JP2002129613A - Method of replacing storage battery for automatic faucet device, and automatic faucet device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a method of replacing a storage battery for an automatic faucet device, and the automatic faucet device capable of suppressing the parts cost of an initial product low, facilitating replacement in maintenance and reducing a replacement cost by providing a faucet controller with an auxiliary terminal so as to easily attach a storage battery for replacement. SOLUTION: In this method of replacing the storage battery for the automatic faucet device provided with the storage battery 16 that can store electricity by the generated output of a hydroelectric power generator 35 provided in a passage of a faucet 10, and an electric control device 17 operated by electric supply from the storage battery 16 which is directly attached to a circuit board 17a in the electric control device 17, the storage battery 16 is detached from the circuit board 17a, and a terminal member 19a of the storage battery 16a for replacement is fixedly connected to an auxiliary terminal member 19 electrically connected to both electrodes of the battery 16, to supply electricity to the electric control device 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of replacing a storage battery for an automatic faucet device having a storage battery for storing a power output from a hydroelectric generator that generates power by flowing water, and more particularly to an automatic faucet device. It relates to the maintenance of this storage battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a water supply device such as an automatic faucet device used for a hand-washing device or a urinal flushing faucet, a solenoid valve and a hydraulic power generator are provided in a flow path from a water supply source to a water faucet outlet. Has been set up, and the hand of a person is put out to the faucet,
When the user finishes using the urinal, this information is sensed by a sensor or the like and input to the faucet controller, and the solenoid valve is opened from the faucet controller. As a result, water is discharged from the water outlet of the faucet and the hydraulic power generator generates electric power. Therefore, the power of the hydraulic power generator is stored in the storage battery, and the storage battery is used as a power supply.

[0003] Regarding the automatic flushing stopper for urinals,
In order to prevent the trap and the drain pipe from drying out, water is discharged at predetermined intervals (for example, every 8 hours) for a predetermined time. In addition, since the hydraulic power generator generates power by this water discharge, the storage battery can also be charged.

These storage batteries are generally formed as pin-type terminals using nickel cadmium batteries, and are directly attached to a circuit board constituting a faucet controller by soldering or the like and integrated with the circuit board. Is joined to.

[0005]

However, depending on the usage environment, the above-mentioned storage battery may have a shorter life such as power storage performance than other functional parts of the automatic faucet device. Has occurred. Usually, the replacement of the storage battery is performed through a maintenance company, but it is necessary to remove only the storage battery from the circuit board at the place where the storage battery is installed, and then install the replacement storage battery again. Since this work requires soldering work,
Generally, replacement is performed for each circuit board in terms of reliability in soldering work. Replacing parts on a circuit board basis as described above increases the cost of replacing parts and causes user dissatisfaction.

In general, this storage battery can be formed in pin-type terminals and directly mounted on a circuit board, so that the cost of parts can be kept low. However, the storage battery is designed so that replacement is easy. When the arrangement structure is set, a mechanism for holding the storage battery, connection terminals, and the like are indispensable, and the number of components is increased, resulting in a problem of an increase in component costs.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide
By installing auxiliary terminals in the faucet controller in advance so that replacement batteries can be easily installed, the cost of parts for the initial product can be kept low, replacement can be facilitated during maintenance, and replacement costs can be reduced. It is intended to provide a method of replacing a storage battery for an automatic faucet device and an automatic faucet device which enables the above.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the technical means described in claims 1 to 3 are adopted. That is, in the invention of claim 1, the faucet (10)
A storage battery (16) provided with a power output of a hydroelectric generator (35) provided in the flow path of the above, and a faucet controller (17) operated by power supply from the storage battery (16); Is the circuit board (17a) in the faucet controller (17)
A method for replacing a storage battery for an automatic faucet device having a structure directly attached to a circuit board (17).
a), the terminal member (19a) of the replacement storage battery (16a) is connected to the auxiliary terminal member (19) previously fixed to the circuit board (17a) and electrically connected to both electrodes of the storage battery (16). It is characterized in that the connection is fixed and power is supplied to the faucet controller (17).

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the storage battery (16)
First, the storage battery (16) is removed from the circuit board (17a), and the auxiliary terminal member (19) is fixed to the circuit board (17a) in advance and electrically connected to both electrodes of the storage battery (16). )), The replacement storage battery (16
By connecting and fixing the terminal member (19a) of (a), the cost of replacement parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional method of replacing the circuit board (17a) unit.

The directly attached storage battery (16) can be easily removed from the circuit board (17a) by using a general wire cutting tool such as a nipper. This operation can be easily performed without any trouble.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the auxiliary terminal member (1
9) and are electrical connectors, and terminal members (19)
a) is inserted and fixed and connected and fixed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the auxiliary terminal member (19) is specifically formed by using an electric connector.
Easy replacement work.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the storage battery (16) capable of storing power by the power output of the hydraulic power generator (35) provided in the flow path of the faucet (10) and the power supply from the storage battery (16) operate. A faucet controller (17), and a storage battery (16)
Is fixed to the circuit board (17a) and electrically connected to both electrodes of the storage battery (16) in the automatic faucet device having a structure directly attached to the circuit board (17a) in the faucet controller (17). The auxiliary terminal member (19) is provided, and when the storage battery (16) is replaced, the terminal member (19a) of the replacement storage battery (16a) is connected and fixed to the auxiliary terminal member (19), and the faucet controller ( 17) is characterized in that it is configured to supply power.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by arranging only the auxiliary terminal member (19) on the conventional circuit board, it is possible to suppress an increase in component cost. Further, the auxiliary terminal member (19) can be stored without increasing the mounting space.

The reference numerals in parentheses of the above-mentioned means indicate the correspondence with the concrete means of the embodiment described later.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the automatic faucet apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First,
In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a water supply device such as a washroom. As shown in FIG. 1, the water supply device 1 of the present embodiment is disposed below a basin 12 on which a faucet 10 is installed, and is mounted on a wall in the vicinity thereof. The water supply device 1 includes a case 14. The case 14 is divided into a rear case 140 disposed on the wall side (the back side in the drawing of FIG. 1) and a front case 141 disposed on the front side of the rear case 140 (the front side of the drawing in FIG. 1). It is possible.

As shown in FIG. 2, the water passage 11 penetrates the case 14 (specifically, the rear case 140). One end of the water passage 11 communicates with a water supply pipe (water supply source) (not shown) embedded in the wall, and the other end of the water passage 11 communicates with the water outlet 15 through a water pipe 44. are doing. The main valve portion 33 and the hydroelectric generator 35 are arranged in the water passage 11 from upstream to downstream. Reference numeral 34 in FIG. 2 denotes an electromagnetic valve that functions as a pilot valve, and opens and closes a main valve portion 33 provided on the water passage 11 to adjust the amount of flowing water in the water passage 11. The hydroelectric generator 35 generates electric power by rotating the impeller arranged on the water passage 11 by running water, and
Is stored in the storage battery 16 (see FIG. 3).

According to the water supply device 1 of the present embodiment, the water from the water supply pipe reaches the main valve section 33 via the water passage 11. The operation of the solenoid valve 34 causes the main valve portion 33
Is opened, the generator 35
While rotating the impeller, the water is guided to the water discharge port 15 of the faucet 10 through the water supply elbow 42 corresponding to the outlet of the water passage 11 and the water pipe 44 connected to the water supply elbow 42. Water is discharged from the water outlet 15.

On the other hand, inside the front case 141, a storage battery 16 (not shown in FIG. 2) and an electric control device 17 are accommodated. And front case 1
At a position on the front side of 41, a battery box (not shown) having a rectangular concave shape inside the case 141 is provided. Reference numeral 56 in FIGS. 1 and 2 denotes a lid that covers the battery box.

The battery box is provided with a dry battery mounting portion 850 (see FIG. 3) for mounting three dry batteries 85 (see FIG. 3) as a backup power supply. The dry cell mounting portion 850 is provided with a pair of voltage application terminals 851 that are electrically connected to a pair of terminals of the dry cell 85. The power of the dry battery 85 is automatically supplied to the storage battery 16 when the storage amount of the storage battery 16 decreases. The storage battery 16 is a power supply for operating the electric control device 17.

As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the electric control device 17 includes a power switch 52 for turning on and off the water supply device 1, a storage battery 16, and other electronic control parts on the surface of the circuit board 17a. The power switch 52 and the storage battery 16 are formed by pin-type terminals.
7a is integrally joined by soldering like other electronic control parts.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the auxiliary terminal member 19 is a two-pole connection terminal which is connected to one end and the other end of the dry battery 85 and the storage battery 16, respectively. Are integrally joined through the joint. The auxiliary terminal member 19 is a connection terminal having an electric connector structure that is detachably connected to a replacement storage battery 16a described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, the faucet 10 is provided inside the case 24 with a water guide pipe 44 on the water outlet 15 side.
An infrared sensor 18 (see FIG. 3) as a human body detecting means for detecting a human body (a human hand in the present embodiment) is housed therein. Note that 70 in FIG. 1 indicates that the sensor 18 is connected to the electric control device 1.
7 is a lead wire for electrical connection. The infrared sensor 18 includes a light emitting element that emits infrared light toward the lower part of the water outlet 15 and a light receiving element that generates a light receiving voltage in accordance with the amount of infrared light incident on itself. Then, the first mode means 171 and the second mode means 1 of the electric control device 17
72 (described later) reads the light receiving voltage of the sensor 18 and determines the presence or absence of a human hand according to the voltage change.

Next, the operation of the water supply device 1 of the automatic faucet device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The electric control device 17 has a built-in timer. First, the operation starts when the power switch 52 is turned on. The mode determination 170 is performed when the power switch 52 is turned on. This reads the voltage V1 between the terminals 851 of the dry cell mounting part 850,
It is determined whether the read voltage V1 is greater than zero. Thereby, the mounting state of the dry battery 85 is determined. When the dry battery 85 is installed, the voltage V1 is larger than zero, so the first mode means 171 operates the following first mode.

In the first mode, first, the presence or absence of a human hand below the water outlet 15 is determined by reading the voltage of the infrared sensor 18. When a human hand is present (that is, when a human hand is detected by the infrared sensor 18), the solenoid valve 34 is opened (that is, the water passage 1 is opened by the solenoid valve 34).
1). Thereafter, the presence or absence of a human hand is determined again, and when it is determined that there is no human hand, the solenoid valve 34 is closed (that is, the water passage 11 is closed by the solenoid valve 34).

The first mode means 171 is, for example,
It comprises means for determining the presence or absence of a human hand below the water outlet 15 and means for controlling the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 34 according to the presence or absence of the human hand. Therefore, when the electromagnetic valve 34 is opened, water is discharged from the water discharge port 15 so that the hydraulic power generator 35 generates power, so that the storage battery 16 is charged.

Next, when the dry battery 85 is not mounted, the voltage V1 is zero and the second mode means 172 executes the following second mode. In this second mode,
First, the presence or absence of a human hand below the water outlet 15 is determined. When there is a human hand, the solenoid valve 34 is opened. Thereafter, the presence or absence of a human hand is determined again, and if it is determined that there is no human hand, the solenoid valve 34 is closed.

When it is determined that there is no human hand,
The timer is started, and it is determined whether or not the measured time t1 of the timer is equal to or longer than a predetermined time T1 (for example, 4 hours). When the measurement time t1 is equal to or longer than the predetermined time T1,
The timer is reset and the storage voltage of the storage battery 16 (the amount of storage)
V2 is read, and it is determined whether the read storage voltage V2 is higher than a first predetermined voltage E1 (for example, 3.65 V). Here, the first predetermined voltage E1 is a storage voltage that is considered to be sufficient as a power supply of the water supply device 1.

Then, the storage voltage V2 becomes equal to the first predetermined voltage E1.
In the following cases, it is determined that power storage is required, and the water discharge mode for power storage is activated. That is, in the second mode,
When water discharge is not performed for a predetermined time T1 when a person uses water, the storage voltage (storage amount) V2 of the storage battery 16 is read, and the read storage voltage V2 becomes the predetermined voltage E1.
In the following cases, the water passage 11 is opened by the electromagnetic valve 34 and water is discharged from the water outlet 15 for a predetermined time, thereby causing the hydraulic power generator 35 to generate power and storing the power in the storage battery 16. The second mode means 172 may be used as a water supply device 1 in a washroom where a person does not exist or when the building manager removes a dry battery, and the storage voltage may become insufficient. When high, water is discharged and electricity is stored.

The storage battery 16 is charged by the above operation, and the power is continuously supplied to the electric control device 17. However, the power storage capacity is deteriorated by the usage environment such as the user's convenience. The appropriate maintenance is required. Usually, this maintenance is performed by a maintenance company, and the storage battery 16 is replaced by the following procedure.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, first, the auxiliary terminal member 19 previously fixed to the circuit board 17a is used.
Terminal member 1 having an electric connector structure detachably connected to the terminal 1
9a and a replacement storage battery 16a connected to the terminal member 19a is separately provided.
1 is removed from the rear case 140, and then the both poles of the storage battery 16 are cut off by using a wire cutting tool such as a nipper, thereby removing the storage battery 16 from the circuit board 17a.
As shown in (b), the terminal member 19 is attached to the auxiliary terminal member 19.
a is inserted and fixed, and the battery is exchanged and stored in the case 14 of the exchange storage battery 16a. At this time, the storage battery 16 is not fixed to the circuit board 17a by soldering, but there is no practical problem since the rear case 140 is already fixed to a predetermined portion and is stable. Thus, in this example, the replacement of the storage battery 16 can be performed without removing the circuit board 17a. Finally, the front case 141 is fixed to the rear case 140, and the replacement operation is completed.

According to the method of replacing the storage battery for the automatic faucet device of the above embodiment, the auxiliary terminal member 19 having a connector structure electrically connected to one end and the other end of the storage battery 16 and each terminal is provided on the circuit board 17a in advance. Storage battery 1
By replacing the storage battery 16 from the circuit board 17a and replacing and inserting the replacement storage battery 16a into the auxiliary terminal member 19 at the time of replacement of the circuit board 6,
Replacement parts cost can be reduced as compared with the method of replacing by a unit.

Also, the storage battery 16 formed of pin-type terminals
Can be easily removed with a wire cutting tool such as a nipper, for example, so that there is no hindrance to a maintenance contractor performing this operation.

In addition, the circuit board 17a can suppress an increase in component cost by arranging only the auxiliary terminal member 19 in the conventional product. Further, storage is possible without increasing the mounting space.

(Other Embodiments) In the above embodiment, the replacement storage battery 16a is connected to the auxiliary terminal member 19 by the terminal member 19a.
However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a mounting hole may be provided in the circuit board 17a or the rear case 140, and the replacement storage battery 16a may be fixed by a band or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a peripheral portion of a wash basin in a state where a water supply device according to an automatic faucet device according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a water supply device according to the automatic faucet device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an electric block diagram of an electric control device related to the automatic faucet device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

4A is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of the water supply device shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4B is an electric circuit showing a power supply unit of the electric control device.

FIG. 5A is a front view showing a replacement storage battery mounted on the electric control device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a water supply device in which a replacement storage battery is mounted on an electric control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Water faucet 16 ... Storage battery 16a ... Replacement storage battery 17 ... Electric control device (faucet controller) 17a ... Circuit board 19 ... Auxiliary terminal member 19a ... Terminal member 35 ... Hydroelectric generator

Claims (3)

[Claims] A storage battery (16) capable of storing power by a power output of a hydroelectric generator (35) provided in a flow path of a faucet (10).
And a faucet controller (17) operated by power supply from the storage battery (16), wherein the storage battery (16) is directly attached to a circuit board (17a) in the faucet controller (17). A method for replacing a storage battery for an automatic faucet device having a structure, comprising: removing the storage battery (16) from the circuit board (17a), fixing the storage battery in advance to the circuit board (17a), and replacing the storage battery (16). Auxiliary terminal members (1) electrically connected to both electrodes
9), the terminal member (19) of the replacement storage battery (16a).
a) connecting and fixing a) and supplying power to the faucet controller (17); 2. The automatic faucet device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary terminal member is an electric connector, and the terminal member is inserted and fixed to be connected and fixed. Battery replacement method. 3. A storage battery (16) capable of storing electricity by a power output of a hydraulic power generator (35) provided in a flow path of a faucet (10).
And a faucet controller (17) operated by power supply from the storage battery (16), wherein the storage battery (16) is directly attached to a circuit board (17a) in the faucet controller (17). In the automatic faucet device having a structure, an auxiliary terminal member (19) fixed to the circuit board (17a) and electrically connected to both electrodes of the storage battery (16) is provided, and the storage battery (16) is replaced. Sometimes, the auxiliary terminal member (1
9), the terminal member (19) of the replacement storage battery (16a).
An automatic faucet apparatus wherein a) is connected and fixed, and the faucet controller (17) is supplied with power.