US20130180040A1 - Toilet leak prevention system - Google Patents
Toilet leak prevention system Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20130180040A1 US20130180040A1 US13/374,798 US201213374798A US2013180040A1 US 20130180040 A1 US20130180040 A1 US 20130180040A1 US 201213374798 A US201213374798 A US 201213374798A US 2013180040 A1 US2013180040 A1 US 2013180040A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- toilet
- prevention system
- leak prevention
- controlling apparatus
- water
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E03—WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE
- E03D—WATER-CLOSETS OR URINALS WITH FLUSHING DEVICES; FLUSHING VALVES THEREFOR
- E03D1/00—Water flushing devices with cisterns ; Setting up a range of flushing devices or water-closets; Combinations of several flushing devices
Abstract
A toilet leak preventing system comprising a conventional toilet, having attached thereto a sensing device able to detect sound or vibration from a leaking toilet, and having means to close the water supply to the toilet after a predetermined time interval.
Description
- Water leaking from toilet tanks is one of the most wasteful dispersal of one of our precious natural resources.
- There have been many attempts to solve this vexing problem, using level sensing devices of either mechanical or electrical nature. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,934,977; 6,671,893; 6,367,096; and 5,940,899 are typical for this genre. Such devices do sense leakage if the fill-valve inside the water tank does not close or leak. However, they do not sense if the closure element at the bottom of the tank (typically called a flapper) does not close, causing the water to be wasted. Such closure elements are typically made of rubber which tends to deteriorate over time. In addition, this element attracts deposits, which likewise interfere with proper closure.
- My invention, on the other hand, solves both of these problems in that it is able the detect the typical sound, (or associated vibration in the tank's wall) of a leaking toilet. My device also has a timing device to differentiate between the normal flushing noise or, that of any water draining after the flushing, due to leakage. My invention furthermore has a frequency analyzing device to filtering out extraneous sound originating from other noise sources in the bathroom.
- These and other advantages of my invention will become more clear, when viewing the accompanying drawings and the following description.
-
FIG. 1 is an external view of a toilet system having my sensing and controlling apparatus attached to the side of a toilet tank. -
FIG. 2 is the interior view of the sensing and controlling apparatus depicted inFIG. 1 . - Referring to
FIG. 1 , it shows a conventional toilet consisting of awater tank 5 and abowl 1. Attached to the tank is acontrol apparatus 2, a water pipe 4 supplies the water needed for flushing of the toilet. An electrically operated valve, such as asolenoid valve 3 is inserted into the water pipe and is capable to shut-off the water supply following a signal from the control apparatus. - The
control apparatus 2 comprises asensing device 5, typically a microphone or accelerometer, that is mounted attached to, or in close vicinity of the toilet tank, in order to be able to sense the sound made by the escaping water from the tank (typically in the 1000 to 2000 Herz range). - Any signal originating from the
sensing device 5 is going to a combination amplifier/frequency filtering device 9, capable of filtering out any sound frequencies unrelated to water leakage. - The filtered signal is wired to an
adjustable timing device 12, the purpose of which is, to delay any error signal for the duration of a normal toilet flush. The last stage for an error signal that passed the timing test, is to a relay; or switchingdevice 14. It amplifies thesignal 13, if required, and switches on the electrically actuatedvalve 3 viacable 15, thereby shutting off all water flow to thetank 5. - A manually operated
switch 16 is able to discontinue the error signal current incable 15, to the electrically operatedvalve 3, in order to restore normal operation of the toilet, once a repair of the leak has been accomplished: - Finally, there is a
battery 10, which serves as a power supply for the electronic devices, previously depicted. - While the invention has been shown in a preferred embodiment, numerous changes may be made such as using a hard-wired A/C power source instead of a battery, or, using a hydraulically operated shut-off valve, instead of an electric version; for shut-off purposes in the water pipe, without departing from the scope of the following claims.
Claims (8)
1. A toilet leak prevention system comprising an acoustical or vibration sensing and controlling apparatus attached to, or near a toilet, able to detect the sound or structure-born vibration caused by water leaking out of a toilet tank into the toilet bowl, wherein the controlling apparatus being able to communicate a signal to a shut-off device terminating further flow of water into the toilet tank.
2. A toilet leak prevention system as in claim 1 , wherein the acoustical sensing apparatus incorporates a microphone capable of detecting the sound of escaping water from a toilet tank.
3. A toilet leak prevention system as in claim 1 , wherein the vibration sensing apparatus incorporates an accelerometer capable of detecting the structure-born vibrations caused by escaping water from a toilet tank.
4. A toilet leak prevention system as in claim 2 , wherein the controlling apparatus incorporates a device limiting the frequency response of said microphone.
5. A toilet leak prevention system as in claim 1 , wherein said controlling apparatus incorporates a timing device filtering out signals from the sound or vibration sensing device, unless the time typical for the normal toilet flushing has passed.
6. A toilet leak prevention system as in claim 1 , incorporating a relay or other switching device able to activate an electrically operated shut-off valve, once the controlling apparatus senses a leak, in order to prevent any further water from discharging into a toilet tank.
7. A toilet leak prevention system as in claim 1 , wherein the controlling apparatus furthermore includes a battery serving as power supply for the electrical elements in my controlling apparatus.
8. A toilet leak prevention system as in claim 6 , wherein the system includes a manually operated switch capable to interrupt a signal from the relay or switching device to the electrically operated shut-off valve, in order to restore a normal flushing mode of the toilet.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US13/374,798 US20130180040A1 (en) | 2012-01-17 | 2012-01-17 | Toilet leak prevention system |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US13/374,798 US20130180040A1 (en) | 2012-01-17 | 2012-01-17 | Toilet leak prevention system |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20130180040A1 true US20130180040A1 (en) | 2013-07-18 |
Family
ID=48778942
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US13/374,798 Abandoned US20130180040A1 (en) | 2012-01-17 | 2012-01-17 | Toilet leak prevention system |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20130180040A1 (en) |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20130247291A1 (en) * | 2006-12-18 | 2013-09-26 | Limit, Inc. | Toilet overflow prevention system and method |
US20170177599A1 (en) * | 2015-12-18 | 2017-06-22 | International Business Machines Corporation | Assignment of Data Within File Systems |
CN109487876A (en) * | 2018-11-08 | 2019-03-19 | 南京皓赛米电力科技有限公司 | A kind of the intelligent recognition detection method and system of closestool |
US20220298769A1 (en) * | 2018-08-06 | 2022-09-22 | Hari Prasad | Improved Toilet Flushing System |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20040199989A1 (en) * | 2003-04-11 | 2004-10-14 | Trolio Anthony M. | Toilet and urinal leak detection and warning system and method |
US8310369B1 (en) * | 2009-03-27 | 2012-11-13 | Nth Solutions, Llc | Detecting unintended flush toilet water flow |
-
2012
- 2012-01-17 US US13/374,798 patent/US20130180040A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20040199989A1 (en) * | 2003-04-11 | 2004-10-14 | Trolio Anthony M. | Toilet and urinal leak detection and warning system and method |
US8310369B1 (en) * | 2009-03-27 | 2012-11-13 | Nth Solutions, Llc | Detecting unintended flush toilet water flow |
Cited By (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20130247291A1 (en) * | 2006-12-18 | 2013-09-26 | Limit, Inc. | Toilet overflow prevention system and method |
US9644357B2 (en) * | 2006-12-18 | 2017-05-09 | Limit, Inc. | Toilet overflow prevention system and method |
US9896831B2 (en) | 2006-12-18 | 2018-02-20 | Limit, Inc. | Toilet overflow prevention system and method |
US10190301B2 (en) | 2006-12-18 | 2019-01-29 | Limit, Inc. | Toilet overflow prevention system and method |
US20170177599A1 (en) * | 2015-12-18 | 2017-06-22 | International Business Machines Corporation | Assignment of Data Within File Systems |
US10127237B2 (en) * | 2015-12-18 | 2018-11-13 | International Business Machines Corporation | Assignment of data within file systems |
US11144500B2 (en) | 2015-12-18 | 2021-10-12 | International Business Machines Corporation | Assignment of data within file systems |
US20220298769A1 (en) * | 2018-08-06 | 2022-09-22 | Hari Prasad | Improved Toilet Flushing System |
CN109487876A (en) * | 2018-11-08 | 2019-03-19 | 南京皓赛米电力科技有限公司 | A kind of the intelligent recognition detection method and system of closestool |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |