SENSING FLUSHING DEVICE WITH ANTI-SIPHON FUNCTION, AND SENSING URINAL

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001]The present disclosure relates to the technical field of sanitary equipment, and more particularly to a sensing flushing device with an anti-siphon function, and a sensing urinal including the sensing flushing device.

BACKGROUND

[0002]Usually, in order to achieve automatic flushing function of a toilet after use, a human detection sensor is installed on the toilet. Once a human or an object approaches the toilet, the sensor will trigger flushing. With an increasing demand for user experience, how to arrange the sensor and prevent accidental flushing and sewage backflow have become critical factors to consider when designing a sensing flushing device. In addition, the sensing flushing device of a conventional toilet on the market has not been designed with an anti-siphon function according to national standards, or existing anti-siphon function has a relative complex structure with a high implementation cost and instability, which cannot meet the growing market demand. Therefore, the sensing flushing device needs to be further improved in order to meet specific requirements for different application scenarios and different users.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0003]Therefore, an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a sensing flushing device with an anti-siphon function, which can be applied to, for example, a urinal to provide reliable sensing effect and stable anti-siphon function in a cost-effective and convenient manner, improving user experience satisfaction.

[0004]According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a sensing flushing device with an anti-siphon function is provided. The sensing flushing device includes a water inlet and outlet assembly, a water drainage assembly, a solenoid valve assembly and a power supply assembly. The sensing flushing device further includes: a sensing assembly associated with the solenoid valve assembly and attached to the water inlet and outlet assembly, wherein the solenoid valve assembly is configured to start or stop a flushing operation in response to a sensing mode of the sensing assembly; and an anti-siphon assembly associated with the water inlet and outlet assembly and arranged above the water inlet and outlet assembly, wherein the anti-siphon assembly is configured to open a path of the water inlet and outlet assembly when starting the flushing operation and to close the path of the water inlet and outlet assembly when stopping the flushing operation.

[0005]According to above technical concept, the embodiments of the present disclosure may further include any one or more of the following optional forms.

[0006]In some optional forms, the anti-siphon assembly is arranged at a position at least 25 mm away from a top end of the water inlet and outlet assembly.

[0007]In some optional forms, the water inlet and outlet assembly includes a water inlet pipe and a water outlet pipe connected with the solenoid valve assembly, and the water outlet pipe is connected with a flushing nozzle through the anti-siphon assembly.

[0008]In some optional forms, the flushing nozzle is arranged above the water inlet pipe.

[0009]In some optional forms, the anti-siphon assembly includes a receiving chamber having an inlet end connected with the water outlet pipe and an outlet end connected with the flushing nozzle, and the receiving chamber is provided with an anti-siphon pad therein, wherein when starting the flushing operation, the inlet end is communicated with the outlet end, and when stopping the flushing operation, the inlet end is discommunicated from the outlet end by the anti-siphon pad.

[0010]In some optional forms, the outlet end is arranged above the flushing nozzle and connected with the flushing nozzle through a drainage pipe.

[0011]In some optional forms, the anti-siphon assembly is a vacuum break valve and further includes a valve cover adjacent to the outlet end, and the valve cover is provided with an air inlet opening communicated with the outlet end when stopping the flushing operation.

[0012]According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a sensing urinal is provided. The sensing urinal includes a urinal body and a sensing flushing device with an anti-siphon function according to the present disclosure.

[0013]In some optional forms, the urinal body is provided with an inner cavity configured to accommodate a liquid and an accommodating cavity configured to accommodate the sensing flushing device, wherein the accommodating cavity extends from a bottom to a top of the urinal body, and the anti-siphon assembly is arranged in an upper portion of the accommodating cavity.

[0014]According to the present disclosure, the sensing flushing device integrates a sensing assembly and an anti-siphon assembly, and the anti-siphon assembly is arranged above the water inlet and outlet assembly to provide a stable anti-siphon function, which can effectively prevent sewage backflow and improve user experience. The sensing flushing device is easy to implement and has a significant performance improvement, which can be applied to various application scenarios and meet diverse requirements of users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015]Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be better understood by the following alternative embodiments described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference signs identify the same or similar components, wherein:

[0016]FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a sensing urinal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017]FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a sensing flushing device of the sensing urinal of FIG. 1 from a rear perspective view;

[0018]FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic side sectional view of the sensing urinal in a starting flushing state;

[0019]FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view similar to FIG. 3 in a stopping flushing state;

[0020]FIG. 5 illustrates an enlarged schematic view of part A in FIG. 3; and

[0021]FIG. 6 illustrates an enlarged schematic view of part B in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022]The implementation and use of the embodiments are discussed in detail below. However, it should be understood that the specific embodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific manners to implement and use the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The expressions of structural positions of various components, for example, “upper”, “lower”, “top”, “bottom”, and other directions at the time of description are not absolute, but relative. These expressions for the directions are appropriate when various components are arranged as shown in the drawings, but when the positions of the various components in the drawings are changed, these expressions for the directions are also changed accordingly.

[0023]Herein, the expression “comprise” or its synonymous similar expressions “include”, “contain”, “have”, etc., are open-ended and do not exclude additional unlisted elements, steps, or compositions. The expression “consist of” excludes any element, step, or composition not specified. The expression “essentially consist of” means that the scope is limited to the specified elements, steps, or compositions, plus optionally existing elements, steps, or compositions that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed subject matter. It should be understood that the expression “comprise” encompasses the expressions “essentially consist of” and “consist of”.

[0024]Herein, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined, the terms “mount”, “connect”, “attach”, and the like are to be understood in a broad sense, for example, they may be fixed connection, removable connection, or integration; and they may be direct connection or indirect connection through an intermediary, or they may be internal communication of two elements or an interaction relationship between two elements. A person skilled in the art may understand the specific meanings of the above terms herein according to specific situations.

[0025]Herein, the terms “first”, “second”, and other expressions are not used to limit the sequence and quantity of assemblies, unless otherwise specified.

[0026]For urinals, various sensing modes of sensors have been developed to meet different use requirements for automatic flushing after using the toilet. For example, automatic sensing flushing can be achieved by arranging an infrared sensor on a urinal to receive and determine a strength of a signal reflected from a person or an object approaching the urinal. However, the infrared sensor is usually installed in an additional space on the urinal, thus factors such as cable layout need to be taken into account. In addition, a flushing noise of the sensing flushing device is high and there is no economically effective anti-siphon function, which brings a bad user experience to the users.

[0027]Therefore, the present disclosure provides a sensing flushing device with an anti-siphon function, which integrates a sensing assembly and an anti-siphon assembly to achieve accurate flushing to save water while providing a low-noise flushing and preventing sewage from flowing back into a pipe. Herein, the sensing assembly is described in the form of an infrared sensing, but it is not ruled out that conductive sensing, capacitive sensing and other suitable combinations can be used to enable the disclosed sensing urinal to be suitable for various occasions based on different requirements.

[0028]FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a sensing urinal 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The sensing urinal may be made of ceramic and includes a urinal body 110, but the structure/size/shape of the urinal body is not limited by the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the sensing urinal with an automatic flushing function has an inner cavity 111 configured to accommodating a liquid. An inner wall of the inner cavity 111 is provided with an opening for installing a flushing nozzle 130, and a bottom is opened to provide an accommodating cavity 112 for accommodating control components. In the illustrated embodiment, the accommodating cavity 112 extends from a bottom to a top of the urinal body 110 to accommodate a sensing flushing device. In some embodiments, a bottom cover plate may also be provided to open or close the accommodating cavity 112. Herein, a back side of the urinal refers to a side of the urinal to be installed on a wall, and a front side refers to a side facing the users. When describing the inner cavity 111 and the accommodating cavity 112, the inner wall refers to a wall facing an inner side of the cavity.

[0029]Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the sensing flushing device is installed in the accommodating cavity 112 and includes a water inlet and outlet assembly, a water drainage assembly 150, a solenoid valve assembly 160 and a power supply assembly 170. The solenoid valve assembly 160 controls to open and close a water path, and includes a solenoid valve and a water inlet connector and a water outlet connector connected with the solenoid valve. The power supply assembly 170 is an external AC power supply or a DC battery box, and is connected with the solenoid valve assembly 160 via a wire to provide power. The water inlet and outlet assembly includes a water inlet pipe (not shown in the drawing) and a water outlet pipe 133. The water outlet pipe 133 has a water inlet 132 connected with the water inlet pipe and a water outlet connected with a flushing nozzle 130. In the illustrated embodiment, the flushing nozzle 130 is arranged above the water inlet pipe, i.e., above the sensing urinal 100. With this arrangement, a flushing port 131 of the flushing nozzle can be arranged towards the inner cavity 111 therebelow to achieve comprehensive flushing of the inner wall of the inner cavity 111.

[0030]The water drainage assembly 150 includes a water inlet port 151, a water drainage port 152 and a bending pipe 153 connected between the water inlet port 151 and the water drainage port 152. The water inlet port 151 is connected with an outer portion of a water drainage pipe opening of the urinal in a sealed manner, and is generally provided with a sealing rubber gasket. The bending pipe 353 is used to store water to achieve a deodorization effect. The water drainage port 152 of the water drainage assembly 150 extends through an installation plate 154 to be communicated with an external sewage pipe. The installation plate 154 is fixed to the wall, for example, by a fastener such as a screw.

[0031]In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sensing assembly is an infrared sensing assembly, and includes an infrared sensing controller 180 connected with the solenoid valve assembly 160, and an infrared sensing probe wire 143 connected with the infrared sensing controller 180. The infrared sensing probe wire 143 is attached to the water inlet and outlet assembly. Specifically, the infrared sensing probe wire 143 has a power supply end 142 connected with a wire and a sensing end 141 attached to the flushing nozzle 130. The flushing nozzle 130 is provided with a slot configured to expose the sensing end 141 to provide a sensing window under an infrared sensing mode.

[0032]In some embodiments, the sensing end of the infrared sensing probe wire is integrated with the flushing nozzle, and does not interfere with the water outlet pipe 133 during installation and use, which can effectively utilizing a space at the flushing nozzle and in the accommodating cavity of the urinal without affecting flushing performance, thus there in no need for additional installation space for an infrared sensing probe. In addition, the position of the infrared sensing probe also corresponds to a regular use position of the users, which can make the sensing detection more accurate and prevent accidental flushing. After a sensing signal is sent to the infrared sensing controller, the infrared sensing controller sends a signal to the solenoid valve assembly connected with the infrared sensing controller, and then the solenoid valve assembly controls starting and stopping of the flushing operation, thereby improving the existing urinal with the infrared sensing mode at the most economical cost.

[0033]The sensing flushing device is further provided with an anti-siphon assembly 190. The anti-siphon assembly 190 is associated with the water inlet and outlet assembly and arranged above the water inlet and outlet assembly. More specifically, the anti-siphon assembly 190 is arranged in an upper portion of the accommodating cavity 112 and above the flushing nozzle 130, and the water outlet pipe 133 is connected with the flushing nozzle 130 through the anti-siphon assembly 190. Advantageously, the anti-siphon assembly 190 is configured to connect a path of the water inlet and outlet assembly when starting the flushing operation, and disconnect the path of the water inlet and outlet assembly when stopping the flushing operation.

[0034]Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the anti-siphon assembly 190 includes a receiving chamber, and the receiving chamber has an inlet end 191 connected with the water outlet pipe 133 and an outlet end 192 connected with the flushing nozzle 130, and an anti-siphon pad 193 is provided in the receiving chamber. In this way, when starting the flushing operation, the inlet end 191 is communicated with the outlet end 192, and when stopping the flushing operation, the inlet end 191 and the outlet end 192 are separated by the anti-siphon pad 193. That is to say, the anti-siphon pad 193 can move between a first position at a top of the receiving chamber and a second position at a bottom of the receiving chamber under the action of a water inlet pressure of the water outlet pipe 133 or its own gravity. At the first position, the anti-siphon pad 193 exposes the outlet end 192 to communicate the inlet end 191 with the outlet end 192, thereby connecting the path of the water inlet and outlet assembly. At the second position, the anti-siphon pad 193 closes the outlet end 192 to discommunicate the inlet end 191 from the outlet end 192, thereby disconnecting the path of the water inlet and outlet assembly.

[0035]As mentioned above, the anti-siphon assembly 190 is arranged above the flushing nozzle 130. In order to effectively obtain the anti-siphon function, the anti-siphon assembly is arranged at a position at least 25 mm (i.e., about 1 inch) from a top end of the water inlet and outlet assembly. As shown in FIG. 6, a distance D specifically refers to a distance between the outlet end 192 of the anti-siphon assembly and the flushing nozzle 130. Moreover, in order to introduce a water flow from the outlet end 192 to the flushing nozzle 130, a drainage pipe 194 is connected between the outlet end 192 and the flushing nozzle 130.

[0036]Advantageously, the anti-siphon assembly 190 is a vacuum break valve. In some embodiments, the anti-siphon assembly further includes a valve cover 195 adjacent to the outlet end 192. The valve cover 195 is provided with an air inlet opening 196. When stopping the flushing operation, the air inlet opening 196 is communicated with the outlet end 192.

[0037]The working process of the sensing flushing device with the anti-siphon function according to the present disclosure will be described below in conjunction with FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0038]Firstly, referring to FIG. 5, when the sensing assembly detects that a human body or an object is approaching and then moving away for a certain time, the sensing assembly sends a signal to the solenoid valve assembly connected with the sensing assembly. The solenoid valve assembly controls to start the flushing operation. When water enters the water outlet pipe 133, the anti-siphon pad 193 moves upwards to the first position under the pressure of the water flow flowing from bottom to top in the water outlet pipe 133. At this time, the inlet end 191 and the outlet end 192 of the anti-siphon assembly are communicated with each other, and the anti-siphon pad 193 closes the air inlet opening 196. In this way, the water flow flows in a direction of an arrow through the water outlet pipe 133, the outlet end 192, the drainage pipe 194 and the flushing nozzle 130 to flush the inner wall of the inner cavity of the urinal. With the arrangement of the drainage pipe 194, there is a baffled channel in the path of the water flow flowing from the outlet end 192 to the flushing nozzle 130, which can relatively reduce water pressure and flow velocity during flushing, thereby reducing flushing noise and improving user experience.

[0039]The solenoid valve assembly may be set to achieve a flushing time, such as 3 to 5 seconds. After flushing for a preset time, the solenoid valve assembly controls to stop the flushing operation, and the water flow in the water outlet pipe 133 stops flowing from bottom to top, thus forming a certain degree of negative pressure below the anti-siphon pad 193. Moreover, under the gravity of the anti-siphon pad 193 itself, the anti-siphon pad 193 moves downwards to the second position. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the outlet end 192 of the anti-siphon assembly is communicated with the air inlet opening 196 and discommunicated from the inlet end 191. External air enters the upper portion of the receiving chamber through the air inlet opening 196, as indicated by the arrow, to maintain consistent air pressure inside and outside the receiving chamber so as to eliminate negative pressure and block the path of the water inlet and outlet assembly so as to prevent sewage from flowing back from the flushing nozzle 130. Similarly, with the position of the outlet end 192 higher than the flushing nozzle 130 and the arrangement of the drainage pipe 194, the possibility of water flowing back from the receiving chamber to the water outlet pipe can be avoided, thus the anti-siphon performance is stable and reliable.

[0040]According to the present disclosure, the sensing flushing device integrates the sensing assembly and the anti-siphon assembly, and the anti-siphon assembly is arranged above the water inlet and outlet assembly. The anti-siphon assembly controls starting or stopping of the flushing operation according to a sensing signal, and achieves the communication or discommunication of the path of the water inlet and outlet assembly. When the outlet end of the anti-siphon assembly is communicated with external atmosphere through the air inlet opening, the external air can be sucked into the pipe to counteract the negative pressure generated in the pipe, which can effectively achieve an anti-siphon function and avoid sewage backflow at the flushing nozzle from contaminating the water in the pipe. The sensing flushing device has an exquisite structure with a stable performance and reduced flushing noise. In addition to the exemplary application shown in the description for the urinal, the sensing flushing device can also be applied to various other suitable scenarios.

[0041]It should be understood here that the embodiments shown in the drawings only illustrate alternative configurations, shapes, sizes and arrangement forms of the optional components of the sensing flushing device according to the present disclosure, which however are only illustrative rather than limiting, and that other shapes, sizes, and arrangement forms may also be adopted without departing from the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0042]The technical contents and technical features of the present disclosure have been disclosed above. However, it may be understood that a person skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the disclosed concept under the inventive idea of the present disclosure, all of which fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure. The above description of the embodiments is intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive, and the protection scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.