FLUSH VALVE ASSEMBLY

Abstract: A flush valve assembly for toilets for flushing with either a small amount of water or a larger, predetermined amount of water. A flush valve casing (1) comprises two superimposed valves (10, 20). Each of the valves (10, 20) comprises a cone (12, 22) and a valve seat (11, 21). When opening one of the valves, its cone is moved towards the other valve cone. The shape of the cones (10, 20) is such that the one cone is insertable into the other cone. In a special embodiment, the lower valve (10) is adapted to be opened by being affected by the upper valve (20) by interconnection of the two valve cones with the aid of negative pressure. A control member (31) is only movable to a position for flushing with a larger amount of water via a position for flushing with a small amount of water. When flushing a toilet with a predetermined amount of water, the control member (31) is moved by an external force to a position for flushing with a larger amount of water via the position for flushing with a small amount of water and is then released from the action of the external force.

Description: FLUSH VALVE ASSEMBLY Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flush valve assembly, a control device and a method for flushing a toilet according to the preambles to the accompany- ing claims 1, 9, 11 and 14. The invention relates espe¬ cially to alternative flushing when using a toilet, i.e. either flushing with part of the amount of water in the tank of the toilet or with substantially the entire amount of water. Description of the Prior Art When using a toilet, it is in many cases not neces¬ sary, when flushing, to use all the water contained in the tank of the toilet. Large amounts of water may be saved if flushing with a large amount of water takes place only when there is an actual need. This would be very advantageous, for instance, in places where water is scarce. Also in places having plenty of water it is advantageous, inter alia, for environmental reasons, if the amount of contaminated water can be reduced. Double-acting flush valves for toilets are per se known. Constructions known up to now have, however, suf¬ fered from several drawbacks. SE-501,336 discloses a double-acting flush valve assembly for toilets having a flush valve casing, through which water may flow in sideways and up through an upper valve or down through a lower valve. In this manner, a flush valve assembly has been provided, by which flushing with small amounts of water can be carried out by moving the control member for flushing downwards, and flushing with a predetermined larger amount of water can be car¬ ried out by raising the same control member (traditional flushing) . The flush valve assembly disclosed in SE-501,336, however, suffers from a number of drawbacks. When flushing with a large amount of water (tradi¬ tional flushing), one pulls the control member to open the lower valve. However, the lower valve cone does not have sufficient buoyancy to hold, when raised, the valve open until all the water in the tank of the toilet has flown out or until the water level in the tank has fallen to the level of the lower valve. Flushing with a smaller amount of water has also not functioned in a satisfactory fashion, since flushing has taken place at a very low pressure only. This low pres¬ sure is not sufficient to clean the toilet with a small amount of water after using the toilet. Moreover, the upper valve gets locked in the open position, the valve cone pressed down, when flushing with a small amount of water, since the air pocket formed in the valve cone does not yield sufficient lifting power to close the valve. When using a construction according to SE-501,336, there is a risk that, by mistake, the flushing is always carried out in the traditional manner, i.e. with a large amount of water, which is a great and important obstacle to the saving of water. On the market, also flush valves are available, which have separate control members for flushing with a large or a small amount of water. Also in such construc¬ tions, there is a great risk that a large amount of water is unnecessarily used for flushing. Objects of the Invention One object of the invention is to permit saving of water when using flush toilets by obviating the drawbacks of the above-described prior art. A special object is to provide a flush valve of simple design, which makes it possible to carry out effective and easily controllable flushing of a toilet with a small amount of water. A special object is to reduce or eliminate the risk that unnecessarily large amounts of water are unneces¬ sarily used for flushing. Summary of the Invention According to the invention, these and other objects, which will appear from the following specification, have now been achieved by means of a flush valve assembly, a control device and a method which are of the types de¬ scribed by way of introduction and which, in addition, have the features defined in the characterising clauses of claims 1, 9, 11 and 14. According to one aspect of the invention, it con¬ cerns a flush valve assembly for toilets for flushing with either a small amount of water or a larger, prede- termined amount of water. A flush valve casing comprises two superimposed valves. Each of the valves comprises a cone and a valve seat. When opening one valve, its cone is moved towards the other valve cone. The shape of the cones is such that one cone is insertable into the other cone. The fact that the one valve cone according to the invention is insertable into the other makes it possible to arrange the two cones one above the other at a small distance from each other. As a result, both valves can be arranged close to the bottom of the tank of the toi¬ let, which in turn means that there prevails a high water pressure adjacent to both valves, thus, also adjacent to the upper valve for flushing with small amounts of water. Consequently, flushing with an optional, small amount of water can take place at a higher pressure than has been possible earlier. In one embodiment of the invention, the lower cone comprises a downwardly open and upwardly closed air space, which, as the cone is raised, maintains an "air pocket", and therefore the lower cone can be given an improved lifting power. By the one valve cone being insertable into the other, it has also become possible to achieve this improved function of the flush valve while maintaining a small overall height. In a special embodiment, the two cones fit into each other such that, when the two cones are inserted into one another, a negative pressure forms between the cones when moving them apart. As a result, the lower cone can be lifted by means of the upper cone thanks to the cones being interconnected by the negative pressure. Besides, it is ensured that the lower valve remains open, the upper cone raised from the lower valve seat, until the water level in the tank of the toilet has fallen to the level of the valve seat of the lower valve. By the provision of an efficient and user-friendly flush valve assembly, a general use of two different flushing techniques is made possible. According to another aspect of the invention, it comprises a flush valve assembly for flushing toilets with a small amount of water or a large amount of water. The flush valve assembly comprises a control member for controlling thereof. The control member is movable from a resting position to a first flushing position for con¬ trolling the flush valve assembly to flush with a large amount of water. The control member, however, can only be moved to the first flushing position via a second flushing position, in which the flush valve assembly is controlled to flush with a small amount of water. According to one more aspect of the invention, it comprises a method for flushing a toilet with a predeter¬ mined amount of water by moving the control member, by means of an external force, to the first flushing posi¬ tion via the second flushing position and then releasing it from the action of the external force. The necessity, in all flushing operations, of mov¬ ing the control member to a position for flushing with a small amount of water prevents unnecessary moving of the control member to a position for flushing with a large amount of water and, thus, flushing with more water than necessary. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the con¬ trol member is actuated by the force of a first spring means in a first interval, which extends from the resting position to the first position. In a position in a second interval, which extends from the first interval to the first position, the control member is also actuated by the force of a second spring means. This gives the user a clear indication of a limit between the first position and a second position, and therefore the risk that the control member is moved to the first position if not necessary is further reduced. In another way of considering the invention, it resides in the opening of a first valve for flushing with a large amount of water by first opening a second valve for flushing with a small amount of water and subsequent¬ ly opening the first valve for flushing with a large amount of water by means of the second valve for flushing with a small amount of water. According to the invention, it is also preferred that flushing with a large amount of water can be accom¬ plished only by taking different, distinguishable mea¬ sures. First, flushing is begun with a small amount of water, then a signal is obtained, for instance in the form of an increased resistance in the control member, for flushing with a large amount of water. Having obtain¬ ed this signal, some further measure must be taken, for instance, a change of the power exerted on the control member, especially an increase of power. According to a special aspect of the invention, it concerns a control device for flushing a toilet, in which a spring-loaded obstruction member is arranged in connec¬ tion with a control member for flushing. Flushing with a large amount of water cannot be carried out without first moving the obstruction member out of position. Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illu¬ strate a non-restricting embodiment and in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a preferred embodi¬ ment of a flush valve assembly according to the invention mounted in a tank of a toilet; Figs 2 and 3 show schematically and slightly enlarg¬ ed a broken-away part of the flush valve assembly accord- ing to Fig. 1 and illustrate the valve configuration when flushing with a smaller amount of water and a larger, predetermined amount of water; Fig. 4 is a schematic view of a further preferred embodiment of a flush valve assembly according to the invention mounted in a tank of a toilet; and Figs 5 and 6 show schematically a control device for flushing according to the invention and illustrate the function for flushing with a smaller amount of water and a larger, predetermined amount of water. Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a tank 2 of a flush toilet, containing water 4. A flush valve assembly is mounted in the tank 2. The flush valve assembly comprises a flush valve casing 1 which is mounted in the lower part of the tank. The casing 1 is preferably made of plastic and encloses a chamber 6 which has a first lower part 6a and a second upper part 6b and a channel part extending therebetween. The lower part 6a is downwardly open and connected to an outlet hole formed in the tank of the toilet and intended for flushing. Between the lower part 6a and the upper part 6b there are also two flush valves 10, 20 extending along a common, essentially vertical line. The casing 1 has in the lateral direction, towards the viewer, an opening 7 such that the surrounding water reaches the valves 10, 20. The first lower valve 10 comprises a first valve seat 11 and a first valve cone 12. The seat 11 consists of a flat, upwardly directed surface which encloses an outlet hole of the lower part 6a of the chamber 6. The cone 12 is preferably made of plastic and is of circular cross-section. A rubber seal is arranged on the edge sur¬ face facing the seat 11. The cone 12 is bell-shaped or cup-shaped and is turned upside-down, i.e. the opening is directed downwards. A guide means for radial guiding, in the form of a rod 15, is attached to the cone 12 and extends upwards in a tubular member 25, which will be described in more detail below. The second upper valve 20 comprises a second valve seat 21 and a second valve cone 22. The seat 21 consists of a flat, downwardly directed surface, which encloses an outlet hole of the upper part 6b of the chamber 6. The cone 22 is preferably made of plastic and is of circular cross-section. A rubber seal is arranged on the surface facing the seat 21. The cone 22 is, like the first cone 12, bell-shaped or cup-shaped and turned upside-down, i.e. the opening is directed downwards. A power-transmission means in the form of a tubular member 25 is attached to the cone 22 and extends around the rod 15 upwards to the control member 31. The shape of the second cone 22 conforms with the shape of the cone 12, such that the cup-shaped, upwardly directed outside of the cone 12 fits into the cup-shaped, downwardly directed inside of the cone 22. The function of the invention will be described below with reference to Figs 1-3. Fig. 1 shows the flush valve assembly in closed position, i.e. the two valve cones 12, 22 seal against their respective seats 11, 21. A volume of water 4 is stored in the tank. Fig. 2 shows the flush valve assembly in position for flushing with an optional amount of water. Such flushing is carried out by opening the upper valve 20, i.e. pressing the tubular member 25, by an external force exerted on the control member 31, downwards (direction of arrow A), whereby the cone 22 is moved from the seat 21 to the cone 12. Thus, water can flow upwards into the upper part 6b of the chamber 6 and further down into the toilet for effecting of flushing. The control member 31, the tubular member 25 and the cone 22 are thus moved downwards in a first interval from a resting position when flushing with a small, optional amount of water. In that connection, a first spring 3 is compressed between a downwardly directed abutment 27 arranged on the tubular member and an abutment 28 fixedly connected to the casing 1. By the upper valve 20 being biased by means of the spring 3 forwards its closed position, it is ensured in an effective manner that the valve 20 is open only when actuated by an external force. Fig. 3 shows the flush valve assembly in its posi¬ tion for flushing with the content of the entire tank. Such flushing is carried out when the lower valve 10 is opened by the cone 12 being moved upwards from the seat 11 to the cone 22. The valve 10 remains open until the water level has fallen to the level of the valve seat 11, which means that practically all the water in the tank is let out. When the water level has fallen to the valve 10, the valve cone 12 again falls down to the seat 11. Flushing with a large amount of water is accomplish¬ ed by the control member 31 being pressed further down¬ wards compared with flushing with a small amount of water, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The abutment of the tubular member 25 will, in a first interval from the resting position, be pressed against the spring 3 and in a second interval, after the first interval, also be pressed against a second spring 13. Thus, a clear indi¬ cation is obtained that the valve 10 for flushing with a large amount of water will be opened. The spring 13 is preferably more rigid than the spring 3, such that a sharp limit is evident to the user. In the embodiment illustrated, the springs 3 and 13 are arranged in paral¬ lel. They can, however, also be arranged in succession, and then it is important that the spring 13 be more rigid than the spring 3. When the cone 22 has been moved by the control mem¬ ber 31 to the cone 12, the two cones are interconnected. This interconnection will be described in detail below. When the two cones 12, 22 are interconnected, the control member 31 is its end position. By releasing the control member in this end position, the cone 22 will be raised by the springs 3, 13, The cone 12 connected to the cone 22 will then also be raised from the seat 11. By the control member 31 being directly connected to the upper valve 20 and the lower valve 10 being controlled by the upper valve 20, a single control member 31 can be used for both valves. In this fashion, it is also made possible that flushing with a large amount of water cannot be carried out without first moving the control member 31 to a position for flushing with a small amount of water, i.e. the valve 20 for flushing with a small amount of water has been opened. In the embodiment illustrated, the lower cone 12, i.e. the cup- or bell-shaped outside, fits in a form-fit manner to the cup- or bell-shaped inside of the upper cone 22. When the two cones 12, 22 are inserted into each other in the surrounding water, an interconnecting nega¬ tive pressure forms between the cones 12, 22 when moving them apart. By adaptation of the mutual dimensions, the magnitude of this negative pressure effect can be con- trolled. In a preferred embodiment, the cones are so design¬ ed that this negative pressure effect is sufficient to accomplish the interconnection of the two valve cones. For opening the lower cone 12, it is in the embodiment shown only necessary to maintain the interconnection for so long that the cone 12 can be removed a short distance from the lower seat 11 to be surrounded by water, since the cone 12 has buoyancy and lifting power of its own, which will be described in more detail below. It is important that the parameters: distance between valve cones, negative pressure effect and inter- vals of the first and second spring action, be coordinat¬ ed in such manner that the action of the second spring 13 arises at such a distance between the valve cones 12, 22 that a sufficient negative pressure effect for lifting- active interconnection has not been achieved. By the first lower valve cone 12 comprising a space 14 which is open away from the second valve 20 and closed towards the second valve 20, for instance by the bottom of the valve cone being internally cup-shaped or bell- shaped, an "air pocket" giving the cone 12 lifting power is formed when the cone 12 is raised in the water 4. This lifting power remains until the water level has fallen to the level of the valve seat 11. By adaptation of the size of the air pocket, a suitable lifting power can be ob¬ tained. The lifting power of the cone 12 is also affected by which material the cone is made. The cone 12 is made of a low-weight material, preferably plastic. Also the above-described negative pressure effect can be used to maintain the lower cone 12 in its raised position until all water has been let out. The first lower valve 10 can be given a good func¬ tion in its open position by using only lifting power (air pocket) or by using only retaining power (negative pressure) . By interaction between these two types of power, the function of the flush valve, however, can be made still more effective. It is a great advantage of the present invention that, by the valves being insertable into each other, the valve 10 for flushing with essentially the entire content of the tank, while maintaining a small overall height, can be given an effective design, as described above, to ensure that the valve is closed neither too early nor too late. A further advantage of the embodiment described is that flushing with a small, optional amount of water and a large, predetermined amount of water can be carried out by means of a common control member 31. Fig. 4 shows a second embodiment of a flush valve according to the invention. In this embodiment, the control member 31 is connected to a power transmission means in the form of the rod 15a, such that the lower valve cone 12 can be raised, by lifting of the rod 15a, by raising the control member 31. Only one spring 3 is arranged for spring-loading of the upper cone 22, and the flush valve according to this embodiment is not dependent on negative pressure between the cones 12, 22 for opening the lower valve 10. The connection between the control member 31, the rod 15a and the tubular member 25a will appear in more detail from Figs 5 and 6. Figs 4, 5 and 6 show a control device for flushing either with a small, optional or with a large, predeter- mined amount of water. The control device, which in Fig. 1 is shown in its inactive position, i.e. the valve closed, comprises a control member, preferably a flat knob 31, which is connected to the above-mentioned rod 15a and the tubular member 25a. By pressing the knob 31, the upper valve 20 is open¬ ed via the tubular member 25a, and flushing takes place as long as the knob 31 is being pressed. By pulling the knob 31 upwards, the lower valve 10 is opened via the rod 15a and remains open until the tank is essentially emptied in accordance with traditional flushing. An obstruction member in the form of flanged sleeve 32 is arranged directly under the knob 31, such that the underside of the knob 31 cannot be reached. The sleeve 32 surrounds circumferentially the upper part of a flushing spindle 5, which comprises the rod 15a and the tubular member 25a. A spring means in the form of a ring 35 made of foamed plastic is arranged between the sleeve 32 and an abutment fixedly connected to the body or tank 2 of the toilet. When pressing down the control member 31 for flush¬ ing with a smaller amount of water, also the flange 32 will be pressed down, as is evident from Fig. 4, against the spring force provided by the ring 35 of foamed plas¬ tic. To carry out flushing with a large amount of water, the flange 34 of the sleeve 32 must, as shown in Fig. 5, be pressed down against the spring biasing to make it possible to seize the knob 31 and pull it upwards. Such a control device prevents unintentional flush¬ ing with an unnecessarily large amount of water, since this is combined with an additional operation. Finally, it should be pointed out that the inven- tion is in no way restricted to the embodiments described above, but several modifications are feasible within the inventive idea as defined in the appended claims. Although it is preferred that the lower valve be in¬ sertable into the upper, it is possible, for instance, to achieve the inventive object by means of an upper valve which is insertable into a lower valve, or by means of two valves which are insertable into each other in some other fashion. It is also possible to provide interconnection of the two valve cones in some other way.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A flush valve assembly for toilets, comprising a casing (1) in which a first and a second valve (10, 20) are arranged along a common line, the first valve (10) comprising a first seat (11) and a first cone (12) which is movable from the first seat (11) to the second valve (20) , and the second valve (20) comprising a second seat (21) and a second cone (22) which is movable from the second seat (21) to the first valve (10), c h a r a c ¬ t e r i s e d in that the cones (12, 22) are of such a shape that one of said cones is at least partially insertable into the other cone. 2. The flush valve assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first cone (12) comprises a space (14) which is open away from the second valve (20) and closed towards the second valve (20) . 3. The flush valve assembly as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the two cones (12, 22) fit into each other such that, when the two cones (12, 22) are inserted into each other, a negative pressure forms between the cones (10, 20) when separating the same. 4. The flush valve assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1-3, wherein the first cone (12) is insertable into the second cone (22) . 5. The flush valve assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1-4, wherein the second cone (22), by means of a spring (3 ) connected to the casing ( 1 ) and the second cone (22), is subjected to spring action towards the second seat (21). 6. The flush valve assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1-5, wherein the first cone (12) is, via a first power transmission means (15a), actuatable towards the second valve (20) by means of a movement effected by a control member (31) and directed in a first direction (B) , and the second cone (22) is, via a second power transmission means (25a) , actuatable towards the first valve ( 10) by means of a movement effected by the control member (31) and directed in a second direction (A), said first direction (B) and said second direction (A) oppos- ing one another. 7. The flush valve assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1-5, wherein the control member (31) is connected to the second valve (20) for direct controlling thereof and for controlling of the first valve (10) by means of the second valve (20) . 8. A tank for flush toilets, c h a r a c t e r i s ¬ e d in that it has a flush valve assembly according to any one of claims 1-7. 9. A control device for flushing of toilets, com- prising a control member (31) for effecting flushing, the control member being movable to a first state for flush¬ ing with a large, predetermined amount of water, and to a second state for flushing with a small, optional amount of water, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that an obstruc- tion member (32) is arranged adjacent to the control mem¬ ber, that the obstruction member is adapted to render the moving of the control member to said first state diffi¬ cult, and that the obstruction member is movable to a state of release, during which the control member is mov- able to said first state. 10. The control device as claimed in claim 9, where¬ in the obstruction member (32) is loaded away from the state of release by a spring means (35), preferably a spring means made of foamed plastic. 11. A flush valve assembly for flushing of toilets, comprising a control member (31) for controlling the flush valve assembly, said control member (31) being mov¬ able from a resting position, in which the flush valve assembly is closed, to a first flushing position for con- trolling the flush valve assembly to flush with a large amount of water and to a second flushing position for controlling the flush valve assembly to flush with a small amount of water, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the control member (31) is only movable to the first flushing position via the second flushing position. 12. The flush valve assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein the control member (31) is actuated by the force of a first spring means (3) in a first interval, which extends from the resting position to the first position, and is also actuated by the force of a second spring means (13) in any position in a second interval, which extends from the first interval to the first position. 13. The flush valve assembly as claimed in claim 11 or 12, wherein flushing with a large amount of water is intended to be carried out only by moving the control member (31) to the second position and then releasing the same. 14. A method for flushing a toilet with a predeter¬ mined amount of water by moving a control member (31) from a resting position to a first flushing position, c h a r a c t e r i s e d by the steps of: moving the control member (31) by means of an external force to the first flushing position via a second flushing position for flushing with a smaller amount of water, and then releasing the control member (31) from the action of an external force. 15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the step of moving the control member to the first flushing position comprises moving a second valve cone (22) , by means of the control member, to a first valve cone (12), which belongs to a first valve (10) and is adapted to flush with a pre¬ determined amount of water, so as to open a second valve (20) which is adapted to flush with a smaller amount of water, and interconnecting the first valve cone (12) and the second valve cone (22) . 16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first valve (10), after release of the control member (31), is opened by moving the second valve cone (22) con¬ nected thereto, with the aid of a spring means (3, 13), so as to close the second valve (20). 17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the control member (31) is moved downwards from the resting position to the first flushing position.

Inventors: LINDH PAUL, LINDH, PAUL
Applicants: CAICOS LIMITED, LINDH PAUL, LINDH, PAUL
Application year: 1997
Main classification: E03D1
IPC codes: E03D1