JP2007050068A - Toilet seat opening/closing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly usable toilet seat opening/closing system making the toilet seat open when using a toilet. <P>SOLUTION: This toilet seat opening/closing system is so formed to control the opening/closing of the toilet seat 5 relative to a Western-style toilet bowl 3 openably/closably pivoted to a toilet bowl body 4; and is provided with a driving device 7 swinging the toilet seat 5 around a rotating shaft 5a to operate the opening/closing, a door lock switch 10 detecting the locking state and the unlocking state of a door lock provided in an entrance door 1 of a toilet room 2, and a control device 8 for controlling the operation of the driving device 7 based on a signal from the door lock switch; and the control device 8 operates the driving device 7 by receiving the signal indicating the locking state or the unlocking state from the door lock switch 10 to make the toilet seat 5 open. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a toilet seat movable opening and closing system for raising and lowering a toilet seat of a Western-style toilet installed in a place that is used by many people, and in particular, with a toilet seat lowered when a man stands and uses the toilet seat. The present invention relates to a toilet seat opening / closing system which is not performed.

  At present, Western style toilets have become more Westernized, and Western-style toilets are often installed not only at home but also in facilities used by an unspecified number of people. In many cases, men's toilets are distinguished from small ones and large ones, so it is rare for them to stand and use small ones on a Western-style toilet, but for example, the number of toilets is limited in the Shinkansen. There are many occasions to use the toilet in a private toilet. In such a case, the toilet seat must be lifted in the same manner as the lid, but it is a problem that the toilet seat is made dirty while the toilet seat is lowered and the toilet seat is soiled.

  On the other hand, a system related to a Western-style toilet having a function of detecting a person by a sensor and opening a lid electrically or by opening a toilet seat by inputting a button has been developed. However, since the toilet seat of a Western style toilet is in its normal closed position, the person who enters the toilet must take the action of raising the toilet seat by hand or pressing the button to open the toilet seat. It was very troublesome, especially when urgent matters were required. Therefore, it does not solve the problem that the toilet seat is made dirty while the toilet seat is closed, and the toilet seat is soiled. In order to make up for these drawbacks, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-300468 proposes a toilet seat opening device that automatically opens a toilet seat after a stool.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing the toilet seat opening / closing system described in the publication. A toilet seat 51 is movably attached to the toilet bowl 50, and a follower rod 101 is attached to the toilet seat 51. One end portion is fixed to the lower surface of the toilet seat 51, the other end side extends rearward, and an intermediate portion thereof is pivotally attached to a pivot support member 102 provided in the toilet bowl 50. The pivot support member 102 accommodates a spiral spring and a lock mechanism. The spiral spring is fixed at an inner end to a rotating shaft 103 projecting from the driven rod 101, and an outer other end is fixed inside the cover of the pivot support member 102. The lock mechanism provided on the pivot support member 102 is to lock the follower 5 and prevent the toilet seat 51 from being opened when the toilet seat 51 is in the closed state, and the wire 104 that performs the traction action is locked. ing.

When the wire 14 is pulled, the follower rod 101 is released from the lock mechanism. Conversely, when the pull of the wire 14 is released, the lock mechanism is activated. That is, the tip of the wire 104 guided by the wire hose 105 is connected so that the lock mechanism can be released by rotating the water flow lever 56 of the tank 55.
Therefore, in such a conventional toilet seat opening / closing system, the toilet seat 51 is closed (turned down), the toilet is completed, and the water flow lever 56 is turned to allow water to flow. Then, the wire 104 is pulled to release the lock in the pivot support member 102, the toilet seat 51 biased by the spiral spring and the weight 106 is raised, and the toilet seat automatically opens after the toilet. .
JP 2000-300468 A (page 3-4, FIG. 1)

  However, since the conventional toilet seat opening / closing system described in Patent Document 1 has the water flow lever 56 interlocked with the lock mechanism in the pivot support member 102, if the toilet seat 51 is forgotten to flow after the toilet, It will remain closed. Recently, many people carry wet tissue for sterilization and wipe the toilet seat before use. Accordingly, if the opened toilet seat 51 is once lowered and wiped off and then the wet tissue is washed away, the toilet seat 51 is opened there, and the user has to lower the toilet seat again. It becomes difficult. Further, the structure of the follower rod 101, the pivot support member 102, the wire 104 and the like of the toilet bowl 50 is exposed, so that the appearance is impaired and the structure is easily damaged by being hit.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use toilet seat opening / closing system in which the toilet seat is in an open state when the toilet is used.

  A toilet seat opening / closing system according to the present invention is configured to control the opening / closing of a toilet seat with respect to a Western-style toilet, in which the toilet seat is pivotally supported by a toilet body, and swings the toilet seat about a rotation axis. And a door lock switch for detecting a locked state and an unlocked state of a door lock provided at an entrance door of the toilet room, and a signal from the door lock switch, A control device for controlling the operation of the drive device, and the control device receives the signal indicating a locked state or an unlocked state from the door lock switch, thereby operating the drive device to change the toilet seat. It is characterized by being in an open state.

Further, the toilet seat opening / closing system according to the present invention has a toilet seat closing switch for closing the toilet seat, and the control device receives the signal from the toilet seat closing switch to operate the driving device. It is preferable that the toilet seat is in a closed state.
In the toilet seat opening / closing system according to the present invention, the toilet seat switch is preferably a non-contact switch.
Furthermore, in the toilet seat opening and closing system according to the present invention, the drive device includes an air cylinder that rotates the toilet seat by an expansion and contraction operation, and the control device supplies air to the head side and the rod side of the air cylinder, respectively. It is preferable to include a pair of solenoid valves for switching between the air release and the atmosphere release, and a microprocessor for operating the switching operation of the solenoid valves.

  Therefore, according to the toilet seat opening and closing system of the present invention, the door lock switch detects the locked and unlocked state of the door lock, and the control device operates the drive device to open the toilet seat. If the unlocked state is detected and the toilet seat is opened, the toilet seat is opened when the next user enters. Also, if the locked state is detected and the toilet seat is opened, the toilet seat will be locked when the next user enters the toilet room and locks, regardless of how the previous user uses it. Becomes open.

  Therefore, when the user who has entered the toilet is a male and makes a small use, there is no inconvenience of raising the toilet seat, and there is no problem of making the toilet seat dirty while the toilet seat is lowered. Further, according to the toilet seat opening / closing system of the present invention, when the toilet seat is to be lowered and used, it can be easily closed by the toilet seat closing switch. Moreover, the toilet seat closing switch 9 is hygienic by using a photoelectric switch.

Next, an embodiment of a toilet seat opening and closing system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The toilet seat opening / closing system of the present embodiment is provided in a toilet installed in a Shinkansen vehicle, and FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing the toilet seat opening / closing system in the toilet in such a Shinkansen vehicle.
An entrance door 1 is formed in the toilet room 2 in the partitioned space, and a Western-style toilet 3 is installed therein. In the western style toilet 3, a toilet seat 5 and a toilet lid 6 are pivotally supported on a toilet body 4, and can be opened and closed by raising and lowering the shaft around the axis depending on how it is used. In particular, the Western-style toilet 3 is provided with a driving device 7 that can automatically open and close the toilet seat 5.

  In other words, the Western-style toilet bowl 3 according to the present embodiment allows the user to open and close the toilet seat 5 by itself. However, by providing the drive device 7, the user can open and close hygienically without touching the toilet seat 5 directly. Can be done. The toilet seat opening / closing system according to the present embodiment aims to control the opening / closing of the toilet seat 5 so as not to contaminate the toilet seat 5 particularly when a man performs small use. A device 8 is provided. Specifically, when the user uses the toilet, the state where the toilet seat 5 is in the open state as indicated by the solid line is set as the initial state.

  Here, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a toilet seat opening / closing system that specifically represents the driving device 7 provided in the Western-style toilet 3. The drive device 7 of this embodiment is constituted by an air cylinder 11 as shown in the figure. The air cylinder 11 is disposed beside the toilet body 4 and covered with a device cover 12 indicated by a one-dot chain line. A fitting 13 is fixed to the back plate 3a of the toilet body 4, and the cylinder tube of the air cylinder 11 is pivotally supported at the end on the head side. On the other hand, an arm 14 is fixed to the rotation shaft 5 a of the toilet seat 5, and a piston rod tip of the air cylinder 11 is pivotally attached to the arm 14.

  Railway vehicles such as Shinkansen vehicles have an air tank in the vehicle body, and it is effective to use air as a drive source for opening and closing the toilet seat 5. Therefore, in the toilet seat opening and closing system of this embodiment, the air cylinder 11 is employed as a drive means. Has been. The control device 8 for automatically controlling the drive device 7 is an electromagnetic valve 15 or 16 for switching between supply and discharge of air for expanding and contracting the air cylinder 11, and opening and closing for controlling opening and closing of the toilet seat 5 by the electromagnetic valve. A solenoid valve unit including a microprocessor 17 and the like storing a program is configured.

  An air line 21 for supplying air for extending and contracting the air cylinder 11 is connected to the electromagnetic valves 15 and 16 of the control device 8. Between the air cylinder 11, a rod side line 22 and a head side line 23 are connected. Are connected to one side via connectors 24 and 25, respectively. That is, the solenoid valve 15 switches the rod side line 22 to the air line 21 and the atmosphere, and the solenoid valve 16 switches the head side line 23 to the air line 21 and the atmosphere. The control device 8 is connected to a drive power source for operating the electromagnetic valves 15 and 16 via a power line 27.

  Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, in order to open the toilet seat 5 as shown by the solid line in the figure, the electromagnetic valve 15 is switched to the air line 21 side, and the electromagnetic valve 16 is switched to the atmosphere side. Thereby, compressed air is supplied from the air line 21 to the rod side line 22 via the solenoid valve 15, and the air cylinder 11 contracts. When the air cylinder 11 contracts in this way, the rotary shaft 5a rotates clockwise in the drawing via the arm 14, and the toilet seat 5 jumps up and opens. Then, since the electromagnetic valve 15 is also switched to the atmosphere side after that, the air cylinder 11 released from the air pressure is free to expand and contract, and the toilet seat 5 can be freely opened and closed by raising and lowering the user.

  On the other hand, in order to close the toilet seat 5 as shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure, the electromagnetic valve 16 is switched to the air line 21 side, and the electromagnetic valve 15 is switched to the atmosphere side. Thereby, compressed air is supplied from the air line 21 to the head side line 23 via the solenoid valve 16, and the air cylinder 11 is extended. When the air cylinder 11 is extended in this way, the rotary shaft 5a rotates counterclockwise on the drawing via the arm 14, and the toilet seat 5 is lowered and closed. Then, since the solenoid valve 16 is also switched to the atmosphere side after that, the air cylinder 11 released from the air pressure is free to expand and contract, and the toilet seat 5 can be freely opened and closed by raising and lowering the user.

  By the way, since the opening / closing of the toilet seat 5 is interlocked with the expansion / contraction of the air cylinder 11, the opening / closing of the toilet seat 5 can be confirmed by detecting the expansion / contraction state of the air cylinder 11. Therefore, a position sensor 18 (see FIG. 1) for detecting the expansion / contraction state is attached to the air cylinder 11. For example, a reed switch is used as the position sensor 18, and a permanent magnet attached to a piston of the air cylinder 11 is detected to detect an expansion / contraction state. The position sensor 18 is connected to the control device 8 via a sensor cable 26 and serves as a signal for controlling the opening and closing of the electromagnetic valves 15 and 16 by the microprocessor 17.

  In this embodiment, since the state in which the toilet seat 5 is opened as described above is set as an initial state, when the user uses the toilet seat 5 in the closed state, the user directly lowers the toilet seat 5 by hand. However, it is not hygienic to touch the toilet seat 5 directly. Therefore, since the opening and closing can be automatically controlled by the driving device 7, a toilet seat closing switch 9 is installed in the toilet room 2 as shown in FIG. 1, and the control device 8 controls the closing of the toilet seat 5 by an input signal therefrom. Can be done. That is, the solenoid valve 16 is switched by a signal sent from the toilet seat closing switch 9 to the control device 8, and the air cylinder 11 is extended to automatically close the toilet seat 5. The toilet seat closing switch 9 is a photoelectric switch so that it can be turned on without touching it directly in consideration of hygiene.

  Further, in the toilet seat opening / closing system of the present embodiment, the state where the toilet seat 5 is opened is set as the initial state, but in particular, the opening / closing of the toilet seat 5 is determined based on the locked state and the unlocked state of the door lock provided on the entrance door 1. Like to do. Therefore, a door lock switch 10 that detects opening and closing of the door lock (not shown) of the entrance door 1 is installed and connected to the control device 8. The door lock is such that a claw provided on the entrance door 1 side enters the lock hole on the wall surface side and can be locked, and the door lock switch 10 is installed on the lock hole side. This is a limit switch that is pressed by a claw at the time of switching.

Next, the use of a toilet equipped with the toilet seat opening / closing system of this embodiment will be described. Here, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation flow of the toilet seat opening / closing system according to the opening / closing program executed by the microprocessor 17 of the control device 8.
In the toilet seat opening / closing system of the present embodiment, the toilet seat 5 of the western toilet 3 is open as shown by the solid line in the figure. That is, in the standby state in which no one is using, the initial state is the state in which the toilet seat 5 is opened (S101).

  Therefore, when the user opens the entrance door 1 and enters it, the toilet seat 5 must first be lowered to use the user while sitting. For this purpose, the toilet seat 5 may be directly lowered by hand, but the hand is placed in front of the toilet seat closing switch 9 made of a photoelectric switch to turn it on (S102). At this time, the opening / closing position of the toilet seat 5 is confirmed by the position sensor 18 of the air cylinder 11 (S103). Therefore, when the toilet seat 5 is open (S103: YES), the air cylinder 11 of the driving device 7 is extended as described above, and the toilet seat 5 swings around the rotating shaft 5a to perform the closing operation. As a result, the toilet seat 5 is closed (S105). On the other hand, even if the toilet seat closing switch 9 is turned on (S102), there is no change if the user has already lowered the toilet seat 5 (S103: YES / S105).

A toilet user usually enters the toilet room 2 and locks when the entrance door 1 is closed. Therefore, when the door lock is locked, the door lock switch 10 is turned on, and the ON signal is sent to the control device 8. In the opening / closing program of this embodiment, the state of the door lock switch 10 by the door lock is confirmed (S106), and the closed state of the toilet seat is also confirmed by the position sensor 18 of the air cylinder 11 (S107).
Therefore, if the door lock is not locked (S106: NO) and the toilet seat 5 is lowered and closed (S107: YES), then the door lock is confirmed (S106) and the toilet seat is closed. (S107) is repeated. In this case, it is considered that the user has forgotten to lock. On the other hand, if the door lock is not locked (S106: NO) and the toilet seat 5 is in the open position (S107: NO), the process returns to S101, and the above-described predetermined Steps S101 to S107 are repeated. In this case, it is conceivable that the user once lowered the toilet seat 5 but raised it again.

  Next, when the door lock is locked, an ON signal is input to the control device 8 from the door lock switch 10 and it is confirmed that the door is locked (S106: YES). It will be in a standby state until it comes out of the toilet room 2. Therefore, when the user finishes using the toilet and the user leaves the toilet room 2, the door lock is unlocked and the signal from the door lock switch 10 is turned off (S108). At this time, it is confirmed by the position sensor 18 whether or not the toilet seat 5 is closed (S109). And when a user raises the toilet seat 5 by hand and leaves the toilet room 2 in an open state (S109: NO), it returns to S101. On the other hand, when the user leaves the toilet room 2 with the toilet seat 5 lowered (S109: YES), the opening operation of the toilet seat 5 is performed by the driving device 7 (S110), and the toilet seat 5 is opened to the initial state. Returned to S101.

Thus, in the toilet seat opening / closing system of the present embodiment, the toilet seat 5 is opened when the next user enters because the toilet seat 5 is opened by detecting unlocking when the user of the toilet comes out. It is in a state. Therefore, when the user who entered next is a male and uses it for a small use, there is no trouble of raising the toilet seat 5, and the toilet seat 5 is made dirty while the toilet seat 5 is lowered to contaminate the toilet seat 5. Is gone.
On the other hand, when the user wants to lower the toilet seat 5 and use it, the toilet seat can be easily closed by the toilet seat closing switch 9. Moreover, the toilet seat closing switch 9 is hygienic by using a photoelectric switch.

  In the present embodiment, since the drive device 7 is configured using the air cylinder 11, the user can freely raise and lower the toilet 5 by releasing both the head side and the rod side to the atmosphere. In that case, it is comprised by the simple structure which switches between the air line 21 side and the atmosphere side of the solenoid valves 15 and 16, and can provide the whole system at low cost. In particular, since a railway vehicle is provided with an air tank used for opening and closing a vehicle door, the opening and closing operation can be controlled very efficiently without consuming power by using this working air.

  In the present embodiment, the toilet seat 5 is opened when the next user enters the toilet room 2, so that the toilet seat 5 is opened in conjunction with the unlocking operation when the previous user leaves. did. However, conversely, the toilet seat 5 may be opened when the door is locked. That is, when the next user enters the toilet room 2 and locks regardless of how the previous user uses (opening / closing the toilet seat 5), the ON signal from the door lock switch 10 The toilet seat 5 is opened.

  Even in such a configuration, when the user is a male and makes a small use, there is no inconvenience of raising the toilet seat 5, and the toilet seat 5 is made dirty while the toilet seat 5 is lowered to contaminate the toilet seat 5. Also disappear. Since the toilet seat 5 opens when the door lock is locked, when the toilet seat 5 is lowered and used, it is easy to recognize that the toilet seat 5 is open. Can be avoided. When the toilet seat 5 is to be lowered and used, it can be easily closed by the toilet seat closing switch 9, and the toilet seat closing switch 9 is hygienic by using a photoelectric switch.

The embodiment of the toilet seat opening / closing system according to the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, the toilet seat opening / closing system in the toilet installed in the railway vehicle has been described in the above embodiment, but it can be used for a western toilet installed in a place where many people use such as public facilities in addition to the railway vehicle. Is.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, since it was the toilet installed in the rail vehicle, the drive device was comprised using the air cylinder 11, However, You may make it comprise using an electric motor other than an air cylinder, for example. .

It is a system configuration figure showing one embodiment of a toilet seat opening and closing system. It is the figure which showed one Embodiment of the toilet seat opening / closing system showing the drive device provided in the western style toilet bowl concretely. It is the figure which showed the operation | movement flow of the toilet seat opening / closing system which a control apparatus performs. It is the figure which showed the conventional toilet seat opening / closing system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Entrance door 2 Toilet room 3 Western style toilet 4 Toilet body 5 Toilet seat 5a Rotating shaft 6 Toilet lid 7 Driving device 8 Control device 9 Toilet seat closing switch 10 Door lock switch 11 Air cylinder 13 Mounting bracket 14 Arms 15 and 16 Electromagnetic valve 17 Microprocessor 21 Air line 22 Rod side line 23 Head side line

Claims (4)

In a toilet seat opening and closing system that can control the opening and closing of the toilet seat for a Western-style toilet with the toilet seat pivotally supported by the toilet body,
A drive device for swinging the toilet seat about a rotation axis to operate opening and closing;
A door lock switch for detecting a locked state and an unlocked state of the door lock provided at the entrance door of the toilet room;
A control device for controlling the operation of the drive device based on a signal from the door lock switch;
A toilet seat, wherein the control device receives a signal indicating a locked state or an unlocked state from the door lock switch to operate the driving device to open the toilet seat. Opening and closing system. In the toilet seat opening and closing system according to claim 1,
A toilet seat closing switch for closing the toilet seat, and the control device receives a signal from the toilet seat closing switch to operate the driving device to close the toilet seat Toilet seat opening and closing system characterized by being. In the toilet seat opening and closing system according to claim 2,
The toilet seat opening / closing system, wherein the toilet seat switch is a non-contact switch. In the toilet seat opening and closing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The drive device includes an air cylinder that rotates the toilet seat by an expansion / contraction operation, and the control device includes a pair of solenoid valves that respectively switch between air supply and air release to the head side and the rod side of the air cylinder. And a toilet seat opening and closing system comprising a microprocessor for operating the switching operation of the solenoid valve.

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