Faucet apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10273667-B2
Application number	US-201715714666-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 25, 2017
Priority date	Oct 13, 2016
Publication date	Apr 30, 2019
Grant date	Apr 30, 2019

Abstract

A faucet apparatus includes a rotating operation unit that rotationally operates water spouting and shutting off operations, and a flow adjustment operation and a temperature adjustment operation of hot and cold water, an acceleration sensor that detects an attitude and a rotating movement of the rotating operation unit, and a control unit. The rotating operation unit moves without striding across a horizontal plane at a time of performing a rotating operation from a first operation position to a second operation position around a predetermined rotation axis in the water spouting state. The acceleration sensor is set in a state where a rotation axis at a time of rotating within a predetermined plane in response to the flow adjustment operation and temperature adjustment operation of the hot and cold water does not coincide with a gravity direction axis.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A faucet apparatus configured to spout and shut off hot and cold water with an adjusted temperature and flow rate, the faucet apparatus comprising:
a hot water passage configured to supply hot water from a hot water supply source;
a cold water passage configured to supply cold water from a cold water supply source;
a faucet main body configured to mix the hot water and the cold water that are supplied respectively from the hot water passage and the cold water passage;
a spout configured to spout hot and cold water mixed in the faucet main body;
an on-off valve configured to open and close a flow passage at an upstream side of the spout;
a rotating operation unit rotatably connected to the faucet main body, the rotating operation unit being configured to be capable of a water spouting and shutting off operation that switches the spout to a water spouting state or a water shutting off state by performing an on/off operation of the on-off valve by performing a rotating operation, and the rotating operation unit being configured to be capable of a flow adjustment operation and a temperature adjustment operation of hot and cold water spouted from the spout in the water spouting state;
an acceleration sensor provided in the rotating operation unit, the acceleration sensor being configured to rotate with the rotating operation unit in response to the rotating operation of the rotating operation unit so as to detect an attitude and a rotating movement of the rotating operation unit; and
a control unit configured to control on and off of the on-off valve based on detection information of the acceleration sensor,
wherein the rotating operation unit is configured to move without striding across a horizontal plane when a rotating operation is performed from a first operation position to a second operation position around a predetermined rotation axis of the rotating operation unit in the water spouting state, and
the acceleration sensor is set in a state where a rotation axis of the acceleration sensor at a time of rotating within a predetermined plane in response to the flow adjustment operation and temperature adjustment operation of the hot and cold water does not coincide with a gravity direction axis, so that rotation of the acceleration sensor within the horizontal plane is avoided in the water spouting state,
wherein the predetermined rotation axis of the rotating operation unit includes a first rotation axis and a second rotation axis,
the acceleration sensor is configured to detect an attitude and a rotating movement of the rotating operation unit on the flow adjustment operation of the hot and cold water by the rotating operation unit being rotationally operated within a first plane around the first rotation axis in the water spouting state, and the acceleration sensor is configured to detect an attitude and a rotating movement of the rotating operation unit on the temperature adjustment operation of the hot and cold water by the rotating operation unit being rotationally operated within a second plane around the second rotation axis in the water spouting state, and
the rotating operation unit is configured to be rotationally operated without striding across the horizontal plane from a first water spouting position that is the first operation position to a second water spouting position that is the second operation position around the first rotation axis in the water spouting state, and the rotating operation unit is configured to avoid rotation of the acceleration sensor within the horizontal plane on the flow adjustment operation of the hot and cold water, and
the rotating operation unit is configured to be rotationally operated without striding across the horizontal plane from a first temperature adjustment position that is the first operation position to a second temperature adjustment position that is the second operation position around the second rotation axis in the water spouting state, and the rotating operation unit is configured to avoid rotation of the acceleration sensor within the horizontal plane on the temperature adjustment operation of the hot and cold water.

2. The faucet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a water shutting off region of the rotating operation unit which brings the spout into the water shutting off state is a region in which the second plane is set to be substantially the horizontal plane.

3. The faucet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the rotating operation unit is provided at an upper part of the faucet main body to be rotationally operable,
the first rotation axis extends in a horizontally lateral direction with respect to the faucet main body, and the second rotation axis extends in a vertical direction with respect to the faucet main body,
the rotating operation unit is configured to bring about the water shutting off state by being rotationally operated within the first plane around the first rotation axis and the second plane being set to be substantially the horizontal plane, the rotating operation unit is configured to be rotationally operable without striding across the horizontal plane from a first temperature adjustment position to a second temperature adjustment position around the second rotation axis in the water spouting state, and the rotating operation unit is configured to avoid rotation of the acceleration sensor within the horizontal plane on the flow adjustment and on the temperature adjustment operation of the hot and cold water.

4. The faucet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the rotating operation unit is provided at a side part of the faucet main body to be rotationally operable,
the first rotation axis extends in a horizontally longitudinal direction with respect to the faucet main body, and the second rotation axis extends in a horizontally lateral direction with respect to the faucet main body,
the rotating operation unit is configured to bring about the water shutting off state by being rotationally operated within the first plane around the first rotation axis and the second plane being set to be substantially a vertical surface, the rotating operation unit is configured to be rotationally operable without striding across the horizontal plane from a first water spouting position to a second water spouting position around the first rotation axis in the water spouting state, and the rotating operation unit is configured to avoid rotation of the acceleration sensor within the horizontal plane on the flow adjustment and on the temperature adjustment operation of the hot and cold water.

5. A faucet apparatus configured to spout and shut off hot and cold water with an adjusted temperature and flow rate, the faucet apparatus comprising:
a hot water passage configured to supply hot water from a hot water supply source;
a cold water passage configured to supply cold water from a cold water supply source;
a faucet main body configured to mix the hot water and the cold water that are supplied respectively from the hot water passage and the cold water passage;
a spout configured to spout hot and cold water mixed in the faucet main body;
an on-off valve configured to open and close a flow passage at an upstream side of the spout;
a rotating operation unit rotatably connected to the faucet main body, the rotating operation unit being configured to be capable of a water spouting and shutting off operation that switches the spout to a water spouting state or a water shutting off state by performing an on/off operation of the on-off valve by performing a rotating operation, and the rotating operation unit being configured to be capable of a flow adjustment operation and a temperature adjustment operation of hot and cold water spouted from the spout in the water spouting state;
an acceleration sensor provided in

Assignees

• Toto Ltd

Inventors

• Kamiyoshi Tetsuro
• Matsui Hideyuki
• Hashimoto Kenichi
• Hatakeyama Makoto
• Kaneko Yoshiyuki

Classifications

• F16K31/00

  Actuating devices;} Operating means; Releasing devices {(regulating means G05D) · CPC title

• F16K11/18

  with separate operating movements for separate closure members · CPC title

• F16K31/605

  for single handle mixing valves · CPC title

• E03C1/0412 Primary

  Constructional or functional features of the faucet handle (valve actuating members as such F16K31/60) · CPC title

• F16K19/006

  Specially adapted for faucets · CPC title