WO1990002989A1

WO1990002989A1 - Automatic mixing faucet

Info

Publication number: WO1990002989A1
Application number: PCT/US1989/003416
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chang Hwan Lee; Young Jun Kim
Original assignee: Chang Hwan Lee; Young Jun Kim
Priority date: 1988-09-14
Filing date: 1989-08-09
Publication date: 1990-03-22
Also published as: EP0386212A1; EP0386212A4

Abstract

An automatic service water tap (1) is disclosed in which a battery operated motor (104) is provided for controlling a water supply valve (100) in response to the presence or absence of an object positioned within range of an infrared generating and detecting system (5) mounted in the tap (1). The valve (100) operates using only a small amount of electric power under the control of a circuit (9) which draws no electric power once the valve (100) is moved to its opened or closed condition. Thus, the consumption of the electric power is minimized to almost zero and the valve (100) can be utilized for a long period of time only with a small single battery (9).

Description

AUTOMATIC MIXING FAUCET

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a service water tap or faucet which automatically controls operation and discharge of a water supply. More specifically the invention relates to an automatic service water tap or faucet which comprises, within a specially designed body, one or more detecting sensors mounted in the tap, a water supply valve connected to and controlled by the sensor(s) (which may be either AC or DC powered) , a mixing valve for mixing hot and cold water, a built-in check valve, and filters arranged so that hot and cold service water are mixed fully and automatically to a predetermined set temperature and will automatically flow out of the tap without the need to operate a tap handle.

The sensor and an aerator are installed in a nozzle cover mounted on the outlet end of the faucet body. To prevent inadvertent operation of the faucet by reflected light, the sensor is mounted at an angular position of from 0° to 20° from the vertical, with the optimum position being 10°.

The water supply valve of the invention performs a water supply and cut off action with a minimum of electric power supplied for example by a small battery. The valve is operated in response to a signal from the detecting sensor and supplies the appropriate amount of required water. It decreases the waste of the water and is very easy to use.

In one embodiment, the water controller, an electronic circuit (hybrid IC) , and a hot and cold mixing valve are installed compactly inside the faucet body, while the check valve assembly, the battery case and the filter assemblies are mounted separately on a lower part of the faucet body. The filter assemblies are connected between the water supply pipe and the flexible connector (or tube) ; the check-valve assembly is connected to the base of the lower part of the faucet body by a coupling; and the battery case is ccupled with the check valve assembly.

PRIOR ART

Heretofore, there have been service water taps intended to be controlled automatically with an ON/OFF operation of a water supply valve by utilizing a detecting sensor. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,741,363. However, in such previously proposed devices the components are arranged independently and then connected to each other so that they could not be made small-sized and light-weight by integrating every component as an article. Therefore, the desired effects were not obtained because establishing operation of .he device was not easy and the external appearance was unsatisfactory.

Moreover, in certain conventional automatic faucets, as shown for example in Figure 27, a solenoid coil 10 is magnetized as soon as a sensor perceives the presence of a physical object; at the same time a diaphragm 12 is opened to pass water rapidly. If the object is removed from the detecting range of the sensor, electric power supplied to the solenoid coil will be cut off. As a result, the diaphragm is suddenly closed, stopping water flow. Because of the resulting high water pressure difference a water hammer shock occurs.

Whenever the valve opens and closes, this water hammer shock rattles the water supply pipes. If such shocks last long enough they can loosen or rupture the coupling parts of the pipe making a water leak. By the present invention water hammer shock in automatic faucets is minimized. The invention lengthens the operating time for the opening and closing action of the valve as compared to a conventional water supply valve, and prevents sudden opening and closing of the valve. Instead of a diaphragm which performs the opening and closing action in a conventional valve, a valve piston of special structure is used. A pilot valve in the valve controller which controls opening and closing of the valve piston discharges water to reduce water pressure in a second chamber, with the valve piston being designed to open the water passageway in response to water pressure in a first chamber. Water hammer shock is minimized by lengthening the water discharging time in the second chamber and the operating time of the piston. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a service water tap whose operation is completely automatized.

It is another object of the invention to provide an automatic faucet in which all of the operative components are located within the body of the faucet, so that it can be of compact, small-size and of good appearance.

It is another object of the invention to provide an automatic service water tap in which all of the operative components thereof are located within the body of the tap, so that it can be of small-size, light¬ weight and of good appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic service water tap which can be easily installed in place of an existing service water tap. Yet another object is to minimize water hammer shock and damage to water supply pipes in an automatic faucet.

A further object of the invention is to avoid malfunctions and inadvertent operation of the automatic faucet caused by reflected light.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic service water tap which can be substituted for an existing conventional service water tap while keeping all of the other remaining facilities (i.e. plumbing line) as they were without any damage.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic service water tap which can be easily installed without providing new electric power lines so that the construction cost will be greatly decreased and so that the device can be utilized semi-permanently.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic service water tap which has an energy saving and economical effect, by allowing the automatic service water tap to be changed easily without any difficulties in existing buildings.

A still further object of the invention is to reduce operating costs by reducing breakdowns or leaking caused by heavy use of the faucet.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic service water tap which can be substituted for an existing conventional service water tap while keeping all of the other remaining facilities (i.e., plumbing lines) as they were without any damage.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic water supply valve which has a unique shape designed to minimize water hammer shock. Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic water supply valve which has an automatic cutoff function.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic water supply valve which has a semi-automatic function. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, an automatic service water tap or faucet is provided which includes detecting sensor means for detecting a physical object to be supplied with the water out of the water tap. An electronic control unit receives an electronic signal from the detecting sensor means, processes the signal and produces an output signal to control a water supply valve for closing or opening the valve to control water flowing through the valve and thus the water tap. The output signal from the electronic control unit also controls a hot and cold water mixing valve of an automatic temperature control device. By this arrangement no turning or handling of the water tap or any other control is required and water will flow out of the water tap automatically whenever a physical object is located under the water tap.

The water supply valve of the invention includes a body having first and second chambers, and a diaphragm arranged at the partition between these chambers. The opening and the closing action of the diaphragm is achieved by the difference of supply water pressure between the water in the first chamber and that in the second chamber in response to opening and closing water by-pass holes which communicate with first chamber or second chamber respectively by turning a cam which is operated by a small DC motor. The power consumption for the opening and closing action of the water supply value is minimized, with the electric power supply for DC motor being provided by a signal control circuit which employs a C-MOS IC having a wide range of supply voltage. As a result the valve is constructed to be utilized with only a small battery for long periods (e.g. 3 to 10 years) without replacing the battery.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, opening and closing of the water supply valve is performed by a valve piston. To minimize water hammer shock, the valve piston is driven by a valve driving motor and a pilot valve in a valve controller to prevent sudden opening and closing of the valve, and to make the operation of the valve more smooth.

A hot and cold water mixing valve may be provided which comprises a control screw and knob to set the desired water temperature. A temperature sensor maintains the set water temperature by sensing temperature change in the water. That sensor is installed to maintain the temperature of the water which flows out of the automatic faucet. The amount of water which flows out from the faucet may also be controlled. When hands or physical objects are placed in the detecting range of the sensor after the temperature control knob to set the desired temperature and the water flow control knob adjusted to set the amount of water appropriately, water of desired temperature and amount will flow out automatically. Additionally, according to another feature of the invention, water flow will stop automatically after a preset time (30-60 seconds) , in case gum or paper is attached on the surface of the sensor or if an object is placed within the detecting range of the sensor.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, wherein: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic service water tap according to the present invention; Fig. la is a perspective view similar to Fig. 1 showing another embodiment of the invention with the sensors and detectors located in different positions;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the automatic service water tap of Fig. 1; Fig. 2a is a cross-sectional view similar to

Fig. 2 of the tap of Fig. la; Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the automatic temperature control device contained in the tap of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the mixing valve of the automatic temperature control device;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 4 illustrating the configuration of the elements during operation of the device;

Fig. 5a is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 5 of another embodiment of the invention wherein the mixing valve shown in Fig. 5 is located below the surface of the sink outside the shell of the tap;

Fig. 6A is a rear schematic diagram illustrating the water flowing condition to the automatic water supply valve as the hot and cold water are being mixed;

Fig. 6B is a schematic diagram condition to the automatic water supply valve only with cold water;

FIGS. 7A to 7C are schematic diagrams illustrating the condition in which the sliding control tube opens or closes the hot or cold water flowing holes by the operation of the bimetal, in which:

Fig. 7A illustrates the condition in which the hot and cold water are mixed; Fig. 7B illustrates the condition in which the hot water port is closed;

Fig. 7C illustrates the condition in which the cold water port is closed;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the opened condition of the automatic water supply valve;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 8 illustrating the closed condition of the automatic water supply valve;

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along A-A line of Fig. 8 illustrating the control cam at the opened condition of the automatic water supply valve; Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the B-B line of Fig. 9 illustrating the cam control at the closed condition of the automatic water supply valve;

Fig. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of automatic service water tap according to the present invention;

Fig. 13 is the electronic control circuit diagram of the automatic water supply valve;

Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 6 illustrating another embodiment of the present invention in which check valves are arranged with the connecting tube;

Fig. 15 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the mixing valve structure in the interior of the tap shown in Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the automatic water supply valve of the present invention;

Fig. 17 is a circuit diagram similar to Fig. 13 , of a modified signal control circuit for actuating the automatic water supply valve according to the present invention;

Fig. 18 is a circuit diagram of a modified embodiment of the signal control part for actuating the automatic water supply valve according to the present invention;

Fig. 19 is a circuit diagram of another modified embodiment of the signal control part for actuating the automatic water supply valve according to the present invention; Fig. 20 is a schematic illustration of an AC powered device according to the present invention;

Fig. 21 is a front view, partially in section, of an automatic faucet according to another embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 22 is a partial cross-sectional view from the left side, taken along lines 22-22 of Fig. 21; Fig. 23 is a side view from the right side, with parts broken away, of the automatic faucet of Fig.

21;

Fig. 24 is a rear view of the automatic faucet of Fig. 21, with parts broken away to illustrate the battery mounting;

Fig. 25 is a partially schematic view similar to Fig. 22, illustrating the installing position and angle of the sensor; Fig. 26 is a cross-sectional view of the automatic water supply valve, taken along line 26-26 of Fig. 22;

Fig. 26a is a side view of the water supply valve of Fig. 26 taken along line 26a-26a with parts broken away;

Fig. 26b is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the closed condition of the automatic water supply valve of Fig. 26;

Fig. 26c is a view similar to Fig. 26b illustrating the opened condition of the automatic water supply valve of Fig. 26;

Fig. 27 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an existing automatic water supply valve;

Figs. 28a and 28b are schematic diagrams illustrating the operating condition of the motor and the cam which control the pilot valve;

Fig. 29 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the automatic water supply valve according to the present invention; Fig. 30 is a time chart illustrating the signals of the electronic circuit of the automatic faucet;

Fig. 31 is a cross-sectional view of the mixing valve of the automatic faucet; Fig. 31a is a cross-sectional view similar to

Figure 31 of another embodiment of mixing valve; J O

Fig. 32 is a top plan view of another shape of the automatic faucet;

Fig. 32a is a view similar to Figure 32 showing the use of a digital temperature read out; Fig. 33 is a schematic side sectional view showing a drainage control feature of the invention; and

Fig. 34 is a side sectional view of a faucet constructed according to the invention illustrating operating of the drainage control. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, and initially FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, an automatic service water tap T according to the present invention is illustrated which includes a hot and cold water mixing valve 2 arranged within the lower portion la of the body 1 of a water tap. A water discharge nozzle coupling tube 7b is mounted within the head portion lb of the upper end of the body 1 and a cylindrical water retaining piece 3 is coupled with a threaded boss tube 3a. The latter has a water dispersing disc 3b at its bottom center which includes a plurality of water flow holes 3d formed concentrically within the dispersing disc. A water jet nozzle 4 having the plurality of the jet holds 4a formed therein, is coupled with the water retaining piece by threading in at the front end thereof and by inserting through the opening lc formed in head portion of the water tap body 1.

A detecting sensor 5 is mounted at the bottom side of the top head lb to be exposed outwardly at the extreme tip portion of the head of the body. The sensor is connected by a wire lead 5a to an electronic control unit 5' . The sensor 5 is generally of known construction, e.g. as shown in U.S. Patent No. 4,741,363, and consists of an infrared signal generator 5 ' and a receiver 5¹ ' for receiving infrared rays emitted by generator 5' and reflected from a body or object placed below the tap to produce a potential difference and a voltage output. This signal is used, as described hereinafter, to control water flow from the tap.

As seen in Fig. 1, the infrared signal generator and receiver may be positioned side by side or, as seen in Fig. la, they may be mounted at angular position with respect to each other. In addition, the infrared generator may be mounted in any desired angular position from 0° to 60° from the vertical, as seen in Fig. 2a, as desired by modifying its mounting opening appropriately. Moreover, the power of the generated infrared beam may be adjusted to vary its sensitivity by a control screw 5' ' ' or the like, in any known manner.

A water supply valve 100 is located within the base of tap 1 and is connected at one side 100a to the outlet 2a of a hot and cold water mixing valve 2 and at its outlet side 100b to the hose 7. The latter, in turn, is connected to tube 7b by a nipple 7a to pass water from valve 100 to nozzle 4.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, the mounting pipe or ste 6 of the tap 1 has hot and cold water passages 6a,

6b formed internally therein. A vertical, straight groove 6c is formed externally in the threaded surface of stem 6 for holding an electric wire. Stem 6 extends from the bottom surface of valve body 2b of hot and cold water mixing valve 2 and is secured to the surface of a sink or the like with a water tap fixing nut 25 and gasket 24 '. A water supply tee or connector pipe 8, having hot and cold water passages 8a, 8b formed internally therein, is threadedly connected in communication with stem 6 as seen in Fig. 4, with a coupling nut 8e and stop ring 8f. Tee

8 also includes a vertical straight external groove 8c for receiving^' an electric wire.

A battery container 9 having a top plate 9a including a contact spring 9 ' is fixed in any convenient manner behind and to connector pipe 8. Battery container

9 also includes a bottom plate 9b having a contact terminal piece 9". The container is dimensioned to accept appropriately sized batteries to power the unit as described hereinafter.

The body 26 of hot and cold water mixing valve 2 has hot and cold water passages 10a, 10b located to communicate with the hot and cold water passages 6a, 6b of stem 6. Passages 10a and 10b (see Fig. 4) are formed to communicate with a hot and cold water mixing chamber

12 (see Fig. 2) through filter chambers 10a¹ , 10b' (see Fig. 4) located at opposite sides of the valve body 2 . Chambers 10a' and 10b^! communicate with a hot and cold water mixing pipe 11 (Fig. 4) through ports 11', 11' '. Pipe 11 has hot and cold water ports 11a, lib formed therein extending in four generally perpendicular related directions. These ports are arranged to communicate with the hot and cold water mixing chamber 12. That chamber, in turn, is connected to the outlet pipe 2a of the body 2.

The inner end 13a of a spirally shaped bimetal

13 is fixed to a temperature control setting shaft 14 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) within the hot and cold water mixing chamber 12. The outer end 13b of the spirally shaped bimetal 13 is fixed to an opening and closing actuator 15. As seen in Fig. 3, the collar 15a of actuator 15 receives a stud 16a formed on a sliding control tube 16 which surrounds and slides on a portion of the hot and cold water mixing pipe 11. By this arrangement expansion or the contraction of the bimetal 13 causes actuator 15 to pivot on shaft 14 (which is received in sleeve 15b of the actuator) and thus slide tube 16 on pipe 11. This movement will open and close the hot and cold water ports 11a, lib of pipe 11 of the hot and cold water mixing tube 11 to control the mixing temperature of the water.

Net like tubes 10a' ' , 10b¹' are located within chambers 10a¹ and 10b¹ and surround check valves 18, 19. The nets serve to filter both the hot and cold water. Check valves 18, 19 include sliding pistons 18b, 19b having sealing gaskets 18a, 19a secured thereto locking bolts 18c, 19c on the faces thereof facing passages 10a and 10b. Coil springs 18d, 19d push sliding pistons 18b, 19b toward valve opening seats 18f, 19f to close passages 10a and 10b. The resilient force of the spring is adjusted by the adjusting screws 18e, 19e which are inserted into threaded holes 17' of screw sleeves 17. The latter are threadedly inserted into the threaded holes 20' of valve body fixing screw sleeves 20 which are finally threadedly coupled to the valve body 2b of the hot and cold water mixing valve 2. Accordingly, check valves 18, 19 are completely formed and allowed to open and close the hot and cold water passing paths 10a, 10b.

The automatic water supply valve 100 is illustrated in FIGS. 8-11 and 16. As seen therein, valve 100 includes a valve body 102 on which a mounting plate 103 is secured above a water passageway 102a formed in the body.

In operation, the automatic water supply valve 100 receives an instruction signal from the operation control electronic circuit (Fig. 13) which is transmitted from the electronic control unit 5' (Fig. 2) according to the signal generated by the detecting sensor 5 mounted at the tip of the head of the water tap 1. Receipt of the instruction signal causes a motor 104 to operate. Rotation of motor shaft and gear 104a causes the cam 114 to rotate thereby selectively operating small diaphragms 111b, 113b to within valve 100 open or close. As described hereinafter, this- causes a main diaphragm 106 in the valve to open or close so that the mixed hot and cold water is delivered to the nozzle coupling tube 7b and then passes to the water retaining piece 3, through the jet holes 4a of the water jet nozzle 4 and is dispersed uniformly with the dispersing disc 3b via the water flowing holes 3d performed at the bottom of the water retaining chamber 3c. The small DC motor assembly 104 and a signal control circuit board 5' are positioned above plate 103, as seen in Fig. 16, and covered with a valve cover 117. Water outlet 2a is connected to the inlet 102a of valve body 102. Water entering inlet 102a can pass to a chamber 108 in body 102 toward water outlet 102b upon opening of a main diaphragm 106 when it lifts away from the main valve seat 108a formed on the top of chamber 108 in opposition to water pressure in the chamber 107 located above the diaphragm. Water enters chamber 107 through a water inlet by-pass hole 109 which communicates with chamber 107 through an inlet path port Ilia of the inlet valve seat 11 located within a water inlet side cylinder 110, and via the inlet port hole 103a which penetrates mounting plate 103. The chamber 107 also communicates with the water outlet port 102b of the valve through an outlet passage 103b which penetrates mounting plate 103, thence through the outlet port 113a of the outlet valve seat 113 located within the water outlet side pilot cylinder 112 and finally through the outlet water by-pass hole 109a.

Steel balls 110a, 112a .are inserted respectively at the front end of the pilot cylinders 110, 112 which, as seen in Fig. 16, are located opposite each other on the upper surface of mounting plate 103. Pilot pistons 110b, 112b which have pilot diaphragms 111b, 113b mounted respectively at their inner ends are biased towards each other in opposite directions within pilot cylinders 100, 112, by unnumbered springs, as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9. Cam 114 is rotatably mounted on an axle shaft 115 between each of the steel balls 110a, 112a and controls the operation of pistons 110b, 112b against the bias of their associated springs.

Cam 114 has an oscillating rod 114a formed at one end thereof extending from one side of a cam and located to push or operate the levers of microswitches SI or S2. A fragmentary circular arc gear segment 114b is formed at the opposite end of cam 14 and meshes with the pinion 116a fixed integrally with a reduction gear 116, which, in turn, meshes with the pinion 104c fixed integrally to the rotor 104a, of the small sized motor assembly 104. The latter is rotatably secured to the axle shaft 115.

Referring now to the signal control circuit of Fig. 17, a level converting circuit VO is connected in series with turn over circuits V1-V6. The output of turn over circuit VI is connected through a resistor R3 to a terminal b of an OR gate V7 and to a terminal of microswitch SI. The output of turn over circuit V2 is connected through a resistor R4 to the terminal of microswitch S2, as well as to another input terminal the OR gate V7. The output of OR gate V7 is connected to the input terminals of turn over circuits V3- V-6. The output of a turn over circuit Tl is connected to a base of a transistor Ql, and the output T2 of a turn over circuit V4 to a base of a transistor Q2. The output T3 of a turn over circuit V5 is connected to a base of a transistor Q3, the output T4 of a turn over circuit V6 is connected respectively to a base of a transistor Q4, and the transistors Ql and Q3 and transistor Q2 and Q4 are respectively connected with the coils 104b of the rotor 104a of a small sized motor assembly.

Fig. 18 shows a modified embodiment of the signal control circuit for actuating the automatic water supply valve according to the present invention, in which the output of the turn over circuit VI is grounded through the resistor R3, and the output of the turn over circuit V2 is grounded also through the resistor R4 so that the interior circuit of the 3-state terminal turn over circuits V3-V6 may be controlled. Fig. 19 illustrates another modified embodiment of the signal control circuit for actuating the automatic water supply valve according to the present invention, in which the output of the level converting circuit VO allows to control the interior circuit of the 3-state terminal turn over circuit V3- V6 through the up/down edge trigger circuit and the one short circuit, so that the actuating signal for the small sized motor can be controlled without microswitches SI and S2.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the element 117a in Fig. 16 is an axle shaft holding plate for shaft 115; element 105a is the terminal piece on the bottom surface of the signal control circuit board, elements 104a are the terminal pieces for the coils of the motor, element 118 is the stator field permanent magnet for the small sized motor, and element 119 is the motor cover cylinder.

In operation, when a person's hands, or another object, are placed or removed from within the range of sensors 5, a control signal is produced which directs valve 100 to be placed in either an ON or OFF position. For example, when a person's hands are placed within or removed from the range of the sensor, a signal is received by the coil 104b of rotor 104a and it is magnetized so that rotor 104a of the small sized motor 104 turns in one direction or the other depending upon whether an ON or OFF signal is received. The reduction gear 116 drives cam 114 in oscillation and, as a result, the protruded portion 114a of the cam pushes one of the steel balls 110a or 110b. Thus, either port Ilia or 113a within the water pilot cylinders 110, 112 are opened or closed. For example, if piston 110b is driven to close inlet port Ilia, then water by-pass hole 109 of the water inlet 102a side is closed and the outlet water by-pass hole 109a of the water outlet 102b side is opened. In that condition water in chamber 107 flows out of the chamber through passages 103b, 113a, and 109a to the outlet 2b, because the main diaphragm 106 is pushed up by the pressure of the supply water. Accordingly, the water passage is completely opened and the water passes out of valve body 100 to tube 7 for discharge from the top. Of course, the valve operates with the opposite action if port 113a is closed and port Ilia is opened upon actuation of rack 114b.

The DC power supply for the devices may be 3- 8v, being included within the operating range of C-MOS. The control circuit illustrated in Fig. 6 controls the ON-OFF operation of the valve. The cam 114 and the reduction gear 116 of the control circuit part are originally set to the position allowing the microswitch SI to be OFF when the input signal " P " from the sensor 5 is low (i.e. "L") . Thus, when the control signal is high (i.e. "H") the valve opens and when low "L", it closes. The output of the level converting circuit VO, which is the level converted through the resistor R2, is kept "L" when input is "L" then the output of the turn over circuit VI will be "H" and the input terminal b of the OR gate V7 (a logical sum circuit) may be represented by "H" through the resistor R3 because the microswitch SI is in the OFF state. The output G of the OR gate V7 then becomes "H" without regard to the input of the microswitch S2. the transistors Q1-Q4 come in to the OFF state all together because the invertor of the turn over circuits V3-V6, as a 3-state terminal connection maintains the high impedance when the output G of the OR gate V7 is inputed with "H". The collector contact points 01 and 02 of each transistor have no outputs, thereby the DC motor remains OFF.

If the input P becomes "H", the output of the turn over circuit VI becomes "L", the output of the turn over circuit V2 becomes "H", but since the microswitch S2 is still in the ON state, the output of the turn over circuit V2, passed through the resistor R4, drops and becomes "L ". The input terminals a, b of the OR gate V7 become " L" and because the output of the OR gate V7 is "L", the turn over circuits V3-V6 come to the operating state. Since the turn over circuits V3-V6 are serially connected, the output Tl of the turn over circuits V3 becomes "L", the output T2 of turn over circuit V4 becomes "H", the output T3 of the turn over circuit V5 becomes "L", the output T4 of the turn over circuit V6 becomes "H", and the transistors Ql and Q2, which are connected to the outputs Tl and T2, come to the forward direction bias and become to ON. The transistors Q3 and Q4 become to the backward direction bias and come to the OFF state, thereby the collector contact point 01 of the transistor come to "H", 02 to "L". Thus, the power supply is applied to the rotor coil 104b of the small sized DC motor 104 and the rotor 104a begins to rotate in forward direction.

The reduction gear 116 is meshed with the pinion 104c which is fixed on the bottom of the rotor 104a. Another pinion 116a of the reduction gear 116 is meshed with the fragmentary circular arc gear segment 114b and begins to operate. This moves the oscillating rod 114a of cam 114 away so that microswitch SI comes to the ON state (at this moment, even though the microswitch SI comes to ON state, the output of the OR gate V7 is not changed, since the output of the OR gate V7 is not changed until the microswitch S2 comes to OFF state, it is preferred that microswitches SI and S2 may be arranged at the appropriate position for opening and closing the valve) , if the microswitch S2 finally comes to the OFF state, the output of the turn over circuit V2 comes to "H", then the input terminal a of the OR gate V7 passes through the resistor R4 comes to "H", the output terminal G of the OR gate becomes to "H", the outputs of the turn over circuits V3 - V6 comes to high impedance and, therefore, the transistors Q1-Q4 which actuate the small sized DC motor come all together to the OFF state, thus the DC motor stops.

If the input P comes to "H", the valve begins to be opened, if the microswitch S2 comes to the OFF state, the valve is kept opened and this state is held until the input P is changed to "L". If the input P comes to "L", the output of the turn over circuit VI comes to "H" with the reverse order of aforementioned description, since microswitch SI is in the ON state, the input terminal b is "L" and the output of the turn over circuit V2 is "L", the input terminal a of the OR gate V7 comes also to "L", the output G of the OR gate V7 comes to "L", the turn over circuit V3-V6 comes to the operating state, the output Tl of the turn over circuits V3 to "H", the output T2 of the turn over circuit V3 to "H", the output T2 of the turn over circuit V4 to "L", the output T3 of the turn over circuit V3 to "H", the output T4 of the turn over circuit V4 to "L", whereby the transistors Ql and Q2 come to the OFF state. The transistors Q3 and Q3 which are connected to the output T3 and T4 come to forward direction bias, whereby the collector contact point of the transistor 01 comes to "L", 02 to "H" and power supply comes to be applied to the DC motor, thereby the DC motor begins to operate in reverse direction. This state is the state which the valve turns

OFF, the oscillating rod 114a reaches the microswitch SI and turns it to the OFF state. Since the input terminal b of the OR gate V7 comes to "H", the output G of the OR gate becomes to "H", and the turn over circuits V3-V6 may be changed to the high impedance state. That is to say, the power supply comes to be cut off with the DC motor 4, and this state is continued until the input P is varied.

If the cam 14 is located at an intermediate position between microswitches SI and S2, and if the state of input P is varied, that is, in case the input P is varied toward the closing direction while the cam 14 is moving toward the valve opening position, the output G of the OR gate V7 is kept to the "L" state and the state of the transistors Q1-Q4 come to their operating state as long as the period that the cam 14 permits the microswitch SI and S2 to open and close always in response to the input P. Accordingly, the opening and closing action can be accomplished with least power composition.

The following is a comparison table of the electric power consumption of the automatic water supply valve according to the present invention and the prior art.

Comparison table of electric power consumption

Consuming electric Consuming electric power in the moment power keeping the that the valve begins state of the valve to be opened being opened

Prior art 5 - 12w continued 5 - 12w continued automatic water valve Invention 0.3w/01 sec 0 automatic water valve

FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the filter chambers 10a'-1, 10b'-2 are formed in the hot and cold water passing holes 8a-l, 8b-l of the supply tee or connector pipe 8-1 which is to be connected to the existing hot and cold water supply pipes 28a, 28b. The net like filter tubes I0a"-1, 10b"-1 are inserted respectively and locked with the screw sleeve 17-1, while the check valve assembly 18-1, 19-1 are inserted therein so that the hot and cold water passing paths 10a-l, lOb-1 may be opened or closed. In this case, the battery container 9 is mounted behind the connector pipe 8-1 assembly, and the connector fittings 8-2 having the hot, and cold water passages 8a-2, 8b-2 extend from the center thereof.

In lieu of a battery type powered supply, an AC/DC adaptor/converter can be used, as seen in Fig. 20. The water mixing valve means 2 of this embodiment is located within the water tap body 1, that is to say, a cylindrical cavity 51 is formed at the upper end of the water tap fixing pipe 6-1, a water mixing solid cap 52 is fixed within the cavity 51 by the fixing pin 53, and a mixing control block 54 having the hot and cold water outlet holes 54a, 54b and shaped as a cylindrical drum is movably fixed. The outer end of the spiral bimetal 13-1 (see Fig. 15) is fixed by inserting between the two bimetal fixing pins 54* fixed on the mixing control block 54, while the inner end 13a-l is fixed to the fixing shaft 14-1, the L-shaped valve body 12b-l having the hot and cold water mixing chamber 12-1 is established around them, and the mixed water outlet 2a-l is formed above the hot and cold water mixing chamber 12-1 within the valve body 2b-l. The water supply valve 100-1 is arranged behind the L-shaped mixing valve body 2b-l, the water tap body 1 and' the water tap fixing pipe 6-1 are fixed with the small bolts 55, and the check valves 18-1, 19-1 with the connector pipe assembly is fixed at the bottom end of the water tap fixing pipe 6-1.

This arrangement is intended to permit the water tap body to be beautifully shaped by maximizing the ability of water tap to be small-sized and to be light- weight. In this case the check valve means and the hot and cold water mixing means which were formed integrally within a mixing valve 2 are divided from each other and the check valve means is removed from the water tap body 1 and fixed below the water tap fixing board. The operation and the effect of the present invention which is constructed such as described hereinbefore will be explained in detail with reference to Figs. 5 to 7.

The hot and cold water supplied by the hot and cold water service pipes 28a, 28b are delivered through the hot and cold water passages 8a, 8b or the hot and cold water connector pipe 8 and also through the hot and cold water passages 6a, 6b of the water tap mounting pipe or stem 6. The water then passes through the hot and cold water passages 10a, 10b to the filter chambers 10a', 10b', respectively, through the hot and^'cold water inlets 11', 11'' to the hot and cold water mixing tube 11. It then flows through the hot and cold water outlet 11a, lib, after mixed at the desired temperature by the operation of the bimetal 13 within the hot and cold water mixing chamber 12 and flows out through the outlet pipe 2a. From there the water subsequently flows through the water inlet 100a and reaches the automatic water supply valve 100. When the detecting signal from the detecting sensor 5 is transmitted to the electronic control unit 5' , and if the electronic control unit 5' transfers the instruction signal to the operation control circuit (FIG. 13) of the automatic water supply valve 100, the main diaphragm 106 is opened, the mixed water is delivered through the hose 7 connected to the outlet 100b to the water retaining piece 3 and its chamber 3c. It then flows through the plurality of the water flowing holes perforated at the bottom of the water retaining chamber 3c and may be dispersed uniformly and then spouted out of the jet holes 4a of the water jet nozzle 4.

Fig. 7 illustrates the various conditions under which sliding control tube 16, coupled with the opening and closing actuator 15, opens or closes the hot and cold water flowing holes 11a, lib of the hot and cold water mixing tube 11 in response to the operation of the bimetal 13. When a user wants mixed warm water (appropriate warm water) , as shown in Fig. 7A, the sliding control tube 16 coupled with the opening and closing actuator 15 of the bimetal may be located at the intermediate position of the hot and cold water mixing tube 11, accordingly both of hot and cold water flow respectively through cold water outlet hole lib and hot water outlet hole 11a and all mixed within the hot and cold water mixing chamber 12 of the mixing valve 2. Furthermore, the water reaches the automatic water supply valve 100 through the mixed water outlet 2a and if the aforementioned detecting sensor is operated and transmits the signal to the electronic control unit 5' , and the electronic control circuit unit 5' transfers the instruction signal to the operation control circuit of the automatic water supply valve to open the main diaphragm 106, the mixed water will be tee discharged out of the water jet nozzle 4 via the hole 7 connected to the outlet 100b.

Alternatively, Fig. 7B shows the operating condition of the bimetal 13 for increasing cold water in case the temperature of the mixed warm water is higher than the set temperature. In that condition sliding control tube 16, coupled with the opening and closing actuator 15 of the bimetal 13, closes the hot water outlet hole 11a, and only the cold water flows out of the cold water outlet hole lib.

Finally, Fig. 7C shows the operating condition of the bimetal 13 for increasing hot water in case the temperature of the mixed warm water is lower than the set temperature. In that condition the sliding control tube 16, coupled with the opening and closing actuator 15 of the bimetal 13, closes the cold water outlet hole lib, and only the hot water flows out, the operational order will be same as aforementioned.

In addition, if the temperature of the hot water supplied by the hot water supply pipe line 28a is higher than the required temperature, the sliding control tube 16 will be moved toward the hot water outlet hole 11a by the operation of the bimetal 13, then the hot water outlet hole 11a may be reasonably closed while the cold water outlet hole lib may be opened, and the hot and cold water may be mixed within the mixing chamber 12 of the mixing valve 2. Accordingly, warm water of the desired temperature will be delivered through the mixed water outlet tube 2 to the automatic water supply valve 100. If the temperature of the hot water supply is lower than the required temperature, the sliding control tube 16 will be moved toward the cold water outlet hole lib by the operation of the bimetal 13, the cold water outlet hole lib will be reasonably closed while the hot water outlet hole la will be opened, so that a user not only can use the water of desired temperature at any time, but also the extravagance of the water more than the required may be avoided. Thus, the present invention not only maximizes the facilities of utilizing the water tap without touching the handle by automatizing almost completely all of the operations by applying the latest technical functions to each component for controlling the water supply, but also maximizes the water tap to be small- sized and light-weight. An article of beautiful outward appearance is thus provided by integrating every component within water tap body 1. Further, the operational electric power consumption of the automatic water supply valve 100 is minimized so that it may be used for one to ten years with only a lithium cell (3V, lOA/h) . Moreover, only the water tap needs to be changed with the existing water pipe line facilities without establishing a new electric power line. Thus, construction costs will be greatly decreased.

Manufacturing costs are also decreased by miniaturizing the structure.

Another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figs. 21, 22, 23 and 24, wherein an automatic faucet "T" is illustrated which includes a water supply valve 100, a valve controller 101, electronic circuits (hybrid IC) , and a hot and cold water mixing valve 2 all assembled as a unit compactly into faucet body 1. An aerator 4 and sensor 5 are installed as a unit in a nozzle cover la in the discharge end of the faucet with sensor 5 positioned at a suitable angle of 0°-20° to the vertical. The nozzle cover la is coupled with the nozzle end of the faucet body 1 by screws lb. A check valve assembly 8, battery case 9 and filter assemblies 10 are installed on the lower part of the faucet body 1. Hot and cold water is supplied to the faucet through water supply pipes (not shown) connected to the bottoms of cut-off valves 11 of conventional construction which are, in turn, connected to the lower ends of filter assemblies 10. The latter are connected by flexible tubes 11 to the check valve assembly 8 through the hot water inlet port 8a and the cold water inlet port 8b.

Net-like tubes lOa", 10b" are located within chambers 10a' and 10b' of check valve assembly 8 and surround check valves 18, 19, respectively. The nets serve to filter the hot and cold water received from inlets 8a and 8b. Check valves 18, 19 include sliding pistons 18b, 19b having sealing gaskets 18a, 19a secured on the faces thereof facing passages 10a and 10b defined in the ends of chambers 10a' and 10b'. Coil springs 18d, 19d bias the sliding pistons 18b, 19b toward valve seats 18f, 19f to normally close passages 10a and lOb. The resilient force of the springs is adjusted by adjusting screws 18e, 19e which are inserted into threaded holes 17 of screw sleeves 17. The latter are threadedly inserted into the threaded holes 20' of valve body fixing screw sleeves 20 of the check valve assembly 8. The latter includes a neck portion 8' including outlet ports 8a¹, 8b' from chambers 10a, 10b and is threadedly coupled to the valve body 2b of the hot and cold water mixing valve 2. Thus, check valves 18, 19 are positioned to control passage of hot and cold water to the mixing valve. When the tap is operated pressure upstream of the valve is less than the line pressure so valves 18, 19 open and water is supplied to the tap.

A battery container 9 having a negative plate 9a (Fig. 24), including a contact spring 9' is mounted by screws 9" to the rear of check valve assembly 8. The plate 9a is removably secured to battery container 9 which also includes a positive plate 9b defining with plate 9a a battery chamber dimensioned to accept appropriately sized batteries to power the unit as described hereinafter.

As noted, hot and cold water from chambers 10a, 10b are supplied to the mixing valve 2. This valve may be of any convenient construction. For example, the valve, as schematically illustrated in Figures 21-23 and 26 may be of the same general construction as the water mixing valve described with respect to Figures 14-15. Preferably, however, the mixing valve has the construction illustrated in Figure 21. As seen therein, when water flows from tubes 8a, 8b to valve 2 it first confronts the piston 16 of the mixing valve 2. The cylindrical piston 16 has opposed ports 16a, 16b formed therein for respectively receiving water from tubes 8a, 8b and discharging the water combined within the piston to the supply valve 100 thereabove. The ends of piston 16 have ports 16c, 16d formed therein so that the water in the piston is also passed to the chambers 16' , 16" on either side thereof. A temperature sensor 13 is coupled with the piston 16 in the chamber 16'. This temperature sensor 13 is of known construction, as generally described hereinafter, and its sensitivity is adjusted by a control knob 26 engaged by a worm screw arrangement 14 to contract or expand the sensor, thereby to set the desired temperature. If the water temperature detected by the sensor 13 is lower than the set temperature determined by the temperature setting knob 26, piston 16 will slide to the left under the influence of spring 16b by contraction of the sensor 13, thereby to close the inlet hole of cold water 10b, and at the same time to open the inlet hole of hot water 10a much wider. As the amount of hot water influx is larger than that of cold water influx, the water temperature inside the mixing valve 2 rises to the set temperature. On the other hand, if the water temperature in the mixing valve 2 is higher than the set temperature, the plunger will be pushed out by expansion of the temperature sensor 13. This movement slides piston 16 to the right and blocks the hot water inlet hole 10a at the same time the inlet hole of cold water 10b opens wider, the amount of cold water influx is going to be greater than that of hot water influx. Therefore, the water temperature in the mixing valve 2 falls to keep the set temperature.

Volume control is effected by the control knob 26a connected by worm screw arrangement 14a to piston 16. This adjusts the radial position of port 16b to outlet 2a and thereby controls the volume of water exiting the mixing valve.

As shown in Figs. 21 and 26a-26c, a water supply valve 100 is provided which receives the mixed water from mixing valve 2. Valve 100 includes a valve body 102 which contains a piston 106 slidably mounted in the body and having a flexible sealing ring 106' which divides the interior of the valve body into a first chamber 108 and a second chamber 107. The water supply valve is controlled by a valve controller 101, which comprises a pilot valve 103, valve driver gear 104a and a valve driving motor 104.

Valve body 102 includes an inlet hole 102a (Fig. 26a) coupled in any convenient manner to the outlet hole 2a (Fig. 31) of the hot and cold water mixing valve 2. The outlet hole 102b of the valve body 102 (Fig. 26) is coupled with the hose 7 which is connected to aerator 4.

As mixed water in the hot and cold water mixing valve 2 enters the first chamber 108 (Fig. 26a) through the outlet hole 2a of the water mixing valve 2 and inlet hole 102a of water supply valve 100, the water also enters the second chamber 107 through a small inlet hole 106a on the valve piston 106 (Fig. 26) . Therefore, water pressure in the first chamber 108 is initially the same as that of the second chamber 107 and the valve remains closed. If the detecting sensor senses the presence of a physical object at this time, it will send a detecting signal to the valve driving motor 104 through electronic circuits (hybrid IC) 5*. By that pulse signal, power (electricity supplied from the battery or from a transformer) is supplied to the valve driving motor to drive the motor 104. As the motor 104 is driven it drives gear 104a, which in turn drives cam gear 114a in which a cam 114 is mounted. As described hereinafter, this rotates cam 114 through 180°. As a result of this rotation, the concave face of cam 114 is brought into position opposite the plunger 110 which rides on the cam. This plunger also engages the diaphragm 111 which, as seen in Figs. 21 and 26 is also subject, on its opposite face, to water pressure in second chamber 107a. As a result,the diaphragm moves away from its seat (Figs. 26 and 26c) and water in the second chamber 107a drains to the outlet hole 102b on the water supply valve 100 through the water passageway 109a. As the water pressure in the second chamber 107 is lowered, the valve piston 106 is pushed downwardly by the relatively high water pressure in the first chamber. As a gap between the valve piston 106 and the main seat 109 is opened, the water passes directly from inlet 102a through the outlet hole 102b of the water supply valve 100 to the nozzle. When there is a physical object within the detecting range of the sensor 5 (i.e., when the sensor detects an object) , power consumption does not occur because the motor 104 remains stationary. When an object within the detecting range of the sensor 5 is removed, a pulse signal from the electronic circuit 5' will be transmitted to the valve controller 101. The motor 104 is then driven by the pulse signal as power is supplied again to the motor 104. As the cam gear 114a coupled with the motor gear 104a rotates again through 180°, the convex part of the cam 114 pushes the plunger 110 and thus the diaphragm 111 closes pilot valve 113. When pilot valve 113 closes, water in the second chamber 107a will fill the chamber 107 because there is no place to drain. Therefore, the water pressure in the second chamber 107a becomes identical to that in tie first chamber 108. As a result, the valve piston 106 returns to the original closed position under the restoring power of the spring 106b. Thus, the valve piston 106 and the main seat 109 engage each other, close the water passage and thereby block the flow of water.

As seen in Figs. 28a and 28b, in order to stop the rotation of motor 104 after turning the cam through 180°, a hole 114a' is formed in the cam gear 114a, and two sensors are installed in the valve body 180° symmetrically on the arc of the passage of the hole 114a. When the cam gear 114a rotates, the sensors 5 detect the hole 114a' at the point of 180° and send the detecting signal to the valve driver control circuit 104a. The circuit thus produces a signal to activate or deactivate the motor. As a result, at the moment of detecting the object by the sensor 5, the motor 104 rotates the cam gear 114a 180°. The motor then remains stationary at that point, while detecting the object. As the object disappears from the detecting range of the sensor 5, the motor drives again, and stops after rotating the cam gear 180°.

Referring now to the function of the electronic circuit (hybrid IC) 51, that will be described with reference to the block diagram Fig. 29 and the time chart Fig. 30. The circuit includes an oscillator which comprises a low power C-MOS Gate IC, and generates the basic signal during performing the emitting and detecting function. The pulse signal generated from the oscillator enters into the time base A and time base B. In time base B, the rise of pulse signal received from the oscillator delays for fixed time, and the pulse signal of narrow pulse width is generated and is transmitted as the input signal to the synchronizer of a one-shot circuit and the detecting part of the emitting part. The pulse rise of the output signal from the one- shot circuit is generated by synchronizing of the pulse rise of the time base B. The pulse width of the output pulse of the one-shot circuit is set off narrower than that of time base B, and the output pulse of the one-shot circuit is going to become a driving signal of the infrared emitter. In time base A, the pulse signal with narrow pulse width is generated by synchronizing of the pulse signal rise received from the oscillator, and transmits to the amplifier of the detecting part, and the output pulse signal from time base A is designed to synchronize to the fall of the time base B. The output pulse signal from the time base A acts as an electric current supplying signal of the amplifier circuit in the detecting part, and amplifies the input signal received from the detecting part only when the pulse signal of the time base A is transmitted to the amplifier. All input signals from the detecting part are not amplified continuously, but are cut off by the pulse signal from time base A, thereby minimizing consumption of power. In other words, the current supplied to the amplifier is restricted by the time of pulse width of time base A.

When an amplified signal from the amplifier is received by the synchronizer, the signal which is transmitted to the synchronizer from the time base A and the signal which is synchronized are transmitted to the next step, the retriggerable one-shot circuits. That is, it transmits only the synchronized signal which drives the analog switch by the pulse of time base B. The retriggerable one-shot circuit performs the action of keeping the input pulse of narrow pulse width longer. In other words, the output pulse of the one- shot circuit is the driving power of the infrared emitter. At this time, the infrared emitter transmits the infrared ray, and this ray is reflected by the reflector. The reflected signal becomes the input signal of the photo detector, the faint signal which enters into the photo detector is amplified by the amplifier. Among the output signal of amplifier, except the photo signal, the noise which is caused by the cutoff of the supplying electric current from the time base A is included. In order to remove this noise, the existence of a reflector can be determined by synchronizing to the pulse width of time base B which is narrower than that of the time base A. When there is a reflector in the detecting range, the synchronized pulse becomes a trigger pulse of the retriggerable one-shot, and maintains the pulse output of the retriggerable one-shot high. And, this is inverted again by the inventor, and performs the OFF function of the valve. The signal which is not inverted acts as a trigger signal of the one-shot timer A and the inverted signal acts as a trigger signal of the one-shot timer B, and this again becomes a driving signal to the valve drive motor.

The time constant of the one-shot timer A and B can be changed by the organization of mechanism of the valve control system, and this is to prevent electric discharge of the battery by malfunction of the motor driving system. When there is no pulse from photo interrupter, in other words, when there is malfunction in the system, it performs the function of preventing the flow of electric current to the motor for more than the determined time of 30 seconds. The signal from the one-shot timer A rises by the synchronization to the pulse rise in the delay off timer, and falls by triggering to the pulse rise of the photo interrupter A. . The photo interrupter A is an apparatus to make the high level signal from one-shot timer A, low level, and it is installed in the ON state of the valve. It also rises by triggering of the pulse rise of the invertor and falls by triggering of the pulse rise of the photo interrupter B. The photo interrupter B is an apparatus to make high level signal low level, and it is installed in the OFF state of the valve.

The delay off timer which also worked as a safety device of the detector serves to restrict the continuation of the opening of the valve more than a determined time (e.g., 30-60 seconds). Thus, it provides the automatic water cutoff function. The delay off timer can be set for a predetermined time (30-60 seconds) to prevent continuing flow of water when a physical object (i.e., a reflector) is accidentally placed in the detecting range of the sensor or when tape, paper, gum, etc. is adhered to the surface of the sensor. Thus, the water flow is automatically stopped after that time even if the sensor is disturbed.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, a switch 27a may be placed on the drainage control rod for the sink drain (see Figs. 313 and 314) which is used to open and close the drain hole of the sink. The switch is arranged such that when the rod 27b is pulled up, the drain hole is closed and at the same time the switch is turned to ON to send a signal (see Fig. 9) to the delay off timer. The delay off timer then generates its signal to permit water flow for a determined time. After that time, the water flow is stopped automatically. After the user has washed in the sink, pushing down on the drainage rod will open the drain hole and at the same time the switch becomes OFF. When this signal is sent to the delay off timer, the detecting function of the sensor is restored. After that, the automatic faucet returns to the function of automatic water flow. At this time, there is no inconvenience of closing the hole and turning the knob to receive the water because when the drain hole is closed, the water flows automatically. Because the set time is determined by the required time to fill the appropriate amount of water to the wash basin, there is no danger of overflow, and the water supply time is determined by the size of the sink. The valve drive motor which performs the ON/OFF function of the valve directly sets the two operating points. By driving the motor only at the moment of reaching those points, the power requirement can be minimized to operate the ON/OFF motion of the valve.

Figs. 31a and 32a illustrate another embodiment of the invention in which the hot and cold water mixing valve 2 comprises a mixing valve body 2b, a piston 16, which is coupled with a temperature sensor 13, in turn engaged with a temperature control handle 26b. The opposite side of the piston is engaged by spring 16b and faces a conical outlet port 200. The flow volume is controlled by handle 26a which adjusts the position of the conical plug 201 relative to port 200. The temperature sensor 13 is filled with the temperature sensitive materials such as wax, liquid, or others, or is made of bimetal. By expansion or contraction of this temperature sensor 13, the cylindrical piston 16 will slide from side to side within the chamber 16", thereby varying the amount of water that flows out of supply tubes 8a and 8b. As seen in Fig. 31a, water from tube 8a enters the interior of piston 16 through ports 16a on one end wall and water from tube 8b enters the piston over its open end 16d. Thus, water is mixed in the piston and temperature is transmitted by plunger 17 to sensor 13 to adjust the position of the piston. The mixed water flows - through port 200 for discharge through port 2a to control valve 100.

If the temperature of water flowing into the piston 16 as hot water and cold water through- the inlet holes 10a, 10b in the hot and cold water mixing valve 2 is lower than the set temperature, it will be detected by the temperature sensor which then contracts. As the piston 16 slides to the left under the influence of the spring 16b, the inlet hole for cold water, 10b, is closed while at the same time the inlet hole for hot water, 10a, is opened. Because the amount of cold water influx is lower than that of hot water influx, the water temperature in the mixing valve rises. On the other hand, when the water temperature in mixing valve 2 is higher than the set temperature, plunger 16 slides the piston to the right by the expansion of temperature sensor 13. The inlet hole for hot water, 10a, is then closed at the same time the cold water inlet hole 10b is opened. By that, the amount of cold water influx becomes larger than that of hot water influx, the water temperature in the mixing valve 2 becomes lower, thereby the set temperature is maintained. In this manner, water is mixed in mixing valve 2 to the appropriate set temperature and flows into the water supply valve 100 through the inlet hole 100a of that valve.

If desired, a separate temperature sensor 210 can be provided in any convenient manner to create a digital read out on an LCD display unit 212 (Fig. 32a) . While the present invention has been particularly described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS;

1. An automatic water tap comprising a hot and cold water mixing valve, sensing means for sensing the presence or absence of an object beneath the tap; and

5 an automatic water supply valve means connected to said mixing valve and being operative in response to said sensing means to control water flow from the tap, said water supply valve means including an electric motor, cam means operatively connected to said electric motor for

10 rotation thereby, a pair of pilot valve means operatively engaged with said cam means for selective operation thereby, and a main valve operatively connected to and controlled by said pilot valve means to open or close water supply through the water supply valve means in

15 response to operation of said pilot valves; control means responsive to said sensing means for energizing and deenergizing said motor.

2. A water tap as defined in claim 1 wherein said hot and cold water mixing valve includes a mixing

20_. chamber, a mixing tube having hot and cold water inlet holes formed therein and a plurality of the hot and cold water outlet holes communicating with said mixing chamber, a bimetal temperature sensor in said mixing chamber, and a sliding control tube operatively engaged

25 with said bimetal for movement thereby and slidably mounted on the hot and cold water mixing tube 11 to selectively open or close said hot and cold water outlet holes in response to movement of said bimetal.

3. A water tap according to claim 2 including 0 check valve means for preventing water flow from the water supply to said mixing tube when said water supply valve is off.

4. A water tap according to claim 1, including a DC battery power supply for said motor.

5 5. A water tap as defined in claim 1 wherein said hot and cold water mixing valve includes a mixing chamber, a water mixing cap in said chamber and connected to hot and cold water supplies, to supply hot and cold water into the mixing chamber, a mixing control block having the hot and cold water outlet holes formed on the periphery thereof, said block surrounding said cap and being adapted to selectively open and close the discharge opening in the cap, and a spirally shaped bimetal mounted in said mixing chamber and being operatively connected to said block for selectively rotating the block on the cap in response to the temperature of water in the mixing chamber thereby to control the temperature of water discharged from the tap.

6. An automatic water tap comprising a hot and cold water mixing valve, sensing means for sensing the presence or absence of an object beneath the tap; and an automatic water supply valve means connected to said mixing valve and being operative in response to said sensing means to control water flow from the tap, said water supply valve means including an electric motor, cam means operatively connected to said electric motor for rotation thereby, a pair of pilot valve means operatively engaged with said cam means for selective operation thereby, and a main valve operatively connected to and controlled by said pilot valve means to open or close water supply through the water supply valve means in response to operation of said pilot valves; control means responsive to said sensing means for energizing and deenergizing said motor.

7. A water tap as defined in claim 6 wherein said hot and cold water mixing valve includes a mixing chamber, a mixing tube having hot and cold water inlet holes formed therein and a plurality of the hot and cold water outlet holes communicating with said mixing chamber, a bimetal temperature sensor in said mixing chamber, and a sliding control tube operatively engaged with said bimetal for movement thereby and slidably mounted on the hot and cold water mixing tube 11 to selectively open or close said hot and cold water outlet holes in response to movement of said bimetal.

8. A water tape according to claim 7 including check valve means for preventing water flow from the water supply to said mixing tube when said water supply valve is off.

9. A water tap according to claim 6, including a DC battery power supply for said motor.

10. A water tap as defined in claim 6 wherein said hot and cold water mixing valve includes a mixing chamber, a water mixing cap in said chamber and connected to hot and cold water supplies to supply hot and cold water into the mixing chamber, a mixing control block having the hot and cold water outlet holes formed on the periphery thereof, said block surrounding said cap and being adapted to selectively open and close the discharge opening in the cap, and a spirally shaped bimetal mounted in said mixing chamber and being operatively connected to said block for selectively rotating the block on the cap in response to the temperature of water in the mixing chamber thereby to control the temperature of water discharged from the tap.

11. An automatic faucet comprising a spout body having a water discharge end, sensing means mounted on said spout body at said water discharge end for sensing the presence or absence of an object beneath the top; a water supply valve in said spout responsive to said sensing means sensing of an object for discharging water from said spout, said sensing means being mounted in said spout at an angle to the vertical of between 0°20°.

12. The device as defined in claim 11, wherein said faucet includes a removable nozzle cover mounted on the spout body at said water discharge end, said cover including an aerator and said sensing means being mounted on said cover adjacent said aerator.

13. The device as defined in claim 12, including an electronic circuit for said sensing means and control means for said water supply valve responsive to said circuit, all contained within said spout body.

14. The device as defined in claim 13, including a check valve assembly, water filters, a battery case for supplying power to said sensing means.

15. A water supply valve including a valve body containing a valve piston defining first and second chambers in said body, a valve controller comprising a pilot valve, a valve driver and a valve driving motor, said valve having a water inlet hole of the water connected to receive water from a mixing valve and a water outlet hole; sensor means for detecting the presence of a physical object and transmitting a signal to the valve driver through an electronic circuit, said circuit generating a pulse signal to operate the valve driving motor, and a cam gear connected to said motor, said cam being rotated upon operation of the motor to drive the pilot valve and thereby open and close the water supply valve.

16. The valve as defined in claim 15, including means for preventing continuous water flow after said valve is opened for a predetermined period of time.

17. The valve as defined in claim 16, wherein said preventing means comprises an adjusted delay off timer which is adapted to stop the water flow after 30-60 seconds.

18. A water supply valve as defined in claim

17, including drainage rod means for opening and closing - the drain hole of a wash basin and ON/OFF switch means connected to said rod such that when the rod is operated to close the drain hole the switch is placed in the ON state and causes the delay off timer to allow water flow for a preset time and when the drainage rod is operated to open the drain hole the switch is returned to an OFF state and the sensing function of the sensor means is recovered.

19. A hot and cold water mixing valve comprising a mixing valve body connected to separate hot and cold water inlets, a valve piston associated with said inlet, and a temperature sensor, said temperature sensor comprising a body filled with temperature sensitive materials engaged with said piston to cause the piston to move from side to side to maintain a predetermined set water temperature.

20. The valve as defined in claim 19, including separate water flow rate control means for adjusting the amount of water from the faucet.