Toilet bowl with hydraulic leveling upward rim feed from lowered flush valve

% 1 96d ’ _{UPWARD h}3.131,402

FEED FROM LOWERED FLUSH VALVE

Filed March 25, 1963

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United States Patent Office

3,131,402

Patented May 5, 1964

3,131,482

TOILET BOWL WITH HYDRAULIC LEVELING UPWARD RIM FEED FROM LOWERED FLUSH VALVE

Herbert B. Roberts, Studio City, Calif., assignor to Western Pottery Company, Inc., Hol-ydale, Calif., a corporation of California

Filed Mar. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 267,492

Claims. (CL 4—14)

This invention relates to sanitary toilet bowls. Its general object is to provide a bowl that will accommodate a tank of reduced heighth and with improved, silenced flushing mechanism.

A specific object is to provide a toilet bowl which, in a tank and bowl combination, provides a very substantial reduction in over-all heighth and has an improved streamlined appearance. More specifically, the invention provides an improved toilet bowl having a tank positioned at a lower level than in conventional bowls.

A further object is to provide a toilet bowl having flushing mechanism of improved quietness in operation. More specifically, the invention aims to provide an improved method of controlling the flow of water into the rim duct and into the well hole of the bowl so as to achieve improved quietness.

A further object is to provide a toilet bowl and tank assembly wherein improved silentness of flushing is achieved by locating the flush valve at a level below the level of the bowl rim such as to provide direct communication between the tank outlet and a body of water normally standing in the tank-supporting flange of the bowl, with no air trapped therebetween, and by utilizing a gravity and hydraulic leveling flow for supplying water from this valve both to the rim and to the well hole of the bowl free of intermingled air which normally causes noise. I find that by controlling the flow of water to the rim flushing duct from a level below the rim level and causing the water to rise from the tank outlet to the rim flushing duct, that improved quietness is obtained.

A still further object is to combine the features of low heighth, compactness and quiet operation in a toilet bowl of the reverse trap type.

More specifically, the invention provides a toilet bowl and tank asesmbly wherein the tank outlet is located at a level at least as low as the level of water normally standing in the bowl, and communicates directly with a body of water normally standing in the lower end of a rimsupply duct extending upwardly therefrom, thereby avoiding any trapped air between the tank outlet and said standing body of water, whereby improved quietness of flushing operation is attained.

The objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the ensuing specification and appended drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toilet bowl unit embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the same with the bowl shown in section in its median longitudinal vertical plane;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view illustrating the flow of flushing water from the tank outlet to the rim duct; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the toilet assembly.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, I have shown therein, as an example of one form in which the invention may be embodied, a sanitary toilet assembly comprising, in general, a bowl A having a conventional seat and cover assembly B; and a flushing tank unit C mounted upon a recessed flange portion at the back of the bowl A.

The bowl A, which may be of cast ceramic material in accordance with conventional practice, comprises a base 1® for mounting the bowl upon a floor surface 11 and having a bottom outlet 12 for connection to a soil pipe 13; a bowl body 14 above the base 10 and having a 5 rim 15 defining a rim flushing duct 16 with flushing apertures 17 in the inward under shoulder thereof; a siphoning trapway comprising a rising portion 19 extending upwardly and rearwardly from a well-hole 18 in the bottom of the bowl, a descending portion 20 extending down10 wardly and having a choke 20' for retarding flow until the trapway is filled, to start siphoning action, and a portion 21 extending forwardly and terminating in the outlet 12; and a jet-flush pipe 22 extending along one side of the bowl and terminating in a jet aperture 23 in the 15 one side of the bowl just above the well hole 18, for injecting flush water into the bowl with a vortex action.

The pipe 22 may be formed as an integral outwardly bulged portion of one of the side walls of the base portion 10, the trapway 19, 20 and the well-hole 27 of the 20 bowl, as shown in FIG. 1. At its rear end, pipe 22 has an inlet 24 in the side wall of a coupling flange 26.

The tank unit C is seated upon a horizontal shelf 25 constituting, the top of the coupling flange 26, which is integral with the trapway 19, 20 and may be of the same 25 width, the rear wall of trapway 19, 20 constituting an integral forward wall of flange 26 and the side walls of flange. 2« being formed as integral co-planar rearward extensions of the side walls of duct 20 as indicated in FIG. 4. Flange 26 defines a plenum chamber 27 which, 30 when the flush valve is opened, receives the discharge water from tank unit C, and distributes it forwardly through the jet pipe 22 to the trapway 19 and upwardly through a rim-supply duct 28 to the rim duct 16. The forward wall of rim-supply duct 28 is defined by the up35 ward portion of the rear wall of trapway 19, 20; the rear wall 29 of rim-supply duct 28 is a flat, vertical wall extended upwardly from shelf 25 with a suitably curved connecting portion as shown, and the side walls 30 of run-supply duct 28 are integral upward extensions of the 40 side walls of trapway 19, 20 as indicated at 30 in FIG. 4.

The upper end of rim-supply duct 28 terminates in a head chamber 31 which constitutes an enlarged portion of the rim duct 16 at the rear end thereof and which functions to distribute the flush water to both sides of the rim 45 duct 16.

Tank C has in its bottom 35 an outlet 36 defined by a fitting which is seated in and suitably sealed to an inlet spud 37 in the supporting shelf 25. A conventional flush valve 38 is adapted to seat in the outlet 36 to normally ₅₀ retain the flush water in the tank C. The valve 38 is adapted to be lifted by conventional valve-operating mechanism triggered by depression of the valve handle 39 (F1G. 2) and adapted to hold the valve 38 in a raised position until the tank is emptied, and to then drop it back 55 into seating position in the outlet 36. The raising of the valve permits the water to flow by gravity from the tank C into the plenum chamber 27, thence forwardly through the jei pipe 22 as indicated by arrow 41, and upwardly through rim-supply duct 28 as indicated by arrows 42, ₆₀ thence into the rim duct 16 and downwardly through the rim apertures 17 as indicated by arrows 43.

In considering the operation of the apparatus, it should be first noticed that nearly Vi of the height of the normal water level (so. designated in FIG. 2) above the bottom 65 of tank C is disposed below the rim-flush level (or the rim-flush apertures 17) and the remainder of the height is aaove that level. The gravity operation of the upper λ of the body of water is effective to produce the upward flow 42 from the plenum chamber 27 into the rim ₇₀ duct 16.. The tank outlet 36, instead of discharging almost directly into the rim duct as in the conventional toilet, discharges into the enlarged plenum chamber 27

3,131,402 which, together with the extended distance from this plenum chamber vertically upwardly to the rim duct 16, muffles and reduces the noise of flow of the water from the tank outlet to the rim duct, where most of the noise in the conventional toilet is developed.

The flushing noise of the ordinary toilet is due principally to the trapped air rising through the water that is descending into an air-filled chamber from the tank outlet. I largely eliminate this condition by locating the trapped air above the column of flush water, which moves upwardly in order to feed the rim-flush duct, rather than downwardly in the conventional toilet. Thus I avoid the burbling eSect of downwardly moving water and upwardly moving, displaced air in the conventional toilet installation, and eliminate a major percentage of the resulting noise.

The extended flushing operation in the bowl 14 following the cessation of flushing in the rim duct 16, increases the efficiency of the toilet in discharging the last remnants of sewage material through the trapway 19—21. At the end of the flushing operation, the column of water filling the trapway 19, 20 operates with the conventional siphoning action to complete the emptying of the bowl 14 until the water seal is broken at the lower end of outlet duct 18, thus breaking the siphoning action.