JP2007100438A - Toilet device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toilet device capable of stably washing a private part without being affected by the requirements such as the weight of a user in a toilet seat having an elastic body layer absorbing impact when the user sits thereon and providing good feeling to the user when the user sits thereon. <P>SOLUTION: This toilet device comprises the toilet seat 5 having the elastic body layer 13, a sensor device 20 sensing the change amount of the shape of the elastic body layer 13, and a control device 9. The jet arrival position of flushing water 23 is controlled according to the information on the change amount of the shape of the elastic body layer 13 from the sensor device 20. Consequently, the jet arrival position of the flushing water 23 can be moved according to the sink amount of the hip part of the user, and the flushing water 23 can be stably applied to the private part 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a toilet apparatus having a toilet seat having an elastic layer and a local cleaning means for controlling the position where the flush water is jetted out.

  Conventionally, since the resin used for the toilet seat of a toilet device is generally a hard resin, the sitting comfort has been very poor. Further, the end surface of the seating surface compresses the skin and inhibits the flow of blood flow, so that when sitting for a long time, numbness and pain may occur. In particular, some elderly people or people with disabilities are not clear about their convenience, and some people sit on the toilet seat for more than one hour before using it. It was.

  On the other hand, in order to solve such a problem, a configuration has been proposed in which a low resilience material having a property of deforming the seating surface when a load is applied and when the load is released is proposed. Since the low-repulsive material can be deformed greatly, it can be imitated on variously shaped buttocks, and can sufficiently absorb the impact at the time of sitting, so it can be quietly seated while stabilizing the sitting position. Can be migrated.

  In addition, since the seating is deformed following the shape of the user's buttocks, the seating pressure can be dispersed efficiently, so there is no point of local compression and numbness even if sitting for a long time. In addition, there is an advantage that a very good sitting comfort can be realized without feeling pain or the like (for example, see Patent Document 1).

FIG. 9 shows a conventional toilet apparatus described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, a toilet seat 2 and a toilet lid 3 are pivotally attached to a main body case 1 in which a control device, a heat exchanger, a drying unit, a washing nozzle and the like are housed. The surface portion of the toilet seat 2 is composed of a soft resin layer 4.
JP 2005-102809 A

  However, when the toilet seat is composed of a soft resin layer and has the property of being deformed by a load, the amount of deformation of the toilet seat varies depending on the load value, that is, the weight of the user, and the amount of sinking in the vertical position of the user's buttocks is constant. Therefore, in the conventional toilet apparatus, the area where the user's local area, which is the target of cleaning the dirt, can be expanded by the arrival of the cleaning water, and the cleaning water may not hit the local area well. It had the problem of becoming higher.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and has a toilet seat that absorbs an impact at the time of sitting, has a good sitting comfort, and has a small influence on the human body even when sitting for a long time. In addition, it is possible to provide a toilet apparatus capable of stably washing a local part without being affected by conditions such as the weight of the user.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the toilet seat device of the present invention includes a toilet seat having an elastic layer, a sensor device that senses a shape change amount of the elastic layer, and a control device, and the elastic force from the sensor device. The ejection arrival position of the washing water can be controlled according to the information on the shape change amount of the body layer.

  Thereby, according to the amount of sinking of a user's buttocks, the washing water spout arrival position can be moved, and washing water can be stably applied to a local part.

  The toilet device of the present invention suppresses the impact when sitting by a flexible soft member, and when sitting for a long time, the buttocks are not deformed as much as conventional hard resin toilet seats by providing an appropriate cushioning property. Therefore, the toilet seat can be made comfortable without being obstructed, and can be washed comfortably regardless of conditions such as the weight of the user. In addition, the local portion can be washed stably without being affected by conditions such as the weight of the user.

The present invention described above will be described with reference to the following examples.
The first invention includes a main body provided on a toilet bowl, cleaning means for cleaning a user's local area, a toilet seat having an elastic body layer at least in part, and a sensor device for detecting a shape change amount of the elastic body layer And a control device, and by controlling the flush water ejection position according to the information on the amount of change in shape of the elastic layer from the sensor device, the user can sit for a long time without disturbing the blood flow in the buttocks. It can be a toilet seat that does not get tired, and it has a function to automatically adjust the arrival position of the wash water according to the deformation amount of the toilet seat, that is, the sinking amount of the user's buttocks. Regardless of the conditions, it is possible to clean the local area comfortably.

  In the second invention, in particular, by using a pressure sensor as the sensor device of the first invention, the amount of depression of the buttocks due to the weight of the user and the elastic body layer by the user sitting on the toilet seat By controlling the ejection arrival position of the wash water based on the correlation data with the applied pressure, the wash water can be appropriately applied to the user's local area.

  In particular, the third invention uses a strain gauge as the sensor device of the first or second invention, so that the amount of depression of the buttocks due to the weight of the user and the toilet seat when the user sits on the toilet seat. By controlling the jetting arrival position of the cleaning water based on the correlation data with the deformation amount of the surface portion, the cleaning water can be appropriately applied to the local part of the user.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to third aspects of the invention, the cleaning means is moved in the vertical direction in accordance with information from the sensor device to control the jet water arrival position. It is possible to move the cleaning means up and down according to the sinking amount of the user's buttocks and to apply the cleaning water to the user's local area under the optimum conditions, and to provide comfortable and effective local cleaning It is something that can be done.

  According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, the cleaning means is moved in the front-rear direction in accordance with the information from the sensor device, and the arrival position of the cleaning water is controlled. Depending on the amount of sinking of the user's buttocks and the physique, the cleaning means can be moved back and forth so that it can be applied to the user's local area under optimal conditions, providing a comfortable and effective local cleaning. It is something that can be done.

  According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to fifth aspects of the invention, the cleaning water ejection strength is changed in accordance with information from the sensor device to control the arrival position of the cleaning water. It is possible to apply the washing water with the optimal strength to the user's local area by changing the jetting strength of the washing water according to the change of the distance between the cleaning means and the local area depending on the sinking amount of the user's buttocks Thus, comfortable and effective local cleaning can be provided.

  According to a seventh invention, in particular, in any one of the first to sixth inventions, a skin material is disposed on at least a part of the surface portion of the toilet seat, and an elastic body layer is provided below the skin material, By installing the planar heater in at least a part of the material and the elastic body layer or in the elastic body layer, the planar heater as the heating means is installed directly under the skin material that is the seating surface. Since the temperature can be increased effectively over time, an energy-saving and easy-to-use toilet device can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is an external view of an entire toilet apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a toilet seat, and FIG. 3 is a side view of a cleaning means.

  As shown in the figure, the toilet apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a warm water washing toilet seat for washing a local part with warm water, and is composed of a toilet seat 5, a toilet lid 6 and a main body 7 as main constituent members. .

  Inside the main body 7, a heat exchange tank (not shown) for making hot water for washing and storing hot water, washing means 8 for washing the local part, a flow rate control valve (not shown) for controlling the ejection of washing water, after washing A drying unit (not shown) for drying the local area of the toilet, a deodorizing unit (not shown) for deodorizing the odor of defecation, a control device 9 for controlling each function of the toilet device, etc. are incorporated, and the user can By applying the hot water discharged from 8 to the local area, dirt due to stool can be washed away.

  In this toilet apparatus, a main body 7 placed on the upper surface of the toilet bowl 10 is fixed to the toilet bowl 10 via rubber bushes and bolts, and the toilet seat 5 and the toilet lid 6 are pivotally supported by the main body 7.

  Next, the configuration of the toilet seat 5 will be described with reference to FIG. The toilet seat 5 is made of a soft and deformable sheet-like skin material 11 adapted to the user's buttocks, a surface heater 12 that can be bent and deformed, an elastic body layer 13 made of a soft resin material having elasticity, and a hard resin molded product. A toilet seat lower member 15 made of a reinforcing member 14 and a hard resin molded product is configured as a main constituent member. The planar heater is installed near the skin material 11 on the elastic layer 13.

  The reinforcing member 14 and the toilet seat lower member 15 are screwed together with a screw 16, and the reinforcing member 14 has a planar shape portion 17 in the middle for screwing, and both sides are raised as convex portions 18. The end 19 is provided with claws at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction so as to be fitted to the end of the toilet seat lower member 15.

  In the present embodiment, a PP film is used as the skin material 11, and a high resilience foamed polyurethane is used as the elastic body layer 13. The skin material 11 may be a film made of another material as long as it is composed of a thin film of 0.3 mm or less, has chemical resistance, and has a small heat capacity.

  The elastic layer 13 is made of polyurethane foam and has a closed cell structure in which the internal bubbles are connected to each other, eliminating gas in and out and providing cushioning by air, but having moderate cushioning. If so, it may have an open cell structure. Further, the elastic layer 13 is formed so as to cover the periphery of the reinforcing member 14 so that the collar portion does not directly contact the reinforcing member 14 when seated.

  The reinforcing member 14 is provided on the assumption that the weight of the toilet seat 5 cannot be supported due to insufficient rigidity of the toilet seat 5 by providing the elastic layer 13 on the toilet seat 5. Usually, conventional toilet seats support the weight by making the upper and lower resin members U-shaped on both the upper and lower sides and forming the upper and lower U-shaped part and the reverse U-shaped part as an integral surface as a combined surface. However, in the toilet seat of the present embodiment, the upper constituent member is the elastic body layer 13 made of a soft resin, so that the toilet seat lower member 15 and the reinforcing member can be supported as a measure against being unable to support the hard resin together. 14 is configured to support weight.

  Pressure sensors 20 are disposed at a plurality of locations in the elastic body layer 13, and it is possible to detect a pressure value that changes according to a load generated when a user sits on the toilet seat 5.

  Further, strain gauges 21 are attached to a plurality of locations on the back surface of the skin material 11, and it is possible to detect the amount of distortion on the toilet seat surface that occurs when the user sits on the toilet seat.

  The pressure sensor 20 and the strain gauge 21 are electrically connected to the control device 9, and the control device 9 compares the detected information with measurement values measured in advance by the control device 9, so that the user can check the toilet seat. When sitting down, it is possible to indirectly estimate the amount of subsidence in the vertical direction of the user's buttocks and local parts by the effect of the elastic layer 13.

  Further, a plurality of pressure sensors 20 and strain gauges 21 are installed at arbitrary positions on the toilet seat 5, and it is estimated from the plurality of pieces of information obtained from the positions where the user is sitting in the front-rear and left-right directions on the toilet seat surface. This is a possible configuration.

  Next, the configuration of the cleaning means 8 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of the cleaning means 8, and cleaning water 23 for cleaning the local portion 22 of the human body is ejected from the cleaning nozzle 24. The cleaning nozzle 24 is slidably supported on the nozzle mount 25 via the nozzle drive mechanism 26, and the cleaning nozzle 24 advances from the storage position in the main body 7 toward the front obliquely lower side of the toilet seat 5. Thus, by controlling the advance amount, the position of the tip of the cleaning nozzle 24 can be adjusted in the front-rear direction and the height.

  The nozzle mount 25 and the main body 7 are supported so as to be movable up and down via a nozzle mount lifting mechanism 27 that can change the vertical position of the nozzle mount 25.

  Further, the washing water 23 has a configuration in which the jetting intensity can be adjusted by a flow rate control valve (not shown) installed upstream of the washing nozzle 24.

  The nozzle drive mechanism 26 in FIG. 3 is shown using gears, racks, and pinions, but it may be a belt drive or a drive method using water pressure, and the method is not limited.

  About the toilet apparatus comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  When the user sits on the toilet seat 10, pressure is applied to the elastic body layer 13 by the weight of the user, and the elastic body layer 13 is deformed. At this time, the local portion 22 to be cleaned is unevenly distributed up and down and front and rear depending on the weight, body shape, or sitting position of the user.

  On the other hand, the pressure sensors 20 and strain gauges 21 arranged at a plurality of locations detect the amount of change, send the detected data to the control device 9, and the control device 9 compares the measured numerical values stored in advance with the user. The local position is estimated, the cleaning nozzle 24 is moved to the optimum position, and the cleaning water 23 is jetted to clean the local portion 22.

  For example, when the weight of the user is heavy, the toilet seat sinks greatly, and the position of the local portion 22 is lowered, the nozzle position is moved forward by the nozzle drive mechanism 26 as shown in FIG. The nozzle mount 25 is lowered by the nozzle mount lifting mechanism 27 as shown in FIG. 6 or the flow control valve (not shown) is adjusted as shown in FIG. Thus, the washing water 23 can be reliably applied to the local portion 22 with the optimum strength.

  When the user changes and the position of the local part changes, the optimum washing water is ejected in accordance with the position of the local part 22 of the user by the detection data of the pressure sensor 20 and the strain gauge 21 as described above.

  The front-rear direction moving function by the nozzle drive mechanism 26, the up-down direction moving function by the nozzle mount elevating mechanism 27, and the function for adjusting the ejection strength by the flow rate control valve have only one function depending on the local position. In some cases, a plurality of functions may be combined, and the selection thereof is set in the control device in advance.

  When the user is seated slightly forward of the toilet seat as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the nozzle position is moved forward by the nozzle drive mechanism 26 as shown in FIG. 7, or as shown in FIG. Further, the cleaning water 23 can be focused on the local portion 22 by lowering the vertical position of the nozzle mount 19 by the nozzle mount raising / lowering mechanism 27. In this case as well, by adjusting the ejection amount by the flow rate control valve, The accuracy can be improved. Further, when the user is seated slightly behind the toilet seat, the reverse adjustment described above may be performed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the pressure sensor and the strain gauge are disposed on the elastic body layer of the toilet seat, and the ejection of the washing water from the washing nozzle is controlled by the nozzle drive mechanism, the nozzle mount lifting mechanism, and the flow control valve. By automatically adjusting the arrival position of the wash water in accordance with the amount of sinking in the vertical direction of the user's local area or the amount of movement in the front-rear direction, the toilet seat constituted by the elastic body layer made of a soft resin material Even if the amount of deformation changes depending on the weight of the user, the washing water can always be applied to the local area and comfortable washing can be performed.

  In the present embodiment, a pressure sensor and a strain gauge are used in combination as the sensor device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an effect similar to that of the present embodiment can be obtained even if the pressure sensor or the strain gauge is used alone. Further, sensors other than the above two types may be used.

  As described above, the toilet apparatus according to the present invention can focus on a target part of the body for a plurality of users having different weights. It can also be applied to the use of drying equipment.

The perspective view of the toilet apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention Sectional drawing of the toilet seat of the toilet apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention Side view of the cleaning means of the toilet apparatus in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Schematic of cleaning water arrival position adjustment in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Schematic of cleaning water arrival position adjustment in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Schematic of cleaning water arrival position adjustment in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Schematic of cleaning water arrival position adjustment in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Schematic of cleaning water arrival position adjustment in Embodiment 1 of the present invention External view of conventional toilet equipment

Explanation of symbols

5 Toilet seat 7 Body 8 Cleaning means 9 Control device 10 Toilet bowl
11 Skin material 12 Planar heater 13 Elastic layer 20 Pressure sensor (sensor device)
21 Strain gauge (sensor device)
22 Local 23 Washing water

Claims (7)

A main body placed on the toilet, a cleaning means for cleaning a local part of the user, a toilet seat having at least a part of an elastic body layer, a sensor device for detecting a shape change amount of the elastic body layer, and a control device A toilet device that controls the position where the flush water jets reach according to information on the amount of change in shape of the elastic layer from the sensor device. 2. The toilet device according to claim 1, wherein a pressure sensor is used as the sensor device. The toilet device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a strain gauge is used as the sensor device. The toilet device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cleaning means is moved in the vertical direction in accordance with information from the sensor device to control the position at which the cleaning water is jetted. The toilet device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cleaning device is moved in the front-rear direction in accordance with information from the sensor device to control a position where the cleaning water is ejected. The toilet device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the flush water ejection strength is controlled in accordance with information from the sensor device to control the flush water jet arrival position. A skin material is disposed on at least a part of the surface portion of the toilet seat, an elastic layer is disposed below the skin material, and a planar heater is disposed on at least a part of the skin material and the elastic layer or in the elastic layer. The toilet device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein

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