JP2001323538A - Water section apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the accuracy of detection of a human body by a water section apparatus, especially in terms of a reflection coefficient. SOLUTION: According to the water section apparatus which is controlled based on a signal from a human body detecting means, the human body detecting means is comprised of both a microwave sensor and a sensor of the other type. Specifically, the microwave sensor uses the Doppler effect, and the sensor of the other type is a photoelectric infrared sensor.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water circulating device provided with a means for discharging water to a human body.
Multifunctional toilet seat with various functions such as local washing function and toilet seat heating function, urinal automatic washing device with automatic washing function,
The present invention relates to an automatic faucet device having an automatic washing function, and to a water circulating device in which at least some of those functions are controlled by a human body detecting means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a human body detecting means including a human body detecting sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a human body is provided at the front of a multifunctional toilet seat device or at a position where the front can be viewed, and a toilet seat and a toilet lid are detected based on the human body detection by the human body detecting sensor. Controls the opening and closing of the deodorizer and the on / off of the deodorizer. As a human body detection method, a method using infrared rays (a photoelectric type and a pyroelectric type) are used.
And a distance measuring sensor using an ultrasonic method or an infrared ray. Further, as a sensor for detecting seating, a capacitance type sensor is used in addition to the above-described sensor.

[0003]

However, in the conventional photoelectric infrared sensor, since the measurement accuracy of the sensor depends on the reflectance of the object to be detected, erroneous detection may be caused by the color of the clothes of the user, or the wall of the toilet may not be detected. There was a problem that it was difficult to distinguish between people and people. Except for the capacitance type sensor, windows for light emission and light reception are indispensable, and the design is considerably restricted.
In addition, since the pyroelectric infrared sensor is greatly affected by the ambient temperature, it is difficult to detect a human body if the air temperature and the body temperature are almost the same. Further, the ultrasonic sensor is susceptible to noise and wind, and has a problem of mutual interference, so that its feasibility is poor.
Furthermore, the distance measurement sensor has a limit on the measurement distance, and when aiming at the near point, almost no signal is output when measuring the distance of a distant part, and in the opposite case, that is, when aiming at a distant point, the signal is at the near point. Overscale.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems and Action / Effect To solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to the first aspect of the present invention relates to a water circulating device controlled based on a signal from a human body detecting means, wherein The means is characterized by having both a microwave sensor and another type of sensor. According to the present invention, by using two types of sensors, a microwave sensor and a sensor of another type, as a sensor for detecting a human body, a human body can be more accurately detected in consideration of the characteristics of each sensor. In addition, the function of the equipment around the water can be controlled in various ways.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the microwave sensor includes means for transmitting a radio wave for detecting a human body;
Means for receiving the reflected wave of the radio wave transmitted by the transmitting means, obtaining a difference between the frequency of the signal received by the receiving means and the frequency of the signal transmitted by the transmitting means, and forming a signal corresponding to the difference It is characterized by being constituted by means for generating. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the moving thing (here, the motion of a person) can be detected correctly using the microwave sensor for a human body detection using the Doppler effect of a microwave. Further, since there is no influence from the reflectance, the ambient temperature, and the like, the accuracy of human body detection is improved.

[0006] The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the frequency of the transmitting means is 2.45 GHz to 12 GHz. According to the present invention, the frequency of the transmitting device is set to 2.
By setting the frequency to 45 GHz or higher, it becomes possible to extract a Doppler signal for detecting a motion of a human body. In other words, it is not possible to extract the Doppler signal well below 2.45 GHz. In addition, the frequency of the transmitting device is set to 12G.
If the frequency is increased up to about Hz, the antenna can be reduced accordingly, so that downsizing can be realized. By the way, when the length of the antenna is 1/4 of the wavelength of the received radio wave, and when the radio wave has a frequency of 12 GHz, an antenna of about 6 mm is sufficient.
Wavelength λ (m) = speed of light (m / s) / frequency (Hz) The upper limit of the frequency of the transmitting device is defined for the following reason. The atmosphere (mainly on the earth's surface) contains air and water vapor, and may also rain. What characteristics these have with respect to the propagation of electromagnetic waves is most important in a wireless system that directly uses a space given by nature as a propagation path. Although the characteristics vary depending on the frequency of the electromagnetic wave, the attenuation generally increases in proportion to the frequency. The propagation path has little attenuation because the frequency is 0.1MHz ~
This is in the range of 10 GHz, which is referred to as a "radio wave window" in the high frequency field. In other words, at a frequency of 10 GHz or more, it is unsuitable for the moving body detecting means due to various circumstances.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the sensor of the other type is a photoelectric infrared sensor. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, there is a possibility that a microwave sensor may erroneously detect, and it is possible to detect a state of rest or small movement with a photoelectric infrared sensor, and to accurately grasp the state of a user and perform various functions. It can be operated accurately.

[0010] In the invention according to claim 5, the water supply device has various functions such as a local washing function and a toilet seat heating function, and at least a part of those functions is controlled by the human body detecting means. It is characterized by the following. According to the present invention, by using two types of sensors, a microwave sensor and a sensor of another type, as a sensor for detecting a human body, a human body can be more accurately detected in consideration of the characteristics of each sensor. In addition, various functions such as local cleaning can be controlled in various ways.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the microwave sensor detects a user entering or leaving a toilet room, and the photoelectric infrared sensor provided as the other type of sensor is a user type. A seat on a toilet seat is detected. According to the present invention, by using a microwave sensor as a sensor for detecting entry, unlike when using a photoelectric infrared sensor as a sensor for detecting entry, the door at the entrance of the toilet is erroneously detected as a person. Disappears. In addition, by using a photoelectric infrared sensor to detect seating on the toilet seat,
Unlike the case where a microwave sensor is used as a sensor for detecting seating on a toilet seat, whether or not a person is sitting on the toilet seat is 1
Since it is possible to judge by / 0, it is possible to judge that the sitting person is sitting correctly even if the body moves a little. That is, in the case of a microwave sensor, even a slight movement of a person's body is sensitively detected, so it is not suitable for determining whether or not a person is sitting on a toilet seat. Can accurately detect such a condition.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the water supply device has an automatic cleaning function for controlling the supply of cleaning water to the urinal, and the automatic cleaning function is controlled by the human body detecting means. It is characterized by. According to the present invention, the color of the clothes of the user, which is a drawback of the photoelectric infrared sensor used for sensing the human body, which is often present in the conventional urinal automatic cleaning device, by having a different type of sensor in the human body detecting means. It is possible to compensate for the disadvantages such as erroneous detection and the difficulty of distinguishing the toilet wall from the person, and the disadvantage of the non-detection of the microwave sensor in the stationary state described above. Connect. Further, even if one of the sensors fails, the normal sensor alone can exhibit the minimum function as the human body detecting means, and can contribute to improvement of the reliability of the device.

The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that the water circulating device has an automatic cleaning function for controlling water discharge from a faucet, and the automatic cleaning function is controlled by the human body detecting means. I do. According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by using a different type of sensor in the human body detecting means. One of the effects is that the influence of the reflection from the ball surface of the wash basin, which is common in the conventional automatic faucet, can be reduced by using the microwave sensor. Also, by having the photoelectric Doppler sensor together with the photoelectric infrared sensor, the strength can be exerted against the weak point of the microwave Doppler sensor, that is, an object that does not move.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0013]

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram in which a transmitter / receiver for radio waves and a photoelectric infrared sensor are provided in a toilet device. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the flow of radio waves. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating radio wave propagation characteristics in the atmospheric space. The x-axis in FIG. 3 is frequency, y
The axis is attenuation. The larger the attenuation, the less suitable for the radio wave sensor.

First, the configuration will be described. A toilet 2 is set in a toilet 1, and a heating toilet seat 4 with a washing function is further provided.
Is installed. A microwave sensor 5-1 is set in the heating toilet seat 4 with a cleaning function. Also, a photoelectric infrared sensor 5-2 is provided. Microwave sensor 5-
Reference numeral 1 denotes a radio wave transmitting unit 6 and a radio wave receiving unit 7. The photoelectric infrared sensor 5-2 also includes a light receiving unit and a light projecting unit (both not shown).

Next, the operation will be described. The microwave sensor 5-1 in the heating toilet seat 4 with a cleaning function transmits a radio wave of 2.45 GHz to 10 GHz from the radio wave transmitting unit 6 in order to detect whether the human body 8 has entered the toilet 1.
When a human body 8 is present, the radio wave transmitted from the radio wave transmitting unit 6 in the microwave sensor 5-1 is reflected by the human body 8 and received by the radio wave receiving unit 7 in the microwave sensor 5-1. By performing a specific process on the radio waves, it is possible to grasp the state of the motion of the human body. Furthermore, heating toilet seat 4 with washing function
The photoelectric infrared sensor 5-2 inside detects whether the human body 8 is seated on the toilet seat portion of the heating toilet seat 4 with a washing function,
Emitting and receiving infrared light. In other words, by properly using the two sensors according to the purpose, it is possible to more accurately detect a human body.

[0016]

Embodiment 2 FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the flow of radio waves. FIG. 4 is a diagram in which a urinal is provided with a radio wave transmitting / receiving device and a photoelectric infrared sensor. First, the configuration will be described. A human body detecting means is built in the urinal 9. The human body detecting means includes a microwave sensor 5-1 and a photoelectric infrared sensor 5-2. However, each sensor can operate alone. Microwave sensor 5-1
Is composed of a radio wave transmitting unit 6 and a radio wave receiving unit 7. The photoelectric infrared sensor 5-2 also includes a light receiving unit and a light projecting unit (both not shown).

Next, the operation will be described. The microwave sensor 5-1 in the urinal 9 detects whether the human body 8 is approaching the urinal 9 from the radio wave transmitter 6 to 2.45.
Radio waves of 10 GHz to 10 GHz are transmitted. When a human body 8 is present, the radio wave transmitted from the radio wave transmitting unit 6 in the microwave sensor 5-1 is reflected by the human body 8 and received by the radio wave receiving unit 7 in the microwave sensor 5-1. By performing a specific process on the radio waves, it is possible to grasp the state of the motion of the human body. Further, the photoelectric infrared sensor 5 of the urinal 9
The -2 emits and receives infrared rays in order to detect whether or not the human body 8 exists in front of the urinal 9 similarly to the microwave sensor 5-1. The photoelectric infrared sensor 5-2 can determine only the presence of the human body 8, that is, whether or not the human body 8 exists. However, the presence of the human body 8 can be determined regardless of the moving speed. Can be detected.

The microwave sensor 5-1 is connected to the human body 8
(Being approaching or moving away) can be known, so that the user can perform a so-called pre-cleaning in which the urinal 9 is cleaned immediately before use. Similarly, immediately after the user leaves the urinal 9 after use, the post-washing can be automatically performed. That is, the urinal 9 can be accurately washed for the above-described reason. However, even if one of the sensors fails, the other sensors alone can sufficiently perform sensing, so that no problem occurs in actual use.

This human body detecting means has a function of confirming the state of each other's sensors, so that even if its own sensor cannot report a failure to the outside, the other sensor can detect the failure. The message can be reported. Means of reporting include sound and visual appeal. For example, in the case of a sound, there are a buzzer, a sound, and the like, and there are methods such as a case where the failure is simply taught with an LED visually, and a case where a display unit is separately provided, which indicates that the failure is present.

[0020]

Third Embodiment FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the flow of a radio wave. FIG. 5 is a diagram in which a transmission / reception device for radio waves and a photoelectric infrared sensor are provided on a faucet installed on a sink. First, the configuration will be described. A human body detecting means is built in an automatic faucet 11 installed on the sink 10. The human body detecting means includes a microwave sensor 5-1 and a photoelectric infrared sensor 5-2. However, each sensor can operate alone. The microwave sensor 5-1 includes a radio wave transmitting unit 6 and a radio wave receiving unit 7. The photoelectric infrared sensor 5-2 also includes a light receiving unit and a light projecting unit (both not shown).

Next, the operation will be described. Automatic faucet 11
The microwave sensor 5-1 in the inside detects the presence or absence of the human hand 12 between the ball surface of the wash basin 10 and the automatic faucet 11 to detect whether or not a human hand 12 exists between 2.45 GHz and higher. 1
It transmits a 0 GHz radio wave. Microwave sensor 5-
When the human hand 12 is present, the radio wave transmitted from the radio wave transmitting unit 6 in the
-1. By performing a specific process on the radio waves, it is possible to grasp the state of the motion of the human body. Further, the photoelectric infrared sensor 5-2 in the automatic faucet 11 is similar to the microwave sensor 5-1.
In order to detect whether or not a human hand 12 exists between the ball surface of No. 0 and the automatic faucet 11, infrared rays are transmitted and received. The photoelectric infrared sensor 5-2 can determine whether or not the human hand 12 exists, that is, whether or not the human hand 12 exists. However, the presence of the human hand 12 can be determined regardless of the moving speed, and the presence can be detected even when the human hand 12 is stationary. . The microwave sensor 5-1 is connected to the human hand 12.
Can be clearly distinguished between the washing water and the human hand 12. That is, as compared with the case of a single sensor, the probability of erroneous detection is significantly reduced. However, even if one of the sensors fails, the other sensors alone can sufficiently perform sensing, so that no problem occurs in actual use.

This human body detection means has a function of confirming the status of each other's sensors. Even if one of the sensors cannot report a failure to the outside, the other sensor will detect the situation. The message can be reported. As a means of reporting, if you want to notify by buzzer,
It is common to teach using LEDs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment, and is a configuration diagram in a case where a radio wave transmitting / receiving device is used as a device in a toilet.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first embodiment, which schematically illustrates the flow of radio waves.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating first, second, and third embodiments, and is a diagram illustrating radio wave propagation characteristics in the atmospheric space.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a second embodiment, in which a human body detecting means is installed in a urinal.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a third embodiment, in which a human body detecting means is provided in an automatic faucet installed on a wash basin.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Toilet, 2 ... Toilet, 3 ... Paper roll, 4 ... Heating toilet seat with washing function, 5-1 ... Microwave sensor, 5-2 ... Photoelectric infrared sensor, 6 ... Radio wave transmission part, 7 ... Radio wave reception part, 8 ...
Human body, 9 urinal, 10 wash basin, 11 automatic faucet, 1
2 ... human hands

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification FI FI Theme Court II (Reference) G01V 11/00 G01V 11/00 (72) Inventor Takenori Fukushima 2-1-1 Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka East F-term (reference) in Ceramic Equipment Co., Ltd. 2D037 AD01 AD16 2D038 JC11 KA02 2D039 AA02 AA04 CD01 FA05 FA06

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A water fountain device controlled based on a signal from a human body detecting means, wherein said human body detecting means has both a microwave sensor and another type of sensor. 2. The microwave sensor comprises: means for transmitting a radio wave for detecting a human body; means for receiving a reflected wave of the radio wave transmitted by the transmitting means; and frequency of a signal received by the receiving means. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of obtaining a difference from a frequency of the signal transmitted by the transmitting unit and generating a signal corresponding to the difference.
Item. 3. The transmission means has a frequency of 2.45 GHz.
3. The water circulating device according to claim 2, wherein the frequency is z to 12 GHz. 4. The water pump according to claim 1, wherein said sensor of another type is a photoelectric infrared sensor. 5. The water circulating device has various functions such as a local cleaning function and a toilet seat heating function, and at least a part of those functions is controlled by the human body detecting means. Item 5. The water supply device according to any one of items 1 to 4. 6. The microwave sensor detects a user entering or leaving a toilet room, and the photoelectric infrared sensor provided as the other type of sensor detects a user sitting on a toilet seat. The water circulation device according to claim 5, characterized in that: 7. The flushing device according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic washing function for controlling supply of washing water to the urinal, wherein the human body detecting means controls the automatic washing function. Item 5. The water supply device according to any one of items 1 to 4. 8. The water supply device according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic cleaning function for controlling water discharge from the faucet, wherein the human body detecting means controls the automatic cleaning function. The water supply device according to item 4.