Split tank system for a toilet

Abstract

A flush system for a flush toilet in which an auxiliary tank is positioned in the main tank and which is operated according to a fluid pressure system. The auxiliary tank has a bottom wall which is spaced above the bottom of the main tank and has a fluid port on the bottom wall and a one-way valve in the top wall thereof. With the one-way valve closed, air can flow out of the auxiliary tank but cannot flow into the auxiliary tank. An air conduit is connected at one end thereof to a selector valve on the flush handle on the toilet and is fluidically connected to the auxiliary tank at the other end thereof. When the selector valve is opened, operation of the flush handle will permit air to flow into the auxiliary tank whereby water can flow out of the auxiliary tank during a flush cycle. However, if the selector valve is closed, the auxiliary tank is closed and air cannot flow into the auxiliary tank so water will not flow out of that tank during the flush cycle.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to toilets (sometimes referred to as “water closets”). More particularly, the present invention relates to toilets having a tank for providing flush water.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Flush toilets are in widespread use throughout the world for disposing of both fluid and solid waste. The standard construction for such toilets is to provide a holding tank for the water to be used in a flush, from which the water is fully discharged each time the toilet is flushed. The amount of water in the holding tank is selected to be sufficient to dispose of solid waste deposited into the toilet bowl. This requires a relatively large quantity of water. For disposal of fluid waste only, however, utilizing the full contents of the holding tank is wasteful, since fluid wastes can be disposed of with a much lower volume of water. Toilets serve admirably as an efficient and sanitary means to dispose of waste material. As can be understood, toilets operate upon a flush cycle, wherein waste disposal is performed with the accompaniment of a large quantity of water, usually on the order of three, four or more gallons.

As population densities have increased, the demands upon available water supplies have become quite substantial. Indeed, periodically, certain locales are subject to water rationing, wherein flushing of the toilet is requested to be performed only infrequently. Some localities, such as the State of California, which may be subject to periodic drought conditions, and jurisdictions have even resorted to penalties for excessive water usage during certain periods. Such a request and/or requirements not only subjects the toilet user to odor, but potentially also to disease due to the stagnancy of pre-used bowl water. Accordingly, a solution to the water demands of toilet flushing with each toilet use would be extremely desirable for both personal and ecological reasons. Although various measures attempting to utilize water more efficiently and thus reduce its overall consumption have been suggested, the total amount of water used still remains much too high. Moreover, it is projected that water shortage may become more acute in the future.

One “popular” notion to reduce the amount of flush water needed is to place an object in the tank, such as a water filled plastic milk container, the volume of which diminishes the water volume in the tank. While this sounds not only feasible but practical, one must consider why, in the first place, the toilet manufacturer designed the tank to hold a specified amount of flush water. First, there must be enough flush water to move solid waste in the bowl out of the toilet and into the sanitary drain. Second, there must be still more flush water to flush out the dirty bowl water while at the same time rinsing the bowl clean. Thirdly, there must be enough flush water left over to provide an adequate depth of water at the trap located at the bottom portion of the bowl so that the sanitary drain is fluidically cut-off from the bowl to thereby prevent methane and other sewer gases from backing-up into the bowl, and, thereupon, into the restroom. Thus, reducing the amount of flush water by simply reducing the water stored in the tank may result in insufficient water to properly flush the bowl. More potentially disastrous, is that over time an accumulation of solid waste may become lodged in the sanitary drain, plugging the drain and resulting in back-ups because repeatedly too little flush water was available to move the solid waste out the local sanitary drain and into the main sanitary drain.

Therefore, efforts to conserve water including efforts to reduce the amount of water consumed in a flush toilet each time the flush mechanism is operated which simply employ devices for limiting the amount of water in the tank so that a lower volume of water is used each time the toilet is flushed frequently result in unsatisfactory disposal of solid waste. This may often make it is necessary to flush such a low water volume toilet more than once in order to dispose of solid wastes. This defeats the purpose of the low volume. Such toilets generally do not have any problem in disposing of purely liquid waste.

In efforts to alleviate the problems associated with simply reducing the water level every time a toilet is flushed, dual flush toilet devices have been designed. These toilets are selectively operated to use the full volume water available for solid waste disposal, and to use a lesser volume of water for liquid waste disposal.

It is therefore desirable to provide an improved dual flush control system for releasing different amounts of water from the holding tank of a toilet into a discharge pipe opening in the bottom of the holding tank, which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art, which is simple in construction, easy to install and simple to operate.

Still further, many existing water closet systems are wasteful of water and could benefit from being modified to conduct partial flushes when appropriate. However, such systems will not be retrofit if it is costly to do so and thus any retrofit system should be easy and efficient to install.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above-discussed disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by a flush system for a flush toilet in which an auxiliary tank is positioned in the main tank and which is operated according to a fluid pressure system. The auxiliary tank has a bottom wall which is spaced above the bottom of the main tank and has a fluid port on the bottom wall and a one-way valve in the top wall thereof. With the one-way valve closed, air can flow out of the auxiliary tank but cannot flow into the auxiliary tank. Therefore, when the one-way valve is closed, water can flow into the tank through the fluid port, but cannot flow back out of the auxiliary tank via the fluid port because air pressure in the auxiliary tank will prevent the water from flowing out of the fluid port. An air conduit is connected at one end thereof to a selector valve on the flush handle on the toilet and is fluidically connected to the auxiliary tank at the other end thereof. When the selector valve is opened, operation of the flush handle will permit air to flow into the auxiliary tank whereby water can flow out of the auxiliary tank during a flush cycle. However, if the selector valve is closed, the auxiliary tank is closed and air cannot flow into the auxiliary tank so water will not flow out of that tank during the flush cycle. The one-way valve allows air to pass out of the auxiliary tank but prevents air from passing into the auxiliary tank whereby water can flow into the auxiliary tank during a filling cycle of the water closet.

Using the flush system embodying the present invention will permit partial or full flushes to be executed and will also permit easy retrofitting of existing systems.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a split tank for a flush-type toilet embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an auxiliary tank included in the toilet embodying the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a water-saving toilet 10 which can be easily adjusted to accommodate full or partial flushes. Toilet 10 comprises a water closet flush water storage tank 12 which is associated with a water closet system 14 having the usual toilet bowl and associated plumbing as will be understood by those skilled in the art. Tank 12 is known per se and includes a first wall 16 which is a front wall when the storage tank is in use as indicated in the figure and a second wall 18 which is a bottom wall when the storage tank is in use. Second wall 18 has an inner surface 20.

A water outlet port 30 is defined through the second wall and is fluidically connected with a bowl 32 which will contain waste products when in use as is the known case. A flush mechanism 40 is used to operate toilet 10 in a known manner and includes a flush operating handle 42 pivotally mounted on the storage tank and which is pivoted to initiate a flush cycle for the water closet.

Flush mechanism 40 further includes a flapper valve 44 which is located adjacent to outlet port 30. The flapper valve is movable between a closed position shown in the figure in which water outlet port 30 is occluded and an open position in which water outlet port 30 is open so water can flow therethrough out of water storage tank 12 during a flushing operation.

An actuator arm 50 includes a first end 52 connected to the flush operating handle to be moved when the flush operating handle is pivoted and a second end 54 which is connected to a chain 56 which connects second end 54 to flapper valve 44 to move the flapper valve from the closed position shown in FIG. 1 to the open position when the flush operating handle is pivoted. An auxiliary tank unit 60 is located inside the water closet flush water storage tank and includes a water storage tank 62 which has a first wall 64 which is a top wall when the auxiliary tank unit is in place in the water closet flush water storage tank as shown in FIG. 1 and a second wall 66 which is a bottom wall when the auxiliary tank unit is in place in the water closet flush water storage tank.

A water port 68 is defined through bottom wall 66 through which water passes into and out of water storage tank 62 as indicated in FIG. 2 by double-headed arrow 70. A first air port 80 is defined through top wall 64 though which air passes out of water storage tank 62 as indicated in FIG. 2 by arrow 82 to allow water to flow into the tank 62 to fill that tank as will be understood from the teaching of the this disclosure.

A second air port 86 is defined through top wall 64 though which air passes into water storage tank 62 as indicated in FIG. 2 by arrow 88 to permit water to flow out of tank 62 during a full flush in which water stored in tank 62 is combined with water stored in tank 12. As can be understood, as will be understood from the teaching of this disclosure, since air cannot flow into tank 62 via port 80, without air passing into tank 62 via port 86, air pressure in tank 62 will prevent water from flowing out of tank 62 via port 68.

A mounting element, such as legs 90 or the like, mounts tank 62 on bottom wall 18 of water closet flush water storage tank 12 so that bottom wall 66 of water storage tank 62 is spaced apart from inner surface 20 of bottom wall 18 of water closet flush water storage tank 12. A one-way valve 100 is located in first air port 80. One-way valve 100 is oriented to permit air to flow out of water storage tank 62 through air port 80 as indicated by arrow 82, but to prevent air from flowing into water storage tank 62 via air port 80. In one form of the invention, one-way valve 100 is a reed valve.

An auxiliary tank unit operating mechanism 110 includes a selector element 112, such as a button, movably on flush handle 42. Selector element 112 is movable into an open position and a closed position. The selector element is normally in the closed position and is biased toward the closed position by a spring or the like surrounding a shaft on the button. The button must be pushed against the bias of the spring to move the button into the open position. Alternatively, cam mechanisms on the button can automatically move the button into the open position and then cooperate with other cam elements to automatically move the button back into the closed position. The exact details of the mechanism for moving the selector element between the open and closed positions are not important to the present invention and those skilled in the art will be able to design such mechanisms based on the teaching of the present disclosure.

Selector element 112 has an air passage 114 defined therethrough. Air passage 114 is open when the selector element is in the open position and closed when the selector element is in the closed position. Suitable air passage occluding and opening elements, such as balls, springs and the like, are included in the selector element to achieve this function as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

A biasing element such as described above, is on the selector element biasing the element toward the closed position, and is indicated in FIG. 1 by reference indicator 116. An air flow tube 130 has one end 132 fluidically connected with the selector element to receive air passing through the selector element when the selector element is in the open position and a second end 134 fluidically connected to second air port 86, as by an elbow connector 136, or the like to allow air to pass into water storage tank 62 when the selector element is in the open position.

Use and operation of the system embodying the present invention can be understood from the teaching of the foregoing disclosure and thus will only be briefly presented. Filling the main tank and the auxiliary tank is accomplished in the well known manner with water flowing simultaneously into the main tank and into the auxiliary tank because air can pass out of one-way valve 100 so water can flow into auxiliary tank 62. The flush handle is operated in the normal manner to conduct a partial flush in which case, the selector valve is not opened so air will not flow into the auxiliary tank and thus water will not flow out of that tank. To conduct a full flush, the selector element is operated on the flush handle to open that selector valve and fluidically connect the flush handle to the auxiliary tank and thus allow air to pass into the auxiliary tank via the selector element. When the flush handle is operated, water will flow out of the main tank via the flapper valve and will also flow out of the auxiliary tank because that tank is now open so air will flow into the auxiliary tank to permit water to flow out of the tank via the outlet port thereon. With air flowing into the auxiliary tank, water will flow out of the outlet port thereby allowing a full flush. The auxiliary tank will be filled when the main tank is filled because water will flow into the auxiliary tank via the water port 68 in the bottom wall and air will flow out of the auxiliary tank via one-way valve 100 and air outlet port 80.

It is also noted that the flush handle need not be a manually operated element, but can be an automatic unit in which case the selector element can be located spaced apart from the automatic unit.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A water-saving toilet comprising:

A) a water closet flush water storage tank which is associated with a water closet system and which includes (1) a first wall which is a front wall when the storage tank is in use, (2) a second wall which is a bottom wall when the storage tank is in use, the second wall having an inner surface, and (3) a water outlet port defined through the second wall and which is fluidically connected with a bowl which will contain waste products when in use;

B) a flush mechanism which includes (1) a flush operating handle connected to the storage tank and which is operated to initiate a flush cycle for a water closet, (2) a flapper valve which is located adjacent to the outlet port defined through the second wall of the water closet flush water storage tank, the flapper valve being movable between a closed position in which the water outlet port defined through the second wall of the water storage tank is occluded and an open position in which the water outlet port defined through the second wall of the water storage tank is open so water can flow therethrough out of the water storage tank, and (3) an actuator arm which includes

(a) a first end connected to the flush operating handle to be moved when the flush operating handle is pivoted, and

(b) a second end which is connected to the flapper valve associated with the water outlet port defined through the second wall of the water closet flush water storage tank to move the flapper valve from the closed position to the open position when the flush operating handle is pivoted;

C) an auxiliary tank unit located inside the water closet flush water storage tank and including (1) a water storage tank having (a) a first wall which is a top wall when the auxiliary tank unit is in place in the water closet flush water storage tank, (b) a second wall which is a bottom wall when the auxiliary tank unit is in place in the water closet flush water storage tank, (c) a water port defined through the bottom wall through which water passes into and out of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit, (d) a first air port defined through the top wall of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit though which air passes out of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit, and (e) a second air port defined through the top wall of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit though which air passes into the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit, (2) a mounting element mounting the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit on the bottom wall of the water closet flush water storage tank so that the bottom wall of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit is spaced apart from the inner surface of the bottom wall of the water closet flush water storage tank, and (3) a one-way valve located in the first air port defined through the top wall of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit, the one-way valve being oriented to permit air to flow out of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit through the air port, but to prevent air from flowing into the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit via the air port; and

D) an auxiliary tank unit operating mechanism which includes (1) a selector element movably on the flush handle, the selector element being movable between an open position and a closed position, the selector element having an air passage defined therethrough, the air passage being open when the selector element is in the open position and closed when the selector element is in the closed position, (2) a biasing element on the selector element biasing the element toward the closed position, and (3) an air flow tube having one end fluidically connected with the selector element to receive air passing through the selector element when the selector element is in the open position, and a second end fluidically connected to the second air port defined through the top wall of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit to allow air to pass into the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank when the selector element is in the open position.

2. The water-saving toilet defined in claim 1 wherein the one-way valve located in the first air port defined through the top wall of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit is a reed valve.

3. A water-saving toilet comprising:

A) a water closet flush water storage tank which is associated with a water closet system and which includes a wall which is a bottom wall when the storage tank is in use, the wall having an inner surface;

B) a flush mechanism which includes a flush operating handle connected on the storage tank and which is used to initiate a flush cycle for a water closet;

C) an auxiliary tank unit located inside the water closet flush water storage tank and which includes (1) a water storage tank having (a) a first wall which is a top wall when the auxiliary tank unit is in place in the water closet flush water storage tank, (b) a second wall which is a bottom wall when the auxiliary tank unit is in place in the water closet flush water storage tank, (c) a water port defined through the bottom wall through which water passes into and out of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit, (d) a first air port defined through the top wall of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit though which air passes out of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit, and (e) a second air port defined through the top wall of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit though which air passes into the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit, (2) a mounting element mounting the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit on the bottom wall of the water closet flush water storage tank so that the bottom wall of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit is spaced apart from the inner surface of the bottom wall of the water closet flush water storage tank, and (3) a one-way valve located in the first air port defined through the top wall of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit, the one-way valve being oriented to permit air to flow out of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit through the air port, but to prevent air from flowing into the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit via the air port; and

D) an auxiliary tank unit operating mechanism which includes (1) a selector element movably on the flush handle, the selector element being movable into an open position and a closed position, the selector element having an air passage defined therethrough, the air passage being open when the selector element is in the open position and closed when the selector element is in the closed position, (2) a biasing element on the selector element biasing the element toward the closed position, and (3) an air flow tube having one end fluidically connected with the selector element to receive air passing through the selector element when the selector element is in the open position, and a second end fluidically connected to the second air port defined through the top wall of the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank unit to allow air to pass into the water storage tank of the auxiliary tank when the selector element is in the open position.

4. A water-saving toilet comprising:

A) a water closet flush water storage tank which is associated with a water closet system and which includes a wall which is a bottom wall when the storage tank is in use, the wall having an inner surface;

B) a flush mechanism which includes a flush operating handle connected to the storage tank and which is used to initiate a flush cycle for a water closet;

C) an auxiliary tank unit located inside the water closet flush water storage tank and which includes (1) an auxiliary water storage tank mounted in the water closet flush water storage tank to be spaced apart from the bottom wall of the water closet flush water storage tank, (2) a water port defined through the bottom wall of the auxiliary water storage tank, (3) an air inlet port defined in the auxiliary water storage tank, and (4) an air outlet port defined in the auxiliary water storage tank, and (5) a one-way valve on the air outlet port which permits air to pass out of the auxiliary water storage tank via the air outlet port but prevents air from passing into the auxiliary water storage tank via the air outlet port;

D) an auxiliary tank unit operating mechanism which includes (1) a selector element mounted on the water closet flush water storage tank, the selector element being mounted to be movable between a closed position and an open position, (2) a conduit connecting the selector element to the air inlet valve on the auxiliary water storage tank, air passing through the conduit and into the auxiliary water storage tank via the air inlet port when the selector element is in the open position, the air inlet port being occluded when the selector element is in the closed position to prevent air from entering the auxiliary water storage tank via the air inlet port when the selector element is in the closed position;

E) whereby when the selector element is in the open position air is permitted to flow into the auxiliary water storage tank via the air inlet port so that water can flow out of the auxiliary water storage tank via the water port, and, when the selector element is closed, air pressure in the auxiliary water storage tank prevents water from flowing out of the auxiliary water storage tank; and

F) whereby air is permitted to flow out of the auxiliary water storage tank via the air outlet port so that water will be permitted to flow into the auxiliary water storage tank via the water port to fill the auxiliary water storage tank.