Patent ID: 6712090
Filing Date: 2004-03-30
Classification: E03D,F16K,Y10T

Abstract:
A fluid tank valve assembly comprising:a tank having a bottom, an upright fluid supply tube projecting upwardly relative to said bottom of said tank, a tank refill valve located atop said fluid supply tube and having at least one outlet port to said tank therefrom and operable between a valve seating position blocking fluid flow from said fluid supply tube to said outlet port and a valve seating position permitting fluid flow from said fluid supply tube to said outlet port, a float lever assembly located atop said refill valve and having a lever arm movable between a raised position to operate said refill valve to one of said valve seating and unseating positions and a lowered position to operate said valve to the other of said valve seating and unseating positions, an inverted, cup-shaped valve actuating hood disposed atop said float lever assembly, wherein said valve actuating hood has a roof and a skirt depending from said roof and surrounding said refill valve, and a buoyant float engaged with said skirt of said valve actuating hood and adjustably positionable along said skirt to a selected distance from said roof, whereby said roof of said hood bears downwardly against said lever arm to force said lever arm to said lowered position until fluid level in said tank rises sufficiently to cause said float to lift said valve actuating hood and move said lever arm to said raised position, further characterized in that said fluid supply tube terminates in a fluid supply outlet at its upper extremity and said refill valve is comprised of: a flexible, resilient, annular valve diaphragm housed within a valve enclosure atop said fluid supply outlet and operable to alternatively seal and unseal said fluid supply outlet and having a central, annular tubular core that defines a longitudinal passage theretrough, wherein said core has upper and lower ends and defines a lower sealing ring at said lower end, an upper sealing ring at said upper end, and an intermediate sealing ring located between said upper and lower ends, and said lower, upper and intermediate sealing rings project radially into said longitudinal passage, and said core further defines at least one bleed aperture located between said upper and intermediate sealing rings and extending radially through said core, a metering pin disposed in said longitudinal passage and having a plurality of radially enlarged sealing portions and radially reduced portions arranged longitudinally thereon, a float lever assembly coupled to said metering pin and operable to alternatively advance and retract said metering pin in said longitudinal passage between a valve unseating position in which said enlarged sealing portions of said metering pin reside in sealing engagement with said lower and intermediate sealing rings of said diaphragm while said radially reduced portions permit fluid flow through said at least one bleed aperture and out of said upper end of said longitudinal passage so that said diaphragm unseals said fluid supply outlet, and a valve seating position in which one of said enlarged sealing portions of said metering pin resides in sealing engagement with said upper sealing ring while said radially reduced portions of said metering pin permit metered flow of fluid from said supply tube outlet past said lower and intermediate sealing rings and through said at least one bleed aperture so that said diaphragm seals said fluid supply outlet, and a spring biasing said float lever arm toward said raised position.