US3501780A - Water-closet flush tank assembly - Google Patents

Description

March 24, 1970 A. BOS] 3,501,780

WATER-CLOSET FLUSH TANK ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 28, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR March 24, 1970 A. BOSI 3,501,780

WATER-CLOSET FLUSH TANK ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 28, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT OR United States Patent O 3,501,780 WATER-CLOSET FLUSH TANK ASSEMBLY Angiolino Bosi, Alessandria, Italy, assignor to Dorino Marabese, Alessandria, Italy Filed Feb. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 530,300 Int. Cl. E03d 1/33, 1/34, /09

US. Cl. 4-41 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE float valve in one of its end positions through the buoyancy action of the float of the float valve.

The present invention relates to water-closet flush tanks with push-button controlled float and flush valve devices.

In the known types of float and flush valve devices having a push-button control the discharge of the flush tank does not occur in a satisfactory manner if the pushbutton is not kept pressed for all the time necessary to discharge the flush tank.

Moreover, the float-valve operates in an irregular manner as pressure of water supply in the piping varies.

The object of the invention is to overcome the above said drawbacks.

The features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the float and flush valve device according to the invention, shown by Way of not limited example in the appended drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically the float and flush valve device arranged within a flush-tank;

FIG. 2 shows an elevational view partly in section of a flush-tank connected with a standard water closet;

FIG. 3 shows a diametral cross-section of the ball constituting the obturator member of the flush valve;

FIG. 4 shows a detail of the control means for the obturator member of the flush valve;

FIG. 5 shows the float valve in a vertical section, and

FIG. 6 shows the same float valve in a cross-section taken along line VIVI of FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawings, the flush valve according to the invention comprises a push-button 101, the sleeve 102 of which has in its upper part where of there is provided a lug 103 to which the rocking anchor 104 is pivotally connected. Rod 105, provided at the end opposite to the end connected with said anchor 104, with a threaded length 106 onto which nut 107 can be screwed, is in turn pivoted on such anchor 104. To said nut 107 there is secured a string 108 terminating at the eyelet or lug 109' of a ball 110 constituting the obturator member of the flush valve. In its closing position said ball 110 will seat at the month 111 of the discharging tube 112 which communicates with the water-closet 113. Overflow pipes 114 are arranged laterally of mouth 111 and in communication with the discharging tube 112, said overflow pipes operating, in addition to the operation as guides for the ball 110 in its obturating movement for the discharging tube 112, also for air sucking, so as to allow a rapid draining of the water. Said ball 110 is hollow and provided at the inside thereof with a weight 115 aimed at orientating said ball as it covers the month 111 during the closing stage, and allowing a slight continuous variation of the ball position on its seating thus preventing a rapid wear thereof.

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At 116 (FIG. 1) there is shown a float operating, by means of rod 117 and two armed angle lever or connection 118, the float or supply valve 119 to regulate the flow of water between the inlet duct 120 or valve body and the refilling silencer pipe 121. Said valve device for supplying water into the flushing tank is diagrammatically shown in FIG. 1 and will be more fully described hereinafter. By the latter device, any eventual increase in the water pressure within the supply duct does not cause the obturator member to be opened since the floating body mechanism will counterbalance the greater pressure of the Water within the duct as will be explained hereinafter. Moreover, the particular structure of the silencer pipe 121 will prevent water returns from the flush tank into the supply system, and will remove any sort of noises.

The operation is as follows:

After having. positioned the ball 110 into the mouth 111, the length of the string or wire 108 will be adjusted by screwing the nut 107 onto the threaded end 106 of rod 105. It is convenient that such string or wire 108 be slightly loose, i.e., the length thereof be slightly greater than the distance between the ball lug 109 and the lower end of rod when in closed position. For flushing purposes, the push-button 101 will be pressed, which by acting on the inclined surface shoulder 104a of the anchor 104 with the conical tip 101a thereof (FIG. 4) causes a rotation of the rocking anchor 104 together with a lifting of the anchor end to which rod 105 is hinged. Owing to said lifting, ball is disconnected from its seating and tends to float being formed of such a material that the average specific weight of the ball is lower than the specific weight of the water. Since said ball 110' is connected to the rod 105 by means of the string or wire 108, a short action on the control push-button 101 will suffice for the flushing. Upon flushing, the ball 110 will occupy again the seat thereof, guided by the overflow pipes 114. Moreover, the weight inserted into the ball 110, will orientate said ball towards the mouth 111 so that obturation may occur frequently with different ball positions and by maintaining always in an upper position the eyelet 109 at which said string or wire 108 terminates.

It could be practically noted that during subsequent obturations the contact between ball 110 and mouth 111 occurs always along difierent circles so that the wear due to said contact will be minimized compared with known types of obturator.

Particular care has to be taken for constructing said ball. For a proper operation, it has to meet two basic requirements:

(1) It has to float,

(2) It must remain in the obturation position during flush tank refilling and during the period in which the flush-tank is inoperative but full with water.

The first requirement is satisfied when the average specific weight of the ball or the ballast weight 115 and ball 110 assembly is lower than specific weight of the water. The second requirement requires that the ball weight be greater than that of the water volume displaced by the ball portion above the bearing plane of the ball defined by the circle with which the ball contacts the rim of the seat thereof.

In other words, if V is the ball volume, g its average specific weight, P its weight, it will result for the floating condition that wherein g is the specific weight of the water.

Upon simplifying it will be As for the second condition, assumed V to be the volume of the ball portion above said bearing plane, and thence V to be the volume of the ball portion beneath said bearing plane, it will be but, since V =V-V it will be as a result:

l V2 V g ggl Since V is expressible as a function of radius r, of the mouth and being 15 wherein R is the outer radius of the ball, upon giving mouth radius r, it will be possible to select a ball of radius R satisfying the found relationship, or upon giving R the mouth radius will be obtained (considering the following relationship between V and r In order that this selection may be immediate from the assembler of the device according to the invention a table can be prepared having a certain number of mouth diameters corresponding to ball diameters meeting the required conditions.

The weight of the string 8 is usually negligible.

Advantageously, the elements forming the transmission means are made of different materials so as to minimize wear due to frictions and facilitate eventual part replacement. Thus, in the preferred embodiment anchor 104 is in plastics, whereas lug 103 and rod 105, to which said anchor 104 is pivoted, are metallic.

It will be appreciated that the particular structure of the rocking anchor 104 and the mounting thereof in an upper position relative to push-button 101 allow the lifting members of ball 110 to be always on the opposite side to the supply or interceptor valve 119, thus avoiding any interference between the various mechanisms and thus allowing said valve to be applied both on the right and on the left of said vessel.

As a matter of fact, engagement between anchor 104 and tip 101a of the push-buttom can be obtained indifferently by either arms 104a of said anchor.

The obturating body may have also a shape other than spherical e.g. it may be conical. 50

Referring now to FIGURES and 6 it will be noted that 1 indicates the body of the intercepter valve, which has a chamber 2 and two ducts 3 and 4 putting the chamber 2 into communication with the outside and two nipple extensions or threaded bosses or the like -5 and 6 defining said ducts 3 and 4. Inside the chamber 2 there is arranged so as to communicate with the duct 3 an interchangeable calibrated nozzle 7 allowing to vary the water flow through its orifice or duct 7a as will be seen more in detail hereinafter. On the nipple 5 there is screwed a threaded nut or ring 9 for the connection of the interceptor valve according to this invention to the water network (not shown on the drawing) by means of a further threaded nut or ring 10 or other well known equivalent system. 35

The valve body 1 has its end, opposite to the nipple 5, shaped up as a flange 1a extending in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the flow duct 37a, to which flange is connectable by means of the threaded clamping ring 11 a shaped body 12 forming an extension of said valve 70 body 11. Said shaped body 12 is provided with an inner cylindrical bore 12a coaxial with the flow duct 37a. For assembling purposes with respect to the valve body 1 there is provided the reference plug 13. At its free end the shaped body 12 has as integral parts thereof two parallel 75 spaced lug members 14 extending in a plane defined by the center lines of ducts 3-7a and 4. Between said lugs 14 (FIG. 2) passes a stem 15' of a valve plug 15 which slides as a piston within the bore 12a of the shaped body 12 and has a ring gasket 16 for sealing purposes. The stem 15 has a longitudinal fork like recess for receiving a member 18 described hereinafter. Said valve plug 15 has its end 15a adapted for closing the valve. Said end 15a has a substantially conical pin-like shape in such a way as to effectively cooperate with the nozzle 7 for the interception of the duct 7a. On the lugs 14 of the body 12 a two-arm angle lever 18 is hinged at 17, while the arm 18a of which extends between the lugs 14 and within the recess of the stem 15' of the valve plug 15, with which it hingedly engages in a loose manner by pin member 19 and elongated hole 20.

The arm 18b of the angle lever 18 terminates with a boss-like thickening 21 provided with a cavity 22 and an internally threaded neck 23. In the cavity 22 there is engaged a pin member 24 having an adjusting screw extension 25 which can be screwed in the threaded neck 23 and positionable by means of the set nut 26.

Said pin member 24 shows two annular stops 24a and 24b delimiting an intermediate section 240 with which a connecting member 27 is engaged, through a ring part 27a thereof. The other end of said connecting member 27 is provided with a thread 27b on which can be screwed the threaded end of a rod 117, which may be axially adjusted and locked on the connecting member 27 by means of the set ring nut 29. On the other end of said rod 117 there is carried a float 116 having built in a threaded bushing 31 in which the aforesaid threaded end of the rod 117 may be screwed in an axially adjustable manner and locked by the set nut 32. At the free end of the lugs 14 a body 34 is hinged in 33 with which a rod is slidably engaged so as to be slidably adjusted and locked in the desired adjusted position by means of a pressure screw 36. Said rod 35 extends with respect to the fulcrum pin 33 of the body 34 laterally in opposite position to the float 116 and has at its free end a counterweight mass 35a. Between the function pin 33 on said body 34 and counterweight 35a is carried an idle roller 37, adapted to cooperate, under the action of the counterweight, with a seat or cam surface 37a presented by the free end of the arm 18a of the two-arm lever 18. To the threaded boss 6 presented by the valve body 1 there is connected a gobletshaped tubular member 38, to which is downwardly connected the silencer pipe 39 extending toward the bottom of the flush tank 40 represented in the FIGURE 5 with thin dot-and-dash line. Said silencer pipe 39 has at its free lower end a opening or outlet 39a, whilst the gobletshaped member 38 has one or more lateral openings 38a which are larger than the section determined by said throttling 39a. Provided on the goblet-shaped member is an annular screw connection 38b, to which is connected the sleeve member 41 extending as a jacket around the goblet-shaped part of the goblet member 38.

The operation of the above-described filling device is as follows:

According to the installation point of the device in the water supply system, that is depending upon its position in relation to the water head, the delivery valve is provided with an appropriate interchangeable nozzle 7, the distances between the counterweight 35a and the float 116 and the fulcrum pin 33, specially marked on these members, are adjusted by suitably acting on the pressure screw 36 and set nuts 29 and 32, respectively, and the vertical position of said float 116 is adjusted by acting on the adjusting screw 25 to the effect of lowering or raising the float 116.

At this point the float valve is ready to operate.

In the position shown in FIG. 5 with the flush tank 40 empty and consequently the floating body 116 in its lower position the interceptor valve is open and the valve plug 15 is spaced from the valve seat of the nozzle 7 allowing the water to flow in direction of the arrow A in the cavity 2 of the valve body 1, whence via the duct 4 and the silencer pipe 39 and down to the bottom of the flush tank 40. As inside the flush tank 40 the water level raises, the pressure on the float 116 increases pushing it upwardly against the action of the counterweight 35a acting thereupon through the tripping engagement between the idle roller 37 carried by the body 34 and the seat surface 37a of the arm 18a of the oscillating lever 18. When in the flush tank 40 the preset water level is reached, the buoyancy pressure exerted on the float 116 is such (see below) as to overcome the tripping engagement between the roller 37 and its seat 37a thus causing the swinging of the lever 18 around its fulcrum pin 17, which with the arm 18a provokes displacement of the valve plug 15 towards the valve seat of the nozzle 7 intercepting the water flow. A possible increase in the supply duct of the water pressure does not cause the opening of the valve plug 15 because the float 116 is so adjusted that it remains partially immersed in the closed position of the valve in such a way that the buoyancy it receives copes with the possible pressure increase of the water in the duct. During the closing movement the body 34 is caused to rotate around the fulcrum pin 33 thus raising the counterweight 35a in direction of arrow B.

It will be appreciated that the tripping cooperation between counterweight 35a and the angle lever 18 is car ried out in the desired manner thanks to the particular shape of the cam surface of the seat 37a. In fact in the open position of the valve the force F transmitted from the roller 37 to the seat 37a is directed perpendicular to the line connecting fulcrum 33 with the center of roller 37 as shown in the drawing. Since this force F extends on the left side of the fulcrum 17 of the angle arm 18 such force provokes a clockwise moment acting on angle arm 18 opposite to the moment caused by the buoyancy of the float.

When the moment due to the buoyancy overcomes the counter-moment due to the counterweight force F the angle arm 18 trips to a new angular position the substantially horizontal surface of the top end of the arm 18a comes into contact with the roller 37, so that the force F will in this position be directed perpendicularly to that surface and will almost intersect the fulcrum 17 or even pass on the right side of the fulcrum 17 allowing and even favouring the closure of the valve. It will be appreciated that the counterweight moment due to force F should be lower than the return moment due to the gravity of the angle arm 18 and float 116 allowing thereby the opening of the valve when the liquid level lowers.

The tapered configuration of the valve plug 15 and the thermosetting plastic material from which said valve plug is made are such as to prevent Water filtrations at the interception point thus eliminating the troublesome inconveniences encountered with the types used hitherto, among which are the continuous dripping or leakage noises. In practice also the valve body 12 with the lugs 14, the swinging two-arm angle lever 18 and the body 34 are all made of thermosetting plastic material.

Upon emptying the flush tank 40 as a result of the actuation in any well known manner whatsoever of its discharge valve, the float valve under the action of the counterweight 35a is brought again to the position shown in FIG. 1 ready for another filling cycle in an analogous manner to that described above. The particular throttling 39a, provided in the silencer pipe 39, in combination with the openings 38a of the goblet-shaped member 38 and the arrangement of the sleeve coupling 41 prevents returns of contaminated water from the fiush tank to the Water flow network should the water supply in the network fail during the filling phase, and eliminates any kind of noises occurring in the filling devices known heretofore and generally due to air and water movements and plays inside the flush tank inasmuch as the throttling 39a brings about a low water velocity in the pipe 39 preventing air suction through the openings 38a which deliver further a certain quantity of water flowing out of the pipe 39. The water passing through the openings 38a is deflected by the sleeve member 41 towards the outside surface of the pipe 39 and flows therealong without noises.

On the other hand, when a suction occurs in the supply pipe, water is not sucked from the flush tank since the maximum water level therein does not reach the sleeve member 41 so that air is sucked through apertures 38a.

What is claimed is:

1. A water-closet flush tank assembly with a water supply pipe and a discharge opening and having a float valve and a flush valve and wherein the flush valve comprises a free obturating body above said discharge opening and said discharge opening has an annular seat for said obturating body and receives a portion of said obturating body when in a closed position, thereby dividing the volume of said obturating body into a first portion surrounded by said annular seat and said discharge opening and a second portion outside said annular seat, said obturating body having a ballast weight in said first portion and an attachment means in a position remote from said first portion, a push-button actuating mechanism being provided in said flush tank having a slack string connected thereto and to said attachment means, said obturating body and said annular seat being related in that the Weight of said obturating body is less than the weight of the volume of water displaced by said obturating body and at the same time the weight of the entire obturating body is greater than the Weight of the volume of water displaced by the volume of said second portion of said obturating body, said ballast weight causing the center of gravity of the entire obturating body to be near said first portion and urging said first portion towards said annular valve seat, and wherein the float valve comprises an inlet connection, connectable to said water supply pipe and having a valve plug member, an oscillating twoarm lever fulcrumed in said tank and having a float carried by one of the two arms of said oscillating lever and subjected to the buoyancy action of the water level in the flush tank, said valve plug member being controllable through the one of the two arms of said oscillating lever by said float, an adjustable tripping device cooperating with said one arm and preventing closing of the float valve when the buoyancy force acting on said float member has an intensity lower than a predetermined value and allowing the closing of the valve when said intensity is above that predetermined value.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said pushbutton mechanism comprises a push-button pin, a rocking anchor pivoted near said pin, said rocking anchor having one end thereof connected with said string and the other end thereof extending within the path of said push-button pin to rotate said rocking anchor when said push-button pin is depressed, adjusting means being provided to adjust the connection between said rocking anchor and said string, said device further comprising guide means for said obturating body to guide it towards said discharge opening, said guide means being in the form of vent pipes.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said tripping device is in the form of a swingable counterweight member having a cam surface and acting on the float carrying two-arm lever through said cam surface, which in the open position of the valve directs the force acting on said two-arm lever at a first distance from the fulcrum of said two-arm lever creating a first moment-arm and in the closed position of the valve directs said force at a second distance, from said fulcrum thereby creating a second moment-arm which is smaller than said first moment-arm, at least the moment caused by said first moment-arm being opposite to the moment caused on said two-arm lever by the buoyancy action.

4. A float valve device according to claim 1, wherein said float valve has a replaceable calibrated nozzle and said valve plug member has a pin shaped sealing end cooperating with a replaceable calibrated nozzle provided in said valve, at least said valve plug member being made of thermosetting plastic material.

5. A float valve device according to claim 1, comprising further a silencer filling pipe for the flush tank, said silencer filling pipe having means defining an outlet area at the free lower end thereof and a widened goblet-shape in proximity of said float-valve, at least one lateral opening in said goblet-shape of larger area than said outlet area, and having in front of said lateral openings a deflecting sleeve member arranged about said lateral openings deflecting the water flow passing through said lateral openings along the outside of the silencer pipe.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 755,166 3/1904 Phillips 4-55 770,811 9/1904 Lally 452 1,171,619 2/1916 McGuire 4-41 1,426,203 8/1922 Leeberg 4-55 8 1/ 1926 Morgan 4-67 2/ 1927 Vanderlip 4-67 3/1931 Owens 4-41 1/1933 Gilmore 4-63 3/1933 Clemmons 4-41 3/1938 Cox 4-41 8/1939 Duncan 4-67 8/1942 Heare 4-41 7/1948 Smith 4-58 7/1950 Hoerig 4-67 1/1956 Downin 4-41 10/1961 Alexander 4-60 2/ 1963 Sorensen 4-67 2/1966 Rupp 4-67 FOREIGN PATENTS 6/ 1933 Germany.

US. Cl. X.R.

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