Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
'''` ~10~5~
This invention relates to improvements in toilet tanks and flushing
water supply assemblies for toilets.
At the present time there are a large number of toilets on the market
having different features dependent upon their cost. All however, have in
common, regardless of price, the fact that the storage tank has fittings or
valves which are used for water supply and discharge, these fittings being
connected to the tank as attachments made of plastic, or metal such as bronze,
aluminum, etc. The~e attachments frequently result in imperfect or faulty
assembly and bring with attendant break down and water leak or wastage. Some of
such leaks are individually small but overall can represent a very considerable
waste of filtered purified water which is becoming an increasingly scarce and
valuable element. A wide variety of such flttings are on the market and many
do not fulfill their specific functions as effectively as desirable, and in
many cases change the characteristics of the tank when they are installed or
replaced. At the time oP replacement, for instance, the overflow may become
located at a higher level than the inlet valve, thus preventing the anti-
siphoning function required and at best preventing the toilet from worklng as
eficiently as originally designed. If the overflow i9 too low water may be
contlnuou~ly lost through drainage.
As i8 well known, when the potable or drinking water supply in a
city becomes interrupted through mains breakage~pump failure or the llke,
there 18 the possibility that a vacuum may be created in the supply line whlch
can cause a siphoning suck-back action if an outlet from such line is immersed
in a body of water which lt is feeding. This can result in mixing of stagnant
ant drinking water with consequent pollution of the supply.
Another disadvantage in conventional tanks is that they require several
fixtures forming the pipes for the correct handling of the water, and to these
: 3 -
,:
- -- : - : : : .
- . :: -: : : . . . : . . . ' .
11~25~
there are generally added several elements to complete each mechanism, such as
bolts, valves,-levers, etc. This implies the existence of many parts which do
not always work efficiently after a certain period of use and when made of
metal are usually subject to corrosion.
It is an obiect of the present invention to overcome the difficulties
of the prior art to reduce the number of fittings required in toilet tanks,
while at the same time producing more efficient, ~afe and effective operation.
More particularly, in accordance with the invention there is provided
a toilet tank including a discharge passage for fl~shing water from said tank
w~ich comprises;
an inlet duct integraIly formed in a wall of said tank and terminating
at its upper end at a predetermined level in an inlet valve,
an overflow duct integrally formed in a wall of said tank and leading
to said discharge passage for discharge of overflow water through said overflow
duct into said passage,
a mouth defined on said overflow duct for receiving said overflow
water from said tank situated at a predetermined level below that of said upper
end of said inlet duct,
said inlet valve comprislng a conical protuberance formed integrally
with the upper end of said inlet duct, said protuberance having a centre bore
defined therein co~municating with the interior of said inlet duct for inlet
water flow through said bore, a stem receivet in said bore and a cap on said
stem, and sealing means carried around the upper end of said stem adjacent said
cap for sealing water flow from said bore upon downward movement of said c~p
and said stem into said bore. The overflow duct may be integrally formed with
the base of the tank across which it passes to intersect the discharge passage.
The inlet duct may diverge at its upper end to include a conical protuberance
~'2 -
.
." , , ,. ~ , ..,: ' , .
.
- : , . , ~
. ., - ~ .
:: , . , ' ~ . , :
,
. - , ,~
with a center bore communicating with the inlet duct, with a stem received in
the bore and a cap on the stem. A seal means is carried round the stem for
sealing waterflow through said bore upon downward movement of the cap and stem
into the bore. The cap may be com~ected to an arm carrying a float with the
arm pivoting in an ear on the inlet valve, and a threaded adjustment means
between the arm and the cap for vertical adjustment of the arm with respect to
the cap and stem. There may be a catchment space defined integrally with the
upper end of the inlet duct surrounding the protuberance for collecting make up
water to be supplied to the toilet bowl trap by introduction into the discharge
passage.
~' ,.
; ,
~ , , '' ' ' ' ' ' .
.
. ~ . .
2a -
' ;~ , '
.,~ ~ ; .
, ', , ' ' '. ' , :' . - , , ~ ,
Specific embodiments of the invention will now be descrlbed ha~ing
reference to the accompanying drawings in which;~
Figure 1 shows a front sectional view of a novel tank with inlet
valve,
Figure 2 illustrates an enlarged sectional view of the valve of Figure
1 in open position,
Figure 3 shows a section of the valve of Figure 1 in closed position,,
and Figure 4 shows an end sectional view of the tank on line IV-IV of
Figure 1.
~ As seen in the drawings, a tank 14 includes two ducts integrally
formed with its walls. A first duct 23 leads from the base of the tank, where
it i8 connected to a water inlet llne at 19 by means of an attached threaded
piece 18, through a right angle bend up an end face of the tank, to end at a
point near the top of the tank at 15. The section at 15 diverges slightly and
actually constitutes the body of an inlet valve for controlling the flow of
,
water into the tank. The valve is formed with a conical protuberance or
pro~ection 1 with a centre bore 2 which communicates with the interior of the
; duct 23 and through which water flows into the tank. The orifice at the upper
`~ qnd of bore 2 is closed when the tank is full by a hemi~pherlcal cap or bell 5r
,
;; ~ which is provided with a centrally located backing or support 4 and a seal
,
washer or packing30f rubber or other suitable ~ealing material. A guide stem 10
depends froD the support 4 and is received in bore 2. This serves to locate the
cap or bell 5, and hence the seal 3,precisely over the orifice and to guide its
:, , ,
vertical movement. The movement of the ~tem also prevents the accumulation of
incrustatlons or other particles on the walls of the bore 2, so that it remains
completely clean at all times, and permits water always to flow without risk of
pluyging ~ince it is cleaned automatically with every movement of~the cap 5 and
. , .
~ 3 ~
~:: :~ '
guide 10.
The body of valve 15 has on its side facing the center of the tank a
spigot 13 connected to a catchment space 12 surrounding the protuberance 1 and
to which spigot, the water pipe for supplying make up water for the toilet bowl
may be connected to seal the trap in the bowl. Such pipe can be connected to
discharge into upper opening 22 of duct 17where the waterthence f~ows into the
bowl. An ear 9 is located directly above the spigot 13, the ear having a bore
receiving a lever or actuating arm 7. The arm is attached to the ear by a pin
8 in such a way that it has a rocking movement in the ear with its travel being
limited in one direction by its connection with cap 5 which covers the outlet
orifice of the valve, and in the opposite direction by engagement with the walls
of the bore in the ear. The end of the lever or actuating arm 7 is connected
to a rod or bar 11 to the opposite end of which is in turn connected a float or
air chamber 16. In this way, when the tank is empty, descent of the float will
cause the cap or bell 5, seal 3 and stem 10 to lift (assised by water pressure)
so that water is smoothly discharged into the tank. The cap or bell 5 distri-
butes the water uniformly circularly downward thus preventing splash and possible
consequence of water seepage around the upper cover of the tank.
When the water reaches the desired normal full level, float 16 causes
the lever or actuating arm 7 to press down on the cap or bell 5, so that the
seal 3 presses against the shoulder of inlet orifice 2, cutting off the water
flow. When the tank contents are again discharged the cycle repeats connection
betwèen lever or actuating arm 7 and valve cap 5 can be adjusted by means of a
screw 6 carried on the arm which allows the shut off level of water in the tank
to be varied as required.
; On one of the tank faces there is also a vertical duct 17 which is built
~ into the tank forming an integral part thereof and made of the same material,
;~ with its upper mouth or opening 22 located at a level below that of
': .. ,
:~ _ 4 _
' '' ' ~ ' "' '',' ' ' '' '' ' .. '' ' '': . ; ", ' ~ , ', ' "
- ' :, ~ ~ , .' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' " ' ., ,: ' , ,,, - ' '
,,
1~25~ ~
supply or inlet duct 2. The duct 17 turns through 90 at the tank bottom along
which it continues and intersects at 20 the vertical wall 21 of the flush dis-
charge orifice housing of the toilet tank, so that communication with the toilet
bowl always exists, whether the discharge orifice is open or closed.
The purpose of this arrangemént is that the height of the entry to
the overflow duct or pipe is pre-set to optimum and cann~t be varled. If water
is admitted to the tank so that the set level to which the tank shoulia fill is
exceeded due to some deficiency in the closing of inlet valve, any excess of
water drains directly to the toilet bowl through the flush dlscharge passage
below the discharge orifice. Because the upper end 22 of the inlet duèt 23 is
higher than upper opening 22 of duct 17 there is no danger of siphon back to
the water supply mains should the pres~ure there fail. Since the height of
mouth 22 is predetermined and can not be changed there i8 no danger of this
being placed too low during repair of the tank, whereby water could wastefully
drain away through setting of the "full" level of the tank being above the
upper end of the overflow member.
The flush discharge orifice valve assembly and actuating means ia
conventional and is not here described.
- , . ~ . .
.
