IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308

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
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1. INTRODUCTION transferred. Traditionally, urinals were provided with

mechanical actuators to flush after using the urinal.
Maintaining a good hygiene and pleasant sight in every Unfortunately, since urinals are usually installed in public
washroom is a key priority in every public and commercial places, place of work and places often used by the general
establishment. However, there are more times when users of public, users pay no obligation to the cleanliness of the
the washroom fail to flush after visiting the washroom premises. Such a mechanical system cannot be guaranteed
resulting in bad odor and unpleasant sights. In other and soon breaks down and without maintenance; users
instances users leave the tap opened or not properly closed continue to use it in that condition resulting in strong smell
after using the washroom simply because they feel of either spilt or dried urine [2]. The diagram as shown in
uncomfortable to touch the unhygienic parts of the urinal figure 1 is the result of negligence, non-flushing and lack of
[1]. Such actions result in unpleasant environments and maintenance of a typical urinal system. A system such as
waste of water. Moreover, using the same operating this is not what society would like to have and hence the
knob/handle by all washroom attendants to flush the urinal need to resolve such a pressing issue.
can cause health problems as communicable diseases can be

Manual Tap

Fig -1: Traditional Urinal System

Recent developments have taken the urinal flushing system problem was addressed by the works of [2]-[5]. In this
a step further by designing automatic flushing system that research, a PLC based automatic urinal system is proposed.
flushes at regular time intervals irrespective of actual use or The design also incorporates a manual bypass incase of
not. This approach eliminates direct contact with the urinal power failure or system’s malfunction.
and eliminates the problems presented by the former.
However it suffers the setback of water wastage [2]. This
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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.

Power Supply
Unit PLC

Solenoid Valve

Water
Flow

Manual Bypass
Urinal
Chamber

Limit Switch

Standing Pad
Fig -2: Layout Diagram of Proposed Automatic Urinal Flusher

STOP

RUN
DVP-14SS2

ERROR

POWER
RUN
Power Supply
+ - GND

RS 232

S/S
X3
Y5
Y4
Y3

Y2
Y1
Y0

X7
X6

X4

X2
X1
X0
C1

C0

X5
OUT

IN
R

DVP-14SS2
Limit PLC
Solenoid Fig -4: Pin Layout Diagram of DVP-14SS2 PLC
Switch Valve
Table -1: Specifications of Delta DVP14SS211R
Description Specification
Model DVP14SS2R
Number of I/O 14 (discrete, I=8, O= 6)
PC
Input signal 24 VDC
Programming Device
Output type Relay and Transistor
Fig -3: Block Diagram of Proposed Urinal Flusher Power supply 24 VDC
2.1 Plc
2.2 Power Supply Unit (PSU)
Delta DVP14SS211R PLC is used in this design to achieve
the desired control using a written ladder diagram program. The main power supply line to the controller is 24 VDC.
We created the program using WPLSoft programming This power supply line is distributed to the central
software. Figure 4 shows the pin layout diagram of the PLC processing unit (CPU), the input module through the input
and Table 1 shows the specifications of DVP14SS2 PLC. devices and the output module thought the output devices.
We selected this type of PLC because it is relatively cheap, The 24 VDC supply is a converted power from a 230 VAC
small in size, flexible and easy to use. source as shown in figure 5.

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230 VAC 2.5 Programming Device

Supply
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
V AC system for the PLC programming. We also interfaced the
PSU PLC with the laptop using an RS-232 communication cable.
2.6 Schematic Circuit Diagram of Proposed Design
V DC
The entire circuit diagram of the proposed automatic urinal
system is as given in figure 7.
230 VAC Supply
+ - IN
24 VDC POWER
RUN
S/S Circuit breaker
X0
Output ERROR
X1 Limit Switch
V AC
X2
Fig -5: Power Supply Unit X3
X4 + -
RUN X5 24 VDC
X6
X7
2.3 Solenoid Valve C0
OUT
STOP
Y0
We selected a 24 VDC, ½’ BSPP, 2-way normally closed Y1
DVP-14SS2

Y2
plastic solenoid valve for automatically opening and closing Solenoid valve
C1
the pipe line to control the flushing of the urinal. The chosen Y3
Y4
valve is less expensive and the body is made of plastic so Y5
the issue of corrosion is eliminated. Figure 6 shows the
RS 232
diagram of the proposed solenoid valve [6].
+ - GND
R

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
Fig -6: Diagram of a Solenoid Valve

Y0
2.4 Limit Switch
4s 4s 5s
We used a limit switch in this design to detect a urinal
attendant when he/she steps on the standing pad to urinate. Standing First Second
Omron, D4A-0E00, 6A, 24VDC, XLNT, limit switch [7] time flushing flushing
was selected for this purpose.
Fig -8: Timing Diagram of First Scenario

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2. Stopping the first flushing and starting the second 3. If the second user comes before the finishing of the
flushing if the first user leaves the urinal during the 5 s flushing, the flusher will finish the 5 s flushing
first flushing process. This is shown by figure 9. process and skip the first 4 s flushing process.
When the second user leaves the urinal, the flusher
First attendant will perform another 5 s flushing as shown in
figure 10.
X0

4s
Y0 First flushing
4s 5s

Standing time Second flushing

Fig -9: Timing Diagram of Second Scenario
First attendant Second attendant

X0

Y0
4s 4s 5s 5s

Standing time First flushing Second flushing Second flushing

Fig -10: Timing Diagram of Third Scenario

Figure 11 gives the ladder logic control program of the 232 communication cable. The program device list is as
complete system. The control program was successfully shown in table 2.
compiled and downloaded to the PLC memory via the RS-

Fig -11: Ladder Logic Control Program of Proposed Urinal System

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Table -2: Device List of Control Program As a way of testing the control program, we connected a
Device Function 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
X0 Limit switch the ladder logic program when the toggle switch was OFF
whiles figure 13 shows the ON condition. Figure 14 and 15
M0-M2 Internal relay give the corresponding hardware displays. We observed
T0 4 s timer. Time base: 100 ms that, manually operating the toggle switch according to the
control scenarios causes the pilot lamp to behave
T1 4 s timer. Time base: 100 ms accordingly.
T2 5 s timer. Time base: 100 ms
Y0 Solenoid valve for flushing

Fig -12: Program when Toggle Switch was OFF

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Fig -13: Program When Toggle Switch Was Turned ON

PSU

Toggle
Switch OF Toggle
PLC Pilot Lamp Switch ON Pilot Lamp
OFF ON

RS-232 COM Cable

Fig -14: Corresponding Hardware Display when Toggle Fig -15: Corresponding Hardware Display when Toggle
Switch was OFF Switch was Turned ON after 4 s

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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 [8]. Anon, ‘DVP-PLC Application Examples of

Programming’, 2012, Available at www.delta.com.tw/ia
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
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