US2508667A - Toilet flushing device - Google Patents

Description

May 23, 1950 H. E. FULTON TOILET FLUSHING DEVICE Filed Oct. 31, 1945 IN V EN TOR. 2y '2. mm

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Patented May 23, 1950 'IZOILET'FLUSHING DEVICE.

Harry E; Fulton, Bernardsville; N2 J: Applicationfictober. 31, 1945, Serial No. 625;{719T S-CIaims'. (Cl. 457')' the construction of theguide" bracketv and to? modify the-construction of thevalve'stem so that it cooperates'ina novel manner'with the guide bracket to'the' end of'compelli'ng; a true" vertical non-wobblin'g movement, of'the valve toward and from its seat:

A further object" ofthei'nvention is to provide a' novel'form ofguide-hrack'et having'a double or twofoldiguidecooperation with the; valve stem to assurethe true rectilinear movement, of the valve:

A still further oBject of the" invention is to providean-improved form ofcollar which suspends the gu-idehracket from the overfiow pipe to'promotestreng'th and economy of construction and'which' will cooperate in a-novelmanner with parts carried by-the'guide bracket whereby there is a mutual adjustment of the=collar angularly about the overflow pipe and" of the bracket angul'arly about itspoint of connection and supportwith the collararms: all to the end that the guideway of the=bracket in which the valvestemslides may be mad t'o as'sumeer closely correct position over theoutlet valve seat; thus causing the rubber outlet valve to rise and' fall in a correct vertical line accurately coincident with itsseat; in this wayavoiding leakage when closed:

With? the foregoing and other" objects in view. the invention willbe more fully described herematter, and will he moreparticularly pointed out in. the claims appended hereto.

In. the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or" corresponding parts; throughout" the several views;

Figural isa; perspective view 'of'atoilet flushing device construct-ecl in accordance with the pres-- ent invention" with"- the rubber" outlet valve shown in section and the liit rod broken away. e 2 is a perspective view'of'the improved taken fromthe rear face thereof;

Figure. 3S isa front elevation of the improved device with parts broken awayand: parts shown inzsectiom Figure 4 is a' rear elevationpf' the improved device with parts; broken away and parts shown in section:

Figure 5 is a side-"elevation01: the overflow pipe; and outlet to the bowl' andiwitlr the improved device shown'in' end elevatiorr with parts broken away and parts shown insection:

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectiomtaken' along the line 6-6-ofFi'gure 3":

Referring more" particularly" tothe drawings 10 designates the conventionaloverflow pipe found in the standard fi'ushing device and H is the outlet tothe bowl? The" ordinary' rubber valve i2 is carried' bytheusual valve stem 13 except that'this valve stem is' somewhat modified at its'upper endashereinafter described'in order to cooperate in a; novel manner with the improved'form of 'bracliet' and with-the lower end of the lift rod l4. This lift rod' is connected with the rotary handle on the exterior" of the flush tank for the operation of" the device in flushing the toil'etbowl all aswill be well understood bythose skilled in this art.

A collar [5 usually surrounds the overflow pipe Ifl' and is" clamped thereto for the purpose of supporting a t'ype'ofbracket in which the valve stem l 3 base sliding movement'; The old form of collar may be retainedif desired and employed in conjunction with the-presentinvention; or a; new collar l5 according to the invention may he clamped about the-overflowpipe Illby means of'a bolt I8 passing througli ears I6 and ITone of which I6" may: be threaded to engage the threads of the bolt'wliilethe' perforation of theother ear isplain t'o'reeeive an=unthreadedportion of such bolt l8 i One of the ears I1 is elongated into an armhaving" a rolled sleeve i9 thereon.

This sleeve was adapted "to support-the bracket and for this purpose engages about the plainunthreaded' shank- 20 of'a screwbolt; the head 21 of which is shown a's' wider thanthe plain un threaded perforation through anppperlug 22 of'th'e-bracket; The lowering 23 of the-bracket is provided with a threaded hole 24 to-take the Thebracket is advantageously formed of a piece of'slieet metal of appropriate gauge constituting the bracket" plate 21 forming the rear" wall of the'bra'cket; At one edge of this rear wall the metal stock isbent forwardly to provide a side wall 28 and-thence rearwardl'y upon itself to form a front" wall 29 lying substantial parallelism withaportion of the rear wall 21';

From the front wall the material is bent at substantially right angles toward and substantially to the rear wall 21 to constitute a second side wall 30 in substantial parallelism with the first mentioned side wall 28. This arrangement of walls 21, 28, 29 and 30 forms a substantially rectangular guideway into which is received the upper portion of the valve stem I3 against the side wall 28 thereof. The front wall 29 and the rear wall 21 are provided with registering vertically elongated slots 3I and 32 to receive therethrough the angled end 33 of the lift rod Hi. This angled end 33 engages beneath a curved cross bar 35 of the valve stem formed by returning the upper end 34 of such valve stem l3 in a substantially U-shaped open loop with the major length of the valve stem I3 in guided engagement with the side wall 28 of the guideway and with the returned end 34 in similar engagement with the opposite wall 30.

The guideway or rectangular box formed by the walls 21, 28, 29 and 3B terminates short of the lower edge of the bracket plate 2'! and short of the free side edge of the plate 27. Below the guideway box or enclosure a lateral extension of the plate 21 is rolled over into a guide sleeve 36 for snugly yet slidably receiving the valve stem I3 at a point below the guide box.

In Figures 1 and 6 is shown the improved form of collar according to the present invention. In Figures 3, 4 and 5 an old form of collar with bifurcated arm is illustrated.

In the use of the device either the bifurcated arm or the sleeve is is engaged by bolt 2! The bolt 20 is screwed down into lug 23 and until its head 2! abuts against the upper surface of the top lug 22. Assuming that the collar I5 is tight on the overflow pipe ID, the bracket is dropped down until the top lug 22 rests upon the bifurcated collar arm or upon the sleeve I 9. Thereupon a lock nut 26 is rotated in a direction to raise the same upwardly against the lower end of the bifurcated arm or againstthe lower end of the sleeve I9.

The collar I5 may be rotated or adjusted angularly about the overflow pipe- ID by loosening the bolt i8 and subsequently tightening the same after the adjustment has been eflected to bring the bifurcated arm or the sleeve H] to a correct angular position for holding the bracket accurately above the valve seat of the outlet II. A second adjustment is provided by means of the bolt 20 which enables the bracket to be rotated about the vertical axis of this bolt 20 in order to bring the bracket to a correct position over the valve seat of outlet II. When this position is arrived at the lock nut 26 is tightened upwardly against the collar arm or sleeve I9.

The above two adjustments are for the purpose of bringing the guide sleeve 36 and the end Wall 28 of the guide box into such accurate alignment with the center of the valve seat I I that the rubber valve I2 will be guided faithfully in alignment with this valve seat so as to close accurately thereagainst.

In this the returned end 34 of the valve stem assists as it engages and slides up and down in contact with the opposite end wall 30 of the guide box. Thus at the upper end of the guide stem I 3 there are two opposed members of the stem engaging the two opposed walls 28 and 30 of the guide box. This will prevent any lateral or horizontal incidental movement of the guide stem I3 at least at its upper end. This arrangement in combination with the elongated contact of the main portion of the valve stem I3 with the side wall 28 will further reduce incidental lateral or horizontal movement in the valve stem such as would tend to inaccurately seat the valve l2. The two factors above mentioned for resisting incidental vibration or lateral movement of the valve stem I3 are further supplemented and reinfor-ced by the guide sleeve 36 which confines the valve stem I3 in all circumferential directions which is spaced below the returned end 34 and which has substantial axial length of its own so as to resist therein and in combination with the other factors any such incidental lateral motion. With such a true guide arrangement for the valve stem l3 it becomes highly necessary to provide ample and correct adjustment for bringing this valve stem l3 into the vertical center line of the valve seat II to secure accurate seating of the valve I2 at all times and this accurate adjustment is provided by the conjoint angular movement of collar I5 about overflow pipe I 0 and of the concomitant angular adjustment of the bracket 27 about the vertical axis of the screw bolt 20.

The operation of the device proceeds in a manner which will be well understood. With the valve I2 seated as shown in Figure 5, the lift rod I4 is lifted when the external handle on the flush tank is rotated. The angled end 33 thus rides up in slots 3| and 32 and lifts the curved cross bar 35 therewith, thus unseating and raising the valve l2; whereupon the handle being released, the lift rod I4 will drop back to initial position without interfering with the future operation of the valve i2 and its Valve stem I3. As the water lever falls the valve I2 will return downwardly and will automatically seat upon II when the water is substantially evacuated. In its raising and lowering movements the valve stem I3 and incidentally the valve I2 will be guided in a true vertical rectilinear path. The seating of the valve I2 will therefore be at all times accurate. Moreover the construction and arrangement is such that the angled end 33 of the lift rod will have no effect in any of its lateral swinging movements to cause jamming of the valve stem I3 for the reason that this valve stem is guided at so many points against just such lateral or horizontal movements.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims:

What is claimed is:

1. For use with a toilet flushing device having a support, an outlet valve and valve stem, and a lift rod, an improved guide bracket for the valve stem carried by the support and having an enclosed box for receiving the valve stem in contacting guiding arrangement at one side wall, said valve stem having a returned portion engag ing and sliding upon an opposite side wall of the enclosed box, and means constructed and arranged to restrain said valve stem from lateral movement in a direction angularly to a plane connecting said walls, said means comprising a guide sleeve on the bracket through which the valve stem reciprocates.

2. For use in a toilet flushing device having a support, an outlet valve and valve stem and a lift device, an improved guide bracket carried by said support and having an enclosed guide box with one wall disposed in contact with the vertically moving valve stem, said valve stem having a returned portion in vertically sliding engagement with an opposite wall of said guide box, said valve stem having a cross bar connecting the same with the returned end, said guide box having a slot to receive an end of the lift device for engaging said cross bar, and means by which the valve stem is restrained from lateral movement in response to an off-center force exerted by a pull on the lift device.

3. An improved bracket as claimed in claim 1 characterized by the fact that the guide sleeve is rolled from an edge of the bracket below the guide box and is positioned to slidably and snugly receive therethrough the valve stem.

4. An improved bracket as claimed in claim 1 characterized by the fact that said enclosed box is formed from a sheet metal plate having its major portion arranged to provide a rear wall and with an extension of the sheet metal overturned upon itself to form the enclosed box with said side walls and with a rear wall formed by said plate and a front wall, said plate having a further lateral extension rolled over to form said guide sleeve about the valve stem having its opening in alignment with the vertical space adjacent the first mentioned side wall of the box against which the major portion of the valve stem engages.

' 5. A bracket as claimed in claim 1 in which spaced lugs project from the bracket, a fastening element engaging said lugs, and a supporting arm iffor the bracket having a part engaging about said fastening element.

6. In a flushing device for toilets having an overflow pipe arranged close to the valve seat of an outlet controlled by a valve having an upstanding valve stem, the combination of a collar angularly movable about said overflow pipe, means to clamp said collar to said pipe, a supporting arm on the collar, a sleeve on said supporting arm, a guide bracket having a guideway for said valve stem and also having a part for resting on said sleeve, and having a second part extending under the sleeve and having a threaded opening therethrough, and a bolt slidable through the first mentioned part and through said sleeve and threaded into the opening in said second part and a lock nut on said threaded bolt to abut the lower portion of said sleeve.

7. An improved bracket for use in a flushing device for toilets in cooperation with a supporting arm comprising a rear wide plate having lugs cut and bent therefrom with a plain hole in one lug and a threaded hole in the other, a bolt passing through the unthreaded lug with a head to confine the same and having a threaded portion to engage in the threaded hole after passing through such supporting arm, a lock nut on the bolt to lock the arm against the upper lug, a guide box on the front of the plate for the valve stem of the flushing apparatus, and a guide sleeve also on the front of the plate oifset laterally from the center of the guide box for receiving the valve stem.

8. For use with a toilet flushing device having a support, an outlet valve and valve stem, and a lift rod, an improved guide bracket for the valve stem carried by the support and having an enclosed box for receiving the valve stem in contacting guiding arrangement at one side wall, said valve stem having a returned portion engaging and sliding upon an opposite side wall of the enclosed box, said box composed of sheet material arranged to form a rear wall with said side walls and a front wall bent therefrom and with the free edge of the last mentioned side wall engaging said rear wall and with the enclosed space of the box open at its top and bottom, said front and rear walls having slots therein to receive the lift rod.

HARRY E. FULTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,803,603 Dodson May 5, 1931 2,016,840 Schubert Oct. 8, 1935 2,098,687 Kinsfather Nov. 9, 1937 2,217,320 Romaine Oct. 8, 1940

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