PASSIVE SENSORS AND CONTROL ALGORITHMS FOR FAUCETS AND BATHROOM FLUSHERS

摘要

An optical system includes one or several passive optical detectors sensitiveto ambient (room) light for controlling, for example, the operation ofautomatic faucets (9, 9A,10, 10A, 1 OB, 1 OC) or automatic bathroom flushers(100, 100A). The passive optical sensors provide signals to flow controllers,including control electronics (250) and flow valves (38, 140) and require onlyvery small amounts of electrical power for sensing users of bathroomfacilities, and thus enable battery operation for many years. To control theoperation of automatic faucets or automatic bathroom flushers based on ambientlight, the controller executes novel algorithms (300, 600, 900 or 1300).