22: 2. April 23, 1968 O. J. BENNETT 3,378,856 FLOAT WALWE GUIDE FOR WATER CLOSET TANK MEM ATIORNEYS 42, - 29

Transcription

1 April 23, 1968 O. J. BENNETT 3,378,86 FLOAT WALWE GUIDE FOR WATER CLOSET TANK Filed Aug. 27, Sheets-Sheet al ele sawaasaasavaawaaaaaaaaayawawasawaxaawasawasawsh 43 Sa 42, - 29 MEM 22: 2 ATIORNEYS

2 April 23, 1968 O. J. BENNETT 3,378,86 FLOAT WALWE GUIDE FOR WATER CLOSET TANK Filed Aug. 27, Sheets-Sheet 2. M ZZZZZZ v TesseO M E E. 4 UseuS INVENTOR. Orvan J. Benneff ' ATTORNEYS

3 United States Patent Office 3,378,86 Patented Apr. 23, ,378,86 FLOAT WALWE GUIDE FOR WATER CLOSET TANK Orvan J. Bennett, Fort Lupton, Colo., assignor to Orvan J. Bennett, Fort Lupton, Jack E. Bennett, Denver, and Adena A. Baskor, Longmont, Colo. Filed Aug. 27, 196, Ser. No. 483,260 3 Caims. (C. 4-7) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention concerns a float valve guide for a stand ard Water closet tank. The guide replaces the conven tional metal sleeve through which the lift rod on the float valve would conventionally extend. The guide is formed as an inverted, cup-like structure adapted to receive the float valve. It has an enlarged orifice in its top to receive the boss at the top of the float valve. The cup-shaped float valve guide is sized and positioned to receive and to hold the float valve a suitable distance above the entrance seat of the discharge pipe at the floor of the water tank so that it will drop upon the seat as the tank drains. When lifted, the fioat valve fits loosely within the guide, with the float valve boss being in the orifice top. When the float valve is dropped onto the seat to close the water tank, the lift rod is in the orifice where it is permitted to Swing to any of a number of various posi tions which the float valve might assume while it is mov ing to its seat. ww.s... This invention relates to water closet tanks and more particularly to float valve guides therefor, a primary ob ject of the invention being to provide a novel and im proved guiding arrangement for the float valve of a water closet tank which effects enhanced and reliable operation Without maintenance for a long period of time. As such, the invention will be referred to as a "float valve guide. The construction of a water closet tank, its controls, the intake valve and the float valve which closes the outlet have become almost completely standardized. Moreover, most parts needed to repair these tanks are easily obtained at low cost and may be installed by anyone without the need for special tools or skills. Perhaps the most vexing problem encountered in the operation of a conventional water closet tank occurs whenever the rod holding the float valve becomes worn or rusted, or when the guide holding this rod becomes worn or accidentally misaligned. This will cause the float valve to stick, not seat properly and leak, often in an erratic manner with the float valve functioning properly for awhile and then sticking for no apparent reason. Another diametrically opposite problem lies in the fact that when the float valve is properly op erating in its guide, it will always seat in the same posi tion, and this tends to wear out the valve much quicker than if it were to be seated in a slightly different position upon each operation. Many different types of valves, such as hinged valves, have been proposed and devised to improve the perform ance of a conventional water closet, and while Some are worthwhile improvements, none have been generally ac cepted. It appears that most people are so familiar with a conventional water closet construction, that they are re luctant to change the components therein, and are es pecially reluctant to use any construction which requires anything other than easily available float valves and the simple, cheap lift rods which are attached to the float valve and to the lift lever, and which must be replaced from time to time. The present invention was conceived and developed with the foregoing considerations in view, and comprises, in essence, a float valve guiding structure which replaces ww. O the restrictive rod guide of a conventional unit and which is distinctive in that the float valve itself is guided to its Seat, and the lift rod attached to the float valve is not held or restricted in any passageways which may wear. Accordingly, another object of the invention is to pro vide a novel and improved float valve guide for a water closet tank which is adapted to be installed in a conven tional Water closet tank to replace the conventional rod guide without modifying or altering the other conven tional components in the tank in any way whatsoever, so that standard, easily-available float valves and rods may be used whenever maintenance is required. which gives the float valve a moderate degree of freedom of movement, but at the same time precisely guides it to a proper seating position upon every operation, also with the seating action occurring at slightly different positions on the body of the valve upon each operation to provide for a maximum operative life of the float valve. which does not need to be set in a precise manner for proper operation and which eliminates problems con cerned with fauity operation of a water closet because of wear or slight misalignment of the components therein. which may be used interchangeably with practically any conventional unit although small differences in dimen sions will occur in the various different types of Water closet units. Other objects of the invention are to provide a novel which is a simple, low-cost and easily-installed unit and may be manufactured from materials which will permit it to last for the life of the tank. With the foregoing and other objects in view, all of which more fully hereinafter appear, my invention com prises certain constructions, combinations and arrange ments of parts and elements as hereinafter described, de fined in the appended claims and illustrated in preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawing, in which: FIGURE 1 is a front elevation view of a water closet tank, but with a substantial portion of the front wall of the tank being removed to show the interior thereof and with the improved float valve mounted in position above the outlet of the tank, FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional and plan view of the tank interior as taken from the indicated line 2-2 at FIG. 1, but on an enlarged scale. FIGURE 3 is a sectional elevational view as taken from the indicated line 3-3 at FIG. 2. FIGURE 4 is an isometric view of the float valve guid per se. FIGURE is a plan view of a float valve guide, as from the indicated arrow at FIG. 4, but illustrating a modified construction of the same. FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevation view, similar to FIG. 3, but showing the float valve as being lifted for discharge of the water from the tank. FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view, similar to FIG. 3, but illustrating at one extreme position which the float valve may assume when it returns to the seat and with broken lines indicating another position which the float valve may assume when it returns to the seat. Referring more particularly to the drawing, the conven tional water closet tank, wherein the improved valve guide is used, will be first described. FIG. 1 is illustrative of a conventional water closet tank T, a box-like unit having

4 3 comparatively narrow sidewalls s, a bottom b, a front wall f and a rear wall r, a lid l to complete the unit. This tank may be mounted either upon a wall behind a Water closet or upon the water closet itself in any conventional manner, not shown. An inlet line 10 extends upwardly through the bottom b at one side of the tank to upstand within the tank with a shut off valve 11 being affixed to the top of the line 10 near the top of the tank. This shut off valve is closed by a lever 12 having a float E3 at its outer end, the lever being adjusted to permit the tank to fill to a selected level before being shut off. The outlet structure for the tank is at an opening 14 located at the center of the bottom b of the tank, and this outlet is formed as a pre-assembled structure carried upon a short, tubular discharge pipe 1 which is adapted to be mounted within the opening 14. The pipe 1 is formed with a belled entrance 16 which functions as a valve seat. A flange 17 girdles the pipe 1 a short dis tance below the seat and is adapted to rest upon a washer gasket 18 which, in turn, rests upon the bottom of the tank about the opening 14, with the pipe 1 extending downwardly and through the opening. This lower portion of the pipe is externally threaded, as at 19, to receive a lock nut 20 which may be turned against a washer 21 at the underside of the tank bottom, this arrangement being effective to secure the outlet structure to the bottom of the tank with a water-tight fit. The bottom of this pipe 1 may be connected to a conduit or directly to the back of a closet bowl in any conventional manner, not shown. The outlet structure also includes an overflow pipe 22 which upstands from an arm 23 which, in turn, outstands laterally from the discharge pipe 1 in the short space between the entrance 16 and the mounting flange 17, the arm 23 including a passageway 24 opening into the side of the pipe and communicating with the overflow pipe. A resilient, hollow float valve 2 is adapted to close the outlet by seating upon the outlet entrance 16 and is formed of rubber or a suitable rubber-like material. This float is conventionally formed with a lower portion 26 being Substantially hemispherical, and constituting the seat ing portion thereof. An opening 27 is located at the bot tom of this hemispherical seating portion to drain the valve whenever it is seated. The upper portion, above the equator of the seating hemisphere 26, is formed as a flat sloped shoulder 28 having a boss 29 upstanding from the center of the valve. The boss 29 includes a short, tubular insert of rigid material which is internally threaded to receive a lift rod 31 which upstands from the valve to extend upwardly into the tank. The lift rod 31 is a rigid, wire-like member approxi mately four inches long, having threads 32 at its base, connecting it into the insert, and an eye 33 at its top which serves as an abutment for a pull rod 34. The pull rod 34 is slidably connected to the lift rod and is adapted to extend upwardly from the lift rod to a lift arm near the top of the tank. The pull rod is offset from the lift rod by having its lower end turned laterally to form a short offset 3. This offset terminates as a side eye 36 through which the lift rod 31 extends. The upper end of the pull rod 34 is connected to the lift arm 37 near the top of the tank. This lift arm, in turn, is carried on a pivot, not shown, which extends through the front wall of the Water tank to carry an external hand level 38. This conventional arrangement of components for a Water closet tank is fully operative even without a valve guide, although such operation would not be dependable. The hand lever 38 may be depressed to raise the lift arm 28 which, in turn, by pulling the pull rod 34 and lift rod 31 upwardly, lifts the float valve 2 from its seat 16 to initiate a flushing action. Once the hollow float valve 2 is pulled away from the seat 16, it rises towards the water Surface within the tank with the lift rod 31 sliding up Wardly in the eye 36 of the pull rod. As the tank empties, the float Surface within the tank with the lift rod 31 slid ing upwardly in the eye 36 of the pull rod. As the tank 3,378,86 O empties, the float valve then drops downwardly and final ly into position upon the outlet to initiate another cycle of operation. The improved valve guide is formed as an inverted, cup-like structure having a cylindrical wall 41 depending from a top 42 as a skirt. This skirt 41 is approximately one-fourth inch greater in diameter than the equator of the float valve 2 and has a height approximately the same as the height of the float valve, for in operation of the unit, the float valve will move upwardly into this guide to fit loosely therein. The top 42 is formed with an en larged central orifice 43 through which the lift rod 31 extends, with the orifice 43 being sized to receive the boss 29 on the float valve with a moderately loose fit, as in the manner illustrated at FIG. 6. This valve guide is carried upon an arm 44 which extends across the top to reinforce it and extends later ally and to one side thereof for connection with the over flow pipe 22. This connection of the arm 44 with the over flow pipe 22 may be in various ways. The arm illustrated at FIG. 3 includes an orifice 4 extending through it which is reinforced by a depending hub 46 to hold the arm in a Substantially rigid, outstanding position. It is contemplated that this valve guide may be manufactured of a comparatively stiff, but resilient ma terial, such as a moderately hard rubber so that it will normally retain its shape when in use, but will yield to shock or undue pressure to prevent its breaking. Also, it is contemplated that the orifice 4 in the reinforcing flange will be of a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the overflow pipe 22 so that it may be slid into position upon the pipe with a tight, resilient fit. This valve guide may also be made of a synthetic resin, Such as a high-impact styrene which, though compara tively rigid, is sufficiently resilient to yield to shock or pressure and will not easily break. This will require a modified construction of an arm 44a to provide a con nection to an overflow pipe 22, such as illustrated at FIG.. A slot 47 is cut into the end of the arm 44a to the orifice 4a. A wing nut 48 extends through suitable holes in the end of the arm 44a transversely of the slot, and this wing nut 48 is adapted to be tightened to narrow the slot and decrease the diameter of the orifice 4a. Accordingly, when the arm 44a is mounted upon the overflow pipe 22, it is secured in position with a tight, positive fit by the simple operation of tightening the wing nut 48. The valve guide must be positioned on the overflow pipe 22 so that it is directly above the discharge pipe 1, and in an alignment such that the axis of the guide will be as close as is practical to the vertical axis of the dis charge pipe 1. Actually, a precise alignment of the guide with the discharge pipe 1 is not essential because of the very loose fit of the valve 2 when it is within the guide cup. This permissible leeway in the alignment of the guide with respect to the discharge pipe 1 is ad vantageous in that it not only permits installation of the valve guide without the need of a precise setting operation, but also permits a standard valve guide structure to be produced which will fit any one of a number of different commercial makes of outlet structures where the location of the overflow pipe 22 with respect to the outlet pipe 1 may vary as much as one-fourth inch. Also, the valve guide must be placed on the overflow pipe 22 at a selected distance above the discharge pipe. This distance, which may be referred to as the distance of the lower edge 0 of the skirt 41 above the outlet entrance 16, may be varied somewhat, but on a rule-of-thumb basis, it is preferably one-half the diameter of the outlet pipe 1. In a conventional water tank which is provided With a two-inch pipe 1, this distance would be thus one inch. This positioning of the valve guide above the seat may be varied somewhat from the one-half diameter rule, but it still must be between limits which can be easily es tablished by simple tests. If the guide is too close to the

5 . outlet, the float valve will drop back onto and close the outlet whenever it is lifted into the cup-like guide, for the rush of water past the skirt edge 0 and into the outlet will not provide sufficient buoyancy to support the valve 2. Based upon theoretical considerations, a limiting posi tion would be a distance where the distance of the skirt edge 0 above the outlet entrance 6 is approximately one-fourth of diameter of the pipe 1, or one-half inch. If the guide is too far above the outlet, the float valve may shift or be thrown laterally and out of alignment with the seat as it drops towards the outlet entrance when the tank is being emptied. This is because of an erratic swirling action of water which occurs as the water closet tank is being emptied and when the water level may actually be below the skirt edge 0. However, this lateral shifting of the valve cannot occur until the outer edge of the shoulder 28 drops below the skirt 41 of the guide. Accordingly, if the lower end of the valve 2 is sufficiently close to the outlet entrance 16 as to be within the influence of water flowing into that entrance before the shoulder of the valve drops below the lower skirt edge 0, lateral displacement cannot occur. A maximum height of the skirt edge 0 above the entrance 16 is approximately one diameter of the pipe 1, or two inches, but as a practical matter, this maximum height may be established as being approxi mately three-fourths of a the diameter of pipe, where the bottom of the float valve is substantially within the outlet entrance 16 before the shoulder drops below the lower skirt edge 0. A further advantage of the valve guide resides in per mitting a free seating action as the float valve closes when the water closet is drained. The lift rod 3i upstanding from the float valve 2 is laterally restrained only by the comparatively large orifice 43 and the top 42 of the guide. This permits the float valve 2 to rotate slightly as it rests upon the seat 16. In this manner, the float valve can find a proper seating position every time it closes, and it will also seat at different positions upon each closure to en hance and extend its useful life, variations of closure being illustrated at FIG. 7. have now described my invention in considerable de tail; however, it is obvious that others skilled in the art can build and devise alternate and equivalent construc tions which are nevertheless within the spirit and scope of my invention. Hence, I desire that my protection be limited not by the constructions illustrated and described, but only by the proper scope of the appended claims. What is claimed is: 1. The combination with a water closet tank having an 3,378, outlet entrance seat at the floor thereof, a standpipe ad jacent thereto,a float valve adapted to normally rest upon the seat to close the outlet formed as a hollow, generally hemispherical body with a boss at its top from whence a lift rod upstands, and means to pull the lift rod to lift the valve from the orifice seat, of: a guide, in the gen eral form of an inverted cup, adapted to be mounted with in the tank and upon the standpipe a short distance above the float valve, said guide having generally cylindrical walls with a diameter sufficiently large to receive the float valve with a loose fit when it is lifted from the outlet seat, a generally flattened top with an orifice therein adapted to receive the boss of the float valve when the float valve moves into the guide, and means associated with the standpipe to hold the guide above the outlet, whereby when the float valve is lifted, as to drain the water closet tank, it will move upwardly and into the guide with the boss moving into the top orifice and, as the tank is drained, the float valve will be restrained by the guide to drop onto the outlet entrance with the lift rod then being within the top orifice to fit therein with a very loose, sloppy fit, permitting random movements of the float valve as it drops onto the seat without restriction by the move ments of the lift rod in the orifice. 2. In the organization set forth in claim 1, where the lower edge of the guide is above the outlet entrance a distance which is approximately one-half the outlet di arinete. 3. In the organization set forth in claim 1 where the lower edge of the guide is above the outlet entrance a distance which is greater than one-fourth the outlet di ameter and less than one outlet diameter. References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,439,268 12/1922 Shoppe et al ,087,099 7/1937 Tilden ,13,231 11/1938 David ,626,399 1/193 Blair ,67,39 1 1/193 Walker ,689,32 9/194 Pegler ,719,4 10/19 Schultz FOREIGN PATENTS 1,369,900 7/1964 France. LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner. D. MASSENBERG, Assistant Examiner.