Abstract:
A toilet tank valve structure comprises partial discharge trigger, a whole discharge trigger, and a limiting unit capable of limiting a trigger movement of the partial discharge trigger, such that the whole discharge trigger is able to move the water seal further in distance than the partial discharge trigger. The partial discharge trigger is co-axially rotatable with the whole discharge trigger. The partial discharge trigger and the whole discharge trigger couple with a water seal.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
       [0001]    This Application is a continuation application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/139,279, filed on Jun. 13, 2008, and entitled “TOILET TANK VALVE STRUCTURE.” The co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/139,279, filed on Dec. 10, 2009, and entitled “TOILET TANK VALVE STRUCTURE” is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a toilet tank valve structure, and more particularly to a structure to control a knob and having a limiting device for a partial discharge. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a conventional toilet tank valve comprises a knob  10 , a rotatable shaft  20 , a pole  30 , first and second pull wires  40 , a whole discharge assembly  50 , a partial discharge assembly  60 , and a water seal  70 . When the knob  10  is turned clockwise or contraclockwise, the rotatable shaft  20  will link the pole  30  to turn clockwise or countraclockwise so as to pull the first or second pull wire  40  to lift the water seal  70  at different levels, releasing a whole discharge or a partial discharge. 
         [0006]    The above-mentioned structure has the following disadvantages: 
         [0007]    1. The knob  10  is operated at two different directions to release a whole discharge or a partial discharge, which is easy to cause a confusion to turn the wrong direction. 
         [0008]    2. It is necessary to provide enough space for clockwise or contraclockwise rotation of the knob  10 , therefore, the installation of the knob is limited and not convenient. 
         [0009]    3. The front of the toilet tank is provided with a toilet cover. Due to the toilet cover, the knob  10  is not suitable for installing at the front of the toilet tank. Usually, the knob  10  is installed at one side of the toilet. The knob  10  tends to hit the wall easily when the knob  10  is turned toward the wall, which is not convenient to operate the knob  10 . 
         [0010]    4. When the knob  10  is installed at one side of the toilet tank, people are used to turn the knob outward not inward, which is unable to achieve two-stage function and is easy to have a wrong operation. 
         [0011]    5. The whole discharge or the partial discharge depends on the whole discharge assembly  50  or the partial discharge assembly  60 . The knob  10  doesn&#39;t have a partial discharge limit mechanism itself, which is not easy for a user to identify the whole discharge or the partial discharge by hand. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a toilet tank valve structure to improve the structure of a knob, which is convenient for installation and operation. 
         [0013]    The second purpose of the present invention is to provide a toilet tank valve structure, which provides a limiting device for a partial discharge. 
         [0014]    To achieve the above-mentioned purposes of the present invention, there is provided a toilet tank valve structure comprising a knob unit, a rotatable shaft unit, a pole unit, a whole discharge pull wire, a partial discharge pull wire, a whole discharge assembly, a partial discharge assembly, and a water seal; the knob unit comprising a partial discharge knob and a whole discharge knob; the rotatable shaft unit comprising a shaft core and a shaft sleeve; the pole unit comprising a partial discharge pole and a whole discharge pole; the whole discharge knob being secured to an outer end of the shaft sleeve, an inner end of the shaft sleeve being secured to a first end of the whole discharge pole, a second end of the whole discharge pole being connected to the whole discharge pull wire to link the whole discharge assembly and the water seal; the partial discharge knob being secured to an outer end of the shaft core, the shaft core being inserted into the shaft sleeve, an inner end of the shaft core being secured to a first end of the partial discharge pole, a second end of the partial discharge pole being connected to the partial discharge pull wire to link the partial discharge assembly and the water seal. 
         [0015]    Preferably, the partial discharge assembly comprises a body, an inner tube, a swing hook, a floating rod, and a partial discharge float, the partial discharge float being disposed on the floating rod, the floating rod being inserted in the body in an up and down movable way, a first end of the swing hook being pivotally connected to the floating rod, a second end of the swing hook being pivotally connected to an inner wall of the body, the swing hook and the inner tube being provided with corresponding limiting steps; a limiting device being provided between the partial discharge pull wire and the partial discharge assembly, the limiting device comprising a brake rod and a limiting hook, one side of the brake rod being pivotally connected on the inner tube, another side of the brake rod being connected to the partial discharge pull wire and the limiting hook, an upper end of the limiting hook being pivotally connected to the inner tube, a lower end of the limiting hook being formed with a hooking part, the inner wall of the body being provided with a protruding step for engagement of the hooking part. 
         [0016]    Preferably, an engaging base is provided on the top of the brake rod and an engaging claw is provided on the engaging base, an engaging hole being formed between the engaging claw and the engaging base for insertion of a lower end of the partial discharge pull wire. 
         [0017]    Preferably, the whole discharge knob is integrally formed with the shaft sleeve. 
         [0018]    Preferably, the partial discharge knob is outward stacked on the whole discharge knob, and the whole discharge knob has an arm longer than an arm of the partial discharge knob. 
         [0019]    Preferably, the rotatable shaft unit is inserted into a control box, a pair of torque springs being provided between the shaft core and an inner wall of the control box and between the shaft sleeve and the inner wall of the control box, respectively, the torque springs being adapted to link the shaft core and the shaft sleeve to return their original positions. 
         [0020]    Preferably, the whole discharge assembly comprises a body, an inner tube, and a whole discharge float, the inner tube and the whole discharge float being assembled in the body, the whole discharge float fitting onto the inner tube, the whole discharge float having one side pivotally connected to an inner wall of the body, the whole discharge float and the inner tube being provided with corresponding limiting steps, the whole discharge pull wire being connected to an upper end of the inner tube, the bottom of the inner tube being mounted onto the water seal. 
         [0021]    Preferably, the top of the inner tube is provided with an engaging base and an engaging claw is provided on the engaging base, an engaging hole being formed between the engaging base and the engaging claw for insertion of a lower end of the whole discharge pull wire. 
         [0022]    Accordingly, when a whole discharge is desired, the whole discharge knob is rotated to link the whole discharge pull wire, the whole discharge assembly, and the water seal is lifted to a higher position to achieve the whole discharge; when a partial discharge is desired, the partial discharge knob is rotated to link the partial discharge pull wire, the partial discharge assembly, and the water seal is lifted to a lower position to achieve the partial discharge. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0023]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a conventional toilet tank valve; partially in cutaway cross-section; 
           [0024]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 3  is an exploded and enlarged view of the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 4  is an assembled view of the present invention, partially sectioned; 
           [0027]      FIG. 5  is an assembled view of the present invention in an operating state for a whole discharge, partially sectioned; 
           [0028]      FIG. 6  is an assembled view of the present invention in an operating state for a partial discharge, partially sectioned; 
           [0029]      FIG. 7  is an exploded and enlarged view of a limiting device of the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the limiting device of the present invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the limiting device of the present invention in an operating state for a partial discharge; 
           [0032]      FIG. 10  is a partial side view of the present invention when there is no water in the toilet tank; 
           [0033]      FIG. 11  is a partial side view of the present invention when the toilet tank is filled with water; 
           [0034]      FIG. 12  is a partial side view of the present invention in an operating state for the whole discharge; and 
           [0035]      FIG. 13  is a partial view of the present invention in an operating state for a partial discharge. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0036]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , a toile tank valve structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a knob unit  1 , a rotatable shaft unit  2 , a pole unit  3 , a whole discharge pull wire  4 , a partial discharge pull wire  5 , a whole discharge assembly  6 , a partial discharge assembly  7 , and a water seal  8 . 
         [0037]    The knob unit  1  comprises a partial discharge knob  11  and a whole discharge knob  12 . 
         [0038]    The rotatable shaft unit  2  comprises a shaft core  21  and a shaft sleeve  22 . 
         [0039]    The pole unit  3  comprises a partial discharge pole  31  and a whole discharge pole  32 . 
         [0040]    The whole discharge knob  12  is secured to an outer end of the shaft sleeve  22 . In this embodiment, the whole discharge knob  12  is integrally formed with the shaft sleeve  22 . An inner end of the shaft sleeve  22  is glued fixedly or connected to a first end of the whole discharge pole  32  by means of a non-circular (such as rectangular) locating insertion, as shown in this embodiment. A second end of the whole discharge pole  32  is connected to an upper end of the whole discharge pull wire  4 . The whole discharge pull wire  4  is adapted to link the whole discharge assembly  6  and the water seal  8  to achieve a whole discharge, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 12 . 
         [0041]    The partial discharge knob  11  is glued fixedly or connected to an outer end of the shaft core  21  by means of screws and a non-circular (such as rectangular) locating insertion. The shaft core  21  is inserted into the shaft sleeve  22 . An inner end of the shaft core  21  is glued fixedly or connected to a first end of the partial discharge pole  31  by means of non-circular (such as rectangular) locating insertion, as shown in this embodiment. A second end of the partial discharge pole  31  is connected to an upper end of the partial discharge pull wire  5 . The partial discharge pull wire  5  is adapted to link the partial discharge assembly  7  and the water seal  8  to achieve a partial discharge, as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 13 . 
         [0042]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the partial discharge knob  11  is outward stacked on the whole discharge knob  12 . The whole discharge knob  12  has an arm longer than that of the partial discharge knob  11 . An inner end of the rotatable shaft unit  2  is inserted into a control box  201 . A torque spring  23  is provided between the shaft core  21  and an inner wall of the control box  201 . The torque spring  23  is adapted to link the shaft core  21  and the partial discharge knob  11  to return their original positions after the partial discharge. A torque spring  24  is provided between the shaft sleeve  22  and the inner wall of the control box  201 . 
         [0043]    The torque spring  24  is adapted to link the shaft sleeve  22  and the whole discharge knob  12  to return their original positions after the whole discharge. 
         [0044]      FIGS. 5 and 12  show the whole discharge of the present invention, The whole discharge knob  12  is rotated to link the shaft sleeve  22 , the whole discharge pole  32 , the whole discharge pull wire  4 , and the whole discharge assembly  6 , and the water seal  8  is lifted to a higher lever to achieve the whole discharge.  FIGS. 6 and 13  show a partial discharge of the present invention. The partial discharge knob  11  is rotated to link the shaft core  21 , the partial discharge pole  31 , the partial discharge pull wire  5 , and the partial discharge assembly  7 , and the water seal  8  is lifted to a lower lever to achieve the partial discharge. The whole discharge and the partial discharge are separately controlled by the whole discharge knob  12 . and the partial discharge knob  11 , which is not easily confused in use to avoid any wrong operation. The whole discharge knob  12  and the partial discharge knob  11  are rotated outward at the same direction, which is convenient for installation and operation. This design conforms to a usual practice to rotate the knob outward. The present invention relates to the improvements in the knob unit  1 ; the rotatable shaft unit  2 , and the pole unit  3 , without consideration to the whole discharge pull wire  4 , the partial discharge pull wire  5 , the whole discharge assembly  6 , the partial discharge assembly  7 , and the water seal  8  which are not limited as shown in this embodiment. This design is adapted to all kinds of toilet tank valves for whole and partial discharges. 
         [0045]    As shown in  FIGS. 7 ,  8 ,  11  and  12 , the whole discharge assembly  6  in this embodiment comprises a body  61 , an inner tube  62 , and a whole discharge float  63 . The inner tube  62  and the whole discharge float  63  are assembled in the body  61 . The whole discharge float  63  fits onto the inner tube  62 . The whole discharge float  63  has one side pivotally connected to an inner wall of the body  61  through a pivot  631 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , the whole discharge float  63  and the inner tube  62  are provided with corresponding limiting steps  632  and  621 . A lower end of the whole discharge pull wire  4  is connected to an upper end of the inner tube  62 . The bottom of the inner tube  62  is mounted onto the water seal  8 . The top of the inner tube  62  is provided with an engaging base  622 . An engaging claw  626  is provided on the engaging base  622 . An engaging hole is formed between the engaging base  622  and the engaging claw  626  for insertion of the lower end of the whole discharge pull wire  4 . 
         [0046]    As shown in  FIGS. 7 ,  8  and  10 , the partial discharge assembly  7  in this embodiment comprises the body  61 , the inner tube  62 , a swing hook  71 , a floating rod  72 , and a partial discharge float  73 . The floating rod  72  is inserted in the body  61  in an up and down movable way. The partial discharge float  73  is disposed on the floating rod  72  to change the level of the partial discharge float  73  with respect to the floating rod  72  so as to adjust the amount Of discharge water. A first end of the swing hook  73  is pivotally connected to the floating rod  712  through a pivot  712 , while a second end of the swing hook  73  is pivotally connected to a hole of the body  61 . The second end of the swing hook  73  and the inner tube  62  are provided with corresponding limiting steps  711  and  623 . As shown in  FIG. 13 , the partial discharge pull wire  5  is connected to the inner tube  62  to achieve the partial discharge. 
         [0047]    The second improvement of the present invention is that a limiting device  9  is provided between the partial discharge pull wire  5  and the partial discharge assembly  7 . The limiting device  9  comprises a brake rod  91  and a limiting hook  92 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , one side of the brake rod  91  is pivotally connected on the inner tube  62  by mean of a pivot  624  and a pivot hole  93 . The other side of the brake rod  91  is connected to the partial discharge pull wire  5  and the limiting hook  92 . An engaging base  913  is provided on the top of the brake rod  91 , and an engaging claw  912  is provided on the engaging base  913 . An engaging hole is formed between the engaging claw  912  and the engaging base  913  for insertion of the lower end of the partial discharge pull wire  5  to complete the connection of the brake rod  91  and the partial discharge pull wire  5 . The other side of the brake rod  91  is provided with a pivot rod  911  while the limiting hook  92  is formed with a notch  921  to engage with the pivot rod  911  to complete the connection of the brake rod  91  and the limiting hook  92 . An upper end of the limiting hook  92  is pivotally connected to the inner tube  62  by means of a pivot  922  and a pivot hole  625 . A lower end of the limiting hook  92  is formed with a hooking part  923 , and the inner wall of the body  61  is provided with a protruding step  611  for engagement of the hooking part  923 . 
         [0048]    As shown in  FIG. 10 , the preferred embodiment of the present invention is installed in the toilet tank. When there is no water in the toilet tank, the partial discharge float  73  and the floating rod  72  are, fallen down because of gravity to link the swing hook  71  to rotate around the pivot  71  in a tilted state. As shown in  FIG. 11 , when the toilet tank is filled with water, the partial discharge float  73  and the floating rod  72  are risen because of buoyancy to link the swing hook  71  to rotate around the pivot  712  in a level state. The whole discharge float  631  is deflected and rotated around the pivot  631  in a level state. 
         [0049]      FIG. 12  shows the whole discharge of the present invention. The whole discharge knob  12  links the whole discharge pull wire  4  and the inner tube  62  to move upward, and then the water seal  8  is lifted to open the outlet of the toilet tank and to drain the water in the tank. When the inner tube  62  is pulled to a highest position and the whole discharge knob  12  is released, the inner tube  62  will slide downward until the limiting step  621  engages with the limiting step  632 . As the inner tube  62  stops sliding, the water seal  8  is located at a higher position and continues to drain water until the level of the water in the tank is at the position that the gravity of the whole discharge float  63  is larger than buoyancy. The whole discharge float  63  is deflected around the pivot  631  to lean the limiting step  632 . The limiting step  621  slides down from the limiting step  632 , and the inner tube  62  continues to slide down until the water seal  8  covers the outlet again to achieve the whole discharge. 
         [0050]      FIGS. 9 and 13  show the partial discharge of the present invention. The partial discharge knob  11  links the partial discharge pull wire  5  and the brake rod  91  to move upward. The brake rod  91  is rotated around the pivot  624 . The inner tube  62  is lifted up through the brake rod  91  to link the water seal  8  to open the outlet of the toilet tank and to drain the water in the tank. The limiting hook  92  is rotated around the pivot  922 , and the lower end of the limiting hook  92  is deflected to engage with the protruding step  611  in the body  61 , which confines the limiting hook  92  to move upward continuously. The partial discharge knob  11  is confined to continuous rotation by means of the limiting device  9 . When the partial discharge knob  11  is released, the inner tube  62  will slide down until the limiting step  623  engages with the limiting step  711 . As the inner tube  62  stops continuing sliding down, the water seal  8  is located at a lower position and continues to drain water until the level of the water in the tank is at the position that the gravity of the partial discharge float  73  and the floating rod  72  is larger than buoyancy. The partial discharge float  73  and the floating rod  72  slide down because of gravity. The swing hook  71  is deflected and rotated around the pivot  631  to lean the limiting step  711 . The limiting step  623  slides down from the limiting step  711 , and the inner tube  62  continues to slide down until the water seal  8  covers the outlet again to achieve the partial discharge. 
         [0051]    Accordingly, by the limiting device  9 , the user is able to exactly operate the knob unit  1  for a whole discharge or a partial discharge. 
         [0052]    Although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to the preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.