Electronic metering faucet

• US 6,619,320 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2001
• Issued: 09/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Arichell Technologies Inc. (Sloan Valve Company)
• Original Assignee: Arichell Technologies Inc. (Sloan Valve Company)
• Inventors: Parsons, Natan E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Kevin
• Application Number:
  US10/011,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20030102037A1
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• Field of Search: 137/624.11, 137/624.12, 137/801, 251/129.04, 462/3, 440/6, 462/6
• US Class Current: 137/624.11
• CPC Class Codes: E03C 1/05 Arrangements of devices on wash-basins, baths, sinks, or the like for remote control of taps remote control of taps or the like per se F16K
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/86389 Programmer or timer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/9464 Faucets and spouts

Abstract

An electronic faucet has a housing adapted to seat against a support surface and defining an internal barrel having a bottom wall, a side wall and an open top. There is at least one fluid inlet extending through the bottom wall into the barrel, a fluid outlet in the side wall of the barrel, and a valve cartridge seated in the barrel. The cartridge includes a main valve for controlling fluid flow between the at least one inlet and the outlet, a pilot valve and a solenoid operator for opening and closing the pilot valve. A faucet head removably mounted to the housing covers the open top of the barrel, the faucet head including an activator which produces an output signal of a selected duration when approached by a user, and a control circuit which responds to the signal by activating the solenoid operator so as to open the pilot valve which thereupon opens the main valve. The valve cartridge is removable from the barrel while the housing remains seated against the support surface by separating the faucet head from the housing.

Claims

1. An electronic faucet comprising

a housing adapted to seat against a support surface and defining an internal barrel having a bottom wall, a sidewall and an open top;

at least one fluid inlet extending through the bottom wall into the barrel;

a fluid outlet in the sidewall of the barrel;

a valve cartridge seated in said barrel through the open top thereof, said cartridge including

a valve for controlling fluid flow between said at least on inlet line and said outlet, and

a solenoid actuator for opening and closing the valve;

means for releasably retaining the valve cartridge in the barrel;

a faucet head removably mounted to the housing and covering the open top of the barrel, said faucet head including a wall;

a proximity sensor at the faucet which produces an output signal of a selected duration and approached by a user'"'"'s extremity, and a control circuit in the faucet head which responds to said signal by activating said solenoid so as to open the valve, said valve cartridge being removable from the barrel while the housing remains seated against said support surface by separating the faucet head and retaining means from the housing.

2. The faucet defined in claim 1 and further including a check valve releasably retained in each inlet line, each check valve being accessible from the barrel when the cartridge is removed from the barrel.

3. The faucet defined in claim 1 and further including a spout having a first end connected to said fluid outlet and a second end spaced laterally from the barrel.

4. The faucet defined in claim 3 and further including a second proximity sensor located adjacent to the second end of the spout and delivering a second output signal to said control circuit so long as the second sensor sensors a user'"'"'s extremity and when that control circuit responds to said second signal by activating the solenoid to open the valve.

5. The faucet defined in claim 1 wherein said proximity sensor is a capacitive-type sensor.

6. The faucet defined in claim 5 wherein said sensor includes

an electrically conductive pad incorporated into said wall of the faucet head and surrounded by electrically insolating material, and

an electrical lead connecting the pad to said control circuit.

7. The faucet defined in claim 1 wherein the faucet head contains a battery for energizing the control circuit and solenoid.

8. The faucet defined in claim 1 wherein

housing comprises a shell having an open front and adapted to seat against the support surface;

each inlet line includes a fitting adjacent to the barrel for coupling to water mains;

the barrel is releasably supported in the shell so that the barrel may be separated from a water mains and removed from the shell from the front opening thereof, and

the housing also includes a removable cover member for covering the open front of the shell.

9. The faucet defined in claim 1 wherein the faucet includes means for connecting the control circuit to a power source.

10. The faucet defined in claim 1 wherein

a faucet head includes a shell removably mounted to the housing and having an open top, and

a cap removably secured to the shell to provide access to the control circuit in the faucet head, the proximity sensor being incorporated into the cap and including a spring contact connecting the proximity sensor to said control circuit.

11. The faucet defined in claim 1 wherein said valve cartridge also includes a fluid metering member upstream from the valve, said metering member having a metering oriface aligned with said at least one inlet line so as to meter the fluid flow through said faucet.

12. The faucet defined in claim 11 wherein the valve cartridge also includes a filter member in the flow path between the metering number and the valve.

13. The faucet defined in claim 1 wherein the valve includes a pilot valve.

14. The faucet defined in claim 1 wherein said actuator is of a latching type.

15. The faucet defined in claim 14 wherein the latching actuator is of the isolated type.

16. An electronic faucet comprising

a housing;

at least one fluid inlet line flowing extending into the housing;

a fluid outlet from the housing;

a solenoid valve in the housing controlling the fluid flow between said at least one inlet line and the outlet, and

control means for controlling the opening and closing of the valve, said control means including

power supply means, and

a control circuit for controlling the delivery from the power supply means to the valve, said control circuit comprising

a touch pad accessible from outside the housing,

a detector connected to the touch pad for producing a touch signal when the touch pad is touched, and

a controller responsive to the touch signal for delivering power to the valve so as to open the valve for a selected time duration.

17. The faucet defined in claim 16 wherein the controller includes means in the housing for adjusting said time duration.

18. The faucet defined in claim 16 wherein the controller includes

means for counting touch signals and delivering power to the valve only after a selected number of touch signals have been counted.

19. The faucet defined in claim 16 wherein

the controller includes timing means for measuring the duration of each touch signal, and

means for inhibiting the delivery of power to the valve if the touch signal persists for more than a selected time duration.

20. The faucet defined in claim 16 wherein the control circuit includes

means for measuring the duration of each touch signal, and

a means for decreasing the sensitivity of the detector to a succeeding touch pad touch when the duration of the touch signal exceeds a selected amount.

21. The faucet defined in claim 16 wherein the control circuit includes

means for measuring the time interval between touches of the touch pad, and

means for increasing the sensitivity of the detector to a succeeding touch pad touch when the time interval between touches of the touch pad exceeds a selected amount.

22. The faucet defined in claim 16 wherein

the touch pad is an electrically isolated capacitor plate mounted to said housing, and

the detector detects the capacitance added to the control circuit when the touch pad is touch.

23. The faucet defined in claim 22 wherein

the detector comprises a D-type flip-flop having the D input, a CLOCK input and whose output is said touch signal;

the plate is capacitively coupled to said D input, and

the control circuit includes an adjustable delay circuit controlled by a controller and the controller supplies clock pulses to said D input and by way of the delay circuit to said CLOCK input.

24. The faucet defined in claim 22 wherein

the housing includes a hollow head, and

the control means are contained within said head.

25. The faucet defined in claim 24 wherein the power source includes at least one battery.

26. The faucet defined in claim 24 wherein the power source includes an electrical connector for connection to a power supply.

27. The faucet defined in claim 16 wherein the solenoid valve is of a latching type.

28. The faucet defined in claim 27 wherein the solenoid valve is of an isolated type.

29. The faucet defined in claim 16 wherein

the housing includes a hollow head having a wall;

the control circuit is contained within the head, and

the touch pad comprises an electrically isolated capacitor plate mounted in said wall and connected by spring contact to said control circuit.

30. The faucet defined in claim 16 wherein

further including a sensor for sensing the temperature of the fluid in the faucet and producing a corresponding temperature signal, and

wherein the controller responds to said temperature signal by inhibiting delivery of power to said valve when the temperature exceeds a selected value.

31. An electronic faucet comprising

a housing;

at least one fluid inlet line extending into the housing;

a fluid outlet from the housing;

a solenoid valve in the housing controlling the fluid flow between said at least one inlet line in the outlet, and

control means for controlling the opening and closing of the valve, said control means including

a power source,

a control circuit for controlling the delivery of power from the power source to the valve, said control circuit including

a touch pad accessible from outside the housing,

a detector connected to the touch pad for producing successive touch signals upon successive touches of the touch pad, and

a controller responsive to at least one of the succession of touch signals to deliver power to the valve so as to open the valve for a selected time duration, said control circuit including means for decreasing the means for adaptively adjusting the sensitivity of the detector to one of the succession of touch pad touches depending upon the time duration of the time interval from the previous touch signal in the succession of touch signals.

32. The faucet defined in claim 31 wherein the controller is programmed to deliver power to the valve only after the occurrence of a selected number of touch signals.

33. The faucet defined in claim 32 wherein the controller is programmed to inhibit the delivery of power to the valve if the duration of one of the succession of touch signals exceeds a selected time.