Patents by Inventor Robert Freville

Robert Freville has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20060112478
    Abstract: A plumbing fixture includes a receptacle for receiving waste, a tank for storing water, and an electrically operated pump that conveys water from the tank into the receptacle to flush the waste through a drain. The duration that the pump in operated to flush the waste is altered in response to variation of the electrical voltage supplied to the plumbing fixture. The pump is operated to decrease the amount of water in the tank when that amount is sensed to be excessive. Further operation of the pump is inhibited for a given interval to avoid overheating when the pump has been operating too frequently. The pump is cycled on and off in predefined patterns to indicate different malfunctions to a user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2004
    Publication date: June 1, 2006
    Inventors: Anton Kolar, Jeffrey Mueller, Peter Denzin, Robert Freville
  • Patent number: 4796310
    Abstract: A bathtub drain valve control arrangement includes an overflow cover movably mounted in a recessed pocket of a substantially vertical bathtub wall so as to cover the overflow opening in that wall. The overflow plate is adapted to move between open and closed positions and has a smooth outer surface so that, in the closed position, it is flush with the vertical bathtub wall to provide a smooth, substantially continuous surface against which a bather could comfortably lean. A linkage connects the overflow cover and a drain valve, so that moving the overflow plate to the open position opens the drain valve and moving the overflow plate to the closed position closes the drain valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 1987
    Date of Patent: January 10, 1989
    Assignee: Kohler Co.
    Inventors: Robert Freville, Philip Segor