Float valve

Claim 1

A FLOAT VALVE STRUCTURE COMPRISING, WITH A FIXED VALVE BODY HAVING AN INLET ADAPTED FOR CONNECTION TO A SOURCE OF LIQUID UNDER PRESSURE, A DISCHARGE PASSAGE WHICH DELIVERS INTO A RECEPTACLE ON WHICH THE BODY IS MOUNTED, A VALVE SEAT IN THE BODY BETWEEN THE INLET AND DISCHARGE PASSAGE, AND A VALVE ELEMENT SLIDABLE IN THE BODY TO COOPERATE WITH THE SEAT IN VALVE OPENING AND CLOSING RELATION; MEANS MOUNTING THE BODY ON THE RECEPTACLE SO THAT THE VALVE ELEMENT PROJECTS REARWARDLY IN THE RECEPTACLE AND IS DISPOSED IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE, A BRACKET RIGID WITH AND PROJECTING REARWARDLY FROM THE BODY, A TOGGLE LINK UNIT COMPRISING A PAIR OF LINKS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE REAR END OF THE VALVE ELEMENT AND THE BRACKET, SAID LINKS BEING PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER AT THEIR ADJACENT ENDS AND AT THEIR OPPOSITE ENDS TO SAID ELEMENT AND THE BRACKET, SAID TOGGLE LINK UNIT WHEN STRAIGHTENED LYING IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE AND ADVANCING THE VALVE ELEMENT TO CLOSED POSITION AND WHEN BUCKLED RETRACTING THE VALVE ELEMENT TO OPEN POSITION, A FLOAT TO ENGAGE THE LIQUID IN THE RECEPTACLE, AND MEANS CONNECTING THE FLOAT AND TOGGLE LINK UNIT TO STRAIGHTEN SUCH TOGGLE LINK UNIT UPON THE FLOAT REACHING A PREDETERMINED HIGH POSITION, AND TO BUCKLE SAID TOGGLE LINK UNIT UPON THE FLOAT REACHING A PREDETERMINED LOW POSITION; THE FLOAT BEING ELONGATED IN AN UPSTANDING DIRECTION AND FORMED WITH STRAIGHT PARALLEL SIDES AND A FLAT BOTTOM, THE SIDES LYING IN A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL PLANE WHEN THE VALVE IS CLOSED AND THE LIQUID IS AT A CORRESPONDING PREDETERMINED HIGH LEVEL, AND THE RATIO OF THE BUOYANCY FORCE OF THE FLOAT TO THE LENGTH OF THE THEN SUBMERGED PORTION OF THE FLOAT IS THEN SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO 1.0.