Fill valve

A valve assembly for controlling the level of liquid in a tank comprising a housing having an inlet, an outlet communicating with the tank, a flow path extending between the inlet and the outlet, a valve in said path movable to open and closed conditins for permitting and preventing flow along said path, a level sensing means movable in response to changes in liquid level in the tank, and a control system coupled between said sensing means and said valve for opening said valve when the liquid level is below a predetermined level and for closing said valve when the liquid level reaches said predetermined level, said control system including a lever supported relative to said housing at a pivot point, valve operating means associated with said lever for closing said valve when said lever is in a first position and for opening said valve when said lever is pivoted from said first position, means interconnecting said lever and said sensing means for pivoting said lever to said first position as liquid level reaches said predetermined level, reference means applying a biasing force to said lever tending to pivot said lever away from said first position, said biasing force being applied at a force application point on said lever spaced from said pivot point, such that the direction of said biasing force approaches perpendicular to a line between said pivot and said application points as the lever pivots from said first position, said biasing force being greatest when the direction of said force is proximal said perpendicular line and relatively decreases as said lever pivots toward said first position thereby providing a self-reinforcing closing action for said valve.

A valve assembly for controlling the level of liquid in a tank having a liquid supply opening in its wall, said valve assembly comprising in combination:

• a housing including a body and a cover;
• said body including a projection adapted to be received in said liquid supply opening for mounting said housing adjacent said tank bottom wall;
• a valve chamber and a diaphragm chamber defined between said body and cover;
• a liquid passage in said body extending in said projection to said valve chamber;
• a valve in said valve chamber for controlling flow within said passage;
• a diaphragm in said diaphragm chamber responsive to liquid level in said tank;
• valve control means including a lever pivotally supported on said cover and extending between said diaphragm and said valve for opening and closing said valve in response to liquid level changes;
• fastening means including at least one releasable fastener mounting said cover onto said body and manually releasable from above said housing;
• biasing means mounted exclusively to said cover for applying a reference biasing force to said lever, the direction of said biasing force being varied during the opening and closing of said valve such that said biasing force decreases as said valve approaches said closed position;
• and
• flow impedance means located in series with said passage to dissipate fluid pressure and minimize fluid velocity increases in said passage, said impedance means comprising a semicircular segment of said passage including a plurality of overlapping obstructions extending into said passage.

A valve assembly for controlling the liquid level in a tank comprising:

• a valve chamber and a diaphragm chamber defined within a valve housing;
• a liquid inlet passage extending into said valve chamber;
• a valve in said valve chamber for controlling flow within said passage;
• a diaphragm mounted within said diaphragm chamber responsive to liquid level in said tank;
• outlet means formed in said housing to discharge liquid generally horizontal from said valve in approximately the same plane as said diaphragm chamber;
• flow impedance means formed in series with said liquid passage for dissipating fluid pressure and reducing velocity increases along said liquid passage, said impedance means including a plurality of consecutive right angle turns in said liquid passage;
• a lever connected to said diaphragm and pivotable in one direction about a pivot point as the liquid level increases in said tank;
• a valve operator carried by said lever and communcating with said valve for closing said valve when liquid level attains a predetermined valve in said tank;
• and
• biasing means engaging said lever at a force application point and urging said lever to pivot in the opposite direction, the direction of said biasing force approaching perpendicular to line between said force application point and said pivot point as said lever pivots in said other direction, thereby providing a self-reinforcing closing action for said valve.

A valve assembly for controlling the level of liquid in a tank having a liquid supply opening in its wall, said valve assembly comprising in combination:

• a housing including a body and a cover;
• said body including a projection adapted to be received in said liquid opening for mounting said housing adjacent said tank bottom wall;
• a valve chamber and a diaphragm chamber defined between said body and cover;
• a liquid passage in said body extending in said projection to said valve chamber;
• a valve in said valve chamber for controlling flow within said passage;
• a diaphragm in said diaphragm chamber responsive to liquid level in said tank;
• valve control means including a lever pivotally supported on said cover and extending between said diaphragm and said valve for opening and closing said valve in response to liquid level changes;
• biasing means for applying a reference biasing force to said lever, said biasing means mounted exclusively to said cover by means insertable from above said cover to engage said cover;
• and
• fastening means manually releasable from above said housing for mounting said cover to said body and permitting access to said diaphragm and said valve without disturbing the mounting of said housing or said reference biasing force on said lever.