Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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2052084
MULTI ACTION BACK WATER VALVE
SYSTEM WITH RAT PROTECTOR
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
51. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to back water
valve systems and, more particularly, to a back water
valve system for installation at the entrance of a
city sewer system into a dwelling for protection
against sewer back-ups while allowing for free
circulation of sewer gases through the valve system
and providing protection against the entrance of
pests, such as rats, into the dwelling from the city
sewer system.
152. DescriPtion of the Prior Art
Existing back water valves provide for
protection of the dwelling against sewer back-ups but
without allowing for free circulation of sewer gases
therethrough. Because of this structure, installation
of such conventional valves is not permitted at the
entrance of the main drain to the house. Therefore,
it is necessary to install back water valves on every
plumbing fixture located below the street level in
order the protect it against sewer back-ups.
Furthermore, it is virtually impossible to
clean existing back water valves by way of fish
wires. Indeed, the fish wire will pass through the
valve from the dwelling side thereof but the fish
wire can only be withdrawn with difficulty from the
valve in view of the return closing action of the
flapper thereof which traps the fish wire between the
flapper and the valve seat.
Moreover, existing back water valves are
not equipped with any devices allowing for the
release of pressure built up inside the sewer line
which can be caused by a blocked drain.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an aim of the present
invention to eliminate secondary back water valves
with a novel main back water valve system adapted for
installation at the entrance of a city sewer system
into a dwelling while allowing for free circulation
of sewer gases through the back water valve system of
the present invention.
It is also an aim of the present invention
to provide a novel back water valve which provides
constant protection against the entrance of pests,
such as rats, into the dwelling from the city sewer
system.
It is a further aim of the present
invention to provide a back water valve system having
a novel flapper which facilitates the cleaning of the
valve, for instance, when a fish wire is used
therefor.
Therefore, in accordance with the present
invention, there is provided a valve assembly for use
on a sewage line or the like, comprising housing
means defining sewage inlet and outlet openings
adapted to be connected respectively to sewage inlet
and outlet sections of the sewage line, one-way valve
means and gas flow means being provided in said
housing means between the inlet and outlet sections
of the sewage line, said one-way valve means being
adapted to allow for a flow through said housing
means from the inlet section of the sewage line
towards the outlet section thereof while preventing
a back-up flow through said housing means from the
outlet section of the sewage line towards the inlet
section thereof, said gas flow means being located
above said one-way valve means and being adapted to
allow sewer gases to circulate through said housing
means.
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Also in accordance with the present
invention, there is provided a conduit assembly for
allowing sewer gases to flow in a sewage line or the
like, comprising opposite first and second ends
adapted to be fluidly connected at spaced apart
locations on the sewage line, gas flow means being
provided in said conduit means between said first and
second ends thereof and above the sewage line and
being adapted to allow sewer gases to circulate
through said conduit means.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Having thus generally described the nature
of the invention, reference will now be made to the
accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration
a preferred embodiment thereof, and in which:
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal and vertical
cross-sectional view of a back water valve system in
accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a transversal and vertical cross-
sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a schematical side elevational
cross-sectional view of part of the back water valve
system of Fig. 1 showing a pivot of a flapper of the
valve system when a fish wire is inserted
therethrough from the dwelling side of the valve
system; and
Fig. 4 is a schematical side elevational
cross-sectional view showing part of the valve system
of Fig. 1 in a way similar to Fig. 3, but wherein the
flapper is shown as the fish wire is being removed
from the valve system.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Since existing back water valves do not
permit free passage of sewer gases through the valve,
installation of such existing back water valves is
not allowed at the entrance of the main drain of a
dwelling, such as a house. Therefore, it is necessary
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to install separate back water valves on every
plumbing fixture located below the street level so as
to protect it against sewer back-ups. Hence,
conventional back water valves must be installed
possibly on each of the following fixtures: basement
bathroom, garage pit or floor drain, french drain
pit, washing machine drain, laundry tub, etc.
Therefore, in accordance with the present
invention, Fig. 1 illustrates a back water valve
system S which eliminates conventional secondary back
water valves while allowing for free circulation of
sewer gases therethrough and providing continuous
protection against rats and other small animals.
The valve system S comprises a housing 10
which includes therein a transversally extending
separation wall 12 having an upper substantially
vertical section 14 and a lower section 16 merging
therewith and extending at a slight angle with
respect to a vertical transversal plane 18 of the
housing 10. The lower section 16 of the wall 12
defines a circular lower opening 20 with a one-way
double-hinged flapper 22 being provided for closing,
in a normal position thereof, this lower opening 20.
In Fig. 1, reference numerals 24 and 26 correspond to
the ends of the valve system S which are adapted for
connection respectively to the entrance of the main
drain of the dwelling and to the city sewer conduit.
Therefore, in Fig. 1, the right side of the valve
system S with respect to the wall 12 is referred to
as the city sewer side of the valve system S, whereas
the section of the valve system S located at the left
of the separation wall 12 is referred to as the
dwelling side of the valve system S. The flapper 22
has a normally closed position which is maintained by
the forces of gravity and which is reinforced by the
hydrodynamic forces of any back-up occurring on the
city side 26 of the valve system S.
2052084
Therefore, the lower section 16 of the
separation wall 12 acts as a one-way check valve
adapted to protect the dwelling against sewer
back-ups. The flapper 22 of this check valve will
pivot along arrow 28 of Fig. 1 upon the impact
thereon of waste flowing from the dwelling towards
the city sewer thereby allowing for communication
through the lower opening 20 between the dwelling and
city sewer sides of the valve system S.
The upper section 14 of the separation wall
12 defines a circular upper opening 30 which is
partly obstructed by a screen 32. A city float 34 and
a dwelling float 36 which are provided respectively
on the city sewer side and on the dwelling side of
the valve system S are pivotally mounted to the
separation wall 12, below the upper opening 30, so as
to act as flappers each adapted to close the upper
opening 30. In a normal position of the floats 34 and
36, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the upper opening 30 is
not closed by either one of these floats 34 and 36,
whereby the screen 32 allows for a free flow of sewer
gases through the valve system S while protecting the
dwelling against the entry of pests, such as rats,
coming from the city sewer side 26 of the valve
system S. The operation and use of both the city and
dwelling floats 34 and 36 will be explained in
details hereinafter.
As best seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the
double-hinged flapper 22 comprises a circular plate
38 adapted to close the lower opening 20 and an
intermediate hinge 40 which is hingedly connected at
a lower end thereof to an upper end of the circular
plate 38 and at an upper end thereof to the
separation wall 12, above the lower opening 20
thereof. The use and operation of the one-way check
valve provided by the flapper 22 will be described in
details hereinafter.
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The housing 10 includes a removable cover
42 which is secured thereto with screws with a gasket
being provided between the cover 42 and a seat
therefor defined on the upper end of the housing 10.
The removable cover 42 provides for a free access to
the inside of the valve system S. A threaded opening
44 is defined in the cover 42 for the installation of
a globe relief valve to allow for pressure release
when the sewer line gets blocked. Indeed, with such a
release valve, the existing pressure inside the line
can be released, such as on the city side 26 of the
valve system S. With this feature, a water line or an
air line can be connected to the cover relief valve
(or directly to threaded opening 44) for facilitating
the cleaning of the sewer line and, in some cases,
the unblocking thereof, thereby eliminating the
requirement of a fish wire and allowing the sewer
line to be unblocked without spillage of sewer water
around the valve system S.
As mentioned hereinabove, the flapper 22 in
its normal position closes the lower opening 20,
whereas both the city and dwelling floats 34 and 36
allow for gaseous communication through the screen 32
between the dwelling and city sewer sides of the
valve system S. However, when there are sewer
back-ups, the one-way flapper 22 is forced towards
the lower opening 20 of the lower section 16 of the
separation wall 12 thereby preventing any sewer
spillage through the lower opening 20 into the
dwelling. Sufficient sewer back-ups will also cause
the c ity f loat 3 4 to upwardly pivot along arrow 4 6 o:E
Fig. 1 towards the separation wall 12 so as to close
the upper opening 30 and thus prevent sewer back-ups
spillage through this upper opening 30 while also
protecting the screen 32 against fouling. Indeed, a
rising liquid (e.g. sewage) level on the city side of
the valve system S initiates the closing of the city
2 0 ~ 2 0 ~ 4
float 34 with the hydrodynamic forces of the back-up
flow completing the closing of the city float 34. The
city float 34 returns to its normally open position
under the influence of gravity when the liquid level
subsides.
On the other hand, if there is an excessive
flow of sewer waste water from the dwelling, the
dwelling float 36 will pivot along arrow 48 towards
the separation wall 12 so as to close the upper
opening 30 and also to protect the screen 32 against
fouling (for the same reasons as the city float 34).
The opening and closing actions of the dwelling float
36 are similar, if not identical, to those of the
city float 34.
Now referring to Figs. 3 and 4, when it is
desired to use a fish wire W for cleaning the valve
system S and the sewage pipe on the city side 26 of
the flapper 22, the fish wire W can be introduced
from the dwelling side along arrow 50 of Fig. 3
through the lower opening 20 thereby causing the
flapper 22 to pivot along arrow 52 (also of Fig. 3),
whereby the fish wire W extends through the lower
opening 20. The problem encountered with conventional
back-up valves when the fish wire is removed
therefrom is solved in the present invention by the
double-hinged flapper 22 as, when the fish wire W is
pulled back along arrow 54 of Fig. 4, the
intermediate hinge 40 of the flapper 22 will move
forward thereby lifting the circular plate 38 of the
flapper 22 (wherein the circular plate 38 and the
intermediate hinge 40 rotate in opposite directions)
and thus allowing for the fish wire W to be pulled
out from the lower opening 20. The flapper 22 then
returns to its closed position (i.e. blocking the
lower opening 20) under the influence of gravity.
In summary, the flapper 22 is a
double-swiveled member which stays in a normally
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closed position during the operation of the valve
system S for protecting the dwelling against back-ups
of the sewer. The flapper 22 will open on impact on
the waste flowing from the dwelling. The city float
34 is a flapper equipped with a float which is
normally open for allowing sewer gases to pass
- through the valve system S at the upper opening 30
thereof, although this city float 34 will close the
upper opening 30 under sufficient sewer back-up for
preventing sewer spillage through the valve system S
into the dwelling and for preventing fouling of the
screen 32. The dwelling float 36 is a flapper
equipped with a float provided on the dwelling side
of the valve system S and which normally stays open
for allowing for the passage through the valve system
S of the sewer gases, although the dwelling float 36
can close when there is excessive flow of waste water
coming from the dwelling thereby protecting the
screen 32 against fouling. The screen 32 allows for a
free passage of the sewer gases while protecting the
dwelling against intrusion of rats or other pests
which would otherwise possibly pass through the valve
system S from the city sewer towards the dwelling.
The present valve system S can be made
completely out of plastic materials or cast iron with
brass flappers, depending on local codes. The valve
system S can be installed in existing houses or in
new installations on the main sewer drain, right
after the cleanout at the entrance.
The back water valve system S of the
present invention is thus a one-way check valve
adapted to be installed at the entrance of the city
sewer system into the dwelling for providing
protection against sewer back-ups while allowing for
free circulation of the sewer gases through the valve
system and while also providing constant protection
against the entrance of pests into the dwelling. The
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valve system S is designed so that the normal flow of
the sewage remains unimpeded.
As mentioned hereinbefore, the present back
water valve system S is a main back water valve which
replaces the required plurality of secondary
conventional valves used on each of a series of
dwelling fixtures. Therefore, the valve system S
eliminates a large number of secondary valves thereby
providing for substantial cost savings.
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