The present invention relates to a discharge device for a flush tank, of the type permitting full or partial discharge of the water in the tank.
Numerous flush tank discharge devices are known which, to reduce water consumption, permit full or partial discharge as required. Such devices normally comprise a discharge valve fitted to the bottom end of a movable pull member (normally the overflow pipe of the tank itself) and which, to discharge water from the tank, is lifted out of its seat using either of two control levers; and the two discharge modes (full or partial) are achieved by varying the speed with which the valve, once raised, closes by force of gravity.
Devices are known, for example, in which, when raised using the full-discharge lever, the discharge valve is kept open by a float until all the water is drained out of the tank; conversely, for partial discharge, the valve is raised together with an additional weight which, as the valve closes, acts on the valve, in opposition to the thrust exerted by the float, to close the valve faster.
Two floats are also known to be used, one acting on the closing valve in both modes, and the other only for partial discharge.
Generally speaking, therefore, discharge devices of the type briefly described above call for a float; an auxiliary member (additional weight or float) for altering the thrust exerted by the float as the valve closes; and appropriate reversible connecting means between the auxiliary member and the valve. Such devices therefore involve a relatively large number of components and are relatively bulky and unreliable.
FR-A-2678300 discloses a device including a main valve carried by an operating rod which is slidably housed in a vessel and is associated to a float; the vessel presents a bottom wall having a first orifice, and a lateral wall having a second discharge orifice provided with an auxiliary valve operatively connected to the main valve. This device is quite complicated and relatively large and requires a relatively large number of component parts.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of known discharge devices by providing a flush tank discharge device permitting effective, reliable, full or partial discharge of the water in the tank. It is a further object of the invention to provide a discharge device comprising a relatively small number of component parts, and which is easy to operate, reliable, extremely compact, cheap to produce, and easy to install.
According to the present invention, there is provided a discharge device for a flush tank, designed to selectively permit full or partial discharge of the water in said flush tank as claimed in claim 1.
The discharge device according to the invention therefore provides, simply and effectively, for selectively discharging different amounts of water from the flush tank to which it is fitted. The device also comprises a relatively small number of component parts (in particular, only one float), is extremely compact, can be fitted quickly and easily to flush tanks of different sizes, and is cheap to produce, easy to operate and reliable.
The amount of water discharged in partial-discharge mode can also be regulated easily and effectively by varying the section of the drain openings in the flood chamber in which the float moves, and by appropriately sizing the float itself in relation to the weight of the other component parts of the device.
A non-limiting embodiment of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Number 1 in Figures 1 and 2 indicates as a whole a discharge device for a known flush tank not shown for the sake of simplicity.
Device 1 comprises a supporting structure 2 fittable to the flush tank, e.g. by inserting a tubular end portion 3 of supporting structure 2 in fluidtight manner inside a drain hole in the flush tank; in which case, a bottom opening in tubular portion 3 of supporting structure 2 defines the drain hole of the flush tank, and is therefore indicated hereinafter as drain hole 4 for the sake of simplicity.
Device 1 also comprises a main valve 5 for closing drain hole 4, and which is fitted to the bottom end of a pipe 6 housed in sliding manner inside supporting structure 2 and possibly formed in a number of pieces connected to one another. As in a known solution, pipe 6 also acts as an overflow pipe of the flush tank.
Supporting structure 2 has openings 7 at the bottom, through which water flows from the flush tank to drain hole 4, and is fitted inside with a substantially toroidal vessel 8 having an inner flood chamber 9 defined by an inner lateral wall 13 and an outer lateral wall 14 of vessel 8, which are substantially cylindrical and coaxial with each other. Inner lateral wall 13 defines, internally, a seat 15 in which pipe 6 slides; and vessel 8 is open at the top and closed at the bottom by an annular bottom wall 16 in which is formed a through, e.g. annular, outflow opening 17 defined by an annular sealing edge 18. In one variation, a number of through outflow openings, e.g. arranged side by side circumferentially, are formed in bottom wall 16 of vessel 8.
Whichever the case, device 1 according to the invention comprises auxiliary valve means 19 for selectively opening and closing outflow opening 17 in vessel 8. In the example shown, auxiliary valve means 19 comprise a substantially annular shutter member 20, which cooperates with sealing edge 18 to close outflow opening 17, and is connected integrally to a pull member 21 slidable with respect to vessel 8. More specifically, pull member 21 comprises a cylindrical body 22 and a control rod 23; cylindrical body 22 is coaxial with, located radially outwards of, and slides axially with respect to, inner lateral wall 13 of vessel 8, and is fitted at the bottom end with shutter member 20; and control rod 23 is fitted to cylindrical body 22 and extends vertically and parallel to pipe 6 at the opposite end to shutter member 20.
A float 25, e.g. a known substantially toroidal type, is housed freely inside flood chamber 9.
Device 1 also comprises a stop member 26 for arresting float 25 and connected integrally to main valve 5. In the example shown, stop member 26 is defined by a collar 28 fitted integrally about pipe 6 at a predetermined distance from main valve 5, and from a peripheral edge of which a substantially truncated-cone-shaped lateral wall 29 extends downwards inside flood chamber 9 of vessel 8. Collar 28 also has a through opening 30 in which control rod 23 of pull member 21 is inserted in sliding manner; and control rod 23 comprises, beneath collar 28, a stop portion 31 of a transverse (radial or circumferential) extension greater than opening 30, so as to interfere axially with collar 28 and so push a corresponding first stop portion 32 of pipe 6 - defined, in the example shown, by a bottom surface of collar 28 - when pull member 21 is raised with respect to vessel 8, as explained later on.
Device 1 also comprises a connecting member 35 carried by pull member 21 and which pushes a corresponding second stop portion 36 of pipe 6 when pull member 21 is lowered with respect to vessel 8, as explained later on. In the example shown, second stop portion 36 of pipe 6 is defined by a top surface of collar 28 opposite the bottom surface 32.
More specifically, connecting member 35 is an oscillating body connected in articulated manner, at a pivot 37, to a support 38 supporting pull member 21 and located above stop member 26. Connecting member 35 is substantially L-shaped, and comprises a portion 39 eccentric with respect to pivot 37, and a catch 40 extending substantially perpendicularly with respect to eccentric portion 39.
Operation of device 1 according to the invention will now be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3.
Figure 2 shows device 1 in the rest position : main valve 5 is positioned closing drain hole 4; shutter member 20 closes outflow opening 17 of vessel 8; open-topped vessel 8 is immersed in the water inside the flush tank to which device 1 is fitted, so that flood chamber 9 of vessel 8 is full of water; float 25 is retained inside flood chamber 9 by stop member 26; the total weight of main valve 5 and pipe 6 is greater than the buoyancy of float 25; connecting member 35 is in a rest position 35a (Figure 2) in which eccentric portion 39 rests on a peripheral edge 42 of supporting structure 2, e.g. defined by a top edge of vessel 8, which defines a retaining member for retaining connecting member 35 in rest position 35a; and main valve 5 and auxiliary valve means 19 are therefore disconnected.
Figure 3 shows operation of device 1 when full discharge of the water in the flush tank is activated : by means of appropriate known actuating means, not shown for the sake of simplicity, pipe 6 and valve 5 fitted to it are raised to open drain hole 4 and allow the water in the flush tank to flow out; shutter member 20, on the other hand, remains closing outflow opening 17 in vessel 8 (fixed); and connecting member 35 remains in rest position 35a.
When the action of actuating means ceases, pipe 6 and main valve 5, the combined weight of which overcomes the buoyancy of float 25, move down to close drain hole 4. The downward movement of pipe 6, however, is slowed down by float 25, which is immersed inside flood chamber 9 full of water, and which exerts sufficient thrust to delay closure of main valve 5 until all the water in the flush tank has been discharged.
Figure 4 shows operation of device 1 when partial discharge of the water in the flush tank is activated : in this case, the actuating means (not shown) act directly on pull member 21, which is raised together with shutter member 20 to detach shutter member 20 from sealing edge 18 of outflow opening 17 in vessel 8 (fixed). As it moves up, pull member 21 also raises pipe 6, as stop portion 31 of pull member 21 contacts and pushes stop portion 32 of pipe 6, so that the same movement of pull member 21 provides for opening both outflow opening 17 in vessel 8 and drain hole 4 in the flush tank.
The upward movement of pull member 21 also releases connecting member 35 from retaining member 42. That is, when connecting member 35 is raised together with pull member 21, eccentric portion 39 is detached from peripheral edge 42 of vessel 8; and the weight of eccentric portion 39 is such as to automatically rotate connecting member 35 about pivot 37 until catch 40 comes to rest against pipe 6, thus setting connecting member 35 to the work position 35b shown in Figure 4.
When the action of actuating means ceases, both pipe 6 with main valve 5 and pull member 21 with shutter member 20 move down to respectively close drain hole 4 in the flush tank and outflow opening 17 in vessel 8. In work position 35b, connecting member 35 reversibly connects main valve 5 and auxiliary valve means 19, by catch 40 of connecting member 35 pushing on second stop portion 36 of pipe 6, i.e. the top surface of collar 28.
As such, pull member 21 and shutter member 20 are also sustained, together with pipe 6, by the buoyancy of float 25. In this case, however, since vessel 8 is open at the bottom, the water inside flood chamber 9 flows out to reduce the thrust exerted by float 25, so that drain hole 4 is closed sooner by main valve 5, when only a predetermined portion of the water in the flush tank has been discharged.
The amount of water discharged in partial-discharge mode depends on the section of outflow opening or openings 17 (if more than one is provided) and hence on the speed with which pipe 6 and main valve 5 close drain hole 4 in opposition to the thrust exerted by float 25, as well as, obviously, on the sizing of float 25 and the other component parts of device 1.
Clearly, changes may be made to the device as described herein without, however, departing from the scope of the accompanying Claims.