Development of a hands free urinal flushing system
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This document presents the design and development of an automatic hands-free urinal flushing system utilizing a PLC, limit switch, and solenoid valve. The proposed system aims to enhance hygiene and conserve water, reducing human contact with unclean surfaces while providing effective flushing functionality. The total estimated cost for implementation is approximately $202, making it suitable for public facilities such as schools and restaurants.
![IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 279
DEVELOPMENT OF A HANDS FREE URINAL FLUSHING SYSTEM
Akparibo Richard Awingot1
, Joyce Apanga2
1
Postgraduate Student, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,University of Mines and Technology,
Tarkwa, Ghana
2
Electrical Engineer, Schlumberger, Takoradi, Ghana
Abstract
In this paper an automatic urinal flushing system that ensures hands free flushing and conservation of water is proposed. Use is
made of a delta DVP-I4SS2 programmable logic controller (PLC), limit switch and a solenoid valve to achieve the hardware
design. A limit switch is actuated the moment a user steps on a standing pad placed at the front of the urinal thereby turning on
the PLC input. The PLC uses this information to give an output command to actuate a solenoid valve to flush the urinal. Ladder
control program was developed for the hardware control using WPLSoft software. Programming and testing of control program
with the proposed system suggested that the system can be easily implemented at public places, banks, schools, restaurants and
bus stop terminals at an estimated cost of US $ 202.
Key Words: Flush, PLC, Limit switch, solenoid valve, WPLSoft, DVP-14SS2
--------------------------------------------------------------------***----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. INTRODUCTION
Maintaining a good hygiene and pleasant sight in every
washroom is a key priority in every public and commercial
establishment. However, there are more times when users of
the washroom fail to flush after visiting the washroom
resulting in bad odor and unpleasant sights. In other
instances users leave the tap opened or not properly closed
after using the washroom simply because they feel
uncomfortable to touch the unhygienic parts of the urinal
[1]. Such actions result in unpleasant environments and
waste of water. Moreover, using the same operating
knob/handle by all washroom attendants to flush the urinal
can cause health problems as communicable diseases can be
transferred. Traditionally, urinals were provided with
mechanical actuators to flush after using the urinal.
Unfortunately, since urinals are usually installed in public
places, place of work and places often used by the general
public, users pay no obligation to the cleanliness of the
premises. Such a mechanical system cannot be guaranteed
and soon breaks down and without maintenance; users
continue to use it in that condition resulting in strong smell
of either spilt or dried urine [2]. The diagram as shown in
figure 1 is the result of negligence, non-flushing and lack of
maintenance of a typical urinal system. A system such as
this is not what society would like to have and hence the
need to resolve such a pressing issue.
Fig -1: Traditional Urinal System
Recent developments have taken the urinal flushing system
a step further by designing automatic flushing system that
flushes at regular time intervals irrespective of actual use or
not. This approach eliminates direct contact with the urinal
and eliminates the problems presented by the former.
However it suffers the setback of water wastage [2]. This
problem was addressed by the works of [2]-[5]. In this
research, a PLC based automatic urinal system is proposed.
The design also incorporates a manual bypass incase of
power failure or system’s malfunction.
Manual Tap](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/developmentofahandsfreeurinalflushingsystem-160915074040/85/Development-of-a-hands-free-urinal-flushing-system-1-320.jpg)
![IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 281
Fig -5: Power Supply Unit
2.3 Solenoid Valve
We selected a 24 VDC, ½’ BSPP, 2-way normally closed
plastic solenoid valve for automatically opening and closing
the pipe line to control the flushing of the urinal. The chosen
valve is less expensive and the body is made of plastic so
the issue of corrosion is eliminated. Figure 6 shows the
diagram of the proposed solenoid valve [6].
Fig -6: Diagram of a Solenoid Valve
2.4 Limit Switch
We used a limit switch in this design to detect a urinal
attendant when he/she steps on the standing pad to urinate.
Omron, D4A-0E00, 6A, 24VDC, XLNT, limit switch [7]
was selected for this purpose.
2.5 Programming Device
This is a personal computer or handheld device with
appropriate installed programming software that is used to
create, edit, monitor, download or upload a control program
into or from the PLC. Dell latitude E5430, core i5 laptop
with windows 8.1 operating system is used as a
programming device in this paper. We downloaded and
installed WPLSoft software on the windows operating
system for the PLC programming. We also interfaced the
PLC with the laptop using an RS-232 communication cable.
2.6 Schematic Circuit Diagram of Proposed Design
The entire circuit diagram of the proposed automatic urinal
system is as given in figure 7.
Fig -7: Control Circuit Diagram of Proposed Design
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
A ladder logic control program was developed to control the
automatic flushing of the urinal system using WPLSoft
software. The ladder logic control program was developed
based on the following control scenarios [8]:
1. If a user stands in front of the urinal for more than 4 s,
the flushing control device will flush the urinal for 4 s
(the first flushing). When the user leaves the urinal,
flush for another 5 s then stop automatically (the
second flushing). This is illustrated by the timing
diagram of figure 8.
X0
Y0
5s4s4s
Standing
time
First
flushing
Second
flushing
Fig -8: Timing Diagram of First Scenario
V AC
V DC
230 VAC
Supply
24 VDC
Output
-+
PSU
POWER
RUN
ERROR
RUN
STOP
DVP-14SS2
IN
S/S
X0
X1
X2
X3
X4
X5
X6
X7
C0
Y0
Y1
Y2
C1
Y3
Y4
Y5
OUT
R
+ - GND
V AC
230 VAC Supply
Circuit breaker
RS 232
Solenoid valve
+ -
24 VDC
Limit Switch](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/developmentofahandsfreeurinalflushingsystem-160915074040/85/Development-of-a-hands-free-urinal-flushing-system-3-320.jpg)
![IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 285
3.1 Cost Analysis
Our cost analysis showed that the entire project
implementation cost US $ 202.Table 3 gives the detailed
cost analysis of the design.
Table -3: Cost Analysis
Item Description Quantity Unit Rate Cost US $
PLC Delta DVP14SS211R PLC 1 Pieces 100 100
PSU Delta DVPPS01/DVPPS02 power supply unit 1 Pieces 50 50
Programming Cable Delta DVPACAB2A30 programming cable 1 Pieces 25 25
Solenoid Valve 24 VDC, ½’ BSPP, 2-way normally closed plastic solenoid valve 1 Pieces 9 9
Limit Switch Omron, D4A-0E00, 6A, 24VDC, XLNT, limit switch 1 Pieces 18 18
TOTAL 202
4. CONCLUSIONS
A hands-free urinal flushing system has been successfully
developed using PLC, limit switch and a solenoid valve. A
ladder control program was developed, compiled and
downloaded to the PLC to control the automatic urinal
flusher. The control program was successfully tested with
the hardware design using a toggle switch and a pilot lamp
which represented the limit switch and solenoid valve
respectfully. Public places, banks, schools, restaurants and
bus stop terminals can give a consideration to this design as
a means of conserving water and keeping the urinals in a
good hygienic condition. The overall project cost was
approximated to US $ 202.
REFERENCES
[1]. Mohamed Aamir M. and Kamalanathan P., ‘Automatic
Urinal Flushing System’, International Journal of
Science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR),
Volume 4, Issue 4, April 2015, 6 pp.
[2]. Collin William Wooldridge, ‘Automatic Urinal Flushing
System’, Patent EP1057942A2, 2000, Available at
http://www.google.com/patents/EP1057942A2?cl=en
[3]. Frank Hennes and Ulrich Kuhbier, ‘Electro-mechanical
Flush System’, Patent EP1964988A2, 2008, Available at
http://www.google.com/patents/EP19649882A2?cl=en
[4]. Graeme S. Bayley, John Loberger, Bredan Doorhy,
Joseph Mazza, Brian Gaza and Donald O’Brien, ‘Lavatory
System’, Patent US8984679B2, 2015, Available at
http://www.google.com/patents/US8984679
[5]. Ronnie Garrett, ‘Touch-free Restroom: Auto Flush
Urinals and Hands-free Doors’, 2012, Available at
http://www.cleanlink.com/sm/article/Touchfree-Restroom-
Auto-Flush-Urinals-and-Hands-free-Doors
[6]. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-BSPP-2way-Water-Air-
Gas-Nylon-Plastic-Solenoid-Valve-24VDC-Normal-Closed-
/271024867488?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a13
7338c11
[7]. http://www.ebay.com/itm/OMRON-D4A-0E00-LIMIT-
SWITCH-6A24VDCXLNT/180714966033?pt=LH_Default
Domain_0&hash=item2a13738c11
[8]. Anon, ‘DVP-PLC Application Examples of
Programming’, 2012, Available at www.delta.com.tw/ia](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/developmentofahandsfreeurinalflushingsystem-160915074040/85/Development-of-a-hands-free-urinal-flushing-system-7-320.jpg)
Development of a hands free urinal flushing system
- 1. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 279 DEVELOPMENT OF A HANDS FREE URINAL FLUSHING SYSTEM Akparibo Richard Awingot1 , Joyce Apanga2 1 Postgraduate Student, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana 2 Electrical Engineer, Schlumberger, Takoradi, Ghana Abstract In this paper an automatic urinal flushing system that ensures hands free flushing and conservation of water is proposed. Use is made of a delta DVP-I4SS2 programmable logic controller (PLC), limit switch and a solenoid valve to achieve the hardware design. A limit switch is actuated the moment a user steps on a standing pad placed at the front of the urinal thereby turning on the PLC input. The PLC uses this information to give an output command to actuate a solenoid valve to flush the urinal. Ladder control program was developed for the hardware control using WPLSoft software. Programming and testing of control program with the proposed system suggested that the system can be easily implemented at public places, banks, schools, restaurants and bus stop terminals at an estimated cost of US $ 202. Key Words: Flush, PLC, Limit switch, solenoid valve, WPLSoft, DVP-14SS2 --------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION Maintaining a good hygiene and pleasant sight in every washroom is a key priority in every public and commercial establishment. However, there are more times when users of the washroom fail to flush after visiting the washroom resulting in bad odor and unpleasant sights. In other instances users leave the tap opened or not properly closed after using the washroom simply because they feel uncomfortable to touch the unhygienic parts of the urinal [1]. Such actions result in unpleasant environments and waste of water. Moreover, using the same operating knob/handle by all washroom attendants to flush the urinal can cause health problems as communicable diseases can be transferred. Traditionally, urinals were provided with mechanical actuators to flush after using the urinal. Unfortunately, since urinals are usually installed in public places, place of work and places often used by the general public, users pay no obligation to the cleanliness of the premises. Such a mechanical system cannot be guaranteed and soon breaks down and without maintenance; users continue to use it in that condition resulting in strong smell of either spilt or dried urine [2]. The diagram as shown in figure 1 is the result of negligence, non-flushing and lack of maintenance of a typical urinal system. A system such as this is not what society would like to have and hence the need to resolve such a pressing issue. Fig -1: Traditional Urinal System Recent developments have taken the urinal flushing system a step further by designing automatic flushing system that flushes at regular time intervals irrespective of actual use or not. This approach eliminates direct contact with the urinal and eliminates the problems presented by the former. However it suffers the setback of water wastage [2]. This problem was addressed by the works of [2]-[5]. In this research, a PLC based automatic urinal system is proposed. The design also incorporates a manual bypass incase of power failure or system’s malfunction. Manual Tap
- 2. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 280 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS The hardware design proposes a hands-free urinal flushing system using PLC, limit switch and solenoid valve. The layout diagram is given in Figure 2 whiles the block diagram is given in Figure 3. Urinal Chamber Manual Bypass Solenoid Valve PLC Power Supply Unit Limit Switch Standing Pad Water Flow Fig -2: Layout Diagram of Proposed Automatic Urinal Flusher Power Supply PLCLimit Switch Solenoid Valve PC DVP-14SS2 Programming Device Fig -3: Block Diagram of Proposed Urinal Flusher 2.1 Plc Delta DVP14SS211R PLC is used in this design to achieve the desired control using a written ladder diagram program. We created the program using WPLSoft programming software. Figure 4 shows the pin layout diagram of the PLC and Table 1 shows the specifications of DVP14SS2 PLC. We selected this type of PLC because it is relatively cheap, small in size, flexible and easy to use. POWER RUN ERROR RUN STOP DVP-14SS2 IN S/S X0 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6 X7 C0 Y0 Y1 Y2 C1 Y3 Y4 Y5 OUT R +-GND RS232 Fig -4: Pin Layout Diagram of DVP-14SS2 PLC Table -1: Specifications of Delta DVP14SS211R Description Specification Model DVP14SS2R Number of I/O 14 (discrete, I=8, O= 6) Input signal 24 VDC Output type Relay and Transistor Power supply 24 VDC 2.2 Power Supply Unit (PSU) The main power supply line to the controller is 24 VDC. This power supply line is distributed to the central processing unit (CPU), the input module through the input devices and the output module thought the output devices. The 24 VDC supply is a converted power from a 230 VAC source as shown in figure 5.
- 3. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 281 Fig -5: Power Supply Unit 2.3 Solenoid Valve We selected a 24 VDC, ½’ BSPP, 2-way normally closed plastic solenoid valve for automatically opening and closing the pipe line to control the flushing of the urinal. The chosen valve is less expensive and the body is made of plastic so the issue of corrosion is eliminated. Figure 6 shows the diagram of the proposed solenoid valve [6]. Fig -6: Diagram of a Solenoid Valve 2.4 Limit Switch We used a limit switch in this design to detect a urinal attendant when he/she steps on the standing pad to urinate. Omron, D4A-0E00, 6A, 24VDC, XLNT, limit switch [7] was selected for this purpose. 2.5 Programming Device This is a personal computer or handheld device with appropriate installed programming software that is used to create, edit, monitor, download or upload a control program into or from the PLC. Dell latitude E5430, core i5 laptop with windows 8.1 operating system is used as a programming device in this paper. We downloaded and installed WPLSoft software on the windows operating system for the PLC programming. We also interfaced the PLC with the laptop using an RS-232 communication cable. 2.6 Schematic Circuit Diagram of Proposed Design The entire circuit diagram of the proposed automatic urinal system is as given in figure 7. Fig -7: Control Circuit Diagram of Proposed Design 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS A ladder logic control program was developed to control the automatic flushing of the urinal system using WPLSoft software. The ladder logic control program was developed based on the following control scenarios [8]: 1. If a user stands in front of the urinal for more than 4 s, the flushing control device will flush the urinal for 4 s (the first flushing). When the user leaves the urinal, flush for another 5 s then stop automatically (the second flushing). This is illustrated by the timing diagram of figure 8. X0 Y0 5s4s4s Standing time First flushing Second flushing Fig -8: Timing Diagram of First Scenario V AC V DC 230 VAC Supply 24 VDC Output -+ PSU POWER RUN ERROR RUN STOP DVP-14SS2 IN S/S X0 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6 X7 C0 Y0 Y1 Y2 C1 Y3 Y4 Y5 OUT R + - GND V AC 230 VAC Supply Circuit breaker RS 232 Solenoid valve + - 24 VDC Limit Switch
- 4. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 282 2. Stopping the first flushing and starting the second flushing if the first user leaves the urinal during the first flushing process. This is shown by figure 9. X0 First attendant First flushing 4s 5s4s Second flushingStanding time Y0 Fig -9: Timing Diagram of Second Scenario 3. If the second user comes before the finishing of the 5 s flushing, the flusher will finish the 5 s flushing process and skip the first 4 s flushing process. When the second user leaves the urinal, the flusher will perform another 5 s flushing as shown in figure 10. 4s 4s 5s 5s First attendant Second attendant Standing time First flushing Second flushing Second flushing X0 Y0 Fig -10: Timing Diagram of Third Scenario Figure 11 gives the ladder logic control program of the complete system. The control program was successfully compiled and downloaded to the PLC memory via the RS- 232 communication cable. The program device list is as shown in table 2. Fig -11: Ladder Logic Control Program of Proposed Urinal System
- 5. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 283 Table -2: Device List of Control Program Device Function X0 Limit switch M0-M2 Internal relay T0 4 s timer. Time base: 100 ms T1 4 s timer. Time base: 100 ms T2 5 s timer. Time base: 100 ms Y0 Solenoid valve for flushing As a way of testing the control program, we connected a toggle switch in place of a limit switch and a pilot lamp in place of a solenoid valve. Figure 12 gives a screen shot of the ladder logic program when the toggle switch was OFF whiles figure 13 shows the ON condition. Figure 14 and 15 give the corresponding hardware displays. We observed that, manually operating the toggle switch according to the control scenarios causes the pilot lamp to behave accordingly. Fig -12: Program when Toggle Switch was OFF
- 6. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 284 Fig -13: Program When Toggle Switch Was Turned ON Fig -14: Corresponding Hardware Display when Toggle Switch was OFF Fig -15: Corresponding Hardware Display when Toggle Switch was Turned ON after 4 s PSU PLC Pilot Lamp OFF Toggle Switch ON Toggle Switch OF Pilot Lamp ON RS-232 COM Cable
- 7. IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 285 3.1 Cost Analysis Our cost analysis showed that the entire project implementation cost US $ 202.Table 3 gives the detailed cost analysis of the design. Table -3: Cost Analysis Item Description Quantity Unit Rate Cost US $ PLC Delta DVP14SS211R PLC 1 Pieces 100 100 PSU Delta DVPPS01/DVPPS02 power supply unit 1 Pieces 50 50 Programming Cable Delta DVPACAB2A30 programming cable 1 Pieces 25 25 Solenoid Valve 24 VDC, ½’ BSPP, 2-way normally closed plastic solenoid valve 1 Pieces 9 9 Limit Switch Omron, D4A-0E00, 6A, 24VDC, XLNT, limit switch 1 Pieces 18 18 TOTAL 202 4. CONCLUSIONS A hands-free urinal flushing system has been successfully developed using PLC, limit switch and a solenoid valve. A ladder control program was developed, compiled and downloaded to the PLC to control the automatic urinal flusher. The control program was successfully tested with the hardware design using a toggle switch and a pilot lamp which represented the limit switch and solenoid valve respectfully. Public places, banks, schools, restaurants and bus stop terminals can give a consideration to this design as a means of conserving water and keeping the urinals in a good hygienic condition. The overall project cost was approximated to US $ 202. REFERENCES [1]. Mohamed Aamir M. and Kamalanathan P., ‘Automatic Urinal Flushing System’, International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR), Volume 4, Issue 4, April 2015, 6 pp. [2]. Collin William Wooldridge, ‘Automatic Urinal Flushing System’, Patent EP1057942A2, 2000, Available at http://www.google.com/patents/EP1057942A2?cl=en [3]. Frank Hennes and Ulrich Kuhbier, ‘Electro-mechanical Flush System’, Patent EP1964988A2, 2008, Available at http://www.google.com/patents/EP19649882A2?cl=en [4]. Graeme S. Bayley, John Loberger, Bredan Doorhy, Joseph Mazza, Brian Gaza and Donald O’Brien, ‘Lavatory System’, Patent US8984679B2, 2015, Available at http://www.google.com/patents/US8984679 [5]. Ronnie Garrett, ‘Touch-free Restroom: Auto Flush Urinals and Hands-free Doors’, 2012, Available at http://www.cleanlink.com/sm/article/Touchfree-Restroom- Auto-Flush-Urinals-and-Hands-free-Doors [6]. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-BSPP-2way-Water-Air- Gas-Nylon-Plastic-Solenoid-Valve-24VDC-Normal-Closed- /271024867488?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a13 7338c11 [7]. http://www.ebay.com/itm/OMRON-D4A-0E00-LIMIT- SWITCH-6A24VDCXLNT/180714966033?pt=LH_Default Domain_0&hash=item2a13738c11 [8]. Anon, ‘DVP-PLC Application Examples of Programming’, 2012, Available at www.delta.com.tw/ia