Abstract:
An automatic animal watering system including a basin having an interior wall defining a water holding trough, and an outer wall; a non-contact water level sensor built into the interior wall; a drain located in a lower portion of the basin; and electronic circuitry, power source and a solenoid valve contained in a protected space between the inner and outer walls of the basin.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/093,618 filed Dec. 18, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to automatic water supply system for animals. The invention has particular utility for use as automatic water supply system for large domesticated animals such as horses, and will be described in connection with such utility, although other utilities are contemplated. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Prior art automatic drinking water supply systems for animals typically employ a contact type water flow control means such as a float valve which is installed within or adjacent the water drinking trough. However float valves are prone to malfunction due to contact by the animal Which may damage or dislodge the float valve causing the valve to stick in either an open or closed position. When stuck in an open position, the water trough may overflow resulting in a waste of water and formation of mud adjacent the water trough. And, if the float valve is stuck in a closed position, the animal may become dehydrated. For large animals such as horses and cattle who might consume 5 to 10 gallons of water, or more, daily, particularly in warmer climates, maintaining an adequate supply of drinking water is imperative for the animal&#39;s health. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention overcomes the aforesaid and other problems of the prior art, by providing an automatic, self-contained watering system having a non-contact water level sensor and controller for operating the valve. 
         [0005]    In a preferred embodiment the non-contact water level sensor comprises an infrared sensor. 
         [0006]    In another embodiment, the watering system comprises a stainless steel basin having an interior wall defining a water holding trough and an outer wall. The non-contact sensor is built into the interior wall, and electronic circuitry, power source and solenoid valve are all contained in the space between the interior and the outer wall so as to be protected from the animal. 
         [0007]    In a preferred embodiment a drain is located in a lower portion of the basin. 
         [0008]    In another embodiment, heat wrap tape is provided around the basin. 
         [0009]    In another and preferred embodiment, the drain includes a tee fitting for accommodating a valved water inlet and a valved drain or expandable plug drain. 
         [0010]    Power of the circuit and solenoid valve may be a self-contained battery power, power from a distributed power supply, or a solar energy power supply system. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    Further features and advantages of the present invention will be seen from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  comprises a front perspective view of an automatic water supply system in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a back perspective view thereof; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a bottom perspective view thereof; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of a drain plug; 
           [0016]      FIGS. 5A-5E  are block flow diagrams showing operation thereof; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of the water level sensor and valve control of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , an automatic water supply system in accordance with the present invention includes a basin  10  having an interior wall  12  and an outer wall  14 . Interior wall  12  defines a bowl shaped drinking trough having a perforated drain  16  at its lowest point. 
         [0019]    Referring in particularly to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , drain  16  is connected to a drain pipe  18  which in turn is connected to a tee fitting  20  which includes a side port  22  to which is connected a valved water inlet as will be described in detail below, and a straight port  24  which is connected to a valve or expandable plug for draining the bowl as will be described below. Basin  10  is closed at its bottom by a removable access plate  26  which is affixed to the bottom by a plurality of fasteners  28 , and creates an interior, protected cavity  29 . It is not necessary to close off the back of the basin  10  since it will be mounted to a wall. An infrared sensor  30  is mounted through the interior wall  12  of the basin to detect if there is water present at the surface of its lens. Sensor  30  is mounted so that it is flush with the inner wall  12  forming the basin. Sensor  30  is connected to a micro-controller  32  located in the interior protected cavity  29  of the basin  10 . A schematic for micro-controller  32  for driving the sensor  30  and solenoid valve  34  is shown in  FIG. 5 . Micro-controller  32  in turn is connected to a solenoid valve  34  which in turn is connected to a pressurized water supply line  36 . A power supply  38  powers the micro-controller  32  and the solenoid valve  36 . 
         [0020]    Completing the automatic water supply system is a clean-out valve or expandable plug  40  (see  FIG. 4 ) which is inserted into the straight port  24  of tee fitting  20 . 
         [0021]    Referring also to  FIG. 4 , in operation, sensor  30  detects if water is present at the surface of its lens, and if no water is detected, it sends a signal to micro-controller  32  which in turn sends power to solenoid valve  36  which opens the valve and permits water to flow through the valve to fill the basin. The basin fills with water through the perforated drain  16  until the water level reaches the lens  30  which then sends a signal to the micro-controller  32  which in turn sends a signal to valve  36  to turn the valve off. 
         [0022]    A feature and advantage of the automatic drinking water supply system of the present invention is that the sensor is mounted flush with the basin wall, and that the valve, micro-controller and power supply are all within the interior protected cavity  29  of the basin  10 , shielded from contact by the animal, thus eliminating problems of prior art float valve systems. 
         [0023]    Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example while a preferred sensor system is an infrared sensor system other non-float type sensor systems including, for example, ultrasonic sensor systems and conductivity sensor systems advantageously may be employed. Also, multiple sensors may be placed at different levels in the basin  10  so that the user may choose between multiple water levels. Also, referring to  FIG. 5B , if desired, a low water level sensor may be provided to sound an alarm e.g. trigger a local sound or light signal and/or a remote speaker or light, send a text and/or email through an attached Ethernet module for remote notification, and recorded in a log file viewable through an internet and/or bluetooth connection, if the water level drops below a pre-determined level (indicating that there is a problem with the water source, e.g., frozen or broken line clogged valve, etc.) and/or does not return to the target level sensor after a pre-set period of time. Still other changes are possible. For example, referring to  FIG. 5C , a water flow meter may be employed to display the amount of water consumed during a time period, e.g., the current day (since midnight) and the prior day. In addition, this data may be recorded in a log file viewable remotely through an internet and/or bluetooth connection. Also, if desired, as illustrated in  FIG. 5D , a temperature sensor may be installed at each trough with the temperature reading displayed locally and recorded in a remote log file viewable through an internet and/or bluetooth connection. In addition, the temperature sensor may be adapted to control a heating element attached to the trough to maintain a predetermined minimum water temperature. In yet another embodiment, illustrated in  FIG. 5E , an LED or liquid crystal screen may be incorporated into the design to locally display the amount of water consumed, the current temperature at the location of the trough, the status of the heater (whether it is on/off), as well as other useful information such as error codes, etc., and also, if desired, transmit such information through an internet and/or Bluetooth connection to a remote log file. And, while the automatic water supply system has been described for use for installation on a wall of a structure such as a barn or horse stall, the automatic water supply system also may be installed, for example, in a corner intersection of two walls of a structure, or on the wall of a horse or livestock trailer. In such embodiment, a water supply reservoir should be included. The reservoir may be mounted above the trough, in which case water will flow under gravity into the watering trough when the valve is opened. Alternatively, a water pump may be provided in line between the reservoir and the watering trough, connected to the power supply and valve. 
         [0024]    Also, the water trough could be scaled for domestic pets such as dogs and cats. Still other changes are possible.