BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to the field of kitchen and bath products and related technologies. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a multifunctional faucet and a control method thereof.

At present, faucets are divided into mechanical faucets and electronic faucets. A conventional electronic faucet supplies water automatically, i.e., supplying water when a user is sensed within a sensing distance, and only has on/off functions, leading to a limited capability.

Therefore, according to reference documents CN105042153A and CN105757311A, it has been proposed that gestures may be used to control the flow rate, water temperature, sterilization, and the like of the water from a faucet. Meanwhile, when a user uses water from a faucet for cleaning, a hand soap is typically used. According to the reference document CN202484351U, it has been proposed that the soap supply function may be added to a faucet to develop a multifunctional faucet.

However, existing multifunctional faucets and corresponding gesture control methods thereof require complicated operations and do not achieve desired effects.

SUMMARY

In view of the technical problem of multifunctional faucets in which the operations are complicated and the effects are not desirable, there is a need to provide a multifunctional faucet and a control method thereof.

The present disclosure provides a multifunctional faucet that includes a faucet housing, with a water supply assembly, a soap supply assembly, a first sensing probe assembly, a second sensing probe assembly, and a controller provided in the faucet housing, wherein the sensing region of the first sensing probe assembly is an upper portion of the faucet housing, the sensing region of the second sensing probe assembly is a lower portion of the faucet housing, an output terminal of the first sensing probe assembly and an output terminal of the second sensing probe assembly are respectively in communicative connection with an input terminal of the controller, an output terminal of the controller is in communicative connection with a control terminal of the water supply assembly and a control terminal of the soap supply assembly, the controller controls the water supply assembly to start water supply or stop water supply according to a sensing signal from the first sensing probe assembly or the second sensing probe assembly, and the controller controls the soap supply assembly to start soap supply or stop soap supply according to a sensing signal from the first sensing probe assembly or the second sensing probe assembly.

The multifunctional faucet can include a third sensing probe assembly disposed in the faucet housing, wherein the sensing region of the third sensing probe assembly is the front of the faucet housing, an output terminal of the third sensing probe assembly is in communicative connection with a trigger terminal of the controller, and the controller is triggered and activated when the third sensing probe assembly detects a sensing signal.

The multifunctional faucet can include an electrolyte assembly disposed in the faucet housing, wherein the output terminal of the controller is in communicative connection with the electrolyte assembly, and the controller controls the electrolyte assembly to start electrolyte supply or stop electrolyte supply.

The faucet housing can include a base and a cover assembly in coordination with the base, where the base and the cover assembly form an accommodating chamber. The water supply assembly, the soap supply assembly, and the second sensing probe assembly are accommodated in the accommodating chamber, the first sensing probe assembly is accommodated in the cover assembly, a water supply indicator, a wait-for-soap indicator, and a soap supply indicator are further provided in the cover assembly. The output terminal of the controller is in communicative connection with the water supply indicator, the wait-for-soap indicator, and the soap supply indicator.

The present disclosure provides a control method for the above-described multifunctional faucet that includes the following steps or processes.

When the controller is in a wake state, if a sensing signal is received from the second sensing probe assembly, the controller enters a water supply state to control the water supply assembly to start water supply; if a sensing signal is received from the first sensing probe assembly, the controller enters a soap supply state to control the soap supply assembly to start soap supply within a preset soap supply period and control the soap supply assembly to stop soap supply after the preset soap supply period;

When the controller is in the water supply state, if a sensing signal is received from the first sensing probe assembly, the controller enters the soap supply state to control the soap supply assembly to start soap supply within a preset soap supply period and control the soap supply assembly to stop soap supply after the preset soap supply period; when the controller is in the water supply state, if no sensing signal is received from the first sensing probe assembly and no sensing signal is received from the second sensing probe assembly, the controller enters the wake state;

When the controller is in the soap supply state, and after the preset soap supply period, if a sensing signal is received from the second sensing probe assembly, the controller enters the water supply state to control the water supply assembly to start water supply, and if no sensing signal is received from the second sensing probe assembly, the controller enters the wake state to control the water supply assembly to stop water supply.

The method can further include the step of: if a sensing signal is received from the first sensing probe assembly, the controller entering the soap supply state specifically includes the following two conditions.

First, if a sensing signal is received from the first sensing probe assembly, the controller enters a switch-to-soap state.

Second, when the controller is in the switch-to-soap state, if a sensing signal is continuously received from the first sensing probe assembly within a preset confirmation period, the controller enters the soap supply state, and if no sensing signal is continuously received from the first sensing probe assembly within the preset confirmation period, the controller enters the wake state.

Furthermore, the faucet housing can include a base and a cover assembly in coordination with the base, the base and the cover assembly form an accommodating chamber, the water supply assembly, the soap supply assembly, and the second sensing probe assembly are accommodated in the accommodating chamber, the first sensing probe assembly is accommodated in the cover assembly, a water supply indicator, a hand-waving prompt indicator, a wait-for-soap indicator, and a soap supply indicator are further provided in the cover assembly, and the output terminal of the controller is in communicative connection with the water supply indicator, the hand-waving prompt indicator, the wait-for-soap indicator, and the soap supply indicator;

the step of, when the controller is in the water supply state, if no sensing signal is received from the first sensing probe assembly and no sensing signal is received from the second sensing probe assembly, the controller entering the wake state specifically comprises:

when the controller is in the water supply state, if no sensing signal is received from the first sensing probe assembly and no sensing signal is received from the second sensing probe assembly, the controller enters a return-to-wake state and controls the wait-for-soap indicator to display a preset prompt effect, and if the controller is in the return-to-wake state, no sensing signal is received from the first sensing probe assembly and no sensing signal is received from the second sensing probe assembly continuously within a preset return period, the controller enters the wake state; the control method further comprises: when the controller is in the water supply state, controlling the water supply indicator to display a preset water supplying animation effect; when the controller is in the switch-to-soap state, controlling the wait-for-soap indicator to display a preset soap switching animation effect; and when the controller is in the soap supply state, controlling the soap supply indicator to display a preset soap supplying animation effect.

The multifunctional faucet can include a third sensing probe assembly disposed in the faucet housing, wherein the sensing region of the third sensing probe assembly is the front of the faucet housing, an output terminal of the third sensing probe assembly is in communicative connection with a trigger terminal of the controller, and the control method further comprises: triggering the controller to enter the wake state when the third sensing probe assembly detects a sensing signal; and when the controller is in the wake state, if no sensing signal is received from the first sensing probe assembly and no sensing signal is received from the second sensing probe assembly within a preset standby detection period, the controller enters a standby state.

The multifunctional faucet can include an electrolyte assembly disposed in the faucet housing, wherein the output terminal of the controller is in communicative connection with the electrolyte assembly, the controller controls the electrolyte assembly to start electrolyte supply or stop electrolyte supply, and the control method further comprises: controlling the electrolyte assembly to start electrolyte supply after every preset cleaning interval, and controlling the electrolyte assembly to stop electrolyte supply after a preset electrolyte supply period.

Furthermore, the step of controlling the electrolyte assembly to start electrolyte supply after every preset cleaning interval specifically comprises: after every preset cleaning interval, if the controller is in the standby state, controlling the electrolyte assembly to start electrolyte supply, and if the controller is in a state other than the standby state, controlling the electrolyte assembly to suspend electrolyte supply.

The present invention senses a user's gestures with sensing probe assemblies, then controls water or soap supply through a controller. As a result, a user does not need to touch the faucet and can conveniently use the faucet.

