Trip lever assembly
AssigneeKohler Co.
InventorsEric Dutton, Luke Zimbric
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A trip lever assembly for initiating a flush cycle of a toilet is constructed to have a more solid and smooth feel with less play. The assembly includes a handle accessible with a stem extending into an interior of the toilet. An inner bushing fits onto the stem and inside of a fixed outer bushing. A trip arm connect the handle to a pull member operatively attached to the flush valve. The handle has an anti-rotation feature that engages an associated feature of the inner bushing so that the inner bushing mechanically couples and rotates with the handle. A high viscosity dampening grease is disposed between the inner bushing and the outer bushing to limit lateral play, and smooth the rotation of the handle.
Claims16
A trip lever assembly for initiating a flush cycle of a toilet, the assembly comprising:
- a handle accessible from an exterior of the toilet and having a stem extending into an interior of the toilet along a pivot axis;
- a trip arm linked to the stem for rotation by the handle about the pivot axis;
- an inner bushing mounted about the stem, the inner bushing having an interior surface with a plurality of axially extending ribs spaced about the pivot axis that deform when the stem is received by the inner bushing;
- and
- an outer bushing mounted about the inner bushing in a fixed position to allow for relative rotation between the inner and outer bushings;
- wherein the inner bushing is mechanically linked to the handle by an anti-rotation feature to rotate with the handle and prevent relative rotation between the inner bushing and the handle.
A trip lever assembly for initiating a flush cycle of a toilet, the assembly comprising:
- a handle accessible from an exterior of the toilet and having a stem extending into an interior of the toilet along a pivot axis, the handle having a first anti-rotation feature;
- a trip arm linked to the stem for rotation by the handle about the pivot axis;
- an inner bushing mounted about the stem having a second anti-rotation feature matable with the first anti-rotation feature to cause the inner bushing to rotate with the handle and prevent relative rotation of the handle and inner bushing, the inner bushing having an interior surface with a plurality of axially extending ribs spaced about the pivot axis that deform when the stem is received by the inner bushing;
- and
- an outer bushing mounted about the inner bushing in a fixed position to allow for relative rotation between the inner and outer bushings;
- and
- a dampening material disposed between the inner bushing and the outer bushing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.