JP2006095085A - Toilet seat elevating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toilet seat elevating device which can be used for a water reservation type toilet bowl warm water flush system by securing a wide gap between the device and a floor surface so as to improve cleaning property. <P>SOLUTION: The toilet seat elevating device 10 is provided with: a toilet seat receiving stand 15 having a support member 13 for supporting a toilet seat 12 on a toilet bowl 11 and an elevating member 14b suspended from right and left side part of the support member 13; and a toilet bowl fixing stand 18 having a fixing member 16 engaged to the toilet bowl 11 and a side face member 17b suspended from right and left side part of the fixing member 16. In order to elevate the toilet seat receiving stand 15 between an elevated position and a lowered position, the elevating member 14 is connected with the side face member 17 through an upper arm member 19b and a lower arm member 20b to form a quadric linkage 21b. In order to make the lower arm member 20b rise and fall, the lower arm member 20b is provided with the driving force point 20bz of an electric extension and contraction driving body 22b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a toilet seat lifting / lowering device used for reducing physical burden when a disabled person or an elderly person uses a Western-style toilet.

  When a disabled person or an elderly person uses a Western-style toilet, the physical burden when sitting on the toilet seat or getting up from the toilet seat is large. Therefore, in order to reduce such a physical burden, a toilet seat lifting and lowering device having a function of lifting and lowering the toilet seat using an electric force has been developed. In the conventional toilet seat lifting / lowering device, various systems are employed as a drive mechanism for raising and lowering the toilet seat. However, as a device related to the present invention, a device using a four-bar link mechanism (for example, see Patent Document 1). .)

  As shown in FIG. 12A, a toilet seat lifting apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a base 71 fixed to the upper surface of the toilet 100, a toilet seat 101 disposed on the base 71, two arms 72, A four-bar linkage mechanism 75 formed by pivotally supporting both ends of 73 on the base 71 and the toilet seat 101, and an expansion / contraction drive body 74 for pushing the toilet seat 101 upward and downward.

JP 2002-282168 A

  In the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 70 shown in FIG. 12 (a), since the telescopic drive 74 is disposed upward in a slightly inclined posture, the gap S1 between the lowermost portion of the telescopic drive 74 and the floor surface F is narrow. As a result, there is a problem that it is difficult to clean the floor surface F around the toilet 100. The physically handicapped person or the elderly who need the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 70 often contaminates the floor surface F around the toilet 100 during excretion, and the floor surface F needs to be frequently cleaned. The difficulty of cleaning is a serious problem.

  Further, in the case of the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 70, the telescopic drive body 74 is disposed in a substantially vertical posture, so that a hot water storage type hot water washing toilet seat having a structure in which a hot water storage tank is disposed in the rear part of the toilet bowl side portion is provided. It is difficult to use in combination. For this reason, the freedom degree at the time of apparatus design also decreases.

  In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to use a toilet seat lifting device 80 as shown in FIG. This toilet seat lifting / lowering device 80 crosses the base 81 fixed to the upper surface of the toilet 100, the toilet seat 101 disposed on the base 81, and the two arms 82 and 83 in an X shape, and has both ends at the base 81. And an X-shaped link mechanism (pantograph mechanism) 85 formed by pivotally supporting the toilet seat 101, and a telescopic drive body 84 for driving the X-shaped link mechanism 85 to raise and lower the toilet seat 101.

  In the case of this toilet seat lifting / lowering device 80, since the telescopic drive body 84 is horizontally arranged, the clearance S2 between the lower end portion of the telescopic drive body 84 and the floor surface F can be widened, and the operation stroke of the telescopic drive body 84 S3 is also excellent in that it can be short. However, since the support interval by the upper ends of the arms 82 and 83 is shortened as the toilet seat 101 rises, the toilet seat 101 becomes unstable at the raised position.

  Therefore, an X-shaped link mechanism (pantograph mechanism) 95 is provided between the base 91 and the toilet seat 101 by using arms 92 and 93 longer than the arms 82 and 83 as in the toilet seat lifting device 90 shown in FIG. Can be considered. With such a structure, the interval between the support portions at the raised position of the toilet seat 101 can be increased, so that the stability of the toilet seat 101 is improved. However, since the long arms 92 and 93 are used, the movable part of the X-shaped link mechanism becomes large, resulting in an increase in the size of the apparatus. Further, since the fulcrum of the arms 92 and 93 moves more than in the case of the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 80, the structure becomes complicated.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to maintain a basic function of reducing the physical burden on the user while ensuring a wide clearance with the floor surface to improve the cleaning performance, An object of the present invention is to provide a toilet seat lifting and lowering device that can be used for a cleaning toilet seat.

The toilet seat lifting and lowering device of the present invention includes a support member that supports a toilet seat on a toilet bowl, and a toilet seat cradle that includes a lifting member that is suspended from the support member on the left and right sides of the toilet bowl,
A toilet fixing base having a fixing member locked to the toilet, and a side member provided to hang from the fixing member to the left and right sides of the toilet;
In order to support the toilet seat cradle so that it can be raised and lowered between the raised position and the lowered position, the raising and lowering member and the side member are connected to each other via an upper arm member and a lower arm member that are arranged to be raised and lowered. A pair of left and right four-bar links,
A pair of left and right electric telescopic drive bodies arranged in a substantially horizontal state at a position rearward of the four-bar link of the side member in order to raise and lower the lower arm member of the four-bar link,
A front fulcrum of the upper arm member and the lower arm member is pivotally supported by the elevating member, a rear fulcrum of the upper arm member and the lower arm member is pivotally supported by the side member, and a rear fulcrum of the lower arm member The driving force point of the electric driving body is arranged further below. Here, words indicating directions such as “left and right”, “up”, “down”, “front” and “rear” indicate directions based on a person sitting on the toilet seat in a normal use posture. .

  With such a configuration, the four-bar link is driven by extending and lowering the lower arm member by extending and contracting the pair of left and right electric telescopic drive bodies arranged in a substantially horizontal state in a substantially horizontal direction. It is possible to raise and lower the elevating member that is pivotally supported by the front fulcrum of the upper arm member and the lower arm member that constitute the upper arm member. That is, the toilet seat can be raised and lowered by raising and lowering the elevating member with the upper arm member and the lower arm member that are raised and lowered by the electric telescopic driving body that expands and contracts in a substantially horizontal direction. Therefore, the user's waist seated on the toilet seat can be lifted and lowered together with the toilet seat, and the physical burden can be reduced. Moreover, since the electric expansion / contraction drive body which expands / contracts in a substantially horizontal direction is used, a wide gap between the lowermost portion of the electric expansion / contraction drive body and the floor surface can be ensured, and the cleaning performance of the floor surface is improved. . In addition, since the electric expansion / contraction driving body expands and contracts in a substantially horizontal direction, the vertical occupied space of the electric expansion / contraction driving body is reduced, so that a storage space for the hot water storage tank can be secured. It can also be used for a type of warm water flush toilet seat.

  In addition, since the posture of the toilet seat cradle at the raised position is set to a forward downward tilted state or a horizontal state, the front fulcrum or the rear fulcrum of the upper arm member can be configured to be changeable. With such a configuration, the posture at the raised position of the toilet seat cradle is selectively set to the forward downward tilted state or the horizontal state only by changing the axial support position of the front fulcrum or the rear fulcrum of the upper arm member. be able to. Therefore, the toilet seat posture at the raised position can be selectively set to the forward-downward tilting state or the horizontal state relatively easily according to the user's desire, and versatility is improved.

  On the other hand, the electric telescopic drive body has a telescopic mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the electric motor into a linear motion, and a sensor that detects the rotational motion, and a pair of left and right electric motors based on a signal from the sensor. Synchronizing means for operating the telescopic driving body in synchronization can also be provided.

  With such a configuration, a pair of left and right four-bar linkage mechanisms respectively driven by two electric telescopic drive bodies can be operated simultaneously and in the same state, so that the toilet seat on the toilet seat cradle can be stabilized. It will be possible to move up and down in the state.

  The present invention can maintain the basic function of reducing the physical burden on the user while ensuring a wide clearance with the floor surface to improve cleanability, and can also be used for hot water storage type toilet seats It becomes.

  Hereinafter, a toilet seat lifting / lowering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a side view showing a toilet seat lifting / lowering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention attached to a toilet bowl, FIG. 2 is a front view of the toilet seat lifting / lowering apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a four-bar link constituting the toilet seat lifting / lowering apparatus. FIG. 4 is a view showing an internal structure of an electric telescopic drive body constituting the toilet seat lifting / lowering device, FIG. 5 is a view showing an operating state of the four-bar linkage mechanism, and FIG. 6 is a horizontal view of the toilet seat lifting / lowering device. FIG. 7 is a front view of the toilet seat lifting device. In FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, in order to clearly show the structure, the portion which is on the back side of the member and is not actually visible but should be originally shown with a hidden line (broken line) is also drawn with a solid line.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 10 according to the present embodiment is used by being mounted on the toilet bowl 11 in order to lift and lower the toilet seat 12 of the western style toilet bowl 11 with an electric force. The toilet seat lifting / lowering device 10 includes a support member 13 that supports the toilet seat 12 on the toilet 11, and lift members 14a and 14b that are provided to hang down from the left and right ends of the support member 13 to the left and right sides of the toilet 11. Toilet seat fixing base 18 having a shaped toilet seat cradle 15, a fixing member 16 locked to toilet 11, and side members 17 a and 17 b provided from the fixing member 16 to the left and right sides of toilet 11. And.

  Further, in order to support the toilet seat cradle 15 so that it can be raised and lowered between the raised position and the lowered position, the upper arm member 19a (19b) and the lower arm member 20a (20b) arranged to be able to rise and fall including a horizontal posture are provided. By connecting the elevating member 14a (14b) and the side surface member 17a (17b) through a pair of left and right four-joint links 21a and 21b are formed. The upper arm member 19a (19b) is formed of a semicircular plate material at both ends, and the lower arm member 20a (20b) is formed of a substantially triangular plate material whose corners are arc-shaped.

  Further, in order to cause the lower arm member 20a (20b) of the four-bar link 21a (21b) to move up and down in a vertical direction including a horizontal posture, the left and right arranged in a substantially horizontal state at a rear position from the four-bar link 21a (21b). A pair of electric telescopic drive bodies 22a (22b) is provided. Then, the front fulcrums 19ax (19bx) and 20ax (20bx) of the upper arm member 19a (19b) and the lower arm member 20a (20b) are respectively pivotally supported by the elevating member 14a (14b), and the upper arm member 19a (19b) and The rear fulcrums 19ay (19by) and 20ay (20by) of the lower arm member 20a (20b) are pivotally supported on the side member 17a (17b) and below the rear fulcrum 20ay (20by) of the lower arm member 20a (20b). The driving force point 20az (20bz) of the electric drive body 22a (22b) is disposed.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 3, the four-bar link 21a (21b) which comprises the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus 10 is demonstrated. 3 is arranged on the right side of the toilet 11, the four-node link 21b arranged on the left side of the toilet 11 is mirror-symmetrical with the four-link 21a. Since the structure and the function are the same, the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the telescopic member 22c of the electric telescopic drive body 22a arranged in a substantially horizontal state is expanded and contracted in a substantially horizontal direction, and the lower arm member 20a is in a horizontal posture (the front fulcrum 20ax and the rear fulcrum 20ay are horizontal). When the four-joint link 21a is driven by performing an up-and-down movement including a posture in which the four-joint link is positioned, the elevating member 14a pivotally supported by the front fulcrums 19ax and 20ax of the upper arm member 19a and the lower arm member 20a constituting the four-joint link 21a. Can be moved up and down.

  In this manner, the elevating member 14a is moved up and down by the upper arm member 19a and the lower arm member 20a which are raised and lowered by the expansion and contraction member 22c of the electric expansion and contraction drive body 22a that expands and contracts in a substantially horizontal direction, and is continuously provided above the elevating member 14a. The toilet seat 12 (see FIG. 2) fixed to the support member 13 can be moved up and down.

  In addition, since the driving force point 20az of the lower arm member 20a driven by the expansion / contraction member 22c of the electric expansion / contraction driving body 22a is disposed at a position away from the front fulcrum 20ax and the rear fulcrum 20ay, the lower arm member 20a The rotational moment can be increased. Therefore, the thrust of the electric telescopic drive body 22a may be relatively small.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the electric telescopic drive body 22a includes a cylindrical expansion / contraction member 22c having a female screw portion 22f at the base end and a female screw portion 22f in a substantially pistol-shaped casing 22d. A ball screw 22e inserted into the telescopic member 22c in a screwed state, a worm gear 22h meshing with a pinion gear 22g provided at a base end portion of the ball screw 22e, and an electric motor that rotationally drives the worm gear 22h via a rotating shaft 22i. A motor 22j and a rotation sensor 22k that detects the rotational movement of the electric motor 22j are provided.

  The worm gear 22h, the pinion gear 22g, the ball screw 22e, and the female screw portion 22f form a telescopic mechanism 22m that converts the rotational motion of the electric motor 22j into a linear motion. Moreover, in order to operate these electric expansion-contraction drive bodies 22a and 22b synchronously based on the signal from the rotation sensor 22k in a pair of left and right electric expansion-contraction drive bodies 22a and 22b, as shown in FIG. Synchronizing means 22t is provided in the controller 25 disposed above the electric telescopic drive 22b.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 10 in which the toilet seat cradle 15 is in the lowered position, when the telescopic member 22c of the electric telescopic drive 22a is extended, FIGS. 3 and 5 (a) to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5 (b), the lower arm member 20a and the upper arm member 19a rise while rotating clockwise around the rear fulcrums 20ay and 19ay, respectively, and as shown in FIGS. It stops when the platform 15 reaches the raised position.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 10 in which the toilet seat cradle 15 is in the raised position (rise position), when the telescopic member 22c of the electric telescopic driving body 22a is retracted, FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5 (b) to 5 (a), the lower arm member 20a and the upper arm member 19a are lying down while rotating counterclockwise around the rear fulcrums 20ay and 19ay, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, it stops when the toilet seat cradle 15 reaches the lowered position.

  Thus, the toilet seat 12 can be raised and lowered together with the toilet seat cradle 15 by driving the four-joint links 21a and 21b by expanding and contracting the electric telescopic drive bodies 22a and 22b. For this reason, a user's waist | hip | lumbar part seated on the toilet seat 12 can be raised / lowered with the toilet seat 12, and a user's physical burden can be reduced significantly. Further, since the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 10 uses the electric telescopic drive bodies 22a and 22b that extend and contract in a substantially horizontal direction, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lowermost parts of the electric telescopic drive bodies 22a and 22b. A wide gap S between the portion and the floor surface F can be ensured, and the cleanability of the floor surface F is also good. Moreover, since the electric expansion / contraction drive bodies 22a and 22b extend and contract in the substantially horizontal direction, the vertical occupation space of the electric expansion / contraction drive bodies 22a and 22b is reduced, so that a storage space for the hot water storage tank can be secured. It can also be used for hot water storage toilet seats with hot water storage, increasing design flexibility.

  Next, a toilet seat posture changing mechanism in the toilet seat lifting apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8A is a partial side view showing the four-bar link 21b when the toilet seat cradle 15 of the toilet seat lifting apparatus 10 is in the raised position in a horizontal state, and FIG. 8B is a toilet seat cradle 15 of the toilet seat lifting apparatus 10. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an operating state of the four-bar link mechanism 21b when the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 10 is set in the forward and downward tilt state. FIG. 10 is a side view when the toilet seat cradle 15 of the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 10 is set to the lifted position in a downwardly inclined state.

  In FIGS. 8 to 10, in order to clearly show the structure, the portion which is on the back side of the member and is not actually visible but is supposed to be indicated by a hidden line (broken line) is drawn by a solid line. The toilet seat posture changing mechanism described below is also provided in the four-bar link 21a having a mirror-symmetrical structure with the four-bar link 21b.

  In the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 10, the posture of the toilet seat cradle 15 at the raised position is selectively set to the horizontal state shown in FIG. 8 (a) or the forward downward inclined state shown in FIG. 8 (b). The shaft support position of the front fulcrum 19bx of the member 19b can be changed. That is, as shown in FIG. 8B, the bearing 23 for pivotally supporting the front fulcrum 19bx on the elevating member 14b is movable along a long hole 24 provided in the elevating member 14b.

  Therefore, if the bearing 23 is arranged at the front end portion of the long hole 24, the toilet seat cradle 15 is set to be in a horizontal state at the raised position as shown in FIG. 8A, and is shown in FIG. 8B. Thus, if the bearing 23 is disposed at the rear end portion of the long hole 24, the position of the front fulcrum 19bx of the upper arm member 19b moves from X1 to X2 as shown in FIG. 15 is set to be in a forward and downward inclined state at the raised position.

  Therefore, after the position of the front fulcrum 19bx of the upper arm member 19b is set to the state shown in FIG. 9A, the telescopic member 22c of the electric telescopic drive body 22b is extended to raise the toilet seat cradle 15; As shown in FIG. 9B and FIG. 10, the toilet seat cradle 15 is inclined forward and downward together with the toilet 12 in the raised position. Further, if the telescopic member 22c of the electric telescopic drive body 22b is contracted in this state, the seat support 15 and the toilet seat 12 return to the lowered position and become horizontal.

  Thus, by setting the axial support position of the front fulcrum 19bx of the upper arm member 19b to X1 or X2 shown in FIG. 9, the posture of the toilet seat cradle 15 at the raised position is in a horizontal state (see FIG. 6). Alternatively, it can be selectively set to the forward and downward inclined state (see FIG. 10). Accordingly, the posture of the toilet seat 12 in the raised position can be set to the forward downward tilted state or the horizontal state relatively easily according to the user's desire, and is excellent in versatility.

  Note that the mechanism for selectively setting the posture of the toilet seat cradle 15 in the raised position to the horizontal state (see FIG. 6) or the forward and downward inclined state (see FIG. 10) is not limited to that shown in FIG. For example, a setting mechanism as shown in FIG. 11 can be adopted. That is, as shown in FIG. 11A, if the pivotal support position of the rear fulcrum 19bx of the upper arm member 19b is changed from Y1 to Y2, the posture of the toilet seat cradle 15 at the raised position is as shown in FIG. As shown in b), the vehicle is in a forward and downward tilt state (see FIG. 10). Thus, by setting the pivotal support position of the rear fulcrum 19by of the upper arm member 19b to the position of Y1 or Y2, the posture of the toilet seat cradle 15 at the raised position can be set to the horizontal state (see FIG. 6) or the front. It can be selectively set to a downwardly inclined state (see FIG. 10).

  Further, in the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 10, as shown in FIG. 4, in the electric telescopic drive bodies 22a and 22b, the telescopic mechanism 22m for converting the rotational motion of the electric motor 22j into a linear motion, and the rotation of the electric motor 22j. The controller 25 (see FIG. 1) is provided with a synchronizing means 22t that provides a rotation sensor 22k for detecting movement and that operates the pair of left and right electric telescopic drive bodies 22a and 22b in synchronization with each other based on a signal from the rotation sensor 22k. Provided.

  Accordingly, the pair of left and right four-joint link mechanisms 21a and 21b respectively driven by the two electric telescopic drive bodies 22a and 22b can be operated simultaneously and in the same state. Accordingly, the toilet seat 12 on the toilet seat cradle 15 can be lifted and lowered in a stable state, so that the user does not feel uneasy during the lifting and lowering operation, and the physical burden on the user is greatly reduced. Can do.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be widely used as a toilet seat lifting / lowering means for reducing physical burden when a disabled person or an elderly person uses a Western-style toilet.

It is a side view which shows the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus which is embodiment of this invention in the state attached to the toilet bowl. It is a front view of the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the four-bar link which comprises the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the electrically driven expansion-contraction drive body which comprises the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the operation state of the four-bar linkage mechanism shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows the state which raised the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in the horizontal state. It is a front view of the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus shown in FIG. (A) is a partial side view showing a four-bar link when the toilet seat cradle of the toilet seat lifting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is in the raised position in a horizontal state, and (b) is a toilet seat cradle of the toilet seat lifting apparatus shown in FIG. It is a partial side view which shows a four-bar link when it is set as a raise position in the front downward inclination state. It is a figure which shows the operation state of a four-bar linkage mechanism when the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is set to the front downward inclination state. It is a side view when the toilet seat cradle of the toilet seat lifting apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the operation state of a four-bar linkage mechanism when the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is set to the front downward inclination state by another mechanism. It is a side view which shows the raising / lowering mechanism of the conventional toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Toilet seat raising / lowering device 11 Toilet seat 12 Toilet seat 13 Support member 14a, 14b Lifting member 15 Toilet seat base 16 Fixing member 17a, 17b Side member 18 Toilet seat fixing base 19a, 19b Upper arm member 19ax, 19bx, 20ax, 20bx Forward support point 19ay, 19by , 20ay, 20by Rear fulcrum 20a, 20b Lower arm member 20az, 20bz Driving force point 21a, 21b Four-bar link 22a, 22b Electric telescopic drive 22c Telescopic member 22d Casing 22e Ball screw 22f Female screw part 22g Pinion gear 22h Rotating worm gear 22i 22j Electric motor 22k Rotation sensor 22m Telescopic mechanism 22t Synchronizing means 23 Bearing 24 Long hole 25 Controller F Floor surface S Gap

Claims (3)

A toilet seat cradle having a support member that supports a toilet seat on a toilet bowl, and an elevating member that is suspended from the support member to the left and right sides of the toilet bowl;
A toilet fixing base having a fixing member locked to the toilet, and a side member provided to hang from the fixing member to the left and right sides of the toilet;
In order to support the toilet seat cradle so that it can be raised and lowered between the raised position and the lowered position, the raising and lowering member and the side member are connected to each other via an upper arm member and a lower arm member that are arranged to be raised and lowered. A pair of left and right four-bar links,
A pair of left and right electric telescopic drive bodies arranged in a substantially horizontal state at a position rearward of the four-bar link of the side member in order to raise and lower the lower arm member of the four-bar link,
A front fulcrum of the upper arm member and the lower arm member is pivotally supported by the elevating member, a rear fulcrum of the upper arm member and the lower arm member is pivotally supported by the side member, and a rear fulcrum of the lower arm member A toilet seat lifting / lowering device characterized in that a driving force point of the electric driving body is disposed further downward.   The axial support position of the front fulcrum or the rear fulcrum of the upper arm member can be changed in order to set the posture of the toilet seat cradle at the raised position to a forward downward tilted state or a horizontal state. The toilet seat lifting device described.   The electric telescopic drive body has an expansion / contraction mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the electric motor into a linear motion, and a sensor that detects the rotational motion, and a pair of left and right electric telescopic drives based on a signal from the sensor The toilet seat lifting / lowering device according to claim 1, further comprising synchronization means for operating the body synchronously.

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