CN111542666B

CN111542666B - Height-adjustable riser-cage unit

Info

Publication number: CN111542666B
Application number: CN201880083943.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: C·吉尔德; A·海因茨勒; O·塞德尔
Original assignee: Lixil International Pte Ltd
Current assignee: Lixil International Pte Ltd
Priority date: 2017-12-28
Filing date: 2018-12-28
Publication date: 2021-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 2038-12-28
Also published as: US20210062486A1; DE102017131401A1; CN111542666A; EP3732334B1; EP3732334A1; WO2019130260A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a height-adjustable riser-cage unit (20), comprising: the telescopic cage (21) comprises an inner cage (1) and an outer cage (2); and a telescopic riser (22) comprising an inner riser (3) and an outer riser (4) and being accommodated in the cage (21), wherein the elements, i.e. the inner cage (1), the outer cage (2), the inner riser (3) and the outer riser (4), can be connected to each other by means of a common telescopic bracket (5), wherein the bracket (5) is adjustable between a first stop position, in which the inner cage (1) is latched to the outer cage (2) and the inner riser (3) is latched to the outer riser (4), and a second stop position, in which the riser (22) is longitudinally displaceable within the cage (21), in which the upper cage portion is latched to the upper riser portion and the lower cage portion is latched to the lower riser portion.

Description

Height-adjustable riser-cage unit

Technical Field

The invention relates to a riser-cage unit with adjustable height, comprising a telescopic cage consisting of an inner cage and an outer cage, and a telescopic riser consisting of an inner riser and an outer riser and accommodated in the cage.

Background

A device of this type is already known from EP 1795660 a 2. This document describes a flush valve and related structure for its actuation, which further comprises a stand pipe and a stand pipe-cage surrounding the stand pipe. In order to adjust the height of the riser and the cage, the riser and the cage can be telescopically adjusted and fixed in a desired position relative to each other by means of a blocking device. However, in this case, the two components need to be adjusted separately, so care must be taken to adjust the two components in the correct ratio relative to each other. EP 2146012 Bl also operates according to this principle.

In the prior art, the height adjustment is usually carried out outside the water tank, since the closure is difficult to access in the installed state. It is therefore more difficult to find the correct adjustment, as each fit requires removal and reinstallation.

Another solution is known from DE 60212070T 2, which provides a simple cage, in the case of which the frame extends upwards and can be locked in place by a rack. However, in order to properly adapt the riser in this case, it is necessary to shut off the riser, which already comprises a predetermined breaking point for this purpose.

A similar solution regarding height adjustment is found in document EP 1672130 Bl, which is also based on cutting off the riser element, for the case where the riser element is considered too long.

EP 2692956 Bl does not require a riser, but likewise requires separate adjustment of the overflow and the cage in the following manner: the swivel bolt disengages, moves vertically, and swivels back into engagement.

Usually, the cage comprising the basin-like element is screwed into the base of the tank and is fixed there at least by screwing together with the tank. In the prior art, this has largely established the position of the entire structure, wherein the structure is often at least largely rotationally symmetrical, with the degrees of freedom required with regard to screwing into the final position.

However, when fitting, initially removing the entire structure from the water tank, changing the structure and then reinstalling it, or measuring it in advance appropriately, is a complicated and cumbersome process, and therefore the problem addressed by the present invention is to provide a height-adjustable riser-cage unit which is easy to adjust in height even in the installed state and in which a separate fitting of the cage relative to the riser can be dispensed with.

Disclosure of Invention

This problem is solved by a height adjustable riser-cage unit as described below. Advantageous embodiments and improvements can be found in the subsequent dependent claims.

It is proposed a height-adjustable riser-cage unit comprising:

-a telescopic cage comprising an inner cage and an outer cage, an

-a telescopic riser comprising an inner riser and an outer riser and being accommodated in the cage,

wherein the elements inner cage, outer cage, inner riser and outer riser can be connected to each other by a common telescopic bracket, wherein the bracket is adjustable between a first stop position in which the inner cage is latched to the outer cage and the inner riser is latched to the outer riser, wherein the riser is longitudinally displaceable within the cage, and a second stop position in which the upper cage portion is latched to the upper riser portion and the lower cage portion is latched to the lower riser portion.

According to the invention, a height-adjustable riser-cage unit is provided, which comprises a telescopic cage comprising two concentric parts, which are slidably displaceable relative to each other. In this case, the inner and outer cages can be displaced relative to each other so that the base of one part is fixed on the bottom of the tank, while the upper edge of the other part forms the upper end of the structure. The risers are located inside the cage. The standpipe may simultaneously serve as an overflow if desired, and may be connected to the plunger of the flushing device, thereby triggering the flushing process. In this case, since higher risers are also required in the higher cages, the risers are also height-adjustable, so that the higher design of the tank is optimally utilized.

In order to be able to adapt the risers and the cages simultaneously and to the same extent in the case of height adjustment, the riser-cage unit comprises a common telescopic bracket which, depending on the stop position, can connect the individual elements of the inner cage, the outer cage, the inner riser and the outer riser to one another in a suitable manner by means of a stop device.

For this purpose two operating modes can be defined, namely a first stop position representing normal operation and a second stop position in which the height of the riser-cage unit can be adapted. In the first stop position, the inner cage is connected to the outer cage and thus forms a rigid outer structure. At the same time, the inner riser is connected to the outer riser, thus forming a riser of a desired length, and this riser is mounted in a highly displaceable manner in the cage for opening and closing the flush valve.

However, in the second stop position, the connection between the inner cage and the outer cage (according to the first stop position) and the connection between the inner and outer risers are separate; at the same time, however, a new connection is established by the latching, i.e., by the latching of the lower cage portion with the lower riser portion and the latching of the upper cage portion with the upper riser portion. In this second stop position, the upper parts are now mounted so as to be longitudinally displaceable relative to the lower part, but they are fixed relative to each other. Thus, in the installed state of the riser-cage unit, the upper part can now be pulled together upwards, while the lower part can be left together on the base of the water tank. In this case, the end stop preferably prevents the upper part from being completely detached from the lower part. In this case, if the desired height of the riser-cage unit has been achieved by pulling on the interconnected upper parts, the second stop position is again left and switched back to the first stop position by: the detent connection between the upper part and the lower part is released and can be re-established between the riser and the cage.

Thus, the adaptation of the height of the riser-cage unit can be effected reversibly at any time, in particular even in the installed state. It is only necessary to switch the carriage to the second stop position in order to perform the adaptation; switching back to the first stop position may switch the riser-cage unit into an operating state.

In order to actuate the bracket and perform the switching of the stop positions, the bracket may comprise a telescopic rotation shaft which operates a plurality of stop slides which can establish and release different connections, i.e. connections between the upper and lower parts of the riser-cage unit. The stop slides are distributed along the axis of rotation such that one stop slide can be provided in each case in one plane. The stop slider is movable along the rotation axis. For operating the stop slides, the rotation shaft comprises, at the level of each stop slide, actuating rods which engage into the first slotted link of the stop slide, thereby moving the stop slide. The actuating lever and the first slotted link are designed such that the latch described above is adjustable in a particular associated detent position to the axis of rotation.

In particular, this can be achieved by fixing the first stop slide on the outer riser and fixing the outer riser to the inner riser in the first stop position. If the rotary shaft is rotated into the second stop position, the first stop slide is displaced back so far that it remains connected to the outer riser, but releases the inner riser and releases the fastening of the two riser parts. In other words, the first slide may ensure a permanent fixation of the outer riser, but fix or release the relative position of the inner riser depending on the rotation of the rotation shaft. The first slide can establish an interconnection between the inner and outer risers (first stop position) or alternatively be connected only to the outer riser (second stop position).

Furthermore, a second stop slide may be fixed on the inner cage and may connect the inner cage to the outer cage during adjustment of the rotation axis in the first stop position. However, during switching to the second stop position, the second stop slide is displaced to the following extent: the outer cage is released from the inner cage, but the second stop slide is in turn connected with the lower riser part. In other words, the second slide may establish an interconnection between the inner cage and the outer cage (first stop position) or alternatively between the inner cage and the lower riser part (second stop position).

Finally, the third stop slide can be fixed on the outer cage and, in the first stop position, can remain completely disengaged from the other elements. When the rotation shaft is rotated into the second stop position, the third stop slide engages into the counter-stop element of the upper riser part and connects the upper riser part to the outer cage. In other words, the third slide is connected only to the outer cage (first stop position) or, alternatively, establishes an interconnection between the inner cage and the lower riser part (second stop position).

In particular, the outer cage is an upper cage portion and the inner cage is a lower cage portion. In contrast, in a particular embodiment, the riser inner portion is an upper portion of the (inner) riser, and the riser outer portion is a lower portion of the outer (vertical) pipe. This will also be described in this way below, but the invention also explicitly covers all other combinations of inner or outer part exchange from top to bottom.

Advantageously, in addition to the two above-mentioned stop positions, there can also be a third stop position in which the above-mentioned first, second and third stop slides are no longer moved. This third stop position serves to operate the fourth stop slide and place it in the release position; in the first and second stop positions, the fourth stop slide is always in the closed position. The fourth stop slide serves to establish a connection between the base of the lower cage part, i.e. the base of the inner cage, and the basin-like element. The basin is intended to be screwed together with the base of the tank, so that the basin can be initially fastened separately. If the riser-cage unit is now placed onto the basin-like element which is already screwed together with the base of the water tank and the rotation shaft is rotated into the third stop position, the basin-like element can be connected to the base of the first cage part and can be fixed by switching from the third stop position into the first stop position. Preferably, the structure is alternatively designed such that pressing the lower cage part onto the tub causes the connection to snap into place and the third stop position has to be adjusted only in order to open it. This also allows fastening irrespective of the specific rotational position, since the stop arrangement of the basin-shaped element is designed to be rotationally symmetrical.

In particular, as in the case of the connection of the first stop element, this connection can be a clamping connection, in which a preloaded stop clip is assigned to the stop slide. These retaining clips surround the outer element and engage into a continuous retaining groove, i.e. a retaining opening, respectively. In the region of the end of the retaining clip, sliding elements can be provided which can slide on the second slotted link provided on the outer element, on both sides of the retaining groove. In the first stop position, the stop clips additionally engage into underlying, coinciding stop grooves of the inner element, while in the first or third position, the stop clips are moved along the second slotted link to a position in which they are spread apart so far that they disengage from the stop grooves of the inner element, thus releasing the connection of the particular inner element to the particular outer element.

Alternatively, a stop slide can also be provided which comprises hook-like elements which engage into corresponding counter-stop means in the form of abutments. Also as a result, a connection can be established which can be released again in the opposite direction.

Preferably, both types of stop slides can be implemented jointly in the present invention. This is described in more detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view from an oblique front of a riser-cage unit as part of a complete flushing device;

fig. 2 shows a perspective partial section from above obliquely from the riser-cage unit according to fig. 1;

fig. 3 shows a perspective view from obliquely above of the bracket of the riser-cage unit according to fig. 2;

fig. 4 shows a perspective view from obliquely below of the detail shown in fig. 2 in a third stop position;

fig. 5 shows a perspective view from obliquely below of the detail according to fig. 4 in a first stop position; and

fig. 6 shows a flushing device of a toilet bowl comprising a riser-cage unit.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a flushing device 24 comprising a riser-cage unit 20 according to the invention. The inner and

outer risers

3, 4 are accommodated in the inner and

outer cages

1, 2 and can be lifted in the inner and

outer cages

1, 2 by means of a triggering mechanism, in order to trigger a flushing process. A basin-like element 16, which is sealably connected to the water tank, is located on the base 15 of the inner cage 1. When the inner/

outer stand pipes

3, 4 are lifted, water contained in the water tank can flow into the basin element 16 and can flow through the central opening (otherwise closed by the vertical pipes 3, 4) into the bowl of the toilet connected at the bottom.

Since a very wide variety of water tanks are commercially available, the vertical tube-cage unit can be height-adjusted in such a way that the vertical tube is formed by an inner vertical tube 3 and an outer vertical tube 4, and the cage is formed by an inner cage 1 and an outer cage 2. Fig. 1 shows the following positions: in this position the above-mentioned

elements

1, 2, 3, 4 have reached the maximum possible extension, i.e. they have the least overlap.

Furthermore, fig. 1 shows that the inner riser 3 at the top comprises a plurality of circumferential detent grooves on top of each other, the inner cage 1 comprises two detent grooves at the front and the rear, and the outer cage 2 comprises two rows of detent grooves at the front and the rear.

Fig. 2 first shows a single latching groove of the outer stand pipe 4. The position of the riser parts 3, 4 (telescopic risers 22) relative to the cage parts 1, 2 (telescopic cage 21) can be clearly seen in partial section, wherein in this case a part of the inner cage 1 and a part of the outer cage 2 are removed. Fig. 2 now shows the

riser parts

3, 4 and the

cage parts

1, 2 pushed together completely. Between the

riser parts

3, 4 and the cage parts 1, 2 a bracket 5 is inserted, which can connect the

elements

1, 2, 3, 4 to each other in different ways. For this purpose, the carriage 5 comprises different stop slides 11, 12, 13, 14 performing different functions. In particular, each

individual stop slide

12 and 13 comprises a hook-like element 10 which engages with a seat 19 of the

riser part

3, 4. To better describe the function performed by the stop slides, the bracket 5 has been exposed in fig. 3. The support essentially comprises a telescopic rotary shaft 6 to which a total of four stop slides 11, 12, 13, 14 are assigned. The rotation shaft 6 can be rotated by means of a handle on the upper end of the rotation shaft 6, by means of which the rotation shaft 6 is rotated between a first stop position, which represents a normal operating state, a second stop position, which represents a height-adjustable state by means of the stop slides 11, 12 and 13, and a third stop position, in which the riser-cage unit is released from the basin-shaped element 16 by means of the stop slide 14.

The first stop position is shown in fig. 3. The first stopping slide 11 is initially used to connect the inner riser 3 to the outer riser 4. For this purpose, the outer riser 4 comprises a stop groove in which the clamping arms of the stop clip 9 of the first stop slide 11 are always engaged. In the first stop position shown here, the clamping arms of the stop clip 9 of the first stop slide 11 even engage into the stop grooves of the inner riser 3, which coincide with the stop grooves of the outer riser 4 and thereby prevent the inner riser 3 from moving relative to the outer riser 4.

During switching to the second stop position, the rotation shaft 6 will rotate and the actuating lever 7 of the first stop slide 11 will rotate in the first slotted link 8 of the first stop slide 11 to such an extent that the first stop slide 11 is moved away from the outer riser by the actuating lever 7, i.e. forward to the right in the figure. In this case, the sliding element mounted on the clip arm end of the stop clip 9 will slide on the second slotted link extending along the stop slot of the outer riser and thereby move away from the outer riser 4, whereby the clip arm disengages from the stop slot of the inner riser 3 and will release the inner riser.

At the same time, during this switching process, the second stop slide 12 and the third stop slide 13 move in the same manner in opposite directions, and the particular hook element 10 assigned to these stop slides 12, 13 is thus engaged into the abutment 19. In this case, the hook-like element 10 of the second stop element 12 will hook into the seat 19 of the outer riser 4, while the hook-like element 10 of the third stop element 13 will hook into the seat of the inner riser 3. At the same time, the abutment of the second stop element 12 releases the connection between the inner cage 1 and the outer cage 2, so that the

upper parts

2, 3 and the

lower parts

1, 4 are now coupled individually and a suitable height adjustment can be performed. In this case, the telescopic rotary shaft 6 can likewise be extended, wherein only the third stop slide 13 moves upwards with the end of the rotary shaft 6.

The lower end of the bracket 5 is concerned with fixing the basin-like element 16 to the base 15 of the inner cage 1. In the first stop position shown, the sliding elements on the ends of the clamping arms of the stop clips 9 on the fourth stop slide 14 are in a state of disengagement to the left, in which the basin-shaped element 16 and the base 15 are engaged with each other. By rotating the rotation shaft 6 in the opposite direction to the previous direction to the second stop position, the rotation shaft 6 is placed in a third stop position in which the fourth stop slide is retracted and releases the basin-shaped element 16 from the base 15. The base 15 can be snapped into the basin-shaped element 16 in any stop position.

This release position is shown in fig. 4, where again the base 15 and the basin element 16 are shown. The base 15 comprises a stop groove 18 into which the stop clip 9 engages. The sliding element on the end slides on the second slotted link 17 and is located at the highest point on the second slotted link above the mantle portion of the base 15. The stop clip 9 therefore engages into the stop groove 18 of the base 15, but not into the underlying, coinciding stop groove of the basin-like element 16.

This is again the case, as shown in fig. 5, only when the rotary shaft 6 has been rotated back into the first or second stop position and, consequently, the fourth stop slide 14 comprising the stop clip 9 is further disengaged. Thus, the sliding element on the end is displaced beyond the second slotted link 17 to a lower position than the second slotted link 17, and therefore the stop clip 9 now engages not only in the stop groove 18 of the base 15, but also in the corresponding and coinciding circumferential groove of the base element 16, which is located below. A connection with the basin-like element 15 is thus established.

Thus, a riser-cage unit is described above, in the case of which the different elements of the riser and the cage can be connected to each other by using brackets not only in the operating state but also in another state in which the riser parts and the cage parts are separated from each other and instead the upper elements and the lower elements are connected to each other. In this state, the riser-cage unit can be brought to the desired extension by pulling or pushing together and, at this extension, returned to the operating state.

Fig. 6 shows a flushing device 24, the flushing device 24 comprising a riser-cage unit 20 according to the invention. A basin-shaped element 16 is provided, which basin-shaped element 16 can be sealingly connected to the water tank 25. When the inner/outer stand pipe is lifted, water contained in the water tank 25 can flow into the basin element 16 and can flow through the central opening (which is otherwise closed) into the bowl 23 of the toilet bowl connected at the bottom. The riser-cage unit 20 is height-adjustable, since highly diverse water tanks 25 are commercially available.

When mounting the flushing device in a toilet cistern, it is important to adjust the flushing device, in particular the stand pipe and the cage around the stand pipe, to the cistern height, because the shape and size of the cistern are not uniform. To this end, known devices are provided for cutting off the parts to reduce the size or to make use of gripping means; in any case, however, the known devices are arranged to produce (adjust) the risers and cages separately. This is a complex and tedious process and therefore the present invention will provide a simpler solution which at the same time consistently complies with the criteria regarding overflow height. This is achieved by using brackets which can connect the different elements of the risers and the cages to each other not only in the operating state but also in another state in which the riser parts and the cage parts are separated from each other, while instead the upper elements and the lower elements are connected to each other. In this state, the riser-cage unit can be brought to the desired extension by pulling or pushing together and, at this extension, returned to the operating state. In which case the desired size ratio is directly obtained.

List of reference numerals:

1 inner cage

2 outer cage

3 inner vertical pipe

4 outer vertical pipe

5 bracket

6 rotating shaft

7 actuating lever

8 first slotted link

9 stop clamp

10 hook element

11 first stop slider

12 second stop slider

13 third stop slider

14 fourth stop slider

15 base part

16 basin-shaped element

17 second slotted link

18 stop groove

19 support

20 riser-cage unit

21 telescopic cage

22 telescopic vertical pipe

23 concave bowl of toilet

24 flushing device

25 water tank.

Claims

1. A height-adjustable riser-cage unit (20), comprising: the telescopic cage comprises a telescopic cage (21) which comprises an inner cage (1) and an outer cage (2); and a telescopic riser (22) comprising an inner riser (3) and an outer riser (4) and being accommodated in the telescopic cage (21), wherein the elements, namely, the inner cage (1), the outer cage (2), the inner stand pipe (3) and the outer stand pipe (4) can be connected with each other through a common telescopic bracket (5), wherein the telescopic bracket (5) is adjustable between a first stop position and a second stop position, in the first stop position, the inner cage (1) is locked with the outer cage (2) and the inner riser (3) is locked with the outer riser (4), wherein the telescopic riser (22) is longitudinally displaceable within the telescopic cage (21), in the second stop position, the upper cage portion is latched with the upper riser portion and the lower cage portion is latched with the lower riser portion.

2. Riser-cage unit (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that the telescopic bracket (5) comprises a telescopic rotating shaft (6) which operates a stop slide (11, 12, 13) provided for blocking the elements, wherein the telescopic rotating shaft (6) comprises an actuating rod (7) which engages into a first slotted link (8) assigned to the stop slide (11, 12, 13) in order to actuate the stop slide (11, 12, 13).

3. Riser-cage unit (20) according to claim 2, characterised in that a first stop slide (11) is fixed on the outer riser (4) and in that in the first stop position the outer riser (4) is fastened to the inner riser (3) and in that in the second stop position this fastening is released.

4. Riser-cage unit (20) according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that a second stop slide (12) is fixed on the inner cage (1) and in a first stop position secures the inner cage to the outer cage (2) and in the second stop position secures the inner cage (1) to the lower riser part while releasing the connection with the outer cage (2).

5. Riser-cage unit (20) according to claim 4, wherein the lower riser part is the outer riser (4).

6. Riser-cage unit (20) according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that a third stop slide (13) is fixed on the outer cage (2) and in the second stop position secures the outer cage to the upper riser part and in the first stop position releases this securement.

7. Riser-cage unit (20) according to claim 6, characterized in that the upper riser part is the inner riser (3).

8. Riser-cage unit (20) according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that the telescopic carriage (5) provides a third stop position which actuates the fourth stop slide (14) without affecting the other stop slides (11, 12, 13), thereby releasing the connection of the basin-like element (16) to the base (15) of the lower cage part.

9. Riser-cage unit (20) according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that at least the separate stop slide (11, 14) is a preloaded stop clip (9) which engages around an outer element while engaging into a second slotted link (17) and which in the open position engages into a stop groove (18) of the outer element and which in the course of the transition into the closed position advances into a stop groove of an inner element which coincides with a stop groove (18) of the outer element.

10. Riser-cage unit (20) according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that at least a separate stop slide (12, 13) comprises hook-like elements (10) which engage into seats (19) provided for it for elements to be fastened.

11. Riser-cage unit (20) according to claim 8, characterized in that the third stop position is only reachable from the first stop position.