Flush tank

April 30, 1940. s. l. egenas 2,199,068

FLUSH TANK . Filed Nov. 7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1

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April 30, 1940. s. _{L EGENAS} 2,199,068

FLUSH TANK Filed Nov. 7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2

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Patented Apr. 30, 1940

2,199,068

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,199,068

FLUSH TANK

Severin L. Egenas, Chicago, Ill., assignor of onehalf to Hermann Hille and one-fourth to Mona Wandanita Hille, Chicago, Ill.

Application November 7, 1938, Serial No. 239,307

Claims.

This invention relates to devices for delivering measured quantities of fluid at intervals from a reservoir and particularly to such devices used for intermittent flushing purposes.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved intermittent delivery means for fluids; to provide such a device adapted to flush sanitary fixtures; to provide such a device arranged for automatic operation; to provide an 10 improved flush tank for sanitary fixtures; to provide such a device of simplified arrangement and increased efficiency; and to provide such a device in which possibility of mechanical disorder is materially minimized.

- Specific embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation showing the improved construction arranged in a flush tank.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view as taken on line 2—2 20 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the device in dumping position.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view in perspective of a corner of the drum, showing an arrange25 ment for tripping the same.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the invention is adaptable to improved design of sanitary fixtures.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the tank of Fig. 5 20 showing economy of space possible with the improved arrangement.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional elevation of a flush tank showing the manner of adapting the improved device to flush tanks of the former type _ω and construction.

*** Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the same as taken on line 8—8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the hanger used in the adaptation shown in Fig. 7.

.. Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the drum ⁴⁰ arrangement for automatic or self-dumping devices, and

Fig. 11 is a view showing an adjustable counterweight arrangement for the device of Fig. 10. „ In the form shown in the drawings my inven⁴⁴ tion comprises a cylindrical or drum-like fluid container I, disposed with its central axis horizontal and arranged for rotation in a vertical plane normal to said central axis, the drum or container I being mounted in a closed tank 2 ⁶⁰ having an outlet connection 3 leading directly to the place or device where the fluid held in the drum is desired to be delivered.

As shown, the drum or container I is cut away on a plane parallel with its central axis so as to (Cl. 4—32) provide a normally vertical top opening 4 through which the drum may be filled and, upon rotation, emptied as will be hereinafter described. The amount or depth of the cutaway portion is proportioned to permit sufficient opening or clearance for rotation of the drum relative to the fluid supply inlet and float valve control to allow substantially complete emptying of the drum, as its contents is dumped.

A counterweight 5 is also provided to assure 10 rapid return of the drum I to its normal position after the dumping operation has been completed, which counterweight is disposed so as to always remain on one side of a vertical centerline through the axis of the drum during move- 16 ment of the drum between its extreme positions.

The extreme positions of the drum I may be determined by stops, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 7, a stop or bumper element 6 being mounted on the tank side wall or drum support on each side of 20 the drum and coacting stop elements 7 being mounted on the outer sides of the drum and in line with the bumpers 6 at the predetermined limits of drum rotation.

As shown in the drawings, the drum or fluid 25 container I is mounted for rotation on a pair of opposed pivots or gudgeons 8 projecting laterally from opposite sides of the drum and engaged in saddles 9 mounted on the inner side walls of the tank 2. Preferably, the gudgeons or pivots 8 are 30 journalled in bearings 10 so as to obviate the necessity of machining the inner surface of the saddles 9; however, it will be understood that the bearings (0 may be omitted if desired,

In the form shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the 35, axis of rotation of the drum 1 is located somewhat below the volumetric center of the drum in its normal upright position, so as to bring the axis of rotation to or near the center of gravity of the fluid mass contained in the drum, since, because the upper portion of the drum is cut off to provide the opening 4, the maximum vol· ume of fluid that can be held by the drum will be reduced and its center of mass will be below the normal horizontal central axis of the drum. 45 Thus the purpose of moving the axis of rotation downward is to minimize the force or effort required to tip the drum in the dumping operation..

Such lowering of the axis of rotation, however, ₆₀is not essential to the operation of my invention, and the device may be constructed as shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, wherein the axis of rotation is coincidental with the horizontal central axis of the drum. Though this latter arrangement may „ ...

2,1θθ,θθθ require a somewhat greater tipping effort or force, it has the advantage of reducing the space requirements of the tank in which the rotatable drum is mounted, as will be apparent from a ⁵ comparison of Figs. 2 and 6. Or, in the case of a standard size tank, this latter arrangement will permit the use of a larger drum or fluid container.

In order to prevent too rapid return of the drum 10 i upon dumping of the same, and in order to provide means for holding the drum in its dumped position until substantially all of the fluid contained in the drum has been emptied from the same, a substantially radial baffle 11 is provided 15 on the inside of the drum adjacent the end of the opening 4 over which the fluid pours during the dumping operation. The baffle ί 1 extends transversely across the drum and is mounted on the inner side wall surfaces of the same, but is 20 spaced inwardly from the pouring lip 12 to provide a passageway (3 through which fluid held back by the baffle I I may pass. The passageway 13 is proportioned so as to be of substantially the same area as the area of the outlet passage 3 25: leading from the tank 2, and the width of the baffle II in the radial direction of the drum I is such as to trap a sufficient volume of fluid to assure complete rotation of the drum toward its dumping position upon tripping of the drum, 30 as will be hereafter explained.

Thus by virtue of the baffle 8 ί, the center of gravity of the fluid held back by the baffle will be kept sufficiently near the vertical center line passing through the axis of rotation to prevent 35 s return of the drum to its normal upright position until substantially all of the fluid has been emptied.

The rotatable drum or fluid container i may be tripped in any convenient manner as by means 40. of the trip lever 14, shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5.

This trip lever extends through the side wall of the tank 2 to the inside thereof, where it carries an arm 15 which extends on either side of the axis of rotation of the trip lever, and a lug or 45.:bracket IS is mounted on the side wall of the drum 1 in a position engaging the arm i 5 when the drum is in its normal upright position; thus the bracket IS provides a cam surface against which the ends of the arm 15 may act when the 50, trip lever is turned in direction to cause rotation of the drum to be started.

The length of the arm 15 is proportioned so as to cause tipping or rotation of the drum through an angular distance sufficient to upset 55: the balance of the same and overcome the effect of the counterweight 5, from which point continued rotation of the drum will be automatic due to shifting of the center of gravity of the fluid mass contained in the drum to the side of go the vertical center line through the axis of rotation nearest the side of the tank where dumping occurs.

As shown in Figs. 2, 3, and S, an automatic float valve arrangement is provided for filling 65 . the drum or container I after it has been dumped or emptied, and as shown, this fluid supply extends through the back wall of the tank 2 to a point substantially midway between the front and rear walls of the tank, where it projects over the 70·.. pouring lip 12 of the drum, at which point the control valve 17 is mounted. The control valve 17 may be of any suitable construction operated in the usual manner by means of a float 18 mounted on the end of an actuating arm 19.

However, as shown, it is preferable that the fluid discharge 20 from valve 17 originates at the top of the same and then extends downwardly to substantially the lowermost portion of the drum or container I, the purpose of this arrangement being to provide an air-check near 5 the highest point in the discharge tube 20 so as to obviate the possibilty of fluid being siphoned back through the discharge tube 20 and the valve 17 in the event that the fluid supply pressure should fall below the pressure of the head of 10 fluid contained in the drum I.

As shown, this air-check is provided by abruptly enlarging the discharge tube 20 just after it leaves the valve 17, and providing one or more holes 21 in the discharge tube 20 adjacent the 15 point of enlargement. Thus, fluid passing from the smaller portion 22 into the enlarged portion 28 of the discharge tube will pass the openings 21 as a jet of less diameter than the enlarged portion 20 of the discharge tube, so that fluid 20 will not be discharged through the openings 21 but will pass through the tube 20 to the bottom of the drum. Also, should the fluid supply pressure drop substantially when the drum is only partially filled, so that the float 18 will not be 25> able to close the valve 1-7, backward siphoning of the fluid into the valve 17 will be prevented since air entering the openings 21 will prevent the formation of the vacuum or reduced pressure necessary to the siphoning action. 30(

The purpose in leading the discharge tube 23 to the lowermost part of the drum 1 is to minimize the noise of fluid entering the drum from the discharge tube, the discharge end of the tube 28 being substantially at all times below the 35:·. fluid surface in the drum I.

As will be noted from the drawings, provision is made for the “afterflow” requirements of substantially all health department regulations, that is the requirement that the last part or portion 40 : of the fluid discharged through the outlet opening 3 be passed therethrough at a reduced velocity. In the present device, such reduction of velocity in the discharged fluid is obtained by causing the outlet 3 to project upwardly above 45 the inner bottom of the tank 2 so as to trap the necessary quantity of fluid at the bottom of the tank 2. This trapped fluid is then permitted to flow at a reduced velocity through the outlet 3 by means of vertical slots or openings formed 50: in the upwardly projecting portion of the outlet 3, as indicated at 23.

My invention is readily adaptable to flush tanks of the present form and construction, as illustrated in Fig. 7. In making such adaptation it 55 · is only necessary to modify the fluid supply valve, remove the usual valve mechanism used to close the tank outlet 3, and provide a hanger for my improved drum or fluid container.

The first step, namely, the modification of the gg, fluid supply valve, consists in bending the supply pipe 24 toward the end of the tank just above the point where the supply pipe enters the tank at the bottom thereof, and then mounting a float controlled valve of the type indicated by 17 of gg\ Fig.'2 at the top end of the supply pipe 24. Float controlled valves of this latter type are relatively inexpensive, and therefore, the cost of valve replacement in conversion of old type flush tanks is not a problem. 70.:

The step of removing the valve controlling the outlet 3 of the tank is obvious and accompanies the removal of the original float controlled fluid supply valve in the replacement process. ,

The third step, however, is the provision of a 75

2,199,068 hanger or saddles in which the pivots or gudgeons of my improved drum or fluid container may be hung. Such a saddle may be constructed as shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, and may comprise 6>· simply a U-shaped bracket having a bottom transverse portion 25 and a pair of upstanding legs 26, the portion 25 being adapted to fit across the bottom of the tank 2, and the legs 26 having saddle pockets 27 at their upper ends and being 10 i of sufficient length to support the drum 1 above the bottom of the tank when its pivots or gudgeons are seated in the saddle pockets 27.:

The U-shaped drum supporting bracket may be secured in the tank 2 by providing an opening 15 '. 28 in the center of the bracket portion 25, sufficiently large to pass the discharge outlet tube 3, the outlet tube 3 having , a flange 29 arranged to engage the upper surface of the bracket portion 25 and clamp the same securely against the bot20 tom of the tank 2. Thus, any of the present or'ordinary flush tanks may be converted to my improved form.

_; A modified form of my invention, arranged for automatic or self-dumping of the fluid, is illus23 - trated in Fig. 10, and in this form the drum or fluid container I is constructed so as to have greater width at the side where the pouring lip 12 is located than at the opposite side. Otherwise the drum or fluid container is pivoted, on. a 30 horizontal axis passing substantially through the center of the. drum in the manner above described.

In this form of my invention a counterweight 30 is provided to cause automatic return of the 85 drum to its normal upright position after the dumping operation has been accomplished, and the automatic dumping occurs when the drum has become sufficiently filled with fluid, that the volume or weight of water contained in the .« widened portion of the drum will cause the drum ⁴⁰ to become unbalanced toward the dumping side, at which point the drum will automatically begin to rotate toward the dumping position, which rotation will immediately become accelerated due ,_r to the action of the baffle II, and cause the drum ⁴⁰ to move completely to full dumping position. As soon as the fluid held back by the baffle 11 has become so reduced in quantity as to no longer overcome the effect of the counterweight 30, the . drum will return to its normal upright position, ^5υ where it rests until the water supply, which in this case is continuous, has caused the drum to again become filled.

As shown in Fig. 11, the counterweight 30 is arranged so as to be adjustable radially relative ⁵⁰ to the axis of rotation of the drum, the weight 30 being slidably mounted on a radially extended bracket 31 mounted on one of the inner side walls of the drum. In order to provide for fixing of the position of the weight 30, a set screw or other ⁶⁰ locking means 32 is provided in the weight 30, the set screw passing through the weight and engaging the bracket 31 to lock the weight thereto.

₆₅ The purpose of the adjustable counterweight 30 is to provide a means for adjusting the volume of fluid that is to be dumped at each dumping operation, the time interval between dumping operations being controlled by the rate at which 70 the fluid is supplied to the drum I by the fluid supply means, which may be controlled by an ordinary hand valve not shown. Thus, the greater the distance of the adjustable weight 30 outwardly from the axis of rotation of the drum, 75 the greater will be the quantity of fluid necessary to cause an unbalancing of the drum toward the dumping side, and hence, the greater will be the -amount of fluid dumped and discharged through the tank outlet. _r

In the operation of the form of my invention >» first described, namely, the manually tripped, arrangement, fluid will be supplied into the drum I until the level of the same has caused the float , 18 to raise upwardly sufficient to close the supply valve 17. Then by turning the trip lever 14, the 10 drum is caused to be unbalanced toward the dumping side so as to rotate of its own accord to full dumping position, at which point the drum stands until the fluid contained in the drum has been substantially emptied therefrom into 15. the bottom of the tank 2, Due to the fact that no float valve is necessary to control the outlet 3 from the tank, the fluid will have a free and uninterrupted flow from the drum into the tank. and directly through the outlet 3, with the result 20.. that a greater discharge force from the outlet 3 is had and a more rapid discharge rate than in ordinary arrangements.

As soon as the fluid has been emptied from the drum I, the counterweight 5 will cause the ^5. drum to return to its normal upright position,; where it will stand until it has become filled by the supply valve 17 and until the trip lever 14 is again turned to cause a dumping operation. The stops 6 and 7 are provided to limit the movement goof the drum upon its being rotated, and.thus obviate any possibility of rocking of the same or causing rotation to such an extent that the drum.. would hit the supply valve or its inlet connection.

In the operation of the automatic or self-,35.; dumping form of my invention, dumping rotation of the drum' will occur only when the volume of. fluid held in the widened drum portion has become sufficient to over-balance the drum toward the dumping side, the fluid supply to the automatic or self-dumping drum being constant, The, drum, upon being, emptied, will automatically return to its normal upright position by virtue of the counterweight 30 and rest in such position until it has again become filled. . 45

The main advantages of my invention reside in the simplified construction wherein the ball valve controlling the tank outlet is eliminated and whereby possibility of mechanical disorder is minimized. In my improved arrangement no _βθ overflow pipe is necessary since any leakage or overflow from the drum will pass through the tank outlet 3, which is always open. Other advantages of my invention reside in the fact that the flow of fluid through the tank outlet 3 is _6βsubstantially faster than present or usual arrangements, and noise of fluid passing out of the tank 2 is substantially eliminated, the latter being because the water flow is started from the top of the outlet 3 rather than from the bottom _βθ thereof, and there is no air suction.

Other advantages are found in the easier tripping of my device since all mechanical linkage heretofore necessary has been eliminated, and in the fact that sweating of the outer tank in _eQwarm or humid weather is entirely obviated. Also, my invention permits the use of smaller size tanks and improvement in the ornamental design of tanks, so that a more pleasing appearance may be had. Another advantage of my invention is 70 found in the increased life of the valve seat of the supply valve, since the elimination of the ball cock controlling the tank outlet 3 obviates the possibility of leakage at that point and thereby eliminates wire-drawing at the supply valve, 75

2,199.068 which is a common source of difficulty in present flush tank arrangements.

Although but two embodiments of this invention are herein shown and described, it will be 5 understood that details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.