Sanitary appliance comprising a sensor circuit and use thereof
AssigneeIpee NV
InventorsVictor Augusta P Claes, Bart Geraets, Jan Schoeters
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The sanitary appliance (400) comprises a receptacle (410) and a tube (420) provided with a tube wall (401, 402) and configured to contain—in use—an aqueous solution (1000) and a sensor circuit (105) for sensing inflow of matter into the sanitary appliance (400), wherein the sensor circuit (105) comprises a primary circuit and a secondary circuit that are mutually inductively coupled, wherein the inductively coupled secondary circuit includes a capacitive sensor comprising a first and a second electrode (101, 102), each of which are configured to be in use at least partially (101, 192) in contact with the aqueous solution (1000), which constitutes a medium of the capacitive sensor.
Claims20
A sanitary appliance comprising a tube or chamber provided with a tube wall and configured to contain—in use—an aqueous solution and a sensor circuit for sensing inflow of matter into the sanitary appliance,
- wherein
- the sensor circuit comprises a primary circuit and a secondary circuit that are mutually inductively coupled,
- the primary circuit comprises a resonant tank circuit comprising at least one capacitor and an inductor coupled in parallel to ground, wherein the secondary circuit is coupled to the primary circuit via the inductor of the resonant tank circuit, and
- the inductively coupled secondary circuit includes a capacitive sensor comprising a first and a second electrode, wherein in use the aqueous solution constitutes a medium of the capacitive sensor.
A use of a sensor circuit for sensing of an electrical conductivity of an aqueous solution or variation thereof in a sanitary appliance, comprising:
- a signal generator configured for generating sensing signals and being part of a primary circuit;
- a secondary circuit which is inductively coupled to the primary circuit and comprising a capacitive sensor comprising a first and a second electrode, wherein the aqueous solution constitutes a medium of the capacitive sensor, wherein the primary circuit comprises a resonant tank circuit comprising at least one capacitor and an inductor coupled in parallel to ground, wherein the secondary circuit is coupled to the primary circuit via the inductor of the resonant tank circuit, and
- an output circuit for conditioning a response transmitted from the secondary circuit into a output signal.
A use of a sensor circuit in a sanitary appliance comprising a tube or chamber having a tube wall and configured for keeping an aqueous solution with a water surface, wherein said sensor circuit is configured for sensing of a variation of a location of the water surface adjacent the tube wall, relative to a reference location, and comprises:
- a signal generator configured for generating sensing signals and being part of a primary circuit;
- a secondary circuit which is inductively coupled to the primary circuit and comprising a capacitive sensor comprising a first and a second electrode, wherein the aqueous solution constitutes a medium of the capacitive sensor, wherein the primary circuit comprises a resonant tank circuit comprising at least one capacitor and an inductor coupled in parallel to ground, wherein the secondary circuit is coupled to the primary circuit via the inductor of the resonant tank circuit, and
- an output circuit for conditioning a response transmitted from the secondary circuit into a output signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.