GB2323104A

GB2323104A - Variable-flush facility for a siphon-discharge W.C. cistern

Info

Publication number: GB2323104A
Application number: GB9626270A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter George Price
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-10-29
Filing date: 1996-12-18
Publication date: 1998-09-16
Also published as: GB9626270D0; GB9622471D0

Abstract

A flushing cistern arrangement for a lavatory or toilet, the arrangement comprising a tank 12, siphon means 14 and flush control means 18. The flush control means comprises a pipe 16 which connects the siphon means 14 via a valve arrangement 50 to a downwardly open conduit 60, the lower end 62 of which is spaced from the base of the tank 12. When the valve arrangement 50 is open, the arrangement will only flush until the water level drops below the end 62. When the arrangement 50 is closed a full flush of the tank 12 will take place. The arrangement 50 may be arranged to automatically return to a closed position.

Description

Improvements in or Relating to Siphon Action Flushing Arrangements The present invention concerns improvements in or relating to siphon action flushing arrangements, and particularly but not exclusively to lavatory flushing arrangements.

The volume of water required to flush solid waste from a lavatory.bowl is generally greater than that required to flush away liquid waste. Many known lavatory flushing arrangements provide for only a single volume to be dispensed from the lavatory tank to flush the lavatory which volume must be sufficient to flush away solids. Therefore, a significant amount of water is dispensed unnecessarily and therefore wasted when just liquid waste is flushed away using such arrangements.

In an attempt to mitigate this problem, a further known design of flushing arrangement provides for a two stage flushing action. If a user pushes the flush actuating handle of such an arrangement only part way down, a relatively small volume of water is dispensed from the tank. To flush away solid waste, the handle is pushed all the way down to dispense a greater volume of water, and usually the whole water content of the tank, to effectively flush away solids. However, such arrangements require skilful manipulation of the handle by a user, and therefore inappropriate amounts of water are often dispensed thereby.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate one or more disadvantages of the above prior art.

According to the present invention there is provided a flushing arrangement for a lavatory comprising a tank to store a volume of water, siphon means operable upon actuation to establish a siphon action to cause water to flow from the tank to flush a lavatory, and flush control means selectively actuable from outside the tank to automatically interrupt the siphon action sufficiently during flushing to stop the flow of water whereby to ensure that only a predetermined portion of the stored volume is dispensed.

The predetermined portion may be a volume of between one quarter and three quarters of the total volume of water stored in the tank, and desirably about one third of said total volume.

Preferably the flush control means is preset prior to actuation of the siphon means to ensure that the appropriate volume of water is dispensed during flushing. Preferably the flush control means is selectively movable and desirably manually, between first and second positions wherein the siphon means dispenses a relatively large volume and preferably substantially all of the stored water from the tank when the control means is in the second position and dispenses a smaller volume when the control means is in the first position.

The flush control means when in the first position may provide for air to enter the siphon means following dispensing of a predetermined volume of water whereby to interrupt the siphon action. The flush control means may comprise means defining a passage in communication with a chamber in which the siphon action is established, and valve means associated with the passage to provide selective opening and closing of the passage.

Preferably the passage has one end thereof in sealed communication with the siphon chamber with its other end located a predetermined distance from the base of the tank, which distance is determined according to the desired volume of water to be dispensed when the control means is in the first position.

The valve means may be provided part way along the passage, and is preferably movable between an open position in which the valve means allows air to pass along the passage from one end thereof to the other wherein the control means is in the first position and a closed position in which the valve means closes the passage to prevent air passing therealong wherein the control means is in the second position. Preferably the valve means comprises a manually operable formation such as a dial or similar accessible from, and desirably attached on the outside of the tank to provide for manual actuation of the valve means by a person outside the tank. Alternatively or additionally the valve means may comprise push operable member. The formation may be locatable through an existing aperture in a known lavatory tank design such as a second hole for a siphon means actuating handle. The formation may comprise indication means relating to the position of the valve means to allow a user to select the appropriate position for the valve means and thereby the appropriate amount of water to be dispensed from the tank prior to actuation of the siphon means.

Preferably the valve means is manually rotatable between the open and closed positions, although it is to be appreciated that the valve means may be electronically or electrically controlled.

In a preferred embodiment the flush control means may be arranged to automatically return to the second position following selective movement thereof to the first position.

Preferably the control means returns to the second position after or during a predetermined period of time following movement thereof to the first position. The flush control means may comprise a pressure-operable piston and cylinder arrangement wherein upon depression of a manually operable plunger the cylinder becomes pressurised in a manner to retain the piston partly within the cylinder wherefrom the piston gradually moves out of the cylinder as the pressure gradually decreases to cause the control means to adopt the second position and to close the passage. The control means is preferably in the first position when the cylinder is pressurised as aforesaid and the piston is in a position wherein the piston does not block the passage wherefrom the piston may gradually move to block the passage. The piston may be arranged to move transaxially across the passage. Biasing means, such as a spring, may be provided to urge the plunger back to a rest condition following depression thereof.

A seal may be provided to seal the closure of the passage by the piston.

The passage preferably comprises a first part extending from the siphon chamber to the valve means, and a second part extending desirably downwardly from the valve means to a free, open end of the passage which free end is located at the aforesaid predetermined distance above the base of the tank.

Preferably the siphon means is of generally conventional design, and may comprise a siphon chamber connected at one end to a tank outlet, and a plunger slidingly located in a portion of the chamber which plunger is attached to an actuating handle on the outside of the tank whereby upon appropriate movement of the handle, usually in a downward direction, the plunger is drawn along the said portion to move water in and into the chamber through an inlet of the chamber, whereby to establish siphon action that draws water from the tank, through the chamber to flow toward and out of the outlet. Preferably the inlet of the siphon chamber interrupts the siphon action to stop dispensing of water when the flush control means is in the second position. The inlet of the chamber is preferably located at or near the bottom of the tank.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided flush control means for a lavatory flushing arrangement, said means being substantially as defined in any of the preceding ten paragraphs.

According to a still further aspect of this invention there is provided siphon means and flush control means for use therewith, substantially as described above in any of the preceding eleven paragraphs.

Preferably the flush control means and siphon means are operable for use with a flushing arrangement substantially as described above in any of the preceding twelve paragraphs.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional representation of a siphon action lavatory flushing arrangement according to the present invention, in a first condition; Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of Fig. 1 in a second, flushing condition; Fig. 3 shows the arrangement of Fig. 1 in a partial flushed condition with flush control means in a first position; Fig. 4 shows arrangement of Fig. 1 in a fully flushed condition with the flush control means in a second position; Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a valve arrangement according to the. present invention; Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the valve arrangement of Fig. 5 in the first, open position; Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the valve arrangement of Fig. 5 in a second, closed position; and Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative valve arrangement according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings there is provided a flushing cistern arrangement 10 for a lavatory or toilet comprising a tank 12 to store a volume of water W, siphon means 14 operable upon selective actuation from outside the tank 12 to establish a siphon action to cause water to flow from the tank through an outlet 16 of the tank 12 to flush the lavatory, and flush control means 18 selectively operable to automatically interrupt the siphon action sufficiently during flushing to stop the flow of water whereby to ensure that only a predetermined portion of the stored volume is dispensed.

In more detail, the siphon means 14 may be of any suitable design, one such design of which is illustrated in the drawings. The means 14 is located in use in the tank 12 and comprises a first generally upwardly extending suction chamber 20 in which a slidingly operable plunger 22 is operable. The plunger 22 comprises a head portion of resilient material for slidable movement along the chamber 20 and a stem 28 which extends up through an aperture in the top of the chamber 20 to be pivotally connected via a linkage 25 to a handle 24 which handle is pivotally mounted to the front of the tank 12 for manual operation as will be explained. A seal 26 is provided around the stem 28 of the plunger as it extends through the aperture in the top of the suction chamber 20 whereby to seal the passage of the stem 28 therethrough. A partition 30 separates the suction chamber 20 from a siphon chamber 38, which partition 30 is attached to the base 32 of the tank 12. The other sides (the cross-section of one of which is shown at 34) defining the suction chamber are spaced from the base 32 of the tank 12 to provide an inlet I for the entry of water W from the tank 12 in to the chamber 20.

An opening 36 is provided towards the top of the partition 30 to provide communication between the suction chamber 20 and the siphon chamber 38.

The siphon chamber is generally an inverted U-shape, and is sealingly attached at one end 40 to the outlet 16 of the tank. The other end 42 of the siphon chamber 38 extends down alongside the suction chamber 20, defined on one side by the partition 30 and the other sides (one of which is shown at 44). The walls 44 are spaced from the base 32 of the tank 12 in a similar manner to the sides 34 of the suction chamber 20.

The flush control means 18 comprises a conduit or pipe 46 which is in sealed communication at one end 48 with the siphon chamber 38 at a position toward the top thereof1 and at its other end is sealingly attached to a valve arrangement 50. As shown in Figs. 1 to 4 the conduit 46 extends behind the siphon means 14.

With particular reference to Figs. 5 to 7 the valve arrangement 50 is of a general ball joint design comprising an outer socket 52 in which is sealingly rotatable a ball valve 54 which valve defines an angled passage 56 therethrough. A grip 58 is attached to the ball valve 54 and located on the outside of the valve arrangement 50 such that manual movement of the grip 58 causes movement of the ball valve 54 within the socket 52 to provide for selective opening and closing of the conduit 46.

The valve arrangement 50 is arranged to be mounted to the front of the tank 12, such that the grip 58 is outside the tank to be accessible by a user of the lavatory, and the ball socket and valve 52, 54 are located generally on the inside of the front of the tank 12 for connection to the siphon means 14 via the conduit 46. The arrangement 50 may be adapted to locate within an existing hole in a known design of tank, for example a second, often unused hole for the flushing handle.

A second conduit 60 is in sealed communication with the inside of the socket 52 and depends down therefrom such that its open end 62 is at a predetermined distance from the base of the tank 12. The distance of the open end 62 above the base of the tank 12 is predetermined because this distance determines the volume of water dispensed from the tank 12 during a partial flush, as will be explained.

In use, the flushing arrangement 10 according to the present invention provides for selective flushing of two predetermined volumes of water. This is useful in preventing unnecessary wastage of water, since in certain instances, for example when flushing away liquid waste, the volume of water required to flush this away is significantly less than that required to flush away solid waste. The arrangement 10 allows a user to determine the volume of water to be dispensed prior to flushing, and upon actuation of the siphon means 14 the control means 14 ensures that that volume is dispensed.

Fig. 1 shows the arrangement 10 in a first condition in which the tank 12 is full of water W ready to be dispensed to flush a toilet. Upon movement of the handle 24 in a downward direction, the plunger 22 is quickly drawn up the suction chamber 20. This action both pushes water above the plunger head upward through the opening 36 and also draws water from in the tank 12 through the inlet and up the suction chamber 20, such that when the plunger head passes the opening 36 a siphon effect is established in the siphon chamber 38 and water is drawn up over the bend and down through the outlet 16 to flush the toilet to which the arrangement is connected by the outlet pipe 70.

With the valve arrangement 50 in the closed condition (Fig. 7) the siphon action continues until air from the tank gets into the siphon chamber 38 through the inlet I as shown in Fig. 4 in which case the tank 12 is substantially completely drained. The arrangement 10 therefore in the second position provides for dispensing of the whole volume of the tank, usually two gallons, to provide a full flush of the toilet. Thus, if a user wishes to dispense a tank full of water to flush away solid waste, then the user rotates the grip 58 appropriately in accordance with markings 64 on the tank to move the valve to the closed position (Fig. 7), before actuating the flushing handle 24. The valve arrangement 50 remains in this position until manually moved.

When it is desired for only a partial flush, i.e. dispensing only some of the water W in the tank 12, a user can rotate the grip 58 to turn the ball valve 52 to the first position in which the angled passage 56 communicably connects the conduits 46, 60 as shown in Fig. 6. The marking 64 on the tank and/or the valve arrangement 50 (and/or suitable formations) are again used to ensure the user of the position of the valve 54. When the valve is in this position, and the tank 12 is full of water W, the handle 24 is pushed down and the siphon action is established as described above and as shown in Fig. 2. The siphon action continues and water is dispensed until the water level drops below the open end 62 of the second conduit 60 (Fig. 3). At this point, air rushes up the conduit 60 through the passage 56 down the conduits 46 into the siphon chamber 38 thereby interrupting and stopping the siphon action. The flow of water is thus stopped preventing any further dispensing of water. Thus only a partial emptying of the tank 12 is effected.

The design and operation of the refill valve (ball cock valve removed for clarity) is wholly conventional, and will not be described further.

It is to be appreciated that the invention provides flush control means selectively operable to interrupt a siphon action of any suitable toilet cistern operable with a siphon action, and is not limited to the particular design of siphoning means exemplified above. The invention is readily fitted to existing toilet cistern arrangements as well as incorporation into new arrangements.

It should also be appreciated that the valve arrangement 50 can be of any suitable design, and may be electronic or electrical, the principal requirement being that it provides for selective opening and closing of the air passage.

Referring to Fig. 8 an alternative valve arrangement 150 according to a further embodiment of the present invention is shown, in which the valve arrangement 150 automatically returns to the second position i.e. full-flush position after a predetermined period of time following manual movement thereof to the first, half flush position.

The arrangement 150 is threadedly mounted to the front side of the cistern tank 12, and comprises a housing 74 defining a cylindrical recess 75 in which is slidingly located a plunger 76. The plunger 76 is retained in the recess 75 at its outer end by an annular lip 78 extending around the opening 80 to the recess 75, to present a manually movable formation 82 extending from the front of the tank 12.

The plunger 76 defines a cylinder (not shown) in which is operable a stem 86 of a piston 84. The piston further comprises a head 90 which extends from the stem toward the passage 92 defined by the conduits 146 and 160 (similar to conduits 46,60 as described above). A spring 94 is located between the plunger 76 and a shoulder 96 of the recess 75 to urge the plunger 76 back to a position for re-depression (as shown in Fig. 8).

The conduits 146,160 sealingly enter the housing 74 to be communicable to define the passage 92 along with a portion 98 of the recess located therebetween. The piston 84 is movable transaxially across the passage 92 as will be described and a circular sealing recess 100 is provided in the opposite side of the passage 92 through which the piston 84 is extendable. A ring seal 102 is provided in the recess 100.

In use, the valve arrangement 150 controls the passage of air along the passage 92 to control the volume of water flushed in similar manner to the arrangement 50. However, the valve arrangement 150 provides for the automatic return to the second, full flush position following movement thereof to the first position for a half or partial flush.

In the normal, rest condition as shown in Fig. 8, the plunger is urged against the lip 78 to be available for depression. The cylinder inside the plunger 76 is not pressurised such that the piston 84 is at full extension therefrom wherein the head 90 extends across the passage 92 to seal in the recess 100. The valve arrangement 150 is thus in the second position with the head 90 of the piston 84 blocking the passage 92 preventing air flow therealong and thus providing for a full flush.

When only a partial flush is required, the plunger 76 is manually depressed. This urges the shaft 86 into the cylinder which is arranged to become thereby pressurised and retains the shaft 86 in the cylinder. The spring 94 urges the plunger 76 toward the lip 78, thereby causing the head 90 to be removed from across the passage 92, the valve arrangement 150 thereby adopting the first position wherein air is passable along the passage to give only a partial flush as described above. The arrangement 150 is such that the pressure within the cylinder gradually diminishes and as it does so the piston stem 86 gradually moves out from the plunger 76 until it again adopts the blocking position across the passage 92. The rate of pressure loss is predetermined according to the time period desired for the arrangement to resume the second position.

The principal advantage of a valve arrangement automatically reassuming the full flush position is that it is sometimes found that persons using an arrangement similar to arrangement 50 often fail to return the valve to the second position at appropriate times and thereby tend to repeatedly use partial flush volumes to flush matter requiring a full flush, and this often results in the use of considerably more water than is necessary.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The position of the end 62 of the conduit 60 may be movable to provide adjustment of the point of interruption of the siphon action, and thereby the volume of water dispensed during a partial flush.

Also, the flushing arrangement may comprise two or more of the conduit 60 and the valve arrangement 50, each of the conduits 60 being of different lengths to allow for different volumes of water to be flushed as selected by the user.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. A flushing arrangement for a lavatory comprising a tank to store a volume of water, siphon means operable upon actuation to establish a siphon action to cause water to flow from the tank to flush a lavatory, and flush control means selectively actuable from outside the tank to automatically interrupt the siphon action sufficiently during flushing to stop the flow of water whereby to ensure that only a predetermined portion of the stored volume is dispensed.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the predetermined portion is a volume of between one quarter and three quarters of the total volume of water stored in the tank.

3. Arrangement according to claim 2 wherein the predetermined volume is about one third of said total volume.

4. Arrangement according to any of claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein the flush control means is preset prior to actuation of the siphon means to ensure that the appropriate volume of water is dispensed during flushing.

5. Arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein the flush control means is selectively movable between first and second positions wherein the siphon means dispenses a relatively large volume of the stored water from the tank when the control means is in the second position and dispenses a smaller volume when the control means is in the first position.

6. Arrangement according to claim 5 wherein the flush control means is manually movable between first and second positions.

7. Arrangement according to claim 5 or 6 wherein siphon means dispenses substantially all of the stored water from the tank when the control means is in the second position and dispenses a smaller volume when the control means is in the first position.

8. Arrangement according to any of claims 5, 6 or 7 wherein the flush control means when in the first position provides for air to enter the siphon means following dispensing of a predetermined volume of water whereby to interrupt the siphon action.

9. Arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein the flush control means comprises means defining a passage in communication with a chamber in which the siphon action is established, and valve means associated with the passage to provide selective opening and closing of the passage.

10. Arrangement according to claim 9 wherein the passage has one end thereof in sealed communication with the siphon chamber with its other end located a predetermined distance from the base of the tank, which distance is determined according to the desired volume of water to be dispensed when the control means is in the first position.

11. Arrangement according to claim 9 or 10 wherein the valve means is provided part way along the passage.

12. Arrangement according to any of claims 9, 10 or 11 wherein the valve means is movable between an open position in which the valve means allows air to pass along the passage from one end thereof to the other wherein the control means is in the first position and a closed position in which the valve means closes the passage to prevent air passing therealong wherein the control means is in the second position.

13. Arrangement according to any of claims 9 to 12 wherein the valve means comprises a manually operable formation such as a dial or similar accessible from the outside of the tank to provide for manual actuation of the valve means by a person outside the tank.

14. Arrangement according to claim 13 wherein the valve means is attached on the outside of the tank to provide for manual activation of the valve means by a person outside the tank.

15. Arrangement according to claim 13 or 14 wherein the valve means alternatively or additionally comprises a push operable member.

16. Arrangement according to any of claims 13, 14 or 15 wherein the formation is locatable through an existing aperture in a known lavatory tank design, such as a second hole for a siphon means actuating handle.

17. Arrangement according to any of claims 13 to 16 wherein the formation comprises indication means relating to the position of the valve means to allow a user to select the appropriate position for the valve means and thereby the appropriate amount of water to be dispensed from the tank prior to actuation of the siphon means.

18. Arrangement according to any of claims 12 to 17 wherein the valve means is manually rotatable between the open and closed positions.

19. Arrangement according to any of claims 12 to 17 wherein the valve means is electronically or electrically controlled between the open and closed positions.

20. Arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein the flush control means is arranged to automatically return to the second position following selective movement thereof to the first position.

21. Arrangement according to claim 20 wherein the control means returns to the second position after a predetermined period of time following movement thereof to the first position.

22. Arrangement according to claim 20 or 21 wherein the flush control means comprises a pressure-operable piston and cylinder arrangement wherein upon depression of a manually operable plunger the cylinder becomes pressurised in a manner to retain the piston partly within the cylinder wherefrom the piston gradually moves out of the cylinder as the pressure gradually decreases to cause the control means to adopt the second position and to close the passage.

23. Arrangement according to claim 22 wherein the control means is in the first position when the cylinder is pressurised as aforesaid and the piston is in a position wherein the piston does not block the passage wherefrom the piston may gradually move to block the passage.

24. Arrangement according to claim 22 or 23 wherein the piston is arranged to move transaxially across the passage.

25. Arrangement according to claim 22, 23 or 24 wherein biasing means are provided to urge the plunger back to a rest condition following depression thereof.

26. Arrangement according to claim 25 wherein the biasing means is a spring.

27. Arrangement according to any of claims 22 to 26 wherein a seal is provided to seal the closure of the passage by the piston.

28. Arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein the passage comprises a first part extending from the siphon chamber to the valve means, and a second part extending desirably downwardly from the valve means to a free, open end of the passage which free end is located at the aforesaid predetermined distance above the base of the tank.

29. Arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein the siphon means is of generally conventional design.

30. Arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein the siphon means comprises a siphon chamber connected at one end to a tank outlet, and a plunger slidingly located in a portion of the chamber which plunger is attached to an actuating handle on the outside of the tank whereby upon appropriate movement of the handle, usually in a downward direction, the plunger is drawn along the said portion to move water in and into the chamber through an inlet of the chamber, whereby to establish siphon action that draws water from the tank, through the chamber to flow toward and out of the outlet.

31. Arrangement according to claim 30 wherein the inlet of the siphon chamber interrupts the siphon action to stop dispensing of water when the flush control means is in the second position.

32. Arrangement according to claim 30 or 31 wherein the inlet of the chamber is located at or near the bottom of the tank.

33. Flush control means for a lavatory flushing arrangement, the control means being according to any of claims 1 to 32.

34. Siphon means and flush control means for use with a lavatory flushing arrangement, said means being according to any of claims 1 to 32.

35. Siphon means and flush control means according to claim 34, wherein said means are operable for use with a flushing arrangement.

36. A flushing arrangement for a lavatory, the arrangement being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

37. Flush control means for a lavatory flushing arrangement, the control means being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

38. Siphon means and flush control means for use with a lavatory flushing arrangement, said means being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

39. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter disclosed, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.