GB2279086A

GB2279086A - Flushing water control apparatus for a urinal

Info

Publication number: GB2279086A
Application number: GB9412127A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Campbell Hastie
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-06-17
Filing date: 1994-06-17
Publication date: 1994-12-21
Anticipated expiration: 2014-06-17
Also published as: GB9412127D0; GB9312537D0; GB2279086B

Abstract

Apparatus for controlling the amount of water used for flushing a urinal (1) includes a heat detector (9) thermally coupled to the urinal (1) or an outlet (2) from the (1) to detect a change of heat, a valve (8) coupled to an outlet (7a) of a water reservoir (6) for feeding water (12) to the urinal (1), wherein the valve (8) controls the passage of water (12) from the outlet (7a) to the urinal (1), and control means (15) coupled to the valve (8) and the heat detector (9), for opening and closing the valve (8) to allow or deny the passage of water (12) from the reservoir (6) in response to signals from the heat detector (9). <IMAGE>

Description

"Water Control Apparatus" This invention relates to apparatus for controlling the amount of water used for flushing.

Currently, urinals and toilets are generally linked directly to a system which automatically flushes on a periodic basis from a reservoir or cistern which has a continuous water feed.

Hence, if the urinal is not in use throughout the course of each 24 hours this can result in a considerable amount of water being wasted, and in some instances the amount of water used by toilet and urinal systems is as much as half the total amount used in a building each day.

As there is an increasing likelihood and occurrence of businesses being charged for the amount of water they use, there is an incentive to save water.

In accordance with the present invention, apparatus for controlling the amount of water used for flushing a urinal comprises a heat detector thermally coupled to the urinal or an outlet from the urinal to detect a change in heat therein, valve means coupled to an outlet of a water reservoir for feeding water to the urinal to control the passage of water from the outlet to the urinal, and control means coupled to the valve means and the heat detector for opening and closing the valve means to allow or deny the passage of water from the water reservoir to the urinal in response to signals from the heat detector.

The apparatus of the invention allows the urinal to be flushed in response to a change in heat of the urinal or urinal outlet which is caused by urine from a user's body. Hence, the apparatus allows the urinal to be flushed after use instead of in a manner independent of frequency of use.

Preferably, the valve means is a motorised valve or thermostatic valve.

Typically, the heat detector is a resistance thermometer, such as a heat sensing strip. The heat sensing strip may operate the motorised valve directly.

The heat detector is preferably located on a portion of the urinal remote from the portions which are contacted by urine.

Preferably, when the heat detector is located on the waste outlet from the urinal it is at or adjacent to the bottom bend in a "U-trap" in the waste pipe.

The apparatus of this invention can be installed in a urinal at the manufacturing stage, or may be retro fitted to an existing urinal.

An embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the apparatus of this embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1 shows a urinal 1 having a waste pipe 2 extending from an outlet 3 of the urinal. The waste pipe 2 has a "U-bend" 4. At the top of the urinal 1 is a flush outlet 5 which is connected to a cistern 6 by means of pipes 7a, 7b and a motorised valve 8 which couples the pipe 7a to the pipe 7b. Thermally coupled to the base of the urinal 1 is a heat sensing strip 9 which is coupled via a temperature controller 15 and a control line 10 to a control point 11 on the motorised valve 8.

The apparatus is arranged so that the valve 8 is actuated when the heat sensing strip 9 detects heat above a predetermined temperature.

The heat sensing strip 9 may be, for example, a 4-wire resistant thermometer to BS1904/1984 and DIN 43760, encased in silicon rubber and having a temperature range from -50 C to +1500C. The valve 8 may be a WRC approved 2-way water valve, operating on 240V with a pressure range of 0 bar to 16 bar, a flow rate of 83.31 litres/minute, a maximum fluid temperature of -30 C to +1300C, and a zero pressure head capability. The temperature controller 15 may be an autotune of PID valves with an approach control and calculation of ideal cycle time. This would permit matching of the controller 15 to the valve 8 and the particular characteristics of each application. Typically, the controller 15 operates on 240V with a power of 2.5W and is accurate to + 0.25%, + 1"C.

In use, when a user urinates in the urinal 1 the heat of the urine, which is above said predetermined temperature, is detected by the heat sensing strip 9 which sends a signal along the line 10 to the control point 11 on the motorised valve 8. When the motorised valve 8 receives the signal from the heat sensing strip 9 the control mechanism within the motorised valve 8 opens the motorised valve 8 to permit water 12 in the cistern 6 to flow through the motorised valve 8, through the pipe 7b to the flush outlet 5 and into the urinal 1 in order to flush the urinal.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the heat sensing strip 9 is located at the bottom of the "Ubend" 4, as shown dotted in Figure 1,in which case the heat sensing strip 9 detects the heat from the urine which collects in the "U-bend" 4.

The control mechanism of the motorised valve may operate so that after receiving the signal from the heat sensing strip 9 to open the motorised valve 8, the motorised valve 8 stays open for a predetermined length of time. In addition or as an alternative to this there could also be a delay mechanism in the operation of the motorised valve 8 to permit a user to finish using the urinal 1 before it flushes.

Improvements and modifications may be incorporated without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. Apparatus for controlling the amount of water used for flushing a urinal, the apparatus comprising a heat detector thermally coupled to the urinal or an outlet from the urinal to detect a change in heat therein, valve means coupled to an outlet of a water reservoir for feeding water to the urinal to control the passage of water from the outlet to the urinal, and control means coupled to the valve means and the heat detector for opening and closing the valve means to allow or deny the passage of water from the water reservoir to the urinal in response to signals from the heat detector.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the valve means comprises a motorised valve.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the heat detector is a resistance thermometer.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the resistance thermometer is a 4-wire resistance thermometer.

5. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the control means comprises a threshold mechanism which opens the valve means when the signal received from the heat detector represents a temperature above a threshold value.

6. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the heat detector is located on a surface of the urinal remote from the surfaces contacted by urine, in use.

7. Apparatus for controlling the amount of water used for flushing a urinal, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.