WO1999011876A1 - Device for controlling the filling of a bath tub and installation of same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a new and simple device for controlling the filling of a bath tub which has the advantage to be simpler and less expensive to produce than those of the prior art. The device consists of a container which encloses a volume independent of the normal volume of the bath tub and of which the water level reflects the water level of the bath tub; a pair of valves with a float inside, one valve for the cold water and another valve for the hot water which let or stop the water flow coming from the water network of the building to the mixing taps of the bath tub, according to the level reached by the water in the container, which corresponds to the water level in the bath tub.

Description

 FILL CONTROL DEVICE FOR A BATH TUB E

INSTALLATION OF THE SAME

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The waste of water in hotels due to the filling of bath tubs is

currently very large due to lack of filling control of these

bathroom accessories.

When a person wishes to take a bathtub, he arrives at the bathroom and regulates the

water temperature at which you want the tub to be filled by opening the

cold water faucet and hot water faucet, such as the time it takes to fill,

the tub is very long, leave the tub filling and it will do other things and never

he notices the precise moment when the tub is already full.

When the water in the tub reaches a certain level, the water begins to slide to the

drainage through the so-called tub overflow. While this safety measure, the overflow, prevents the bath from flooding, does not prevent water from

wasted The amount of water wasted by

these reasons, but in some places, such as in hotels, this

waste becomes considerable. A possible solution of the above is the addition to the tub of a

float valve that interrupts the passage of water when its level reaches a certain point.

This solution presents some problems because po ^'r very small the

valve with float, it will always reduce the available space in the tub so that

A person take a bath. On the other hand, the presence of this valve with

Float will always be a risk of accidents by being an object in which

A person can easily hit himself with the normal use of the bathtub.

The control of bathtub filling presents problematic aspects not

presented in other situations, such as pool filling. In the

In the case of the pools or swimming pools, there is a situation such that the volume

The filling control does not present an obstacle.

In the case of the filling of the deposit tanks of the bath fees and the water storage tanks, the use of float valves does not present

no risk of causing accidents to be inside them.

On the other hand, in the case of the control of filling a bath tub, by

conduction characteristics of the substance with which it is filled and by use,

allow the immersion of a person inside, the electrical controls are

inadvisable Already in American patent 1, 537,915 a simple mechanical device is described

to stop the flow of water at a certain level in a bath tub. However the

Only time the device acts is when the water that feeds the tub

Bathing begins to spill and there is no means to vary the level of water at which the flow should be interrupted.

Also in US Patent 3,805,822 a device is described and claimed

purely mechanical to control the water level. However the device

It is complex, uses many elements and therefore its construction is very expensive. To the

having too many moving parts the risk of breakdown is high and expensive

to be repaired

US Patent 4,042,984 describes an electronic circuit for controlling filling.

of a bath tub, however the characteristics of the circuit make it very expensive and as stated before, the electrical controls are inadvisable by the

risk of electric shock.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to avoid

waste of water due to the standard use of bath tubs. The above by means of an efficient automatic control of tub filling

bathroom that does not reduce the available space of the same for a person to take their bath.

Another objective is to have a control of filling bath tubs that do not

are sources of accidents when such tub is normally used.

Even one more objective is to have a filling control device for

bath tubs whose volume with respect to that of the tub is very small.

An additional objective is to give the filling control a mechanism

Simple, low maintenance and cost.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For a better understanding of the invention, despite its simplicity,

will describe the invention with the help of the attached drawings, in intelligence

that they are only presented for illustrative purposes but not limiting. Brief Description Of The Figures

Figure 1 shows the control of filling bath tubs in conventional view

with transparent walls and without one of the side parts of the deposit of

water to show the different elements of the mechanism that allows the device to fulfill its mission.

Figure 2 shows the device installed for operation, with the

Connections made, to control the level of the tub.

Detailed description of the invention

Figure 1 shows the bath tub filling control device that

it consists of a water tank 10 comprising two water inlets 1 and 2

(one for cold water and one for hot water) connected to the entrances of

two valves (8 and 9) with floats (8 and 9). The outputs of the valves with

float 8 and 9 connect to their respective hoses, rigid ducts or

connections 4 and 5. On its face or bottom wall the water tank has, in its

part a threaded nipple to which a conduit 3 is connected in sealed form.

A connection mode of the controller device is shown in Figure 2

of filling to the tub. The cold water and hot water inlets (1 and 2) of the

filling control device connect to the respective water outlets of the hydraulic network of the construction in which the tub is. Connection 3 connects

to any part of the edge of tub 11, about an inch more

below the level of the tub overflow, and the cold water and water outlets

hot of the controller device connect to the respective inputs of

spanner 13 and 14 of the mixer 12 of the tub 11.

When you start filling the tub with the proper mixture of cold water and

hot, floats 6 and 7 are in a position such that valves 8 and 9 that

actuated are in open position. As the tub is filled to a certain level, by the

principle of communicating vessels the container or reservoir 10 is filled increasing the level of the water that is inside. The communication of

communicating vessels (the tub and the container 10 of the filling controller) is carried

carried out by means of conduit 3. With the increase in the level of this water, the

floats are rising and reaching a predetermined level (when

consider that the tub is already full) actuate valves 8 and 9 by cutting the flow

of the water.

When the person already made use of the tub, empty the tub and by that same

procedure the tank or container 10 is emptied and the valves with float

They are open and ready for the next tub filling.

Claims

 R E I V I N D I C A C I O N E S Having described the invention, it is considered as a novelty and is claimed by both as property, the content of the following clauses. 1) Filling control device for a mechanical type bath tub hydraulic, characterized by consisting of a container that encloses a volume of water, independent of the normal volume of the bath tub, whose water level, when said container is filled, reflects the water level of the bathtub; a pair of float valves inside, a valve for cold water and another for hot water, which allow or interrupt the flow of water that goes from the hydraulic network of the property to the mixer keys of the bath tub, according to the level reached by the container water, which is reflection of the water level in the tub. 2) Filling control device for a mechanical type bath tub- hydraulic, as claimed in the previous clause, characterized also because the container is an integral part of the bath tub. 3) Filling control device for a mechanical type bath tub- hydraulic, as claimed in clause 1, also characterized because the container is independent of the bath tub, with the same or different material. 4) Filling control device for a mechanical type bath tub hydraulic, as claimed in any of the preceding clauses, further characterized in that the maximum water level of the container for closing the valves with float corresponds to the maximum level that the water in the bath tub must reach. 5) Filling control device for a mechanical type bath tub- hydraulic, as claimed in any of the preceding clauses, also characterized in that the bottom of the container is connected a conduit that hydraulically joins the water contained in the tub to allow the principle of communicating vessels, filling the container when Fill the tub and empty the container when the tub is emptying. 6) Filling control device for a mechanical type bath tub- hydraulic, as claimed in any of the preceding clauses, also characterized in that one of the float valves is located near one of the farthest opposite walls and the other near the other wall and because the first valve floats are closer to the second valve and the second float is closer to the first.