Electronic shower system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An electronic shower system comprising:
- a rough assembly including a housing, a mixing valve body supported by the housing and including a hot water inlet, a cold water inlet and an outlet, the rough assembly received within a cavity of a shower wall and coupled behind an outer surface of the shower wall;
a valve assembly including a mixing valve received within the mixing valve body, the mixing valve including a control valve plate and a stem operably coupled to the control valve plate, the control valve plate including a hot water control aperture and a cold water control aperture;
a drive assembly including a mixing valve drive operably coupled to the stem of the mixing valve, wherein the drive assembly is configured to rotate the stem, thereby rotating the hot water control aperture and the cold water control aperture of the control valve plate of the mixing valve to control the proportion of water from the hot water inlet and the cold water inlet provided to the outlet of the mixing valve body;
a pressure balancing valve fluidly coupled to the mixing valve and configured to accommodate pressure variations of water supplied to the hot water inlet and the cold water inlet, the pressure balancing valve including a first tube defining a first outlet passageway, a second tube defining a second outlet passageway, and a spool, the hot and cold water control apertures of the control valve plate being in selective alignment with the first and second outlet passageways, respectively, the spool including a first portion fluidly coupled to the hot water inlet and a second portion fluidly coupled to the cold water inlet, the spool configured to move in response to changes in differential pressure between the first portion and the second portion;
wherein the valve assembly includes an off position in which no water flows from the hot water inlet through the hot water control aperture of the control valve plate, and no water flows from the cold water inlet through the cold water control aperture of the control valve plate;
a main user interface including a controller in electrical communication with the drive assembly, the main user interface coupled in front of the outer surface of the shower wall and covering the cavity of the shower wall receiving the rough assembly; and
a battery operably coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to detect the loss of external power, and the battery is configured to operate the mixing valve for a predetermined time when the controller detects that the mixing valve is open and the loss of external power.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic shower system including a mixing valve operably coupled to a mixing valve drive, and a diverter valve operably coupled to a diverter valve drive and in fluid communication with the mixing valve. A controller is in communication with the mixing valve drive and the diverter valve drive. A user interface includes a removable module in communication with the controller.
-
Citations
34 Claims
-
1. An electronic shower system comprising:
-
a rough assembly including a housing, a mixing valve body supported by the housing and including a hot water inlet, a cold water inlet and an outlet, the rough assembly received within a cavity of a shower wall and coupled behind an outer surface of the shower wall; a valve assembly including a mixing valve received within the mixing valve body, the mixing valve including a control valve plate and a stem operably coupled to the control valve plate, the control valve plate including a hot water control aperture and a cold water control aperture; a drive assembly including a mixing valve drive operably coupled to the stem of the mixing valve, wherein the drive assembly is configured to rotate the stem, thereby rotating the hot water control aperture and the cold water control aperture of the control valve plate of the mixing valve to control the proportion of water from the hot water inlet and the cold water inlet provided to the outlet of the mixing valve body; a pressure balancing valve fluidly coupled to the mixing valve and configured to accommodate pressure variations of water supplied to the hot water inlet and the cold water inlet, the pressure balancing valve including a first tube defining a first outlet passageway, a second tube defining a second outlet passageway, and a spool, the hot and cold water control apertures of the control valve plate being in selective alignment with the first and second outlet passageways, respectively, the spool including a first portion fluidly coupled to the hot water inlet and a second portion fluidly coupled to the cold water inlet, the spool configured to move in response to changes in differential pressure between the first portion and the second portion; wherein the valve assembly includes an off position in which no water flows from the hot water inlet through the hot water control aperture of the control valve plate, and no water flows from the cold water inlet through the cold water control aperture of the control valve plate; a main user interface including a controller in electrical communication with the drive assembly, the main user interface coupled in front of the outer surface of the shower wall and covering the cavity of the shower wall receiving the rough assembly; and a battery operably coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to detect the loss of external power, and the battery is configured to operate the mixing valve for a predetermined time when the controller detects that the mixing valve is open and the loss of external power. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. An electronic shower user interface comprising:
-
a mount configured to be secured to a vertical wall; a user interface module including a touch sensor received within a sealed enclosure; a controller in communication with the user interface; a coupler to releasably secure the user interface to the mount; a mixing valve fluidly coupled to a hot water supply and a cold water supply, and a mixing valve drive operably coupled to the mixing valve for controlling the proportion of water from the hot water supply and the cold water supply provided to an outlet, wherein the user interface module is positioned in front of the vertical wall, and the mixing valve is positioned behind the vertical wall and the user interface module; a position sensor in communication with the controller to detect the position of the control valve plate; and a battery operably coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to detect the loss of external power and the battery is configured to operate the mixing valve drive for a predetermined time when the controller detects that the mixing valve is open and the loss of external power. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. An electronic shower system comprising:
-
a mixing valve fluidly coupled to a hot water supply and a cold water supply; a mixing valve drive operably coupled to the mixing valve for controlling the proportion of water from the hot water supply and the cold water supply provided to an outlet; a diverter valve fluidly coupled to the mixing valve; a diverter valve drive operably coupled to the diverter valve for controlling the delivery of water from the mixing valve to at least one of a plurality of outlets; a controller operably coupled to the mixing valve drive and the diverter valve drive; a position sensor in communication with the controller to detect a position of the mixing valve; and a battery operably coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to detect the loss of external power and the battery is configured to operate the mixing valve drive for a predetermined time when the controller detects that the mixing valve is open and the loss of external power. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
-
-
28. An electronic shower system comprising:
-
a mixing valve fluidly coupled to a hot water supply and a cold water supply; a mixing valve drive operably coupled to the mixing valve for controlling the proportion of water from the hot water supply and the cold water supply provided to an outlet; a controller in electrical communication with the mixing valve drive; a position sensor operably coupled to the mixing valve drive for detecting a position of the mixing valve, the position sensor in electrical communication with the controller; a temperature sensor configured to measure the temperature of water supplied by the mixing valve, the temperature sensor in electrical communication with the controller; wherein the controller associates the sensed position of the mixing valve from the position sensor with the measured temperature of water from the temperature sensor to predict valve position for a desired outlet water temperature; a battery operably coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to detect the loss of external power and the battery is configured to operate the mixing valve drive for a predetermined time when the controller detects that the mixing valve is open and the loss of external power. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
-
Specification