FLUSH APPARATUS

• US 20100064424A1
• Filed: 11/05/2008
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Delta Electronics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Delta Electronics Incorporated
• Inventors: Hsu, Yen-Ta, Chiu, Ching-Liang
• Application Number:
  US12/265,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20100064424A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 4/304
• CPC Class Codes: E03D 5/10 operated electrically E03D5/01, E03D5/12 take precedence, e.g. by a photo-cell; also combined with devices for opening or closing shutters in the bowl outlet and/or with devices for raising/or lowering seat and cover and/or for swiveling the bowl

Abstract

A flush apparatus includes a solenoid valve, a driving circuit for providing a driving power to the solenoid valve, a battery, a solar cell electrically connected to the battery, and a control module electrically connected to the driving circuit for providing at least one control signal to the driving circuit to control ON/OFF of the driving circuit. The solar cell and the battery are electrically connected to a power output terminal in parallel, and the power output terminal is electrically connected to the driving circuit directly for providing the driving power to the driving circuit.

Claims

1. A flush apparatus comprising:

a solenoid valve;

a driving circuit for providing a driving power to the solenoid valve;

a battery;

a solar cell, wherein the solar cell and the battery are electrically connected to a power output terminal in parallel, and the power output terminal is directly electrically connected to the driving circuit for providing the driving power to the driving circuit; and

a control module electrically connected to the driving circuit for providing at least one control signal to the driving circuit to control ON/OFF of the driving circuit.

2. The flush apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flush apparatus is an automatic flush urinal and the control module further comprises a microcontroller.

3. The flush apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power output terminal further electrically connected to the control module for providing a power to the control module.

4. The flush apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a diode disposed between the solar cell and the power output terminal for preventing the current reverse from the battery back to the solar cell.

5. The flush apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a detecting unit electrically connected to the control module for transmitting a detecting signal to the control module.

6. The flush apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the detecting unit is an infrared detecting unit.

7. The flush apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the detecting unit comprises a transmitter and a receiver, and when a user starts to use the flush apparatus, an infrared signal transmitted from the transmitter is reflected and received by the receiver.

8. The flush apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a switch and a resistor, wherein an output of the solar cell is electrically connected to the switch and then electrically connected to the control module, one terminal of the resistor is grounded, the other terminal of the resistor is electrically connected to a node disposed between the switch and the control module, and the control module controls the switch to monitor the output voltage of the solar cell so that whether a user is close to or left away from the flush apparatus is determined according to the voltage change of the node.

9. The flush apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control module provides the control signal to the driving circuit so as to control a flushing time of the flush apparatus according to a using time and/or a using frequency of a user.

10. The flush apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the solar cell receives an environmental light so as to charge the solar cell.

11. The flush apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a voltage of the power output terminal is greater than an electromotive force (EMF) of the battery, the solar cell applies electricity to the control module and the driving circuit, and charges the battery;

when a voltage of the power output terminal is lower than an electromotive force of the battery, the battery applies electricity to the control module and the driving circuit.

12. The flush apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the solenoid valve is a structural solenoid valve, and the driving circuit provides a pulse voltage to the solenoid valve to switch the solenoid valve.

13. The flush apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the driving circuit is a switch.

14. The flush apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the switch has a first terminal, a second terminal and a third terminal, the first terminal is electrically connected to the control module for receiving the control signal of the control module, the second terminal is electrically connected to the power output terminal, and the third terminal is electrically connected to the solenoid valve.

15. The flush apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the switch comprises a field effect transistor (FET) and a diode, and the first terminal is a gate of the field effect transistor for receiving the control signal, the second terminal is a drain of the FET electrically connected to the power output terminal and connected to a cathode of the diode in parallel, and the third terminal is a source of the FET electrically connected to the solenoid valve and connected to an anode of the diode in parallel.

16. The flush apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the switch comprises a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), the first terminal is a base of the bipolar junction transistor, the second terminal is a collector of the bipolar junction transistor, and the third terminal is an emitter of the bipolar junction transistor.

17. The flush apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the solenoid valve is a latching solenoid valve with a single coil so that the latching solenoid valve is switched by changing a current direction of the coil.

18. The flush apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the driving circuit is a full-bridge circuit, the power output terminal is electrically connected to a power source terminal of the full-bridge circuit, and the control module provides a plurality of control signals to the full-bridge circuit so as to control the current direction of the full-bridge circuit.