US3019449A - Flush valve guide - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 6, 1962 o. J. BENNETT 3,019,449

FLUSH VALVE .GUIDE Filed March 19, 1959 6 INVENTOR Orvan J. Benneff BY Whife head, Vaglfi Lowe A TTORNE YS g mffifia generally the same.

3,919,449 Patented Feb. 6, 1962 lice 3,ii19,449 FLUSH VALVE GUIDE Orvan J. Bennett, Rte. 2, Fort Lupton, Colo. Filed Mini. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 800,425 6 Claims. (Ci. 457) This invention relates to water closet tanks and more particularly to improvements in the flush valves therefor, it being a primary object of the invention to provide a novel and improved flush valve control and guiding mechanism for the flush valve of a water closet tank.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved control and guiding mechanism for the flush valve of a water closet tank which is characterized by continued easy and reliable operation and by freedom from jamming, sticking and leaking, even when the apparatus has been in use for such a long period of time that the effects of corrosive action of the water and/or sediments and slimes would ordinarily foul up conventional apparatus.

Other objects of the invention are to provide, in a water closet flush valve mechanism, a novel and improved guiding and control means which: is primarily adapted to be incorporated into the elements of a standard flush valve; easily fits certain of the standardized well known elements of a flush valve mechanism, but eliminates and replaces those other standardized elements of the conventional apparatus which are usually the source of trouble in operation of the apparatus.

Yet other objects of the invention are to provide a novel and improved control and guiding mechanism for a Water closet flush valve which may be quickly and easily installed in a tank; is easily adjusted; is neat and simple in appearance; and is a very low cost, durable and practical item.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, all of which more fully hereinafter appear, my invention comprises certain novel and improved constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts and elements as hereinafter described and as defined in the appended claims and illustrated in preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGUREI is a perspective view of a water closet tank and bowl connected thereto with portions of the tank being broken away to show constructions otherwise hidden from view.

FIGURE 2 is a front sectional elevation viewrof a tank as taken substantially on the indicated line 2-2 at FIG, 1, but on a somewhat enlarged scale and showing the tank as being filled with water preliminary to a flushing operation.

FIGURE 3 is afragmentary sectional detail as taken from the indicated line 3-3 at FIG. 2, but on a greatly enlarged scale and with broken lines illustrating passage ways hidden from view and with other broken lines illustrating the flush valve mechanism in a lifted open position.

FIGURE 4 is afragmentary sectional detail as viewed from the indicated arrow 4 at FIG. 3.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional detail as taken from the indicated line 55 at FIG. 3.

FiGURE 6 is a plan view of an improved guiding element per se, of a type which is adapted to be incorporated into the flush valve mechanism in accordance with the principles of the invention.

The function and operation of a water closet tank flush valve is to permit a rapid discharge of water from the tank followed by automatic closure thereafter to permit the tank to refill. A standardized design for such a flush valve mechanism has been in use for many years and while the tank locations and arrangements may vary from one installation to the other, the flush valves are The tank outlet is located in the bottom of the tank and forms a valve seat which is normally closed by a spherical or bell-shaped body resting on the seat. This body is sufliciently buoyant to float when not held against the seat of the outlet by water pressure and it does float whenever it is lifted from the outlet seat to open the valve.

In the standard design of many years this bell-shaped valve body includes an upstanding stem which is slidably held in an upright position at all times in a rigid guide or sleeve mounted to a standpipe within the tank or to the wall of the tank. It follows that the flush valve moves in a restricted vertical path whenever it is lifted to permit the tank to drain and it drops or falls into its place upon the seat for a closure after the tank is drained A conventional tripping or pull mechanism is provided to lift this body, including a pull-rod slidably attached to the stem so that when the tripping mechanism is lifted and then dropped as by manual movement, the pull-rod lifts the stem of the valve body with the slidable attachment between the pull-rod and the stem permitting the body to remain floating even when the tripping mechanism is dropped to its initial position.

Although this fundamental arrangement has been used many years, it is not fully satisfactory for in many instances after a unit has been in use for a substantial period of time trouble commences. The primary cause of the trouble is a sticking of the body stem in its guide sleeve for various reasons. One common cause of trouble lies in a very slow corrosion of this guide sleeve with attendant crusting and caking of deposits thereon which tend to bind and clog the guide sleeve passageway. Crust and deposits are also formed from slow precipitation of minerals dissolved in the water. On the other hand, even where no corrosion nor other deposition occurs, constant use of the apparatus with the stem moving back and forth in its guide sleeve, causes wear, with the parts becoming loose fitting and chattering and the like. Also misalignment and sticking of the valve can occur in use due to the erratic movement of water from the tank.

Therefore, while any selected conventional unit may give years of trouble free service, there is always the possibility that something will happen to bind up the stem movement within the guide or bind the pull-rod of the trip onto the stem or otherwise impair the smooth operation of the unit and cause leaking of the valve. It follows that there is a real and definite need for an improved water closet flush valve design which approaches, insofar as possible, a foolproof construction operable without wear for an indefinite period of time.

With the foregoing and other considerations in view, the present invention was conceived and developed and comprises, in essence, a substantial replacement of the guide means to hold the stern in vertical position by resilient arm elements arranged in a parallel manner to operate in unison, such permitting vertical movement of the stern as to li t the valve body to open the water closet tank valve and at the same time hold the stern in upright position over the valve body.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the improved valve arrangement is adapted to be installed in an ordinary rectangular-shaped water closet tank 10 of the type which is placed behind and above a closet bowl 1i connected thereto by a dischargepipe .12, the pipe 12 extending to the bottom of the tank to the bowl in a conventional manner. Other conventional elements required for the operation of the tank include a water intake line 13 which extends upwardly and into the tank to terminate as a check valve 14. When the tank is full of water this valve 14 is operatively closed by a float 15 attached thereto by an arm 16.

The discharge pipe 12. extends upwardly through the bottom of the tank and connects with a casting 17 at the floor of the tank 10. The passageway defined by the pipe 12 extends upwardly through this casting 17 to terminate as an annular seat 18, the passageway intake. This intake is of sufficient distance above the bottom of the tank to provide clearance for a narrow lateral passage 19 in the casting 17 which connects the passageway of the pipe 12 with a vertical overflow standpipe 2t) rigidly upstanding from the casting 1'7 alongside the discharge opening 18. The casting 17 is made in a conventional manner with the standpipe 20 being set a standard offset distance from the intake. Ordinarily the standpipe 2G is sutficiently rigid to permit the mounting of conventional guiding elements thereon, hereinbefore referred to, and the standpipe 20 is also satisfatcory for holding the improved guiding arm elements hereinafter described in detail.

The floatable flush valve is formed as a spherical or bell-shaped body 21 which is adapted to rest upon the seat 18 when the tank is closed and to be lifted from the seat for opening of the tank by upward movement of a lever arm 22 near the top of the tank. This lever is ordinarily connected with a handle 23 mounted outside the tank in a conventional manner. The lifting end of the lever arm 22 near the top of the tank is substantially directly over the seat 18 for direct connection with the body 21. The elements constituting this connection include a stem 24; affixed to the top of the body to upstand therefrom. It terminates as an enlargement such as a head 25. A pull-rod 26 pivotally depends from the extended end of the lever arm 22 to hang alongside the stem 24 with the lower end of the pull-rod 26 terminating as an offset 27, having an eye 28 at its end which slidably embraces the stem 24. The length of the pull-rod 26 is such that with the lever arm 22 in its down position the valve 21 may rest upon seat to close the tank, but such that lifting of the lever 22 moves the eye end 28 against the head 25 to lift the valve 21 to its open floating position.

The basic concept of the present invention is to replace a rigid tubular guide of conventional construction with a paralleled arrangement of resilient arms 29 and 29a which hold the stem 24 in a substantially vertical position. However, in contrast with a rigid guide, these arms permit limited lateral and torsional movement without the possibility of wearing, distorting, or jamming any of the elements constituting the flush valve assembly.

The flexible restraining arms 29 and 2911 are conveniently aflixed to the standpipe 2t) and to the stem 24 in spaced interrelationship to outstand from the standpipe in an arched manner one above the other wtih the extended end of the lower arm 29a gripping the stem 24 near the valve 21 and with the extended end of the upper arm 29 gripping the stem 24 at its terminal head 25.

Each arm 29 is preferably formed as a flat band of resilient material such as rubber having a thickness and rigidity such as to hold itself in a cantilevered position, but to be yieldable to the weight of the stem 24 and body 21 attached thereto. For such use on a standard two- 'inch outlet having a one-inch overflow pipe upstanding from the casting 1'7 and using a 2% inch diameter body 21, it was found that a pair of flexible arms each 1% inches wide, /8 inch thick and approximately 4 inches long, made of a good grade of rubber, would be satisfactory for the purpose at hand. It is obvious however, that such proportions are not restrictive for one skilled in the art can easily vary the proportions for the arms 29 and 29a to obtain effective operation for any particular outlet arrangement.

A transverse oval-shaped slot or orifice 30 is cut in each arm 29 near one end thereof so that the arm may be threaded upon the overflow pipe 24) as illustrated. The transverse length of the slot is somewhat smaller than the diameter of the pipe to provide for a tight fit and the marginal portions 31 of each arm and the tab end portion 32 are of sufficient width as to form a substantial seating-ring face about the pipe. The manner of placing each arm 29 upon the overflow pipe to cause it to effectively outstand in an arched form from the pipe is clearly illustrated at FIG. 3. The lower arm 29a is first threaded into position on the standpipe 20 followed by the placing of the upper arm 29. A slot 33 is cut in the extended end of each arm 29 to snugly receive the stem 24 as illustrated.

The flat surface of each arm 29 and 29a is held against the standpipe 29 to cause it to effectively arch outwardly from the standpipe 20 in a cantilevered manner with the transverse elements of the flat surface of each arm lying substantially horizontally. In this manner the arm is normally directed at an upward inclination at the standpipe 20, but is resiliently pulled and arched outwardly and downwardly by the weight of the body 21 and stem 24. To accomplish this connection, the slot 36 is stretched so that the upper surface of the arm is turned to lie against the surface of the standpipe while the undersurface of the tab 32 is turned against the surface of the standpipe 29 with inversion occurring at the marginal portions 31 as illustrated. This simple arrangement of fastening the arms 29 and 29a onto the standpipe 20 eliminates all expensive fitting which would be necessary if the arm were rigidly held outwardly from the standpipe 20 in any other manner.

The operation of the invention is of utmost simplicity. The two arms act together in unison in the direction of vertical movement to permit the valve body 21 to be lifted above its seat a limited distance, sufficient to permit draining of the Water tank and to a point where flow suction will pull the valve '21 against the seat when the tank is substantially drained. With the tank initially filled, the operator simply turns the handle 23 to lift the lever 22 and thereby lift the body 21. The body 21 then floats to the extent limited by the arms 29 and 29a and the tank water commences to drain through the outlet 12. It is to be noted that this arrangement permits limited lateral movement of the body and limited twisting of the stem without permanent distortion of any element of the assembly. The coaction of the two arms will in every instance return the body back to its proper position for seating. Moreover, with this lateral freedom of movement for limited distances from the center-axis of the seat, the body 21 is able to always find its best seating position on the seat. With such arrangement of a pair of resilient arms replacing the conventional guiding means, it is obvious that problems relating to maintenance and repair of the outlet flush valve are reduced to an absolute minimum, for with proper selection of good resilient materials to form the arms 29 the life of the flush valve will be as great as or even exceed the life of the tank itself.

It is to be noted that the pull rod 26, which pivotally depends from the lever arm 22 and connects with the stem 24 by a slideable eye, is fitted in a loose manner so that the pull rod 26 does not interfere with the limited lateral movements of the body and stem as it is lifted, such as to the position indicated in broken lines at FIG. 3. Once the pull rod 26 performs its function of pulling it does not further act upon the stem 24.

While I have now described my invention in considerable detail, it is obvious that others skilled in the art can devise and build alternate and equivalent constructions which are within the spirit and scope of my invention. Hence I desire that my protection be limited, not by the constructions illustrated and described, but only by the proper scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a water closet tank having a discharge pipe from its bottom with the upper rim of the pipe forming an annular seat within and adjacent to the floor of the tank, a floatable seating body adapted to rest upon the seat to close the tank and to be lifted to a floating position to open and drain the tank, a rigid stem upstanding from the body and means for pulling the stem upwardly to move the body from the closed position to the floating open position thereabove, a pair of outstanding flexible arms mounted within the tank for flexure in an upward direction, one above the other, With the extended end of each arm being connected to the stem and with the arms being substantially in spaced parallelism and being thereby adapted to flex vertically, substantially in unison to hold the stem in a vertical position as the body moves from a closed position to an open position and returns to the closed position upon the seat.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, including an upstanding member within the tank alongside the outlet whereto said arms are affixed for hinged movement in vertical planes.

3. The combination defined in claim 1, including an upstanding member Within the tank alongside the outlet whereto said arms are afiixed, said arms comprising resilient, laterally-stiffened members adapted to flex in vertical and lateral directions, with the force required to produce flexure in the vertical direction being substantially less than the force required to produce flexure in the lateral direction said arms being thereby adapted to hold the stem in substantial vertical alignment but permit small lateral movements responsive to flow disturbances as the closet tank operates by lifting of the body.

4-. The combination defined in claim 1, including an upstanding member within the tank alongside the outlet whereto said arms are affixed, each arm being an elastic fiat band adapted to be affixed to the member in a substantially cantilevered manner with the transverse elements of the flat surface being substantially horizontal.

5. The combination defined in claim 1, including an upstanding member within the tank alongside the outlet and wherein each arm is a resilient flat band affixed to the 85 2817849 member with the transverse elements of the flat surface being substantially horizontal and with each band normally outstanding from the member but being turned downwardly from the outstanding position for connection with the stem to hold the stem with a slight upward tension when the body is seated.

6. In combination with a lifting lever and a pull rod depending therefrom, for a water closet tank having a discharge pipe from its bottom with the upper rim of the pipe forming an annular seat Within the tank near the bottom thereof, a floatable seating body adapted to rest upon the seat to close the tank and to rise thereabove to a floating open position to open and drain the tank, a rigid stem upstanding from the body and being slidably interconnected with the pull rod adapted to be lifted by the pull rod to open the tank and an upstanding member within the tank alongside the outlet, a pair of resilient, laterally-stiffened hinge arms affixed to and outstanding from the member, one above the other, with the extended end of each arm being connected to the stem and with the arms being substantially in spaced parallelism and being thereby adapted to flex vertically and substantially in unison as the body is raised and lowered to open and close the tank, whereby to hold the stem in a substantially vertical position and in substantial alignment With the axis of the tank seat and being adapted to flex laterally responsive to flow disturbances as the closet tank operates by lifting of the body, with the lateral flexing movements being restricted to comparatively small movements by the lateral stifiening of the arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,534,705 Gertz Dec. 19, 1950 Hewitt Dec. 31, 1957 2,863,154 Bennett Dec. 9, 1958

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