Showerhead presence detection system

Abstract

A system for accurately detecting the presence of a person in a shower by combining presence detection technology, such as an infrared sensor in the showerhead, with a mechanical height adjustment of the showerhead, so that the optimal distance between the sensor and showering person can be maintained for persons of different heights. Alternative embodiments include an electronic control unit to provide power consumption management and safety features. When the electronic control unit is combined with presence detection to predict the identity of a showering person, personal services customized for the identified person are provided. An alternate embodiment teaches a process for intelligently conserving water by intelligently blocking water flow at appropriate times, based on predictable behavior of a contemplated showering person.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to water saving shower technology using presence detection.[0002]The use of presence detection technology for shower related flow control is well known in that art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,072 describes generally the use of a motion sensor near the faucet handles of a shower to automatically start and stop water flow based on the presence of a person in the shower. U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,673 (the '673 patent) describes a system for controlling the flow of water from a showerhead by placing a sensor directly within the showerhead. These early sensor schemes, particularly the scheme disclosed in the '673 patent, suffer from a limitation, namely, that because the sensors are particularly sensitive to the distance between the showering person and the showerhead, the detection scheme performs poorly for people not of the optimal height.[0003]This limitation of the '673 patent has been addressed extensively in the art by provid...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]The present invention overcomes the limitation of the prior art as represented by the '673 patent. Like the '673 patent, the preferred embodiment of the present invention teaches placing a sensor within the showerhead. Unlike the '673 patent, one embodiment of the present invention improves the detection of the sensor in the showerhead by combining it with a mechanical adjustment of the height of the showerhead. While mechanical adjustment of showerhead for comfort is not new, the combination of using height adjustment carefully implemented according to the teachings of the claimed invention to improve the accuracy of a showerhead sensor is novel and overcomes limitations and provides new and unobvious benefits over the prior art.

[0006]Other embodiments teach the deployment of an electronic control unit in conjunction with the showerhead to provide new benefits. In one embodiment, presence detection is used to measure the distance between the showerhead and the person showering to predict the identity of the showering person, and then to provide personal services, such as turning on a radio to pre-selected station to suit the preferences of the identified showering person. Another embodiment describes interfacing sensors capable of detecting an environmental condition of interest with the electronic control unit such that when a certain environment condition is detected, the electronic control unit can be put into a power saving mode to save battery life. For example, such a sensor might detect ambient light in the room, to conserve power when the room is dark. Yet another embodiment teaches the use of a temperature sensor in conjunction with an electronic control unit controlling a valve so that the water flow can be shutoff whenever the water temperature falls outside of a specified interval, as a safety feature to avoid exposing a showering person to freezing and scalding water temperatures.

Problems solved by technology

These early sensor schemes, particularly the scheme disclosed in the '673 patent, suffer from a limitation, namely, that because the sensors are particularly sensitive to the distance between the showering person and the showerhead, the detection scheme performs poorly for people not of the optimal height.

Unfortunately, these improvements, although effective, are significantly more expensive.

Images