Toilet bowl overflow prevention and water conservation system and method

A device for use with a toilet tank fill valve assembly of the type comprising a float, a water valve that operates in response to the position of said float, said water valve selectively admitting water into a toilet tank, and a protective cap that at least in part covers said water valve, said device comprising:

• an attaching structure supported by said fill valve cap;
• and
• an interfering mechanism supported by said attaching structure, said interfering mechanism acting to conditionally interfere with the operation of said toilet tank fill valve assembly in response to said float position, and
• wherein said interfering mechanism includes a filament.

A device for use with a toilet tank fill valve assembly of the type comprising a float, a water valve that operates in response to the position of said float, said water valve selectively admitting water into a toilet tank, and a protective cap that at least in part covers said water valve, said device comprising:

• an attaching structure supported by said fill valve cap;
• and
• an interfering mechanism supported by said attaching structure, said interfering mechanism acting to conditionally interfere with the operation of said toilet tank fill valve assembly in response to said float position, and
• wherein said interfering mechanism includes a solenoid.

A toilet fill valve assembly for use within a toilet tank, said fill valve assembly comprising:

• a water valve that selectively admits water into said tank;
• a float operatively coupled to said water valve, said float being buoyant within water in said tank, said float position indicating water level within said tank;
• and
• a water conservation mechanism operatively coupled to said float, said water conservation mechanism conditionally, at least in response to water level within said tank, reducing the quantity of additional water said fill valve admits into said tank when said float is not floating, and
• wherein said water conservation mechanism selectively interferes with the normal operation of said water valve responsive to said float position.

A method of conserving water comprising:

• (a) electronically monitoring the level of fluid within a toilet tank over time;
• (b) electronically detecting, in response to said electronically monitoring, when the fluid level over time is inconsistent with a normal operation of the toilet;
• and
• (c) in response to said detecting, hydraulically acting on a refill valve float within the tank to cause the float of said refill valve to rise and stay in an upward position thereby reducing or preventing further inflow of fluid into said tank.

A system for conserving water in a toilet having a tank and a flush handle, said system comprising:

• (a) a sensor that monitors the level of fluid within a toilet tank;
• (b) an electronic processor coupled to said sensor, said processor being structured to detect, in response to said monitoring, when the fluid level over time is inconsistent with normal toilet operation;
• and
• (c) a mechanical override mechanism coupled to said processor, said mechanism preventing manual operation of a flush handle from causing a flush of said toilet,
• wherein said above-mentioned sensor, processor and mechanical override mechanism components are disposed entirely within said toilet tank.