US20100083430A1

US20100083430A1 - Touch Control Toilet Seat Device

Info

Publication number: US20100083430A1
Application number: US12/245,823
Authority: US
Inventors: David Chen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-10-06
Filing date: 2008-10-06
Publication date: 2010-04-08

Abstract

A touch control toilet seat device includes a main body and a seat. In the main body there is a microprocessor for processing logic control of the component parts in relation to cleaning the user's body after defecation. A seat having non-contacting circuit switches and a heater element is movably hinged to the main body. The electric supply to the microprocessor is initiated when the human body moves close to the non-contacting circuit switches thereby energizing the heater element to warm up the cold water from the plumbing pipe to clean the user's contaminated part with spraying warm water.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a touch control toilet seat device, and in particular, a toilet seat device having several non-contacting circuit switches attached to the upper edge of its seat to be actuated by the approaching human body thereby energizing the electric source to work.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As the living standard is brought up, there have come out incessantly a lot of improved lavatory equipment with extra functions. The most well known type is one which can clean the user's contaminated part after defecation with a water spray. By reason that surroundings of the anus are wrinkled and sensitive, it may cause uncomfortable feeling when too cold water is used. Therefore, the types of equipments, which employ warm water for cleaning, are preferable.
However, for supplying warm water to the toilet seat device, storing at all time fixed amount of warm water, or installing an instant water heating equipment is a must. In both case, wasting energy is inevitable. Preparing an electric switch for the user to switch on after defecation is a solution. Yet there are still problems that the user might forget to turn off the switch before leaving the lavatory that leads to wasting of the electric energy.
In view of the foregoing situation, the inventor of the invention herein went to great lengths of intensive research based on many years of experience gained through professional engagement in the manufacturing of related products, with continuous experimentation and improvement finally has succeeded to come out with the touch control toilet seat device of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a touch control toilet seat device, which can install sophisticated computer aid electronic devices in the toilet seat device for use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide small sized sophisticated and computerized control device attached to the toilet seat device so as to keep the user's body clean with warm water after defecation.
To achieve the above objects, the toilet seat device of the present invention comprises mainly a main body, a seat and a cover.
In the main body of the toilet seat device there contains a microprocessor for processing and performing logic control of a nozzle unit, a pump unit and a heat supply unit all in relation with cleaning. The microprocessor conducts the running water to the heat supply unit to be heated, and then the heated warm water is sprayed as cleaning water from the nozzle unit, which has several reciprocating nozzles.
The seat is movably hinged to the main body and having at least one non-contacting circuit switch and a heater element equipped along the inner side edge of its surface so as to initiate the electric supply to the microprocessor as soon as the human body approaches to actuate the non-contacting circuit switches thereby beginning the operation of the heater element to warm up the seat.
A cover is movably hinged to the seat to cover the toilet seat device and to be lifted up when using the toilet seat device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons acquainted with apparatus of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspection of the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 1A are perspective views of the touch control toilet seat device of the present invention, in which the control unit is exploded and enlarged for illustration.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the toilet seat device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional enlarged view along the line A-A of FIG. 2 showing the layout of the non-contacting circuit switch.

FIG. 4 is an operational flow chart of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1 through FIG. 4, the toilet seat device of the present invention comprises a main body 1, a seat 2 with a control unit 4, and a cover 3.
In the main body 1 there contains a microprocessor 11 for processing and performing logic control of a nozzle unit 12, a pump unit 13 and a heat supply unit 14 in relation with cleaning.
The seat 2 is movably hinged to the main body 1 and having at least one non-contacting circuit switch 21 and a heater element 22. The non-contacting circuit switch is a touch sensor electrically in connection with the microprocessor for transmitting control signals.
The cover 3 is movably hinged to the seat 2 to cover the toilet seat device for lifting up when the toilet seat device is to be used.
The control unit 4 is attached to one side of the seat 2 with several non-contacting circuit switches 21 laid on the surface thereof and electrically in connection with the microprocessor 11 for transmitting control signals. At that side of the seat 2 is further provided with a remote controller (not shown), one nozzle out of the nozzle unit 12 can be selected by the control unit 4 and the remote controller to spray cleaning water to the user after leaving the toilet seat device.
The non-contacting circuit switch 21 is disposed on the surface of the seat 2 where the user's legs and hip are supported so as to form a sensing surface 23 on the seat 2. The non-contacting circuit switch 21 is a touch sensor or a capacitive touch sensor in which a sensor sheet of unknown capacitance is charged to a known potential, and then the charges are transferred to a measurement circuit, after more than one charge-transfer cycles, the capacitance of the sensor sheet can be figured out by measuring the charges. Therefore, when the user's body is approaching or touching the sensing surface 23 of the seat 2, a minor change of capacitance can be accurately measured and then converted to a control signal for the microprocessor 11 to drive each unit contained in the main body 1 and the seat 2 thereby rapidly initiating the power supply to the microprocessor 11 and the heater element 22. The user sitting on the seat 2 will be feeling comfortable with the legs and hip being warmed by the seat 2.
Several non-contacting circuit switches 42 provided for the control unit 4 can be operated to initiate or stop the operation of each unit or the microprocessor 11, regulate the heat supply unit 14 and temperature of the heater element 22, or the water flow supplied by the pump unit 13. The non-contacting circuit switch 21 is electrically in connection with the microprocessor 11. The non-contacting circuit switch 42 has a lay-in sensing electrode and an application circuit. The surface of the application circuit is affixed with a layer of touch induction medium 41 (key button). By tapping with a finger on the medium 41, it is electrically connected with the lay-in sensing electrode to convert the information about the finger position into control signals of the main body 1 or the seat 2. The sensing electrode may be a simple surface of printed circuit welded board or the like, or a conductive ITO film printed on a transparent touch screen. The adjustments of sensitivity can also easily preformed by forming a sensing electrode and varying the capacitance. The non-contacting circuit switch 42 is of a low power consumption mode for saving electric energy, and can assure a quick response to the action of tapping the key button. In the event when the buttons are tapped, the microprocessor 11 is reminded to identify which circuit switch is the kernel, or the one exactly wanted so as to avoid confusion arising from the response of plural buttons to a single tapping. To avoid the clogging of the key buttons by the foreign material on the sensing surface, the non-contacting circuit switch 42 and the touch induction medium 41 should be calibrated from time to time.
The heat supply unit 14 and the pump unit 13 are connected to a plumbing pipe and electrically in connection with the microprocessor 11 to control heating function of the former and action of the latter. The microprocessor 11 also controls the amount of warm spray from the nozzle unit 12 supplied by the pump unit 13 after the heat supply unit 14 heats the cold water from the plumbing pipe. The nozzle unit 12 is composed of reciprocating nozzles to clean the user's contaminated part on the body with warm water spray after completion of defecation.
In the main body 1 there further contains a warm wind supply unit and a deodorization unit (both not shown). The former is used to dry the user's wet part where being just cleaned by water with warm wind. The latter is used to deodorize the toilet seat device and expel the air inside the toilet seat device out of an exit hole (not shown).
By adding an extra capacitor, the characteristics of the non-contacting circuit switch 21 can be altered to obtain a different transmissibility to apply to the seats 2 with different surface thickness. The senility of the circuit switch 21 can be adjusted by replacing a capacitor. The value of the capacitance thereof is ranging from 10 nf to 500 nf. For adjusting response time the circuit switch 21 may vary the capacitance value of Cs and Cx, wherein Cs is 1 nf˜200 nf, and Cx is 0˜100 pf.
Now, it will be apparent that the touch control toilet seat device according to the present invention has several noteworthy advantages compared to any conventional products by the fact that the non-contacting circuit switch is small sized, highly stable and reliable having the ability of electrically conductive through insulation media such as glass, plastic, acrylic, ceramic etc . . . . On the other side of the medium (seat) surface, an imaginary circuit switch is formed to attain the aim of control when the human body approaches or touches the sensing surface of this imaginary circuit switch.
Although the present invention has been disclosed and illustrated with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited and that other changes and modifications can be made within the full-intended scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims

1. A touch control toilet seat device comprising:

a main body containing a microprocessor for processing and performing logic control of component parts in relation with cleaning a user's body after defecation; and

a seat movably hinged to said main body and having at least one non-contacting circuit switch equipped along an inner edge of a seat surface so as to initiate an electric supply to said microprocessor as soon as a human body being moved close to actuate said non-contacting circuit switch.

2. The toilet seat device of claim 1, wherein said slosestool further includes a cover movably hinged to said seat to cover said toilet seat device and to be lifted up in case of using said toilet seat device.

3. The toilet seat device of claim 1, wherein a heater element is attached to the inner edge of said seat surface so as to be actuated by said microprocessor which being initiated by said non-contacting circuit switch energized by approaching the human body thereby causing said heater element to warm up said seat.

4. The toilet seat device of claim 1, wherein said non-contacting circuit switch is a touch sensor.

5. The toilet seat device of claim 1, wherein said non-contacting circuit switch can change characteristics thereof by externally adding an extra capacitor so as to obtain a different transmissibility.

6. A touch control toilet seat device comprising:

a main body containing a microprocessor for processing and performing logic control, said microprocessor manipulating a nozzle unit, a pump unit and a heat supply unit in relation with the cleaning function, said microprocessor controlling running water to be supplied from a plumbing pipe to said heat supply unit for heating, and then warmed water being pumped up to said nozzle unit by said pump unit; wherein said nozzle unit contains reciprocating nozzles to clean a user's contaminated part of body with the warm water sprayed from said nozzle after defecation;

a seat movably hinged to said main body and having at least one non-contacting circuit switch and a heater element equipped along an inner edge of a seat surface so as to initiate an electric supply to said microprocessor as soon as a human body being moved close to actuate said non-contacting circuit switch thereby energizing said heat element to warm up said seat; and

a control unit disposed aside said seat, and having several non-contacting circuit switches laid on a surface thereof and electrically in connection with said microprocessor for providing said microprocessor with control signals.

7. The toilet seat device of claim 6, wherein said non-contacting circuit switch has a lay-in sensing electrode and an application circuit, and a surface of said application circuit is affixed with a layer of a touch induction medium.

8. The toilet seat device of claim 7, wherein by tapping with a finger on said medium to electrically connect with said lay-in sensing electrode, information about finger position is converted into control signals of said main body or said seat.

9. The toilet seat device of claim 7, wherein said lay-in sensing electrode is a conducting surface of a printed circuit welded board.

10. The toilet seat device of claim 7, wherein said lay-in sensing electrode is a conductive ITO film printed on a transparent touch screen.

11. The toilet seat device of claim 6, wherein said non-contacting circuit switch can change characteristics thereof by externally adding an extra capacitor so as to obtain a different transmissibility.