JP2002360612A - Medical automatic cup water supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medical automatic cup water supply device having high detecting accuracy. SOLUTION: This medical automatic cup water supply device has a cup receiving table D vertically movably arranged on a base B, a moving body 2 provided with a detecting piece part 1 for interlocking with moving operation of this cup receiving table D, and a sensor part for detecting a position of the detecting piece part 1, and controls water supply operation to a cup C by detecting the position of the detecting piece part 1 moved by weight of the cup C placed on the cup receiving table D and weight of water supplied in the cup C by the sensor part. The detecting piece part 1 of the moving body 2 is provided with a magnet part 11 arranged so that the magnetizing direction becomes the same direction as the moving direction of the detecting piece part, and the base B is provided with a magnetic sensor part 4 for detecting the position by detecting a change point O of a magnetic field of the magnet part 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical automatic cup watering apparatus for automatically supplying water to a cup used when a patient gargles in, for example, dental treatment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view schematically showing a conventional automatic medical cup watering apparatus.

[0003] This automatic medical cup watering device 100 comprises:
Cup holder 10 movably mounted on base 200
1 is provided, and a cup C
Is placed, the water is automatically supplied from the water supply pipe 300 to the cup C, and the water is supplied to the cup C by the detecting means (not shown).
When a desired amount of water accumulates in the inside, the water supply is stopped.

There are various types of detecting means used in such a water supply device 100, and among them, there is a type using a magnet.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of a detecting means of a conventional automatic medical cup waterer.

A movable body 102 provided with detecting pieces 112a and 112b interlocked with the up-and-down movement of the automatic cup water supply apparatus 100 is provided below the cup receiving table 101. 112a and 112b are formed of magnets.

In this figure, two detecting pieces 112a and 112b which are displaced up and down are formed, and the lower detecting piece 112a is set to the water supply start position, and the upper detecting piece 112b.
Are formed at the water supply stop position.

[0008] A moving body 1 is provided at a lower end of the moving body 102.
Elastically urged spring portion 10 for pushing back the upper portion 02
4 are provided.

On the other hand, two detection pieces 112a, 1
Sensor units 103a and 10b that respectively detect the position of 12b
3b are provided at the same height.

In the medical automatic cup water supply apparatus 100 having such a structure, when the cup C is placed on the cup receiving table 101, the moving body 102 is lowered by the weight of the cup C, and the lower detection piece 112a is lowered. Corresponding sensor unit 10
3a.

[0011] By this detection, water supply is automatically started into the glass C, and the moving body 10 is driven by the weight of the supplied water.
2 is further lowered, and the upper detection piece 112b is eventually detected by the corresponding sensor 103b.

By this detection, the supply of water into the glass C is automatically stopped, and a suitable amount of water is stored in the glass C.

When the patient takes the cup C supplied with water and removes it from the cup pedestal 101 at the time of gargle in a dental treatment, the cup pedestal 101 is pushed up by the urging force of the spring portion 104 and is returned to its original position. And the above operation is repeated.

FIG. 8 (a) is an operation diagram schematically showing the relationship between a detection piece and a sensor of a conventional automatic medical cup waterer, and FIG. 8 (b) is a diagram of the magnet of FIG. It is the graph which showed movement and its output.

In FIG. 8A, one detection piece 11
The relationship between 2a and the sensor unit 103a that detects this will be described, but the same applies to the other detection piece unit 112b.

FIGS. 8A to 8C show the state before the detecting piece 112a is detected by the sensor 103a.
The state at the time of detection and the state after the detection are shown.

That is, as described above, the cup holder 10
When the cup C is placed on the moving object 102, the moving body 102 is lowered by the weight of the cup C, and the lower detection piece 112a is detected by the corresponding sensor 103a. At this time, the detection piece 112a It has been moved downward from above.

Since the detecting portion 112a is a magnet, a magnetic field is generated from the S pole to the N pole, and a magnetic force is generated there.

On the other hand, the sensor section 103a is shown in FIG.
As shown, the displaceable metal piece 1 attracted to the magnetic force
13 and a fixed switch piece 123.

Therefore, when the detecting piece 112a passes through the sensor section 103a, the metal piece 113 is attracted to the detecting piece 112a and displaced by the magnetic force of the S pole (or the N pole), so that they come into contact with each other. And the sensor 103a can detect the detection piece 112a.

As described above, in the conventional detecting means, the sensor 103a is energized by the magnetic force of the magnet of the detecting piece 112a, and the detection is performed.

[0022]

However, an error may occur in the position where the sensor section 103a detects the detection piece 112a due to the installation direction and location of the detection piece 112a, or the distortion of the metal piece 113 due to a temperature change. Easy,
As shown in the graph of the output in FIG. 8B, it is considered that there is a width in the section where the output is ON (the range of (b)).

For this reason, there is a problem that the detection accuracy of the sensor section 103a for detecting the detection piece section 112a is poor.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and provides a medical automatic cup watering apparatus with high detection accuracy.

[0025]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical automatic cup water supply apparatus, comprising: a cup receiver movably mounted on a base; and a detection piece interlocked with the movement of the cup receiver. A moving body provided with a portion, and a sensor portion for detecting a position of the detection piece portion, wherein the detection piece portion moves by a cup weight placed on the cup receiving stand and a water weight supplied into the cup. Position is detected by the sensor unit,
In the medical automatic cup water supply device in which the water supply operation to the cup is controlled, the detection piece of the moving body is installed such that the magnetization direction is the same as the moving direction of the detection piece. A magnet unit is provided, and the base is provided with a magnetic sensor unit that detects a change point of the magnetic field of the magnet unit and detects the position.

Here, the magnetization direction means the direction in which the magnetic field of the magnet section is formed.

In this device, the magnet is provided on the detecting piece so that the magnetization direction is the same as the moving direction of the detecting piece, so that the direction of the magnetic field of the magnet is changed in the moving direction of the detecting piece. The magnetic sensor unit detects the change point of the magnetic field, that is, the point at which the magnetic pole changes from the S pole to the N pole or from the N pole to the S pole.

Therefore, the position of the changing point of the magnetic field of the magnet portion is detected by the magnetic sensor portion instead of the magnetic force of the magnet portion, so that the detection accuracy can be improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the medical automatic cup water dispenser according to the first aspect, the magnetic sensor unit is provided with one or two magnetic sensor units for detecting a water supply start position and a water supply stop position, respectively. Have been.

In this apparatus, since the water supply start position and the water supply stop position are detected using one or two magnetic sensor units, the detection accuracy can be further improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the two magnetic sensor units are provided, the two magnetic sensor units are arranged in the same direction as the moving direction of the moving body. And at different positions.

In this case, two magnetic sensor units are
Since it is provided in the same direction as the moving direction of the moving body and at a different position, the detection accuracy can be further improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic medical cup waterer according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein:
One or two detection pieces detected at the water supply start position and the water supply stop position are formed, and the detection piece includes
The magnet unit is provided.

In this case, since the water supply start position and the water supply stop position are detected using one or two detection pieces, the detection accuracy can be further improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the medical automatic cup water dispenser according to the fourth aspect, when two of the detecting pieces are provided, these two detecting pieces are in the same direction as the moving direction of the moving body. And at different positions.

In this case, since the two detection pieces are provided in the same direction as the moving direction of the moving body and at different positions, the detection accuracy can be further improved.

In this case, the two magnetic sensor units are provided in the same direction as the moving direction of the moving body and at the same height.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical automatic cup water dispenser according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the magnetic sensor unit uses a Hall IC element.

In this case, since the Hall IC element is used as the magnetic sensor section, the detection accuracy can be further improved.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the medical automatic cup water dispenser according to the sixth aspect, the Hall IC element is formed integrally with the Hall IC embedded in the element substrate.

In this device, since the Hall IC is integrally formed by being buried in the element substrate, even if water or chemicals leak into the device, its waterproofness and chemical resistance can be improved. Also, the assemblability can be improved.

[0042]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A medical automatic cup water supply apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Although the present device is shown for use in dental care, it can be used for medical care.

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view schematically showing an automatic medical glass water supply apparatus according to the present invention.

In this automatic medical cup water dispenser A, a cup receiver D is provided on a base B so as to be movable up and down. Water is automatically supplied to the cup C from the water supply pipe E upon detection by a detecting means (not shown), and when a desired amount of water accumulates in the cup C, the water supply is automatically stopped.

There are various types of detecting means used in such a water supply apparatus A. The apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that a change point of a magnetic field of a magnet is detected.

Hereinafter, the structure will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of the detecting means of the automatic medical cup waterer according to the present invention.

The cup holder D of the automatic medical cup waterer A has a detection piece 1 linked to its vertical movement.
A moving body 2 provided with a magnet is provided below. A magnet 11 is provided on the detection piece 1 so that the magnetization direction is the same as the vertical direction of the movement of the detection piece 1. I have.

In these figures, the detection piece 1 is formed of a magnet, so that the detection piece 1 itself is used as the magnet 11, but the magnet 11 is formed in a part of the detection piece 1. It can also be formed by being buried.

What is important here is that no matter how the magnet unit 11 is formed, the magnetizing direction of the magnet unit 11 is set to be the same as the moving direction of the detection piece unit 1.

The term “magnetization direction” means the direction in which the magnetic field of the magnet section 11 is formed. In order to form this magnetization direction in the direction in which the detection piece 1 moves, as shown in FIG. Part 1
It is necessary that the first S pole (or N pole) and the N pole (or S pole) be provided in the moving direction of the detection piece 1.

It suffices that at least one detection piece 1 provided with the magnet 11 is formed on the moving body 2. In this embodiment, two detection pieces are detected at the water supply start position and the water supply stop position. The figure shows an example in which the detection pieces 1a and 1b are formed.

Since the water supply start position and the water supply stop position are detected using the two detection pieces 1a and 1b, the detection accuracy can be further improved.

In this embodiment, the position where these two detecting pieces 1a and 1b are formed is displaced up and down, and the lower detecting piece 1a is positioned at the water supply start position, The upper detection piece 1b is installed at the water supply stop position.

An elastically urged spring portion 3 for pushing the moving body 2 back is provided at the lower end of the moving body 2.

On the other hand, on the base B side, a positioned magnetic sensor unit 4 for detecting a change point of the magnetic field of the detection piece 1 formed on the moving body 2 which is moved up and down is provided.

It suffices that at least one magnetic sensor section 4 is formed on the base B side.
In order to correspond to the two detection pieces 1a and 1b, an example is shown in which two magnetic sensor sections 4a and 4b for detecting a water supply start position and a water supply stop position are provided.

In FIG. 2, the detection pieces 1a and 1b are formed by displacing, so that the two magnetic sensor sections 4a and 4b are installed at the same height.
If the detection pieces 1a and 1b are formed at the same height, the magnetic sensors 4a and 4b can be displaced to a water supply start position and a water supply stop position, respectively, and can be installed.

The magnetic sensor unit 4 includes a Hall IC 4
1 and an element substrate 42 are used.

The Hall IC element detects a change in the magnetic field with the element substrate 42 and detects a point (change point O) where the change in the magnetic field occurs with the Hall IC 41.

In the medical automatic cup water supply apparatus A according to the present invention having such a structure, when the cup C is placed on the cup receiving stand D, the moving body 2 is lowered by the weight of the cup C, and the lower order is detected. Magnetic sensor section 4a corresponding to one section 1a
Is detected by

By this detection, water supply is automatically started into the cup C, and the moving body 2 is further lowered by the weight of the supplied water, and the upper detection piece 1b is eventually detected by the corresponding magnetic sensor 4b. .

By this detection, the supply of water into the glass C is automatically stopped, and a suitable amount of water is stored in the glass C.

When the patient holds the cup C with water and removes it from the cup pedestal D at the time of gargle in a dental treatment, the cup pedestal D is pushed up by the urging force of the spring portion 3 and the original position is returned. And the above operation is repeated.

FIG. 3 (a) is an operation diagram schematically showing the relationship between the detecting piece and the magnetic sensor of the automatic medical cup waterer according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 (b) is (a). 3 is a graph showing the movement of the magnet and its output.

In FIG. 3A, one of the detection pieces 1a
And the relationship with the magnetic sensor unit 4a that detects this, the same applies to the other detection piece unit 1b.

FIGS. 3A to 3C show a state before the detection piece 1a is detected by the magnetic sensor section 4a, a state when the detection piece 1a is detected, and a state after the detection. Is shown.

That is, as described above, when the cup C is placed on the cup holder D, the moving body 2 is lowered by the weight of the cup C, and the lower detection piece 1a is detected by the corresponding magnetic sensor 4a. However, at this time, the detection piece 1a is moved downward from above.

The detecting piece 1a is provided with a magnet 11 and the magnetizing direction of the magnet 11 is determined by the detecting piece 1a.
In the direction of movement, that is, in the vertical direction.

Therefore, the magnetic field of the magnet section 11 is
As shown in (b), when gradually approaching the magnetic sensor portion 4a from the N pole (or S pole) side, and passing the change point O, it changes to the S pole (or N pole).

On the other hand, the magnetic sensor section 4a is
Is detected, and the position is detected.

For example, in the case of the magnetic sensor unit 4a using a Hall IC element, a change in the magnetic field is detected by the element substrate 42, and a point (change point O) where the change in the magnetic field occurs is detected by the Hall IC 41. I have.

That is, the magnetic sensor unit 4a is
At the position of the point O where the magnetic field 1 is changed, the spot-like detection that the output is turned on is performed, so that an error may occur due to the installation direction and the installation location of the detection piece 1a or distortion due to a temperature change. And the detection accuracy can be improved.

As described above, according to the medical automatic cup water supply apparatus A according to the present invention, the position of the change point O of the magnetic field of the magnet unit 1 is detected by the magnetic sensor unit 4 instead of the conventional magnetic force of the magnet. Therefore, the detection accuracy can be improved.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of the Hall IC element used in the magnetic sensor section shown in FIG.

This Hall IC element is a Hall IC 41
And the element substrate 42 are integrally formed.

That is, the magnetic sensor portion 4 is formed in a donut shape, and a pair of cutout portions 43, 43 through which the detecting pieces 1a, 1b penetrate, are formed at opposing positions of the inner circle. The inner wall surfaces of the notches 43, 43 are used as the element substrate 42, and the Hall IC 41 is embedded therein to be integrally formed.

In the magnetic sensor unit 4 having such a structure,
Since the Hall IC 41 is integrally formed by being buried in the element substrate 42, even if water or chemicals leak into the device, its waterproofness and chemical resistance can be improved, and its assemblability can be improved. Can also be increased.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing a medical automatic cup water dispenser according to the present invention, in which the direction of movement of the detection piece is set to the left and right.

In FIG. 5, the magnetic sensor unit 4 shown in FIG.
The magnetic sensor unit 4 detects the detection pieces 1a and 1b moved in the left-right direction.

The same parts as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

That is, in FIG. 5, the cup receiver D and the moving body 2 are connected to each other via the link means 21, and when the cup receiver D is lowered, the moving body 2 moves right and left in conjunction with this. It shows a structure that is moved in the direction (right direction in this figure).

The moving body 2 which is moved in the left-right direction as described above.
Even if the detecting pieces 1a, 1b provided in the magnetic sensor section 4 are arranged in accordance with the moving direction of the detecting pieces 1a, 1b.
Is installed, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that described above that is moved vertically.

[0085]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the automatic medical cup water dispenser according to the first aspect, the magnet is installed on the detecting piece so that the magnetizing direction is the same as the vertical direction of the cup holder. The direction of the magnetic field of the magnet portion is determined in the up and down direction, and a change point of this magnetic field, that is, a point when changing from the S pole to the N pole or from the N pole to the S pole is detected by the magnetic sensor portion. I have.

Therefore, the position of the changing point of the magnetic field of the magnet portion, not the magnetic force of the magnet portion, can be detected by the magnetic sensor portion, and the detection accuracy can be improved.

According to the medical automatic cup water supply device of the second aspect, the water supply start position and the water supply stop position are detected using one or two magnetic sensor units, respectively.
The detection accuracy can be further improved.

[0089] According to the medical automatic cup water dispenser according to the third aspect, since the two magnetic sensor units are provided in the same direction as the moving direction of the moving body and at different positions, the detection accuracy thereof is improved. Can be further enhanced.

According to the automatic cup water dispenser according to the fourth aspect, the water supply start position and the water supply stop position are detected using one or two detection pieces, respectively, so that the detection accuracy can be improved. Can be enhanced.

According to the medical automatic cup water supply device of the fifth aspect, since the two detecting pieces are provided in the same direction as the moving direction of the moving body and at different positions, respectively. Detection accuracy can be further improved.

[0092] According to the automatic cup water dispenser of claim 6, since the Hall IC element is used as the magnetic sensor, the detection accuracy can be further improved.

According to the medical automatic cup water dispenser according to the seventh aspect, since the Hall IC is integrally formed buried in the element substrate, even if water, chemicals, etc. leak into the inside of the device, it is not necessary. Water resistance, chemical resistance can be increased,
In addition, the assemblability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view schematically showing a medical automatic cup water supply apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a structure of a detecting means of the automatic medical cup waterer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 (a) is an operation diagram schematically showing a relationship between a detection piece and a magnetic sensor of the automatic medical cup dispenser according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 (b) is a diagram of the magnet of FIG. It is the graph which showed movement and its output.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of the Hall IC element used in the magnetic sensor unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing a medical automatic cup water dispenser according to the present invention in which a detection piece is moved in a left-right direction.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view schematically showing a conventional automatic medical cup waterer.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of a detecting means of a conventional automatic medical cup waterer.

FIG. 8 (a) is an operation diagram schematically showing a relationship between a detection piece and a sensor of a conventional automatic medical cup waterer, and FIG. 8 (b) is a diagram showing the movement of the magnet of FIG. Graph showing output

[Explanation of symbols]

 O Change point A Medical automatic cup water supply device B Base C Cup D Cup pedestal 1 Detection piece 1a, 1b Two detection pieces 11 Magnet 2 Moving body 4 Magnetic sensor 4a, 4b Two magnetic sensor 41 Hall IC 42 element substrate

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A cup receiving stand installed on a base so as to be vertically movable, a moving body provided with a detecting piece interlocked with a moving operation of the cup receiving stand, and a position of the detecting piece is detected. A sensor unit, wherein the sensor unit detects the position of the detection piece moving according to the weight of the cup placed on the cup holder and the weight of water supplied into the cup, and the operation of supplying water to the cup is performed. In the medical automatic cup water supply device that is controlled, the detection piece of the moving body is provided with a magnet unit that is installed such that the magnetization direction is the same as the movement direction of the detection piece, and An automatic medical cup dispenser characterized in that the base is provided with a magnetic sensor unit for detecting a change point of the magnetic field of the magnet unit and detecting the position. 2. The automatic cup watering device for medical use according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic sensor unit is provided with one or two magnetic sensor units for detecting a water supply start position and a water supply stop position, respectively. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the two magnetic sensor units are provided, the two magnetic sensor units are provided in the same direction as the moving direction of the moving body and at different positions. Medical automatic cup waterer. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detection piece includes one or two detection pieces that are detected at a water supply start position and a water supply stop position. A medical automatic cup water supply device, wherein the magnet part is provided on each of the one part. 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the two detecting pieces are provided, the two detecting pieces are provided in the same direction as the moving direction of the moving body and at different positions. Medical automatic cup waterer. 6. The automatic medical cup waterer according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic sensor unit uses a Hall IC element. 7. The medical automatic cup water dispenser according to claim 6, wherein the Hall IC element is formed integrally with the Hall IC embedded in the element substrate.