Water softener apparatus including a salt level indicator device

A water softener apparatus comprising:

• a housing, said housing having a chamber for accommodating at least one compressed salt block, the compressed salt block having a weight in a range of 1 kg to 6 kg and having an elongate block form comprising vertical walls, a horizontal upper end face and a horizontal lower end face, the chamber adapted to the longitudinal external shape of the compressed salt block for insertion of the compressed salt block longitudinally into the chamber, the configuration being such that the compressed salt block is supported within said chamber with its longitudinal axis in a vertical orientation;
• wherein the compressed salt block has an inclined or inwardly curved functional side wall which abuts a surface of the water softener apparatus to maintain a vertical posture of the compressed salt block within the chamber as a lower end of the compressed salt block erodes to form brine;
• a manually detachable front cover enclosing the chamber;
• and
• a battery operated non-touch salt level indicator device comprising a housing and a time of flight sensor, said non-touch salt level indicator device housing mounted in or on said manually detachable front cover of the housing above the chamber so as to measure a salt level in the chamber from the horizontal upper end face of the compressed salt block supported in the chamber, the non-touch salt level indicator device measuring the salt level by reflecting a signal emitted by the time of flight sensor off the horizontal upper end face of the compressed salt block and by measuring a round-trip time of the reflected signal.

A water softener apparatus comprising:

• a housing, said housing having a chamber for accommodating at least one compressed salt block having an elongate block form comprising vertical walls, a horizontal upper end face and a horizontal lower end face, the chamber adapted to the longitudinal external shape of the compressed salt block for insertion of the compressed salt block longitudinally into the chamber, the configuration being such that the compressed salt block is accommodated within said chamber with its longitudinal axis in a vertical orientation;
• a front cover enclosing the chamber;
• and
• a non-touch salt level indicator device comprising a housing and a time of flight sensor, said non-touch salt level indicator device housing mounted in or on said front cover of the housing above the chamber so as to determine a salt level in the chamber from the horizontal upper end face of the compressed salt block accommodated in the chamber, the non-touch salt level indicator device determining the salt level by reflecting a signal emitted by the time of flight sensor off the horizontal upper end face of the compressed salt block and by measuring a round-trip time of the reflected signal.