Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CROSS REFERENCES TO PRIOR A~T
U.S. patent No. 2,773,268 - Flush Valve, ~lurko et
al, issued December 11, 1956.
U.S. patent No. 3,839,746 - Dual Flush I'oilets,
Kowalksi, issued October 8, 1974.
U.S. patent No. 3,908,203 - Toilet Flush System,
Jackson, issued September 30, 1975.
U.S. patent ~o. 4,032,997 - Flush Toilet Access-
ory, Phripp et al, issued July 5, 1977.
U.S. patent ~o. 4,114,204 - Water-Flow Device and
Method, ~lach, issued September 19, 1978.
U.S. patent No. 4,134,165 - Flush Toilet Access-
ory, Phripp et al., issued January 16, 1979.
U.S. patent No. 4,183,107 - Variable Flush Toilet
Valve Mechanism, Hare et al., issued January 15, 1980.
U.S. patent No. 4,224,703 - Flush Tank Valve Clo-
ser, Makhobey, issued September 30, 1980.
U.S. patent No. 4,388,736 - Tank Flushing Means,
Roosa et al., issued June 21, 1983.
U.S. patent No. 4,391,003 - Water-Saving Device
for Use with Toilets, Talerico et al, issued July 5, 1983.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to flush toilets and more
particularly to an assembly which attaches to a convent-
ional flush toilet and which permits adjustment in the
amount of water discharged from the tank during each flush.
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A well recognized fault of conventional flush
toilets, particularly those of older manufacture, is that
they consume too much water during each flush. Such toilets
were manufactured at a time when water was abundant and
when little or no thought was given to the necessity of
restricting the amount of water required to flush the
toilet.
Water now is now no longer abundant. In many
localities measures have been adopted to restrict the
amount of water consumed. Measures such as levies on the
amount of water consumed and on the amount of effluent
discharged into sewers are now commonplace.
Most toilets are now designed to consume much less
water than toilets of older design. Toilets tend to last
for many years however and there are many still in use that
were built years ago. There is a need for effective ways of
reducing the amount of water consumed by such toilets.
Various ways of reducing the amount of water con-
sumed during a flush are known. The most common method is
to place a brick in the tank of the toilet. That method is
quite effective but may result in a toilet bowl that is
incompletely evacuated because of insufficient water in the
tank. There is no ready means by which the amount of water
can be adjusted in the tank to ensure that there is suff-
icient water to evacuate the bowl completely.
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Many of the patents referred to above show devices
which permit such an acljustment. U.S. patent No. 4,134,165
to Phripp et al. for example describes a device which is
attached to the air cylinder or float of a flushing mechan-
ism. The position of the device on the float determines the
amount of water which discharyes from the tank during each
flush. There is provision for adjusting that position so
that the amount of discharge can be adjusted to no more
than that necessary to evacuate the bowl.
A shortcoming of known water saving devices such
as that described in the Phripp et al patent is that the
devices cannot be readily attached to a flushing mechanism
of conventional design. Modifications must be made in the
structure of the flushing mechanism before such devices can
be attached to them. Other known devices can only be in-
stalled with a degree of skill which is higher than that
possessed by most persons.
~ nother shortcoming of many known water saving
devices is that they are relatively complicated of con-
struction and hence cannot be manufactured cheaply.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a
device which permits the adjustment of water which dischar-
ges from a toilet during each flush. The device is simple
of construction and can be readily installed in a flush
toilet of conventional design by a person who does not
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possess special skills~
Another object is to provide a device whichrnay be
removably attached to a wide range of sizes of conventional
flushing mechanisms.
Another object is to provide a device having means
by which its position within the tank of a toilet can be
readily adjusted in order to adjust the amount of water
discharged from the tank during each flush.
These and other objects are accomplished in an
assembly for flushing a toilet and adapted to be mounted
within the tank of the toilet, the assembly having a valve
mechanism adapted to open and close an outlet through which
water discharges from the tank and a cylindrical float
attached thereto, the valve mechanism and float being oper-
atively connected to each other and adapted to pivot within
the tank~ The improvement of the subject invention com-
prises a water saving attachment having a clip formed of
resilient material and provided with an arcuate inner wall
and adapted to partially encircle and to frictionally and
slideably engage the outer wall of the float such the clip
may be snapped into and out of engagement with the float
and its position on the outer wall may be adjusted by
rotating the clip about the outer wall, and a weight which
is attached to the clip and the position of which in the
tank can be adjusted by adjustment of the position of the
clip on the outer wall.
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DESCRIPTI()N OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is described in detail with refer-
ence to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is an elevation of a conventional flush-
ing assembly shown in conjunction with the water saving
attachment of the invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view, in en-
larged scale, of the water saving attachment;
Yigure 3 is an end view of the attachment; and
Figures 4 and 5 are elevations of the flushing
assembly in at the time of commencement of a f lush and
prior to completion of the f lush~
C.ike reference parts refer to like parts through-
out the description of the drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference to Figure 1, the àssembly for
flushing a toilet is indicated generally by the numeral 10
and is shown in conjunction with the bottom wall of a tank
11. A valve seat 12 is mounted in an outlet aperture 13 in
the bottom wall and a supporting element 14 extends upward-
ly from the valve seat. An arm 16 is pivotally connected at
17 to the upper end of element 14. An elastomeric valve
member 18 is connected to the arm and is adapted to open
and close an outlet pipe 20. The arm also supports a fully
enclosed and sealed cylindrical air chamber or float 22 and
an upwardly open cylindrical water chamber 24. A chain 26
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is provi~ed to permit the operator to pull upwardly on the
arm 16 thus moving it counterclockwise with respect to the
column 14. Counterclockwise motion raises the elastomeric
valve member fro~ the outlet pipe 20 and initiates the
flushing action.
The asse~bly described above is conventional and
is described in detail in a number of patents including
U.S. patent No. 2,773.26~ to Hurko et al mentioned above.
With reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the water
saving attachment or improvement of the subject invention,
generally 28, includes a clip 3G and a weight 32. The clip
has an arcuate cross section and its inside diameter,
indicated 30a, is the same as or is slightly greater than
the outer diameter of float 22, indicated 22a in Figure 1.
The clip is formed of resilient material such as
resilient plastic, stainless steel or the like and may be
attached to the float by forcing its lower edges 34a,b
against the outer wall of the float to cause the walls of
the clip to separate and to snap into contact with the
outer wall of the float so that it partially encircles the
float as illustrated in Figure l. Since the inner wall of
the clip conforms to the shape of the outer wall of the
float, the inner wall of the clip makes contact with the
outer wall of the float throughout substantially its entire
extent.
When the clip is in the position illustrated in
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Figure l, it is firmly attached by friction to the float
but its position on the outer wall may be adjusted by
rotating it manually about the outer wall . The clip is cut
away at 36 so that arm 16 will not interfere with rotation
of the clip.
The clip is provided with two pairs of jaws 38, 40
at opposite ends to permit removable attachment of weight
32. Each jaw is semi-circu]ar in shape and is formed of
resiliently deformable material. End walls 42,44 are pro-
vided at opposite ends of the clip.
Weight 32 is cylindrical in shape and its outer
wall conforms to the shape of the inner walls of the jaws.
The weight may be attached to the jaws by pressing the
weight against the opening of the jaws to cause the jaws to
separate resiliently and to snap into engagement with the
weight. The end walls prevent the weight from sliding out
of engagement when they are in contact with the jaws.
By means of the resiliently deformable jaws the
weight can be removed and replaced by a different weight of
greater or lesser weight.
The operation of the water saving attachment is
described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Prior to the
flushing of the tank~ the water in the tank is at the level
shown in the former Figure. Upon initiation of the flush,
valve 1~ is rotated to the position shown in that Figure as
chain 26 is pulled upward and water discharges through
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outlet pipe 20.
As the level of water falls, the additional mass
of weight 32 exerts a clockwise closing torque on the f loat
22 and the valve 1~ will move downwardly toward the opening
of pipe 20. ~s soon as the valve is within a predetermined
distance of the pipe, the differential pressure of water
above and below the valve caused by the movement of the
water will add more closing torque and the valve will snap
suddenly closed.
~ 7ith reference to Figure 5, the valve is shown in
the position immediately before it blocks the flow of water
through pipe 20. The level of the water is above the level
of the valve.
The position of the weight on the float can be
adjusted by rotating it clockwise or counter-clockwise on
the outer float wall in the direction of arrow 40. As the
position is changed, the moment of the weight about pivot
17 changes with resulting change in the amount of closing
torque applied to the valve by the weight. The greater the
moment, the more rapidly the valve will close and the less
water will discharge through the outlet pipe before the
valve closes. Conversely, the smaller the moment, the more
slowly the valve will close and the more water will dis-
charge from the tank.
It will be understood of course that modifications
can be made in the preferred embodiment described herein
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without departing from the scope and purview of the inven-
tion as defined in the appencied claims.
