Dual Flush Valve Assembly

Abstract

A flush valve assembly for plumbing systems, and particularly for conventional toilet bowls, comprises a valve housing or case providing two parallel paths for water flow and having an automatic flush valve in each path. The valve in one path provides full volume and that in the other path a restricted or low-volume flow. A single three-position operating handle is provided and is connected to actuate the low-volume valve on movement to a first position and the full-volume valve on movement to a second position. The third position is a central off or neutral position.

Description

My invention relates to flush valves for plumbing systems and particularly to an improved dual valve assembly for facilitating the conservation of water. My present invention is an improvement on my U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,866 issued on Apr. 13, 1971.

As pointed out in my above patent, the discharge of the full quantity of water for the flushing operation is wasteful for many purposes, and it is desirable for water conservation purposes to provide selective flushing control whereby a smaller amount of water can be discharged when the full-volume flush is not necessary. It is desirable to provide a simplified control for effecting the selective discharge of different volumes of flush water, and accordingly it is an object of my invention to provide an improved dual flush valve assembly for plumbing systems.

It is another object of my invention to provide a dual valve assembly for plumbing systems including an improved control arrangement for facilitating the conservation of water.

Briefly, in carrying out the objects of my invention in one embodiment thereof, a flush valve assembly is provided with a housing having separate inlet chambers for respective high and low capacity automatic flush valves and a common outlet or discharge chamber for both valves. A single valve operating lever or handle is provided which is a three-position mechanism movable from a central position to which it is spring biased toward a second position for actuating the low-volume valve and to a third and opposite position for actuating the full-volume valve. The second or low-volume position is preferably the downward position which is the direction which normally tends to be used; thus there is a likelihood that the low-volume flush valve usually will be selected and the high-volume or upward position will be used only when needed.

The features of novelty which characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. My invention itself, however, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic front elevation view of a flushing system including a flush valve assembly embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation view partly broken away of the valve assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view partly in section and partly broken away illustrating diagrammatically another embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the actuating mechanism of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a view of a portion of the assembly of FIG. 2 illustrating another embodiment of my invention.

Referring now to the drawings, the flushing system shown in FIG. 1 includes a water supply 10 having a shut-off valve 11 to control the flow of water to a closed tank 12 through a line 13 connected to the bottom of the tank. A vertical surge column 14 extends upwardly from a "T" connection 15 in the line 13 above the valve 11. The surge chamber serves to minimize water hammer effects produced upon sudden closing of the discharge valves of the system.

Water flows from the tank 12 through an outlet connection 16 under control of a dual valve assembly 17 which embodies my invention. The valve assembly is operated by a lever or handle 18 which extends horizontally to the left of the assembly and is spring biased to this position. The handle 18 may be moved downwardly to a second position to actuate an automatic low-volume valve 20 or upwardly to a third position to actuate an automatic full-volume valve 21. These valves are both conventional automatic flush valves such as are in common use at the present time.

When either of the valves 20 and 21 is actuated, water flows from the tank 12 through the line 16 and valve assembly 17 to a toilet bowl or other fixture (not shown) through a vacuum breaker 19 and a discharge line 22. The supply pipe 13 is smaller than the line 16 and tends to restrict the water flow; however, on full-volume flow, when the valve 21 is actuated, air compressed in the tank 12 by the pressure of the water forces the full required volume out of the tank and through the valve 21. The supply of water to the tank continues as long as one of the valves 20 or 21 is open and after closing of the valve continues until the air in the tank 12 has been compressed to the water supply pressure. Water flows from the line 16 to the valve assembly through a control stop 23 which may be used to control the rate of flow of water and also may be employed as a shut-off. The inlet chamber of the valve 21 is connected to the outlet of the control stop 23 through a connection 24.

The inlet chamber of the valve 20 is connected to the outlet of the control stop through a restricted bypass conduit (not shown) which is on the far side of the assembly as viewed in FIG. 1 and affords a reduced or restricted flow of water through the valve 20. Thus, the valves are connected in parallel between the inlet and the outlet.

The internal construction of the valve assembly 17 is indicated in FIG. 2. The body or housing of the assembly includes a main portion 25 having a flanged and bolted bottom closure 26 affording access to the actuator mechanism for servicing. The handle 18 is mounted in a cup or boss 27 attached by a coupling ring 28 to a nipple 30. The handle 18 is mounted in the cup on a horizontal pivot pin 31 so that the handle moves up and down in a vertical plane, but if desired may be set in an inclined plane on either side of the vertical by selecting the angle of the axis of the pivot 31 when clamping the cup on the housing.

The housing is provided with a partition member 32 which divides it into a lower discharge chamber 33 and two upper valve inlet chambers 34 and 35 for the valves 20 and 21, respectively. The valve 21 receives water directly from the supply connection 24 and the low-volume valve 20 receives water through the previously mentioned restricted bypass conduit which opens into the chamber 34 as indicated at 29. The valves 20 and 21 include open-ended cylinders 36 and 37, respectively, which are threaded into openings in the partition 32 and include flanges seated against the top wall of the partition and sealed by gaskets between them and the wall. Control diaphragms 38 and 39 of the valves are clamped about respective circular openings in the upper end of the housing by caps 40 and 41. The diaphragms have bleed orifices 42 and 43, respectively, which admit water under pressure from the supply to the spaces above the diaphragms which are thus normally pressed against the upper ends of the cylinders 36 and 37 to close the valves. The diaphragms are provided with metal discs 44 and 45 having central openings closed by disc valves 46 and 47 resting on the top of the discs 44 and 45. The disc valves have actuating rods 48 and 49 depending therefrom and extending through the cylinders 36 and 37 and into the discharge chamber 33. When an actuating rod is moved laterally, the corresponding valve 46 or 47 is opened and water under pressure released from the space above the diaphragm. The degree of opening of the valve and hence the length of flush cycle is limited by stops 50 and 51 threaded in the caps 40 and 41 and adjustable upon removing screw plugs 52 and 53. Spiders 54 and 55 are slidably mounted on the cylinders 36 and 37 and guide the valve assembly including the disc valves 46 and 47 in their movement and assure alignment of the parts of the assembly. When a diaphragm rises, the water from the inlet chamber 34 or 35 flows over the top of the cylinder between the legs of the spider and down to the discharge chamber 33, and thence through an outlet nipple 57 to the line 22.

The rods 48 and 49 are tilted laterally by sliding movement of horizontal actuating rods 58 and 59, respectively, which are moved to the right on the downward and upward movements, respectively, of the handle 18. The rod 58 is in direct line for sliding movement into engagement with the lower end of the rod 48 and the rod 59 is positioned for sliding movement in alignment with the rod 49 but at an angle to the rod 58 so that it passes the rod 58 without interference. FIG. 2 thus is not entirely a vertical section through the assembly but is broken away farther to show the rod 59 and its mounting in the housing including a sliding bearing 60 in a downwardly extending portion 61 of the partition 32.

The rods 58 and 59 are suitably sealed against leakage through the housing wall and are provided with heads 62 and 63 and are biased outwardly by springs 64 and 65, respectively. The lever 18 is fork shaped and has upper and lower lugs 66 and 67 for engaging and moving the rods 59 and 58 respectively. Thus the low-volume flush valve 20 is actuated upon downward movement of the handle 18 and engagement of the lug 67 with the rod head 62 and the valve 21 by upward movement and engagement of the lug 66 with the rod head 63.

While I have by way of example illustrated and described my invention in connection with a specific type of automatic flush valve, it will be obvious that other types of valves may be controlled by a three-position handle such as the handle 18. By arranging my valve assembly for selective operation of the high- and low-volume valves, I have provided a system for effecting conservation of water by reducing the number of times the full-capacity flush valve is employed.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show diagrammatically a somewhat modified embodiment of my invention. This embodiment is essentially similar to that of FIGS. 1 and 2 and corresponding parts have been designated by the same numerals with the suffix letter "a."

In FIG. 3 the low-volume connection to the valve 20a has been illustrated as a bypass 70 of substantially smaller cross section than that of the inlet line 24a; this restricts the flow to the valve 20a and reduces it substantially over the flow from the inlet 24a and through the valve 21a.

The arrangement of the operating rods 58a and 59a is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4; FIG. 3 shows the off-line or angular position of the rod 59a with respect to the rod 58a, and FIG. 4 illustrates in dotted lines the operational positions of the valve actuating rods 48a and 49a. For purposes of diagrammatic illustration the rod 58a of the low-volume valve 20a has been shown mounted in a sliding bearing 71 suitably supported on the housing by an arm or bracket 72 and the rod 59a has been shown supported in two bearings 60a mounted on arms or brackets 61a.

In FIG. 3, the structure above the outlet or discharge chamber 33a has been shown removed to provide a full view of the operating mechanisms moved by the handle 18a. A suitable seal (not shown) is provided within the cap 27a and about the handle pivot.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative arrangement for supplying a restricted flow of water to the low-volume flush valve 20; corresponding parts of the structure are designated by the same numerals primed as those of FIG. 2. In this embodiment of my invention the external bypass 70 is omitted and a restricted opening 73 is provided in the portion of the partition 32' between the intake chambers 34' and 35' to connect the valves 20 and 21 in parallel between the supply and the outlet. Thus, when the valve 20 is actuated, its water supply flows from the chamber 35' to the chamber 34' through the restricted opening 73 which determines the rate of flow through the low-volume valve 20.

My invention provides an arrangement for the selective operation of either of two flush valves having different volume flow quantities, the valves being actuated by a single operating handle. My invention further makes it possible to arrange the control handle so that its normally expected operation will be in the direction for actuation of the low-volume valve. This facilitates the training of users in applying water conservation measures.

While I have described my invention in connection with a specific type of automatic flush valve, various other modifications and applications will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, I do not desire my invention to be limited to this specific construction, and I intend by the accompanying claims to cover all applications and modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A flush valve assembly for plumbing systems comprising:

a full-volume automatic flush valve and a low-volume automatic flush valve connected in parallel between a water supply conduit and a flush water outlet, each of said valves being of the type having an actuating stem extending therefrom for initiating operation of the valve upon lateral displacement,

a single housing for said valves providing a common outlet chamber,

a single three-position actuating member mounted on said housing and connected to engage respective ones of said stems to actuate said valves alternatively upon movement from a neutral "off" position, movement of said member from said "off" position to a first operating position engaging the stem of and actuating said low-volume valve and movement to a second operating position engaging the stem of and actuating said full-volume valve whereby said valves may be selectively actuated.

2. A flush valve assembly for plumbing systems as set forth in claim 1 wherein said actuating member includes a handle biased to a central neutral position and movable in a first direction to actuate said full-volume valve and in the opposite direction to actuate said low-volume valve.

3. A flush valve assembly for plumbing systems as set forth in claim 2 wherein said handle extends horizontally in said neutral position and said first direction is directly down.

4. A flush valve assembly for plumbing systems comprising:

a full-volume automatic flush valve and a low-volume automatic flush valve connected in parallel between a water supply conduit and a flush water outlet,

a single three-position actuating member connected to actuate said valves alternatively upon movement from a neutral "off" position, movement of said member from said "off" position to a first operating position actuating said low-volume valve and movement to a second operating position actuating said full-volume valve whereby said valves may be selectively actuated,

the connection between said water supply conduit and said low-volume valve having a smaller cross sectional area than the connection to said full volume valve and constituting a flow-restricting element for determining the lower water-flow rate of said low-volume valve.

5. A flush valve assembly for plumbing systems comprising:

a full-volume automatic flush valve and a low-volume automatic flush valve connected in parallel between a water supply conduit and a flush water outlet,

a single three-position actuating member connected to actuate said valves alternatively upon movement from a neutral "off" position, movement of said member from said "off" position to a first operating position actuating said low-volume valve and movement to a second operating position actuating said full-volume valve whereby said valves may be selectively actuated,

said assembly including a single housing for said valves having a partition means dividing it into an inlet side and a discharge chamber and means dividing said inlet side to provide respective inlet chambers for said valves, said valves being seated in openings in said partition between said discharge chamber and their respective inlet chambers and having respecting operating means extending into said discharge chamber, said actuating member being mounted in the side wall of said housing adjacent said discharge chamber and extending outwardly therefrom, and

separate motion transmitting elements positioned between said actuating member and the respective ones of said valve operating means, said motion transmitting elements being positioned for moving the operating means of said low-volume valve upon movement of said actuating member to said first operating position and for moving the operating means of said full-volume valve upon movement to said second operating position.