Hydraulic Actuator Valve Assembly And Toilet Tank Flush Device Having The Same

Abstract

A toilet tank flush device includes a water feeding tube, a flush valve, a flexible connecting member, and a hydraulic actuator valve assembly. The actuator valve assembly includes a cylinder, a swing rod, a piston rod, and a resilient member. The cylinder includes an inlet portion, and an upright cylinder body formed with a plurality of overflow holes. The swing rod is connected pivotally to the cylinder. The connecting member interconnects the swing rod and the flush valve. The piston rod is movable within the upright cylinder body between first and second positions. When an electromagnetic valve is opened to allow water to be fed from the water feeding tube into the inlet portion, the piston rod is moved from the first position to the second position to pivot the swing rod to thereby open the flush valve. The resilient member biases the piston rod toward the first position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 097203369, filed on Feb. 27, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a flush device, and more particularly to a toilet tank flush device that has a hydraulic actuator valve assembly.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional toilet tank flush device includes a cylinder 11, a piston 12 disposed movably within the cylinder 11, a piston rod 12′ having a lower end connected fixedly to the piston 12, a post 13, a swing rod 14 connected pivotally to a top end of the post 13 and abutting against a top end of the piston rod 12′, and a rope 15 having two ends fastened respectively to a free end of the swing rod 14 and a flush valve 16.

When a sensor 17 detects completion of use of the toilet, an electromagnetic valve 19 disposed between a water feeding tube 18 and the cylinder 11 is opened to allow for flow of water from the water feeding tube 18 into the cylinder 11. Hence, the piston 12 is moved upwardly within the cylinder 11 to thereby pivot the swing rod 14 upwardly. As a result, the rope 15 is pulled upwardly to open the flush valve 16 to perform a toilet flushing operation.

The aforesaid conventional toilet tank flush device suffers from the following disadvantages:

(1) Since the swing rod 14 is mounted to the post 13, during assembly, the position of the swing rod 14 relative to the cylinder 11 needs to adjust, thereby resulting in a time-consuming assembly process.

(2) When the piston rod 12′ moves within the cylinder 11, an outer periphery of the piston 12 is in slidable contact with an annular inner surface of the cylinder 11. Such contact between the piston 12 and the cylinder 11 causes fast wearing thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of this invention is to provide a toilet tank flush device that includes a swing rod and a cylinder, relative position of which does not need to adjust.

Another object of this invention is to provide a toilet tank flush device that includes a cylinder and a piston having an outer periphery, which does not contact an annular inner surface of the cylinder so as to prevent wearing thereof.

According to this invention, a toilet tank flush device includes a water feeding tube, a flush valve, a flexible connecting member, and a hydraulic actuator valve assembly. The actuator valve assembly includes a cylinder, a swing rod, a piston rod, and a resilient member. The cylinder includes an inlet portion, and an upright cylinder body formed with a plurality of overflow holes. The swing rod is connected pivotally to the cylinder. The connecting member interconnects the swing rod and the flush valve. The piston rod is movable within the upright cylinder body between first and second positions. When an electromagnetic valve is opened to allow water to be fed from the water feeding tube into the inlet portion, the piston rod is moved from the first position to the second position to pivot the swing rod to thereby open the flush valve. The resilient member biases the piston rod toward the first position.

Since the swing rod is mounted directly to the cylinder, relative position therebetween does not need to adjust.

Preferably, a piston is connected fixedly to a lower end of the piston rod, and the resilient member is configured as a coiled compression spring, and is sleeved on the piston rod such that an outer periphery of the piston is adjacent to and spaced apart from an annular inner surface of the cylinder. As such, wearing between the piston and the cylinder can be prevented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional toilet tank flush device;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of a toilet tank flush device according to this invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating a hydraulic actuator valve assembly, a water feeding tube, a post, and a mounting member;

FIG. 4 is a partly exploded perspective view of the actuator valve assembly of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the actuator valve assembly of the preferred embodiment illustrating a first position of a piston rod;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but illustrating a second position of the piston rod;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating how an upper surrounding wall is retained on a lower surrounding wall; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of a mounting member of the preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the preferred embodiment of a toilet tank flush device according to this invention includes a hydraulic actuator valve assembly 2, an electromagnetic valve 4, a water feeding tube 5, a flexible connecting member 6, and a flush valve 7. The water feeding tube 5 has an entrance tube portion 51 and an exit tube portion 52 that is connected to the actuator valve assembly 2. The electromagnetic valve 4 is disposed at the tube feeding tube 5. The flexible connecting member 6 is configured as a rope.

With further reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the actuator valve assembly 2 includes a cylinder 3, a swing rod 21, a piston unit 22 consisting of a vertical piston rod 221 and a piston 222 connected fixedly to a lower end of the piston rod 2211, a resilient member 23, and a mounting member 24. In this embodiment, the piston 222 is formed integrally with the piston rod 221. The cylinder 3 includes an inlet portion 31, an upright cylinder body 32, and a supporting portion 33. The inlet portion 31 is connected to the exit tube portion 52 of the tube feeding tube 5. When the electromagnetic valve 4 is opened, water can fed from the tube feeding tube 5 into the inlet portion 31 of the cylinder 3. The upright cylinder body 32 is disposed above and in fluid communication with the inlet portion 31, and includes an upper surrounding wall 34 and a lower surrounding wall 35. The lower surrounding wall 35 is connected fixedly to the inlet portion 31. The upper surrounding wall 34 has an upper end connected fixedly to the supporting portion 33,and a lower end sleeved on an upper end of the lower surrounding wall 35. In this embodiment, the upper surrounding wall 34 is formed integrally with the supporting portion 33. The supporting portion 33 is configured as two parallel inclined rods extending upwardly and outwardly from the upper surrounding wall 34. The lower surrounding wall 35 is formed with a plurality of overflow holes 351 permitting flow of water out of the upright cylinder body 32 therethrough.

The upper surrounding wall 34 further has an annular top wall portion 341 abutting against an upper end surface of the lower surrounding wall 35, inner and outer surrounding wall portions 342, 343 extending respectively and downwardly from inner and outer peripheries of the top wall portion 341, and an annular guiding flange 344 connected integrally to a lower end of the outer surrounding wall portion 343 and disposed around the overflow holes 351 in the lower surrounding wall 35 so as to guide downward flow of the water from the overflow holes 351 in the lower surrounding wall 35.

With further reference to FIG. 7, each of the lower surrounding wall 35 and the outer wall portion 343 of the upper surrounding wall 34 is formed with a plurality of angularly equidistant resilient barb portions 353, 346 constituting a barb unit. Any adjacent two resilient barb portions 353, 346 are spaced apart from each other by a notch (N), which has a width along a circumferential direction of the cylinder 3 smaller than that of each of the resilient barb portions 353, 346. The barb unit of the lower surrounding wall 35 engages the barb unit of the upper surrounding wall 34 so as to prevent removal of the upper and lower surrounding walls 34, 35 from each other while allowing for relative rotation between the upper and lower surrounding walls 34, 35. Each of the barb portions 346 of the upper surrounding wall 34 has an inclined guiding surface 347 and an inclined limiting surface 348 nearer to the top wall portion 341 than the guiding surface 347 and extending from and inclined with respect to an inner wall surface 349 of the corresponding barb portion 346. Each of the guiding surfaces 347 cooperates with the inner wall surface 349 to form an angle (θ₁) therebetween, which is small so as to allow for easy movement of the corresponding barb portion 353 of the lower surrounding wall 35 into a space between the corresponding limiting surface 348 and the top wall portion 341 when the lower surrounding wall 35 is assembled to the upper surrounding wall 34. Each of the limiting surfaces 348 cooperates with the inner wall surface 349 to form an angle (θ₂) therebetween, which is large so as to prevent removal of the corresponding barb portion 353 of the lower surrounding wall 35 from the space between the corresponding limiting surface 348 and the top wall portion 341.

The inner wall portion 342 of the upper surrounding wall 34 is formed with a plurality of axial ribs 345 extending radially and inwardly therefrom and in slidable contact with an annular outer surface of the piston rod 221, thereby facilitating smooth movement of the piston rod 221 relative to the upper surrounding wall 34.

Alternatively, the upper and lower surrounding walls 34, 35 may be formed integrally with each other.

The swing rod 21 has a pivot end 211 connected pivotally to the supporting rod 33 of the cylinder 3, and a free end 212 opposite to the pivot end 211 and formed with a hole 213. The connecting member 6 has one end extending through the hole 213 in the free end 212 of the swing rod 21 and fastened to the free end 212 of the swing rod 21, and the other end fastened to the flush valve 7.

The piston rod 221 is disposed within the upright cylinder body 32 of the cylinder 3, and has a top end disposed above and outwardly of the upper surrounding wall 34 of the cylinder 3 and in contact with an intermediate portion of the swing rod 21. In this embodiment, the piston rod 221 is hollow, and has an open lower end. The inlet portion 31 of the cylinder 3 is disposed under and in fluid communication with the open lower end of the piston rod 221.

The piston rod 221 is movable within the cylinder 3 between a first position shown in FIG. 5 and a second position shown in FIG. 6. The first position is nearer to the inlet portion 31 of the cylinder 3 than the second position. When water is fed from the water feeding tube 5 into the inlet portion 31 of the cylinder 3, the piston rod 221 is moved hydraulically from the first position toward the second position to thereby pivot the swing rod 21 upwardly. Since the top end of the piston rod 221 is dome-shaped, smooth and continuous swinging movement of the swing rod 21 can be ensured.

The piston 222 has an outer periphery adjacent to and spaced apart from an annular inner surface of the lower surrounding wall 35.

The resilient member 23 biases the piston rod 221 toward the first position, and is configured as a coiled compression spring sleeved on the piston rod 221 and disposed between the top wall portion 341 of the upper surrounding wall 34 and the piston 222.

The mounting member 24 includes a C-shaped clamp 241 sleeved on the lower surrounding wall 35 of the cylinder 3 and having two clamping arms 241A, and a C-shaped retaining ring 242. The C-shaped retaining ring 242 is sleeved on a post 8, and includes two retaining arms 242A, a nut 242B, and a bolt 242C. The C-shaped clamp 241 is connected integrally to the C-shaped retaining ring 242 by two parallel connecting plates 343. Each of the retaining arms 242A has an inner end connected integrally to the corresponding connecting plate 343, and an outer end opposite to the inner end and formed with a hole 242E. The bolt 242C extends through the hole 242E in each of the retaining arms 242A, and engages the nut 242B so as to lock the retaining arms 242A on the post 8.

The lower surrounding wall 35 of the cylinder 3 is further formed with a pair of annular upper and lower stop flanges 352 extending radially and outwardly therefrom and abutting respectively against opposite upper and lower side surfaces of the C-shaped clamp 241 to thereby prevent vertical movement of the lower surrounding wall 35 relative to the C-shaped clamp 241.

A portion of the inner surrounding wall 35 disposed between the upper and lower stop flanges 352 and within the C-shaped clamp 241 of the mounting member 24 is cylindrical to allow for rotation of the lower surrounding wall 35 relative to the mounting member 24.

The C-shaped clamp 241 has an opening defined by two triangular retaining portions 244 that are symmetrical with respect to an imaginary central line (F). Each of the triangular retaining portions 244 has an inclined guiding surface 244A and an inclined limiting surface 244B nearer to the C-shaped retaining ring 242 than the guiding surface 244A. Each of the guiding surfaces 244A cooperates with the central line (F) to form a small angle (θ₃) such that the opening converges toward the C-shaped retaining ring 242. Due to the presence of the inclined guiding surfaces 244, the lower surrounding wall 35 can be moved easily into the C-shaped clamp 241. Each of the limiting surfaces 244B cooperates with the central line (F) to form a large angle (θ₄) so as to prevent removal of the lower surrounding wall 35 from the C-shaped clamp 241.

When the piston rod 221 is disposed in the first position, the piston 222 is in contact with the inlet portion 31 of the cylinder 3, and the flush valve 7 is closed.

When a sensor (not shown) detects completion of use of the toilet, the electromagnetic valve 4 is opened by a controller (not shown) to allow water from the water feeding tube 5 into the cylinder 3. Hence, the piston rod 221 is moved from the first position toward the second position to thereby pivot the swing rod 21 upwardly from a lower limit position shown in FIG. 5. When the piston rod 221 reaches the second position, the flush valve 7 is opened fully, and the overflow holes 351 in the lower surrounding wall 35 are located immediately under the piston rod 221. Subsequently, water can flow out of the cylinder 3 through the overflow holes 351, thereby preventing removal of the upper and lower surrounding walls 34, 35 from each other.

After the toilet is flushed, the electromagnetic valve 4 is closed to stop flow of water from the water feeding tube 5 into the cylinder 3. As a result, the piston rod 221 is biased by the resilient member 23 to return from the second position to the first position, and the swing rod 21 is pivoted back to the lower limit position.

In view of the above, the toilet tank flush device of this invention has the following advantages:

(1) Since the swing rod 21 is mounted directly to the supporting portion 33 of the cylinder 3, during assembly, position adjustment of the swing rod 21 relative to the cylinder 3 is not necessary, thereby resulting in a simple assembly process.

(2) The piston 222 can be designed so as not to contact the annular inner surface of the lower surrounding wall 35 when the piston 222 moves within the cylinder 3, thereby preventing wearing between the piston 222 and the cylinder 3.

With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only as indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A hydraulic actuator valve assembly adapted for use with a water feeding tube and an electromagnetic valve, said actuator valve assembly comprising: a cylinder including an inlet portion adapted to be connected to the water feeding tube such that water can be fed from the water feeding tube into said inlet portion of said cylinder when electromagnetic valve is opened, an upright cylinder body disposed above and in fluid communication with said inlet portion, and a supporting portion extending from and disposed above said upright cylinder body, said upright cylinder body being formed with a plurality of overflow holes adapted to allow for flow of water out of said upright cylinder body therethrough;a swing rod having an end connected pivotally to said supporting portion of said cylinder;a piston rod disposed within said upright cylinder body of said cylinder and having a top end disposed outwardly of said cylinder and in contact with an intermediate portion of said swing rod, said piston rod being movable within said cylinder between first and second positions, the first position being nearer to said inlet portion of said cylinder than the second position, said piston rod being moved from the first position toward the second position when water is fed from the water feeding tube into said inlet portion of said cylinder; anda resilient member for biasing said piston rod toward the first position.

2. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upright cylinder body of said cylinder includes a lower surrounding wall connected fixedly to said inlet portion, and an upper surrounding wall having an upper end connected fixedly to said supporting portion, and a lower end sleeved on an upper end of said lower surrounding wall, said top end of said piston rod being disposed above said upper surrounding wall.

3. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said overflow holes are formed in said lower surrounding wall of said upright cylinder body of said cylinder.

4. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said upper surrounding wall of said upright cylinder body of said cylinder is formed with an annular guiding flange disposed around said overflow holes in said lower surrounding wall so as to guide downward flow of the water from said overflow holes in said lower surrounding wall.

5. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein said piston rod is hollow, and has an open lower end, said inlet portion of said cylinder being disposed under and in fluid communication with said open lower end of said piston rod.

6. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a piston connected fixedly to a lower end of said piston rod, said cylinder having an annular inner surface, said piston having an outer periphery adjacent to and spaced apart from said annular inner surface of said cylinder.

7. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said top end of said piston rod is dome-shaped.

8. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein said upper surrounding wall of said upright cylinder body has an annular top wall portion abutting against an upper end surface of said lower surrounding wall, and inner and outer surrounding wall portions extending respectively and downwardly from inner and outer peripheries of said top wall portion, said outer surrounding wall portion having a lower end connected integrally to said guiding flanges.

9. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein said outer wall portion of said upper surrounding wall of said upright cylinder body of said cylinder has an annular inner surface in slidable contact with said lower surrounding wall.

10. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein each of said lower surrounding wall and said outer surrounding wall portion of said upper surrounding wall is formed with a plurality of angularly equidistant resilient barb portions constituting a barb unit, said barb unit of said lower surrounding wall engaging said barb unit of said outer surrounding wall portion of said upper surrounding wall so as to prevent removal of said upper and lower surrounding walls from each other.

11. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein said inner wall portion of said upper surrounding wall of said upright cylinder body of said cylinder is formed with a plurality of axial ribs extending radially and inwardly therefrom and in slidable contact with an annular outer surface of said piston rod.

12. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a piston connected fixedly to a lower end of said rod body, said resilient member being configured as a coiled compression spring sleeved on said piston rod and disposed between said top wall portion of said upper surrounding wall and said piston.

13. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 2, said lower surrounding wall being adapted to be mounted on a post, said actuator valve assembly further comprising a mounting member, said mounting member including a C-shaped clamp sleeved on said lower surrounding wall of said cylinder and having two clamping arms, and a C-shaped retaining ring, said C-shaped clamp having opposite upper and lower side surfaces, said C-shaped retaining ring including two retaining arms adapted to be sleeved on the post, a nut, and a bolt, each of said retaining arms having an inner end connected integrally to said clamping arms, and an outer end opposite to said inner end and formed with a hole, said bolt extending through said hole in each of said retaining arms and engaging said nut so as to lock said retaining arms on the post, said lower surrounding wall of said cylinder being further formed with a pair of annular upper and lower stop flanges extending radially and outwardly therefrom and abutting respectively against said upper and lower side surfaces of said C-shaped clamp to thereby prevent vertical movement of said lower surrounding wall relative to said C-shaped clamp.

14. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 13, wherein a portion of said lower surrounding wall disposed between said upper and lower stop flanges and within said C-shaped clamp of said mounting member is cylindrical to allow for rotation of said lower surrounding wall relative to said mounting member.

15. The actuator valve assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said overflow holes in said upright cylinder body of said cylinder are located immediately under said piston rod when said piston rod is disposed in the second position.

16. A toilet tank flush device comprising: a water feeding tube;an electromagnetic valve disposed at said water feeding tube;a flush valve;a flexible connecting member; anda hydraulic actuator valve assembly including a cylinder including an inlet portion connected to said water feeding tube such that water can be fed into said inlet portion of said cylinder from said water feeding tube when said electromagnetic valve is opened, an upright cylinder body disposed above and in fluid communication with said inlet portion, and a supporting portion extending from and disposed above said upright cylinder body, said upright cylinder body being formed with a plurality of overflow holes permitting flow of water out of said upright cylinder body therethrough;a swing rod having a pivot end connected pivotally to said supporting portion of said cylinder, and a free end opposite to said pivot end, said flexible connecting member having two ends fastened respectively to said free end of said swing rod and said flush valve;a piston rod disposed within said upright cylinder body of said cylinder and having a top end disposed outwardly of said cylinder and in contact with an intermediate portion of said swing rod, said piston rod being movable within said cylinder between first and second positions, the first position being nearer to said inlet portion of said cylinder than the second position, said piston rod being moved from the first position toward the second position when water is fed from said water feeding tube into said inlet portion of said cylinder; anda resilient member for biasing said piston rod toward the first position.

17. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 16, wherein said upright cylinder body of said cylinder includes a lower surrounding wall connected fixedly to said inlet portion, and an upper surrounding wall having an upper end connected fixedly to said supporting portion, and a lower end sleeved on an upper end of said lower surrounding wall, said top end of said piston rod being disposed above said upper surrounding wall.

18. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 17, wherein said overflow holes are formed in said lower surrounding wall of said upright cylinder body of said cylinder.

19. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 18, wherein said upper surrounding wall of said upright cylinder body of said cylinder is formed with an annular guiding flange disposed around said overflow holes in said lower surrounding wall so as to guide downward flow of the water from said overflow holes in said lower surrounding wall.

20. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said piston rod is hollow, and has an open lower end, said inlet portion of said cylinder being disposed under and in fluid communication with said open lower end of said piston rod.

21. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 20, further comprising a piston connected fixedly to a lower end of said piston rod, said cylinder having an annular inner surface, said piston having an outer periphery adjacent to and spaced apart from said annular inner surface of said cylinder.

22. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 21, wherein said top end of said piston rod is dome-shaped.

23. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said upper surrounding wall of said upright cylinder body has an annular top wall portion abutting against an upper end surface of said lower surrounding wall, and inner and outer surrounding wall portions extending respectively and downwardly from inner and outer peripheries of said top wall portion, said outer surrounding wall portion having a lower end connected integrally to said guiding flanges.

24. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 23, wherein said outer wall portion of said upper surrounding wall of said upright cylinder body of said cylinder has an annular inner surface in slidable contact with said lower surrounding wall.

25. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 23, wherein each of said lower surrounding wall and said outer surrounding wall portion of said upper surrounding wall is formed with a plurality of angularly equidistant resilient barb portions constituting a barb unit, said barb unit of said lower surrounding wall engaging said barb unit of said outer surrounding wall portion of said upper surrounding wall so as to prevent removal of said upper and lower surrounding walls from each other.

26. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 23, wherein said inner wall portion of said upper surrounding wall of said upright cylinder body of said cylinder is formed with a plurality of axial ribs extending radially and inwardly therefrom and in slidable contact with an annular outer surface of said piston rod.

27. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 23, further comprising a piston connected fixedly to a lower end of said rod body, said resilient member being configured as a coiled compression spring sleeved on said piston rod and disposed between said top wall portion of said upper surrounding wall and said piston.

28. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 17, said lower surrounding wall being adapted to be mounted on a post, wherein said toilet tank flush device further includes a mounting member, said mounting member including a C-shaped clamp sleeved on said lower surrounding wall of said cylinder and having two clamping arms, and a C-shaped retaining ring, said C-shaped clamp having opposite upper and lower side surfaces, said C-shaped retaining ring including two retaining arms adapted to be sleeved on the post, a nut, and a bolt, each of said retaining arms having an inner end connected integrally to said clamping arms, and an outer end opposite to said inner end and formed with a hole, said bolt extending through said hole in each of said retaining arms and engaging said nut so as to lock said retaining arms on the post, said lower surrounding wall of said cylinder being further formed with a pair of annular upper and lower stop flanges extending radially and outwardly therefrom and abutting respectively against said upper and lower side surfaces of said C-shaped clamp to thereby prevent vertical movement of said lower surrounding wall relative to said C-shaped clamp.

29. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 28, wherein a portion of said lower surrounding wall disposed between said upper and lower stop flanges and within said C-shaped clamp of said mounting member is cylindrical to allow for rotation of said lower surrounding wall relative to said mounting member.

30. The toilet tank flush device as claimed in claim 16, wherein said overflow holes in said upright cylinder body of said cylinder are located immediately under said piston rod when said piston rod is disposed in the second position.