CA1295035C - Method and apparatus for controlling the temperature of a liquid - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract A liquid temperature controlling method and ap-paratus are provided in which on/off valves are util-ized. In the case in which the liquid is water, rela-tively hot water is supplied to a first set of the on/off valves while relatively cold water is supplied to a second set of the on/off valves. The on/off valves are housed in a compact manifold assembly having a number of channels through which water flows to and from the valves. Each of the valves communicates with an orifice, with each orifice communicating with the hot water valves being of a different size to produce binary flow patterns of water exiting the hot water as-sociated orifices and valves. Similarly, each of the orifices communicating with a cold water valve is of a different size so that the flow rate of water from each cold water associated orifice is related in a binary manner to the flow rates through the other cold water associated orifices and valves. Because of the greate-viscosity of the hot water, it is preferable that the hot water associated orifices be of a smaller size than corresponding cold water orifices. The opening/closing of the valves is controlled using information stored in memory. The programmed information correlates valve openings with information relating to water tempera-ture. The user selects a desired water temperature and this temperature is compared with the actual tempera-ture of the water. When there is a difference between the actual and desired temperatures, one or more dif-ferent combinations of valves can be opened in a predetermined manner without cycling through all pos-sible valve combinations defined between the current combination of valve openings and the next combination of valve openings whereby the difference between the actual and desired temperatures is rapidly reduced.

Description

w~

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
CONTROLLING THE TEMPERATURE OF A LIQUID

eld oS ~he Invention The p~esent invention rela,es .o a me.hol a~d ar.

zp?2-z_us _or con,ro ling the ~e~?era'u-e o 2 ll~aid a~d, in pz~ti^ular, to a systQ~ ~o:- monito-ing ~d regula_~r.g wz_e~ te.?e=z.ure u~de~ compu=er c_~-rol~
,:
32-k -ound ~r o ~a~
Cont-ol s~s.e~s have bee~ p-eviously zsvar.ced ~or re~llating the flow of water o- o~her li aui~s . In U. S .
Paten~ ~o. 4,42.0,811 to Ta~n2y et al., issued Decem~er 13, 19e3, ænd e~t~ tled "Wa"er Tem~e-atu-e ænd ~low Ra,e Selec'ion Display and Cont-ol Sys,em and ~ethod," a compu'er-con~rolle~ water,tempera~ure and ~low ra~e system is disclosed. This system is characterized by the use of two proportional valves. One valve is used to receive hot water while the second valve is used to receive cold water. The valve openings can be in-c_ementally a~jus.ed using stepper mo,ors. ~, si~gle ~, æing v21ve used in a te~peratu_e cor.trol system is disclosed in U.S. Paten~ ~o. 4,322,031 issued .o Geh-lert on March 30, 1982, and entitled "Control for Sanitary Mixing Valve." A sensor detects the tempera-tu~e o~ ~he water outputted from the m~x~ng vi~lve ar.d a progriimmed microprocessor is used in controlling the temperature of the water outputted by the mixi~g valve.
A mi~ing unit lor a temperature-volume controlled sys-tem is des~ribed in U.S. Patent No. 3,7~1,386 issued March 20, 1973 r to Brick et al. and entitled "Temperature-vo~ume Controlled Mixing Valve." A
desired temperature of water is compared with the ac-tual tempera~ure of the water to produce a control cia-r,al for con,r,-ll ng ~he oper2=ion o a mo_c~ co-.nec e,~

,,~, ~

~5~35 to the mixing unit. ~one of these liquid or water sys-tems utilizes a binary arrangement of on/of r valves for ; controlling the temperature of wa.er.
In systems for controlling the flow of one or more 05 gases, it is known to 2rrange a number of on/off valves in a parallel manner. In U.S. Patent No. 3,905,394 to Jerde issued September 16, 1975, ~nd entitled "Flow - Control System," a system for controlling the flow of gas, not liouid, i5 disclosed. Gas f-om a source at z predeter~ine~ pressure and temperzture is supplied to z ~- number o, valves. ~ach o, the ~alves oo~municates with .:
an orifice, with each of the orifices being of a dif-,eren' size and h2ving a p-edetP~ined binary -~lation-ship relative ~o ~he o~her o~ if ices. ~or proper ope~a-tion, the flow rate of both th.e inputted and the out-putted sas is equal to or grea.er than the sonic rate.
The flow rate o~ the output gas is monitored by a con-troller, which is used in controlling the opening o~
the valves. There is no monito-ing and controlling of ;~ ~ the temperature of the output gas. Another gas system that is used to control the flow rate of gas to a demand line is shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,437,098 issued April 8, 1969l to Stark et al. and entitled "System of Automatic Controls for Gas Mixing." This saS system also uti1izes on/off valves, but in control-ling the opening of the valves, a switch arm can only be moved in one step increments. Consequently, it may be necessary to step through a n~ber of valve posi-tions before the desired states OT the on/off valves - 30 are reached. An apparatus for regulating the ratio o~
mixing of two gas flows while maintaining a constant overall flow rate is described in U.S. Patent No.
3,886,971 issued Ju~e 3, 1975, to Lundsgaard et al. and entitled "Apparatus for Regulating the Ratio of Mixing of Two Fluid Flows." In this apparatus, a number of on/off valves are provided with flow resistors con-nected thereto which are used to vary the volume of fluid flow therethrough. Input of gas to the valves is : ' .' 5~35 under the control of a computer or an A/D co~verter.
~here is no monitoring of the output flow of gas. The valves are axranged in 2 parallel mar.ner while the f low resistors are 2rranged according to a binary pattern 05 whereby the volume of gas through one low resistor has a binary relationship to the volume of gas through the remaining rlow resistors. The flow resistors are pieces of tubing of identical inside diame'er, and each has 2 p~edetenmined length 'o achieve z bi~ary relationship among the gas flow rztes ~hrough the tu~ing ~ieces.
In addi' ~ o~ to wzte~ te~pe-a~u-e c~trol sys.ems and gas flow rate control systems, there are numerzb'e other control systems such zs disclosed in U.S. ~atenl No. 4,384,462 issued Karch 24, 1983, to Overman e~ 21.
and entitled "~ultiple Comp-essor Refrigeration System and Controller ~hereof." However, such known systems are not directed to e ~iciently and ef~ectiv21y con-trolling the temperature of water using on~o~ valves arranged according to a binary pattern and do not util-ize the features of the present invention.
As can be appreciated from the foregoing priorart, there are many known systems that monitor and/or control the temperature of a liquid. There are also prior art gas systems that utilize on/off valves ar-ranged in a binary pattern to control the flow rate o~
one or more gases. ~owever, each such syste~ ~ails ~ofully satisfy all of the objectives sought in a water temperature control system. Rnown systems for control-ling .emperature of water have utilized two proportional-type valves or a single mixing valve. The use OL proportional valves significantly adds to the expense of the system and increases the response time ~; associated with reaching a de~ired water temperature.
Further expense ensues when it is necessary to replace the proportional valves because of wear. The use of on/off valves in the present invention reduces the ex-pense associated with the water temperature control system and decreases the response time. Additionally, lZ~5G 35 none of the known binary-related systems has been able to achieve the compact confi~uration o~ the present in-vention which results in reduced manufacturing cost, reduced response time and minimal space occupied by the 05 system when it is held in position and a_tached to hot water and cold water pipes located in a house or other building.

s~ary of tke Invention iO The present inven~ion is directed to zchieving a nu~ber o~ o~jectlves in a ~-a.e_ tempera_ure controlllng system including accurate and rapid temperature regula-tion, togethe- with -elia~le o~e-ation, while provid~g a compact, inex~ensive system. Such objec~ives ~-e satisfied by the combination Or elemer.ts and unique ar-rangement thereo~ in the present invent~on.
The apparatus of the invention includes a compact manifold assembly having a number o channels through which water is able to flow. ~he channels communicate with a number of on/off valve assemblies. In one em-bodiment, there are six on/off valve assemblies for receiving relatively hot water and six on/off valve as-~ semblies for receiving relatively cold water. Each of - the valve assemblies includes a valve opening, which is either fully closed or ully opened. The a?paratus also includes a number o- o_ifices, wi.h each orifice communicating with a valve opening. In the preferred embodiment, each orifice is formed in an orifice plate and the orifice plate and the valve opening are one in-tegrated piece. Each ori ice associa~ed with a hotwater valve assembly is of a different size than the other orifices asso_iated with hot water valve as-semblies. Similarly, eaGh o~ the orifices associated with a cold water valve assembly is of a different size - 35 than the other of the orifices associated with cold water valve assembl~es. Preferably also, each of the orifices communicating with a hot water valve assem~ly is smaller in size than the corresponding orifice com-.~ 5~35 municating with the cold water valve assembly due to the greater viscosity of the hot water. For exam~le, the sm211est orifice in communication with a hot wa,er valve assembly is smaller in size than tne smallest of 05 the orifices communicating with the cold water valve assemblies. Further, a binary flow relationship is es-tablished through the use of dif,~erent sized ori ices.
That is, the-e is 2 binary rel2tlonsh~p ~mong the flow rates of wa'e- throllgh each of the ~lOt wzter associa,ed ~ ori-ices and a b~nzry rlationship among ,he -low rates c_ wa_er th~ough ezch o_ the col~ w2_~r associa~ed orifices, whe-eby the water outputted by the valve assemblies c-n be regulcted for cont~ol'ing the tem-Derature o,~ -he outputted w-ler. In .ha- rega-~r the opening/closing of tne valve assemblies is cont~olled by means of solenoid ~ssemblies, which are, in turn, controlled by an elec,ronic controller. ~he solenoid assemblies a-e direc~ly suppor,e~ by ,he mani,'old as-~' sembly so that the overall compactness of the apDaratus is maintained. Further contributing to the compact na-" ture of the apparatus is the preferred arrangement or . the valve assemblies. In particular, a number of hot ' water valve assemblies, as well as a number of cold water valve assemblies, are arranged in a serial/parallel manner in which water is'supplied in adirection from a firs~ valve assembly to succeeding valve assemblies.
In connection with the actual controlling of the water temperature, the electrol~ic controller prefer2bly includes a microprocessor and a memo~y. ~he memory ~; stores information, which can be described as being in ' table form, that correlates various combinations o, - valve openings with amounts of hot water or, alterna-tively, amounts of oold water. In one embodiment in ~' 35 which six hot water and six cold water valve assemblies ~-' are utilized, there are 6~ difrerent valve positions ' whereby each of such positions corresponds to a dif-,, ~, . ., " ' 5Ci~S

ferent proportion of hot and cold water and, therefore, , 2 different water temperature.
The hot water is suppl~ed to desisnzted channels - while cold water is supplied to other designated chan-05 nels. The water inputted to the apparatus may vary considerably in pxessure and/or velocity, which would depend upon controls at a location remote from the ap-paratus, either in the buildin~ itself that houses ~he app2ratus o_ at some other lo-ation or building. The ~ rel2~ively hot wate~ and the relâtively cold water ~n-- putted to the a??2-a.us m2y also va~y over 2 tem~e~2-ture range. ~he lnputted water flows adjacent to the valve assemblies and, depending upon which of such valve assemblies are opened, ou.?ut c~annels will ca-~y the water thzt ~lows through the o~ened valve as-semblies to z common output channel. The common output channel i5 used ln carrying the water to a bath tub faucet, showe~ head outlet, sin~, or other suitable output unit. Communicating with the co~mon output channel is a temperature sensor, which is received through a bore formed in the manifold assembly and which communicates with the common output channel. The user of the apparatus selects a desired water tempera-ture using available input or control elements. The electronic controller, incluaing the microprocessor and memory, is used in comparing the sensed temperature o the water with the selected, desired temperature.
A~ter the comparison, valve assemblies are opened in a predeter~ined manner using information stored in the ; 30 memory t2ble to minimlze any di ference between the ac-tual and desired temperatures. In the pre~erred em-bodiment, cycling through a n~ber of intermediate steps or positions corresponding to opened valve com-binations is no~ necessary. ~ather, depending upon the `~ 35 magnitude of the difference between the actual and desired temperatures, a number of positions in the table can be by-passed in order to move rapidly and - precisely towards a combination of opened va}ves that ' l~S~ 35 results in a substantial correspondence between actual cnd desired water temperatures.
In view of the foregoing summcry, it is readily seen that a number of salient reatures are incorporated - 05 in the inventive apparatus. ~elatively inexpensive, durable, and easily replaceable on/of f valves are util-~- ized, instead of relatively expensive proportional - valves, so tha~ each valve can be independently opene~
_or use in controlling the temperature of _he wate- ex-C iting the valves. Tn .hct res_rd, the cn/of-f vclves ~- use~ in 'he -?~-_z~us c-e co,.~me_~i-lly ava~'zhle. ~he on/off valves 2nd the ch~nnels with whi~h they com~un--cate are z-rarged in 2 manne~ to mini~izQ s?~ce - re~uirements, and ~o -educe .he _-zns~o-_ time ~o-delivery O r the wa~e~ at the selec.ed tempera.ure in-cluding between the common outpu. channel and ~he tem-perature sensor and between the temperature sensor znd the outlets, while at the same time providing su,-fi-cient space f or proper mixing o, the hot and cold water. The orifice plates are integrated with the valve assemblies to enhance the compact nature of the system. Solenoid assemblies are advantageously mounted to an outer surface of the manifold assembly to further contribute to the compact configuration of the ap-2; paratus. ~he control aspects of the invention ensurerapid response to a selected temperztu~e since inter-mediate valve combinations can be by-passed in f avor of one or more valve combinations that will more ~uickly achieve the selected tem~erature. Additional advan-tages will be noted and discussed in connection with the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention.
-Brief Description of the Drawings Figs lA lB are block diagrams of the present in-vention diagramma~ically illustrating the electronic controller and the manifold assembly;

S~ 35 -B-Fig 2 is a flow diagram illustrating certain tem-perature monitoring and control steps associated with the present lnvention;
Fig 3 is a perspective view of tne manifold as-05 sembly and solenoid assemblies of .he presentinvention;
Fig 4 is a top view of the valve manifold and outlet manirold showing 'he cha~nels i~ phantom lines;
~ is 5 ls 2 , ront view of the valve manifold show-10 inrJ the arr~ngement ~mong the channels;
Fis 6 is 2 si de view of ~he valve mani_ol~ show-ing an output channel, valve seats and orifice plates;
and ~ ig 7 is an ex~loded view showing 2 valve as-sembly, or~fice pla'e, and a portion of a solenoid as-sembly Detail?d Descri~ion o~ ~he E~boaiments In accordance with the present invention, a liq-uid, preferably water, ~emperature control system isprovided that includes an electronic controller 10 and a manifold assembly 12, as illustrated schematically in Figs lA-lB The electronic controller 10 and the manifold assembly 12 cooperate to monitor and regulate the temperature of water that ~s out~utted from the system to a tub/sink and/or sh~wer head, or other suitable outlet The manifold assembly 12 is used in delivering the water at the desired temperature to the outlet while the electronic controller 10, by means o~
a stored program and a table o~ info~ma~ion, controls the proportion of hot water to cold water that is to be outpu.ted by the mani~old assembly 12 With reference to Figs 3-7, as well as Fig lB, - the manifold assembly 12 includes a valve manlfold 1~, which is an integral member having a number of rhannels through which the wate- flows The valve manifold 14, in one embodiment, defines a first side for receiving relatively hot water and a second side for receiv ng ~.

~35~ 3~i g relatively cold water. With respect to the first side, a hot water input line 16 is formed in the valve manifold 14. The input line 16 communicates with a pair of input channels 18, 20, each Or which carries 05 .he hot water along the longitudinal extent of the valve manifold 14. Similarly, on the side for receiv-ing cold water, the valve manifold 14 includes a cold water input line 22, which co~mun~cztes with or - ~ranches off into a pair o~ cold wate~ input channels 2~, 26. Each OI ~he cold wz'er inDut ~hannels 2~, 26 is used in ca-~ying cold wa_er alo~g the lo~itu~ina extent of the valve manifold 14. Each o the two inpu' lines 16, 22 ~refer~bly co~municates wilh a check va1ve so that wate_ low is o~.ly in 'he des~ed cirection.
~' The input lines 16, 22 branch ~n~o th~ two input chan-nels 18, 20 and 24,26, respect~vely to ~acilit~te the making of channels in the valve maniLold 14 for car~y-ing water and to assu-e that i~?ut wa~er-carrying chzn-nels do not ove_lap with output water-carrying chan-nels. In such 2 case, to avoid overlapping, the valvemanifold 14 would have to be enlarged and the compact-ness of the valve manirold 14 would thereby be diminished.
The valve manifold 14 also includes a number or hot water valve seats 28a-28f and a number o cold water valve seats 30a-30f. The hot waler valve seats 28a-28c are also illustrated in Fig. 6. Each of the ~ valve seats 28, 30 is part OL a valve assembly. Tn the ;~ embodiment illustrated in ~igs. 13 and ~, there a-e s_x hot water valve assemblies 34a-3 f and a like number o_ -~ cold water valve assemDlies 36a-36f. Each of the hot and cold water valve assemblies 3 , 36 has an o~/off valve configuration in whi~h the valve is either fully opened or fully closed. Each of the input channels 18, 20, 24, 26 communicates with one of the valve as-- semblies 34, 36. In the preferred embodiment, each of the valve assemblies 34 includes a hot water related - bore 3Ba-38f and each of the valve assemblies 36 in-cludes a cold water related bore ~Oa-40f. Hot water associated bores 38a-38c are seen in ~ig. 6 while cold , water associated bores ~Oa-gOc are lllustrated in Fig.

- 3. Each of the input channels 18, 20, 24, 26 co~muni-- 05 cates directly with one ol the valve assemblies 34, 3D, , as best seen in Fig. 4.
3efore discuss~ng the other parts of the valve as-- sem~lies 34, 36, ~em2ining portions o- the valve manifold 14 are described. ln ~a-_icul2r, the valve manifold 14 a'so in-ludes a n~,~.~er or output ch~nnels for cc-~yins '~'2te~ zw2y ,rom the valve zssemblies 34, 36. The first hot water output channel ~8 communicates -- witk e2ch o_ t~e ho~ wate- on/o-f valve 2ssem~1ies 3~a 3~c. S mi l~-ly~ a se-ond h__ water out~ut channel ~0 communicates with each o~ the ho~ water on/or~ valve, assemblies 34d-34,. Similarly, a ~i~st cold water out-put channel 52 communicates with each of the cold water on/orf valve assemblies 36z-36c while a second cold water output channel 5~ communicates with the remafning ~- 20 cold water on/off valve assemblies 36d-36f. Each o_ these output channels 48-54 is preferably located directly below the respective valve openings 78, 79 of the valve assemblies 3~, 36 with which they communi-cate, as illustrated in Fig. g. This arrangement also adds to the desired compactness of the valve manifold 14.
Each of these output channels 48-52 communicates directly with one of two linking output channels 58, 60. The linkins output channels 58, 60 are lo~ated on the input side of the valve manifold 14. The linking ~- output channel 58 is substantially perpendicular to ;~ each of the output channels ~8, 50 and receives the hot wa.er 'rom these two channels. The linking output channel 60 is substantially perpendicular to each of the output channels 52, 5g and receives the cold water rom these two channels.
A common output channel 6Z is also ~ormed in the valve manifold 14 for carrying water along the lon-395~3~i .~ --11--gitudinal extent of the valve manifold 14. The commonoutput channel 62 communicates with each of the link ng output channels 58, 60 and carries com~ined hot and cold water away from the valve manifold 14. As can be ~- 05 understood from ~ig. B, the flow of the water in the - common output channel 62 is in the same direction as the flow in the input channels 18, 20 and Z4, 26, while the flow in the output channels 48-5~ is in a di~e~.ion opposite that of the flow in the input and common out-~ut c~nnels.
~e-e~irg now to ~igs. 6 ~nd 7, zs well as Fig 1s, the valve assemblies 34, 36 will be described.
Initially it is noted that each cf the valV2 Gssem~l ies 3~, 36 has the same ~hysiczl c~n-iguration and c ~~ des~ription of any one of the 12 valve assemblies 3~, 36 is considered to be a description of the other vzlve ~i assemblies 34, 36. In that regard, the hot water on/orf valve assembly 34a, in addition to having a - valve seat 28a and a bore 33a, includes a valve cover - 20 6~a, which is comprised of a cylindrical receptacle 66a ~ and a stem 68a integrally formed with the receptacle - 66a. Each receptacle 66a is of a size to fit within the bore 38a foxmed in the valve manifold 14, which~is used in housing the valve seat 28a. That is, the top of the receptzcle 66a is substar,tially flush with an outer surface o_ the valve manifold ~, wi~h the full length of the stem 68a protruding above the surface of the valve manifold 14. A seal member 70a having a - diameter su~stantially e~uzl to the inner diameter of the reoe~tacle 66a is adapted to be tightly held in the receptacle 66a. The seal member 70a is preferably made of a flexible, sealing material, such as~rubber, and has one or more holes. In this embodiment, a plate 72a is held by the seal member 70a and includes an opening 73a formed through about the center portlon of the plate 72a. ~he opening 73a is aligned with the hole formed in the seal member 7Oa.
, '.;

1~5~3~ ~

In the preferred embodiment, a hot water as-sociated orifice plcte 7~a is provided adjacent to the valve seat 28a and to the seal member 70a. The orlfice plate 74a has a center hole 76a that i5 located 2bout 05 the extending portion or tu~e of the v~lve seat 28a, which defines a valve opening 78a. ~he orifice plate 74a includes an orifice 80a, which is formed at the pe-iphery of the o-- ice plate 7~a th-ough a portion thereof. In one em~odiment, each orifice plate 7~ is integrally molded o- fo~med with a valve sezt 28. Tn this ma~r.er, 2 pro?er seal ~s es~a~l~shed and wa~er is - able to only pass through the orifice 80, and not _h-ough o- a~oun~ a~.y po-tio~s o~ ~he o-i~ice p'a_e 8~
so th~t, whe~ .he v~lve ass~m~ly 3A is opened, only ho~
water through ~he o~i_ice 80 passes through the valve opening 78.
~ ach of the hot w~ter valve assemblies 3~a-3~f has associated with it an orifice plate 74a-74f, respec-tively. Similarly, each OL the cold water on/o ~ valve assemblies 36a-36f has associated with it a valve cover 81a-81f and an orifice plate 82a-82f, respectively.
Each of the cold water associated orifice plates in-cludes an orifice 8Aa-8A., respectively. Additionally, in the preferred embodiment, at least some of the orifice plztes 74a-7A~ ar.d 82a-82f include more than one orifice in the same orifice plate. his is neces-sary because the required size of some of the orifices is so large that a single oriflce plate is not laxge enough to acrommodate such a size~ o~ifice. Con-seauently, these large~ cri~ices a-e formed using two or more relatively smaller orifices in the same orifice plate.
In the pre erred e~bod~ment, the sizes of each o the hot water associated orifices 80a-80f are deter-mined so that the flow rate or amount of hot water ex-iting one orifice is in a binary relationship relative - to the flow rates of water through the other of the hot - water associated orifices. That is, ror example, the ~,...

' ~5~5 flow rate through the orifice 80b is twice that of the flow rate of hot water through the ori_ice 80a, while the flow rate of hot water throush the orifice 80c is four times that through the orifi-e 80a, and so on, 05 with the flow rate of wa~er through the orifice 80f being 32 time~ greater than the flow rate through the orifice 80a. Similarly, each of the sizes OL the cold - water associated ori ices 8~-8~f is determined to p~ovide a blnary relationship ~mong 'he cold water zs-sociated orifices. Consequently, the low rate o_ c~1~
wa'er throush the ori~ice 8 ~ is .-~ce .ha~ .hrousn ~h2 oriLice 84a, and so on, with the flow raLe of oold water through ~he o-i'ice 8~' being 32 times .hzt o tne flow ~ate through the o~i_ice 8~a. 3y wzy o- ex-ample only, ir cold water ,lows through the cold wa.e-associated orifice 84f ~ a flow rate Or approximately 1.5 gallons per minute, then the flow rate through t~a ori~ice 82e is approximately half of that flow rate or .75 gallons per minute. In addition, an important ~ez-ture OL the present invention is the utilization of hotwater associated orifices 80a-80~ that are smaller in size than their corresponding cold water associated ori~ice 84a-8~f, respectively. That is, the smallest of the hot water associated orifices 80a is smalle~ in 2~ size than the smallest cf the cold water associated orifices 3 A a and so on wi~h the largest o~ the hot water associated orifices 80f being smaller in size than the largest of the cold water associated orifices 84f. This relationship between the hot and cold wate-orifices is due to the fact that the relatively hotwater has a greater viscosity and is able to Ilow at a ;~ relatively faster rate in comparison with the cold water, when both the hot and cold water are under the same pressure. Consequently, more hot water is able to pass through the same sized orifice in the same amount ci t~me, in comparison with cold water flowing throush the same si~ed ori~ice. In order to maintain the desired binary relationship and assure accurate com-i35 binations of valve openings ln provicing a desired tem-perature, it is important to determine and incorporate such di~ferent sized orifices.
In addition, in order to ac~ieve the desired bi-- Q5 nary related flow rates usins the orifices 80, 84, the sizes of the orifices themselves 80, 84 ~re not in a binary relationship. That is, the size o~ orifice ~0~
is not 32 t~mes the size o~ ori~ice 80a. The nec~ssary orifice sizes we~e obtzined by tes~ing znd ex~eriment--~ion .o en~re _h~t ~he flow -a~es ,hrough the c-~ r- ces 80, 64 2~e ~el-~ed n a bi-la=y ~a~.n~= 2~d ir. col..g so, such faclors 25 the oressure o-- the water sup?lied to the buil~ing, ~he ?~essu~e o_ _he wa.er in _he bu~lding - itse1--, and t~e mzr-fold size were considered.
In connection w~_h the controlling of the valve assemblies 3~, 36, solenoid asse~lies 8B are employe~.
Preferably, an individual soleno~d assembly is used with each valve assembly 34, 36. Each of the solenoid assemblies 88 is of the sæme configuration zncl in-cludes, as illustrated in Fig. 3, a cylindrical-shaped housing 90, which is of a size to receive a stem 68 of a valve body 64. Each of the housings 90 is supported on the valve manifold 14 by means oF a bracket 92 which - is attached to a surface of the valve manifold 14.
3ach o~ the solenoid assemblies 88 also includes a plunger 94, with the plunger 94a associated with the valve assembly 34a being shown in Fig. 7. The plunger 94a includes, as do the other plungers 94 associated with each of the valve assemblies 34, 36, a tip, which hzs a size for engaging the seal member 70a with which it comes in contact. When a solenoid assembly 88 is energized, the plunger 94 is caused to move away 'rom ` its seal member 70. With the ~lunger 94 ~,oved away from seal member 70, the pressure of the water against the seal member 70 causes thè seal member 70 to be dis-placed a~ay from the valve opening 78. Wnen this oc-curs, the water through the orifice 80 or 84 is able to _low through the valve opening 78, in a direction sub-12S~5~5 stantially opposite the direction of the water through ' the orifice 80 or 84. Each solenoid assembly 88 also includes a spring 96 positioned in each of the stems 68a-68f. When the previously activated solenoid as-S sembly of the solenoid assemblies 88 is no longer ener-gized, the spring 96 thereof causes its associated ,' plunger 34 to be returned to its position adjacent to ',' the seal member 70. This movemen'_ o' the plunger 9~
,- also causes its associated sezl mem~er 70 to be moved - 10 .o its closed position whe-eby wzter through the o~i ice 80 o_ 8~ is una~le to pass ~.nrou3h the pre-viously opened valve opening 78.
As cæn also be seen in ~,g. 3, the manif Ola as-- sembly 12 zls~ includes 2 L-sh2pe~ inle_ mar.irold lOG
~~ to w~ich a pair of input connecto-s 102, 104 are ~-2S-tened. A firs~ input connecto~ 102 is attached to the hot water pipe in a house or other building, which is u~ilizing the apparatus o~ the presen~ invent:Lon. The second input connector 10 A is attached to th~ ~ipe car-2C rying the cold water. The inlet manifold 100 includes openings of a predetermined size through which the ln-, put connectors 102, 104 are sealingly connected.
The inlet manifold 100 is fastened to a strainerblock 106, which includes filters 108 for filtering or removing particles or other contæminants from the hot and cold water being supplied to the apparatus. In the preferred embodiment, the strainer block 106 is con-nected on one of its sides to the inlet manifold 100, with a sasket the_ebetween, while the o~posite side o , 30 the strainer bIock 106 is co~nected to the valve manifold 14, with a gasket positioned therebetween.
, The inlet manifold 100 and the strainer block 106 are ~'~ connected to the valve manifold 14 by means of the same ~' bolts. The strainer block 106 includes water pathways in alignment with the hot water input line 16 and the cold water input line 22.
The manifold assembly 12 further includes an out-let manifold 110 2S an integral part thereol and to ~35~35;

which a pair of output connectors 112 are sealingly at-tached. The first output connector 112 (not shown) is joined to pipe for carrying water to a shower he~d, for example, while the second output connector 112 is 05 joined to pipe for carrying water to a tub fauce" for example. The outlet manifold 110 also has a bore Iormed through it which communica.es with the common outpu channel 62. A temp2rzture senso- 116 is _eceived by the bore and is used to send a temperatu-e ~ ~igncl to the elec~ronic control1er 10. I~ this loca-.ion, the tempe-2.ure sensor 115 is able to detec. ~he temperature o- the combined or mixed hot and cold water. ~or c~n roll~ng the flow o wa_er ~o .he showe-head o- the tu~ faucet, a showe- valve 120 and ~ .u~
valve 122 are p_ov1ded with the outlet manifold 110.
The valves 120, 122 are also on/ofr valves. The opening/closing o~ the valves 120, 122 is also con-trolled using the same type OL solenoid assemblies sa that zre used in controlling the valve asse~blies 3 A /
36, respectively. Such solenoid asse~blies are mounted to the surface OL the outlet manifold 110. It should be appreciated that outlets other than to a shower head or faucet could be utilized. Also, only one outlet or more thzn two outlets could be employed.
With reference to Fig. lA again, the electronic controller 10 is described in greater detail. The electronic controller 10 includes a signal conditioner circuit 130, which is responsive to the temperature signal outputted by the temper2ture sensor 116. The function o the signzl cond~tioner clrcuit 80 depercs - upon the Xind of temperature sensor 116 that is employed, and the signal conditioner circuit 130 may, for example, act to provide cold junction compensation or linearize the temperature signal, as is well kno-~n to one skilled in the art. Th~ conditioned temperature signal is applied to an A/D converter 132. After the - temperature signal is converted to digital form by the A/D converter 132, in a typical embodiment,~it is ln-., .

.

1;29SG 35 putted to an I/O controller 134 that communicates with certain peripheral-related de~ices znd a microprocessor 136. More specifically, the ele.tronic controller 10 urther ~ncludes the microprocessor 136 and a memory 05 138. ~he memory 138 is accessed by the microprocessor 136 and stores zn executa~le control program, as wel as vari2ble and permanent data, for use by the micropro~essor 136 in mon~to-ing and con~xolling _he oper~tion c_ ,he present invention.
1 ~he peripheral-rel2ted devlces include ~ selec~ed tem~e~zture ir.?ut 1so whe-e~y th2 use- is able _o select 2nd input a desi-ed or selected temperature fo-storage, usin~ the I/O contrc1le~ 13 _nd the m~croprocesso- 136. ~he des~-ed ~empe-atu-e is s~^rec ror subsequent comparison with -n actual o~ sensed tem-perature detected by the tempera~ure senso- 116. In one embodiment, the selected temDerature input 140 in-cludes a first switch ~or incre~sing or -~ising the desired tem~erature while a second switch is used in order to lower or decrease the magnitude of the selected temperature. The output of the seleoted tem-perature input 140 is applied to a debouncing circuit 142 which is used to eliminate the transient switching inherent in the switches used to raise and lower the - 2~ magnitude of the desi-ed temperzture. The selected water tempera~ure estzblished by the user can be sto-ed in a register located in the microprocessor 136 for comparison with the actual temperature sensed Dy the te~perature senso_ 116 or, altern2tively, the magnitude of the selected temperature can be stored in the memo~Y
138 for later access and use by the microprocessor 136 In conjunction with the selected temperature, the electronic controller 10 fur.her includes a display unit 144 which is used to provide a visual display, when selected, of either the desired temperature selected ~y ~he user or the actu~l temperature Of the water sensed by the temperature sensor 116. An inter-`~ face circuit 146 provides the input to the ~isplay unit ;:

~l2b.~5~35 1~4 and, in one embodiment, includes a decoder for decoding the information received from the I/0 control-ler 134 in o_der to energize the proper L~D segments o~
the display unit 144; a display driver circuit used to ~ provide the necessary amplification of the digital sig-nals relating to the displayed temperature; and a mul-tiplexer which minimizes the circuitry required to p~ovide 2 displzy o~ the te~peratu_e by con~rolling in 2 pred2te ~ined manner the desired inputs .h-ough the display dr~ver circui~ and the de-oder so tha. .he a--pro~ te _~3 ses~ents a-e rot con.inuously li_ The elect-onic controller I0 also includes a ru~/se- sw~t-h ~nit 15~ ~o- p-ov ~ng a n~be_ o unc-tions WhQn ~he sw ,ch ~it 150 is i~ i~s o_f posi-t~on, ns wzter c~n be ou_putted _rom .he valve as-semblies 34, 36 or the valves 120, 122 ~he switch s unit 150 also includes a set position in which the valve assemblies 3~, 36 remain closed so that water is unable to flow through the valves 34, 36 or the valves 120l 122, but the display uniL 144 is operating and displavs the desired temperature selec.ed by the user - In this position also, the switch unit 150 is operative so that the se1ected tem~erature can be changed by the user by means of activation of the input 140 for visual ''J 25 indic2tion by the d~splay unit 1 The switch uni' - 150 fur'her includes a run position ir which at least one of the shower valve 118 and tub valve 120 is opened and all of the hot water on/off valve assemblies 44 and all of the cold water on/off valve assemblies 46 are also operative In this position, water flows from the shower head and/or tub faucet and the display unit 144 is able to visually indicate the actual water tempera-ture detected by the temperature sensor 116 ~- Also inputted to the I/0 controller 134 zre the outputs from shower/tub switches 152 These switches 152 enable the user to select either the shower head or the tub faucet as the output for the water from the outlet manifold 110 As can be readily understood, .
.
.

S~35 when the shower swltch is selected, for example, the shower valve 120 is opened, while the .ub valve 122 remains closed, fc. aelivery of the m~xed water to the shower head.
' In the preferred embodiment, the electronic con-- troller 10 also includes at leas' one te~perature/time preset input 156. This input or feature allows the oper~tor or user to in~ut a desi_ed te~pe~a~ure and/c_ a desired time in~o memo~y. Once in memory, the ~r-- 15 putted tem?e;ature ær.d/o time c-n be ~e-called ~rcm mamo~y i~ cont-ollins the ,em~er__u~e o~ the wate-- and/or the time du ing which the wate~ flows. To u.il-ize thls feature, the user activ_ es o- presses 'he ir.-~ut 156, whi-h causes 2 te ?eratu-e value ~o ~e dis-played by the ~isplay uni, 1~ ne value o the tem-perature displayed is that value which was previously stored in memory. ~o chznge the preset temperature value, the user activates or presses the tempera~ura in~ut 140. That is, to increase the value of the ~- 20 preset temperature, the raise switch of the input l D
is activated, while to decrease the value of the stored - temperature the lower switch of the input 140 is ac-tivated, until the temperature to be preset or stored -` is reached and displayed. Wi~h the new preset tempera-2~ ture now stored in memory, the user is then able to select a preset time 'o be stored in memory. This is accomplished by again pressing the temperature/time prese. i~put 156. This causes the previously sto-ed time to be displayed. The time czn be changed in 30 second intervals by pressing the selec.ed tem3erature input 140. To increase the time to be stored, the raise switch is used, while the timé is decreased by - using the lower switch. A~ter the sele~ted time is reached and displayed, this time is stored in memory and the user is now able to initiate water flow through the shower valve 120 and/or the tub valve 122. In the preferred embodiment, a second temperature/time preset - input is provided so that two sets of prese~ v_lues c_-be stored for temperzture and time. As can be under-stood, the time preset input is most beneficial when the tub is being filled with water and the user does - not wish to watch or monitor the tu~ as it fills.
05 The electronic controller 10 21so includes a nu~-ber of solenoid drivers 158, with the number thereof corresponding to the number of valve assemblies. The drivers 158 receive their input from the I/O controller ~- 13~. Each of the drive-s 158 is ,riggered by a con-~-olled ~npu. dic.ated by the control prog-am. The -- ou.p--.s of .he drivers 1~8 are a?plie~ .o the solenoid assembl~es ~8. Each ac~vated driver 158 causes its soleno d ~55C~y 88 to be er.erg-zed thereby mov~ng irs ~lunge- 5 awzy from its associ2ted seal me.m~e~ 70.
The operatior. of the present invention is now dls-cussed. When power is initi211y applied to the zp-paratus after it is properly connected to the hoL and cold water p~pes, the control progrzm begir.s to check for the exis.ence of any in~uts to the I/O contro'le-134. The control program zlso monitors the tem~erature ; sensed by the temperature sensor 116. Assume, for ex-ample, that the initial state of valve assem~lies in-cludes valve assemblies 34f and 36a-36e (inclusive) - being opened while the remaining valve assemblies 34a-34e (inclusive) znd 36_ are closed. As .he flow of water through the~e o~ened valve assemblies besins, the temperature sensor 116 continues to be monitored by the electronic controller 10. ~he electronic controller 10 znd the valve assemblies 3~, 36 cooperate in providir.g 3~ a co-respo~dence between the selected 'emperatu~e znd the actual water temperature. Tn the case in which a water temperature is not selected, the correspondence to be achieved is between the actual temperature and - default temperature, such as 100 F.
With regard to the flow of water when valve as-semblies 34f and 36a-36e are opened, ig. lB il-lustrates, by means of the arrow heads, such flow through the various channels or water lines of the ap-5/~35 pzratus The hot water from the building hot wzter supply pipe is carried by the ho~ water input line 16 through the inlet mzni'old 100 z~.d the strainer ~lock 106, where the wa,er is filtered to remove unwan~ed 05 particles The ho. water is dive~ted from the hot water input line 16 to the first and second hot wa'er input channels 18, 20 Because the electronic control-ler 10 has only opened hot wz.e- on/o_' valve asse~ly 3~~, the hot water is only aDle to ?ass th~oush the ~-21ve assem~lY 3~f In conne~ti~n with _he flow .nrough the o~ened valve assem~ly 3~ , the pllnger 9~-is moved away from the seal member 70f and hot wate ~s a~le _o p2SS to a.~d th_ough ~he valve o~en~g 78' i. z d~rec_ion su~stan.ia'ly o~posite .h~`_ of the --low o~
; 15 the water through the orifice 80S Since the not wz~e_ output chznnel 50 is in the p~th Or the wzter exitirg the valve opening 78f, and is substantially pe~pen-dicular thereto, the water flows to the hat w~ter out-put channel 50 From the output chznnel 50, the hot water passes to the linking output channel 58, which is used to carry the water to the common output channel Similarly, with regard to the opened cold water on/off valve assemblies 36a-36e, the cold water is 2S carried by the fi-st ~nd second cold water input chan-nels 24, 26 adjacent to each o' the cold wzte- on/o'' valve assemblies 36a-36f ~he cold water passes through the opened cold water on/off valve assemblies 36a-36e in the same manner as described in connection with the opened hot water on/of' valve assembly 34~
Because valve assemblies 36a-36c are opened as well 2S
valve assemblies 36d-36e, both first and second cold water output channels 52, 54 receive cold water which passes through the orifices 8 a-84e The cold water ;~ 35 then flows to the linking output channel 60 and from there to the common output channel 62 From the com~mon output channel 62, the water flows past the temperature ~2~5~3S

sensor 116 to the input sides of ~he shower valve 120 and the tub valve 122.
Returning to the description of the controllins of w~ter temperature, the control progrim, in addition to C5 monitoring the temperature of the wacer, also deter-mines whether other inputs have been provided by the user. In the case in which the shower switch of the swi ches 152 is ~u_ned on, he con~rol p-ogram will, du-ing its check o~ inpu.s, determine that the shower - ~ sw~tch W? S ~urr.ed on and will cause the s~ower valve 120 tO o?en. Th-s pe~.its wa_er -lo~ ~h-oug;~ the shower head.
Ass~ing ha_ ~-e ac.u-l o- cu -e.. tempe-atu~e o_ the wate- aoes n~' correspond .a .ne wa e~ tempera~u-e selec,ed by ~he use- using ~he selected temperature in-put 1~0 and/o~ the temper~,ure p~eset in~ut 156, the electronic controller 10 acts to adjust this dlf~erence so that the desired ,em.perature of the water is - achieved. In controlling the temsera,ure of the wate-, the I/0 controller 13 controls the supplying o~ power to a selected number of the solenoid drivers 158. ~o~
those solenoid assemblies 8B communicating with the energized solenoid drivers 158, its plunger or plungers 94 are moved away from the seal member(s) 70 causing 2~ them to be moved away from the respe-~ive valve opening(s) 78. Depend~ng upon which o the valve as-semblies 34, 36 are opened, the temperature of the - water changes and, based on the operation of the cor.-trol program, the temperature moves towards the desired tempera,ure set by the user or the default temperature.
With regard to determining which of the on/off valve assemblies 3~a-34f and 36a-36f should be opened to achie~e a particular water mixture and resulting . water temperature, reference is made to the following Water Mixture Table I in which selected combinations of ~- open/closed valves o, the valve assemblies 3~, 36 are provided.
~.,.

~2~5(~35 WATER MIXTURE TABLE I
,, PRO~ORTION
~CSITION OF Xl Cl H2 C2 ~3 C3 H4 C4 H5 C5 H6 C5 NO.HOT WATER 34a 362 3 b 36b 3 c 36c 34d 36d 34e 36e 3~f 36f ,, ~-: 3 2/63 0 1 1 0 0 1 ~ 1 0 1 0 ~ 6 5/63 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 : 7 6/63 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 . 8 7/63 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 O
~- 9 8/63 O 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 - ~ O g/63 10010 ~ 10010 1 10/63 0 1 1 C 0 1 1 0 0 ' 0 '2 11/63 1 0 1 0 O 1 ~ 0 0 1 0 :- 14 13/63 ~ 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 /63 0 ; 1 0 1 0 ~ 0 0 ~
~ 1~/63 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 O
- :7 16/63 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 : la 17/63 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 19 lB/63 0 1 1 0 0 1 o 1 1 0 0 22 21/63 ~. 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 . 2~ 23/63 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 ~5 25/63 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 : :32 31/63 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 3~ 33/63 . 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 ' O
3g/63 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 . 3~ 35/63 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 ; 3a 37/63 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 : 39 38/63 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 ~0 39/63 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 ~1 ~0/63 0 1 0 1 0 1 ~ 0 C 1 0 42 ~1/63 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 4/63 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 ' 0 1 1 0 -. 46 ~5/63 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 47 ~6/63 0 1 1 0 1 o 1 0 0 1 1 0 48 ~7/63 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 ~- 9 ~8/63 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 "
- . .

- 2 4 _ ~ 5 PROPORTION
POSITION OF Xl Cl H2 C2 H3 C3 H4 C4 H5 C5 H6 C6 NO HOT WATER 34a 36a 34b 36b 34c 36c 34d 36d 34e 36e 34r 36f -51 50/63 0 ~ 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 53 52/63 0 1 0 1 1 0 ~ 1 1 0 1 0 5g/63 0 1 1 o 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 57 55/63 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 ' 0 58 57/63 1 0 0 ~ 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 59/63 1 o 1 0 0 1 1 0 l 0 1 0 62 61/63 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 _ 0 ~3 62/63 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 r 6 ~ 63/63 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 :'"-' :',' ~, .
., :,: . ~ ,.. .. .. .... ....

5~3~i;

As can be understood from the Water Mixture Table I, because six hot wzter valve assemblies 34a-34f a~d six cold water valve asse~blies 36a-36f are incor-p3rzted in the illustrated embodiment, 64 different 05 valve combinations are available. An opened valve as-sembly is represented or indicated by the binary number 1 while a closed valve assembly is represented or ina -cated by the binzry numbe- 0. Ad~itiona~ly, the bira~y a-rangement n Table I re3uires .na. eithe_ the hot 1~ wa~er v21ve assem31y be opened o~ its co--es?or.dlng c^'d wz_er v-lve assem~ly ~e o~er.ed, DU _ n~t bo.h. ~o-example, in the case o_ ~osition No. 28 in Table I, hot - wa~er va~ve ZcSe~ies 3A~, 3~, zn~ 3~e zre o?ened - whlle the remzin ng hot water valve zssem~lies 3 a, ~5 34c, and 3~f are closed. Conversely, colZ water valve assembl1es 36a, 36c, and 36f a~e opened while cold water valve assemblies 36b, 36d, and 36e are closed.
As can also be appreciated rom the Water Mixture Table I, for Posi~ion No. 1, the valves through which cold water flows are all opened while the valves through which hot wa.er flows are all closed. Con-sequently, the column of Table I illustrating the proportion or amount of hot water relative to the cold water indicates that no paxt o~ the total water flow includes hot water. At the opposite end of the Table I, all o~ the valves receiving hot wzte- a-e opened while all the valves through which cold water flows are closed. For Position No. 64, the proportion of hot water to the total amour.t of water is 1, i.e., all of the wzter through the common ou~put channel 62 is hot water.
-~ The information correlating various combinations o~ o~ened valves and the propo-tion of hot wa~e- to cold water is s~ored in the memory 138 for access ~y the control program. In one method of controlling the opening/closing of valve assemblies 3 A ~ 36, to achieve a combination of valve assembly openings which provides the desired water temperature, the controlled progrzm 5a315 causes the combination of vzlve openings to be changed accordlng to 'he steps d~sclosed in the flow diagram Or Fig. 2. In pa-ticul2r, the me'hod involves the deter-mination of an error factor (EF), the magnitude an~
C5 sign of which is used in determining which combination of valve zssembly openings, in the Water Mixture ~able ~ I, that should be used to achieve a desired tempera-ture.
More specifically, with rererence to ig. 2, with - 10 the actual temperature o the wa.er being se~sed, the er-or fac~o~ C2n ~e de~ermined. In one e~bod men-o_ _he invention, E~ = (set temperature) - (curren~
- tempera~ure) - X ((current tempe~a ure) - (last cu~ren~
,e~per~ture)), w~ere X is a coe__~cien- ~hat is ~lown ; ~5 but vzries dependins upon the magnitude of ~he dif-ference between the set temperature and the current temperature. With the error factor determined, the me~hod o~ ~he present inven'ion ~hen arrives at which of the number of combinations of valve assembly open-ings should be utilized to reduce the difference be-tween the actual temperature and the desired tempera-ture. In arriving at such a combination of valve as-sembly openings, the control program determines how many positions or steps should be taken from the cur-rent position in the Water Mixture Table I and thedirection o movement relat~ve ~o the cu~rent position , in the table. In accomplishing this step, a range table is formulated and stored in the memory 138. The range ~able consists o a number o error factors and z number of corresponding 6 ~eps or positions to be taken or moved from the current position in the Water Mixture Table I. Each error fac~or or range o. error factors has a corresponding nu~ber of steps in the defined range table, with the direction of each step also being provided.
By way of e~ample only, for error factors having a value or magnitude of ~4 to +6, the corresponding num-ber of steps in the defined range table may.be +5 steps ,.~.
.

in the "hotter" direction This means that if the cur-rent combination of opened vzlve assem~lies is, fo, ex-ample, de ined by Position No 32 and the e_ror factor equals +6, then the nUmDer o steos to be taken to ar-05 rive at the next valve combi~ation euals five ste?s in ; a "positive" direction, i e a greater proportion of hot water Continuing with this example, since the number of steps bein~ ta~en eaua1s +5, the new posi~ion would be Position No 37 To fur.her illustra.e the o?e_a_ion of the rcnge .a~le, -or er-o= -ac~crs hzv n~
c val1e o- -ange c -10 ~o ~2, the c_--es~ g r ~-ber of steps in the rznge table may be +12 This means that i- an error facto- o~ +10 is ~e_e=~ned, ~he nex~
vclve co~birLa~ion to be selec.e~ is 12 ste?s away in the Water Mixt~re ~able I from the cur_e-.t ~osition In the case of the current position being Position No 37, the next selected valve combination would be de~ined by Position No 49 Generally speaking, as can be seen rom these two examples, the greater the value of the error factcr, the greater is the number of steps to be taken to ar-rive at the next selected combination of valve assembly openings It should also be understood that, in the case in which the error factors or range of error fac-tors has a negatlve sign associated therewith, the nextselected position n~lmber in the Water Mixture Table I
is less than the current position number After the next selected combination of valve assembly openings is established, the cont~ol program then causes a repeat-ing of the steps shown in Fig 2, starting with thereading of the current or actual temperature In another embodiment of the invention, greater n~bers o~ valve assembly co~blnatlons cr positions can be achieved with the same or fewer valve assemblies 3~ With reference to the Water Mixture Table II set out - below, 144 combinations of valve o~enings zre achieve~, ~- even though only 8 valve assemblies are utilized The increased number of valve combinations results because, :

~ 5~ 3 for each two valves, zll four possible com~inations Or valve o~enings/closings a~e utilized; .nslead o~ only two Or the .our poss.ible combina ions as found in Tzble I. Also, because of thls capability, the valve co~-05 binations o~ Table II result in di erent flow rates o~water through the common output channel 62, dependir.g upon which valve co~Dination is currently being used;
whe~eas, the -~te o_ wzter flow th_ough _he co~mon chznnel 62 when the valve combinz_ions o~ Ta~le I a~e ~ utilizea, is su~stan_i-'ly the szme, -egar~less of wh -h pcs-tion n~mb2- is ~e_r.g Us2i.
i : 23 ~' .
. 25 ~' . 30 ., "^' `~' ., ~
... .

, --2 9 ~ 295?~ ~?5 WATER MIXTURE TABLE I I

POSITION PROPORTION O~
NO. XOT WATER Hl Cl H2 C2 H3 C3 H4 C4 , 1 0/15 = .00 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 2 2/~7 = .118 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 3 2/16 = .125 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2/15 = . 133 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2/14 = . 1~3 1 0 0 0 0 1 O
6 2/13 = .154 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 7 2/12 = .167 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 2/11 = . 182 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 2/10 = .20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 /19 = . 211 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 11 ~/18 = .222 0 0 1 1 o 1 0 12 ~/17 = . 235 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 13 ~/16 = .25 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 14 4/15 = .267 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4/14 = .286 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 16 6/20 = .30 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 17 ~/13 = .308 0 ' 1 0 0 0 0 18 6/19 = . 316 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 19 6/18 = .333 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 8/23 = .348 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 21 6/17 - .353 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 22 8/22 = .364 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 23 6/15 = .375 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 24 8/21 = .3B1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 8/20 = . 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 26 10/, ~ = .417 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 27 8/19 = .421 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 28 6/14 = .429 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 29 7/16 = .433 0 0 0 8 / 18 .444 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 31 10/22 = .455 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 32 12/26 = .462 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 33 8/17 = . ~71 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 34 10/21 = . ~76 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 12/25 = .480 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 36 14/29 = .483 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 37 14/28 = .50 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 38 16/31 = .516 0 1 0 1 0 39 14/27 = .519 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 12/23 = .522 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 ~1 10/19 = .526 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 42 16/30 = .533 o 0 0 1 0 43 14/26 = .538 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 44 12/22 = .545 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 10/29 = .552 0 1 0 0 0 46 10/18 = .556 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 47 14/25 = .560 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 48 18/32 = .563 1 0 0 1 0 q9 16/28 = .571 0 0 0 18/31 = .581 1 1 0 0 0 .i ' _30_~2~5~3~
POSITION PROPORTION OF
NO. HOT WATER Hl ClH2 C2 H3 C3 ~4 C~
5114/2~ = .583 1 0 1 1 1 00 5220/34 = .588 0 0 1 1 0 5316/27 = .593 0 1 0 1 0 0 5422/37 = .595 1 1 1 1 0 5518/30 = .60 1 0 0 0 0 5~20/33 - .606 0 1 1 0 0 571~/23 = .609 1 1 1 O 1 00 5~22/36 = .611 1 0 1 1 0 5516/26 = .615 0 0 0 1 0 0 6018/29 = .621 1 1 0 1 0 0 6120/32 = .625 0 0 1 0 0 6~22/35 = .629 1 1 1 0 0 11 1 632~/38 = .632 0 0 0 ~26/~1 = .63g ~ 1 0 651'/22 = .636 1 0 1 C 1 00 6616/25 = .6 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 6718/28 = .643 1 0 0 1 0 0- 1 1 6820/31 = .6~5 0 1 1 1 0 0 6922/3g = .6 7 1 0 1 0 0 1~ 1 7024/37 = .6 9 0 1 0 0 7126/40 = .65 1 0 0 7228/43 = .651 0 7330/45 = .667 7430/44 = .6B2 1 0 7528/41 = .683 0 1 1 0 7626/38 = .684 1 0 0 0 772~/35 = .686 0 1 0 1 1 0 7822/32 = .688 1 0 1 1 0 0 7920/29 = .69 0 1 1 0 0 0 B018/26 = .692 1 0 0 0 0 0 8116/23 = .696 0 1 0 1 0 11 0 8230/43 = .698 1 1 1 0 8328/~0 = .70 0 0 1 0 8g26/37 = .703 1 1 0 1 1 0 8~2~/3~ = .706 0 0 0 1 1 0 8622/31 = .71 1 1 1 0 0 01 1 ~720/28 = .714 0 0 1 0 0 0 8828/39 = .718 0 1 1 1 1 0 891~/25 = .72 1 1 0 1 0 11 0 9026/36 = .722 1 0 0 1 1 0 91. 24/33 = .727 0 1 0 0 1 0 9230/41 = .732 1 1 1 1 1 0 9322/30 = .733 1 0 1 0 0 0 942B/38 = .737 0 0 1 1 1 0 9520/27 = .741 0 1 1 1 D 1 1 0 9626/35 = .743 1 1 0 0 1 0 9724/32 = .750 0 0 0 0 1 0 9822/29 = .759 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 9916/21 = .762 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 -~ 10026/34 = .765 1 0 0 0 1 0 10120/26 = .769 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 --. 10224/31 = .774 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0328/36 = .778 0 0 1 0 1 0 lC418/23 = .783 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 - 10522/28 = .786 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 .

- 31 - ~9~ 35 POSITION PROPORTION OF
NO. HOT WATER Hl Cl H2 C2 H3 C3 H4 C4 106 26/29 - .788 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 : 107 30/38 = .789 1 0 1 0 1 0 108 23/35 = .80 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 10g 30/37 = .811 1 1 1 1 1 1 i 0 110 26/32 = . ~13 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 i 111 22/27 = .815 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 i 112 18/22 = .818 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 113 28/34 = .824 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 114 24/29 = .828 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 115 30/36 = .833 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 116 26/31 = .839 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 i 1 i7 16/19 = .8~2 0 1 0 ' 0 0 ~ 0 i ~ ~8 22/26 = .8~6 1 0 1 0 0 1 ~ 0 179 28/33 = .8 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 ' 0 120 24/2B = . a57 0 0 . 0 1 1 1 0 121 26/32 = .867 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 122 20/23 = . e70 0 1 1 1 0 0 ~~ 0 ' 23 28/37 = .875 0 0 1 0 1 ~~ 1 0 : 124 22/25 = . a86 1 1 1 1 o o 7 o 1.25 30/34 = .882 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 o 126 24/27 = .889 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 127 26/29 = . ~97 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 128 18/20 = .90 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 : 12g 2B/31 = .903 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 : 130 20/22 = .909 0 0 1 1 0 0 ~~ 0 i 131 22/24 = .917 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 :- 132 24/26 = .923 0 0 0 1 1 0 ' 0 ~ 133 26/29 = .929 1 0 0 1 ~ 0 -~ O
i 134 28/30 = .933 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 ii 135 30/32 = .935 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 136 16/17 = .9~1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 137 18/19 = .947 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 138 20/21 = .952 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 ~i 139 27/23 = .957 1 1 1 0 0 0 _ 0 140 2~/25 = .960 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 i 141 26/27 = .963 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 28/29 = .966 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1~3 30/31 = .969 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 4 30/30 = 1.000 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 ; .

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Once the actual temperature de.ected by the _em-perature sensor 116 and the selected or de~ault tem-perzture are equal to within plus or minus about 1.0C
- ~, the combina.ion of valve assembly openings is main-05 tained at that point. ~owever, the temDerature con-tinues to be monitored every .5 second lnterval. If - the temperature drifts beyond this l.o~ F error window, - another combin2tion of valve assembly o~enings wlll ~e determined .o reduce the error ~mediately so it is -- ~ within the 1.0~ ~ error range.
Simila-ly, i- the user should ;.2~?en to chan~e the previously selected temperzture, the control program, during the time it checks for inpu_s, will de~e~ne ~hat a new sele^.ed ~emperztu_e is desired and will ake appropriate s~eps to provide a substantial cor-respondence between the desired tempera.ure and the ac-u21 temperature. -n connection with a new selected temperature, in the case in which there is continuous activation of the raise switch of the tem~erature in~ut ; 20 140, the selected temperature will increase one degree each second fox the first 3 seconds. After that the rate at which the change occurs increases to one degree ap~roximately every .25 second. However, if the selec.ed .emperature reaches 110, the advance in tem-- 25 perature settin~ will sto~ for seve~al seconds before going on to higher and possibly hazardous temperatures.
~ikewise, to reduce the temperaiure of the water, the lower switch of the selected temperature input 140 is pressed or activated and the tempe-ature will start to decrease con'inuously one degree per second from the ~ current temperature setting for ~he first three seconds ; and then the rate of change will increase to one desree steps for each .25 second. Once the user h~s ~inished with the shower, the shower switch is turned off - 35 thereby causing ~he control program to deactivate the solenoid assembly associated with the shower valve 1?0, and the solenoid assemblies associated with any opened ,, -,- :

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~2~5~35 valve asse~blies 34, 36, thereby causing these valves to be shut off.
; With respect to the bath tub or sink, it is lilled with water at the desired temperature using the control 05 program n substantially the same manner as utilized in ~ connection with the shower operation. ~o assist the - bather in filling the tub, the elecr.ronic controller 10 includes 2 t~mer which is acti-a.ed ~hen the tub swit_h 152 is turned on. n p2rtlculz~, b~ mear.s OI the con-t-ol p-ogr~m, the '_mer is rese. to enab~e iL 'o keep t-ack o~ tke t~me du~ing which water -s ~llling t;~e - tub. The ~ime in the timer is continuously com~zred with a prev ous1y s.ored time. A-_e~ the stc-ed t me co_res?onds .o _he time in _he t~er, he ~ub valve '2' wiil shut o_f. In the case in which ~ere is no ime preset input p-ovided by the user, a defaulL time o 5 minutes is util~zed.
Although the presen~ inven~ion has been described as having the foresoing features, further or other rea-tures may be utilized. A device or unit could be in-cluded in the apparatus to minimize significant or abrupt changes in the temperature of the water exiting the shower head or tub faucet. For example, in those - cases where there ~re abnormal water pressures and/or where there is a signific2ntlv g_eat d~'Lerence be'ween the temperatures o the ho. and cold water, highly cyclic, transient water temperatures might be felt by the user of the apparatus until the desired temperature is reached. To alleviate this possibility, a device or unit, such as a section of pipe or ~ small cylinder having a greater diameter than that of the common out-put channel 62 would be used so that the water accumu-lates in this me~ber before exiling the shower head or the tub faucet thereby effectively eliminating abrupt or highly cyclic changes in the temperature of the out-putted water. Such a device would preferably be lo-~- cated upstream of the temperature sensor 116.

5~35 In addition, although the orifices associated with the ho, water valve assemblies have been described as being smaller in size relative to the cold water orifices, the hot water orifices could be the same or 05 greater in size than the cold water orifices, Greater sized hot water orifices could be useful in providing a biasing of the water temperature. That is, because-a ty~iczl ba.her or sho~-e- user desi-es a water tem?e-a-- ture in .he r,nge o- zbout 100~ 10-~, it may be - ~ desirGble IO provide a bi 2S whereby g-eate~ cont-ol over ~he ~-z~er .em~e-a~ure _s a-'-ieve~ near this -zn~e o- water temper2tures. Specifically, more different temperatu-es woula be zvail=ble ir. 2 ~-edetermine~
---nge o~ w2-e- ~empe-a.u-es~ This is a^com?lished Dy 15 having more valve comDina.ions -n this range. As a result, bettel- resolution o~ water temperatures is , achieved. For example, instead of a lo F difference '~ between successive valve combinations, a .5 F dif-ference can be achieved in a desired range Or water 20 temperatures. Biasi~g could also be accomplished by pre-mixing the hot and cold water before the water is inputted to one or more of the valve assemblies.
'-' Proper operation of the present invention also does not reauire that the numbe- cf hot water valve as-25 semblies be eauzl ~o the r.u.~ber of cold water valve zs-semblies. '~he number of hot wzter valve assemblies may ' be less or greater than the number of cold water valve "' assemblies. The number o.- hot and cold valve as-" semblies can also be less or greater than the six vzlve " 30 asse~olies discussed in connection with the illustrated embodiment.
,, As previously discussed, Ihe preferred method for -.,, prov,ding a selected combination of vzlve openings in--" cludes moving more than one step or position .rrom a current position in the Water Mixture Table I.
~- Xowever, the control program could be implemented to ; - reduce any difference between the actual water tempera-~; ture a~d the desired water temperature in an incremen-,, , ~, -35~ 5~35 tal manner Specifically, in the case of the actual water temper~ture being different from the desired wate- temperature, different valve assemblies could be cpened in successive steps until the actual temperature 05 of the water corresponds to the desired temperature Each successlve ste~, having a d-fferent valve combina-tion, results in an actual water temperature which is different from the previous wa~er tempera~ure, and which is also less than any other possible ~emperature change availa_le using any o.her pcssible co~b~nation - o~ vclve ope~.ings I~ such a ma-.ner, .he elec=ronlc controller is able to czuse .he leas' ~mount of water temperature ch~nge between a first co~inalio~ of valve openings and Ihe next selected combina.ion of v~lve openings that is available a compared with all o~her com~inations OI valve openings whlch could be selectec Finally, although th~ discussion directed to the correlation between combinations o~ valve openinss and a ~ro~ortion o hot water to cold water has been dis-cussed with reference to "tables," it should be ap-preciated that such correlation information can be stored in memory in any desired fashion so long as the ~- control program is able to properly access and use the information in order to reduce the difference between the actual temperature and the aesired tempe-ature In view of the foregoing detailed description, a number of advantages of the present invention are readily discerned A water temperature control system is provlded having z particular applic~tion as part of a shower ~nd bath system The invention includes on/off valve assemblies which are relatively inexpen-~- sive in comparison wi~h proportional valves Re-latedly, such valve assembl es do not reouire the use of stepper motors o~ any other kind of motor Such on/off valves can also be inexpensively and easily re-placed if they should Lail The invention includes a compactly configured manifold having a number of chan-nels thrsugh which wa~er is a~le to flow to and from the valve assemblies, yet large enoush to permit proper mixing of the hot and cold water. Orlfices are sized to provide flow rates in a ~inary relationship. The orifices are formed in orifice plates compactly dis-05 posed adjacent to valve openings. The hot wate_ as-sociated orifices are relatively smaller in size than corresponding cold water associated orifices so tha~ an accurate, desired w~ter temperature can be achieved.
To zssure tha. the orifices '-emain free of particles and are not blocked o_f, the system inclu~es a s~raine block 'o~ filte~ir.g the wa~e-. In c_nnec~ion wi_h he controlling of .he water temperature, a control program ls provided that ~ccesses and uses a water mixture table stored in memory whereby a cirferen~ co~binzt~on ~5 of valve openinss can be implemented without cycling through other coi~binations of valve openings. ~.s a ,i consequence, the desired or selected water temperature can be more rapidly achieved. ~astly, the control progr~m includes a number of ~eatures that can be util-. 20 ized by the operator using various input controls.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it should be understood that further variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the in-vention.
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Claims (17)

1. An apparatus for controlling the temperature of liquid such as water, comprising:
a plurality of on/off valve means, some of said on/off valve means including hot water on/off valve means for receiving relatively hot water therethrough and some of said on/off valve means including cold water on/off valve means for receiving relatively cold water therethrough, each of said on off/valve means being either fully opened or fully closed;
a plurality of orifices, each of said orifices being associated with at least one of said on/off valve means;
means for causing selected ones of said on/off valve means to open;
monitoring means for sensing water temperature;
and manifold means including a body for housing each of said plurality of orifices and each of said plurality of on/off valve means, said manifold means including at least a first input channel means for providing a path for water to at least a number of said hot water on/off valve means and at least a second input channel means for carrying water to a number of said cold water on/off valve means, said manifold means further including a first output channel means, which is separate from and unaligned with said first input channel means and substantially parallel thereto, and a second output channel means, which is separate from and unaligned with said second input channel means and substantially parallel thereto, said manifold means also including a common output channel for receiving water from each of said first and second output channel means, at least two of said number of hot water on/off valve means being disposed in said body of said manifold means on substantially opposing sides of said first input channel means wherein hot water is initially received adjacent to said two hot water on/off valve means at substantially the same time and at least two of said number of cold water on/off valve means being disposed in said body of said manifold means on substantially opposing sides of said second input channel means wherein cold water is initially received adjacent to said two cold water on/off valve means at substantially the same time.

2. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
at least one of said on/off valve means includes a valve opening and at least one of said orifices is positioned upstream of said valve opening.

3. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said body of said manifold means is an integral body and said first output channel means includes a first output channel and a first linking output channel substantially perpendicular to said first output channel.

4. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said first input channel means carries water in a first direction, said first output channel means carries water in a second direction, and said common output channel carries water in said first direction.

5. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said hot water on/off valve means includes a first hot water on/off valve, a second hot water on/off valve, and a third hot water on/off valve and wherein said three valves are serially arranged in said manifold means such that water flows adjacent to said first hot water on/off valve and said second hot water on/off valve before the same water flows adjacent to said third hot water on/off valve.

6. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said means for causing said on/off valve means to open includes solenoid means supported on a surface of said manifold means.

7. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said monitoring means includes a bore formed in said manifold means for receiving a temperature sensing element.

8. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said plurality of on/off valve means includes a first on/off valve means having a valve opening and at least one of said orifices is spaced from, unaligned with, but substantially parallel to said valve opening.

9. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
each of said orifices, that is associated with one of said hot water on/off valve means, is different in size from the other of said orifices associated with said hot water on/off valve means and each of said orifices, that is associated with one of said cold water on/off valve means, is different in size from the other of said orifices associated with said cold water on/off valve means, the smallest in size orifice associated with said hot water on/off valve means being smaller in size than the smallest in size of said orifices associated with said cold water on/off valve means.

10. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 8, wherein:

said first on/off valve means includes a seal member movable in response to the pressure of the water and at least one of said orifices is formed in an orifice plate and wherein said seal member is adjacent to said orifice plate.

11. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said plurality of on/off valve means includes at least a first on/off valve means having a valve opening and a first of said plurality of orifices is associated with said valve opening wherein water moves through said valve opening in a direction opposite that of the movement of the same water through said first orifice.

12. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said first input channel means includes a first input channel and a second input channel, said first input channel carrying hot water to some of said hot water on/off valve means and said second input channel carrying water to others of said hot water on/off valve means.

13. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
a first plurality of on/off valve means includes a housing having a stem and said means for causing includes a plunger and a spring positioned in said stem.

14. An apparatus for controlling the temperature of a liquid such as water, comprising:
manifold means having an outer surface and a plurality of channels through which water flows;
a plurality of on/off valve means, some of said on/off valve means for receiving relatively hot water therethrough and some of said on/off valve means for receiving relatively cold water therethrough, each of said on/off valve means being either fully opened or fully closed, each of said on/off valve means being held by said manifold means;
a plurality of orifices, each of said orifices communicating with one of said on/off valve means, the sizes of said orifices communicating with said hot water on/off valve means being in a predetermined size relationship relative to the other of said orifices communicating with said hot water on/off valve means, said predetermined size relationship being a binary relationship wherein the amount of hot water outputted by each of said orifices being in a binary relationship to the amount of hot water outputted by each of said other orifices communicating with said hot water on/off valve means, each of said orifices communicating with one of said cold water on/off valve means being in a predetermined size relationship relative to the other of said orifices communicating with said cold water on/off valve means, said predetermined size relationship being a binary relationship wherein the amount of cold water outputted by each of said orifices being in a binary relationship to the amount of cold water outputted by each of said other orifices communicating with said cold water on/off valve means, each of said orifices communicating with said hot water on/off valve means being of a different size than each of said corresponding orifices communicating with said cold water on/off valve means;
temperature monitoring means in operative association with said manifold means;
actuating means for use in causing said on/off valve means to open, said actuating means being supported on said outer surface of said manifold means; and control means responsive to said temperature monitoring means for controlling the opening/closing of each of said on/off valve means.

15. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 14, wherein:
said temperature monitoring means includes a bore formed in said manifold means communicating with one of said channels.

16. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 14, wherein:
at least a first of said plurality of orifices is formed in an orifice plate and at least a first of said on/off valve means includes a valve opening, and wherein said valve opening is adjacent to, and on the down-stream side of, sand first orifice.

17. An apparatus, as claimed in claim 14, wherein:
at least a first and second of said plurality of orifices is formed in a single orifice plate.