US 12,411,037 B2
Water softener apparatus including a salt level indicator device
W R Sargeant, Woking (GB); and G M Halligan, Guildford (GB)
Assigned to Harvey Water Softeners Limited, Old Woking (GB)
Appl. No. 17/791,638
Filed by Harvey Water Softeners Limited, Old Woking (GB)
PCT Filed Jan. 20, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/051091
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jul. 8, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/148417, PCT Pub. Date Jul. 29, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 2000771 (GB), filed on Jan. 20, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0084245 A1, Mar. 16, 2023
Int. Cl. G01F 23/28 (2006.01); B01J 49/06 (2017.01); B01J 49/75 (2017.01); B01J 49/85 (2017.01); C02F 1/42 (2023.01); G01F 25/20 (2022.01)
CPC G01F 23/28 (2013.01) [B01J 49/06 (2017.01); B01J 49/75 (2017.01); B01J 49/85 (2017.01); C02F 1/42 (2013.01); G01F 25/20 (2022.01); C02F 2201/002 (2013.01); C02F 2209/008 (2013.01); C02F 2303/16 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. 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 conformed 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;
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 such that the time of flight sensor is spaced above a top surface of a continuous wall section of said front cover of the water softener apparatus housing, the non-touch salt level indicator device measuring 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 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 determining a round-trip time of the reflected signal, said sensor being spaced above the top surface of the continuous wall section such that the emitted signal passes through a thickness of said continuous wall section of said front cover of the housing, wherein the housing of the non-touch salt level indicator device is separated from the chamber by the continuous wall section of the front cover.