Abstract:
A fill valve for a water storage tank, the fill valve comprising a riser assembly, a valve housing mounted on an upper end of the riser assembly, a pilot orifice in the valve housing, and a sensor adapted to be mounted within the water storage tank. The sensor is responsive to a water level within the water storage tank, and a pilot valve mechanism opens and closes the pilot orifice in response to the sensor determining the water level in the fill tank.

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates generally to plumbing fixtures and to the component parts that are used in them. More particularly, it relates to an improved fill valve and assembly for flush systems used in gravity flush toilets. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    Conventional toilets typically employ a generally rectangular porcelain tank mounted immediately above a porcelain bowl from which a quantity of water is rapidly drained in order to flush waste from the bowl into the sewer system. Common designs use a flapper valve made of an elastomeric material that covers the drain outlet of the tank. When the flush handle on the outside of the tank is manually depressed, the flapper valve is lifted and the head of water in the tank drains through the drain outlet into the bowl, thereby flushing the contents of the bowl into the sewer system. The flapper valve is typically designed with an inverted air chamber so that it initially floats as it is lifted away from the drain outlet in the bottom of the tank. This allows sufficient flushing water to flow into the bowl even if the user immediately releases the flush handle. When the water level in the tank drops, the tank is automatically refilled through a fill valve connected to a high pressure water supply line. 
         [0003]    The typical fill valve comprises a ballcock or pilot fill valve mounted in the tank on top of a riser assembly which extends through an opening in the bottom of the tank and is connected to a pressurized water line. When the tank drains, a float connected to the ballcock or pilot fill valve descends. This activates the ballcock or pilot fill valve and it allows the tank to refill with water at a rate much slower than the rate at which water flows through the drain outlet. When the tank is nearly empty, the flapper valve closes. The tank continues to refill as the float connected to the ballcock or pilot fill valve rises. At the same time water from the ballcock or pilot fill valve enters an overflow tube and refills the bowl to the normal standing water level to provide a trap seal. Once the float reaches a predetermined height indicating that the tank is full, the ballcock or pilot fill valve completely shuts off water flow into the tank. 
         [0004]    The foregoing general conventional arrangement is widely used today. One pilot fill valve construction that was devised and has achieved wide market acceptance and success is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,541 titled “Unitary Float and Arm for Float Operated Valve.” Other fill valves of related construction include U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,125 titled “Combined Filter and Noise Suppressor for Fill Valve;” U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,346 titled “Pilot Operated Diaphragm Fill Valve;” U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,859 titled “Adjustable Fill Valve Assembly;” and, more recently, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,387,652 and 9,062,795 both titled “Water Saver Fill Valve and Assembly” both being disclosures of this inventor. The disclosures relative to each of the foregoing constructs are incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0005]    Fill valves made in accordance with the foregoing construction include a riser assembly, a valve housing mounted on an upper end of the riser assembly, and a pilot operated diaphragm valve mounted in the valve housing. A float housing is connected to the valve housing. A float arm of a combination float and float arm has a first end pivotally connected to the valve housing for opening and closing a pilot orifice in the diaphragm valve. A second end of the float arm is connected to the float. The float is located in the float housing which has an inlet opening for allowing water to spill into the float housing so that the float rises upwardly and the first end of the float arm fully seals off the pilot orifice. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0006]    The improved fill valve and assembly of the present disclosure comprises some elements of a conventional fill valve of the type that is described above. That is, it has a float housing which has an inlet opening for allowing water to rise within the float housing. Instead of a float being disposed within the float housing, however, certain low energy digital components are disposed within the float housing and in the vicinity of the pilot orifice that is disposed within the fill valve cap. In accordance with the present disclosure, the digital technology can use one of two electronic fill valve (or “EFV”) constructs. A first construct is for resistive sensing and a second construct is for capacitive sensing. In both constructs, the float housing provides a reservoir for holding a battery enclosure, a waterproof battery enclosure cover, and a PC board with a logic and control module as well as a receiver and a transmitter. 
         [0007]    As alluded to, a standard fill valve cap of the type used in the references cited above is incorporated into the EFV and assembly of the present disclosure. That includes a pilot seat and a pilot orifice. However, in one embodiment, opening and closing the pilot orifice is accomplished via use of a solenoid and plunger arrangement, or, in another embodiment, a solenoid and pivot arm. Wireless technology is used to allow the solenoid to “communicate” with the digital control elements that are disposed within the float housing. 
         [0008]    The foregoing and other features of the electronic fill valve and assembly of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a top, front and right side perspective, and partially exploded, view of a resisting sensing embodiment, which is a first embodiment, of the EFV of the present disclosure. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is the same view shown in  FIG. 1  but showing the EFV as assembled. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a right side elevation view of the EFV shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a partially sectioned front elevation view of the EFV shown in  FIGS. 1-3  taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a partially sectioned view similar to  FIG. 3 , but taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a top, front and right side perspective, and partially exploded, view of an alternative capacitive sensing embodiment of the EFV of the present disclosure. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is the same view shown in  FIG. 6  but showing the EFV as assembled. 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a right side elevation view of the EFV shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a partially sectioned front elevation view of the EFV shown in  FIGS. 6-8  but taken along line  9 - 9  of  FIG. 8 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a partially sectioned view similar to  FIG. 8 , but taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 9 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  is a simplified graphic diagram of the capacitive electrode used in the capacitive embodiment. 
           [0020]      FIG. 12  is a schematic electrical diagram of the circuitry used in the capacitive embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein like-numbered elements refer to like elements throughout,  FIGS. 1-5  illustrate an electronic fill valve (or “EFV”) constructed in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the disclosure, and  FIGS. 6-10  illustrate an EFV constructed in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the disclosure. As previously alluded to, the first preferred embodiment is drawn to a “resistive sensing” functionality, and the second preferred embodiment is drawn to a “capacitive sensing” functionality. Referring first to the resistive sensing functionality, the EFV, generally identified  10  in  FIGS. 1-5 , will be used in conjunction with a standard flush lever, flush valve and flapper (not shown, but collectively, the “assembly”) adapted to be used in a water storage tank (not shown). Structurally, the EFV  10  is configured to work within a standard fill valve (which is a Lavelle Industries, Inc. Model 528 fill valve), a part of which is a float housing  60  having at least one aperture  63  defined in it, with water filling and draining thru the no check ball hole at the bottom of the float chamber on the EFV. The EFV is attached to a top of a riser assembly  20 . The EFV  10  is also configured to work with a standard fill valve cap  40  (which is a Lavelle Industries, Inc. Model 528 valve cap) and a slightly modified cover  90 . The EFV  10  comprises two subassemblies, a sensing and control subassembly, generally identified  3 , and a solenoid subassembly, generally identified  7  in the first embodiment and  7 ′ in the second embodiment. 
         [0022]    The sensing and control subassembly  3  of the EFV  10  comprises a battery enclosure  30  configured to house four “AA” batteries, although the present disclosure is not so limited, and a liquid tight battery enclosure cover  32 . Disposed atop the battery holder is a PC board  38  which comprises circuitry for enabling a logic and control module, as well as a wireless receiver/transmitter component. Disposed atop the PC board  38  is a reset switch  33 . The reset switch  33  correlates to a reset button  31  within the cover  90 . See  FIG. 2 . Forwardly in the battery enclosure  30  and making contact with the PC board  38  are the water sensors, as further described below, a water over-flow rod  34 , a water off rod  35 , a water on rod  36  and a ground rod  37 . 
         [0023]    As is known, the resistance or capacitance between the rods changes based on whether or not water is present between a respective rod and the ground rod. This resistance or capacitance is what is used to sense whether the water level in the tank has reached various levels along the rods. 
         [0024]    The solenoid subassembly  7  of the EFV  10  is disposed within a cavity  97  defined within the float housing. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the solenoid subassembly  7  includes a solenoid  8  and pilot valve means for opening and closing the pilot orifice in response to the water level in the fill tank in the form of the solenoid  8  that interacting via a connecting link  77  with an arm  78  pivotally mounted on the top of the valve housing, the arm interacting with the pilot orifice  42  of the fill valve cap  40 . 
         [0025]    In the second embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 6-10 , a solenoid subassembly  7 ′ of a EFV  110  is disposed within an uppermost cavity  97  defined within the cover  90 . This subassembly  7 ′ comprises a magnet, a spring, a coil and a plunger. The plunger is a component which interacts with the pilot orifice  42  of the fill valve cap  40 . See  FIG. 10 . Either solenoid assembly can be used with either the rods or the plates, described below. 
         [0026]    In both embodiments, the EFV works on a platform that receives and sends messages wirelessly between the sensors and the solenoid subassembly. The EFV is thus a wireless “smart” valve that uses low energy digital technology and BlueTooth®, iBeacon™ or other short-wavelength ultra-high frequency (or “UHF”) radio wave technology in the industrial, scientific and medical (or “ISM”) band ranging from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz (BLUETOOTH is a registered certification mark of Bluetooth Sig, Inc. and IBEACON is a trademark of Apple Inc.); radio frequency (“RF” and “RFID”) technology; and/or other electronic data transmitting and receiving platforms. 
         [0027]    The EFV  10  does not use a check ball in the floor of the float chamber  60 , so the float chamber  60  can fill and drain as the waterline rises and falls. 
         [0028]    The EFV  10  uses a normally closed latching solenoid  7 . When the circuit is closed, the plunger is forward and the spring keeps the pilot orifice  42  closed. If the battery life is lost, the valve  10  will stay closed. Further, the EFV  10  will chirp when batteries are low. As alluded to above, the EFV  10  has four rods  34 ,  35 ,  36 ,  37 , which could be fabricated from aluminum, stainless steel, carbon fiber, conductive peek or some combination thereof. The overflow rod  34  determines if the EFV  10  has failed to shut off. 
         [0029]    The EFV  10  also has slow leak detection. That is, if water loses contact with the water off rod  35  and does not come in contact with the longer rods  36 ,  37  within a preprogrammed period of time, such as three (3) seconds, this condition will be detected as a slow leak and send a message to the owner or may have an audible sound. Because it is “smart,” the EFV  10  can be turned off remotely, if in this mode. 
         [0030]    The EFV  10  also has catastrophic leak detection. If water does not reach the tall rod  36  during the fill cycle in another preprogrammed period of time, this will be detected and processed by the PC  38  as a catastrophic leak and send a message to the owner, or, in the alternative, or in addition thereto, be an audible sound. Because it is “smart,” EFV  10  can be turned off remotely, if in this mode, as well. Lastly, the EFV  10  has over flow detection. That is, if water comes in contact with the overfill rod  34  and it indicates a high water level has been reached, the EFV  10  will send a major warning message or may have an audible sound. 
         [0031]    The micro-processor within the PC  38  is programmed with an algorithm which learns the flushing pattern of each toilet (i.e., a “pattern” is determined when water comes into contact with the long and short rods). This pattern is then considered “normal” operation for this particular toilet (not shown). If the pattern is broken, an alarm can be sent or may have an audible sound. A reset button  31  is included on the EFV  10  as described above. Functionally, and once the reset button  31  is pushed, the memory is cleared and the flushing pattern will need to be relearned. 
         [0032]    The EFV  10  can also be treated as a stand-alone fill valve with no “smart” module or functionality. In this case, the homeowner would be notified audibly for low battery life, slow leak, catastrophic leak, overflow and irregular flushing pattern. 
         [0033]    Referring now to the capacitive sensing functionality, the EFV, generally identified  110  in  FIGS. 6-10 , can also be used in conjunction with a standard flush lever, flush valve and flapper (not shown and, collectively, the “assembly”). The EFV  110  is configured to work within a standard fill valve  20  (the Model 528 fill valve referred to previously) having a float tank  60  and an aperture  63 . The EFV  110  is also configured to work with a standard fill valve cap  40  (again, the Model 528 valve cap) and a slightly modified cover  90 . The EFV  110  comprises two subassemblies, a sensing and control subassembly, generally identified  103 , and the solenoid subassembly  7 ′, the latter being of the type previously described relative to the resistive sensing embodiment. 
         [0034]    The sensing and control subassembly  103  of the EFV  10  comprises a battery enclosure  130 , a liquid tight battery enclosure cover  132  and a battery holder  139 , the battery holder  139  being configured to house four “AA” batteries, although this embodiment is not limited in that regard. Disposed atop the battery holder is a PC board  138  which comprises circuitry for enabling a logic and control module as well as a wireless receiver/transmitter component. Disposed atop the PC board  138  is a reset switch  133 . The reset switch  133  correlates to a reset button  131  within the cover  90 . See  FIG. 7 . Forwardly of the battery enclosure  130  and extending downwardly from the PC board  138  is a pair of capacitive electrodes  134 ,  136 . 
         [0035]    This capacitive EFV  110  likewise works as a wireless “smart” valve. It does not use a check ball, so the float chamber  60  can fill and drain as the waterline rises and falls. The EFV  110  likewise uses a normally closed latching solenoid  7 . However, the capacitive EFV  110  has two plates or electrodes  134 ,  136  (also constructed of aluminum, stainless steel, carbon fiber, conductive peek or any combination) disposed inside the plastic enclosure. As water (which is a dielectric medium) rises and lowers, the measured capacitance, in pico farads, increases and decreases. Distances on the plates  134 ,  136  can be associated with overflow, shut-off, turn on, etc. The schematic circuit diagram shown in  FIG. 12  illustrates the general lay-out for the EFV  110 . 
         [0036]    In application, the capacitive EFV  110  indicates slow leak detection if water leaves the 8000 pico farads, as shown in  FIG. 11 , and drops to 6000 pico farads between 10 seconds and 60 seconds, which will send a message to the owner or may have an audible sound. The EFV  110  provides the option of turning the valve off, if “smart.” The capacitive EFV  110  also comprises catastrophic leak detection, if water leaves the 8000 pico farads and drops to 3000 pico farads between 10 seconds and 20 seconds, which will send a message to the owner or may have an audible sound. Again, the system has the option of turning the valve off if “smart.” EFV has over flow detection, if water rises up to the 10,000 pico farads mark, the EFV will send a major warning message or may have an audible sound. The micro-processor is programmed with an algorithm that learns the flushing “pattern” of each toilet. (a pattern is when water moves between 8000 and 6000 pico farads). This pattern is then considered normal. If the pattern is broken, an alarm can be sent or may have an audible sound. The system has a reset button on the capacitive EFV  110 . Once the reset is pushed, the memory is cleared and the flushing pattern will need to be relearned. The capacitive EFV  110  can also be treated as a stand alone fill valve with no smart module. In this case, the homeowner would be notified audibly for low battery life, slow leak, catastrophic leak, overflow and irregular flushing pattern. 
         [0037]    This disclosure also relates to such a fill valve and assembly that prevents water wastage. More specifically, it also relates to an improved electronic fill valve (or “EFV”) and assembly of the type that incorporates low energy digital and wireless technology to control operation of the fill valve and assembly. 
         [0038]    This disclosure provides the same type of fill valve functionality as conventional fill valves by using low energy digital and wireless technology, hence the use of the word “electronic” in the title of the disclosure. It is desirable that the electronically-operative and digitally-controlled fill valve constructed in accordance with the present disclosure be constructed for use with existing housings to minimize alterations to current housing constructs, of the type recited above, making it available as both an OEM and an after-market product.