Patents by Inventor Joseph A. LaFontaine

Joseph A. LaFontaine has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6237164
    Abstract: A toilet supply tank assembly having high performance flush characteristics is designed to maximize water pressure over the flush valve and to minimize fluid turbulence within the tank during a flush cycle. The tank includes a bottom interior surface which tapers downwardly from the outer edges thereof to an fluid escape opening, and may include a cylindrical tank having a frusto-conical bottom portion with the fluid escape opening at the most narrow portion thereof. In order to further reduce turbulence created by water flow within the tank during a flush cycle, a cylindrical flush valve plunger having a frusto-conical stopper portion is provided which has no abrupt transitions. The tank may also include at least three vertical partitions intersecting a common axis which not only provide a cage in which the flush valve plunger can slide up and down, but also prevent the water from swirling and forming an energy robbing vortex.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2001
    Inventors: Joseph A. LaFontaine, Brent D. Barnett, Daniel T. LaFontaine