Sloan Valve Company

Sunbeam Corporation Limited

John Zink Company, LLC

Jerry P Gronwick

Charles S Allen

John R Wilson

Robert J Augustine

Daniel J Carroll

Martin E Marcichow

Robert O Ernest

Francis L Carr

William P Beck

Farees U Khaja

Howard A Bristol

Leonard A Koniewicz

A diaphragm-type of flush valve for use with toilet devices such as urinals and water closets has a body with an inlet and an outlet. There is a valve seat between the inlet and the outlet and a valve member is movable to a closing position on the valve seat to stop flow through the flush valve. The valve member includes a diaphragm which is peripherally attached to the body and there is a pressure chamber above the diaphragm for holding the valve member on the valve seat. A bypass orifice connects the inlet and the pressure chamber. The diaphragm has a vent passage connecting the pressure chamber and the outlet. There is an auxiliary valve closing the vent passage, with the auxiliary valve including an auxiliary valve head and a stem extending downwardly therefrom. The auxiliary valve head has a bore with a lower open end. The bore has a first portion with a first diameter and a second portion with a larger diameter. The second portion of larger diameter is adjacent the lower open end of the bore. The stem has an end thereof positioned within the bore, with the stem end having an end portion with an outer diameter less than the outer diameter of the stem through a major portion of its length. The stem portion is received in the first bore portion when the stem is attached to the auxiliary valve head.

Flushometer auxiliary valve

A toilet flushing device has a body with an inlet and an outlet. There is a valve seat in the body in the flow path between the inlet and the outlet and a valve in the body movable toward and away from the valve seat to control water flow through the toilet flushing device. A handle assembly for causing movement of the valve toward and away from the valve seat includes a socket attached to the body and a handle mounted in the socket for pivotal movement. A plunger is positioned in part within the socket and is in contact with the handle. Pivotal movement of the handle causes axial movement of the plunger with a portion of the plunger being positioned for contact with valve for causing movement thereof. There is a spring for biasing the plunger toward the handle. A bushing is attached to the socket and has a central bore within which the plunger moves. A seal member is attached to the bushing and forms a seal therewith. The seal member has a central passage with the plunger being positioned within this central passage. The seal member has a plurality of spaced inwardly extending circumferential seal lobes which are in sealing contact with the plunger at axially spaced locations thereon. The lobes define at least one recess therebetween and there is lubricant within the at least one recess.

Flush valve triple seal handle packing

A vacuum breaker assembly includes an outlet tube having circumferential air ports and a vacuum breaker sleeve formed of a flexible elastomeric material positioned within the outlet tube. Conventionally, a stiffening funnel will be positioned within the vacuum breaker sleeve. The elastomeric sleeve has an inlet end and an outlet end and is located within the outlet tube adjacent the spaced air ports. The vacuum breaker sleeve has lip seals in the interior intermediate the inlet and outlet ends, with the lip seals opening in response to water pressure at the inlet end to permit water to pass through the vacuum breaker assembly. There are peripherally spaced projections on the exterior of the vacuum breaker sleeve adjacent the outlet end to space the exterior of the sleeve from the outlet tube. There is a tapered lip seal extending axially from the outlet end of the vacuum breaker sleeve, with the lip seal being downstream of the spacing projections. The tapered lip seal is outwardly movable into closing contact with the outlet tube in response to back pressure downstream of the vacuum breaker assembly, such closing contact preventing water flow through the air ports of the outlet tube.

Double seal vacuum breaker

An adjustable plumbing conduit for connecting the inlet of a flush valve body and the outlet of a control valve wherein the flush valve body inlet has interior threads and the control valve outlet has exterior threads. The adjustable plumbing conduit includes an adjustable tail having an exterior thread on a portion thereof and a tapered nose which is in contact with an interior mating surface on the control valve outlet. There is an outward projection on the adjustable tail adjacent the tapered nose, which outward projection coacts with an inwardly directed shoulder of a coupling nut which is threaded onto the exterior of the control valve inlet and thereby holds the adjustable tail to the control valve. There is a sleeve having interior and exterior threads, with the interior threads attaching the sleeve onto the exterior of the adjustable tail and the exterior threads attaching the sleeve into the flush valve threaded inlet.

Adjustable tail ground joint

Flush valve

A flush valve includes a body with an inlet and an outlet and a valve seat at the outlet. There is a valve movable in the body toward and away from the valve seat to control flow through the flush valve. There is a chamber in the body above the valve and there is a refill orifice in the valve connecting the chamber with said body inlet. Pressure in the chamber maintains the valve closed upon its valve seat, with the size of the refill orifice controlling the time to fill the chamber from the inlet which determines the time of flow of water from the inlet through the outlet. There is a relief valve for venting the chamber to the outlet when the relief valve is open, thereby causing the valve to move away from its seat permitting flow from the inlet through the outlet. There is a cover threadedly attached to the body and a seal element formed from an elastomeric material positioned between the cover and the body. The seal element has a surface finish with sufficient lubricity such that the cover will slide upon its surface when the cover is threadedly attached to the body. The seal element is sufficiently elastomeric such that it distorts under pressure from the cover to form a tight seal between the cover and the body.

Flush valve improvements for controlling flushing volume

Flush valve cover

A travel iron having a handle which pivots sideways between an upright 'use' position and a flat 'storage' position wherein the handle is pivotally mounted on the main body portion of the iron at its rear end only and wherein cam ramp and pin means provide longitudinal forward and rearward movement of the handle during its pivotal movement whereby to stabilize both ends of the handle when the handle is in its upright 'use' position. A pump actuator mounted in the main body portion of the iron is actuated by a plunger slidably mounted in the handle. A dual-voltage sole plate heating circuit has a pair of identical heating elements connected in series in one voltage position of a dual-voltage switch and in parallel in the other voltage position with the output wattage being the same in both voltage positions of the switch.

Travel iron with pivotable handle

An electrically heated curler/styler includes an elongated handle having a rotatable elongated longitudinally split heating barrel projecting from the forward end thereof and defining a longitudinal space, open at its forward end, between the split portions of the barrel. A non-rotatable elongated flat blade-like clamp fixed to the forward end of the handle projects into the space between the split portions of the barrel, each of which is provided with a separate internal electric heater. The handle is provided with a button for manually rotating the split barrel from a first position wherein the longitudinal edge of the split barrel portions are spaced from the longitudinal edges of the clamp so that strands of hair can be inserted therebetween and a second position wherein the inserted hair strands are clamped between the longitudinal edges of the clamp and the split barrel portions for curling and/or styling. The split barrel portions are normally biased to the second position by a torsion spring in the handle. The rotatable split barrel arrangement eliminates the difficulty in releasing the finished curl.

Split barrel electric hair curler/styler

Radiant heater

Electric dry shaver having a shaving head and a trimmer for cutting long hair, the trimmer being equipped with adjustable means to control the height or length to which the trimmer may cut hair. Control means within the shaver are provided to adjust the height of the trimmer guard and to retain it in the selected position.

Electric dry shaver with adjustable long hair trimmer

Apparatus for brewing small quantities of coffee in a receptacle which may be used for a drinking mug or serving vessel, the brewing portion of the apparatus being detachably mounted so that a portion thereof extends within the mug and including a brewing basket and liner adapted to utilize a disposable paper filter. The liner having a capacity substantially equal to the portion of the receptacle below the brewing apparatus and being provided with a spreader plate at its bottom which limits the expansion of the coffee grounds when the liner and basket are locked together.

Growing community of inventors

Park Ridge, IL, United States of America

Jerry P Gronwick