Patent ID: 7472433

Claim:
A method of controlling a stream of liquid, comprising the steps of: calibrating a PSD infrared sensor associated with a spout, said calibrating including the substeps of: turning on the spout to thereby dispense a stream of liquid from the spout and into a stream space; emitting infrared energy from said PSD infrared sensor and toward the stream of liquid; sensing a first position of the infrared energy after the infrared energy has been reflected back to said sensor from the stream of liquid; storing first information based upon the first position of the reflected infrared energy; turning off the spout to thereby inhibit the liquid from being dispensed from the spout; sensing a second position of the infrared energy after the infrared energy has been reflected back to said sensor from an object that is fixed relative to said sensor; and storing second information based upon the second position of the reflected infrared energy; emitting infrared energy from said PSD infrared sensor and toward the stream space; sensing a third position of the infrared energy after the infrared energy has been reflected back to said sensor; and controlling the spout dependent upon the first information, the second information and the third position.