초록 ▼

A shutoff valve connects between a toilet fill valve and a water supply line for a toilet tank. A housing containing a valve mechanism is positionable between open and closed positions. A latching mechanism holds the valve mechanism in the open position unless receiving an electric signal from an el

A shutoff valve connects between a toilet fill valve and a water supply line for a toilet tank. A housing containing a valve mechanism is positionable between open and closed positions. A latching mechanism holds the valve mechanism in the open position unless receiving an electric signal from an electronic sensing system upon detection of a fault condition. A manually-actuated reset lever returns the valve mechanism to the open position. The electronic sensing system includes at least one water level sensor for sensing a water level in the toilet tank, the electronic sensing system programmed to detect a slow flush valve leak, a stuck-open flush valve, or a high water level fault. Another water level sensor may be included in the toilet bowl to detect a plugged toilet fault condition.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A shutoff valve for connecting between a toilet fill valve and a water supply line for a toilet tank, comprising: a substantially hollow housing fixed at a lower end thereof with a cap containing a water inlet port adapted for connection to the water supply line, the housing connected at an upper

1. A shutoff valve for connecting between a toilet fill valve and a water supply line for a toilet tank, comprising: a substantially hollow housing fixed at a lower end thereof with a cap containing a water inlet port adapted for connection to the water supply line, the housing connected at an upper end thereof with a mounting adapter fitting including a water shutoff port and a water outlet port adapted for connection to the toilet fill valve, a water flow path being defined from the water inlet port of the cap, through the cap, housing and mounting adapter, to the water outlet port of the mounting adapter;a valve mechanism comprising a slidable poppet rotationally fixed and slidably constrained within the housing between an open position and a closed position, an elastomeric seal that when moved axially against the water shutoff port of the mounting adapter blocks the flow of water through said port, an actuating mechanism comprising a positive, even number of permanent magnets mounted symmetrically about the slidable poppet in plan view and with alternating polarity to form a magnet pattern;a freely rotatable ring captured within the housing and containing a positive, even number of permanent magnets in the same magnet pattern as the slidable poppet, such that when the magnet pattern of the slidable poppet is in an aligned position with like polarity to the magnet pattern of the rotatable ring, the slidable poppet is magnetically repelled away from the rotatable ring and the elastomeric seal is held away from the water shutoff port of the mounting adapter, allowing water to flow along the water flow path, the rotating ring being held in this aligned position by a latching mechanism that, when released, allows the rotating ring to rotate so that the magnet pattern thereof becomes misaligned with the magnet pattern of the slidable poppet in a misaligned position, whereby the rotating ring then magnetically attracts the slidable poppet into the closed position whereby the elastomeric seal is forced against the water shutoff port to block the water flow path;the latching mechanism comprising an electrically operated actuator for holding the rotating ring in the aligned position and releasing the rotating ring upon receiving an electrical signal from an electronic sensing system; a position indicator switch adapted to indicate the position of the rotatable ring; and a reset lever attached to the rotating ring for returning the rotating ring to its aligned position;the electronic sensing system including at least one sensor and a power source, the electronic sensing system electrically connected with the latching mechanism to activate the electrically operated actuator upon detection of a fault condition based on the input of the at least one sensor. 2. The shutoff valve of claim 1 wherein the electronic sensing system further includes a control module, a circuit board, an audible warning device, and at least one LED indicator, whereby the control module energizes the audible warning device and at least one LED indicator to alert a user to the fault condition. 3. The shutoff valve of claim 1 wherein one of the at least one sensor is a water level sensor for sensing the water level in a toilet tank, the electronic sensing system programmed to detect a slow flush valve leak by observing over a predetermined period of time a repeating pattern of a water level decreasing slowly compared relative to a regular flush of the toilet, and then increasing as the fill valve refills the toilet tank, whereby a fault condition is established and the electronic sensing circuit energizes the latching mechanism to close the shutoff valve. 4. The shutoff valve of claim 1 wherein one of the at least one sensor is a water level sensor for sensing a water level in a toilet tank, the electronic sensing system programmed to detect a stuck-open flush valve by observing a continuous low water level in the toilet tank, whereby a fault condition is established and the electronic sensing system energizes the latching mechanism to close the shutoff valve. 5. The shutoff valve of claim 1 wherein one of the at least one sensor is a water level sensor for sensing a water level in a toilet bowl, the electronic sensing system programmed to detect a toilet bowl high water level fault by observing a high water level in the toilet bowl, whereby a fault condition is established and the electronic sensing circuit energizes the latching mechanism to close the shutoff valve. 6. The shutoff valve of claim 1 wherein one of the at least one sensor is a water level sensor for sensing a water level in the toilet tank, the electronic sensing system programmed to detect a high water level fault by observing a continuous high water level in the toilet tank, whereby a fault condition is established and the electronic sensing system energizes the latching mechanism to close the shutoff valve. 7. The shutoff valve of claim 2 wherein the control module further includes an external communications port, and wherein the electronic sensing system is adapted to set an indication of the type of fault condition on the external communications port, whereby an external alarm system connected to the external communications port may be utilized to alert a user to any fault condition. 8. The shutoff valve of claim 7 wherein the external communications port of the control module includes a wireless transmitter for wirelessly transmitting an indication of a fault condition to the external alarm system. 9. The shutoff valve of claim 2 wherein the power source is an AC adapter powered by line voltage. 10. The shutoff valve of claim 2 wherein the control module is in wireless communication with the at least one sensor, the at least one sensor further including at least a power source and a wireless data transmitting circuit. 11. The shutoff valve of claim 1 wherein the slidable poppet and the rotatable ring each include four permanent magnets and wherein the rotatable ring rotates 90-degrees between the aligned and misaligned positions. 12. The shutoff valve of claim 1 wherein the reset lever is manually actuated to return the rotatable ring to the aligned position.