Abstract:
A user interface for controlling a plumbing fixture includes an electronic display configured to display multiple different graphical menus for controlling a plurality of valves. The user interface includes a selector control configured to receive input from a user for navigating the multiple different graphical menus and for selecting items displayed in the multiple different graphical menus. A controller receives a first user input from the selector control and causes the electronic display to switch from displaying one of the graphical menus to another of the graphical menus in response to the first user input. The controller receives a second user input from the selector control and causes the plurality of valves to make multiple different adjustments in response to the second user input based on which of the multiple different graphical menus are displayed when the second user input is received.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/012,193, filed Jan. 24, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/737,864, filed Apr. 20, 2007, both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to plumbing fixtures, such as bathroom showers and whirlpools, and more particularly to an electrical control system for operating components of the plumbing fixture and specifically to a user interface of the control system. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    High end bathroom shower systems provide multiple showerheads mounted on the ceiling and walls of a shower enclosure to direct water onto the bather from multiple directions. Some of these showerheads are similar to those found in standard single showerhead showers, while others provide unconventional spray patterns. For example, the WaterTile (trademark Kohler Co.) showerhead has 22 nozzles that provide a series of water cascades, while other showerheads emit water in a sheet flow. Such a shower enclosure typically has several different types showerheads to provide a variety of water flow effects. 
         [0006]    The water flow to each showerhead is individually controlled by a separate electrically operated valve. In addition to regulating the on/off flow rate, the valve can provide a constant flow or a pulsated flow to produce a massaging effect replicating the rhythmic manipulation of tissue performed by a masseur or masseuse. The different electrically operated valves also can be opened and closed sequentially to create continuously changing water patterns within the shower enclosure. 
         [0007]    The bathing experience is further enhanced by a plurality of different colored lamps that are independently controlled to produce light of varying intensity and color in the shower enclosure. Speakers also provide music, radio news programs and other audio performances to the bather. A steam generator may turn the shower enclosure into a steam bath, when desired. 
         [0008]    Because of the relatively large number of functions that are provided on a top of the line shower system, its operation is governed by a microcomputer based control system. While such computerized control simplifies the hardware necessary to operate all the valves, lights, audio equipment, steam generator and other shower components, the bather still has to select which of the numerous functions are to be active and choose parameters for the selected functions. Heretofore, this required a complex user control panel. 
         [0009]    Thus, there is a need for a simple, easy to use interface by which the bather is able to individually control the numerous functions on a state of the art shower system. Because the interface is intended for location in a wet environment, it must be watertight. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0010]    A user interface produces signals for controlling a plumbing fixture, such as a shower system for example, that has electrically operated components. The user interface includes an enclosure that has a faceplate with an exterior surface. A display is provided on which alphanumeric characters, symbols and icons are presented to a user of the plumbing fixture. The display is visible through the exterior surface of the faceplate. 
         [0011]    Several user operable input devices are incorporated into the enclosure. A plurality of switches respond to the user pressing a different portion of the faceplate. A selector has a pedestal that projects outward from and is affixed to the faceplate in a watertight manner. A selector ring is rotatably positioned around the pedestal and contains a plurality of permanent magnets arranged annularly. A Hall effect sensor is located adjacent the selector ring and produces an electrical signal in response to motion of the selector ring. 
         [0012]    In a preferred embodiment of the user interface, a controller receives the electrical signal from the Hall effect sensor and determines from that signal whether the selector ring is rotating clockwise or counterclockwise around the pedestal. 
         [0013]    Another aspect of the present user interface is a wireless remote control by which the user also is able to control the plumbing fixture. The a wireless remote control comprises a first switch for activating and deactivating the plumbing fixture, a second switch for selecting one of a plurality of preset operating configurations for the plumbing fixture, and a visual indicator designating which of the plurality of preset operating configurations has been selected. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a block schematic diagram of an electronic control system for operating a plumbing fixture; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  illustrates the faceplate of a user interface for the control system; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  illustrates a selector ring of a rotary input device that has been removed from the user interface; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a view of one flat face of the control ring; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 6 and 7  depict different types of information being presented on a display of the user interface; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a wireless remote control for the shower control system. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    Although the present invention is being described in the context of controlling a bathroom shower system, it has equal applicability to controlling a whirlpool tub, toilet, or other plumbing fixture. The term “plumbing fixture” as used herein includes a water enclosure, such as a tub, shower enclosure or toilet, as well as the plumbing fittings and components that control the flow of water to and from the water enclosure. However, “plumbing fixture” does not include white goods, such as clothes washing machines, dishwashers and the like. 
         [0022]    With initial reference to  FIG. 1 , a control system  10  electrically operates various components of a shower system, such as valves that control the flow of water to a plurality of shower heads, different colored lights within the shower enclosure, and an audio system that provides music or radio programming to the bather. The control system  10  includes a primary controller  12 , a user control panel  14 , and a wireless remote control  16 . The user control panel  14  and wireless remote control  16  collectively form a user interface  15  for the control system. In a typical installation, the primary controller  12  is mounted within a wall adjacent to the shower enclosure and the user control panel  14  is located on a wall of that shower enclosure for access by the bather. 
         [0023]    The primary controller  12  is based around a commercially available microcomputer  18  that includes a processor, a memory for storing control programs and data and input/output circuits for interfacing with other components of the primary controller. Other outputs of the microcomputer  18  are connected to a light output circuit  24  that controls the application of electricity to a plurality of light bulbs  26  mounted in the ceiling and walls of the shower enclosure. The microcomputer  18  also controls the operation of an audio system  28  with speakers  29  mounted within the shower enclosure. The audio system  28  comprises equipment for providing music, radio programming, or other types of audio from different sources and is controlled by the bather via the user control panel  14 . The microcomputer  18  communicates via data interface  41  to a data interface  102  in a digital valve  100 . 
         [0024]    The digital valve  100  has a valve controller  101  with outputs connected to a plurality of valve driver circuits  20  that provide signals for operating a plurality of valves  21  and  22 . A mixing valve  21  selectively combines water from hot and cold sources to produce water at an outlet  23  that has a temperature desired by the bather. That temperature is measured by a sensor  25  which provides a temperature indication signal to the valve controller  101 . The mixing valve outlet  23  is connected to a several solenoid operated valves  22  that control the flow of water to the different shower heads  27  within the shower enclosure. Each solenoid operated valve may feed one or more shower heads. The valve controller  101  also can open and close the valve in a rapid sequence to provide a pulsed flow of water to the shower head  27 . 
         [0025]    The user control panel  14  exchanges control signals with the primary controller  12  through a cable  42 . Specifically one end of the cable  42  is connected to a first data interface  41  in the primary controller  12  and the opposite end is coupled to a second data interface  46  in the user control panel  14 . The two data interfaces  41  and  46  convert data between a parallel format used with the user control panel  14  and the primary controller  12  and a serial format by which the data are transmitted over the cable. The user control panel  14  is based around a controller  44  that includes a microprocessor and a memory for storage of a control program and data. The controller  44  has ports connected to user input and output devices of the user control panel. 
         [0026]    With additional reference to  FIG. 2  which shows the faceplate  45  of the user control panel  14 , the controller  44  is connected to a plurality of momentary contact switches  51 ,  52 ,  53 , and  54 , such as capacitive switches or membrane switches integrated into the exterior surface of the faceplate. The momentary contact switches and the arrangement of other input/output devices on the faceplate  45 , as will be described, avoid the need for holes in the control panel faceplate  45 , and thus prevent water within the shower enclosure from penetrating into the user control panel  14 . The first momentary contact switch  51  toggles the control system  10  between on and off states. Second and third momentary contact switches  52  and  53  enable a bather to select one of six different preset operating configurations of the shower system which have been previously stored in the control system  10 . For example, after a bather has manually set up the shower system to provide a particular water pattern, lighting, and audio selection, that entire operating configuration can be stored as one of the six preset operating configurations. On a subsequent use of the shower enclosure, the bather can restore the shower system to that one of those preset operating configuration by using either the second or third momentary contact switch  52  or  53 . The bather selects a particular preset operating configuration by pressing the appropriate switch  52  or  53  a respective number of times. For example, to select the fifth stored configuration, the bather presses the third momentary contact switch  53  twice. This enables different people to quickly set up the shower system according to their individual preferences. It also enables the same person to have several preset operating configurations to use at different times, such as a morning shower, a workout shower, and an evening shower. 
         [0027]    The user control panel  14  has a display  56 , such as an LCD panel, on which alphanumeric characters and symbols are displayed to the bather. The control panel faceplate  45  has a transparent section that extends over the display in a seamless manner thereby providing a watertight exterior surface of the faceplate so that water cannot penetrate into the user control panel. A fourth momentary contact switch  54  returns information on the display  56  to a previous information screen, as will be described. The user control panel  14  also includes a rotary selector  60  that is used for a number of input functions depending upon the particular information being presented on the display  56 . For example, in  FIG. 2  the display  56  contains a list of four different water outlet devices, i.e. a spray head, a hand shower, and two body sprays, that are operated by the control system  10 . By rotating a selector ring  62  of the selector  60 , an input signal is sent to the controller  44  to cause the displayed information to sequentially highlight each of the four output devices in reversed fonts. For example,  FIG. 2  shows the Shower Head highlighted which highlighting designates that particular item of information shown on the display. The selector ring  62  can be rotated either clockwise or counterclockwise to respectively move the highlighting down and up the displayed list, respectively. The bather can select the highlighted item by pressing a fifth momentary contact switch  55  in the center of the selector  60 . That action signals the controller  44  that the bather has selected the presently highlighted item being displayed. As will be described in greater detail, the selector ring  62  has a plurality of permanent magnets that activate a commercially available Hall effect sensor  58  located behind the control panel faceplate  45  to provide a signal to the controller  44  that indicates not only motion of the selector ring  62 , but the clockwise or counterclockwise direction of that motion. 
         [0028]    The selector  60  has a unique physical construction which enables the faceplate  45  to have a continuous, uninterrupted exterior surface, that does not have any holes or other openings, thereby preventing water from entering the user control panel  14 . With particular reference to  FIG. 3 , the selector  60  comprises a circular, cylindrical pedestal  66  projecting outward from the faceplate  45  in a seamless manner thereby providing a watertight exterior surface of the faceplate. Preferably, the faceplate  45  and the pedestal  66  are molded as a single piece of plastic. The pedestal  66  has a curved side surface  68  and a flat end surface  70  on which the fifth momentary contact switch  55  is mounted. The fifth momentary contact switch  55 , along with the other four switches on the faceplate  45 , are membrane type switches integrated into the exterior surface of the faceplate  45 , thereby also enabling that surface to be contiguous and unbroken. 
         [0029]    With continuing reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3  the selector ring  62 , the selection ring, which is removable from the faceplate  45 , has an interior circumferential surface  72  with a diameter that is slightly larger than the exterior diameter of the pedestal  66 . This arrangement allows the selector ring  62  to be rotated around the pedestal  66 . 
         [0030]    With reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the selector ring  62  has an outer annular shell  76  that has a bore  75  within which an annular magnet retainer  78  fits and is held therein by snap tabs, adhesive or other fastening technique. The magnet retainer  78  has a plurality of apertures  80  extending between its two planar surfaces and a separate permanent magnet  82  is received within each aperture. Every permanent magnet  82  has a round shaft  83  projecting through the respective aperture  80  and a head  84 , at an interior end of the shaft, which head is held between the shell  76  and the magnet retainer  78  when those latter components are secured together. The magnet head  84  prevents the magnets from sliding completely through the apertures  80 . The opposite, exterior end of the shaft  83  of each permanent magnet  82  is exposed through the opening of the aperture  80  on a first side  85  of the selector ring  62 . There are an even number of permanent magnets  82  arranged circumferentially around the selector ring  62  with their north and south poles alternating. Specifically if the north pole of a given permanent magnet is exposed on the first side  85  of the selector ring, and the adjacent permanent magnets on both sides of that given magnet have their south poles exposed on the first side. For example, there are  24  permanent magnets spaced a 15° increments annularly around the selector ring  62 . The Hall effect sensor  58 , such as model A3425 from Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. of Worcester, Mass. 01606 U.S.A., has two active Hall effect elements spaced closer together than the magnet spacing so that only one element at a time senses a permanent magnet as the selector ring rotates around the pedestal. This enables the controller  44  to determine the direction that the selector ring  62  is rotating from the Hall effect sensor signal. 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , a C-shaped body  88  of magnetic material, such as steel, is embedded in the control panel faceplate  45  around the pedestal  66 . The Hall effect sensor  58  is located at the opening of that C-shaped body. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the C-shaped body  88  is molded into the plastic of the faceplate  45 , but alternatively it can be secured to either the inner or outer surface of the faceplate by adhesive or other fastening technique which does not penetrate entirely through the faceplate. As a result, when the selector ring  62  is placed around the pedestal  66 , many of the permanent magnets  82  are attracted to the C-shaped body  88 , thereby holding the selector ring against the faceplate  45 . Thus the same magnets  82  which are used by the Hall effect sensor  58  to detect motion of the selector ring  62  also hold that selector ring in place on the faceplate  45 . However, this magnetic attraction allows a bather to pull the selector ring  62  away from the faceplate  45  for cleaning and other purposes. Because the user control panel  14  is intended to be mounted vertically or horizontally on a shower enclosure wall, the pedestal  66  passing through the selector ring  62  also aids in holding the selector ring in place against the force of gravity. 
         [0032]    With reference again to  FIG. 2 , the exemplary information presented on the display  56  illustrates the outlet selection menu, which provides a list of the different shower heads and other water outlets in the shower enclosure. The bather is able to scroll up or down through this list by rotating the selector ring  62  counterclockwise or clockwise, respectively, about the pedestal  66 . That rotational movement is detected by the Hall effect sensor  58  to provide a signal that is sent to the controller  44  within the user control panel  14 . In response to that signal, the controller changes the item in the list of water outlets that is highlighted for selection by the bather. More than four water outlets can be scrolled through with designations of additional outlets appearing as the bath scrolls upward from the top of the list or downward from the bottom of the list. 
         [0033]    When the desired water outlet is highlighted by reversed font, the bather indicates that desired selection by pressing the fifth momentary contact switch  55  at the center of the pedestal  66 . This turns on the solenoid valve  22 . As used herein the term “information screen” refers to the information being presented on the display  56  and not to the hardware of that display device. On the new information screen, the bather can now scroll through a number of water flow patterns to select the one that is desired for the selected water outlet, in this case the pulsing flow from the shower head. Near the upper right corner of the information screen in  FIG. 6 , is an indication that by pressing the return, or fourth, momentary contact switch  54  on the user control panel, the display will return to the previous information screen, in this case the outlet selection screen shown in  FIG. 2 . Other information screens, such as one for programming the preset operating configurations, can be accessed from a main system menu screen to which access is gained by pressing the return momentary contact switch  54  a sufficient number of times. 
         [0034]    The information screen in  FIG. 2  indicates that by pressing the return, or fourth, momentary contact switch  54 , a temperature control screen shown in  FIG. 7  will be displayed. For this information screen, the display  56  presents the current temperature of the water flowing through the various outlets and the preset temperature that the bather has indicated previously is desired for that flow. When this information screen is presented on the display  56 , rotation of the selector ring  62  increases or decreases the preset, or desired, temperature depending upon the direction of that rotation. This designated preset temperature is conveyed from the user control panel  14  to the primary controller  12 , and particularly to the microcomputer  18 . In response, the microcomputer  18  sends data through the data interface  41  to the data interface  102  in the digital valve  100 . The valve controller  101  uses this information to alter the position of the mixing valve  21  to change the ratio of hot and cold supply water to produce a desired outlet temperature for the water sent to the individual control valves  22 . The valve controller  101  also receives a signal from the temperature sensor  25  indicating the outlet water temperature and responds to that sensor signal also by operating the mixing valve  21  to achieve the desired temperature. 
         [0035]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 8 , a bather also is able to initiate operation of the shower system using a hand-held, remote control  16  that transmits commands to a radio frequency (RF) receiver  30  within the user control panel  14 . The wireless remote control  16  has a pair of momentary contact switches  31  and  32  for respectively turning on and off the control system  10  and selecting from among the plurality of preset operating configurations of the shower system. The selection of a particular preset operating configuration is indicated by a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED&#39;s)  34 . The switches  31  and  32  and the light emitting diodes  34  are connected to a control circuit  36  that responds to the activation of those switches by providing a digital code to a radio frequency transmitter  38 . The radio frequency transmitter  38  modulates a radio frequency carrier signal with that digital data and transmits the resultant RF signal  40  to the radio frequency receiver  30  within the user control panel  14 . 
         [0036]    Pressing the first momentary contact switch  31  on the remote control, alternately turns the control system  10  on and off. For example, the bather is able to turn on the shower system while in bed so that the water temperature will reach the desired level by the time the bather enters the shower enclosure. The second momentary contact switch  32  on the remote control  16  is employed to select one of the six preset operating configurations for the shower system. Repeatedly pressing the second momentary contact switch  32  through each of the six preset operating configurations with the LED&#39;s  34  indicating the number of the currently designated configuration. After the bather has illuminated the LED corresponding to the desired preset operating configuration, the bather releases the second momentary contact switch  32 . When the designation of a preset operating configuration remains unchanged for a given period of time, e.g. five seconds, the control circuit  36  sends a digital code indicating that preset operating configuration to the radio frequency transmitter  38 . That digital code then is transmitted via the radio frequency signal  40  to the RF receiver  30  within the user control panel  14 . 
         [0037]    The RF receiver decodes the radio frequency signal  40  and extracts the digital code indicating the selected preset operating configuration which is then sent to the controller  44 . In response to the receipt of that selection, the microcomputer  18  communicate to the digital valve  100  which in turn operates the water valves  21  and  22 , the light bulbs  26 , and the audio system  28  according to the information stored previously for that selected preset operating configuration. Therefore, the remote control  16  allows the bather to set up the shower system for a desired bathing experience before entering the shower enclosure where the user control panel  14  is located. 
         [0038]    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.