RS56797B1 - Flushing device for flush tank - Google Patents

Description

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject invention relates to a flushing device for a cistern.

STATE OF THE ART

In a general sense, the flushing device for a cistern consists of a support structure that can be attached to the bottom of the cistern and has a water discharge opening bounded by a sealing seat and a valve body which is usually a tubular element that also performs the function of an overflow pipe, which is located in the support structure so that it can be slidably moved and has a cover below that works together with the sealing seat to close the water discharge opening; the valve body is lifted by means of the corresponding executive-operating elements controlled by the user.

The speed of lid closure and the amount of flushing water is usually adjusted by means of weights and/or floats which are attached to the valve body so that they can be disengaged if necessary; specifically, in the case of mechanisms with two options of the amount of flushing (i.e. which alternatively allow full or only partial release of the water contained in the tank) to obtain two modes of water release (full or partial) it is known to change the closing speed of the cover by activating the valve body with one float (full discharge) or with two floats (partial discharge). For example, FR2854180 and EP1199415 disclose flushing devices having floats which are arranged laterally with respect to a central valve body (which also acts as an overflow pipe); however, the float speed cannot be adjusted to adjust the valve body closing speed. It appears that the known flushing devices are subject to improvement especially in terms of operational reliability, simplicity and economy of manufacture, dimensions, efficiency, practicality of use and accuracy of adjusting the flow of flushing water in different modes of operation.

In particular, the operation of the water release mechanisms is affected by the conditions in which they have to work (cistern dimensions, installation height, amount of water in the tank, and so on), where not only is it necessary to design and make a special flushing device for each cistern to guarantee efficient operation, but in conditions different from those originally intended, it may happen that the device no longer functions as it was designed to function, for example, the quantities of flushing water differ from those originally certain.

Therefore, there is a need to rationalize the system for the production of water release mechanisms, especially to reduce the number of components required to provide devices for different cisterns.

THE ESSENCE OF THE INVENTION

The aim of the present invention is to provide a flushing device for a cistern which is improved compared to solutions of the prior art; specifically, the aim of the present invention is to provide a flushing device that is particularly simple, fully efficient and reliable and allows simple and accurate adjustment of the amount of water released, by choice and in various modes of operation.

A further aim of the present invention is to provide a flushing device which remains effective regardless of the operating conditions and therefore particularly independent of the basic characteristics of the cistern in which it is installed.

Therefore, the present invention relates to a cistern flushing device as essentially defined in appended claim 1 and to the assumed aspects thereof set forth in the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PICTURES

The invention is described in detail in the following non-limiting exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying figures in which:

- figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of the flushing device according to the invention, - figure 2 is a side view in the unfolded state of the device in figure 1,

- figure 3 shows, on an enlarged scale, some of the components illustrated in figure 2, - figure 4 is a top view of the components of the device in figure 1,

- Figures 5-8 are side views of the device in Figure 1, shown in the respective operating configurations.

THE BEST WAY TO PERFORM THE INVENTION

Referring to Figures 1-2, the flushing device 1, specifically the device with two water release options, for the cistern 2 (which is known and only partially shown in Figure 1) comprises: a supporting structure 3 extending along axis A (vertical in operation); the valve body 4 which extends and can slide along the axis A and is provided with a cover 5 which functions in cooperation with the sealing seat 6 of the supporting structure 3; the float 7 which is used for complete flushing and which is mounted integrally with the valve body 4 (and which is assumed to be realized as an integral part of it); an additional ballast tank 8 which contains water and is used for partial flushing and which is movable and can be selectively connected to the valve body 4; executive-working system 9 that acts on the valve body 4 and on the float 7 and on the ballast tank 8.

The structure 3 consists of a base part 10 and a connecting part 11, which is arranged below the base part 10 and can be connected in a detachable manner towards the base part 10 by means of fastening elements 12, 13, which, for example, is made up of a pair of flexible teeth 12 which are supplied from the diametrically opposite sides of the base part 10 and can be inserted into the corresponding coupling beds 13 formed in the connecting part 11; the connecting part 11 can be attached to the bottom 14 of the cistern 2 and is provided with a water discharge hole 15 which is bounded by a sealing seat 6; for example, the connecting part 11 comprises a tubular insert 16 which can be inserted into the opening of the lower wall 14 and has an annular seal 17 which preferably has a V-shaped cross-section.

Referring also to Figures 3-4, the base part 10 comprises: an essentially tubular central part 20 which extends along and about the axis A and is bounded by a side wall 21; the side tank 22 which is radially projected from the central part 20 and placed eccentrically with respect to the axis A; and a guide 23 that protrudes from the side wall 21 and opposite the reservoir 22. More specifically, the reservoir 22 and the guide 23 protrude radially from the side wall 21 of the part 20 and are diametrically opposed.

The tank 22 is open at the top and has a bottom 24, a circular closed side wall 25 and an upper opening 26 opposite the bottom 24.

The reservoir 22 is provided with a valve 27 for adjusting the lowering speed of the valve body 4. Specifically, the valve 27 is a one-way valve and is placed in the lower part of the reservoir 22; the valve 27 is configured to allow water to enter the reservoir 22 upwards and to prevent the water in the reservoir 22 from flowing downwards; preferably, the valve 27 is placed at the bottom 24 of the tank 22; more specifically, the bottom 24 has an opening 28 that defines a valve housing housing a movable cover 29 that is movably biased by water to selectively open/close the opening 28 so as to allow water to upwardly enter the reservoir 22 through the opening 28 and to prevent water contained in the reservoir 22 from escaping through the opening 28. Preferably, the reservoir 22 and/or the valve 27 may be provided with an auxiliary opening. 28b, which defines the opening for the discharge of water from the tank 22; the opening 28b is a bypass opening in relation to the valve 27, which has a smaller diameter and passes through the valve 27 itself or through the bottom 24.

Optionally, but not necessarily, the side wall 25 has a window 30 that defines a further outlet opening, formed at the level above the valve 27. The window 30 is closed by an adjustable latch 31, which can be moved so as to change the flow cross-section of the window 30 and thus the speed of water discharge through the window 30.

The valve body 4 also functions as an overflow pipe and consists of a main pipe 32, which is arranged to slide along the axis A in the base part 10 (specifically, in the guide housing 33 which is formed in the central part 20) and is provided below with a cover 5 which works together with the sealing seat 6 to close the water release opening 15; and the supplementary pipe 34 placed in the direction of the pipe 32 along the axis A and connected, for example, by a bayonet coupling to the upper end of the pipe 32.

The float 7 protrudes from the body of the valve 4 and is located eccentrically and radially outside the pipe 32; in detail, the float 7 consists of a floating cassette 36, substantially parallel to the pipe 32, and a connecting bracket 37 that connects the floating cassette 36 to the pipe 32. The bracket 37 is mounted integrally with the pipe 32 and is radially protruding from the pipe 32 and supports the upper end of the floating cassette 36; the floating cassette 36 is pushed downward from the free end of the bracket 37 and laterally separated from the tube 32 (namely, the port separates the floating cassette 36 from the tube 32).

The floating cassette 36 is at least partially located within the reservoir 22 and is slidably movable parallel to the axis A in the reservoir 22 as a piston. Preferably, the floating cassette 36 has a lower end opposite the upper end attached to the bracket 37, provided with a surface 38 facing (and substantially parallel to) the bottom 24 of the tank 22. For example, the floating cassette 36 is closed inferiorly by a disk 38b provided by the surface 38.

The supplementary ballast tank 8 forms a housing in the form of a tank 39 open above so that it can be filled with water and a rod 40 which is projected downwards from the housing 39 and is inserted, parallel to the axis A, in the guide 23; the ballast tank 8 is placed laterally in relation to the valve body 4 and diametrically opposite to the float 7. The ballast tank 8, as a whole, can be slidably moved in relation to the pipe 32 parallel to the axis A and is guided along the pipe 32 by, for example, a pair of handles 57.

The ballast tank 8 is equipped with a window 58 formed, for example, in the side wall 59 of the housing 39; the window 58 is provided with an adjustable latch 60 which can be moved to change the opening of the window 58 and the water content in the housing 39 and thus adjust the total weight of water in the ballast tank 8. The latch 60 can, for example, be slidably moved parallel to the axis A in the lateral guides formed on the wall 59.

The executive-working system 9 consists of a pair of clamps 41, 42 which are connected to the body of the valve 4 by means of the corresponding connecting elements 43, 44 and is connected, for example, by means of the upper eyes, to the corresponding control elements (which are known and not illustrated), which can be operated by the user in order to control the device and, more precisely, to release the entire or partial amount of water contained in the cistern 2.

The connecting elements 43 of the clamp 41, which are used to release the entire amount of water, contain at least one vertically elongated groove 45 and a wedge 46 that protrudes laterally from the tube 34 and engages in the groove 45. The wedge 46 can be slidably moved in the groove 45, parallel to the axis A, with a predetermined stroke between the lower limit position and the upper limit position.

The lever 48 is pivotally connected to the clamp 41, specifically to the free end of the attachment 49 which is projected from the clamp 41 and is configured to be activated (i.e. rotates) when the clamp 41 moves vertically upwards and mechanically binds the ballast tank 8 to the valve body 4 so that it can be released. In more detail, the lever 48 is hinged to the link 41 by means of a pivot joint 50 and consists of a first lever arm 51, which cooperates with the link 41 to rotate the lever 48 and a second lever arm 52, which has a tooth 53 that engages a corresponding connecting element 54 fixed to the ballast tank 8.

The connecting elements 44 that connect the clamp 42, which is used for releasing a partial amount of water, to the tube 34 consist, for example, of two elastic shoulders 55 which are fixed around the tube 34 and axially function together with at least one upper collar 56 formed on the tube 34; link 42 moves together with tube 34 parallel to axis A.

Taking into account figures 5-8, the operation of the device is as follows:

When the cistern 2 is full of water (Fig. 1), the valve body 4 is in the lower position in which the cover 5 closes the water outlet 15. The float 7 is in the rest position in which the floating cassette 36 is in the tank 22 and, specifically, in which the surface 38 rests on the bottom 24 and/or the cover 29 of the valve 27, which is closed. The tank 22 contains practically no water (or very little water), and its volume is almost completely occupied by the floating cassette 36. The ballast tank 8 is also in the rest position, pushed down by its own weight, with the rod 40 located in the guide 23. The ballast tank 8 is coupled with the lever 48 (using the tooth 53 that engages the connecting element 54), and the pin 46 is in the upper end position, i.e. rests on the upper end of the groove 45.

When the user raises the clamp 41 to activate the complete release of water (Fig. 5), the clamp 41 first moves without lifting the valve body 4 (because the pin 46 slides in the groove) and, by means of the attachment 49 which rotates the lever 48, unblocks the ballast tank 8, which therefore remains in the rest position; then, when the pin 46 reaches the lower limit position in the groove 45, the link 42 is connected to the valve body 4 and therefore raises the valve body 4 and with it the integral float 7; after the float 7 is raised, the valve 27 opens and water enters the tank 22 through the opening 28.

The water outlet 15 opens and water flows out of the cistern 2. The water outlet 15 remains open as long as the valve body 4 is raised, assisted by the float 7 in the tank 22; the valve body 4 returns to close the water outlet 15 (Fig. 6) when the float 7 returns to the rest position; the lowering speed of the float 7 in the tank 22 is adjusted by the speed with which the water flows out of the tank 22 through the window 30 (whose opening size is adjusted by the valve 31 and can be adjusted during installation, in order to adjust the amount of water for flushing) and/or through the auxiliary opening 28b (and through that opening only in the case when the tank 22 is not provided with a window 30 and a corresponding valve 31).

When, on the other hand, the user lifts the clamp 42 to activate the partial water release (Figure 7), where the pin 46 is in the upper end position and therefore in contact with the upper end of the groove 45, the clamp 42 also integrally lifts the clamp 41; the lever 48 does not rotate and continues to engage with the ballast tank 8, whereby the valve body 4, the float 7 as well as the ballast tank eventually rise. Also, in this case, after raising the float 7, the valve 27 opens and water enters the tank 22 through the opening 28.

In this case, the closing of the flushing water outlet 15 takes place much faster than before because the ballast tank 8 acts on the valve body 4 and thus a smaller amount of water is discharged. The amount of water contained in the housing 39 of the ballast tank 8 (ie, the weight of the ballast tank 8) is adjusted, in the stage of installation of the device 1, by adjusting the position of the latch 60 in the window 58.

The advantages of the present invention are clear from what has been described.

In general, the flushing device 1 according to the present invention is particularly simple and economical to manufacture and functions simply, safely and reliably; in addition, the device of this invention enables a simple, quick and accurate adjustment of the amount of water for rinsing and is particularly suitable for providing both complete and partial release of water.

Valve 27 adjusts the lowering speed of valve body 4, performing the following functions:

- guaranteeing the correct lowering speed of the valve body 4,

- facilitating the lifting of the valve body 4, since the valve 27 opens a wide passage for the water entering the tank 22,

- slow descent of the valve body 4, even when the partial release of water is performed (in contrast to known systems, in which the release of a partial amount of water is activated by an additional weight that causes the valve body to drop suddenly).

The operation of device 1 is always the same, especially as regards the amount of water that is released, regardless of the operating conditions and the specific type of cistern in which it is installed.

In particular, the main float 7 is placed laterally in relation to the valve body 4, which also functions as an overflow pipe: compared to known solutions with a float distributed around the overflow pipe, this solution enables better use of space and has a larger effective volume available for the operation of the float, with smaller overall dimensions.

The float 7 moves in the tank 22 like a piston, which allows it to function efficiently, reliably and practically independently of the conditions under which the device 1 must work.

Even in the mode of releasing a partial amount of water, the operation is simple, efficient and reliable; moreover, it is not necessary to adjust the height of the supplementary ballast tank 8 (which, in particular, is used to ensure the release of a partial amount of water) according to the cistern in which the device 1 is installed.

The device 1 further gives the possibility of installation in cisterns of any dimension (height) by simply replacing several components (especially in the valve body 4, for example, only the supplementary pipe 34) and using instead mainly components of one dimension; therefore, it is not necessary to use a large number of components that are specially designed for each cistern.

Finally, it is obvious that further modifications and variations can be made to the water release device described and illustrated herein without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (10)

Patent claims 1. Flushing device (1) containing a supporting structure (3) extending along the axis (A); the valve body (4) which extends and can slide along the axis (A) and is provided with a cover (5) which functions in cooperation with the sealing seat (6) of the supporting structure (3); a float (7) mounted integrally with the valve body (4) and which can be moved together with the valve body (4) in relation to the supporting structure (3); executive-working system (9) connected to the valve body (4) for lifting the valve body (4) and opening the sealing seat (6); where the float (7) protrudes laterally from the valve body (4) and is eccentric and radially external in relation to the valve body (4), the device is characterized in that the float (7) is located so that it can slide in the reservoir (22) of the support structure (3) which is placed eccentrically in relation to the axis (A); and in that the reservoir (22) regulates the rate of fall of the valve body (4) and has a valve (27) for supplying water to the reservoir (22) and at least one discharge opening (30, 28b) for draining water from the reservoir (22). 2. The device according to claim 1, in which the valve (27) is a one-way valve and is placed in the lower part of the tank (22), specifically at the bottom (24) of the tank (22) and is configured to allow water to enter the tank (22) upwards and to prevent the water in the tank (22) from flowing out downwards. 3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, in which the reservoir (22) is provided with an auxiliary opening (28b) bypassing the valve (27). 4. A device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the tank (22) is provided with a first window (30) defining a first discharge opening for the discharge of water from the tank (22), where this first window (30) is formed on the side wall (25) of the tank (22) and at a higher level than the valve (27). 5. A device according to claim 4, in which the first window (30) is provided with a first adjustable shutter (31), which can be moved to adjust the flow section of the first window (30) and therefore adjust the rate of water discharge from the tank (22). 6. A device according to one of the preceding claims, which includes an additional ballast tank (8) containing water and can be selectively attached to the valve body (4) to perform a partial release of water, where the ballast tank (8) is lateral to the valve body (4) and diametrically opposite to the float (7). 7. Device according to claim 6, in which the ballast tank (8) has a second window (58) provided with a second adjustable latch (60), which can be moved to change the opening of the second window (58) and the amount of water in the ballast tank (8) and therefore the weight of the ballast tank (8). 8. A device according to one of the preceding claims, in which the float (7) comprises a floating cassette (36) substantially parallel to the valve body (4) and radially spaced from the valve body (4) and a connecting bracket (37) which laterally protrudes from the valve body (4) and supports the floating cassette (36) in the reservoir (22). 9. Device according to one of the claims 1-7, in which the float (7) comprises a floating cassette (36) which is at least partially located inside the tank (22) and can be slidably moved parallel to the axis (A) in the tank (22) as a piston; wherein the floating cassette (36) is closed inferiorly and has a lower end provided with a surface (38) facing the bottom (24) of the reservoir (22). 10. The device according to claim 8, in which the floating cassette (36) is located at least partially inside the reservoir (22) and can be slidably moved parallel to the axis (A) in the reservoir (22) as a piston; wherein the floating cassette (36) is closed inferiorly and has a lower end provided with a surface (38) facing the bottom (24) of the reservoir (22).