DUAL FLUSH ELECTRONIC FLUSH VALVE

CHASSE ELECTRONIQUE A DEBIT VARIABLE

English Abstract

A flush valve utilizes a sensor to determine how close a user is to a toilet to determine whether to utilize a longer flush with more water to remove, typically, solid waste or a shorter flush with less water to remove, typically, liquid waste. If a user is in a zone that is closer to the toilet, a longer flush is deemed necessary and if a user is in a zone farther from the toilet, a shorter flush is deemed necessary. Users sometimes move between one zone or the other and the flush valve determines whether a user spends more or less time in the zones to determine whether to provide a shorter or a longer flush.

French Abstract

Une vanne de chasse d'eau utilise un capteur pour détecter la distance d'un utilisateur à la toilette et ainsi déterminer s'il faut utiliser une chasse d'eau de plus longue durée avec plus d'eau pour évacuer des déchets généralement solides, ou une chasse de durée plus courte avec moins d'eau pour évacuer des déchets généralement liquides. Si un utilisateur se trouve dans une zone plus près de la toilette, une chasse de plus longue durée est considérée comme nécessaire et si un utilisateur se trouve dans une zone plus éloignée de la toilette, une chasse de plus courte durée est considérée comme nécessaire. Les utilisateurs se déplacent parfois d'une zone à l'autre et le choix de la durée de la chasse d'eau est effectué en fonction de la zone où l'utilisateur passe le plus de temps.

Claims

CLAIMS
1. An apparatus for flushing a toilet comprising:
a flush valve,
a sensor for detecting a user,
a first sensing zone in which said sensor detects whether the user is closer
to said
toilet and
a second sensing zone in which said sensor determines whether the user is
farther
from said toilet, and
a controller wherein if a user is in said first sensing zone said controller
directs said
flush valve to flow more fluid therethrough to remove any waste in said toilet
and if said
user is in said second sensing zone said controller directs said flush valve
to flow relatively
less fluid therethrough than if said user were in said first sensing zone.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said controller further comprises
a counter for determining a number of times a user is in said first sensing
zone or in
said second sensing zone over a given period of time.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said controller directs said flush
valve to flow
more fluid therethrough if said counter determines that said user is in said
first sensing zone
more than in said second sensing zone, and wherein if said counter determines
that said user
is in said second sensing zone more said first sensing zone said controller
directs said flush
valve to flow relatively less fluid therethrough.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 further including an adjuster to adjust a
dimension of said
first sensing zone and a dimension of said second sensing zone.
5. A method for flushing a toilet comprising:
sensing whether a user is in a first zone near the toilet,
sensing whether a user is in a second zone that is farther from the toilet
than the first
zone,
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determining an amount of fluid said flush valve passes therethrough depending
if a
user was in the first zone or the second zone.
6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:
opening said flush valve for a first period of time if said user was in said
first zone,
and
opening said flush valve for a second period of time if said user was in said
second
zone wherein said second period of time is less than said first period of
time.
7. The method of claim 5 further comprising;
adjusting an area of said first zone.
8. The method of claim 5 further comprising
adjusting an area of said second zone.
9. The method of claim 5, wherein said determining step further comprises
counting a number of times the user is in said first zone,
counting a number of times the user is in said second zone and
allowing an amount of fluid to flow depending on which of said first or second
zone
counting numbers is greater than the other of said first or second zone
counting numbers.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein said determining step takes place after
the user is no
longer in either of said first zone or said second zone.
11. The method of claim 5 further comprising;
allowing a first volume of water to flow into the toilet if said user is in
said first
zone, and
allowing a second volume of water to flow into the toilet if said user is in
said second
zone wherein said second volume is less than said first volume.
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12. A method for flushing a toilet comprising:
sensing whether a user is in a first zone near a toilet,
sensing whether the user is in a second zone that is farther from the toilet
than the
first zone,
counting a number of times the user is in the first zone,
counting a number of times the user is in the second zone,
communicating the number of times the user is in the first and second zones to
a
counter, and
determining a length of flushing time based on the counter.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the determining step takes place after
the user is no
longer in either the first zone or the second zone.
14. The method of claim 12 including comparing the counter to a threshold,
flushing the
toilet for a first period of time if the counter is less than the threshold,
and flushing the toilet
for a second period of time greater than the first period of time if the
counter is greater than
the threshold.
15. The method of claim 14 including resetting the counter after each
flush.
16. The method of claim 14 including adding one count to the counter each
time the user
is detected in the first zone and subtracting one count from the counter each
time the user is
detected in the second zone.
17. An apparatus for flushing a toilet comprising:
a flush valve;
a sensor that senses whether a user is in a first zone near a toilet or
whether the user
is in a second zone that is farther from the toilet than the first zone;
a counter that counts a number of times the user is in the first zone, and
counts a
number of times the user is in the second zone; and
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a controller that controls the flush valve and determines a length of flushing
time
based on the counter.
18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the controller determines the length
of flushing
time after the user is no longer in either the first zone or the second zone.
19. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the controller compares the counter
to a
threshold, and wherein the controller flushes the toilet for a first period of
time if the counter
is less than the threshold, and flushes the toilet for a second period of time
greater than the
first period of time if the counter is greater than the threshold.
20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the counter is reset after each
flush.
21. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein one count is added to the counter
each time the
user is detected in the first zone and wherein one count is subtracted from
the counter each
time the user is detected in the second zone.
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Description

CA 02664248 2009-04-28
DUAL FLUSH ELECTRONIC FLUSH VALVE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Flush valves are used selectively to control the flushing of a urinal or
toilet
with a certain fixed volume of water. Typically, flush valves include a
flexible
diaphragm which forms a seal between the inlet and outlet, whereby a
disruption of
the diaphragm will result in a flow of water into the urinal or toilet to
evacuate the
waste.
Commercial toilets and urinals have traditionally utilized a single flush
volume in their operations. This flush volume is designed to provide the
maximum
amount of water needed to clear solid waste products. However, solid waste and
liquid waste generally require different volumes of water to be cleared from
the
bowl. In a single flush system, the higher volume of water necessary to flush
solid
waste is also used to flush liquid waste, with the result that more water than
is
necessary is often used. Ideally, the smallest amount of water necessary to
achieve
an adequate flushing of the waste would be utilized.
While multi-flush volume valves are known and allow for a more efficient
flush, they only achieve this efficiency if the appropriate flush mode is
used. These
known valves are manually activated. In such systems, the proper flush volume
is
determined by the user; thus, manual actuation of the flush valve often
results in an
improper choice of flush volume. Users may be unaware of the dual flush system
and, thus, do not appropriately use it. In addition, users may be aware of the
system,
but simply give no thought to how they are actuating the flush valve, but
instead
activate the device as they have in the past.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A flush valve utilizes a sensor to determine how close a user is to a toilet
to
determine whether to utilize a longer flush with more water to remove,
typically,
solid waste or a shorter flush with less water to remove, typically, liquid
waste. If a
user is in a zone that is closer to the toilet, a longer flush is deemed
necessary and if
a user is in a zone farther from the toilet, a shorter flush is deemed
necessary.
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CA 02664248 2009-04-28
According to an embodiment of the invention, users sometimes move
between one zone or the other and the flush valve determines whether a user
spends
more or less time in the zones to determine whether to provide a shorter or a
longer
flush.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a drawing of a flush valve.
Figure 2 is a schematic drawing of a long flush zone and a short flush zone
Figure 3 is a schematic drawing of a flushing algorithm of the invention
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to Fig.1, a typical prior art commercial flush valve 10, such as
may be acquired from the Masco Canada Inc. in London, Ontario is shown. The
flush valve 10 is mounted to an inlet line 15 that feeds water to a toilet 20
on
demand. The flush valve 10 has a sensor 30, an infrared position sensing
device,
that detects motion and distance, an indicator lamp 40 to indicate whether the
valve
is in a programming mode, a visual indicator 50 to allow a user to choose a
particular sensing dimension such as distance (typically about 20-42" but
expandable from 6" to about 9' depending on programming) for normal operation
and a reset/programming button 60. The flush valve includes a controller 65
therein
that commands a solenoid (not shown) to activate a diaphragm (not shown) that
allows water to enter into and flush the toilet 20 for a given time.
Referring to Fig.2, a long flush zone 70 and a short flush zone 80 are shown.
The sensor 30 (see Fig. 1), placed in the flush valve 10 at the back of the
toilet can
distinguish a distance of a user from the sensor and send signals to the flush
valve,
to enable the valve to operate according to the invention. Typically the long
flush
zone 70 could be between 9" and 24" from the sensor in the flush valve 10, and
the
short flush zone 80 could be between 24" and 42" from the sensor. A user can
adjust the size of the zones largely as wished as will be discussed herein.
One of
ordinary skill in the art will recognize that sensors may be placed anywhere,
not just
in or on the flush valve 10, as long as a shorter zone and a longer zone are
established so a user can practice this invention.
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CA 02664248 2009-04-28
Referring now to Fig. 3, operation of the invention is described. The flush
valve determines whether a user is within its view (step 90), as is known in
the art,
and continues polling (step 100) its sensor 30 periodically, typically between
2-4
seconds. If the sensor indicates that a user is in the longer flush zone (step
110), the
flush valve adds 1 to a counter 67 within the controller 65 (step 120) (see
Fig.1). If
the user is not in the long flush zone, the flush valve determines whether the
user is
in the short flush position (step 130). If the user is in the short flush
position, the
flush valve decrements the counter by one (step 140). If the user is not in
the short
flush zone, the flush valve asks the counter whether it is above a threshold,
i.e., for
instance above 10 (step 150). If the counter is not above the threshold, the
flush
valve performs a shorter flush (step 160). And if the counter is above the
threshold,
the flush valve performs a longer flush (step 170). While either flush is
occurring,
the counter is reset for a next cycle (step 180). Of course, one of ordinary
skill in
the art will recognize that other counting techniques may be utilized.
By using a counter 67, the flush valve 10 accounts for movement by a user in
and out of the zones 70 and 80. As the flush valve continues to poll the
position of
the user, and the user is in either zone, the counter continues to add and
subtract as
the user moves about in the zones. If the user leaves the zones, i.e. is not
in the
shorter flush zone and is not in the longer flush zone, the flush valve
automatically
then polls the counter and performs the appropriate flush.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, to program a flush valve as to the distance of
the short zone and the long zone, a user holds the reset button until the
indicator 40
turns on. At this point the user can use the reset button to scroll through
several
preset distances, such as five different positions between 24" and 42" as
indicated at
indicator 50 to set the shorter flush zone. The user then presses and holds
the reset
button until the indicator turns on again to set the longer flush zone. The
user can
scroll between several preset distances, such as four different positions
between 9"
and 24" to set the long flush zone.
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CA 02664248 2009-04-28
Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, a
person of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain
modifications would
come within the scope of this invention. For instance a valve may not be open
longer or shorter but may, as an alternative, allow for larger or lesser
volumes of
flow by creating bigger or smaller openings therethrough. Also, the sensor may
sense other dimensions such as volume and others. For that reason, the
following
claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this
invention.
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Representative Drawing