Discussion of the Prior Art A common toilet configuration includes a toilet bowl and a tank providing a reservoir of water for flushing the bowl. Fill valves are typically positioned within the tank and adapted to receive water from an external source to refill the tank following the flushing operation. These fill valves typically include a housing having a water flow passage and an inlet for the water. A valve is disposed in the water flow passage between the water inlet and a downspout which forms a water outlet into the tank. The valve is operated by a float mechanism to provide for a controlled refilling of the tank following the flushing operation.

In the past, pressure regulators have been provided on the inlet side of the valve in order to control the pressure of the water within the water flow passage. Since this passage has typically had a horizontal configuration leading to the valve, the pressure regulator has been oriented to extend horizontally within the passage. This has required an increased size of the housing and further required that the housing extend a significant distance into the tank.

Since the downspout is typically vertically oriented, the water in the past has tended to cascade downwardly with a high degree of velocity and turbulence. This has resulted in the water crashing to the bottom of the tank with a considerable volume of noise. This sound has been particularly annoying, so various attempts have been made to insulate the walls of the tank in order to capture the noise within the tank.

It is always of interest to reduce the volume of noise associated with the flushing of a toilet and the subsequent refilling of the water tank. In the case of a fill valve, this noise is generally attributed to water velocity and turbulence as well as water streams impinging on transverse surfaces. The noise is generally of two types.

A first type is transmitted through the air and is commonly referred to as"air noise." A second type of noise is transmitted by vibration through solid objects such as the valve housing and pipes associated with the plumping. This noise is commonly referred to as"pipe noise."In the past, water has been directed through glass bead reservoirs in an attempt to slow the water velocity and abate some of the noise.

Dampeners have also been used on pipes and tubes in an attempt to absorb vibration.

These attempts have had only a limited affect on the air and pipe noise associated toilet fill valves.

Summary of the Invention These deficiencies of the prior art are overcome with the present invention, one embodiment of which requires the pressure regulator to be disposed in the outlet portion of the water flow path. Thus positioned, the pressure regulator is disposed on the side of the valve opposite the water inlet. The housing of the valve includes inlet portions which are adapted to be mounted in a generally horizontal orientation, and outlet portions which are adapted to be mounted in a generally vertical orientation.

In this embodiment, the pressure regulator extends into the outlet portions of the housing and into the downspout. With this configuration, no pressure regulator need

be provided in the horizontal portions of the housing so the width of the valve can be maintained at a minimal dimension. This enables the fill valve of the present invention to be mounted in close proximity to the wall of the toilet tank.

The pressure regulator preferably includes stepped cylinders defining the inside diameter and a spiral structure with a plurality of parallel radial flanges defining the outside diameter. This configuration greatly facilitates manufacture of the pressure regulator by a molding process. The spiral structure is operatively positioned in the vertical portions of the housing. Forcing the water to flow upwardly in the vertical spiral structure enables gravity to facilitate pressure regulation of the water. Extending axially of the spiral portions is a mounting projection which includes a plurality of teeth angled to facilitate insertion into the downspout and inhibit removal from the downspout.

The noise associated with a fill valve is due primarily to the water flow characteristics. Water having a high velocity and a high degree of turbulence generates considerable noise as it passes along a flow path. The pressure regulator associated with the present invention significantly reduces the velocity of the water and various flow directors reduce the turbulence. In addition, the combination of the pressure regulator and the downspout has been provided with several diameter enlargements, each of which produces an energy drop. As a result, a high degree of laminar flow is achieved with a significantly reduced velocity. The resulting noise abatement, even that resulting from water impinging directly on the perpendicular bottom surface of the tank, renders the fill valve of the present invention almost silent in operation.

In one aspect of the invention, a toilet fill valve having a water flow passage includes a housing defining a portion of the passage. A valve is disposed in the passage of the housing and divides the housing into an upstream portion and a downstream portion. A pressure regulator is disposed in the downstream portion of the housing where it provides a pressure drop in the housing on the side of the valve opposite the water inlet. The pressure regulator forms with a downspout an

expansion step facilitating laminar flow within the downspout. In another aspect of the invention, the pressure regulator includes a spiral structure having an axis and being configured to form the water flow passage into the shape of a spiral. A first flange included in the spiral structure is oriented generally in a first radial plane while a second flange included in the spiral structure is oriented generally in a second plane. A ramp included in the spiral structure extends transverse to the axis of the first plane and the second plane. The pressure regulator-also includes a mounting projection which extends into the downspout and forms with the downspout an expansion step facilitating laminar flow within the downspout.

In a further aspect of the invention, a toilet includes a tank providing a reservoir for flushing a toilet. A fill valve is disposed to provide a controlled release of water into the tank following flushing of the toilet. The fill valve includes a housing and a valve disposed in a water flow passage of the housing to control release of water into the tank. A downspout extending between the valve and the tank includes portions defining an expansion step which produces substantially laminar flow within the downspout. Tank water in the downspout creates a back pressure which further facilitates the laminar flow of the fill water.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent with a discussion of preferred embodiments of the invention and reference to the associated drawings.

Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation view of a toilet including a bowl and a tank with a fill valve of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the toilet fill valve; Fig. 3 is a side view of the toilet fill valve; Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the toilet fill valve of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a back elevation view of the toilet fill valve of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is an axial cross-section view of the toilet fill valve of the present invention; Fig. 7 is a cross-section view taken along lines 6-6 of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is a side elevation view of a pressure regulator associated with the fill valve of the present invention; Fig. 9 is an axial cross-section view of the pressure regulator illustrated in Figure 8; Fig. 10 is a side-top perspective view of a further embodiment of the fill valve of the present invention; Fig. 11 is an exploded view of the valve illustrated in Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is an axial cross-section view taken along lines 12-12 of Fig. 10; Fig. 13 is an axial cross-section view taken along lines 13-13 of Fig. 12; Fig. 14 is an enlarged side view of the downspout structure illustrating a fenestration of opposing windows; and Fig. 15 is a bottom-side exploded view illustrating a downspout connector.

Description of Preferred Embodiment and Best Mode of the Invention A toilet is illustrated in Figure 1 and designated generally by the reference numeral 10. The toilet 10 is of the type which includes a bowl 12 and a tank 14 which provides a reservoir 16 for water 18. In this case, the tank 14 is formed by a pair of sidewalls 21 and 23, a back wall 25, a bottom wall 27 and a front wall (not shown). A fill valve 30 of the present invention is mounted within the tank 14 and adapted to receive water from an external source (not shown) through the sidewall 21. In operation, the toilet 10 is flushed by operation of a flush valve 32 which releases the water 18 from the reservoir 16 into the bowl 12. During and following this flushing operation, the fill valve 30 provides for a controlled release of water from the external source (not shown) into the reservoir 16 in order to refill the tank 14 prior to the next flushing operation.

The fill valve 30 in the illustrated embodiment includes a housing 34 which defines a water flow passage 36 that extends from an inlet 38 into a downspout 41.

In this embodiment, the housing includes an inlet portion 43 that extends generally horizontally along an axis 45 to a valve 47. On the other side of the valve 47, the water flow passage 36 is defined by an outlet portion 50 which extends generally vertically along an axis 52 into the downspout 41.

A float 61 is carried by the surface of the water 18 as it slides on the downspout 41 along the axis 52. The float 61 is connected to an adjustable shaft 63 which is in turn coupled to an arm 65 associated with the valve 47. In operation, the float 61 descends along the downspout 41 as the surface of the water 18 drops in the tank 14. The adjustable shaft 63 descends with the float 61 and causes the arm 65 to pivot downwardly. Operation of the arm 65 is best illustrated in Figure 3 where the arm 65 is illustrated to engage the valve 47 with three flanges 70,72 and 74. The flanges 70 and 74 each include a fulcrum tab 76 and 78, respectively, about which the arm 65 pivots. With this pivotal movement, the flange 72 moves a pin 81 into and out of the valve 47 in a known manner. As the arm 65 pivots downwardly with a descending float 61, the pin 81 is forced outwardly to open the valve 47 and permit fluid communication between the inlet portion 43 and the outlet portion 50 of the housing 34. As the arm 65 pivots upwardly with ascending float 61, the pin 81 is forced inwardly to close the valve 47 and inhibit fluid communication between the inlet portion 43 and the outlet 50 of the housing 34.

Some of the interior components of the fill valve 30 are best illustrated in the expanded view of Figure 5. These components include an antisiphon insert 83 which is mounted in the top of the housing 34 and covered with a cap 85. The insert 83 includes a flange structure 87 which extends generally axially from an annulus 90.

The interior components of the valve 30 also include a pressure regulator 92 which will be discussed in greater detail below. The insert 83 and associated cap 85 form an air gap 94 best illustrated in Figure 6.

This structure functions as an air gap because the insert 83 is free to move vertically within the valve 30. When water is flowing through the valve 30, the insert 83 is formed against the cap 85 and forms a seal preventing water loss through the air gap 94. However, when water is not present in the valve 30, the insert 83 drops providing fluid communication through the air gap 94 and thereby preventing the siphoning of water through the valve 30.

Figure 6 is also best suited for discussing flow of the water 18 within the valve 30. Initially, the water 18 enters the valve 30 through the inlet 38 as illustrated by an arrow 96. From the inlet 38, the water flows into a water flow passage 98 including an inlet passage 101 which extends to the valve 47. This water flow is best illustrated by an arrow 103.

Beyond the valve 47, the water flow passage 98 is defined by an outlet passage 105 where the water flow is indicated by an arrow 107. From this outlet passage 105, the water 18 flows upwardly through the flange structure 87 of the insert 83 and into a cavity designated by the reference numeral 110. This cavity 110 extends to the bottom of the housing outlet passage 50 where it encounters the pressure regulator 92. From this position at the bottom of the housing 34, the water 18 flows upwardly in the pressure regulator 92 as illustrated by the arrow 112. At the top of the pressure regulator 92, the water encounters the deswirling blades 93 which extend vertically radially and substantially eliminate turbulence resulting from the swirling water flow. From the blades 93, the water descends into a central conduit 114 associated with the regulator 92. This water flow is represent by an arrow 116.

With reference to Figures 8 and 9, it will be noted that a preferred embodiment of the pressure regulator 92 includes a spiral structure 121 and a mounting projection 123 which is separated by an annular disk 125. As best illustrated in the axial cross-section view of Figure 9, the spiral structure 121 includes an axial tube 127 and a plurality of annular flanges 130-139, which extend generally radially of the tube 127. These flanges 130-139 are staggered in a

preferred embodiment and joined by a plurality of ramps 140-148 each of which extends between an opposing pair of the flanges 130-139 in the manner illustrated in Figure 8. This configuration of the spiral structure 121 is of particular advantage as it greatly facilitates the process of molding the pressure regulator 92.

In operation, the spiral structure 121 provides a tortuous path for the water as illustrated by the arrow 112. This tortuous path lengthens the flow channel of the water increasing the energy losses along the walls of the path. These wall losses are further increased by the energy required to constantly turn the water around the spiral structure 121. In this manner energy losses resulting from the spiral structure produce a significant pressure drop and thereby provide the pressure regulation desired.

The vertical orientation of the pressure regulator 92 enables the structure to take advantage of gravity in regulating the pressure of the water 18. With a flow path beginning at the bottom of the spiral structure 121, and ending at the top of the structure 121, further regulation of the pressure is accomplished.

In the illustrated embodiment, the mounting projection 123 of the pressure regulator 92 includes a cylinder 152 which is coaxial with the cylinder 129 of the spiral structure 121. Extending radially outwardly of the cylinder 152 are several flanges 154,156 and 158 each of which is provided with a plurality of teeth 161 which are configured to face toward the annulus 125 and spiral structure 121. This mounting projection 123 is sized and configured so that the flanges 154-158 form a high friction fit with the downspout 41, as best illustrated in Figure 6. With the teeth 161 pointing in the direction of the spiral structure 121, mounting the projection 123 into the downspout 41 is facilitated while removal of the structure 123 from the downspout 141 is inhibited. Once the projection 123 is operably mounted, it actually forms part of the downspout 41 in defining the final configuration of the water flow passage.

It is thought to be of particular advantage that the vertical drop provided for the water 18 as it passes from the pressure regulator 92 and through the downspout

41, includes several expansion steps such as those designated by the reference numerals 165,167 and 170 in Figure 6. Each of these steps is defined by a structure which increases in diameter in the downward direction. Thus, the expansion step 165 is defined by the inside diameter of the tube 127 which expands to the inside diameter of the tube 152. Similarly, the expansion step 167 is defined by an expansion of the inside diameter between the upper end of the tube 152 and the lower end of the tube 152. The expansion step 170 is defined by an increase from the inside diameter of the tube 152 to the inside diameter of the downspout 41. In each of these cases, the expansion steps 165-170 provide for a significant reduction in the energy of the water. With this reduction in energy, the velocity and turbulence of the water decreases significantly. As a result, the water emanating from the downspout 41 and contacting the wall 27 of the tank 14 exhibits substantially laminar flow. As the water passes into the reservoir 16, its laminar flow greatly reduces the noise associated with refilling the tank 14.

From the foregoing discussion it will be apparent that this embodiment of the invention provides for a vertical orientation of the pressure regulator 92.

Furthermore, this regulator 92 is positioned on the outlet side of the valve 47 where it is disposed in the vertical outlet passage 50 of the housing 34. This structural configuration is particularly advantageous as it significantly reduces the horizontal width of the fill valve 30. As a consequence, the valve 30 can be maintained in close proximity to the side wall 21 of the tank 14.

Forming the spiral structure 121 of the pressure regulator 92 with a plurality of radial flanges is also thought to be of particular advantage. This greatly facilities the molding of this part thereby reducing the cost of manufacturer.

A further embodiment of the fill valve of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 10 wherein structural elements similar to those previously discussed are designated with the same reference numerals followed by the lower case letter"a".

Thus, the fill valve 30a of Fig. 10 includes (progressively along the water flow passage 36a) an inlet 38a, a housing 34a and a valve 47a operable by an arm 65a.

Downstream of the valve 47a the water flow passage 36a extends through an anti- siphon insert 83a and into an outlet portion 50a which includes a downspout 41 a. As illustrated in Fig. 11, the downspout 41a can be formed as part of a downspout structure 181 which also includes a pressure regulator 92a. In a preferred embodiment, this downspout structure 181 is coupled to the housing 34a by a connector 183.

Fig. 12 is an axial cross-section view cut along the axis of the horizontal valve structure, as well as the axis of the vertical downspout structure. Accordingly, Fig. 12 is similar to the view of Fig. 6 of the prior embodiment. From this view it can be seen that both of these embodiments direct the water flow along an inlet passage 10 1 a which extends to the valve 47a. Beyond the valve 47a, the water flow is directed along an outlet passage 105a which leads to the anti-siphon insert 83a.

However, in the embodiment of Fig. 10, the cavity 1 lOa which surrounds the anti- siphon insert 83a communicates through a chamber 185 to the top of the spiral pressure regulator 92a. As opposed to the embodiment of Fig. 6, the water flow in the embodiment of Fig. 10 flows downwardly through the spiral pressure regulator 92a. Notwithstanding this movement in the direction of gravity, the pressure regulator 92a significantly reduces the energy of the water flowing into the downspout structure 181.

A further energy reduction, of particular importance to this embodiment, can best be understood with reference to the enlarged view of Fig. 14. As the water flows through the pressure regulator 92a, downwardly along the annular flanges 13 la -138a and associated ramps 147a-143a, it arrives at a dividing station designated generally by the reference numeral 187. This station 187 is characterized by a single flow channel between the annular flanges 135a and 137a which divides into a vertical channel 190 and a horizontal channel 192.

The water flow through this dividing station 187 is illustrated by an arrow 194 which divides into an arrow 196 leading into the vertical channel 190, and an arrow 198 leading into the horizontal channel 192. The horizontal channel 192 leads

to another vertical channel 201 which is similar to the channel 190 but disposed on the opposite side of the pressure regulator 92a. In this manner, the water in the flow path is divided into two flow paths, as shown by the arrows 196 and 198, which are further separated by a pair of flanges 103 and 105.

These separate water flows are each directed to an associated fenestration of at least one window. Thus, the water flow designated by the arrow 196 is directed to a fenestration 207 which includes windows 210,212 and 214.

In a similar manner, the flow path represented by the arrow 198 is directed to a separate and opposing fenestration 216 of windows 218,221 and 223. As the water represented by the arrows 196 and 198 separately flows through the windows 110, 112 and 114 on one side of the flanges 203 and 205, and the windows 218,221 and 223 on the opposite side of the flanges 203 and 205, these separate flows crash into each other and combine in a chamber 225 best shown in Fig. 12 and 13. This chamber is disposed at the top of the downspout of 41a.

It is of particular importance that the separate water flows represented by the arrows 196 and 198 be directed against each other in order to reduce the energy of the water in the combined flow. Thus it is the purpose of the windows to move these separate water flows in opposite directions so that their impact against each other can be as direct as possible. It is for this reason that the windows 110,112 and 114 in the first fenestration 207 are directly opposed by the windows 223,221 and 218 respectively in the second fenestration 216. The resulting impact between the water flows emanating from the opposing windows greatly reduces the energy of the water exiting into the downspout 41 a.

As noted, the embodiment of Fig. 10 offers a further advantage by combining the downspout 4 la and the pressure regulator 92a into the single downspout structure 181. This structure is most easily mounted and operably positioned using the connector 183 as best illustrated in Fig. 15. The connector 183 is generally cylindrical with threads 230 at one end and a plurality of bayonet ramps 232 disposed at the other end. The threads 230 are sized and configured to mate with

similar threads 234 on the housing 34a, while the bayonet ramps 232 are sized and positioned to mate with bayonet lugs 236 on the downspout structure 181. During the assembly process, the screws 230 of the connector 183 can be rotated into the screws 234 of the housing 34a. Then the downspout structure 181 can merely be inserted into the connector 183, and the lugs 236 mated with the ramps 232 to complete this connection.

Having discussed in detail certain preferred embodiments of the invention, it will now be apparent that many alterations and improvements can be made to adapt the fill valve 30 to a particular environment. For example, the spiral structure 121 with the parallel flanges 130-139 can be disposed in a horizontal orientation in the inlet passage 43. Similarly, other spiral structures can be substituted for the illustrated embodiment and disposed in a vertical orientation in the outlet passage 50.

Structures other than the flanges 154-158 and the teeth 161 can also be employed to hold the downspout 41 in a generally fixed relationship with the pressure regulator 92 or the housing 34. The expansion steps 165-170 could be provided generally anywhere along the water flow passage 36, although their disposition within the structures defining the final vertical drop of the water is preferred.

Pressure regulation in accordance with the present invention might also be accomplished with the water moving generally in any direction through the spiral structure 121.

With respect to the crashing water portions, reduced energy can be achieved with two or more opposing fenestrations each having at least one window opposing a window in the opposite fenestration.

These and other variations are contemplated for the present invention. As a result, one is cautioned not to limit the concept only to the embodiments illustrated or described, but rather to determine the scope of the invention only with reference to the following claims: