking more accurately, the moments with respect to the pivot 16 of the weight of the bell 10, float 12, lever 15, the ballast 18 and of the buoy- 3 ancy of the bell and submerged part of the float 12 are in equilibrium. Every further increase in the height of water in the tank above the height H will result in raising the bell 10. By raising the bellltl, the equilibrium between the weight. of. the bell-float member and the buoyancy of said member will be destroyed because the annular flange 14 rises from the water-level at the border 3 and the distance it increases. An increase of the distance It results in an increase of the buoyancy and the bell 10andfloat 12 tend to rise out of the water. However, it is only the top portion of the float 12 which rises out of the water. The diameter of the float 12 is smaller than the diameter of the lower portion 13 of the bell 10. The decrease of buoyancy .caused by the float 12 emerging from the water will therefore be smaller than the increase of the buoyancy acting on the lower part 13 of the bell 10. The difference between these two buoyancies increases quickly during the further rising of the bell 10 and float 12 and the combined bell and float member is therefore violently swung into the position shown in dotted lines. The air required for the increased buoyancy of the lower part 13 of the bell 10 is supplied during rising of the bell from the space 20.

After the bell 10 and float 12 have been rocked into the position shown in dotted lines, the air from the space escapes and the air-seal ceases to exist. The water from the tank is discharged through tube 6 whereupon the bell 10 sinks back to its original position. The tube 6 and the cap 8 act during the discharge of the tank as a siphon to suck the last remains of the water from the space 20. The air necessary for the repeated operation of the device is sucked into the space 20 during this final phase of the discharge period. The dimension of the lower part 13 of the bell 10 has to be such as to make the reserve of air under the part 13 suflice to lower the level of the water which remains in the space 20 after the first discharge from the tank.

The cycle of operation described above is automatically repeated and it is obvious that the length of time required for refilling of the tank may be controlled by means of the supply valve 19. The height H of the water level in the tank 1 may be controlled by the Weight of the ballast 18. The possibility of changing the height of the water level in the tank 1 by means of the ballast 18 is of great importance when the device is used as a normal flushing device for water closets. By changing the weight of the ballast 18, the quantity of flush-water may be changed whenever necessary such as for instance for water-closets for children in schools, in houses without normal sewerage and the like.

The covering bell 10 and float 12 instead of being mounted for rocking motion by the lever 15 may be suitably guided for vertical movement between the full line position of Fig. 1 and a raised position (not shown) which is vertically above the illustrated position.

Fig. 2 of the drawing shows, in dotted lines, known structure that may be added to the flushing device according to the invention in order to permit manual control. The tank 1 is permanently filled with water and emptied only after the release of a conventional retaining mechanism, which holds the covering bell 10 in its normal position even if the water-level in the tank exceeds the height H.

For this purpose any known hand-controlled retaining device may be added to the device of Fig. 1 without altering any of the parts of said device.

Fig. 2 shows, by way of example, in broken or dotted lines a known retaining device consisting of a retaining lever 22 mounted for rotation around a pivot 23. The lower end of the retaining lever 22 is adapted to engage an extension of the lever 15 and thus to prevent the bell 10 and float 12 from rising. An aperture 24 is provided in the extension of the lever 15 for the passage of the lever 22 therethrough when the latter is rocked in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2. The lever 22 may be rocked by a pull on a chain 25 so as to set the bell 10 and float 12 free. In this case it is also necessary to provide the tank with the usual valve 26 controlled by a float 27 for automatically closing the supply tube 28 when the required height of the water level is reached. The water level, at which the float valve 26 closes the water supply tube 28, has to be higher than the height H, in order to ensure that, when the covering bell 10 and float 12 are released, they will have an increased buoyancy and quickly be lifted into their elevated position which corresponds to the dotted line position of Fig. l. The releasing lever 22 automatically engages the extension of the lever 15 as soon as the bell 10 and float 12 return to their initial position so long as no pull is exerted on the chain 15.

I claim:

1. A universal air seal flushing device, comprising a tank, a siphoning trap mounted in the bottom of the tank and including a discharge tube, a downwardly opening siphon cap over said discharge tube and a trap tube around said cap and extending above the bottom of the tank, a covering bell loosely seated on the top of said siphon cap, and a float rigidly connected with said covering bell and containing a ballast of variable weight, said float having a smaller diameter than the lower part of the covering bell and extending above a predetermined maximum height of the surface of the liquid in the tank, said covering bell together with the float being adapted to be automatically lifted by the buoyancy of the covering bell and of the submerged part of the float when the surface of the liquid in the tank rises above said predetermined maximum height.

2. A universal air seal flushing device, comprising a tank, a siphoning trap mounted in the bottom of the tank and including a trap tube extending above the bottom of the tank, a discharge tube extending centrally through said trap tube and a downwardly opening siphon cap fitted over said discharge tube, a covering bell loosely seated on the top of the siphon cap, a float rigidly connected with said covering bell and containing a ballast of variable weight, said float having a smaller diameter than the lower part of the covering bell and extending above a predetermined maximum height of the surface of the liquid in the tank, pivot means secured to the tank, a lever mounted for rocking movement on said pivot means and rigidly secured to the covering bell and float, said covering bell together with the float being adapted to be automatically rocked upwards by the buoyancy of the covering bell and of the submerged part of the float when the surface of the liquid rises above said predetermined level.

3. A universal air seal flushing device according to claim 1; wherein the top of said siphon cap has a projcction on the upper and lower surfaces thereof respectively serving as a seat for the covering bell and to deflect the flow of liquid within the interior of the siphon cap into said discharge tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 437,709 McDonald Oct. 7, 1890 1,015,719 Thiry et a1. Jan. 23, 1912 1,134,126 Hanchett Apr. 6, 1915 1,225,340 Lacey May 8, 1917 1,670,370 Heydrich Y Martinez May 22, 1928

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