Flush mechanism for a water closet and operating means therefor

Abstract

 The invention relates to a flush mechanism (1) for a water closet, comprising a cistern (2) having a flush outlet (4), a movable flush valve (5) cooperating with said outlet (4), and operating means (6) connected to said flush valve (5) for moving said valve (5) from its closed to its open position, said operating means (6) comprising flexible operating member (18). This flexible operating member (18) allows the position of the operating means (6) with respect to the flush valve (5) to be freely chosen. The operating means (6) may comprise a push member (20) to be operated by a user, said flexible operating member (18) which may be a flexible push rod or cable, interconnecting said push member (20) and said flush valve. The flush mechanism (1) may further comprise means (12) e.g. a lever for converting a push force transmitted by said flexible push rod or cable (18) into a lifting force acting on said flush valve (5), said force converting means (12) being arranged near said flush valve (5).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a flush mechanism for a water closet, comprising a cistern having at least one flush outlet, a flush valve cooperating with said at least one outlet, said flush valve being movable between a position in which the outlet is closed and a position in which the outlet is opened, and operating means connected to said flush valve for moving said valve at least from its closed to its open position. Such a flush mechanism is known, for instance from applicant's earlier patent application EP-A-0 727 533.

[0002] The known flush mechanism comprises a cistern having a water inlet arranged near its upper edge and a flush outlet arranged in its bottom. The outlet is closed by a disk-shaped valve that is arranged at the end of a vertical lifting pipe which further carries a floating member. The lifting pipe, which is slidably supported by a frame standing on the bottom of the cistern, is operated by a vertical pull rod. This vertical pull rod in turn is connected to one end of a horizontal lever, the other end of which is connected to a vertical push rod. This push rod in turn is connected to a push button that is actuated by a user. When the user pushes the button, the lever is pivoted by the push rod, thus lifting the pull rod and consequently the lifting pipe. In this way the flush valve is lifted from its seat and the flush outlet is opened, allowing water to flow from the cistern to a lavatory bowl. The lifting pipe and valve will stay afloat on the water in the cistern until the level thereof has fallen sufficiently for the valve to be lowered onto its seat again.

[0003] This known arrangement has the drawback that it involves a relatively large number of separate parts, thus rendering manufacture and installation thereof expensive. Furthermore, the risk of malfunction is increased due to this large number of parts. Finally, this known mechanism requires the mutual positions of the push button and the flush valve to be determined with great accuracy, in order to allow the various parts to perform their intended movements and the flush valve to securely close the flush outlet. As the push button will normally be arranged in a releasable lid of the cistern, or even in a separate wall panel, such accurate positioning is hard to achieve.

[0004] The invention therefore has for its object to provide a flush mechanism of the type described above, in which these drawbacks are obviated. In accordance with the invention, this is accomplished in that the operating means comprise at least one flexible operating member. By using a flexible operating member the position of the operating means with respect to the flush valve may be freely chosen.

[0005] In a preferred embodiment, the operating means comprise at least one push member to be operated by a user, and the at least one flexible operating member interconnects the at least one push member and the flush valve. In this way a push force exerted on the push member will directly be transferred to the valve without a complex arrangement of moving parts being needed.

[0006] The at least one flexible operating member is preferably a flexible push rod or cable. Such a flexible push rod or cable may easily be brought into any desired shape, to accommodate the mutual positions of the push button and flush valve.

[0007] In order to properly guide the movement of the flexible push rod or cable, it may be slidably arranged in a sheath, which sheath is preferably flexible as well.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment the flexible push rod or cable and/or the sheath is made from a low friction material, thus allowing easy operation thereof.

[0009] Furthermore, the flexible push rod or cable and/or the sheath may be made from an easily cuttable material. In this way these elements may be easily cut to a desired length when the flushing mechanism is installed, thus improving the ease of installation.

[0010] When the flush mechanism also includes means for converting a push force transmitted by the flexible push rod or cable into a lifting force acting on the flush valve, these force converting means are preferably arranged near the flush valve. The part of the flush mechanism inside the cistern may thus be kept relatively small, allowing a compact cistern to be used.

[0011] The invention further relates to operating means for use in a flush mechanism as described above.

[0012] The invention will now be illustrated by the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, with reference being made to the annexed drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the main elements of the flush mechanism of the invention, with only the contours of the cistern being shown in phantom lines for reasons of clarity,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the push button, operating member and force converting means of the flush mechanism of fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view corresponding to that of fig. 2.

[0013] A flush mechanism 1 for a water closet comprises a cistern 2 (shown in phantom lines only) having a water inlet 3 arranged near its top and a flush outlet 4 arranged in its bottom (fig. 1). The mechanism 1 further includes a flush valve 5 cooperating with the outlet 4. This flush valve 5 is movable between the illustrated position of rest in which the outlet 4 is closed and a lift position at some distance from the bottom, in which the outlet 4 is opened. Operating means 6 are connected to the flush valve 5 for lifting it from its closed position to its open position.

[0014] Flush valve 5 is of conventional annular design and is arranged at the lower end of a lifting pipe 7. This lifting pipe 7 carries a float 8, which is adjustably connected thereto by means of a nut 9 engaging a threaded portion 10 of lifting pipe 7.

[0015] In the illustrated embodiment the flush mechanism 1 further includes additional float means 11 cooperating with lifting pipe 7 for decelerating the downward movement of pipe 7 and flush valve 5 and thus ensuring that the cistern is completely emptied before the valve 5 is closed. The structure and function of these additional float means 11 is disclosed in detail in applicant's earlier application EP-A-0 727 533, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0016] Operating means 6 comprise a lever 12 that is mounted on a pivot 13 arranged on a column 14 of a frame that supports additional float means 11. One end 15 of lever 12 is semi-circular and partly surrounds lifting pipe 7, engaging an annular protrusion 34 thereof. The opposite end 16 of lever 12 cooperates with a distal end 17 of an operating member 18 that is arranged for transmitting a push force. A proximal end 19 of operating member 18 cooperates with a push button type actuator 20. In the illustrated embodiment, which is suitable for use in combination with a cantilevered lavatory bowl, this push button assembly 20 is arranged in a wall panel 21 (shown in phantom lines), but in case of a so-called monoblock lavatory it might be arranged in the removable lid of the cistern.

[0017] In order to accommodate such varying locations of the push button assembly 20 in relation to the flush valve 5, the present invention proposes that the operating member 18 be flexible. In the illustrated embodiment the operating member comprises a flexible push rod or cable 22 which is slidably arranged in a sheath 23, which is preferably flexible as well.

[0018] Push rod or cable 22 is provided at its proximal end 19 with an engagement surface 24 that is slidably received in a cylindrical end part 25 of the push button assembly 20 for cooperation with the actual push button. Sheath 23 is provided at its proximal end with a socket type connector 26 arranged for fitting around the end part 25 of push button assembly 20 and including resiliently deformable snap arms 27 that cooperate with an annular protrusion 28 on the end part 25.

[0019] Flexible push rod or cable 22 further has a ball type connector 29 arranged on its distal end 17, which is received in a semi-spherical recess 30 in lever 12. Distal end 31 of sheath 23 is received in a two part hinging clamp type connector 32, which fits on a mounting stub 33 supporting pivot 13. Mounting stub 33 in turn fits on column 14 of the frame supporting additional float means 11.

[0020] At least one of push rod or cable 22 and sheath 23 is preferably made of a low friction material, so as to minimize the effort needed to slide push rod or cable 22 through sheath 23 without having to resort to the use of lubricants. Furthermore, push rod or cable 22 and sheath 23 are preferably made from a material that is easy to cut. In this way these elements may be cut to length after the position of push button assembly 20 in relation to flush valve 5 has been determined, thus allowing for easy installation of flush mechanism 1. Obviously at least one of the engegement surface 24 and ball type connector 29 can only be fixed to the flexible push rod or cable 22 after it has been cut to lenght.

[0021] Flush mechanism 1 of the present invention is actuated by pushing push button 20, which in turn will exert a push force on engagement surface 24, thus forcing the proximal end of flexible push rod or cable 22 into sheath 23. The distal end of push rod or cable 22 will thus emerge from sheath 23 and push down end 16 of pivoting lever 12. Opposite end 15 of lever 12 will thus be raised to its position 15' shown in phantom lines, lifting annular protrusion 34 of pipe 7 and opening flush valve 5, allowing the water in cistern 2 to flush out the outlet 4. After the water level in cistern 2 has fallen sufficiently, valve 5 will return to its closed position, and fresh water may be introduced into cistern 2 through inlet 3.

[0022] Although the flush mechanism embodying the invention has been described above on the basis of an example, it will be clear that it may be modified in many ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The flexible operating means might for instance comprise a number of mutually connected push rod or cable elements, which may or may not be fully enclosed by a sheath. Furthermore, the flexible operating means might be arranged for exerting a pull force, rather than a push force. In that case the mechanism would have to include means for converting a push force exerted by the user into a pull force to be transmitted by the flexible operating means. Such force converting means could e.g. comprise a bell crank. The scope of the invention is therefore to be determined exclusively by the annexed claims.

Claims

1. Flush mechanism for a water closet, comprising a cistern having at least one flush outlet, a flush valve cooperating with said at least one outlet, said flush valve being movable between a position in which the outlet is closed and a position in which the outlet is opened, and operating means connected to said flush valve for moving said valve at least from its closed to its open position, characterized in that said operating means comprise at least one flexible operating member.

2. Flush mechanism as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said operating means comprise at least one push member to be operated by a user, said at least one flexible operating member interconnecting said at least one push member and said flush valve.

3. Flush mechanism as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said at least one flexible operating member is a flexible push rod or cable.

4. Flush mechanism as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that said flexible push rod or cable is slidably arranged in a sheath.

5. Flush mechanism as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that said sheath is flexible.

6. Flush mechanism as claimed in claim 4 or 5, characterized in that said flexible push rod or cable and/or said sheath is made from a low friction material.

7. Flush mechanism as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that said flexible push rod or cable and/or said sheath is made from an easily cuttable material.

8. Flush mechanism as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 7, characterized by means for converting a push force transmitted by said flexible push rod or cable into a lifting force acting on said flush valve, said force converting means being arranged near said flush valve.

9. Operating means for use in a flush mechanism as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

Drawing