Patent Description:
In the toilet industry, in order to protect a water source from pollution, a (back) siphonage prevention device needs to be added to a toilet waterway to prevent external sewage from being sucked backward to the water source due to a negative pressure of the toilet waterway. Throughout this specification the terms "siphon", "siphonage" and "back siphonage" can be used interchangeably and are considered to have the same meaning. Particularly regarding the term "back siphonage" we would like to draw attention to the English language Wikipedia article regarding the term "siphon" which is incorporated herein by reference and which states ". Back siphonage is a plumbing term applied to the reversal of normal water flow in a plumbing system due to sharply reduced or negative pressure on the water supply side, such as high demand on water supply by fire-fighting; it is not an actual siphon as it is suction. Back siphonage is rare as it depends on submerged inlets at the outlet (home) end and these are uncommon. Back siphonage is not to be confused with backflow; which is the reversed flow of water from the outlet end to the supply end caused by pressure occurring at the outlet end. Also, building codes usually demand a check valve where the water supply enters a building to prevent backflow into the drinking water system. " (retrieved from the Internet https://en. org/wiki/Siphon on June <NUM>, <NUM>). An overflow device is added to set a safe and effective water exhausting method for protecting electrical components in a toilet and safety standard requirements, especially for a scene with many electrical components in a smart toilet, more attention should be paid to safety issues in a water system of the toilet to avoid overflow, causing the electrical components being damaged and being damped.

In internal components of a toilet cover, two components of a siphonage prevention component and the overflow device are generally respectively developed for siphonage prevention and overflow functions. Referring <FIG>, a suction opening <NUM> of the siphonage prevention assembly is smaller, and a tolerated sudden negative pressure is weaker. In a low water pressure state, water flows from the water inlet <NUM>, a membrane sheet height lifted by a water pressure is not enough, an air suction opening <NUM> is not hermetically sealed, causing the water overflowing. Referring to <FIG>, the overflow device is generally integrated on a water tank assembly, an exhausting rate of the overflow opening <NUM> is also smaller, and a height of the overflow opening <NUM> is generally required to be higher than a ceramic surface to effectively exhaust water. When the overflow opening <NUM> is lower than the ceramic surface, and the overflow opening <NUM> cannot completely empty overflowing water. The existing structure for the siphonage prevention and the overflow limits an water exhausting position of a base, and a general versatility is poor.

<CIT> discloses a backflow prevention device preventing backflow due to underpressure in the water supply line. The backflow prevention device comprises a cover with holes and a water outlet in the base. <CIT> shows another vacuum breaker device preventing siphoning.

The objective of present disclosure is to provide a device for preventing siphonage and overflow to solve the deficiencies in the existing techniques.

In order to achieve the objective, a technical solution of the present disclosure is as follows.

A device for preventing siphonage and overflow, it is configured to be disposed on a water tank of a toilet, it comprises an upper cover and a lower base, the upper cover is disposed on the lower base to define a cavity with an inner portion of the lower base, the upper cover comprises a cover body, a water inlet, an air opening and a first flow transmission structure, the water inlet and the air opening are both disposed on the cover body, the first flow transmission structure is disposed below the cover body, the lower base comprises a lower base body, a water outlet, an air exhausting opening, one or more overflow openings and a second flow transmission structure, the water outlet and the air exhausting opening are disposed on a bottom of the lower base body and are in communication with an inner portion of the water tank, the second flow transmission structure is disposed below the first flow transmission structure, in a normal water inflow process, water from the water inlet flows into the cavity and flows into the inner portion of the water tank through the first flow transmission structure, the second flow transmission structure and the water outlet in sequence, and air in the water tank flows into the cavity through the air exhausting opening and is exhausted through the one or more overflow openings and the air opening; when the overflow occurs in the water tank and a water level is higher than the one or more overflow openings, the water is exhausted from the one or more overflow openings.

Preferably, the first flow transmission structure comprises an aqueduct, the aqueduct is disposed below the water inlet, a bottom of the aqueduct comprises a water transmission surface and an opening, and two sides of the bottom of the aqueduct comprises shielding plates.

Preferably, a connection plate is disposed between the aqueduct and the cover body, a side of the connection plate facing the water inlet defines a recess, and a space for a given position is defined between the recess and the water inlet.

Preferably, the second flow transmission structure comprises a mild-flowing grid and a mild-flowing passage, the mild-flowing grid comprises a plurality of partition plates protruding from a side wall of the lower base body, the plurality of partition plates are partitioned to define a grid structure, a bottom of the grid structure is in communication with the mild-flowing passage, and an end of the mild-flowing passage is connected to the water outlet.

Preferably, an edge of the opening of the aqueduct extends downward to define a water shielding rib, and the water shielding rib is configured to guide the water in the aqueduct to the mild-flowing grid.

Preferably, a bottom of the lower base is partitioned to define the air exhausting opening and the water outlet by a rib, and a top of the rib is higher than a bottom surface of the mild-flowing passage.

Preferably, the one or more overflow openings comprise a first overflow opening, and the first overflow opening is disposed on a side of a top of the lower base body and maintains constantly open.

Preferably, the one or more overflow openings further comprise a second overflow opening, a third overflow opening and a fourth overflow opening disposed below the first overflow opening, the first overflow port is a large-diameter overflow opening, the second overflow opening, the third overflow opening and the fourth overflow opening are all small-diameter overflow openings, and the second overflow opening, the third overflow opening and the fourth overflow opening are configured to be selectively opened or closed.

Preferably, the cover body is connected to the lower base body by a snap connector, and a sealing ring is disposed between the bottom of the lower base body and the water tank.

A toilet water passage system, it comprises a water inlet pipeline, a water tank and the device for preventing the siphonage and the overflow according to any one or more of claims <NUM>-<NUM>, the water inlet pipeline is connected to the water inlet, and the bottom of the lower base body is connected to the water tank.

The toilet, it comprises a toilet body, it further comprises the toilet water passage system according to claim <NUM>, and the toilet water passage system is disposed on the toilet body.

Compared with the existing techniques, the present disclosure has the following advantages.

Characters: upper cover <NUM>; cover body <NUM>; water inlet <NUM>; air opening <NUM>; first flow transmission structure <NUM>; aqueduct <NUM>; connection plate <NUM>; water shielding rib <NUM>; lower base <NUM>; lower base body <NUM>; water outlet <NUM>; air exhausting opening <NUM>; first overflow opening <NUM>; second flow transmission structure <NUM>; mild-flowing grid <NUM>; mild-flowing passage <NUM>; second overflow opening <NUM>; third overflow opening <NUM>; fourth overflow opening <NUM>; and water tank <NUM>.

The present disclosure will be further described below in combination with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. The accompanying drawings of the present disclosure are merely used to make an outline to facilitate the present disclosure to be easily understood, and a specific proportion thereof can be adjusted according to design requirements.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, <FIG>, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a device for preventing siphonage and overflow, it comprises an upper cover <NUM> and a lower base <NUM>, the upper cover <NUM> is disposed on the lower base <NUM> to define a cavity with an inner portion of the lower base <NUM>, a cover body <NUM> is connected to a lower base body <NUM> by a snap connector, the lower base <NUM> is disposed on a water tank <NUM>, a sealing ring is disposed between a bottom of the lower base body <NUM> and the water tank <NUM>, and a good sealing performance is guaranteed between the lower base <NUM> and the water tank <NUM> by an interference fit of the sealing ring. In other embodiments, the cover body <NUM> can be also connected to the lower base body <NUM> by threads and other means, and the bottom of the lower base body <NUM> can be also connected to the water tank <NUM> by other means. Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the upper cover <NUM> comprises the cover body <NUM>, a water inlet <NUM>, an air opening <NUM> and a first flow transmission structure <NUM>, the water inlet <NUM> and the air opening <NUM> are both disposed on the cover body <NUM>, the air opening <NUM> is disposed next to the water inlet <NUM>, the two can be in communication with each other in the cavity, air pressure in the cavity can maintain balance to avoid a siphonage phenomenon and to guarantee no negative pressure to be formed in the cavity due to an existence of the air opening <NUM>, and water in the water tank <NUM> will not be sucked backward into the water inlet <NUM> to pollute a water source. The first flow transmission structure <NUM> is disposed below the cover body <NUM>, in detail, the first flow transmission structure <NUM> comprises an aqueduct <NUM>, a connection plate <NUM> and a water shielding rib <NUM>, the aqueduct <NUM> is disposed below the water inlet <NUM>, water from the water inlet <NUM> is configured to directly flow into the aqueduct <NUM>, in detail, a bottom of the aqueduct <NUM> comprises a water transmission surface and an opening, two sides of the bottom of the aqueduct <NUM> comprise shielding plates. The water transmission surface of the aqueduct <NUM> can be a stepped surface defined by a plurality of planes and inclined to the opening, the shielding plates on the two sides are combined with the water transmission surface to enable the water to flow out from the opening, and an edge of the opening of the aqueduct <NUM> extends downward to define the water shielding rib <NUM>, the aqueduct <NUM> guarantees water from flowing into other parts of the cavity, a direction of water flow is restricted due to shielding of the water shielding rib <NUM>, so that the water flow downwardly flows out. The connection plate <NUM> is disposed between the aqueduct <NUM> and the cover body <NUM>, a side of the connection plate <NUM> facing the water inlet <NUM> comprises a recess, and a space A for a given position is defined between the recess and the water inlet <NUM>. The space for the given position with a certain distance is disposed below the water inlet <NUM> to ensure the water flow to effectively flow away without forming water accumulation under a high-pressure and high-speed jet water inflow state of the water inlet <NUM>, which meets the standards of some specific countries.

In a detailed embodiment, referring to <FIG>, the lower base <NUM> comprises the lower base body <NUM>, a water outlet <NUM>, an air exhausting opening <NUM>, one or more overflow openings and a second flow transmission structure <NUM>, and the second flow transmission structure <NUM> is disposed below the first flow transmission structure <NUM> to enable the water to directly flow into the second flow transmission structure <NUM> through the first flow transmission structure <NUM>. In detail, the second flow transmission structure <NUM> comprises a mild-flowing grid <NUM> and a mild-flowing passage <NUM>, and the water shielding rib <NUM> is configured to guide the water in the aqueduct <NUM> to the mild-flowing grid <NUM>. The mild-flowing grid <NUM> comprises a plurality of partition boards or plates protruding from a side wall of the lower base body <NUM>, and the plurality of partition boards or plates are partitioned to define a grid structure, the grid structure is configured to divide the water flow, a bottom of the grid structure is in communication with the mild-flowing passage <NUM>, divided water flows to the mild-flowing passage <NUM> that is mild, a flow rate can be reduced to achieve a mild outflow, an end of the mild-flowing passage <NUM> is connected to the water outlet <NUM>, and the water finally flows into the water tank <NUM> through the water outlet <NUM>. The one or more overflow openings comprise a first overflow opening <NUM>, and the first overflow opening <NUM> is disposed on a side of a top of the lower base body <NUM> and maintains in a constantly open state. In detail, the first overflow opening <NUM> is a large-diameter overflow opening, and a bottom of the first overflow opening <NUM> extends into the cavity to define a flow transmission plate without interfering with the upper cover <NUM>, and the flow transmission plate is configured to guide overflowing water to flow out of the first overflow opening <NUM>. The first overflow opening <NUM> is configured to enable the water to overflow from the first overflow opening <NUM> when overflow occurs and is also configured to be used as an outlet for exhausting air during a normal water inflow process. As the air opening <NUM> is disposed next to the water inlet <NUM> above the cover body <NUM> to enable air pressures inside and outside of the cavity to maintain consistent, negative pressure is avoided, siphonage-prevention function is achieved, a setting of the one or more overflow openings is configured to also play an overflow-prevention function, therefore, the device for preventing the siphonage and the overflow has two functions of preventing the siphonage and the overflow at the same time.

In a specific embodiment, referring to <FIG>, the water outlet <NUM> and the air exhausting opening <NUM> are disposed on the bottom of the lower base body <NUM> and are in communication with an inner portion of the water tank <NUM>, the air exhausting opening <NUM> and the water outlet <NUM> are partitioned by a rib, and a top of the rib is higher than a bottom surface of the mild-flowing passage <NUM>. When the water flow is larger, the water outlet <NUM> is blocked by water, and air in the water tank <NUM> is configured to be smoothly exhausted through the air exhausting opening <NUM>, a height of the rib surrounding to define the air exhausting opening <NUM> is higher than a bottom surface through which the water flows to ensure the water to flow into the water outlet <NUM> without overflowing the height of the rib to affect a normal air exhaustion. Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, <FIG> illustrates a state of air exhaustion and water exhaustion without the air exhausting opening <NUM>, when the water flow from the water inlet <NUM> is larger, it is easy to cause the water outlet <NUM> to accumulate water, accumulated water will prevent the air in the water tank <NUM> from being exhausted, resulting in water inflow of the water tank <NUM> being blocked, and water inflow efficiency is affected. This embodiment is not in accordance with the appended claims. In a serious situation, the water from the water inlet <NUM> continuously flows in with a large flow rate, however, the water flows into the water tank <NUM> with a small flow rate due to poor air exhaustion, until a state in which the water tank <NUM> is not full, while the accumulated water inside of the cavity is full to cause overflow, resulting in a state of continuous inflow of the water and overflowing. <FIG> illustrates a state of air exhaustion and water exhaustion with the air exhausting opening <NUM>. The air in the water tank <NUM> is smoothly exhausted through the air exhausting opening <NUM>, the water smoothly flows into the water tank <NUM> along the water outlet <NUM>, so that the water and the air independently flow in separate passages without interference with each other, and it can be seen that a design of the air exhausting opening <NUM> fully guarantees smooth water inflow and air exhaustion of the water tank <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, in the normal water inflow process, a direction of a water passage is as follows: the water from the water inlet <NUM> flows into the cavity and flows into the water tank <NUM> through the first flow transmission structure <NUM>, the second flow transmission structure <NUM> and the water outlet <NUM> in sequence. A direction of an air passage is as follows: the air in the water tank <NUM> flows into the cavity through the air exhausting opening <NUM> and is exhausted through the one or more overflow openings and the air opening <NUM>. The normal water inflow process is that the water is injected into the water tank <NUM> using the device for preventing the siphonage and the overflow, and the water in the water tank <NUM> can be normally exhausted without overflow, etc. In detail, the water from the water inlet <NUM> flows into the cavity, the aqueduct <NUM> receives the water jetted from a pipe, the water flows out along the aqueduct <NUM>, the aqueduct <NUM> guarantees that the water cannot flow to other parts of the cavity, the water flows into the mild-flowing grid <NUM> due to a blocking by the water shielding rib <NUM>, the mild-flowing grid <NUM> divides turbulent water into multiple small water flow, a flow rate is also reduced, water inflow noise is also reduced at the same time, the water flow flowing into the mild-flowing grid <NUM> defines relative mild water flow to flow out along the mild-flowing passage <NUM>, then flows out from the water outlet <NUM>, and flows into the water tank <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, a process for preventing the overflow is as follows: when the overflow occurs in the water tank <NUM> and a water level is higher than the one or more overflow openings, the water can be exhausted from the one or more overflow openings. When a system failure occurs, or other factors cause the water from the water inlet <NUM> continuously flow in, while the water tank <NUM> cannot discharge water, the water level continuously rises until the water level is higher than the one or more overflow openings, and the water higher than the one or more overflow openings flows out from the one or more overflow openings. When the water source is under high pressure, the water from the water inlet <NUM> continuously jets in at high pressure and high speed, the one or more overflow openings with a large diameter can effectively exhaust the water by overflowing, so that the water can only flow away along a preset overflow passage. The first overflow opening <NUM> is disposed on the side of the top of the lower base body <NUM>, so that the water level can rise to a certain height before overflowing.

Referring to <FIG>, a process for preventing the (back) siphonage is as follows: when the system failure occurs, or the one or more overflow openings is blocked due to other factors, or the water is polluted, at the same time, the water source defines a negative pressure, when the water inlet <NUM> sucks backward, the air opening <NUM> can effectively supplement the air to enable the air pressures inside and outside the cavity to maintain consistent so as to ensure that no negative pressure is formed in the cavity, and the water in the water tank <NUM> will not be sucked backward to the water inlet <NUM> to pollute the water source. If a space near the water inlet <NUM> does not provides a given position, water droplets may adhere to a surface, when the water inlet <NUM> sucks air under the negative pressure, possibly resulting in adhered water droplets nearby be sucked backward into a pipeline. The air opening <NUM> above the cover body <NUM> is used as one of the passages for exhausting air in the normal water inflow process, when the water source forms a negative pressure, external air can be sucked into the cavity, so that the air pressures inside and outside the cavity is consistent, a (back) siphonage phenomenon is avoided to satisfy a more severe water source environment, an effect for preventing the overflow is better, a function for preventing the (back) siphonage is stronger, and water inflow is quieter.

A toilet water passage system of the present disclosure comprises a water inlet pipeline, the water tank <NUM> and the device for preventing the siphonage and the overflow, the water inlet pipeline is connected to the water inlet <NUM>, and the bottom of the lower base body <NUM> is connected to the water tank <NUM>. Referring to <FIG>, on a smart toilet, the device for preventing the siphonage and the overflow is integrated on a base module and is configure to be fixed on the base module by screw bolts or other means.

Referring to <FIG>, a toilet of the present disclosure comprises a toilet body and also comprises the toilet water passage system, and the toilet water passage system is disposed on the toilet body. On the smart toilet, the toilet water passage system is disposed on a toilet base.

In the toilet of the present disclosure, a working process for preventing the overflow and the siphonage is described as above and will not be further described here.

Referring to <FIG>, Embodiment <NUM> of the present disclosure differs from Embodiment <NUM> in that the one or more overflow openings further comprise a second overflow opening <NUM>, a third overflow opening <NUM> and a fourth overflow opening <NUM> disposed below the first overflow opening <NUM>, the first overflow opening <NUM> is the large-diameter overflow opening, and the second overflow opening <NUM>, the third overflow opening <NUM> and the fourth overflow opening <NUM> are all small-diameter overflow openings. The first overflow opening <NUM> is disposed on the side of the top of the lower base body <NUM>, a position of a water exhaust opening of the toilet base is limited due to a positional relationship of the first overflow opening <NUM>, which may lead to a limitation of a layout of the toilet base, while other overflow openings are disposed below the first overflow opening <NUM>, which is beneficial to a diversification of the layout of the toilet base. The first overflow opening <NUM> is in the constantly open state, the second overflow opening <NUM>, the third overflow opening <NUM> and the fourth overflow opening <NUM> can be selectively opened or closed, and any of the one or more overflow openings can be selected to exhaust the water according to an actual layout of the lower base <NUM>. Therein, positions of the second overflow opening <NUM>, the third overflow opening <NUM> and the fourth overflow opening <NUM> need to be guaranteed to be lower than the first overflow opening <NUM>. An exhausting flow rate of the second overflow opening <NUM>, the third overflow opening <NUM> and the fourth overflow opening <NUM> needs to be greater than a specified overflow flow rate. In a case with specified overflow requirements, only the first overflow opening <NUM> can be selected to be opened. In other cases in which the first overflow opening <NUM> cannot be used, the other overflow openings can be selected to be opened, and the opened overflow openings is used for exhausting water. In one example, the second overflow opening <NUM> is configured to be disposed on the side wall of the lower base body <NUM> above the air exhausting opening <NUM>. The third overflow opening <NUM> is disposed on the side wall of the lower base body <NUM> around a lower part of the first overflow opening <NUM>, and the fourth overflow opening <NUM> is disposed opposite to the third overflow opening <NUM>. In other embodiments, the positions of the second overflow opening <NUM>, the third overflow opening <NUM> and the fourth overflow opening <NUM> can be adjusted according to the layout of the toilet base and the like.

In a detailed embodiment, referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, in the normal water inflow process, in addition to that the air is configured to be exhausted from the first overflow opening <NUM>, the air is configured to be exhausted from any opened overflow opening of the second overflow opening <NUM>, the third overflow opening <NUM> and the fourth overflow opening <NUM>.

In detail, referring to <FIG>, when an overflow occurs in the water tank <NUM> and only the first overflow opening <NUM> is used to exhaust water, and the corresponding water exhaust opening of the toilet base will also be limited by the position of the first overflow opening <NUM>. Referring to <FIG>, when the second overflow opening <NUM> is provided and the second overflow opening <NUM> is opened, the second overflow opening <NUM> is connected to a silicone tube, the other end of the silicone tube is connected to the water exhaust opening of the toilet base, so that the water can continuously flow into the water tank <NUM> under abnormal conditions, the water overflowing from the water tank <NUM> flows into the silicone tube through the second overflow opening <NUM>, and the water finally is exhausted from the water exhaust opening of the toilet base through the silicone tube. When an overflow rate of the second overflow opening <NUM> does not satisfy the overflowing water, the third overflow opening <NUM> or the fourth overflow opening <NUM> can be supplementally opened to ensure that the overflowing water to overflow from other overflow openings without overflowing from the first overflow opening <NUM>. There is no priority order for use in three overflow openings of the second overflow opening <NUM>, the third overflow opening <NUM> and the fourth overflow opening <NUM> as long as the layout of the toilet base and an operation convenience of employees are satisfied. Therefore, an application scene of the toilet base is broadened, and it can be applied to a wider variety of toilet bases to meet requirements of different overflow openings and different toilet bases, and a general versatility is strengthened.

Claim 1:
A device for preventing siphonage and overflow, it is configured to be disposed on a water tank (<NUM>) of a toilet, characterized in that: it comprises an upper cover (<NUM>) and a lower base (<NUM>), the upper cover is disposed on the lower base to define a cavity with an inner portion of the lower base, the upper cover comprises a cover body (<NUM>), a water inlet (<NUM>), an air opening (<NUM>) and a first flow transmission structure (<NUM>),
the water inlet and the air opening are both disposed on the cover body, the first flow transmission structure is disposed below the cover body, the lower base comprises a lower base body (<NUM>), a water outlet (<NUM>), an air exhausting opening (<NUM>), one or more overflow openings (<NUM>) and a second flow transmission structure (<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>)
the water outlet and the air exhausting opening are disposed on a bottom of the lower base body and are in communication with an inner portion of the water tank, the second flow transmission structure is disposed below the first flow transmission structure, in a normal water inflow process, when installed,
water from the water inlet flows into the cavity and flows into the inner portion of the water tank through the first flow transmission structure, the second flow transmission structure and the water outlet in sequence, and air in the water tank flows into the cavity through the air exhausting opening and is exhausted through the one or more overflow openings and the air opening; when the overflow occurs in the water tank and a water level is higher than the one or more overflow openings, the water is exhausted from the one or more overflow openings.