US3165756A

US3165756A - Vent means to vary buoyancy of a flush valve

Info

Publication number: US3165756A
Application number: US244214A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert L Simpson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-12-12
Filing date: 1962-12-12
Publication date: 1965-01-19
Anticipated expiration: 1982-01-19

Description

W, L.. SIMPN jm. MB, W65

VENT MEANS TO VARY BUOYANCY 0F' A FLUSH VALVE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Das. ILD1 i962 R. l... sxMPsoN 3,165,756 VENT MEANS T0 VARY BUOYANCY OF A FLUSH VALVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 12, 1962 United States Patent O Ei,l65,756 VENT MEANS T@ VARY BUYANCY (EF A FLUSH VALVE Robert L. Simpson, RFD. l, Farmington, Conn. Filed Dec. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 244,214. 9 Claims. (Cl. 4-57) This invention relates to a water closet tank discharge valve of the hollow ball type and more particularly to an auxiliary valve means for affecting the buoyancy of the tank ball to control the quantity of water discharged from the tank.

Tanks generally used for storing tiush water are provided with a float controlled water inlet valve to determine the quantity of water to be used in flushing and to maintain that level in the tank. Also provided in such tanks is a hollow ball type discharge valve, which ball is open at the bottom and may have either a spherical or conical valve seat engaging surface surrounding the bottom opening. This surface is adapted to engage an annular seat which forms the upper end oi the water closet discharge outlet. Air is retained in the ball as in an air bell, the buoyancy of the ball in the tank tending to float it on the tank water. Once the ball has been manualiy unseated, it will tend to lloat in the tank water, only returning to its annular valve seat when substantially all the water has been discharged from the tank. As the makeup water is introduced by means of the float valve, the pressure thereof seats the tank ball sealing off the discharge outlet. Water pressure will hold the tank ball in this closed position until it is again unseated by manual actuation of a handle or the like used to flush the water closet bowl. An upper end portion of the tank ball is connected by mechanical linkage to the handle for this purpose.

, Thus, it will be apparent that in every flushing operation substantially all the tank Water is consumed and delivered to the water closet bowl without regard to the quantity required to ush the waste products from the bowl.

The general object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary valve means to limit water used for waste disposal to that actually required.

Another object is to provide an inexpensive ball valve which incorporates such an auxiliary valve thereupon and which ball valve may be easily installed in existing Water closet tanks.

The drawings show preferred embodiments of the invention and such embodiments will be described, but it will be understood that various changes may be made from the constructions disclosed, and that the drawings and description are not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims forming a part of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

Ot the drawings:

FIG. l is a front View, partly in section, of a water closet tank with a discharge valve of the hollow ball variety incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the ball and lift rod of FIG. 1 showing the parts of an auxiliary valve of the present invention in a closed position.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 except that theV Patented Jan. i9, i965 ICC in a manner well understood in the art. Another well known feature of a water closet, also omitted from the drawings for purposes of clarity, :is the float valve mechanisin for introducing make-up water into the tank and maintaining it at a desired level. A conventional overflow tube 16 is shown supported at its lower end by a hollow tlange member Ztl adapted to carry oil excess water in the event of ioat valve failure or the like, and it mounts a guide bracket LS for the operating linkage to the ball valve to be described.

An upper end portion of the tank discharge outlet l2, best shown in FIG. 2, forms a conical seat 22 to receive a ball valve 24. The ball valve comprises the discharge valve for the water closet tank lil and is connected by operating means to a rotatable external handle 26 on the front of the tank as shown in FIG. l. The means for operating the ball valve 24 includes a lever 28 rigidly attached to an internal part of the handle inside the tank, a vertically arranged link 36 pivotally connected at its upper end to the free end of the lever 23, and a lift rod 32 connected to the upper end of the tank ball 24 and to the lower end of the link 30 by means of an eye 34 formed at its upper end. The said lift rod extends through the guide i8 to control vertical movement of the ball 24 and to keep it generally centered over the outlet 12.

The tank ball 24 is preferably formed of rubber or other elastic material and is hollow as shown with an opening at the bottom thereof to admit air therein causing said ball to be buoyant. The ball further comprises upper and lower conically

shaped sections

36 and 33 respectively, the latter of which is of suitable Siae to assure satisfactory sealing of the ball in the outlet 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper end 4i) of the tank ball is of cylindrical section and defines an opening 42 therein which is in communication with the hollow interior of said tank ball. The outer edge of the opening 42 forms a valve seat for an auxiliary valve 44 comprising a valve disc 46 threadably received on the lower end of the lift rod 32 and adapted to seal the opening 42 when seated as shown in FIG. 2. The valve disc 46 is connected to a valve stem 48 which is loosely received in .the` opening 42 and which carries a compressive spring Sil arranged to maintain the valve disc 46 in a closed position. As shown, one end of the spring St) seats against a clip type fastener 52 received by

circumferential slots

54, 54 in the valve stem 4S and the other end of the spring Eil acts against the upper end of the tank ball 24, engaging the hollow cylindrical insert S6.

Arresting means S8 are also provided atop the ball 24 being slidably received on the lift rod 32 and interposed between the ball 24 and the lower surface 33 of the guide 18. As presently constructed, the arresting means comprises a perforated hollow cylinder loosely received on the rod 32, which cylinder is open at its lower end and has a chamber 62 therein large enough to receive the valve disc 46. The lower annular edge 64 of this cylinder 6i! is adapted to engage the upper end of the tank ball 46 for a purpose which will become clear hereinafter. The cylinder |56 is maintained in a vertical relationship on the lift rod 32 by means of the alignment spring 66 contained in the chamber 62.

During conventional operation, the auxiliary valve 44 remains closed during ushing and the ball 24 operates` not unlike any other tank ball. Y The discharge valve' is normally seated as shown in FIG. l, thus closing the outlet 12. When the handle 26 is rotated counterclock-` wise slightly and then released, the ball 24 will be un-` seated and the air normally trapped therein will cause the ball to rise in the tank water due to its buoyancy,`

the lift rod 32 sliding upwardly in the stationary guide 18 so as to keep the ball upright and maintain` such` i pressed as shown in FlG. 3.

buoyancy. The guide ll will of course stop the ball Y when the arresting means 58, carried by the lift rod 32 reaches the lower surface 33 of the guide. When the level of the water in the tank reeedes suiciently, the ball will float downwardly returning to its seat 22, but only after substantially all the water in the tank has been discharged therefrom. Thus, a water Closet tank of the present invention will operate in the conventional manner in a full flushing operation.

In keeping with the construction disclosed herein, the ball 24 can be returned .to its seat 22 before the water has been substantially all discharged from the tank. By holding the handle 26 in a'predetermined position, corresponding to afull counterclockwise position the arresting cylinder 6@ is forced upwardly against the lower surface of the guide Slg, the spring 66 being readily com- Maintaining this force on the handle will cause :the annular edge 6d of the cylinder to contact the upper end of the tank ball and will compress the spring 50 as shown so as to unseat the valve disc 46 from its seat on the tank ball. Thus the technique for operating the auxiliary valve i4 consists in yholding the handle V26 in some predetermined position where the tank ball is raised against the arresting means 58 and the bias of the spring Sil is overcome by the upward pull on the lift rod 32 so as to unseat the valve disc d6. Y

When this predetermined position of the handle is held by the operator, air will bc vented from lthe hollow tank ball through holes 6i, 61 in the side walls of the cylinder 6h and 'through the space between the lift rod 32 and the upper end of the cylinder d@ as indicated by the arrows of FIG. 3. As the air in the ball escapes upwardly into the water, the space it had occupied in the ball will be replaced by tank water entering through the open bottom of the ball. Thus the buoyancy of the ball is reduced to the point desired, and upon release yof the handle the ball will sink at a desired rate to reseat itself on the discharge valve seat 22. The sinking tank ball will of course seat itself more promptly than would a tank ball floating in the tank water and consequently the amount of water used `in flushing is reduced.

In operating this device the presently preferred practice is to depress the handle to the full counterclockwise position opening the discharge and auxiliary valves as above. The operator observes the condition of the water closet bowl and releases the handle when he is satisfied that :the waste products have been disposed of. ln this manner he will have destroyed the buoyancy of the tank ball and upon release of the handle the ball will sink and close the outlet conserving the remaining water in the tank for a subsequent flush. lt should be noted that retaining the above predetermined position of the handle as all the water is discharged from the tank will result in Van alternative full flush, equivalent to the conventional operation described heretofore. It should be further noted that after either a partial flush or a conventional full flush the valve Vdisc 46 will automatically reseat and the tank lll will be refilled with makeup water in a conventional manner. The handle may then be operated in any of the heretofore described modes with no necessity for manual resetting of any component. An infinite variety of degrees of flushing is always possible. f

The arresting means 58 which serves to open the auxiliary valve 44 as aforesaid, also serves as a shock absorber during conventional operation of the discharge valve. When the buoyant tank ball is unseated by actuation of the handle, the ball will rise rapidly until it is stopped by the action of the guide lower surface 33 against the cylinder 60. This impact could momentarily unseat the valve ad were it not for the alignment spring d5. The spring 66 serves to lessen the impact felt by the tank ball :thus assuring that the valve iftis not inadvertently opened during a normal full flushing operation.

FlGS. 4 and 5 show alternative embodiments provided Within the scope of the present invention. In FIG. 4 the valve stem of the previous embodiment is in the form of a hollow tube 43a attached to the valve disc 46a in any convenient manner such as by silver soldering or the like. The tube Ltda has a flanged lower end portion against which the spring Sila acts. As shown, the tube 43a may fit rather snugly in the valve opening 42a if the tube is perforated as shown by the

holes

49, 49 in the tube wall. These holes 4&3, nl have an additional func'- tion in that they also serve to help break any residual vacuum in the upper part of the tank ball chamber following a partial flush. Such a residual vacuum is not possible in the ball disclosed, but could result if the opening 25 were too small in a particular design. The hollow v stem d8a and holes 49, 49 would prevent adverse effects ron conventional full flushing in such an event.

FllG. 5 shows a third construction of the valve stem. instead of the rod type stem d3 of FlG. 2, a flaredrupper end portion is provided on the valve stem 4Sb of FIG. 5 to permit metering of the air flowing through the valve by the degree of opening achieved by the lift rod 32h.

As shown in :these embodiments of the valve stem, it must be loosely received in the valve opening. However, the fit must be snug enough to properly guide the tank ball onto the outlet l2. A further renner-nent not shown in the drawings would be to use a substantially square valve 4stem in the circular opening 42, achieving a passageway for escaping air without affecting the orientation of the ball.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a water closet tank having an outlet, a discharge valve comprising an open bottom hollow buoyant ballV for seating upon and closing the outlet, means for operating the discharge valve including a handle supported on the tank and a lift rod connected therewith and with the ball, and a stationary guide for the lift rod, the improvement comprising an auxiliary valve means mounted on said ball and connected with said handle to vent the valve ball only when said handle is placed in a predetermined position after lifting said valve ball, the'venting of the ball being effective to reduce its buoyancy whereby to cause it to close the outlet more promptly upon release of the handle and thus reducing the amount of water used in flushing. i Y

2. A water closet tank construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the auxiliary valve means comprises a valve carried on the lift rod and movable therewith to open and close a veut opening in the ball, means biasing said auxiliary valve and lift rod relative .to the ball normally to close the vent opening, means engageable with the guide to limit lifting movement of the ball While permitting continued lifting movement of the rod whereby to open the vent opening in the said predetermined position of the handle.

3. In a water closet tank having an outlet, a discharge valve comprising a hollow buoyant tank ball open at the bottom and with a lower end portion surrounding said open bottom and adapted :to seat upon and close the tank outlet, means for operating the discharge valve including a handle supported on the tank and a lift rod connected therewith and with the ball, and a stationary guide for the lift rod tto assure proper seating of the ball following actuation of the handle and to limit the upward travel of the ball due to its buoyancy, the improvement comprising an auxiliary valve means to vent the ball when said handle is placed in a predetermined position, said auxiliary valve means including a valve disc attached to :the lift rod at the lower end thereof, an upper end of said tank ball defining a vent opening therein and also defining a seat for said valve disc, a downwardly extending valve stem attached to the valve disc and extending loosely through the vent opening into the hollow tank ball, a spring means carried by said valve stem and acting between the lower end thereof and the upper end of said tank ball whereby to urge the valve disc against its seat, arresting means interposed between the stationary litt rod 4guide and the tanlt ball to limit the upward movement of the buoyant tank ball,

which arresting means additionally permits the lift rod and valve disc to continue upwardly as the handle is placed insaid predetermined position whereby to open the auxiliary valve means against the bias of said spring, the venting of said ball achieved thereby being eliective to reduce its buoyancy and cause it to sink in the tank water and close the outlet more promptly upon release of the handle and thus reducing the amount of water used in flushing.

4. A water closet tank construction as set forth in claim 3 wherein the arresting means comprises a perforated hollow cylinder loosely received on the lift rod and having a lower end portion defining an opening at least large enough yto receive the valve disc attached to the lov/er end of said rod, an annular lower edge on the cylinder to contact the tank ball limiting its upward motion while permitting the lift rod and valve disc to continue upwardly when the handle is placed in said predetermined position, thus opening the auxiliary valveand also v providing a path for the air in the tank ball to escape therefrom. i

5. A water closet .tankconstruction as set forth in claim 4 wherein the hollow cylinder houses an alignment i spring which spring also serves to lessen the impact of said tank ball against saidilift rod guide, thus assuring that the auxiliary valve is not inadvertently opened during a normal flushing oper-ation due to said impact but rather is opened only when said handle is placed in said `predetermined position,

` and adjacent the lower end of said lift rod, said auxiliary valve including means engageaole with a means external to the ball valve on opening movement of the same and v operable to vent and to at least substantially reduce the e buoyancy of the ball valve.

7. The combination of a buoyant open bottom ball valve adapted for upward and downward movement for respectively opening and closing the outlet of a water closet tanlr, a lift rod connected to said ball and` to a handle for manually lifting said ball to open said outlet,

auxiliary valve means mounted on said ball adjacent the `lower end of said lift rod to vent the valve ball only when said handleis placed ina predetermined position after listing said ball valve.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said auxiliary valve means includes `meansrengageable with a means external to the ball valve whereby placing said handle in said vpredetermined position opens said auxiliary valve to l l buoyancy, the improvement comprising an auxiliary valve means mounted on said ball to vent thevalve ball only when said handle is placed in a predetermined position after lifting said valve ball, said auxiliary valve means including means engageable with said ball travel limiting means whereby placing rsaid handle in said predetermined position opens said auxiliary valve to vent said ball reducing its buoyancy.

' References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS s/59 Hartman 4 57 ana/Aan v. BENHAM, Primary Examiner..

4/56 christie 4457

Claims

1. IN A WATER CLOSET TANK HAVING AN OUTLET, A DISCHARGE VALVE COMPRISING AN OPEN BOTTOM HOLLOW BUOYANT BALL FOR SEATING UPON AND CLOSING THE OUTLET, MEANS FOR OPERATING THE DISCHARGE VALVE INCLUDING A HANDLE SUPPORTED ON THE TANK AND A LIFT ROD CONNECTED THEREWITH AND WITH THE BALL, AND A STATIONARY GUIDE FOR THE LIFT ROD, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING AN AUXILIARY VALVE MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID BALL AND CONNECTED WITH SAID HANDLE TO VENT THE VALVE BALL ONLY WHEN SAID HANDLE IS PLACED IN A PREDETERMINED POSITION AFTER LIFTING SAID VALVE BALL, THE VENTING OF THE BALL BEING EFFECTIVE TO REDUCE ITS BUOYANCY WHEREBY TO CAUSE IT TO CLOSE THE OUTLET MORE PROMTPLY UPON RELEASE OF THE HANDLE AND THUS REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF WATER USED IN FLUSHING.