JP2006022538A - Faucet unit of washstand - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a faucet unit which is equipped with a sensor surely sensing a transparent glass even if the transparent glass is held out to a section directly below a spout of a washstand, and which can normally and automatically perform the operations of starting and stopping the ejection of water. <P>SOLUTION: This faucet unit (1) is equipped with a water ejection part (4a) for ejecting the water to a washbowl, and the sensor (5) for sensing that an object intervenes in the section directly below the water ejection part. A sensing area of the sensor is set to obliquely pass through this side of the streamline of the water ejected from the water ejection part. The sensor is, for example, an infrared sensor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a faucet unit for a bathroom vanity.

  Conventionally, in a faucet unit of a bathroom vanity, when a hand is brought close to a water discharge port (water discharge unit), the sensor senses and water discharge starts, and when use of the water discharge ends and the hand is moved away from the vicinity of the water discharge port, for example, 1 A configuration in which water discharge stops after ˜2 seconds is known.

  In a bathroom vanity provided in a public facility or the like, when it is desired to use water from a water outlet, it is common to bring a hand close to the water outlet. However, in the bathroom vanity provided at home, when using water from the water outlet, the hand is not always brought close to the water outlet.

  For example, when brushing teeth, a transparent cup held with one hand may be presented directly under the spout. In this case, the detection light from the sensor passes through the transparent cup, and the return light to the sensor is not substantially generated. As a result, there is a problem in that the sensor cannot sense a transparent cup, and consequently the water discharge is not normally and automatically performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and includes a sensor that reliably senses when a transparent cup is inserted directly below the water outlet of the vanity, and normally starts and stops the water discharge. It is another object of the present invention to provide a faucet unit that can be automatically performed.

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, in the faucet unit of the vanity unit,
A water discharger for discharging water into the wash bowl;
A sensor for sensing the intervention of an object directly below the water discharge part,
A sensing area of the sensor is set so as to pass obliquely in front of a water discharge stream line from the water discharge section. Here, the water discharge stream line is a virtual extension line at the center of the flow path of the water discharge section, and is a stream line direction that the user recognizes as a water discharge area before water discharge.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the water discharger is disposed on a cover panel fixed to the upper part of the rear wall of the wash bowl, and the sensor projects obliquely from the cover panel toward the tip of the water discharger. The sensor is housed in the cover. The sensor is preferably an infrared sensor.

  In the faucet unit of the bathroom vanity according to the present invention, the sensing area of the sensor for sensing the intervention of an object directly under the water discharge part (water discharge port) that discharges water to the wash bowl is a water discharge flow from the water discharge part. It is set to pass diagonally in front of the line. Hereinafter, in order to simplify the description, it is assumed that the sensing area of the sensor is set obliquely from the upper right to the lower left.

  In this case, when a transparent cup held with one hand is inserted directly under the spout, the sensor detects the back of the right hand or the palm of the left hand holding the transparent cup. That is, in the present invention, even when a transparent cup is inserted directly under the spout, the sensor reliably detects the hand holding the transparent cup, so that the water discharge start and stop operations can be performed normally and automatically. Can be done.

  By the way, when the sensing area of the sensor is shifted to the right from the water discharge streamline and set to a substantially vertical direction, for example, even if a right-handed person can sense the right hand holding the cup, The left hand that holds the cup cannot be detected. Similarly, when the sensing area of the sensor is shifted to the left from the water discharge streamline and set to a substantially vertical direction, even if the left hand holding the cup can be sensed, the right hand holding the cup cannot be sensed. .

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the sensor for detecting the intervention of an object directly below the water discharge portion (water discharge port) is an infrared sensor. With this configuration, it is possible to realize a sensor having a sensing region that should be set so as to pass obliquely in front of the water discharge stream line from the water discharge unit, according to a relatively simple configuration.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a bathroom vanity to which a faucet unit according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the counter unit shown in FIG. 1 from an angle different from that in FIG.

  The vanity table shown in FIG. 1 includes a base cabinet 20 installed on a floor surface and a counter unit 10 placed on the base cabinet 20. On the upper side of the counter unit 10, in order from the right side in the figure, a side mirror cabinet 21 having a single door with a mirror, a central mirror cabinet 22 having three single doors with a mirror, and a side mirror 23, Is provided.

  Further, on the upper side of the central mirror cabinet 22, an illuminating section 24 extending in the horizontal direction is attached over substantially the entire width. Further, the left side of the base cabinet 20 and the counter unit 10 has a pair of mirrors spaced apart vertically and is elongated from the floor surface to the upper end of the side mirror cabinet 21 (and thus the upper end of the illumination unit 24 and the side mirror 23). An extending tall cabinet 25 is provided.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the counter unit 10 includes a wash bowl 11 provided at the center thereof, a right counter 12 </ b> R disposed on the right side of the wash bowl 11, and a left counter 12 </ b> L disposed on the left side of the wash bowl 11. I have. Here, the right counter 12R and the left counter 12L are provided at the same height position, that is, at a position substantially higher than the upper end of the wash bowl 11.

  A drain outlet 11 a is provided at the bottom of the wash bowl 11, and a faucet unit 1 is provided at the top of the rear wall 11 b of the wash bowl 11. The configuration and operation of the faucet unit 1 will be described later. Further, a right drawer storage portion 13R is provided below the right counter 12R, and a left drawer storage portion 13L is provided below the left counter 12L.

  Further, a left auxiliary counter 14L and a right auxiliary counter 14R (not shown) are provided between the wash bowl 11 and the left counter 12L and the right counter 12R at positions slightly lower than the upper end of the wash bowl 11, respectively. ing. Note that an overflow 11c is provided at a position slightly lower than the left auxiliary counter 14L on the back side of the wash bowl 11.

  Drawing 3 is a figure showing roughly composition of a faucet unit concerning this embodiment, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a bottom view. . FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the faucet unit according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the faucet unit 1 of the present embodiment includes a cover panel 2, a drain outlet operation unit 3, a water discharge unit 4, a sensor 5, and a water discharge adjustment unit 6.

  And the drain outlet operation part 3, the water discharge part 4, and the water discharge adjustment part 6 are horizontal (horizontal) in the state which protruded slightly forward from the opening part of the cover panel 2, or the state which does not protrude ahead from the opening part. It is arranged in a straight line. Specifically, in the present embodiment, as clearly shown in the top view of FIG. 3A, the water discharge part 4 and the water discharge adjustment part 6 slightly protrude forward from the opening of the cover panel 2, 3 does not protrude from the opening of the cover panel 2.

  The cover panel 2 extends in the lateral direction at the upper part of the rear wall 11b of the wash bowl 11, and has a relatively flat shape. The drain port operation unit 3 has a function of operating opening and closing of the drain port 11 a of the wash bowl 11. Specifically, for example, a drain plug (not shown) can be acted on the drain outlet 11a of the wash bowl 11 or the action can be released by pushing the central portion of the drain outlet operating section 3. .

  The water discharge unit 4 has a water discharge port (water discharge unit) 4 a for discharging water to the wash bowl 11 and has a function of discharging water to the wash bowl 11. Further, the water discharger 4 is configured to be able to be drawn forward from the cover panel 2. Specifically, when the water discharger 4 is pulled out from the cover panel 2, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, by pressing the central part of the water discharger 4 connected to the flexible hose 4 d, the water discharger 4 is removed from the cover panel 2. Protrudes slightly forward.

  Next, by pulling out the water discharge part 4 slightly protruding forward from the cover panel 2 to the front, the water discharge port 4a is pulled out to a desired position. In addition, a finger hooking portion 4 c for hooking a finger when the water discharging portion 4 is pulled forward from the cover panel 2 is provided on the upper portion of the water discharging portion 4. A switching unit (switching lever) 4b for switching the water discharged to the wash bowl 11 between the rectified water and the shower water is provided below the water discharging unit 4.

  The water discharge adjusting unit 6 has a function of adjusting the temperature of the water discharged from the water discharge port 4 a to the wash bowl 11 by mixing the normal temperature water supplied from the water supply pipe 7 and the high temperature water supplied from the hot water supply pipe 8. Have. Further, the water discharge adjusting unit 6 has a function of adjusting the flow rate of water discharged from the water discharge port 4 a to the wash bowl 11. Specifically, the water discharge adjusting unit 6 has a lever handle 6a that can swing left and right and swing back and forth.

  In the water discharge adjusting unit 6, for example, when the lever handle 6a is turned to the right, the temperature of water discharged from the water discharge port 4a decreases, and when the lever handle 6a is turned to the left, the temperature of water discharged from the water discharge port 4a increases. Further, when the lever handle 6a is pulled up, the flow rate of water discharged from the water discharge port 4a increases, and when the lever handle 6a is returned to the back, the flow rate of water discharged from the water discharge port 4a decreases, and eventually the water discharge port 4a. Water discharge from stop.

  The sensor 5 is, for example, an infrared sensor provided in the vicinity of the right side of the water discharge unit 4 and has a function of sensing the intervention of an object directly below the water discharge port (water discharge unit) 4a. The sensor 5 is accommodated in a sensor cover that protrudes obliquely from the cover panel 2 toward the water outlet 4a tip water outlet. Here, the sensing area of the sensor 5 is set so as to pass obliquely in front of the water discharge stream line from the water discharge port 4a. The water discharge streamline is a virtual extension line at the center of the flow path in the water discharge section, and is a streamline direction that the user recognizes as a water discharge area before water discharge. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the hand is brought close to the water discharge port 4a, the sensor 5 senses and water discharge from the water discharge port 4a is started. And if use of water discharge is complete | finished and a hand is moved away from the vicinity of the water discharge port 4a, for example, water discharge will stop after 1-2 seconds.

  As described above, in the faucet unit 1 of the vanity table according to the present embodiment, the sensing area of the sensor 5 is set so as to pass obliquely in front of the water discharge streamline from the water outlet 4a. When a transparent cup or a transparent toothbrush held with one hand is inserted directly under the spout 4a, the sensor 5 senses the back of the right hand or the palm of the left hand holding the transparent cup. That is, in this embodiment, even when a transparent cup or the like is inserted directly below the spout 4a, the sensor 5 reliably senses the hand holding the transparent cup or the like, so the start and stop operations of the spout are performed. It can be done normally and automatically.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, in the state which the drain outlet operation part 3, the water discharge part 4, and the water discharge adjustment part 6 do not protrude forward substantially from the opening part of the cover panel 2 which is long in a horizontal direction and has a comparatively flat form. They are arranged horizontally. That is, since the drain outlet operation part 3, the water discharge part 4, and the water discharge adjustment part 6 are stored compactly without projecting greatly, each part (3, 4, 6) is hard to get dirty and easy to clean.

  Moreover, since the faucet unit 1 including the drain outlet operation unit 3, the water discharge unit 4, and the water discharge adjustment unit 6 is sufficiently compact, there is an advantage that the effective dimension of the wash bowl 11 is widened. Moreover, in this embodiment, since the water discharging part 4 is comprised so that it can be pulled out from the cover panel 2 by simple operation which pushes the center part of the water discharging part 4, for example, the water outlet 4a is pulled out to a desired position. Therefore, cleaning of the wash bowl 11 and washing of the hair in the wash bowl 11 can be performed easily and comfortably.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the finger hook part 4c for hooking a finger when pulling it forward is provided in the upper part of the water discharging part 4, and the water discharged to the wash bowl 11 is rectified water and shower water in the lower part of the water discharging part 4. Since the switching portion 4b for switching between the water discharge portion 4 and the water discharge portion 4 is provided, the forward operation of the water discharge portion 4 and the operation of switching the water discharge port 4a drawn to a desired position can be easily performed with one hand.

  In the above-described embodiment, the sensor 5 is provided in the vicinity of the right side of the water discharger 4, but the sensor 5 may be provided in the vicinity of the left side of the water discharger 4 without being limited thereto. In this case, when a transparent cup or the like grasped with one hand is inserted directly under the spout 4a, the sensor 5 senses the back of the left hand or the palm of the right hand holding the transparent cup or the like. Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the sensor 5 is provided in the cover panel 2, opening can be provided in the wash bowl (wall surface) near the water discharge port, and it can also attach directly.

It is a perspective view showing roughly composition of a vanity to which a faucet unit concerning an embodiment of the present invention was applied. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the counter unit shown in FIG. 1 from an angle different from that in FIG. 1. It is a figure showing roughly composition of a faucet unit concerning this embodiment, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a bottom view. It is a perspective view showing roughly the composition of the faucet unit concerning this embodiment. It is a figure explaining operation and an effect | action of the water discharging part in the faucet unit of this embodiment. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the sensor in the faucet unit of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Faucet unit 2 Cover panel 3 Drain port operation part 4 Water discharge part 4a Water discharge port (water discharge part)
4b Switching section (switching lever)
4c Finger hanging part 4d Flexible hose 5 Sensor 6 Water discharge adjusting part (flow rate / temperature adjusting part)
6a Lever handle 7 Water supply pipe 8 Hot water supply pipe 10 Counter unit 11 Washing bowl 11a Washing bowl drain 11b Washing bowl rear wall 11c Washing bowl overflow 12R, 12L Counter 13R, 13L Drawer storage 14R, 14L Auxiliary counter 20 Base cabinet 21 Side mirror cabinet 22 Central mirror cabinet 23 Side mirror 24 Lighting section 25 Toll cabinet

Claims (3)

In the faucet unit of the bathroom vanity,
A water discharger for discharging water into the wash bowl;
A sensor for sensing the intervention of an object directly below the water discharge part,
The faucet unit, wherein the sensing area of the sensor is set to pass obliquely in front of a water discharge stream line from the water discharge section. The water discharge part is disposed on a cover panel fixed to the upper part of the rear wall of the wash bowl,
The faucet unit according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is housed in a sensor cover that projects obliquely from the cover panel toward the tip of the water discharger. The faucet unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor is an infrared sensor.

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