Systems and methods for controlling water flow

• US 10,633,842 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2016
• Issued: 04/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eva Smart Shower, LLC
• Original Assignee: Eva Smart Shower, LLC
• Inventors: Tayenaka, Torrey R., Karim, Haris Ali
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Michele
• Application Number:
  US15/061,864
• Publication Number:
  US 20160258144A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,516 Days
• CPC Class Codes: E03C 1/025 Water supply lines as such, e.g. shower hoses
• CPC Class Codes: E03C 1/057 touchless, i.e. using sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1927 using a plurality of sensors G05D23/1902, G05D23/1917, and G05D23/1919 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 27/02 characterised by the use of electric means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 7/0635 by action on throttling means G05D7/0688, G05D7/0694 take precedence

Abstract

A smart water conservation system comprises a flow assembly configured to discharge fluid received from a fluid source to a shower area at a variable flow rate, the flow assembly comprising a flow path and one or more valves positioned along the flow path; a proximity sensor system comprising one or more proximity sensors; and a controller configured to control operation of the smart water conservation system based at least in part on signals received from the proximity sensor system.

Claims

1. A smart water conservation system for use in a shower comprising:

a flow assembly configured to discharge fluid received from a fluid source to a shower area at a variable flow rate, the flow assembly comprising a flow path and one or more valves positioned along the flow path;

a proximity sensor system comprising one or more proximity sensors positioned within a housing of the flow assembly, the proximity sensor system being configured to detect a person'"'"'s proximity to the smart water conservation system;

a temperature sensor system comprising one or more temperature sensors, the temperature sensor system being configured to measure the temperature of a fluid in the flow path;

a controller configured to control operation of the smart water conservation system based on user input and administrative input and at least in part on signals received from at least one of the proximity sensor system and the temperature sensor system, the controller further configured to;

adjust the one or more valves in response to signals received from at least one of the proximity sensor system and the temperature sensor system to vary the flowrate at which fluid is discharged from an output of the smart water conservation system; and

wherein the shower area is separated into a plurality of zones based on a distance from the system that are configurable by user input, the controller being further configured to identify in which of the plurality of zones a user is positioned in response to the one or more signals received from the proximity sensor system, and

wherein a previously stored administrative input configuration causes the controller to override the user input configuration in controlling the operation of the smart water conservation system.

2. The smart water conservation system of claim 1, wherein the one or more valves are selected from the group consisting of a variable flow valve and an on-off valve, the variable flow valve being selected from the group consisting of a ball valve, a step motor valve, a gate valve, a check valve, and a proportional valve, and the on-off valve being selected from the group consisting of a flip-flop valve and a solenoid valve.

3. The smart water conservation system of claim 2, wherein the flow assembly comprises one variable flow valve, the controller being further configured to vary the opening size of the one variable flow valve to vary the plurality of flowrates discharged from the system at any flowrate percentage in the range of approximately 0% and approximately 100%.

4. The smart water conservation system of claim 3, the controller being further configured to vary the opening size of the one variable flow valve to vary the plurality of flowrates discharged from the system at approximately 10% increments between 0% and 100%.

5. The smart water conservation system of claim 2, wherein the flow assembly comprises three on-off flow valves, the controller being further configured to fully open, partially open, or close the three on-off flow valves in any combination to vary the plurality of flowrates discharged from the system.

6. The smart water conservation system of claim 5, the controller being further configured to fully open and close the three on-off flow valves in any combination so that the plurality of flowrates discharged from the system comprise first, second, third, and fourth flowrate percentages, wherein the first flowrate percentage is in the range of 0% to 35%, the second flowrate percentage is in the range of 20% to 55%, the third flowrate percentage is in the range of 40% to 75%, and the fourth flowrate is in the range of 50% to 100%.

7. The smart water conservation system of claim 6, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth flowrate percentages comprise approximately 0%, approximately 30%, approximately 67%, and approximately 100%, respectively.

8. The smart water conservation system of claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor system is configured to detect a person'"'"'s distance from the system in the range of approximately 0.1 meters to approximately 4.0 meters.

9. The smart water conservation system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to compare a measured temperature against a temperature threshold, and wherein the controller is further configured to close the one or more flow valves when the measured temperature is greater than or equal to the temperature threshold to terminate the flow through the system.

10. The smart water conservation system of claim 9, wherein the temperature threshold is a temperature in the range of approximately 80 degrees Fahrenheit to approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

11. The smart water conservation system of claim 1, further comprising a display, wherein the controller is further configured to provide an indication of flowrate or flowrate percentage on the display.

12. A smart water conservation system for use in a shower comprising:

a flow assembly configured to discharge fluid received from a fluid source to a shower area at a variable flow rate, the flow assembly comprising a flow path and one or more valves positioned along the flow path;

a proximity sensor system comprising one or more proximity sensors positioned within a housing of the flow assembly, the proximity sensor system being configured to detect a person'"'"'s proximity to the smart water conservation system;

a controller configured to control operation of the smart water conservation system based on user input and administrative input and at least in part on signals received from the proximity sensor system, the controller further configured to;

adjust the one or more valves in response to signals received from the proximity sensor system to vary the flowrate at which fluid is discharged from an output of the smart water conservation system; and

wherein the shower area is separated into a plurality of zones based on a distance from the system that are configurable by user input, the controller being further configured to identify in which of the plurality of zones a user is positioned in response to the one or more signals received from the proximity sensor system, and

wherein a previously stored administrative input configuration causes the controller to override the user input configuration in controlling the operation of the smart water conservation system.

13. The smart water conservation system of claim 12, wherein the one or more valves comprise at least one of a variable flow valve and an on-off flow valve.

14. The smart water conservation system of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to vary the opening size of the variable flow valve and to open and close the on-off flow valve to vary the plurality of flowrates discharged from the system at any flowrate percentage in the range of approximately 0% and approximately 100%.