A water inlet valve for a toilet tank

Abstract

This invention provides a water inlet valve for a toilet tank, comprising: a valve body having an inlet channel, an outlet channel, and a valve port located between the inlet and outlet channels; a second filter screen integrally formed on one side of the valve port in the inlet channel; and a water-stopping surface formed on the side of the valve port in the outlet channel; a water-stopping assembly including a water-stopping pad movably disposed within the valve body, the water-stopping pad cooperating with the water-stopping surface to open or close the valve port; and a filter element, wherein the portion of the inlet channel located at the upper part of the valve body forms a filter chamber for installing the filter element, the filter chamber extending upward through the valve body to form a top opening at the top of the valve body, the filter element being detachably disposed in the filter chamber through the top opening, and the valve port located on the side wall of the filter chamber, the axis of the filter chamber being longitudinally arranged, and the axis of the valve port being radially arranged along the filter chamber. The water inlet valve of this invention is reliable in function, effectively preventing the water-stopping pad from being adhered to or blocked by impurities, and effectively improving noise levels.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a water inlet valve for a toilet water tank. Background Art

[0002] Most of the existing water inlet valves for toilet water tanks use the principle of pressure difference to control water inlet and water stop. It usually includes a water stop pad, which is usually provided with a very small flow channel, so that the water flow in the water inlet channel can flow into the back pressure chamber through the small flow channel. Since the flow channel is very small, it is relatively easy to be blocked. In addition, if impurities in the incoming water adhere to the water stop pad, the water stop pad will not be able to seal and stop water normally. In order to prevent the flow channel from being blocked by impurities or impurities adhering to the water stop pad and failing to stop water, a filter is usually provided in the water inlet channel of the water inlet valve, and impurities in the water are intercepted by the filter.

[0003] The filter elements in the prior art are designed to be detachable to facilitate cleaning of the filter elements. In order to facilitate the disassembly and assembly of the filter elements, some water inlet valves in the prior art install the filter elements on the upper part of the valve body, so that the valve body can be installed or removed through the opening at the top of the valve body, making disassembly and assembly more convenient and easy. For the water inlet valve with the filter element on top, its water stop assembly is usually arranged on the side of the valve body for the convenience of layout. Summary of the invention

[0004] The water inlet valve on top of the filter element in the prior art has the following two defects: First, during the disassembly and cleaning of the filter element, the impurities intercepted by the filter element are likely to be carried to the downstream of the filter element. In this way, after the cleaned filter element is reinstalled, these impurities located downstream of the filter element cannot be re-intercepted by the filter element, and may flow to the flow channel of the water stop pad and block the flow channel, or may adhere to the water stop pad, causing the water inlet valve to fail to stop water normally; second, when water is entering, the water flow filtered by the filter element turns 90° and flows from the valve port opened by the water stop pad to the downstream. The water flow turns sharply at the valve port, causing the incoming water flow to flow back and collide on the one hand, and hit the pipe wall at the same time, resulting in a large noise here, reducing the user experience.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, one of the purposes of the present invention is to provide a water inlet valve with more reliable functions, which can make the water stop pad less likely to be attached or blocked by impurities, and effectively avoid the problem that the water stop pad cannot stop water normally;

[0006] A second objective of the present invention is to provide a water inlet valve that can improve noise, so as to enhance the product usage experience.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0008] A water inlet valve for a toilet tank, comprising:

[0009] A valve body, wherein a water inlet channel, a water outlet channel and a valve port are provided therein, wherein the valve port is located between the water inlet channel and the water outlet channel, wherein the valve port is located at one side of the water inlet channel and is integrally formed with a second filter screen, and wherein the valve port is located at one side of the water outlet channel to form a water stop surface;

[0010] A water stop assembly, comprising a water stop pad movably arranged in the valve body, the water stop pad cooperates with the water stop surface to open or close the valve port;

[0011] A filter element, wherein the portion of the water inlet channel located at the upper portion of the valve body forms a filter cavity for installing the filter element, the filter cavity penetrates the valve body upward to form a top opening at the top end of the valve body, the filter element is detachably arranged in the filter cavity through the top opening, the valve port is arranged on the side wall of the filter cavity, the axis of the filter cavity is arranged longitudinally, and the axis of the valve port is arranged along the radial direction of the filter cavity.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, a first filter screen is disposed on the filter element, and the first filter screen is disposed upstream of the second filter screen at intervals.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, a first filter screen is disposed on the filter element, the first filter screen is located upstream of the second filter screen, and the first filter screen is located below the second filter screen.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the filter cavity forms a three-way structure having the top opening, the bottom opening and the side opening, the top opening and the bottom opening of the filter cavity are arranged opposite to each other, and the valve port forms the side opening of the filter cavity.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the filter element can bring out dirt intercepted on the side of the second filter mesh facing away from the water-stop pad when it is taken out from the top opening.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the filter element is provided with a filter section, a connecting section and a sealing section in sequence along the direction of insertion into the filter cavity, the filter section is provided with the first filter net, the sealing section seals the filter cavity, the outer diameter of the connecting section is smaller than the inner diameter of the filter cavity, and when the filter element is inserted into the filter cavity and in place, the position of the connecting section corresponds to the second filter net, and the sealing section and the filter section are respectively located on the upper and lower sides of the second filter net.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the first filter screen is conical in shape, and its outer diameter gradually increases along the direction of insertion into the filter cavity, and the outer diameter of the bottom end of the first filter screen matches the inner diameter of the filter cavity.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, it also includes an end cap, which is threadedly connected to the top opening and rotatably connected to the filter element. When the end cap and the top opening are threadedly tightened, the filter element is limited in the filter cavity; when the end cap and the top opening are threadedly loosened, the filter element can be pulled out of the filter cavity.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment, the filter cavity is cylindrical, and the second filter screen is arranged on the side wall of one side of the filter cavity along the curvature of the inner wall of the filter cavity; the second filter screen extends toward the water stop surface along the thickness direction away from the side wall of one side of the filter cavity.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment, the water-stop assembly further includes a pressure cover and a lifting rod, wherein the pressure cover is fixedly connected to the side of the valve body, the pressure cover and the side of the water-stop pad facing away from the water-stop surface form a back-pressure cavity, the pressure cover is provided with a pressure relief hole connected to the back-pressure cavity, the lifting rod is rotatably disposed on the side of the valve body, and one end of the lifting rod cooperates with the opening and closing of the pressure relief hole, and the other end is connected to a buoyancy assembly, and the water-stop pad moves laterally.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0022] 1. The present invention has a second filter screen integrally formed at a position where the valve port is located on one side of the water inlet channel. The second filter screen is located between the filter element and the water stop assembly in the direction of water flow, thereby forming a two-stage filtration that can further effectively intercept impurities, especially effectively avoiding the problem that the impurities intercepted by the filter element are brought to the water stop assembly during the process of the filter element being pulled out of the filter cavity, and forming a barrier at the front end of the water stop assembly, so that the water stop assembly is not easily blocked or attached by impurities, thereby achieving reliable water stopping.

[0023] 2. The water inlet valve of the present invention has the axis of the filter cavity arranged in the longitudinal direction, and the axis of the valve port arranged in the radial direction of the filter cavity. The water flow of the water inlet valve with such internal layout turns 90° at the valve port. Therefore, a second filter screen is integrally formed at the position where the valve port is located on one side of the water inlet channel (i.e., the 90° turning position): on the one hand, the second filter screen is similar to a hollow water baffle plate and can prevent part of the water flow from flowing back and colliding at the turning position; on the other hand, the second filter screen can disperse a large stream of water at the turning position to form multiple small streams of water, the flow directions of each small stream of water tend to be consistent and the energy of a single stream is relatively small, thereby achieving a stabilizing effect and reducing energy loss. The noise generated by the collision of a single small stream of water with relatively small energy against the pipe wall is also relatively small, thereby achieving the effect of reducing the overall noise of the water inlet valve.

[0024] 3. The second filter screen of the present invention is integrally formed in the valve body, which has a simple structure and does not require the second filter screen to be assembled separately, and the overall assembly of the water inlet valve is convenient;

[0025] In summary, the technical solution of the present invention is to form a second filter screen integrally at the position where the valve port is located on one side of the water inlet channel, which can not only form multi-stage filtration with the filter element at the front end to further effectively intercept impurities, but also effectively avoid the problem that the impurities intercepted by the filter element are brought to the water stop component during the process of pulling out the filter cavity, resulting in the inability to stop water. In addition, it also has the effect of reducing the water outlet noise of the water inlet valve. The present invention can make the water stop function of the water inlet valve more reliable and less noisy by simply setting a second filter screen at this specific position where the valve port is located on one side of the water inlet channel, and the conception is very ingenious. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The drawings described herein are used to provide further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of the present invention. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute improper limitations on the present invention.

[0027] in:

[0028] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a water inlet valve according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 is a three-dimensional exploded view of a water inlet valve according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a water inlet valve according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a water inlet valve according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of the middle A;

[0033] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of an exploded state of a water inlet valve according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 7 It is a three-dimensional structural diagram of a valve body of a water inlet valve according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 8 is a three-dimensional structural diagram of a valve body of a water inlet valve according to an embodiment of the present invention from another angle;

[0036] Fig. 9 It is a three-dimensional structural diagram of a filter element of a water inlet valve according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] The accompanying drawings in the figure are marked as follows:

[0038] 10-valve body; 11-water inlet channel; 111-filter chamber; 1111-top opening; 1112-bottom opening; 12-water outlet channel; 13-valve port; 131-water stop surface; 14-second filter screen;

[0039] 20-water stop assembly; 21-water stop pad; 22-pressure cover; 221-pressure relief hole; 23-lifting rod; 24-back pressure chamber;

[0040] 30-filter element; 31-filter section; 311-first filter screen; 32-connecting section; 33-sealing section; 331-sealing ring;

[0041] 40-end cover;

[0042] 50-buoyancy assembly;

[0043] L1 - axis of the filter cavity;

[0044] L2 - axis of valve port. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects to be solved by the present invention clearer and more understandable, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0046] See also Figures 1 to 9 A water inlet valve for a toilet tank according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises:

[0047] The valve body 10 is provided with a water inlet channel 11, a water outlet channel 12 and a valve port 13. The valve port 13 is located between the water inlet channel 11 and the water outlet channel 12. Water flows from the water inlet channel 11 through the valve port 13 to the water outlet channel 12 and then flows into the water tank (not shown) of the toilet. The valve port 13 is located on one side of the water inlet channel 11 and is integrally formed with a second filter screen 14. The valve port 13 is located on one side of the water outlet channel 12 to form a water stop surface 131.

[0048] The water stop assembly 20 includes a water stop pad 21 movably disposed in the valve body 10. The water stop pad 21 cooperates with the water stop surface 131 to open or close the valve port 13. Specifically, when the water stop pad 21 is in contact with the water stop surface 131, the valve port 13 is closed, thereby realizing water stopping of the water inlet valve. When the water stop pad 21 is separated from the water stop surface 131, the valve port 13 is opened, thereby realizing water inlet of the water inlet valve.

[0049] The filter element 30 and the portion of the water inlet channel 11 located at the upper part of the valve body 10 form a filter chamber 111 for installing the filter element 30, that is, the filter chamber 111 is a part of the water inlet channel 11. The filter chamber 111 penetrates the valve body 10 upward to form a top opening 1111 at the top of the valve body 10. The filter element 30 is detachably arranged in the filter chamber 111 through the top opening 1111, so that the filter element 30 can be removed for cleaning. Figure 4 The valve port 13 is arranged on the side wall of the filter chamber 111, the axis L1 of the filter chamber 111 is arranged along the longitudinal direction, and the axis L2 of the valve port 13 is arranged along the radial direction of the filter chamber 111, that is, the water inlet valve of the present invention is an improvement on the water inlet valve structure in which the water flow in the filter chamber 111 turns 90 degrees at the valve port 13.

[0050] In this embodiment, see Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the filter element 30 is provided with a first filter screen 311, and the first filter screen 311 is arranged at intervals upstream of the second filter screen 14, that is, the first filter screen 311 is located upstream of the second filter screen 14 as a whole, and specifically, the first filter screen 311 is located below the second filter screen 14 as a whole, so that the second filter screen 14 and the first filter screen 311 form a multi-stage filtration, and the filtration effect is better. Moreover, the second filter screen 14 and the first filter screen 311 are arranged at intervals, and compared with the prior art solution of setting two-stage filtration on the filter element 30 itself, the space for storing impurities in this embodiment is increased, and thus it is less likely to be blocked.

[0051] In this embodiment, preferably, the size of the holes of the second filter 14 is larger than the size of the holes of the first filter 311. In this way, while ensuring that the second filter 14 can intercept impurities, it will not limit the flow rate, resulting in better effect.

[0052] In this embodiment, the filter chamber 111 forms a three-way structure with a top opening 1111, a bottom opening 1112 and a side opening. The top opening 1111 and the bottom opening 1112 of the filter chamber 111 are arranged opposite to each other, and the valve port 13 forms the side opening of the filter chamber 111.

[0053] In this embodiment, combined with Figure 6 and Fig. 9 The specific structure of the filter element 30 is preferably designed as follows: a filter section 31, a connection section 32 and a sealing section 33 are sequentially arranged along the direction of insertion into the filter cavity 111. The filter section 31 is provided with a first filter screen 311, a sealing ring 331 is arranged on the sealing section 33 to seal the filter cavity 111, and the outer diameter of the connection section 32 is smaller than the inner diameter of the filter cavity 111. When the filter element 30 is inserted into the filter cavity 111, the position of the connection section 32 corresponds to the second filter screen 14, and the sealing section 33 and the filter section 31 are respectively located at the upper and lower sides of the second filter screen 14.

[0054] In order to achieve a better anti-blocking effect, in this embodiment, when the filter element 30 is taken out from the top opening 1111, the dirt intercepted on the side of the second filter screen 14 facing away from the water stop pad 21 (that is, the second filter screen 14 is located on the side of the filter cavity 111) can be brought out. In this way, in the process of cleaning the filter element 30, the second filter screen 14 is also cleared at the same time, killing two birds with one stone and being convenient and simple.

[0055] Further preferably, in the present embodiment, the first filter screen 311 is conical, and its outer diameter gradually increases along the direction of insertion into the filter cavity 111. Compared with the cylindrical filter element used in the prior art, the conical design can, on the one hand, make the filtration area of ​​the first filter screen 311 larger and improve the filtration effect; on the other hand, it can also increase the water flow space between the outer wall of the first filter screen 311 and the inner wall of the filter cavity 111. At the same time, the water flow space also serves as the impurity storage space of the second filter screen 14, so that more impurities can be filtered and it is less likely to be clogged.

[0056] In this embodiment, the outer diameter of the bottom end of the first filter screen 311 is designed to match the inner diameter of the filter cavity 111, that is, the bottom end of the first filter screen 311 is in contact with the inner wall of the filter cavity 111. In this way, when the filter element 30 is taken out from the top opening 1111, the bottom end of the first filter screen 311 can bring out the dirt intercepted on the side of the second filter screen 14 facing away from the water stop pad 21, thereby achieving the purpose of bringing out the dirt intercepted on the side of the second filter screen 14 facing away from the water stop pad 21 when the filter element 30 is taken out from the top opening 1111, and the structure is simple and reliable.

[0057] In this embodiment, the water inlet valve also includes an end cap 40, which is threadedly connected to the top opening 1111 and rotatably connected to the filter element 30. When the end cap 40 and the top opening 1111 are screwed together, the filter element 30 is limited in the filter chamber 111; when the end cap 40 and the top opening 1111 are screwed together, the filter element 30 can be pulled out of the filter chamber 111 through the end cap 40. By setting the end cap 40 to limit and pull the filter element 30, disassembly and assembly are more convenient. In addition, the end cap 40 is fixedly connected to the valve body 10 by a threaded connection, and the connection is more firm, which can effectively avoid the problem that the filter element 30 and the end cap 40 are pushed out of the filter chamber 111 by the water pressure of the water inlet channel 11.

[0058] In this embodiment, the filter cavity 111 is cylindrical, and the side wall of the second filter screen 14 located on one side of the filter cavity 111 is arranged along the curvature of the inner wall of the filter cavity 111, so that the second filter screen 14 and the valve body 10 are conveniently integrated. In some embodiments, the side of the second filter screen 14 away from the filter cavity 111 can be extended toward the side of the water stop surface 131 along the thickness direction, that is, the wall thickness of the second filter screen 14 can be designed to be larger, so that the rectification and flow stabilization effects of the second filter screen 14 can be better.

[0059] In this embodiment, the water stop assembly 20 further includes a gland 22 and a lifting rod 23, and the gland 22 is fixedly connected to the side of the valve body 10. The gland 22 and the side of the water stop pad 21 facing away from the water stop surface 131 form a back pressure cavity 24, and the gland 22 is provided with a pressure relief hole 221 connected to the back pressure cavity 24. The lifting rod 23 is rotatably arranged on the side of the valve body 10, and one end of the lifting rod 23 cooperates with the opening and closing of the pressure relief hole 221, and the other end is connected to a buoyancy assembly 50, and the water stop pad 21 moves in the lateral direction. The structure of the water-stop component 20 can adopt the existing known structure, and its working principle of water inlet and water stopping will not be described in detail here. It is roughly that when the buoyancy component 50 drops with the water level in the toilet water tank, it drives the lifting rod 23 to open the pressure relief hole 221. At this time, the water-stop pad 21 can move away from the water-stop surface 131 under the action of the water pressure in the water inlet channel 11 to open the valve port 13; when the buoyancy component 50 floats with the water level in the toilet water tank, it drives the lifting rod 23 to close the pressure relief hole 221. At this time, the water-stop pad 21 can fit the water-stop surface 131 under the action of the back pressure of the back pressure chamber 24 to close the valve port 13.

[0060] The water inlet valve of the present invention has a second filter screen integrally formed at a position where the valve port is located on one side of the water inlet channel. The second filter screen is located between the filter element and the water stop assembly in the direction of water flow, thereby forming a two-stage filtration that can further effectively intercept impurities. In particular, it can effectively avoid the problem of the impurities intercepted by the filter element being brought to the water stop assembly during the process of the filter element being pulled out of the filter cavity. A barrier is formed at the front end of the water stop assembly to prevent the water stop assembly from being easily clogged or attached by impurities, thereby achieving reliable water stopping.

[0061] The water inlet valve of the present invention has an axis L1 of the filter cavity arranged in the longitudinal direction, and an axis L2 of the valve port arranged in the radial direction of the filter cavity. The water flow of the water inlet valve with such an internal layout turns 90 degrees at the valve port. Therefore, a second filter screen is integrally formed at a position where the valve port is located on one side of the water inlet channel (i.e., at the 90 degree turning position): on the one hand, the second filter screen is similar to a hollow water baffle plate and can prevent part of the water flow from flowing back and colliding at the turning position; on the other hand, the second filter screen can disperse a large stream of water at the turning position to form multiple small streams of water, the flow directions of each small stream of water tend to be consistent and the energy of a single stream is relatively small, thereby achieving a stabilizing effect and reducing energy loss. The noise generated by the collision of a single small stream of water with relatively small energy with the pipe wall is also relatively small, thereby achieving the effect of reducing the overall noise of the water inlet valve.

[0062] The second filter screen of the present invention is integrally formed in the valve body, and has a simple structure. There is no need to assemble the second filter screen separately, and the overall assembly of the water inlet valve is convenient.

[0063] In summary, the technical solution of the present invention is to form a second filter screen integrally at the position where the valve port is located on one side of the water inlet channel, which can not only form multi-stage filtration with the filter element at the front end to further effectively intercept impurities, but also effectively avoid the problem that the impurities intercepted by the filter element are brought to the water stop component during the process of pulling out the filter cavity, resulting in the inability to stop water. In addition, it also has the effect of reducing the water outlet noise of the water inlet valve. The present invention can make the water stop function of the water inlet valve more reliable and less noisy by simply setting a second filter screen at this specific position where the valve port is located on one side of the water inlet channel, and the conception is very ingenious.

[0064] The present invention is described above by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the specific implementation of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned method. As long as various non-substantial improvements are made using the method concept and technical solution of the present invention, or the concept and technical solution of the present invention are directly applied to other occasions without improvement, they are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A water inlet valve for a toilet tank, characterized in that: include: A valve body, wherein a water inlet channel, a water outlet channel and a valve port are provided therein, wherein the valve port is located between the water inlet channel and the water outlet channel, wherein the valve port is located at one side of the water inlet channel and is integrally formed with a second filter screen, and wherein the valve port is located at one side of the water outlet channel to form a water stop surface; A water stop assembly, comprising a water stop pad movably arranged in the valve body, the water stop pad cooperates with the water stop surface to open or close the valve port; The filter element, the water inlet channel is located at the upper part of the valve body to form a filter cavity for installing the filter element, the filter cavity penetrates the valve body upward to form a top opening at the top of the valve body, the filter element is detachably arranged in the filter cavity through the top opening, the valve port is arranged on the side wall of the filter cavity, the axis of the filter cavity is arranged in the longitudinal direction, the axis of the valve port is arranged in the radial direction of the filter cavity, the filter element is sequentially provided with a filter section, a connecting section and a sealing section along the direction of insertion into the filter cavity, the filter section is provided with a first filter screen, the sealing section seals the filter cavity, the outer diameter of the connecting section is smaller than the inner diameter of the filter cavity, when the filter element is inserted into the filter cavity in place, the position of the connecting section corresponds to the second filter screen, and the sealing section and the filter section are respectively located at the upper and lower sides of the second filter screen; The filter cavity forms a three-way structure having the top opening, the bottom opening and the side opening, the top opening and the bottom opening of the filter cavity are arranged opposite to each other, and the valve port forms the side opening of the filter cavity; When the filter element is taken out from the top opening, the dirt intercepted on the side of the second filter screen facing away from the water-stopping pad can be taken out.

2. The water inlet valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first filter screen is disposed upstream of the second filter screen at intervals.

3. The water inlet valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first filter screen is conical in shape, and its outer diameter gradually increases along the direction of insertion into the filter cavity. The outer diameter of the bottom end of the first filter screen matches the inner diameter of the filter cavity.

4. The water inlet valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes an end cap, which is threadedly connected to the top opening and rotatably connected to the filter element. When the end cap and the top opening are threadedly tightened, the filter element is limited in the filter cavity; when the end cap and the top opening are threadedly loosened, the filter element can be pulled out of the filter cavity.

5. The water inlet valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: The filter cavity is cylindrical, and the side wall of the second filter screen located on one side of the filter cavity is arranged along the curvature of the inner wall of the filter cavity; The side wall of the second filter screen away from the filter cavity extends toward the water stop surface along the thickness direction.

6. The water inlet valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: The water-stop assembly also includes a pressure cover and a lifting rod. The pressure cover is fixedly connected to the side of the valve body. The pressure cover and the side of the water-stop pad facing away from the water-stop surface form a back-pressure cavity. The pressure cover is provided with a pressure relief hole connected to the back-pressure cavity. The lifting rod is rotatably arranged on the side of the valve body, and one end of the lifting rod cooperates with the opening and closing of the pressure relief hole, and the other end is connected to a buoyancy assembly. The water-stop pad moves laterally.

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