Touchless Faucet Assembly and Method of Operation

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/518,826, filed on Nov. 24, 2023, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/072,213, filed Oct. 16, 2020 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,859,375), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/126,904, filed Sep. 10, 2018 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,837,161) which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/703,338, filed May 4, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,125,478), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/639,112, filed Dec. 16, 2009 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,032,565), and such applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

The present application relates to touchless faucets, and more particularly to such faucets that employ a light beam to sense presence of a person and activate the faucet in response to that sensing.

In hospitals, public rest rooms, and other facilities, it is commonplace to provide a faucet which is turned on and off without requiring the user to touch the faucet. The prior art is replete with devices for sensing the presence of a user and, in response thereto, activating a solenoid valve assembly that controls the flow of water to a faucet. A common sensing technique, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,347, involves transmitting an infrared light beam into a flow region underneath the outlet of the faucet spout, where a user's hands or other objects are placed for washing. A hand or object so placed reflects some of the infrared light beam back toward the faucet, where that reflected light is detected by a sensor mounted either on or adjacent the faucet. Detection of reflected light at the sensor indicates the presence of a user in front of the faucet. In response to receiving the reflected light, the sensor emits an electrical signal that causes the solenoid valve to open, sending water from the faucet. When the detection of reflected light ceases, the solenoid valve is de-energized, terminating the flow of water.

A problem with such proximity activated faucets is that room elements near the faucet, such as a mirror or shiny sink surfaces, can reflect light back to the sensor, thereby falsely triggering the flow of water. Inanimate objects, such as handbags, placed on the front edge of the sink also can falsely cause faucet operation. The false activation of the faucet not only wastes water, but may result in water overflowing the sink, if an unattended object also is blocking the drain opening.

Prior touchless faucets were not practical for kitchen sinks which are used for operations, such as draining water from a cooking pot or cutting vegetables, during which water from the faucet is not desired. Thus during such activities, the presence of a hand or other object beneath the faucet outlet should not activate the flow of water.

A faucet assembly includes spout having a base for mounting adjacent a basin of a sink. The basin is the recessed portion of the sink that is designed to receive and retain water. The spout projects upward and away from the base over the basin and terminates at an outlet from which a stream of water is to be produced in a flow region beneath the outlet. A light emitter and a light sensor are mounted to the spout. The light emitter projects a beam of light toward the spout base without the beam of light intersecting the flow region beneath the spout where the water sprays from the outlet. The light sensor produces a signal indicating whether the beam of light is striking the light sensor. In response to the signal, a control circuit opens a valve, thereby conveying water through the spout.

In one embodiment of this faucet assembly, the light sensor is mounted to the spout base and the light emitter is mounted proximate to the spout outlet with the light beam directed at the light sensor. Here, a person interrupts the light beam, with his or her hands for example, which interruption is indicated by the signal from the light sensor. The control circuit responds to that signal by opening a valve which supplies water to the faucet spout. The light may be in the visible spectrum to provide an indication to the person when the hands have interrupted the light beam. The water valve may remain open until either a predefined time interval elapses or the light beam is interrupted again, which ever occurs first.

In another faucet assembly embodiment, the light emitter and light sensor are proximate to each other on the spout and the light sensor responds to the reflection of the light beam by an object, such as a person's hands. In this case, the control circuit opens the valve in response to the signal indicating receipt of the light beam by the light sensor. Here too, the water valve may remain open until either a predefined time interval elapses or the light beam is interrupted again, whichever occurs first.

Because the light beam does not intersect the flow region beneath the spout where the water sprays from the outlet, a person can use the sink without triggering the flow of water. For example, the person may wash dishes in water retained in the sink or empty a pot of water without impinging the light beam and activating the faucet. Thus the faucet assembly is particularly adapted for use at sinks where activities other than washing hands occur.

With initial reference to, a faucet assemblyincludes a faucetthat has a mounting plateand a spout. The mounting plateis adapted to stand on the rimof a sinkor on a counter surrounding an under-the-counter mounted sink. Some stylized faucets do not have a mounting plateand the bottom of the spoutis mounted directly to the surface adjacent the basinof the sink. The spoutextends upward from the mounting platein an inverted J-shaped manner. Specifically, the spouthas a first endwith a generally vertical, tubular baseprojecting upward from the mounting plateand connecting into a tubular, arched portionthat curves upward and outward over the sink basinand then continues curving downward terminating at a second endthat has a water outlet. The water outlethas a nozzle from which a streamof water flows when the faucet assemblyis activated. Although the present embodiment is being described in the context of a high arching type spout, the faucetmay have other types of spouts which project upward and forwardly outward from a base section to a water outlet. The faucetmay have a pull-out style spray head in which the water outlet is attached to a hose that extends through the spout.

A light emitter, such as a semiconductor laser, light emitting diode (LED) or other device that emits a beamof light, is mounted on the spoutadjacent the water outletand facing the base. The light emitteris oriented to direct the light beamin a downward angle toward the base. A light sensoris located on the baseat a position to receive the beamof light. For this embodiment, a semiconductor laser has the advantage of producing a highly collimated, narrow light beamwhereby most, if not all, of the light impinges the sensor. Nevertheless light from another type of emitter that is focused into a narrow beam also may be used. Such as narrow light beams provides a relatively small object detection zone along the path of that beam. Preferably, the light is visible to the human eye, so that when a hand of a user or other item blocks the light beam, a visible spot of light appears on that object to indicate that the beam has been interrupted. Nonetheless, a beam of invisible light, such as in the infrared spectrum, can be utilized. Alternatively, the locations of the light emitterand the sensorcan be reversed, wherein the light emitter is mounted on or proximate the baseand the sensor is on or proximate the spout, however with this variation a spot of light on the hands may not be visible to the user. This alternative also may allow some of the emitted light to travel visibly across the room in which the sinkis located.

Operation of the faucet assemblyis controlled by an electrical circuitshown inin which the light emitterand the sensorare connected to a controller. The controlleris powered by a batteryor a low voltage DC power supply connected to a 110 or 220 volt AC electrical system in a building. The light emitteris activated periodically by an output signal from a control circuitand when activated, produces a beamof light. Upon being impinged by the light beam, the sensorproduces an electrical signal that is applied to an input of the control circuit. Any of several well-known signal processing techniques or filters can be employed to prevent light in the room from activating the faucet assembly.

The control circuitpreferably is microcomputer based and has a memory that stores a control program which governs operation of the faucet assemblyand stores data used by that control program. Inputs of the control circuitare connected to a user input devicethat in the illustrated embodiment is a touchpad, such as commonly found on laptop computers for the user to move a cursor on the display screen. The touch pad produces output signals indicating a two dimensional location on the surface of the touch pad that is touched by the user. The X signal for one orthogonal axis of touch pad indicates the desired temperature of the water discharged from the faucet, while the Y signal for the other orthogonal axis indicates a desired flow rate of that water. By touching different locations on the touchpad the user is able to change the temperature and flow rate. Alternatively conventional pushbutton switches can be employed as the user input deviceby which the user increases and decreases the water temperature and flow rate. Pushbutton switches also may be provided for selecting preset water temperatures or flow rates that have been programmed into the control circuit.

When the faucetis not being used, the light beamtravels from the emitterto the light sensor, thereby producing an electrical signal that is applied to an input of the control circuit. As long as the control circuitreceives that electrical signal, a determination is made that a user is not present at the faucetand the water is not permitted to flow to the faucet spout.

Referring again to, note that the light beamdoes not intersect a “flow region” beneath the outletthrough which the outlet water streamflows, nor does it intersect any region beneath the water outletin which the user typically places hands or other objects for washing or other sink use. In one embodiment, the light beamdoes not intersect a larger “work region”which extends downward from the second endof the spout to the edge of the upper openingof the basin. For the exemplary rectangular basin, the work regionhas the form of a rectangular pyramid, edges of each side being indicated by dashed lines in, however for an circular or oval basin, the work region is conical. In other words, the work regionhas a lower boundary defined by the upper openingof the basinand tapers upward to the second endof the spout at which the water outletis located. The work regionmay in addition include the interior of the basin, thus being bounded further by the side walls and bottom of the basin.

The path of the light beam, by avoiding the flow region and work region, allows a person to use the sink without activating the water flow. For example, a large pot of water may be emptied into the sink or dishes can be washed in water retained in the basin without that activity interrupting the light beamand thereby triggering the water flow. As used herein the “flow region beneath the outlet” refers to the space under the faucet spout where an object is placed so that water from the outlet will impinge upon the object and excludes other spaces below the vertical location of the outlet where water from the outlet will not strike an object placed there. Although in first faucet assembly, the light sensoris lower than the water outlet, the sensor is set back toward the rear of the sink, so that the light beamthat is aimed at the sensor does not intersect the flow region beneath the outletthat is defined by the outlet water stream.

When a user approaches the sinkand desires to activate the faucet, his or her hand or another object is placed between the light emitterand sensor, thereby interrupting the light beam. The path of the narrow light beamdefines a detection zone. As noted previously, it is preferred that the light is in the visible spectrum so as to produce a perceptible spot of light on the object to indicate to the user that the light beam is blocked. Furthermore, this spot is visible to the user because the light travels from adjacent the water outletof the faucet downward toward the back of the sink basinand near the tubular baseof the faucet spout. This path illuminates a portion of the hand or the other object that is visible to the user.

Referring again to, interrupting the light beamin this manner terminates the previously occurring electrical signal produced by the light sensorand applied to the input of the control circuit. When the control circuitrecognizes that it is not receiving an input signal in response to activating the light emitter, a determination is made that a person is present and desires to use the sink. In response to that determination, the control circuitsends output signals which cause a pair of valve driversandto open a valve assemblythat comprises two proportional solenoid valvesand. The two solenoid valvesandrespectively control the flow of hot and cold water to the spout. Specifically, the outlets of the two solenoid valvesandare connected together to produce a mixture of the hot and cold water that is fed through the spoutto produce the outlet water stream. The valve assemblymay employ other electrically operated valve arrangements to produce a mixture of hot and cold water. The valve assembly, along with the controller, usually are located beneath the sink.

The amounts to which the hot and cold solenoid valvesandare opened are specified independently by respective first and second values stored within the memory of the control circuit. Those values are set by the signals from the user input deviceand are used by the control circuit to determine the magnitude of the control signals sent to the valve driversandand thus the level of electric current applied to each proportional solenoid valveand. With reference to the orientation of the touch padin, touching a finger to different locations along the horizontal axis of the touch pad designate different desired temperatures. The resultant signal for that axis of the touch padcauses the control circuit to increases or decrease the first value which designates the amount that the hot water solenoid valveis to open, and changes the second value in the opposite manner to alter the amount that the cold water solenoid valveis to open. For example, moving a finger to the right on the touch paddesignates that the water temperature should increase which results in the first value for the hot water solenoid valveincreasing and the second value for the cold water solenoid valvedecreasing. This action sends more hot water and less cold water to the spout.

Touching different locations along the vertical axis of the touch pad, oriented as in, alters the water flow rate by modifying both the first and second values by the same amount and to alter the changing the opening of both solenoid valvesandequally. It should be understood that the two solenoid valvesandmay not be opened the same amounts as the water temperature setting may designate a greater amount of hot or cold water. For example, moving a finger downward on the touch paddesignates that the water flow rate should decrease. This movement will decrease both the first and second values by identical amounts which decreases the flow rates of the hot and cold water to the same extent while maintaining the same proportion of flow rates and thus the same temperature mixture of the water from the faucet.

Reference herein to directional relationships and movements, such as horizontal and vertical, up and down, or left and right, refer to a relationship and movement associated with the orientation of components as illustrated in the drawings, which may not be the orientation of those components when installed on or near a sink.

After interruption of the light beam has been indicated either by a spot of light on the user's hand or by water commencing to flow from the faucet, the hands of the user can be removed from blocking the light beam. Once activated, the faucetmay remain open for a fixed period of time, as determined by a software timer implemented by the microcomputer within the control circuit. During that time period, the control circuit continues to periodically activate the light emitterand inspect the signal produced by the light sensor. If the user interrupts the light beamagain while water is flowing from the spout, the two solenoid valvesandare closed immediately even though the fixed period of time has not elapsed. Alternatively, the faucet assemblycould be configured so that the two solenoid valvesandremain open only while the light beamcontinues to be interrupted.

A person may use the sink without turning on the water. The person may work underneath the spout outletand not activate the water flow because the light beam does not intersect the flow region beneath the outletor the larger work region. Thus the person may peel vegetables, place dishes in the sink, or empty a pan of water without water flowing from the spout. The location of the detection zone defined by the path of the light beamallows such use of the sink. Anytime that water flow from the spoutis desired, the user simply moves a hand or other object through the detection zone defined by the light beam, thereby momentarily interrupting the light beam.

Referring to, a second faucet assemblyincludes a faucetthat has a mounting plateaffixed adjacent the basinof a sinkand has a spoutprojecting upward from the mounting plate inverted J-shaped manner. Specifically, the spouthas a generally vertical, tubular baseextending upward from a first endabutting the mounting plateand connecting into an arched portionthat curves upward and outward over the sink basin. The arched portioncontinues curving downward to a remote second endof the spout. The second endhas a water outlet, also referred to as a spray head, which produces a stream of waterwhen water flows through the spout.

A proximity detectoris mounted on the spoutnear the second endand faces the base. The proximity detectorincorporates a light emitter, such as a light emitting diode (LED), and a light sensor similar to componentsandin the first faucet assembly. The light emitter and light sensor are arranged near to each other so as to project a narrow beamof visible light downward toward the spout baseand sense any light that is reflected back to the detector by an object, such as a user's hands, that may be placed in the light beam. The path of the light beamforms a detection zone which does not intersect the flow region beneath the water outlet, through which the outlet water streamflows, nor does the light beam intersect the work region of the sink.

The second faucet assemblyincludes a manually operated mixing valvethat is mounted on the rim of the sink adjacent the mounting plate. Alternatively, the mixing valve could be incorporated into the tubular baseof the spoutas long as a separate outlet is provided for an automatic mixing valve assembly, as will be described. With reference to, this type of mixing valvehas a mixing stage that combines water from hot and cold water supply linesandinto an intermediate chamber. The proportion of the hot and cold water that mixes in the intermediate chamber is varied by the rotational position of a lever. The mixing valvehas a flow shutoff valve that, when open, allows water to flow from the intermediate chamber to a first outlet. The flow shutoff valve is closed by tilting the leverinto the downward most position. Raising the leverfrom that downward most position opens the flow shutoff valve and the amount that the lever is raised proportionally controls the rate of water flow to the first outlet. The first outletof the mixing valveis connected to the inletof the spout. The mixing valvehas a second outletthat is connected directly to the intermediate chamber. Thus, regardless of the open or closed state of the flow shutoff valve, the hot and cold water mixture in the intermediate chamber always is able to flow from the second outlet. An suitable manual mixing valve is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0072965, for example, however other types of manual mixing valves can be used.

The second outletis connected to an electrically operated valve assemblyhaving a single solenoid valve that couples the second outlet to the inletof the spout. Operation of the valve assemblyis governed by a controllerthat includes a control circuitfor operating a valve driverconnected to the valve assembly. The control circuithas an output connected to a light emitterand an input connected to a light sensor, wherein the light emitter and the light detector are parts of the proximity detector. The controllerincludes a power supply, such as a battery.

The second faucet assemblycan be operated automatically in a similar manner as the first faucet assemblyby placing a hand or other object in the light beam. Such action reflects light back to the sensor within the proximity detector. Since light from that light beams only strikes the sensorwhen an object is present, the control circuitonly receives an active signal from the light sensor at that time. At such time, the control circuit responds by sending an output signal to the valve driverthat responds by opening the valve assemblyto feed the mixture of hot and cold water from the second outletof the mixing valveto the inletof the spout. The amount that the valve assemblyis opened, and thus the flow rate of the water, is preset in the control circuit. Note that the water temperature is determined by the mixing stage of the manual mixing valve. Thereafter, the control circuitcloses the valve assemblyupon either the user again placing a hand or other object in the light beamor after a predefined activation time period has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

The second faucet assemblycan be operated manually by the user lifting the leverwhich opens the flow control valve stage of the mixing valve. The amount that the lever is raised determines the degree to which the flow control valve stage opens and thus the flow rate of the water. The flow control valve stage of the mixing valveis connected in parallel with the electrically operated valve assembly, thus when either one is open water flows from the intermediate chamber of the mixing valve to the faucet spoutand water outlet. Regardless of which one of the manual mixing valveor the electrically operated valve assemblyis open, rotating the leverof the mixing valvecontrols the temperature of the water fed to the water outlet.

illustrates a third faucet assemblythat is similar to the second faucet assembly, except for using a manually operated mixing valvethat has a single outlet. Components of the third faucet assemblythat are the same as those in the second faucet assemblyhave been assigned identical reference numerals. Rotation of a leverof the mixing valvevaries the proportion of the hot and cold water in the mixture that exits the valve and thus varies the output water temperature. The amount that the leveris tilted controls the flow rate of the water exiting the mixing valve. The mixing valvehas an internal electric switch that conducts electric current only when that valve is open thereby providing an valve signal to the control circuitvia a cable.

The outletof the mixing valveis connected to the inlet of the electrically operated valve assembly, thus those two valves are fluidically connected in series. To turn on the faucet, a user must raise the leverto open the mixing valve. This action also closes the internal electric switch of the mixing valve which sends the valve signal to the control circuitindicating that the mixing valve has been opened. The control circuitresponds to that valve signal by opening the electrically operated valve assemblyto the fully open state. This sends the mixture of water from the mixing valveto the faucet spoutand through the water outlet. The user does not have to place a hand or other object in the path of the light beamfor this water flow to commence.

Now, however, if the user places a hand or other object in the path of the light beam, the resultant signal from the light sensorcauses the control circuitto close the electrically operated valve assemblyand turn off the water flow. If the mixing valveremains open, as indicated to the control circuitby the valve signal on cable, removing the hand or other object from the light beam and then reinserting that hand or object into the light beam again causes the control circuit to open the valve assembly. Interrupting the light beam repeatedly, toggles the valve assemblybetween open and closed states as long as the control circuitcontinues to receive a valve signal indicating that the mixing valveis open.

The foregoing description was primarily directed to a preferred embodiment of the invention. Although some attention was given to various alternatives within the scope of the invention, it is anticipated that one skilled in the art will likely realize additional alternatives that are now apparent from disclosure of embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined from the following claims and not limited by the above disclosure.