Reliable flush valve

• US 6,000,674 A
• Filed: 11/13/1998
• Issued: 12/14/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hong-Ming Cheng
• Original Assignee: Hong-Ming Cheng
• Inventors: Cheng, Hong-Ming
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, KEVIN L
• Application Number:
  US09/191,296
• Time in Patent Office: 396 Days
• Field of Search: 251/26, 251/30.02, 251/30.03, 251/45, 251/38, 251/30.01, 251/30.05, 137/545, 137/550
• US Class Current: 251/26
• CPC Class Codes: E03D 3/06 with diaphragm valve and pressure chamber for retarding the valve-closing movement
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 31/402 acting on a diaphragm
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7976 Plural separating elements

Abstract

A flush valve includes: a valve body having a diaphragm valve flexibly formed in the valve body communicated with an inlet pipe for supplying inlet water and an outlet pipe connected to a toilet, a urinal or a sprinkler system, a filter and a magnet mounted in the diaphragm valve for filtering out the dirts or rust carried in the water, a limit valve formed in the valve body juxtapositioned to the diaphragm valve for automatically closing the relief vents and passages between the diaphragm valve and the outlet pipe in case of failure of a manual relief valve or an electrically operated relief valve, which controls the opening or closing of the diaphragm valve, with the manual relief valve operatively opening the relief vents or passages at the downstream side of the diaphragm valve in a pre-set time period for timely opening the diaphragm valve, and a self-regulating valve provided in the outlet pipe for automatically maintaining a constant water flow rate when subjected to a fluctuated water pressure in a plumbing system.

Claims

1. A flush valve comprising:

a valve body (1) having an inlet pipe (11) for supplying water therein and an outlet pipe (12) for draining water therefrom for flushing use;

a diaphragm valve (2) flexibly formed in said valve body (1) between said inlet pipe (11) and said outlet pipe (12);

said diaphragm valve (2) normally closing said outlet pipe (12);

a filter (3) and a magnet (3a) provided in said diaphragm valve (2) for filtering off dirts and rust as carried in a water flow through said valve;

a limit valve (4) flexibly formed in the valve body (1) between an upper cover (15) of said valve body (1) and said diaphragm valve (2);

a manual relief valve (5) and an electrically operated relief valve (6) disposed on opposite side portions on said upper cover (15) of said valve body (1), and operatively communicated with a chamber between said upper cover (15) of said valve body (1) and said diaphragm valve (2) through two relief vents (152,

     153) formed in said upper cover (15), and said two relief valves (5,

     6) communicated with said outlet pipe (12) through a relief port (19) circumferentially formed in said valve body;

with said electrically operated relief valve (6) actuated by a controller (7) mounted on said valve body (1); and

a self-regulating valve (8) resiliently held in said outlet pipe (1) for maintaining a constant flow rate of a flushing water drained through said self-regulating valve (8) and said outlet pipe (12);

whereby upon manual actuation of said manual relief valve (5) or upon automatic actuation of said electrically operated relief valve (6) to open either said relief valve (5,

     6), the water pressure and water in said chamber between said diaphragm valve (2) and said upper cover (15) will be released through said relief port (19) and outlet pipe (12) to open the diaphragm valve (2) for draining water through said outlet pipe (12) in a pre-set time period as pre-set in either said relief valve (5,

     6); and

either said relief valve (5,

     6) and said diaphragm valve (2) will be re-closed upon lapse of the pre-set time period; and

upon a constant opening of either said relief valve (5,

     6), said limit valve (4) will automatically close said vents (152,

     153) to stop water loss as released therethrough.

2. A flush valve according to claim 1, wherein said valve body (1) includes:

an outer barrel (10) connected with said inlet pipe (11) for supplying water therein;

an inner barrel (14) disposed within the outer barrel (10) having an inlet port (101) defined between the inner and outer barrels (14,

     10) and communicated with the inlet pipe (11);

said upper cover (15) secured on an upper portion of the outer barrel (10) having the diaphragm valve (2) formed between the upper cover (15) and the inner and outer barrels (14,

     10);

an upper chamber (16) defined between the diaphragm valve (2) and the limit valve (4);

an uppermost chamber (17) defined between the limit valve (4) and the upper cover (15);

a top housing (18) secured on a top portion of the valve body (1) above the upper cover (15) for mounting the manual relief valve (5), the electrically operated relief valve (6) and the controller (7) in the top housing (18); and

said relief port (19) annularly formed in a peripheral portion of the outer barrel (10) and fludically communicated with the uppermost chamber (17) through the manual relief valve (5) and the electrically operated relief valve (6) and having a discharge passage (191) connected between the relief port (19) and the outlet pipe (12).

3. A flush valve according to claim 2, wherein said diaphragm valve (2) includes:

a valve plug (21) secured to a stem (24) and normally rested upon a valve seat (141) formed on an upper edge portion of the inner barrel (14) having a discharge opening (20) defined between the valve plug (21) and the valve seat (141) when the valve plug of the diaphragm valve (2) is opened;

a diaphragm (22) circumferentially formed on an upper disk (23) secured to the stem (24) and secured between the upper cover (15) and the outer barrel (10) of the valve body (1);

an inlet opening (25) circumferentially formed between the diaphragm (22) and the valve plug (21) to direct water inwardly into an interior (26) formed in a hollow portion of the diaphragm valve (2) from the inlet port (101) annularly formed between the inner barrel (14) and the outer barrel (10); and

an releasing hole (231) formed through the upper disk (23) and communicated with the upper chamber (16) between the diaphragm valve (2) and limit valve (4) and communicated with the interior (26) of the diaphragm valve (2).

4. A flush valve according to claim 3, wherein said diaphragm valve (2) has a filter (3) retained in the interior (26) of the diaphragm valve (2) between the inlet opening (25) and the releasing hole (231) for filtering off dirts carried in the water flow from the inlet pipe.

5. A flush valve according to claim 3, wherein said diaphragm valve (2) has a magnet (3a) formed as a collar jacketed on the stem (24) of the diaphragm valve (2) for magnetically attracting rust carried in a flushing water flow.

6. A flush valve according to claim 2, wherein said limit valve (4) includes:

an upper diaphragm (40) having a flange (41) of the upper diaphragm circumferentially secured within the upper cover (15) and positioned in between the upper chamber (16) adjacent to the diaphragm valve (2) and the upper cover (15), a plug portion (42) having a central opening (43) formed through the plug portion (42), with the plug portion (42) operatively engageable with a central socket (151) formed in a central portion of the upper cover (15) for closing the central opening (43) of the limit valve (4) when the manual relief valve (5) is continuously opened or the electrically operated relief valve (6) is accidentally opened.

7. A flush valve according to claim 2, wherein said manual relief valve (5) includes:

a relief valve plug (51) normally closing a first relief valve opening (154) formed in a relief valve seat (52) formed on one side portion of the upper cover (15), a plunger (53) secured with the relief valve plug (51) and reciprocatively held in a valve housing (50) formed in one side portion of the top housing (18) of the valve body (1), a relief chamber (5a) defined in the valve housing (50) and fluidically communicated, through a first relief vent (152) formed in the upper cover (15), with the uppermost chamber (17) defined between the upper cover (15) and the limit valve (4), an aperture (530) defined between the plunger (53) and the valve housing (50), a piston (531) slidably held in the plunger (53) having a follower rod (54) protruding outwardly from the piston (531) to be depressed by a push button (55) which is protruded outwardly from the top housing (18) for depression on the push button (55), and a tension spring (532) retained between the piston (531) and the plunger (53) adjacent to the relief valve plug (51) for normally urging the valve plug (51) for closing the valve seat (52)and valve opening (154).

8. A flush valve according to claim 7, wherein said push button (55) includes:

a tension spring (552) held in a button casing (550) fixed in the top housing (18) for normally urging the push button outwardly to be depressed by a user'"'"'s finger, a pushing rod (551) protruding from the push button towards the follower rod (54) of the manual relief valve (5), and a depression member (553) coupled with the pushing rod (551) for depressing the follower rod (54) upon depression on the push button (55) for opening the valve plug (51).

9. A flush valve according to claim 1, wherein said electrically operated relief valve (6) is a solenoid valve including:

a valve plug (61) normally closing a second relief valve opening (155) formed in a valve seat (62) formed on one side portion of the upper cover (15), a core (63) resiliently retained on a tension spring (65) for normally urging the core and the plug (61) for closing the valve opening (155), and a magnet (64) magnetically attracting the core (63) for opening the valve plug (61) when automatically actuated by a sensor (71) of the controller (7) for opening the valve opening (155) and for opening the diaphragm valve (2).

10. A flush valve according to claim 1, wherein said self-regulating valve (8) includes:

a valve disc (81) formed on a valve stem (82) resiliently and slidably held on a holder (84) by a tension spring (83), with the holder (84) formed with at least a discharge opening (85) therein and retained in the outlet pipe (12) at a downstream of the diaphragm valve (2); and

an annular port (80) defined between the disk (81) and the outlet pipe (12), with the annular port (80) tapered towards the outlet pipe (12) for decreasing an annular area thereof;

whereby upon actuation by a high pressure of a flushing water flow on the valve disk (81), the disk (81) will be forced towards the downstream to decrease the area of the annular port (80) to thereby maintain a constant flow rate of flushing water.