JP2003119854A - Faucet implement - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily recognize the position of a faucet implement when it is installed in a dark environment and to reduce power consumption when the fixture is equipped with electric parts. SOLUTION: A blinking pilot lamp 6 is provided on the portion of the faucet implement 1 where there is a spout part 3, so that the position of the faucet implement 1 can be recognized during the night without indoor illumination being turned on. Since the pilot lamp 6 is made to blink, power consumption can be reduced. A solar battery 8 is provided as a means for measuring brightness in the environment in which the fixture is installed, and when it is bright the blinking of the pilot lamp 6 is avoided to reduce the power consumption. When a lighting system 5 is provided, it is set not to operate when it is bright where the fixture is installed to prevent wasteful power consumption. In the case of an automatic faucet, when brightness in the environment in which it is installed is not higher than a predetermined value, the interval between the detecting actions of a human body sensor 4 is made longer than it is under normal conditions, or the detection actions are stopped, to reduce power consumption during periods when the faucet is used less frequently.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a faucet device, and more particularly, to improvement of usability in a dark installation environment such as at night, and reduction of power consumption of an electric part when the electric part is provided. For the purpose of

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A human body detection sensor for detecting a hand out of a user and a water discharge control valve for controlling opening and closing of a water supply passage are provided so that water is automatically discharged from a water discharge port based on a human body detection signal. The water faucet device (automatic water faucet) made is conventionally known. There is also known a faucet device in which an illumination device is provided together with a human body detection sensor, and when the human body detection sensor detects a hand extended by a user, the illumination device illuminates this hand.

[0003]

In the conventional faucet device, the position of the faucet device is known when the faucet device is used without turning on the room lighting in a dark environment such as at night. There is a problem that it is difficult. This problem is a problem common to all conventional faucet devices. For faucets equipped with lighting devices, saving power consumption is an important issue, especially when the operating power supply is a battery, but it is important to turn on the lighting device in a sufficiently bright environment. Has the problem of being wasted. In addition, if the lighting device is instantly turned on in a very dark environment, the user may be dazzled and sometimes the user's eyes may be temporarily dazzled. Further, when the lighting device is provided in the automatic water faucet, the turning on / off operation of the lighting device may affect the detection operation of the human body detection sensor and cause a malfunction.

[0004]

The present invention was devised for the purpose of solving the above problems in the conventional faucet device. For this purpose, the present invention provides a faucet device in which a pilot lamp is provided in a portion having a spout and the pilot lamp is made to blink. As a result, it is possible to recognize the position of the faucet device without turning on the indoor lighting in a dark environment such as at night. Also, because the pilot lamp blinks,
Power consumption can be reduced.

In the faucet device, means for measuring the brightness of the installation environment of the faucet device is provided, and the pilot lamp is set to operate only when the brightness of the installation environment is below a predetermined value. Good. As a result, when the surroundings are bright, the pilot lamp is refrained from turning on, so that wasteful power consumption can be saved.

The present invention also includes a lighting device for illuminating a hand that is extended near the spout, and the lighting device is set to gradually or gradually increase the lighting intensity from the start of lighting. Provide a stopper device. With this configuration,
It is possible to avoid the problem that the user's eyes are dazzled because the brightness instantly increases when the lighting is turned on in a dark environment. Further, in the present invention, the lighting device provided in the faucet device may be set so that the lighting intensity gradually decreases continuously or stepwise when the light is turned off. With such a configuration, it is possible to avoid the problem that when the lighting is turned off in a dark environment, the brightness suddenly disappears, and as a result, it becomes difficult for the user to temporarily recognize the surrounding situation.

When the lighting device is provided in the faucet device, means for measuring the brightness of the installation environment is provided, and the lighting device is set to operate only when the brightness of the installation environment is below a predetermined value. can do. As a result, it is possible to prevent the lighting device from operating when the surroundings are bright, thus preventing wasteful power consumption.

In the above faucet device, a solar cell can be used as a means for measuring the brightness of the installation environment. That is, the amount of light can be detected by the magnitude of the electromotive force of the solar cell. In addition, the use of solar cells has the advantage that operating power can be supplemented.

By the way, the present invention is provided with a so-called automatic faucet, that is, a water discharge control valve whose opening / closing operation is electrically controlled, and a human body detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a user, and outputs from the human body detection sensor. In a faucet device configured to control the opening / closing operation of the water discharge control valve based on a human body detection signal, a means for measuring the brightness of the installation environment of the faucet device is provided, and when the brightness of the installation environment is below a predetermined value. There is provided a device in which the detection operation interval of the human body detection sensor is set longer than in a normal time or the detection operation is stopped. With such a configuration, when the installation environment of the faucet device becomes dark, such as at night, the frequency of use of the faucet device is usually considered to be low, and accordingly, the number of detection operations of the human body detection sensor per fixed time period should be adjusted accordingly. By reducing or stopping the detection operation, power consumption can be saved.

Further, the present invention comprises a so-called automatic faucet, that is, a water discharge control valve and a human body detection sensor, and controls the opening / closing operation of the water discharge control valve based on a human body detection signal output from the human body detection sensor. A faucet device is provided with a configuration in which a blinking pilot lamp is provided in a portion having a water outlet, and when the pilot lamp blinks, the human body detection sensor is set not to perform a detection operation. By adopting such a configuration, when the blinking timing of the pilot lamp coincides with the detection operation timing of the human body detection sensor, the human body detection sensor detects a change in the light amount of the pilot lamp and outputs an incorrect human body detection signal, causing a malfunction. Prevent the problem of fear.

Similarly, in a so-called automatic faucet according to the present invention, when a lighting device for illuminating a hand which is extended near a water spout is provided, the human body detection sensor is operated when the lighting device is turned on or off. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which it is set not to perform. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the problem that, if there is a change in the light amount of the lighting device during the detection operation time of the human body detection sensor, the human body detection sensor may detect this and cause a malfunction.

[0012]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the faucet device according to the present invention. In this example, the present invention is applied to a so-called automatic faucet 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing main constituent members, and FIG. 2 shows an entire automatic faucet 1 to which the present invention is applied. The perspective view which abbreviate | omitted a part is shown, FIG. 3 is the perspective view which expands and shows the faucet head 2 of the same automatic faucet 1, and FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram which shows a control circuit part. The automatic faucet 1 of this example is
It is composed of a faucet head 2 installed on the surface of the counter and the like, and a function body 10 installed on the bottom surface of the counter and the like.
On the front side of the faucet head 2, a water discharge port 3, a human body detection sensor 4, an illuminating device 5 including an LED (light emitting diode),
Also, a pilot lamp 6 which is also composed of an LED (light emitting diode) or the like is provided, and a head has a manual switch 7 and a solar cell 8. Although a reflection type infrared sensor such as a distance measuring sensor is widely used as the human body detection sensor 4, an ultrasonic sensor or the like can be used depending on the situation. It is desirable that the surfaces of the lighting device 5 and the pilot lamp 6 be covered with transparent plastic or the like to have waterproofness. The pilot lamp 6 may be provided at the position of the manual switch 7.

The function main body portion 10 has a control circuit portion 11, a water discharge control valve 12, and a battery 1 inside a housing 10a.
3 is provided. The control circuit section 11 and the electric parts provided on the faucet head 2, that is, the human body detection sensor 4, the lighting device 5, the pilot lamp 6, the manual switch 7, and the solar cell 8 are respectively connected by an electric wiring 14. Connected. The water discharge control valve 12 may be any valve that electrically controls opening and closing of the flow path, and a latch valve, a solenoid valve, an electric valve, or the like can be used, and the control circuit unit 11 and the electric wiring 9 can be used in the housing 10a. Connected. The secondary side of the water discharge control valve 12 has a water discharge port 3 of a faucet head 2 and a pipe 1 such as a rubber tube.
5, the primary side of the water discharge control valve 12 is the water tap 20
2 and the water supply source such as the water stopcock 21 (see FIG. 1)
Contacted by 2. In this example, the power source is built in the housing 10a as a battery, but when an external power source (commercial power source or the like) is used as an operating power source, the function main body section 10 may be provided with a connection wiring or a connector.

For the control circuit section 11, for example, a circuit configuration as shown in FIG. 4 is adopted. In the circuit diagram, CPU is an arithmetic unit such as a one-chip microcomputer, Cn is a capacitor,
Dn is a diode, Qn is a transistor, and Rn is a resistance (where n is a natural number). Power supply 13 and C
A voltage lowering means U1 such as a voltage regulator is provided in the middle of the wiring that communicates with PU, and CP is higher than the voltage applied to the water discharge control valve 12, the lighting device 5, and the pilot lamp 6.
The voltage applied to U and the human body detection sensor 4 is configured to be low to reduce power consumption. Since the CPU and the human body detection sensor 4 operate at a lower voltage than the water discharge control valve 12 and the like, the above circuit configuration is possible. The solar cell 8 assists the operating power of the CPU and detects the brightness of the installation environment of the automatic faucet 1 based on the magnitude of the electromotive force as described later.

With the automatic faucet 1 configured as described above, when the user extends his or her hand toward the spout 3 of the faucet head 2,
The human body detection sensor 4 detects this and outputs a human body detection signal to the control circuit section 11 in the function main body section 10. Based on the human body detection signal, the CPU of the control circuit section 11 causes the water discharge control valve 12 to operate.
An operation signal is output to open the water supply source, and the water supplied from the water supply source 20 is discharged from the water discharge port 3 through the pipes 15 and 22. The water discharge control valve 12 is kept open for a certain period of time set by a timer or the like of the control circuit unit 11, or when the user returns his or her hand, the human body detection sensor 4 does not have a human body. It suffices to output the detection signal.

When the installation environment of the automatic faucet 1 is sufficiently bright and the electromotive force of the solar cell 8 is sufficiently large, that is, when the output voltage from the solar cell 8 to the CPU is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the lighting device 5 and the pilot lamp. The CPU does not output the operation signal to the lighting device 5 and the pilot lamp 6 because it determines that the lighting of the lighting device 6 is unnecessary. At this time, the power generated by the solar cell 8 is used as the operating power of the CPU and the human body detection sensor 4, so that the power consumption of the power source 13 can be saved.

If the installation environment of the automatic faucet 1 becomes dark, the electromotive force of the solar cell 8 becomes small, and the output voltage from the solar cell 8 to the CPU becomes a predetermined value or less, the CPU turns on the lighting device 5. In addition to enabling the operation, the pilot lamp 6 is caused to blink. When the surroundings get dark due to this,
When the user places his hand toward the automatic faucet 1, the human body detection sensor 4 detects this and turns on the lighting device 5.
It is possible to use the automatic faucet 1 in a bright environment without turning on indoor lighting. Further, by blinking the pilot lamp 6, the position of the automatic faucet 1 can be easily known even if the surroundings are dark.

In this example, when the illumination device 5 is turned on and off, the illumination intensity is set to be gradually or continuously increased gradually or continuously. If the lighting device 5 is instantly turned on in a dark environment, the user's eyes may be dazzled, and if the lighting device 5 is suddenly turned off, the user suddenly loses light and the surroundings of the user. May be temporarily lost. Therefore, as in this example, when the lighting device 5 is turned on / off, the light amount is set to gradually increase / decrease, whereby the above problem can be avoided or alleviated.
As a means for gradually or gradually increasing or gradually decreasing the illumination intensity of the illumination device 5, there is a method in which the CPU controls the voltage applied to the illumination device 5 by PWM (pulse wide modulation).

When the installation environment becomes dark, the lighting device 5
Voltage value and pilot lamp 6 that can operate
The solar cell voltage value for starting the blinking operation of may be the same, but may be different. That is, the lighting device 5 can be operated first in a state where the installation environment is dark to some extent, and then the pilot lamp 6
It is possible to adopt a mode in which the blinking of is set to start.
This is because it is desirable to turn on the lighting device 5 even when the surroundings are slightly dark, but the blinking of the pilot lamp 6 is not required until the installation environment becomes considerably dark. If the pilot lamp 6 is set to be turned off while the lighting device 5 is on, it is possible to further reduce power consumption.

By the way, as described above, the automatic faucet 1 of this embodiment is set so that the lighting device 5 is turned on and off and the pilot lamp 6 is blinked in a darkened environment. Has been done. Therefore, when the blinking operation timing of the illumination device 5 and the pilot lamp 6 and the detection operation timing of the human body detection sensor 4 coincide with each other, the human body detection sensor 4 detects the change in the light amount due to the blinking of the illumination device 5 or the pilot lamp 6. However, there is a possibility that an incorrect human body detection signal is output, resulting in malfunction. Therefore, in order to prevent this malfunction, in the automatic faucet 1 of this example, the human body detection sensor 4 is set not to perform the detection operation when the lighting device 5 is turned on / off and / or the pilot lamp 6 blinks. Specifically, when the lighting device 5 is turned on and off, the operation of the human body detection sensor 4 is stopped. Further, since the detection operation of the human body detection sensor 4 is continuously performed at a predetermined interval (for example, every 0.5 seconds), the human body detection operation is performed once for every predetermined number of times (for example, once every four times). May be replaced with the blinking operation of the pilot lamp 6.

It is considered that the frequency of use of the automatic faucet 1 will be very low at midnight or the like. Therefore, when the installation environment of the automatic faucet 1 is very dark, that is, when the output voltage from the solar cell 8 is 0 or less than the installation value close to 0,
Power consumption can be reduced by increasing the detection operation interval of the human body detection sensor 4 or stopping it. However, it is desirable to provide the faucet head 2 with a manual switch 7 so that the automatic faucet 1 can be used even when the operation of the human body detection sensor 4 is stopped.

The above embodiment is an automatic faucet 1 in which the faucet head 2 having the water spout portion 3 and the function main body portion 10 for accommodating the control circuit portion 11 and the water discharge control valve 12 are separate components. ,
Although the present invention is intended for application, the present invention may be applied to an automatic faucet having a structure in which the control circuit unit 11, the water discharge control valve 12, the battery 13 and the like are integrally incorporated in the faucet head. Do not disturb

The configuration relating to the pilot lamp and the lighting device according to the present invention can be applied to faucet equipment other than the automatic faucet.

[0024]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the position of the faucet device can be recognized by the blinking pilot lamp without turning on the indoor lighting even in a dark environment such as at night. Becomes In addition, since the pilot lamp blinks, power consumption can be suppressed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the means for measuring the brightness of the installation environment of the faucet device is provided and the pilot lamp is refrained from lighting when the surroundings are bright, useless power consumption is achieved. Can save

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the illumination device is set so as to gradually or gradually increase the illumination intensity from the start of lighting, when the illumination is turned on, the brightness instantly increases. The problem that the user's eyes are dazzled due to the increase can be avoided. According to the invention of claim 4,
Since the lighting intensity is set to decrease continuously or stepwise when the lighting device is turned off, the brightness suddenly disappears when the lighting is turned off, which makes it difficult for the user to temporarily recognize the surroundings. It can avoid the problem of becoming.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the means for measuring the brightness of the installation environment is provided and the lighting device is not operated when the installation environment is bright, useless power consumption is prevented. .

According to the present invention of claim 6, since the solar cell is used as the means for measuring the brightness of the installation environment, there is an advantage that the operating power can be supplemented.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in the automatic faucet, when the installation environment becomes dark at night or the like, the number of detection operations of the human body detection sensor per fixed time is reduced or the detection operation is stopped. As a result, the power consumption can be reduced.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic faucet, since the blinking timing of the pilot lamp does not coincide with the detection operation timing of the human body detection sensor, malfunction can be prevented. Similarly, according to the present invention of claim 9, since the automatic faucet is set so as not to change the illumination intensity of the illumination device during the detection operation of the human body detection sensor, a malfunction can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 relates to one embodiment of an automatic faucet to which the present invention is applied, and is a block diagram schematically showing main components.

FIG. 2 is a partially omitted perspective view showing the entire embodiment of an automatic water faucet to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 relates to one embodiment of an automatic faucet to which the present invention is applied, and is an enlarged perspective view of a faucet head.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a control circuit unit, which relates to an embodiment of an automatic faucet to which the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automatic faucet 2 ... Faucet head 3 ... Water outlet 4 ... Human body detection sensor 5 ... Lighting device 6 ... Pilot lamp 7
Manual switch 8 Solar cell 9 Electric wiring 10 Function body 10a Housing 11 Control circuit 12 Water discharge control valve 13 Battery (power source) 14 Electric wiring 15 Water supply pipe
20 ... Water source

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A faucet apparatus comprising a pilot lamp provided at a portion having a water discharge port, and the pilot lamp is made to blink. 2. The means for measuring the brightness of the installation environment of the faucet device is provided, and the pilot lamp is set to operate only when the brightness of the installation environment is below a predetermined value. Faucet equipment. 3. A faucet apparatus comprising a lighting device for illuminating a hand extended near a water spout part, wherein the lighting device continuously or stepwise increases the lighting intensity from the start of lighting. A faucet device characterized by being set. 4. A faucet fixture including a lighting device for illuminating a hand extended near a water spout part, wherein the lighting device is set to gradually or gradually reduce the illumination intensity when the light is turned off. Faucet device characterized by being. 5. The method according to claim 3, wherein a means for measuring the brightness of the installation environment of the faucet device is provided, and the lighting device is set to operate only when the brightness of the installation environment is below a predetermined value. The described faucet device. 6. The faucet device according to claim 2, wherein the means for measuring the brightness of the installation environment of the faucet device is a solar cell. 7. A water discharge control valve whose opening / closing operation is electrically controlled, and a human body detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a user, wherein the water discharge control valve is opened / closed based on a human body detection signal output from the human body detection sensor. In the faucet device configured to control the operation, a means for measuring the brightness of the installation environment of the faucet device is provided, and when the brightness of the installation environment is below a predetermined value, the detection operation interval of the human body detection sensor is set. A faucet device, characterized in that the faucet device is set to be longer than usual or to stop the detection operation. 8. A water discharge control valve, the opening and closing of which is electrically controlled, and a human body detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a user. The water discharge control valve is opened and closed based on a human body detection signal output from the human body detection sensor. In a faucet device that is configured to control the operation and is provided with a pilot lamp that blinks in a portion having a spout, a setting is made so that the human body detection sensor does not perform a detection operation when the pilot lamp blinks. A faucet device characterized by the above. 9. A water discharge control valve whose opening / closing operation is electrically controlled, and a human body detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a user, wherein the water discharge control valve is opened / closed based on a human body detection signal output from the human body detection sensor. In a faucet device that is configured to control the operation and includes a lighting device that illuminates a hand that is extended near the spout, when the lighting device is turned on or off, a detection operation of the human body detection sensor is performed. A faucet device characterized by being set so as not to exist.