JP2007270587A - Biological information measuring toilet bowl - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a biological information measuring toilet bowl which can measure biological information including a urine volume and a urine flow rate with high accuracy without being influenced by pressure fluctuation in a sewer pipe. <P>SOLUTION: The Western-style toilet bowl 11 is formed of: a bowl 16 for accommodating urine of the user; a feed water nozzle 24a constituting a flushing means 24 for flushing the interior of the bowl 16; a discharge pipe line 25 communicating between the bowl 16 and the sewer pipe; and a discharge pipe line opening/closing means 29 for opening/closing the discharge pipe line 25. The Western-style toilet bowl is further formed of a pressure measuring pipe line 7 arranged on an upstream side of the discharge pipe line opening/closing means 29 of the discharge pipe line 25, and a variation of a standing water level W1L due to urination into the bowl 16, is measured based on measurement of a pressure variation in a blocked space 6 formed in the pressure measuring pipe line 7, by a pressure measuring means 33, to thereby measure the biological information including the urine volume and the urine flow rate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a biological information measuring toilet capable of measuring various biological information such as a user's urine volume and urine flow rate.

  As a conventional biological information measuring toilet, the change in the stored water level when the user urinates to a Western-style toilet is measured, and the urine volume and urine flow rate are measured based on the calibration relationship between the stored water level and the stored water amount. Some of them calculate biological information. In addition, in order to avoid fluctuations in the measured value of the stored water level due to pressure fluctuations occurring in the sewage pipes, a function was provided to measure pressure fluctuations in the sewage pipes and correct them so that there is no pressure fluctuation. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, rather than providing a physical trap structure and forming a reservoir as in the biological information measuring toilet (toilet unit) described in Patent Document 1, an on-off valve provided at the end opening of the drain pipe is provided. There is a flush toilet that closes and forms a stored water by supplying a predetermined amount of water while measuring the water level (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

International Publication No. 2004/113630 Pamphlet JP-A-8-60730

  In the case of a biological information measuring toilet (toilet unit) described in Patent Document 1, various biological information such as urine volume and urinary flow rate can be measured using a Western-style toilet, but sewage pressure appears as an environmental factor at the construction site. Since the correction algorithm is determined on the basis of how fluctuations affect the stored water in the toilet bowl, sewer pressure waves with unexpected frequencies are transmitted, or the stored water including the measurement pipe If a sewer pressure wave having a frequency at which the part resonates is transmitted, measurement accuracy may deteriorate or measurement may become impossible.

  On the other hand, the flush toilet described in Patent Document 2 is capable of adjusting the water level of the stored water stored in the bowl of the Western-style toilet to an arbitrary height, but various biological information such as urine volume and urine flow rate. The function to measure is not provided.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a biological information measuring toilet capable of measuring biological information such as urine volume and urine flow rate with high accuracy without being affected by pressure fluctuation in the sewage pipe. It is in.

The biological information measuring toilet of the present invention,
A ball that receives the user's urine;
Cleaning means for supplying cleaning water into the balls;
A discharge conduit for communicating the ball and the sewage pipe to discharge the contents in the ball to a sewage pipe;
A conduit opening / closing means provided in the discharge conduit for storing water in the ball;
A biological information measuring toilet comprising:
A measurement pipeline having an open end in the discharge pipeline upstream of the pipeline opening / closing means at a position lower than the level of the stored water at the start of measurement;
Pressure measuring means for measuring the pressure in the closed space formed when the other end of the measurement line is closed, and measuring the pressure in the closed space that changes with the urination of the user Thus, urination information including at least urine volume is measured.

  With such a configuration, a closed space in which the open end provided in the discharge pipe is sealed by the accumulated water in the ball is formed in the measurement pipe, and the user urinates into the ball. Along with this, the pressure in the closed space increases due to an increase in the level of the stored water, so that biological information such as urine volume and urine flow rate can be calculated by measuring the amount of change with the pressure measuring means. In this case, the entire amount of urine excreted by the user is accommodated in the ball without leakage, and the sewage piping is used to measure the pressure in the closed space with the conduit opening / closing means closed and disconnected from the sewage piping. Unaffected by pressure fluctuations inside. Therefore, even if pressure fluctuation occurs in the sewage pipe, it is possible to measure biological information such as urine volume and urine flow rate with high accuracy without being affected by the fluctuation.

here,
The other end of the measurement pipe is opened to the discharge pipe located on the downstream side of the pipe opening / closing means,
A measuring line opening / closing means may be provided in the middle of the measuring line, and the measuring line opening / closing means may be closed during measurement. With such a configuration, the measurement pipeline can be made to function as a normal overflow pathway by opening the measurement pipeline opening / closing means except during measurement.

  On the other hand, it is also possible to provide a function of stopping the water supply function of the cleaning means when the pipe opening / closing means closes the discharge pipe. With such a configuration, when the discharge pipe is closed by the pipe opening / closing means, the cleaning means is erroneously operated and the cleaning water is supplied into the ball, and the contents in the ball are stored in the toilet bowl. It is possible to avoid troubles such as overflowing.

  Also, a detecting means for detecting the open / closed state of the pipe opening / closing means is provided, and a function for stopping the water supply function of the cleaning means is provided when the detecting means does not detect the open state of the pipe opening / closing means. You can also. With such a configuration, the cleaning means does not operate unless the pipe opening / closing means completely opens the discharge pipe. Therefore, when the pipe opening / closing means is in a half-open state, the cleaning means is erroneously operated. Thus, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of trouble that the cleaning water is supplied into the ball and the contents in the ball overflow from the toilet bowl.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a biological information measuring toilet capable of measuring biological information such as urine volume and urine flow rate with high accuracy without being affected by pressure fluctuation in the sewage pipe.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. 1 is a perspective view showing a biological information measuring toilet according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a system block diagram of the biological information measuring toilet, and FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-section when the biological information measuring toilet is in a standby state. 4 is a vertical sectional view when the biological information measuring toilet is in a measurement state, FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view when the biological information measuring toilet is at the start of washing, and FIG. 6 is a discharge from the biological information measuring toilet. FIG. 7 is a view showing an on-off valve drive mechanism constituting the biological information measuring toilet, and FIG. 8 is an operation sequence of the biological information measuring toilet shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a living body information measuring toilet 10 according to this embodiment includes a western toilet 11 that receives a user's excrement and discharges it into sewage, a urine information measuring unit 12, a control means 13, and the like. 14 and an operation / display unit 20 disposed on the side wall of the western toilet 11. The western toilet 11 includes a toilet seat 15 for a user to sit on, a toilet lid 17 that covers the ball 16 and the toilet seat 15 so as to be openable and closable, and a urine collection unit 18 having a urine collection device 18a and a urine collection arm 18b. The operation / display unit 20 includes a remote controller 19 for operating a sanitary washing device 23 provided in the Western-style toilet 11, a remote controller 21 for causing the urination information measurement unit 12 to function, and urination information measurement data for printing. And a printer 22.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ball 16 of the western style toilet is connected to the sewage pipe 35 by a discharge pipe 25, and in the middle of the discharge pipe 25, stored water is stored or discharged in the ball 16. The discharge pipe opening / closing means 29 is provided to be opened and closed for the purpose. The discharge pipe 25 is provided with a pressure measurement pipe 7 that connects the upstream side and the downstream side of the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29. The pressure measuring line 7 is provided with a measuring line opening / closing means 28 for opening and closing the path. In addition, a pressure measuring means 33 for measuring the pressure in the path is provided in the pressure measuring pipe line 7 on the upstream side of the measuring line opening / closing means 28. The urine collection unit 18 and the sanitary washing device 23 are not essential requirements for configuring the biological information measuring toilet 10 according to the present invention.

  The urination information measurement unit 12 connected to the western-style toilet 11 stores control means 13 for controlling various operations of the biological information measurement toilet 10, and the control means 13 includes a calibration curve storage means 38, urination. An information calculation means 39 and an information storage means 40 are provided. Here, the calibration curve storage means 38 stores the relationship between the pressure change in the pressure measurement pipe line 7 measured by the pressure measurement means 33 and the change in the amount of accumulated water in the ball 16 at that time. The urine information calculating means 39 calculates the amount of accumulated water at that time from the pressure measured by the pressure measuring means 33 according to the calibration relationship stored in the calibration curve storage means 38. Furthermore, the information storage means 40 is for storing various data such as measurement information such as measured and calculated pressure and the amount of accumulated water, and acquired personal information.

  Next, a detailed configuration of the biological information measuring toilet 10 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the western toilet 11 includes a ball 16 that receives a user's urine, a water supply nozzle 24 a that constitutes a cleaning means 24 that cleans the inside of the ball 16, and a drain socket-integrated drain that is separated from the atmosphere. It has a discharge pipe 25 for communicating the ball 16 and the sewage pipe 35 via the water tank 9, and a discharge pipe opening / closing means 29 for opening and closing the discharge pipe 25. As shown in FIG. 7, the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29 opens and closes the discharge pipe 25 by rotating the drive motor 5 around the support shaft 29 a, and discharges excrement etc. in the ball 16 to the sewage pipe 35. The water is discharged or the stored water W1 is stored. A tension spring 4 for pressing the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29 against the opening of the discharge pipe 25 is provided, and the position detection means 37 detects the position of the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29 while the drive motor 5 discharges the discharge pipe. The road opening / closing means 29 is rotated.

  In addition, as described above, the pressure measurement line 7 is provided in the discharge line 25, and water is supplied into the ball 16 in the event that the discharge line opening / closing means 29 fails and remains in the closed position. Even if it is carried out, it is configured to prevent the contents in the ball 16 from overflowing outside the toilet bowl. The pressure measuring pipe 7 has an inflow port 7a arranged at the ceiling of the discharge pipe 25 located below the stored water level W1L in the ball 16, and an outflow port 7b provided on the side wall of the drainage tank 9. The communicating pressure measuring line 7 is provided with a measuring line opening / closing means 28 for closing the pressure measuring line 7 at the time of measurement. In this embodiment, the drainage tank 9 forms a part of the discharge pipe 25, but a configuration in which both are separated may be used.

  In the biological information measuring toilet 10 of the present embodiment, the closed space 6 is formed between the stored water W1 and the measurement line opening / closing means 28 by closing the pressure measurement line 7 with the measurement line opening / closing means 28. Thereafter, the pressure change in the closed space 6 due to the change in the amount of accumulated water due to the urine excreted in the ball 16 is measured by the pressure measuring means 33, and the urine volume is measured by the calibration relationship between the two.

  Hereinafter, the procedure for measuring the urine volume in the biological information measuring toilet 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows a state where the Western-style toilet 11 is in a standby state, and the discharge pipe 25 is closed by the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29. At this time, the stored water W1 in the ball 16 is in the position of the stored water level W1L, and the measurement pipe opening / closing means 28 is in an open state. Accordingly, the ball 16 and the sewage pipe 35 are in communication with each other via the pressure measuring pipe 7. In this embodiment, the measurement line opening / closing means 28 is closed in this state, and urine volume measurement is started. Therefore, the stored water level W1L when the pressure measurement line 7 is closed by the measurement line opening / closing means 28 is the measurement start water level Y.

  Next, during the measurement of urine volume in the western style toilet 11, as shown in FIG. 4, the pressure measurement line 7 is closed by the measurement line opening / closing means 28, so that the accumulated water W1 and the measurement line opening / closing means 28 are closed. An airtight closed space 6 is formed in the pressure measurement line 7 therebetween.

  In this state, when the user urinates into the ball 16, the urine N flowing into the stored water W1 causes the stored water level W1L, which is the measurement start water level Y, to rise to the stored water level W2L, and the atmospheric pressure in the closed space 6 increases. To do. By measuring the pressure change at this time by the pressure measuring means 33 using a pressure sensor, the water amount change amount is measured as the pressure change amount, and the data is transmitted to the control means 13 of the urination information measuring unit 12. In the control means 13, the urination information calculation means 39 calculates the urine volume based on the sent data and the data stored in the calibration curve storage means 38 (calibration relationship), and the urine volume value is displayed on the operation / display unit 20. It is displayed and stored in the information storage means 40.

  When the urine volume measurement is completed and a predetermined toilet flushing operation is performed, the washing water is supplied into the ball 16 from the water supply nozzle 24a as shown in FIG. When a certain time has elapsed from the start of water supply from the water supply nozzle 24a, as shown in FIG. 6, the drive motor 5 operates to rotate the pipe opening / closing valve 29 upward, so that the opening 25a of the discharge pipe 25 is opened. Is done. Accordingly, the urine N mixed water W1 in the ball 16 and the discharge pipe 25 is discharged from the opening 25a toward the drainage tank 9 and flows down to the sewage pipe 35. When the excrement is discharged together with the stored water W1 in this state, the drive motor 5 is actuated again to rotate the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29 downward to close the opening 25a. Thereafter, water supply from the water supply nozzle 24a is continued and stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed, so that a certain amount of water W1 is stored in the ball 16 and the discharge pipe 25, and the normal water shown in FIG. Return to the standby state.

  Next, the operation of the biological information measuring toilet 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. When the user enters the toilet in which the biological information measuring toilet 10 is placed and performs a preparatory operation on the remote controller 21, the measurement line opening / closing means 28 is activated to close the pressure measurement line 7 and close it. A preparatory operation for measurement to form the space 6 is performed. When the preparation operation is completed, a preparation completion notification is displayed on the remote controller 21, so that the user undresses and sits on the toilet seat 15 or starts urination toward the ball 16 in a standing posture.

  When the user's urine N flows into the stored water W1 of the ball 16, the water level W1L rises and the atmospheric pressure in the closed space 6 increases. As described above, the pressure sensor of the pressure measuring means 33 is The amount of change is measured. When the urination is finished and the user performs an ending operation on the remote control 21, the measurement results such as the urine volume, the urine flow rate, the urination time based on the data stored in the information storage means 40 are displayed on the display unit of the remote control 21. Is displayed. At this time, when a predetermined output operation is performed on the remote controller 21, a piece of paper on which the measurement result is printed is output from the printer 22.

  Thereafter, when a predetermined toilet cleaning operation is performed, cleaning water is supplied from the water supply nozzle 24a into the ball 16, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the drive motor 5 is activated and the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29 opens the opening 25a. (See FIG. 6). As a result, the stored water W1 mixed with urine N in the ball 16 and the discharge pipe 25 is discharged to the sewage pipe 35. When the excrement is discharged together with the accumulated water, the drive motor 5 is actuated again, and the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29 closes the opening 25a. After that, water supply from the water supply nozzle 24a is continued, and after a certain time has passed, it is stopped, so that a certain amount of stored water W1 is stored in the ball 16 and the discharge pipe 25, and the normal standby state (See FIG. 3). Since such a series of operations are automatically performed, the user can leave the toilet freely after performing the toilet cleaning operation.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. FIG. 9 is a system block diagram of a biological information measuring toilet according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view when the biological information measuring toilet is in a standby state, and FIG. 11 is an illustration of the biological information measuring toilet. It is a figure which shows an operation | movement sequence. In addition, in FIGS. 9-11, the part which attached | subjected the code | symbol same as the code | symbol shown in FIGS. 1-8 is a part which has the same structure and function as the component of the biological information measuring toilet 10 of 1st embodiment. Therefore, the description is omitted.

  The biological information measuring toilet 10 according to the first embodiment and the biological information measuring toilet 50 according to the second embodiment are different in the configuration of the pressure measuring line 7 and the control related to the measuring line opening / closing means 28 related thereto. However, since the configuration of the other parts is the same, the following description will focus on the different parts. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, in the biological information measuring toilet 50 of the present embodiment, since the pressure measurement line 7x has a closed end 7c, measurement for opening and closing the pressure measurement line 7x is performed. The difference is that the pipe opening / closing means 28 is not provided.

  As described above, one of the pressure measurement lines 7x is not communicated with the discharge line 25 and is always the closed end 7c. For this reason, in the standby state shown in FIG. 10, the water level W3L in the pressure measurement pipe line 7x is lower than the water level W1L of the ball part by the amount of air compression in the closed space 6x.

  FIG. 11 shows an operation sequence of the biological information measuring toilet 50. The biological information measuring toilet 10 according to the first embodiment is different from the biological information measuring toilet 10 in that there is no operation of the measurement pipe opening / closing means 28 and no preparation operation. Is different.

  As described above, in the biological information measuring toilet 10 of the first embodiment, the closed space 6 is formed by closing the measurement line opening / closing means 28 at the time of measurement. However, in this embodiment, the operation is not necessary. Therefore, not only the configuration of the apparatus becomes simple, but also the preparation operation by the user is not necessary, and urination can be started immediately, so that the measurement time can be shortened.

  Furthermore, as a modification of the present embodiment, in order to prevent the water W1 in the ball 16 from overflowing outside the western-style toilet 11x, a discharge conduit opening / closing means 29 is provided in the discharge conduit 25 of the biological information measuring toilet 50. Ordinary overflow pipes may be provided so as to bypass the above.

  As described above, in the biological information measuring toilets 10 and 50 according to the present invention, the pressure measurement pipes 7 and 7x are provided in the discharge pipe 25, and the accumulated water W1 in the ball 16 and the pressure measurement pipes 7 and 7x are provided. The urine volume is measured by measuring the pressure change in the closed spaces 6 and 6x formed between the pressure measuring means 33 and the accumulated water W1 in the ball 16 is subjected to pressure fluctuations in the sewage pipe 35. Measurements can be made without being affected. The urine N excreted by the user is accommodated in the ball 16 without leakage. For this reason, biological information such as urine volume and urine flow rate can be measured with high accuracy. Moreover, the biological information measuring toilets 10 and 50 can be easily configured in the flap valve type western toilets 11 and 11x.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the position detecting means 37 is provided in combination with the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29. When the position detecting means 37 does not detect the open state of the opening 25a, the cleaning is performed. A function for stopping the function of the means 24 is provided. Accordingly, when the opening 25 a of the discharge pipe 25 is closed by the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29, the cleaning means 24 is erroneously operated and cleaning water is supplied into the ball 16. It is possible to avoid the trouble that the stored water W1 mixed with some excrement overflows from the western toilets 11 and 11x.

  In addition to preventing the sewage piping atmosphere and sanitary pests from entering the toilet, the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29 automatically rotates to the closed position when a power failure occurs. In this case, the discharge pipe opening / closing means 29 can be opened by manually operating the support shaft 29a shown in FIG. For this reason, it becomes impossible to use at the time of a power failure or failure, and the stored water W1 mixed with excrement in the ball 16 does not overflow from the western toilets 11 and 11x. In addition, when a failure occurs, a warning sound and a warning light are used to notify the user, so that there is no possibility that the failure will be left unattended and a quick response can be made.

  The biological information measuring toilet of the present invention can be widely used in toilets of hospitals and general households that require measurement of biological information such as urine volume and urine flow rate.

It is a perspective view which shows the biological information measurement toilet bowl which is 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a system block diagram of the biological information measurement toilet shown in FIG. It is a vertical sectional view when the biological information measuring toilet shown in FIG. 1 is in a standby state. It is a vertical sectional view when the biological information measuring toilet shown in FIG. 1 is in a measurement state. It is a vertical sectional view when the biological information measuring toilet shown in FIG. 1 is at the start of washing. It is a vertical sectional view when the biological information measuring toilet shown in FIG. 1 is in a discharged state. It is a figure which shows the on-off valve drive mechanism which comprises the biological information measurement toilet shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement sequence of the biological information measurement toilet shown in FIG. It is a system block diagram of the biological information measuring toilet which is the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a vertical sectional view when the biological information measurement toilet which is the second embodiment of the present invention is in a standby state. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement sequence of the biological information measurement toilet bowl which is 2nd embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

4 Tension Spring 5 Drive Motor 6, 6x Closed Space 7, 7x Pressure Measurement Line 7a Inlet 7b Outlet 7c Closed End 9 Drainage Tank 10, 50 Biological Information Measuring Toilet 11, 11x Western Toilet 12 Urination Information Measuring Unit 13 Control Unit 14 cabinet 15 toilet seat 16 ball 17 toilet lid 18 urine collection unit 18a urine collection device 18b urine collection arm 19, 21 remote controller 20 operation / display unit 22 printer 23 sanitary washing device 24 cleaning means 24a water supply nozzle 25 discharge pipe 25a opening 28 measurement pipe Opening / closing means 29 Discharge pipe opening / closing means 29a Support shaft 33 Pressure measuring means (pressure sensor)
35 Sewage piping 37 Position detection means 38 Calibration curve storage means 39 Urination information calculation means 40 Information storage means N Urine W1 Reservoir W1L Reservoir water level (before urination)
W2L water level (after urination)
W3L Water level X Air water level Y Measurement start water level Z Water level after urination

Claims (4)

A ball that receives the user's urine;
Cleaning means for supplying cleaning water into the balls;
A discharge conduit for communicating the ball and the sewage pipe to discharge the contents in the ball to a sewage pipe;
A conduit opening / closing means provided in the discharge conduit for storing water in the ball;
A biological information measuring toilet comprising:
A measurement pipeline having an open end in the discharge pipeline upstream of the pipeline opening / closing means at a position lower than the level of the stored water at the start of measurement;
Pressure measuring means for measuring the pressure in the closed space formed when the other end of the measurement line is closed, and measuring the pressure in the closed space that changes as the user urinates A biological information measuring toilet characterized by measuring urination information including at least urine volume. The other end of the measurement pipe is opened to the discharge pipe located on the downstream side of the pipe opening / closing means,
2. The biological information measuring toilet according to claim 1, further comprising a measuring line opening / closing means provided in the middle of the measuring line, wherein the measuring line opening / closing means is closed during measurement.   The biological information measuring toilet according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a function of stopping a water supply function of the cleaning means when the pipe opening / closing means closes the discharge pipe.   Provided is a detecting means for detecting the open / closed state of the pipe opening / closing means, and provided with a function of stopping the water supply function of the cleaning means when the detecting means does not detect the open state of the pipe opening / closing means. The biological information measuring toilet according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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