JP2001317109A - Toilet seat device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent jetted water from scattering over the part other than a human body and wetting clothes and a floor because a conventional sanitary washing device is not yet provided with any sure seating person detecting function. SOLUTION: Translucent infrared ray projecting/receiving devices facing each other are arranged on the inside of a toilet seat for detecting a part of the human body interrupting the infrared ray so as to actuate a cleaning water jetting device, a deodorizer, and a hot air device. Using a plurality of the infrared ray projecting/receiving devices, a seating position of a user is detected, and regulation is carried out automatically so that water is jetted toward only the detected area.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a toilet seat device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are reflection type infrared light emitting and receiving devices such as a transmission type infrared light emitting and receiving device and a capacitance detecting device as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-66235 for recognizing a sitting state of a person. .

[0003]

However, the reflection type infrared light emitting / receiving device has problems such as that it cannot recognize a seat when wearing clothes with low reflectance, and cannot detect an object that is too close to the device. . In addition, since the capacitance detection device requires fine adjustment for each sanitary washing device or cannot detect a slow change in capacitance, there is a problem that the detection state is continued when the user slowly takes off. . In addition, since the transmission type infrared light emitting / receiving device is attached to the sanitary washing device main body, there is a problem that the sleeve of the sanitary washing device cannot be detected when the sleeve is large or when the sitting is shallow. If it cannot detect that it is sitting, it cannot be washed, and if it cannot be determined that it is not seated, it will continue washing and spouting, and if it is not seated, a device that does not operate will not stop. Would. Also, even if it can be detected that a person is sitting, it is impossible to judge where the person is sitting on the toilet seat. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to determine whether a person is seated reliably and to perform a timely operation for each of sitting and non-seating. Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary washing device that does not perform unintended washing.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a seating detecting means provided on an inner peripheral side of a toilet seat with a pair of a light emitting part and a light receiving part facing each other. As a result, the detection area of the user can be limited to a narrow range and can be reliably detected.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since a plurality of seating detecting means are provided and the seating position detecting means is formed, a seating / non-seating detection can be performed by detecting a buttocks of a person sinking in the toilet seat. In addition, the sanitary washing device can recognize the position of the buttocks when sitting. There is an advantage that it is possible to reduce the current of infrared light projection and extend the life of the light projection element.

In the third aspect of the present invention, by operating the seat detecting means in a time-sharing manner, it is possible to prevent interference with adjacent seat detecting means, reduce the current of infrared light projection, and extend the life of the light projecting element. There is the advantage of being possible.

[0008] In the fourth invention, a plurality of seating detecting means provided on the inner peripheral side of the toilet seat with a pair of light projecting portion and light receiving portion facing each other, and the seating position detecting means is formed. By providing a mechanism to adjust the position of the washing nozzle based on the information of the position detection means, it is possible to reliably discharge the washing water toward the buttocks so that clothes and the floor do not get wet. There is the advantage of being possible.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In order to make the present invention easier to understand, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following examples.

[0010]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a sanitary washing apparatus incorporating four transmission-type infrared projectors. Infrared light emitting devices 3, 4, 5, 6 are attached to the toilet seat 2 of the sanitary washing device 1, and infrared light receiving devices 7, 8, 9,
10 is attached.

Both the light projecting device and the light receiving device are denoted by A- in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2 which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A ′, it is provided at the back of a cylindrical hole provided in the downward curved surface portion on the inner side surface of the toilet seat. The infrared light emitting devices 3, 4, 5, and 6 may emit light one by one in a time-separated manner.

At the time of non-seating, the infrared receiving devices 7, 8, 9, 10
Receive the light of the infrared projectors 3, 4, 5, and 6 facing each other, but when a person sits on the toilet seat 2, the human body 12 sinking inside the toilet seat emits the light of the infrared projector. Infrared light receiving partly or entirely (in the example of FIG. 3 which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB 'in FIG. 1, which blocks the infrared light emitting devices 4 and 5). Since light does not reach the device, it can be determined that the user is sitting.

Further, by providing a washable area before and after each infrared light emitting and receiving device as shown in FIG.
For example, if the infrared projectors 4 and 5 are blocked as in this example, if the position of the washing nozzle 13 is adjusted so that the water hits the area a and the area b, the water may flow out of the human body. There is no. Further, if the cleaning nozzle 13 is automatically brought to a substantially central position of the washable area at the beginning of the cleaning operation, the probability of water spraying on the anus without the user being conscious increases. Each area is shown in FIG.
If the adjacent portions are provided as in the above, the seam of each area is eliminated and the accuracy is improved. Here, the position adjustment of the cleaning nozzle indicates position control of a stepping motor for extending and storing the nozzle.

[0014]

According to the present invention, the following effects are exhibited by the above configuration. (A) Since the human body sinking in the toilet seat blocks the infrared light to detect the seat, the detection accuracy is high, and it is hard to be affected by the posture change after the seat is seated, so unpleasant operation such as interruption of water discharge during seating. (B) If a plurality of infrared light emitting and receiving devices are used, it is possible to determine where the human body is on the toilet seat, so that the discharged water can be reliably applied to the human body even if the sitting position changes every time. (C) Since the seating / seating response is very good, there is no need to provide an on-delay or an off-delay, and it is possible to further eliminate water discharge to a part other than the human body. (D) Since the projection distance can be as short as necessary, it is sufficient to use a very ordinary infrared LED as the infrared projection device. Even if individual pieces are used, there is almost no increase in cost, and adjustment for each product is unnecessary. (E) Since the infrared projection / reception device is located in the back of the cylindrical hole, there is almost no possibility that the device is damaged or stained by cleaning. (F) If the infrared light emitting devices are controlled so as to sequentially emit light one by one, the infrared light receiving devices will not erroneously pick up the light of the adjacent infrared light emitting devices, and the overall current consumption will also be reduced. The load on the power supply can be reduced.

[0015]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A 'in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line B-B 'in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a washable area of each infrared light emitting and receiving device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sanitary washing | cleaning apparatus, 2 ... Toilet seat, 3, 4, 5, 6 ... Infrared light projector, 7, 8, 9, 10 ... Infrared light receiving apparatus, 11 ... Trace of infrared light, 12 ... Human body, 13 ... Wash nozzle, 14 ... Water spout

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A toilet seat device comprising: seat detection means provided on an inner peripheral side of a toilet seat with a pair of a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit facing each other. 2. The toilet seat device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said seat detection means are provided to form a seat position detection means. 3. The toilet seat device according to claim 2, wherein said seat detecting means is operated in a time sharing manner. 4. A seating position detecting means, comprising a plurality of seating detecting means provided on the inner peripheral side of the toilet seat with a pair of light emitting part and light receiving part facing each other, forming a seating position detecting means. A sanitary washing apparatus characterized by having a mechanism for adjusting the position of a washing nozzle based on information.