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Float Valve
A ballcock (also balltap or float valve) is a mechanism or machine for filling water tanks, such as those found in flush toilets, while avoiding overflow and (in the event of low water pressure) backflow. The modern ballcock was invented by José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez, a Mexican priest and scientist, who described the device in 1790 in the ''Gaceta de Literatura Méxicana''. The ballcock device was patented in 1797 for use in steam engines by Edmund Cartwright. It consists of a valve connected to a hollow, sealed float by means of a lever mounted near the top of the tank. The float is often ball-shaped, hence the name ''ballcock''. The valve is connected to the incoming water supply, and is opened and closed by the lever which has the float mounted on the end. When the water level rises, the float rises with it; once it rises to a pre-set level, the mechanism forces the lever to close the valve and shut off the water flow. This is an example of negative feedback ...
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Mechanism (engineering)
In engineering, a mechanism is a Machine, device that transforms input forces and movement into a desired set of output forces and movement. Mechanisms generally consist of moving components which may include Gears and gear trains; belt drive, Belts and chain drives; Cam (mechanism), cams and cam follower, followers; Linkage (mechanical), Linkages; Friction devices, such as brakes or clutches; Structural components such as a frame, fasteners, bearings, springs, or lubricants; Various machine elements, such as splines, pins, or keys. German scientist Franz Reuleaux defines ''machine'' as "a combination of resistant bodies so arranged that by their means the mechanical forces of nature can be compelled to do work accompanied by certain determinate motion". In this context, his use of ''machine'' is generally interpreted to mean ''mechanism''. The combination of force and movement defines Power (physics), power, and a mechanism manages power to achieve a desired set of forces and ...
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Proportional Control
Proportional control, in engineering and process control, is a type of linear feedback control system in which a correction is applied to the controlled variable, and the size of the correction is proportional to the difference between the desired value ( setpoint, SP) and the measured value ( process variable, PV). Two classic mechanical examples are the toilet bowl float proportioning valve and the fly-ball governor. The proportional control concept is more complex than an on–off control system such as a bi-metallic domestic thermostat, but simpler than a proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control system used in something like an automobile cruise control. On–off control will work where the overall system has a relatively long response time, but can result in instability if the system being controlled has a rapid response time. Proportional control overcomes this by modulating the output to the controlling device, such as a control valve at a level which avoid ...
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Adolf Schoepe
Adolf Schoepe (January 1, 1904, Berkenroth, Germany, - July 29, 2001, Fullerton, California) was a German-American inventor and businessman. Schoepe, a master metalworker with no formal education, emigrated to the United States in 1927. At the time he did not speak English, and had only about $25. As a young man he worked for Curtis Aviation in Saint Louis, Missouri then Spartan Aircraft Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He later worked at Goodyear Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, installing power systems in dirigibles for the United States Navy, and at Boeing in Seattle, Washington, building B-17 bombers. He was a foreman at the San Diego Naval Air Station metals shop, and during World War II taught welding to women who were entering the work force. In 1946 Schoepe and a friend, Karl Rhinehart, founded Gateway Manufacturing Co, bought out a small defunct lock company in South Gate, California, and began manufacturing the Kwikset, a line of doorlocks. Schoepe obtained patents on ...
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Gravity Toilet Valves Handle Released
In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force between objects and the Earth. This force is dominated by the combined gravitational interactions of particles but also includes effect of the Earth's rotation. Gravity gives weight to physical objects and is essential to understanding the mechanisms responsible for surface water waves and lunar tides. Gravity also has many important biological functions, helping to guide the growth of plants through the process of gravitropism and influencing the circulation of fluids in multicellular organisms. The gravitational attraction between primordial hydrogen and clumps of dark matter in the early universe caused the hydrogen gas to coalesce, eventually condensing and fusing to form stars. At larger scales this results in galaxies and clusters, ...
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Washer (hardware)
A washer is a thin plate (typically disk-shaped, but sometimes square) with a hole (typically in the middle) that is normally used to distribute the load of a threaded fastener, such as a Bolt (fastener), bolt or Nut (hardware), nut. Other uses are as a spacer, spring (Belleville washer, wave washer), wear pad, preload (engineering), preload indicating device, locking device, and to reduce vibration (rubber washer). Washers are usually metal or plastic. High-quality bolted joints require hardened steel washers to prevent the loss of pre-load due to brinelling after the torque is applied. Washers are also important for preventing galvanic corrosion, particularly by insulating steel screws from aluminium surfaces. They may also be used in rotating applications, as a bearing. A ''thrust washer'' is used when a rolling element bearing is not needed either from a cost-performance perspective or due to space restraints. Coatings can be used to reduce wear and friction, either by hardeni ...
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Negative Feedback
Negative feedback (or balancing feedback) occurs when some function (Mathematics), function of the output of a system, process, or mechanism is feedback, fed back in a manner that tends to reduce the fluctuations in the output, whether caused by changes in the input or by other disturbances. Whereas positive feedback tends to instability via exponential growth, oscillation or chaos theory, chaotic behavior, negative feedback generally promotes stability. Negative feedback tends to promote a settling to List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium, and reduces the effects of perturbations. Negative feedback loops in which just the right amount of correction is applied with optimum timing, can be very stable, accurate, and responsive. Negative feedback is widely used in Mechanical engineering, mechanical and electronic engineering, and it is observed in many other fields including biology, chemistry and economics. General negative feedback systems are studied in Control engin ...
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Water Supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. These systems are what supply drinking water to populations around the globe. Aspects of service quality include continuity of supply, water quality and water pressure. The institutional responsibility for water supply is arranged differently in different countries and regions (urban versus rural). It usually includes issues surrounding policy and regulation, service provision and standardization. The cost of supplying water consists, to a very large extent, of fixed costs (capital costs and personnel costs) and only to a small extent of variable costs that depend on the amount of water consumed (mainly energy and chemicals). Almost all service providers in the world charge tariffs to recover part of their costs. Water supply is a separat ...
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Lever
A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam (structure), beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or '':wikt:fulcrum, fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load, and effort, the lever is divided into Lever#Types of levers, three types. It is one of the six simple machines identified by Renaissance scientists. A lever amplifies an input force to provide a greater output force, which is said to provide leverage, which is mechanical advantage gained in the system, equal to the ratio of the output force to the input force. As such, the lever is a mechanical advantage device, trading off force against movement. Etymology The word "lever" entered English language, English around 1300 from . This sprang from the stem of the verb ''lever'', meaning "to raise". The verb, in turn, goes back to , itself from the adjective ''levis'', meaning "light" (as in "not heavy"). The word's primary origin is the ...
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