CA1198798A

CA1198798A - Automatic delivery tap

Info

Publication number: CA1198798A
Application number: CA000395394A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Diego Ferrante
Original assignee: FERRANTE PASQUALE
Current assignee: FERRANTE PASQUALE
Priority date: 1981-03-05
Filing date: 1982-02-02
Publication date: 1985-12-31
Also published as: EP0066034A1; GR75404B; JPS57195979A; IT1221043B; AU8703682A; ES512218A0; ZA815369B; ES8305476A1; IT8148530A0

Abstract

Abstract Automatic delivery tap Automatic delivery tap applicable to wash basins, bath tubs, kitchen sinks, showers, and the like, equipped with a sensor consisting of an infrared ray emitter (2), photodiode or phototransistor next to a corresponding receiver (3) such that, in rest conditions, the ray e-mitted and reflected by the inner surface of the wash basin or the like does not reach the receiver (3) be-cause the distance is too great, thus keeping the water delivery off. However, insertion of the hands or other part of the body between said distributor and the basin leads to reflection of the emitted ray and its capture by the receiver (3), which because of the presence of an electron detection and control group (5) operates one or two electrovalves (7) for water delivery, which auto-matically occurs at the delivery outlet (10) (fig. 1,2).

Description

it7~E~

Automatic delivery tap This invention concer~s a tap capable of automatically delivering water cold, hot or mixed to a preselected tem~erature when hands or other body parts are placed beneath it.

; As is well known, taps fox wash basins and bath tubs as well as delivery systems for showers and kitchen sinks have one or more handles to regulate the flow, leading ko wasted water since they continue delivery even dl1ring the soaping operations, etc., in which the -; spray emitted is not directly used. In the case of hot or mixed water, not only water is wasted but above all the enersy used to heat it.

The aim of this invention ls the realization of water delivery taps of every type able to function automati-cally with no intervention with regulation handles, thus simplifying and speeding up each washing operation. At the same time, said taps can also limit water delivery to that strictly necessary, with evident energy savings in the case of hot or mixed water.

This aim is achieved with a tap equipped with a sensor consisting of an emitter of infrared rays, photodlode or phototransistor next to a corresponding receiver such that, in rest conditions, the ray emltted and re-flected by the inn~r surface of the wash basin or the 3~

like does not reach said receiver because the distance is too great, keeping the delivery of cold, hot or mixed water of~. However~ insertion of the hands or other part of the body be~ween said distributor and the basin leads to reflection of the emitted ray and its capture of said receiver, which because of the presence of an el-ectronic detection and control group operates one or two electrova~Yes f~r delivery of cold, hot or mixed water, which in the last case then passes through a mix er of arly known typc and is automatically released at the delivery outlet.

In a first variant of ~he invention, the infrared ray sensor may be replaced with an analogous ultrasonic de-vice consisting of an emitter and receiver next to oneanothex.

In a second variant, the sensor may consist of a capac-itive, inductive or capacitive-inductive device.

In another variant, the sensor may consist of a micro~
wave or electromagnetic wave emitter and detector~

A general variant, valid for the systems described (op-erating with side by side sensors), consists of a sys-tem of opposite sensors, which does not change the op~
eration of the device.

The electronic detection and control ~roup for opera 7~3 ~ 4 --ting the electrovalves involves a stabilized supply, an emitting oscillator, an emitter, a receiver, a poten-tiometric trimmer acting on the amplification of the receiver which regulates the distance of the inter fering ray. The information, consisting of the reflected infrared ray, is amplified in the receiver.
Also the emitter is fitted with a well-known circuit of resistors and capacitors which allow the operation phases to be slow d down, preventing immediate starting and stopping because of brief removal of the hands or bodies during the wash operation. Furthermore, other amplifiers are connected with a power group, preferably consisting of a relay.
The relay (or other device) operates one electrovalve ~in the case of cold water) or two lfor hot and cold water, connected in parallel in this case) which allow water to pass. In the case of hot and cold water, it passes into a mixer which may be manual, mechanical, sintered disk, thermostatic, eleetro~
mechanical, or any other type.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is representecl in the two enclosed drawings in Fi~ures 1,

2, 3 and 4.
Figure 1 shows an operation block diagram.
~ igure 2 shows an a~onometric view of one type o~ tap.

`:
~ ., -Figure 3 ~hows an axonometric view ~f the internal com-ponents of the tap in figure 2.

Figure 4 shows in detail the scheme of the electronic group for detection and control of the electrovalve op-eration.

With regard to the details of the drawings, the body of the tap is indicated with 1, made of plastic or other suitable material, bearing the infrared sensor consis-ting of the emitter 2 and receiver 3, next to one a=
nother and installed near the opening 10 for water out-let. The electronic group is indicated with 5, the cap-acitor with 6, the electrovalves with 7, with tubes 8 and 9 for hot and cold water intake into`the mixer 4, with plastic or other type tube 11 to conduct the mixed water to said outlet opening 10.

The scheme in figure 4 shows the stabilized source, the oscillator 13, the amplifiers 14, the cut off de-lay 15 and the power group 16.

The operation of the invention may be described as fol-lows. When receiver 3 captures a signal from the emi-tter 2, after reflection on the hands placed under theoutlet opening 10, within its c~pture xay, it leads -to passage to the amplifiers ~4, so that the power group _ is excited and feeds the two parallel electrovalves 7 and causes water to be sent to the mixer 4 and so ~o the user. At the same time, the R-C net 15 retards stoppage for approximately 2 seconds after the hands or objec-ts are removed from the perception of sensors 2 and 3~ Instead of the emitter of infrared rays, an ultrason.ic device may be used or a microwave emitter and detectors.
~ aturally, while the principle of the inven-tion remains the same, the forms of realization and the details of conatruction may be widely varied from that described and illustrated here, without going beyond the bounds of the present invention~

, .

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. Automatic delivery tap applicable to wash basins, bath tubs, kitchen sinks, shower arms, and the like, comprising an assembly grouping a water tap and a sensor adjacent the water tap, the sensor consisting of an emitter of infrared rays, photodiode or photo-transistor and a receiver adjacent the emitter, the emitter being such that emitter and receiver are at a distance from any given reflector surface such that reflected rays from the emitter do not reach the receiver thereby shutting the water tap, but whereby the insertion of the hands or other part of the body near the emitter allows rays to be reflected off the inserted member and to be captured by the receiver, and electronic detection and control means for operating at least one electrovalve for water which is auto-matically delivered through the tap.

2. Automatic delivery tap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the infrared ray sensor may be replaced with an analogous ultrasonic device consisting of an emitter and receiver next to one another.

3. Automatic delivery tap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensors consist of a microwave or electro-magnetic wave emitter and detector.

4. Automatic delivery tap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic detection and control group for operating the electrovalves involves a stabilized supply, an emitting oscillator, an emitter, a receiver, a potentiometric trimmer acting on the amplification of the receiver which regulates the distance of the interfering ray; the information, consisting of the reflected infrared ray, is amplified in the receiver, also, the emitter is fitted with an electronic circuit which allows the operation phases to be slowed down, preventing immediate starting and stopping because of brief removal of the hands or bodies during the wash operation; furthermore, other amplifiers are connected with a power group preferably consisting of a relay.

5. Automatic delivery tap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electrovalves are connected in parallel for the passage of hot and cold water to the mixer, which may be manual, mechanical, sintered disk, thermostatic, electromechanical, or any other type.

6. Automatic delivery tap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body of the tap, made of plastic or other suitable material, bears the infrared sensor consisting of the emitter and receiver, next to one another and installed near the opening for water outlet, the electronic group, the capacitor, the electrovalves with hot and cold water intake tubes and to a mixer, with plastic or other material tube to conduct the mixed water to said outlet opening.

7. Automatic delivery tap as claimed in claim 6, wherein a single electrovalve causes the passage of the water to the outlet opening, with no mixer and only one water intake tube.