Flush Valve Hold-Down Unit for Compact Cistern Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Compact cistern designs make flush valves inaccessible during installation and maintenance, hindering easy installation and removal, and potentially stressing the seal when parts are replaced.
Innovation Solution
A flush valve arrangement with a housing, a valve body, a holder, and a hold-down unit featuring two separate hold-down devices that can be connected and disconnected at a accessible point, allowing for easy installation, removal, and maintenance without stressing the seal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the cistern is designed to be compact, then the space utilization is improved, but the flush valve becomes inaccessible during installation and maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The hold-down unit is divided into two separate hold-down devices (first and second), each independently mounted on the flush valve holder. This segmentation allows the installer to work with smaller, more manageable components that can be accessed and manipulated even in the limited space of a compact cistern, while still providing effective restraint forces.
2Ease of repair
If the flush valve is removed for maintenance, then the seal on the flush valve bracket is stressed, but keeping it installed prevents proper servicing
Solution Approach 1:
The hold-down function is segmented into two separate devices that can be independently manipulated. This allows the flush valve to remain installed and seated on the bracket during maintenance, preserving seal integrity, while the hold-down devices can be accessed and adjusted through the compact cistern space to enable proper servicing.
Solution Approach 2:
The two separate hold-down devices act as intermediaries between the flush valve and the cistern walls. They provide the necessary restraining force to keep the flush valve in position during maintenance operations, eliminating the need to remove the valve for servicing while preventing seal stress that would occur with improper removal and reinstallation.
3Device complexity
If a single hold-down device is used, then the structure is simpler, but it cannot provide adequate restraint forces in compact spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The hold-down unit is segmented into two separate hold-down devices mounted at different locations on the flush valve holder. This segmentation distributes the restraint forces across multiple attachment points, providing adequate total restraining force in compact spaces where a single device would be insufficient, while keeping each individual device relatively simple in structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The two separate hold-down devices work together in combination to provide the total restraining force needed. Each device contributes to the overall restraint system, and their combined effect adequately restrains the flush valve in compact cistern spaces, achieving the required force without excessive complexity in any single component.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates easy installation and removal of flush valves in compact cisterns, reduces stress on the seal during maintenance, and ensures better accessibility and force application to prevent tilting and compactness.
Implementation Method 1
The hold-down unit holds the flushing valve (2) in the interior of the cistern (29), in particular against a buoyant force
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a flush valve assembly (1) for controlling the removal of water from a cistern (29), comprising a flush valve (2) comprising a housing (3) with a lower end (4) and an upper end (5) and a valve element (6) which is mounted in the housing (2) in a movable manner along a central axis (M), a flush valve mounting (7) with a receiving section (8) for receiving the lower end (4) of the flush valve (2) and with a mounting section (9) for connecting the flush valve mounting (7) to a drain opening (31) of a cistern (29), and a hold-down unit (10). Additionally, the hold-down unit (10) comprises a first hold-down mounting (12) with a working section (11) which acts on the flush valve (2) and a second hold-down mounting (14) with a working section (13) which acts on the flush valve mounting (7).