JP2008093082A - Warmed toilet seat - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a warmed toilet seat which can be warmed up instantly and causes no noise disturbance at the warm-up time. <P>SOLUTION: This warmed toilet seat includes an AC power supply circuit which switches on and off according to a triac 8, and a low-voltage power supply circuit 11 for supplying lower-voltage power than the AC power supply circuit. At the instant warm-up time when a toilet seat 2 is quickly warmed up, electric power is supplied to a highly-resistant temperature characteristic heater 5 from the AC power supply circuit, while at the heat-retention time when the toilet seat 2 is kept at a prescribed temperature after reaching a certain temperature, electric power is supplied to the highly-resistant temperature characteristic heater 5 from the low-voltage power supply circuit 11. Therefore, this warmed toiled seat can realize both instant warm-up capability and heat-retention capability by causing no noise or unexpected heat generation by parts, by curbing intermittent energization during the heat-retention time especially. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to power supply for a heating toilet seat having quick warming properties.

Conventionally, this type of heated toilet seat is designed to obtain an energy saving effect by installing a heater having immediate warming properties and energizing immediately before use to suppress standby power. A lamp heater has excellent performance as a quick warming heater. However, the lamp heater has a high resistance temperature characteristic that a predetermined resistance value is obtained when the filament is heated red, and a small resistance that is less than 1/10 of the predetermined resistance value when the filament is cold. There were many. Therefore, once the toilet seat is warmed up, when the user is sitting on the toilet seat and performing the heat-retaining operation in which power is intermittently applied with the power reduced to such an extent that the user does not feel cold, the inrush current during energization is due to the small resistance value. When the Fourier series is expanded, it becomes a waveform that generates many high-order harmonic current components, which may exceed the regulation value, or may cause electromagnetic noise and adversely affect other devices installed in the vicinity. There was also the possibility of inducing fluctuations in the power supply voltage. In order to suppress such a problem, as shown in FIG. 10, when performing a heat retaining operation using the lamp heater 101, the relay 103 is driven by a signal from the out output terminal of the microcomputer 102, and the resistance temperature There has been proposed a configuration in which a dummy resistor 104 having relatively low characteristics is connected in series with the lamp heater 101 to suppress an inrush current during energization (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-110752

  However, in such a configuration, the inrush current flowing through the circuit is surely suppressed by the dummy resistor 104 having a low temperature characteristic, but this time, the dummy resistor 104 generates heat by energization, and where the energy of the generated heat is dissipated. Becomes a big problem. In addition, since the volume of the dummy resistor 104 is increased, it is difficult to store the large dummy resistor 104 inside the toilet seat, and even if it is stored in the machine room of the heated toilet seat, there is a possibility that the surrounding parts may be adversely affected by heat generation. there were.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the heating toilet seat of the present invention includes an AC power supply circuit that turns on and off the supply power by a triac and a low-voltage power supply circuit that has a lower supply voltage than the AC power supply circuit, and raises the toilet seat in a short time. Electric power is supplied from the AC power supply circuit to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater at the time of rapid warming heating, and electric power is supplied from the low power supply circuit to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater at the time of heat insulation heating to keep the toilet seat at a set temperature after raising the temperature to a predetermined temperature. Supply.

  As a result, an optimal heating state can be obtained in either the fast warming state or the warming state, and since intermittent energization especially during the warming can be suppressed, there is no generation of noise or unintentional heat generation of parts, It becomes possible to provide a heated toilet seat that has both quick warming performance and heat retaining performance.

  The heating toilet seat of the present invention can supply electric power optimal to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater, and can suppress the generation of noise accompanying energization and the adverse effects on peripheral devices.

The first invention is a toilet seat on which a user is seated, a high resistance temperature characteristic heater that is installed inside the toilet seat and heats the toilet seat, an AC power supply circuit that turns on and off the supply power by a triac, and a supply from the AC power supply circuit A low voltage power supply circuit having a low voltage; power switching means for switching power supply to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater; temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the toilet seat; and power supply to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater The heater control means supplies power to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater from the AC power supply circuit in the previous period at the time of rapid warming to raise the temperature of the toilet seat in a short time, and after raising the temperature to a predetermined temperature At the time of heat-retaining heating in which the toilet seat is kept at a set temperature, power is supplied from the low power supply circuit to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater. Since 100V is continuously energized to raise the toilet seat in a short time and power can be continuously supplied at a low voltage from a low-voltage power source even during heat insulation heating, in both cases the noise caused by energization It is possible to provide a heated toilet seat that suppresses occurrence and adverse effects on peripheral devices and has both quick warming performance and heat retaining performance.

  According to a second aspect of the invention, in particular, in the first aspect of the invention, the AC power supply circuit has a zero-cross detection circuit that detects a zero point of the AC power supply, and the triac is controlled in synchronization with the output of the zero-cross detection circuit to increase the high resistance temperature. By turning on and off the power supplied to the characteristic heater, the AC power supply is always turned on and off at the time of zero V, so that the generation of noise can be minimized. In the third invention, particularly in the first or second invention, the low-voltage power supply circuit is composed of a step-down inverter circuit that steps down from an AC power supply circuit and converts to a DC power supply. By configuring the low voltage power supply circuit, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the circuit and reduce the harmonic current.

  In a fourth aspect of the invention, particularly in the third aspect of the invention, the heater control means has means for changing the conduction / non-conduction ratio of the switching transistor of the step-down inverter circuit, and the temperature is maintained by changing the conduction / non-conduction ratio. You can fine-tune the power of the hour.

  According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, the power switching means is constituted by double-cut relay contacts installed at both ends of the high resistance temperature characteristic heater. The path of the applied power supply is completely switched by the relay contact, and it is possible to avoid the danger of contact of different potentials on the circuit.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in particular, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, a contact means is provided between the low voltage power supply circuit and the high resistance temperature characteristic heater. It is possible to prevent the contact of different potentials at the time of switching by operating the contact means after the switching of the high resistance temperature characteristic heater side is completed after the path is completely switched by the relay contact.

  According to a seventh invention, in particular, in any one of the first to sixth inventions, a contact means is provided between the AC power supply circuit and the low voltage power supply circuit. When the low voltage power supply circuit is not used, the input of the circuit is provided. By turning off, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the low-voltage power supply circuit and reduce the standby power.

  In the eighth aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to seventh aspects of the invention, the energization instruction to the triac of the heater control means is such that the contact open / close signal of the power switching means is output and the contact moving operation is completely performed. The operation is started after the completion, and the power control is performed after the circuit switching operation is completed, so that it is possible to prevent contact of different potentials at the time of switching.

  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)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a heating toilet seat according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a time chart showing a waveform of electric power supplied to the lamp heater 5. FIG. (B) shows the waveform in the state where it is applied from the low-voltage power supply circuit 11.

  In FIG. 1, a user 3 sits on a toilet seat 2 installed on a toilet 1. A lamp heater 5 which is a high resistance temperature characteristic heater is installed in an internal cavity (not shown) of the toilet seat 2 to warm the toilet seat 2 with radiant heat. Although the lamp heater has a quick warming property, the ratio of the resistance when not energized to the resistance when energized is 1:10 or more, and the resistance at the initial energization is extremely low. A circuit component for controlling the lamp heater 5 is housed in the toilet seat body 4 integrated with the toilet seat 2. The microcomputer 6 (heater control means) detects the zero cross point of the AC 100V power supply, which is a normal commercial power supply, by inputting the zero cross signal output from the zero cross detection circuit 7 from the ZEROin port, and sends it to the triac 8 synchronized with the zero cross signal output. Is output from the TRIA port to the G terminal of the triac 8 via the driver 9. At this time, the relay contacts 10a and 10b (power switching means) at both ends of the lamp heater 5 are connected to the AC100V power supply side, and the AC power supply from the time when the signal is input to the gate G of the triac 8 until the next zero crossing point is reached. Only half cycle is conducted between T1 and T2 of the triac 8 and AC100V is applied to the lamp heater 5. If this operation is repeated every time the zero cross signal output is detected, the AC heater 100V is continuously applied to the lamp heater 5.

  On the other hand, when a signal from the RY1 port of the microcomputer 6 is output, a relay coil (not shown) is excited, and the relay contacts 10a and 10b connect the output side of the low voltage power supply circuit 11 and the lamp heater 5, The heater 5 is applied with the output voltage of the low-voltage power supply circuit 11 that steps down AC100V with a sliding transformer. The output voltage of the low voltage power supply circuit 11 can be changed by a signal from the TRout port of the microcomputer 6.

  The temperature of the toilet seat 2, that is, the temperature felt by a person, is detected by a resistance change of the thermistor 12, which is a temperature detecting means installed in the internal cavity of the toilet seat 2, and divided by the resistance value of the thermistor 12 and the dividing resistor 13. The microcomputer 6 takes in the voltage from the THin terminal. When the temperature is higher than the comfortable temperature, the power supply to the lamp heater 5 is stopped. The seat body 4 is provided with a seating sensor 14 for detecting the seating of the user 3 on the toilet seat 2, and the signal is taken into the microcomputer 6 from the SITin port of the microcomputer 6. In addition, a human body sensor 15 configured by a CMOS camera or the like that detects a person 15 who wants to use the toilet is installed outside the toilet 1, and information about the person 16 is transmitted to the HUMANin port of the microcomputer 6 as wireless or wired information. It is configured to be captured.

  In the above configuration, when the human body sensor 15 detects the person 16, the information is entered in the HUMANin port of the microcomputer 6, and the relay contacts 10a and 10b at both ends of the lamp heater 5 are connected to the AC100V power supply side. 8, the T1 and T2 of the triac 8 are brought into conduction for a half cycle of the AC power supply from when the signal is input to the gate G to the next zero crossing point, and 100 V AC is applied to the lamp heater 5. This operation is repeated every time the zero cross signal output is detected, and the AC heater 100V is continuously applied to the lamp heater 5. As a result, the lamp heater 5 rapidly warms the toilet seat 2. This operation continues until the microcomputer 6 recognizes that the thermistor 12 has reached a predetermined temperature. The process continues until the seating sensor 14 detects that the person 16 has become the user 3 and is recognized by the microcomputer 6.

When the microcomputer 6 recognizes that the predetermined temperature has been reached or the user 3 is detected by the seating sensor 14, the microcomputer 6 switches the relay contacts 10a and 10b at both ends of the lamp heater 5 to the low voltage power circuit 11 side. The lamp heater 5 is supplied with electric power for heat insulation having a peak value of 30V. Even in this state, the thermistor 12 continues to detect the temperature of the toilet seat 2, and when it exceeds a certain temperature, it goes without saying that the supplied power is reduced or stopped by controlling the output from the TRout port of the microcomputer 6. Yes.

  When it is detected that the signal from the seating sensor 14 does not enter the SITin, the microcomputer determines that the user 3 has finished using it, and stops the supply of the warming power from the low power supply circuit.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (b), a lamp with a small inrush current can be obtained by switching the relay heaters 10a and 10b so that electric power for keeping the peak value of 30V is supplied from the low voltage power supply circuit 11 to the lamp heater 5 when keeping warm. The heater 5 can be driven, and thus a heated toilet seat that does not impede surrounding equipment can be realized.

  Further, since both ends of the lamp heater 5 instead of one side are once disconnected from the circuit by the relay contacts 10a and 10b and then switched, it is possible to avoid the danger of contact of different potentials on the circuit.

  Furthermore, since an appropriate voltage lower than AC 100 V is supplied from the low voltage power supply circuit 11 to the lamp heater 5 from the beginning, it is possible to realize an efficient device without abnormal heat generation of components.

  In the present embodiment, the lamp heater is employed as the high resistance temperature characteristic heater, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a quartz tube heater, a nichrome wire heater, or the like can also be used.

  In the present embodiment, AC 100 V, which is a commercial power source in Japan, is used as the AC power source. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration, operation, and effects corresponding to commercial power sources in other countries can be obtained similarly. Can do.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a step-down inverter circuit which is a low-voltage power supply circuit 11 in the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 3, the voltage of AC100V is full-wave rectified by the rectifier diode 17, and is constituted by the choke coil 18, the capacitor 19, and the MOSFET 21 in which the drain-source which is a switching transistor is connected in series to the primary side. The frequency is increased (the frequency is the frequency of the gate voltage Vg of the MOSFET 21) by the inverter circuit, and the pulse train is output from the TRout terminal of the microcomputer 6. On the secondary side of the transformer 20, the voltage determined by the winding ratio (primary side> secondary side) and the driving frequency of the MOSFET 21 is smoothed by the diode 22, the capacitor 23, and the choke coil 24, and the output voltage Vs of the low-voltage power supply circuit 11. Is producing. A capacitor 25 and a resistor 26 connected in parallel between the drain and source of the MOSFET 21 form a snubber circuit 27 that softens voltage fluctuations during switching of the MOSFET 21 and prevents voltage breakdown of circuit components.

  FIG. 4 is a time chart of the voltage waveform of the low voltage power supply circuit (step-down inverter circuit) 11 of FIG. 3, where (a) is the gate pulse ON / OFF duty ratio is 50%, and (b) is the gate pulse. When the ON / OFF duty ratio is 20%, the waveforms show the gate voltage Vg of the MOSFET 21, the drain-source voltage Vds of the MOSFET 21, and the output waveform Vs of the step-down inverter circuit, respectively.

In FIG. 3, when a High signal is output from the microcomputer 6, the MOSFET 21 is turned on,
A current flows through the primary side of the transformer 20, and the voltage of Vds becomes almost zero. When the signal from the microcomputer 6 changes to LOW, Vds shows a peak voltage transiently as the MOSFET 21 is switched, and then the resonance determined by the capacitance of the capacitor 19, the reactance of the primary side of the transformer 20, the size of the snubber circuit 27, and the like. Indicates voltage. The effective value of the output voltage Vs of the step-down inverter circuit 11 is determined by the ON / OFF duty ratio of the primary gate pulse. Accordingly, it is possible to supply appropriate power to the lamp heater 5 by adjusting the ON / OFF duty ratio of the gate pulse.

  In addition, since the AC voltage is once smoothed and used as the supply voltage of the lamp heater 5, a steep voltage waveform such as the phase control performed by the triac 8 is not supplied. Therefore, harmonic current can be suppressed, and interference with surrounding electrical equipment can be reduced.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a heating toilet seat according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  The difference from the first embodiment is that a relay contact 30 is installed between the output of the low-voltage power supply circuit 11 and one of the relay contacts 10a and 10b serving as power switching means. The relay contact 30 is controlled by the output from the RY2out port of the microcomputer 6 to open / close the contact.

  FIG. 6 is a timing chart of contact control voltages output from the RY1out port and the RY2out port of the microcomputer 6. After the output from the RY1out port for switching the relay contacts 10a and 10b is output, the output from the RY2out port is output after the delay time τ considering the variation in the operation time of the relay contacts, and the low voltage power circuit 11 Is applied to the lamp heater 5. Although the delay time τ varies depending on the relay specifications, it is sufficient to consider 20 to 30 milliseconds.

  In this way, by supplying the output of the low voltage power supply circuit 11 to the lamp heater 5 via the contacts, the danger of contact of different potentials on the circuit can be further avoided, and the stability of the control is improved.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a heating toilet seat according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  The difference from the third embodiment is that a relay contact 31 is provided between the input of the AC power supply and the low voltage power supply circuit 11. The relay contact 31 is controlled by the output from the RY3out port of the microcomputer 6 to open / close the contact.

  FIG. 8 shows a timing chart of contact control voltages output from the RY1out port and the RY3out port of the microcomputer 6. After the output from the RY1out port for switching the relay contacts 10a and 10b is output, the output from the RY3out port is output after the delay time τ considering the variation in the operation time of the relay contacts, and the AC100V is a low voltage power supply. Applied to the circuit 11. Although the delay time τ varies depending on the relay specifications, it is sufficient to consider 20 to 30 milliseconds.

  Thus, by supplying AC100V to the low-voltage power supply circuit 11 after the output of the low-voltage power supply circuit 11 is connected to the lamp heater 5 through the contact, the risk of contact of different potentials on the circuit is further increased. This can be avoided and the stability of the control is improved. Further, when the low voltage power supply circuit 11 is not used, since AC 100 V is not applied, standby power is reduced and energy saving performance is improved.

(Embodiment 5)
FIG. 9 is a timing chart of the voltage and current of the control circuit in the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The waveforms are the RY1out voltage waveform, the ZEROin voltage waveform, the TRIA voltage waveform, and the lamp heater 5 current waveform from the top, respectively. .

  The control signal RY1out of the relay contacts 10a and 10b changes from ON to OFF, and the lamp heater 5 is switched to the AC power source side. Thereafter, after one cycle (time τ) of the power supply voltage has elapsed, the drive signal for the triac 8 is output from the TRIA port. By driving the triac 8 after the delay of time τ, the circuit can be switched safely and the lamp heater 5 can be energized.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the optimum heating state of the lamp heater can be obtained at the time of immediate warming and warming, and the rapid warming performance without generation of noise or unintentional heat generation of parts can be obtained. It becomes possible to provide a heated toilet seat with both heat insulation performance.

  It is also possible to ensure safety when switching between a plurality of power sources having different potentials and applying them to the lamp heater.

  As described above, the heating toilet seat according to the present invention makes it possible to supply a plurality of power sources having different potentials to a heat source, and can be applied to the control of general thermal equipment.

The block diagram of the heating toilet seat in Embodiment 1 of this invention (A) Time chart of power supplied from the AC power supply circuit to the lamp heater in Embodiment 1 of the present invention (b) Time chart of power supplied from the low voltage power supply circuit to the lamp heater Circuit diagram of an inverter circuit which is a low-voltage power supply in Embodiment 2 of the present invention (A) Time chart of voltage waveform when the ON / OFF duty ratio of the gate pulse of the low voltage power supply circuit in the second embodiment of the present invention is 50% (b) The ON / OFF duty ratio of the gate pulse is 20 Time chart of voltage waveform at% The block diagram of the heating toilet seat in Embodiment 3 of this invention Timing chart of contact control voltage output from microcomputer port in Embodiment 3 of the present invention The block diagram of the heating toilet seat in Embodiment 4 of this invention Timing chart of contact control voltage output from microcomputer port in embodiment 4 of the present invention Timing chart of voltage and current of control circuit in embodiment 5 of the present invention Configuration diagram of a conventional heated toilet seat

Explanation of symbols

2 Toilet seat 5 Lamp heater (High resistance temperature characteristic heater)
6 Microcomputer (heater control means)
7 Zero cross detection circuit
8 Triac 10a, 10b Relay contact (power switching means)
11 Low voltage power supply circuit 12 Thermistor (temperature detection means)
21 MOSFET (Switching transistor)
30, 31 Relay contact (contact means)

Claims (8)

A toilet seat on which a user is seated, a high resistance temperature characteristic heater that is installed inside the toilet seat and heats the toilet seat, an AC power supply circuit that turns on and off the supply power by a triac, and a low-voltage power supply that has a lower supply voltage than the AC power supply circuit A circuit, power switching means for switching power supply to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater, temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the toilet seat, and heater control means for controlling power supply to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater The heater control means supplies electric power from the AC power supply circuit to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater at the time of rapid heating to raise the toilet seat in a short time, and after raising the temperature to a predetermined temperature, the toilet seat is set to a set temperature. A heating toilet seat that supplies electric power from the low power supply circuit to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater during heat insulation heating. The AC power supply circuit has a zero cross detection circuit for detecting a zero point of the AC power supply, and controls the triac in synchronization with the output of the zero cross detection circuit to turn on and off the power supplied to the high resistance temperature characteristic heater. Heated toilet seat as described. The heating toilet seat according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the low-voltage power supply circuit comprises a step-down inverter circuit that steps down from an AC power supply circuit and performs DC power supply. The heating toilet seat according to claim 3, wherein the control means includes means for changing a conduction / non-conduction ratio of the switching transistor of the step-down inverter circuit. The heating toilet seat according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the power switching means is constituted by double-cut relay contacts installed at both ends of the high resistance temperature characteristic heater. The heating toilet seat according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a contact means is installed between the low voltage power supply circuit and the high resistance temperature characteristic heater. The heating toilet seat according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a contact means is installed between the AC power supply circuit and the low voltage power supply circuit. The heating toilet seat according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the energization instruction to the TRIAC by the control means is started after the contact open / close signal of the power switching means is output and the contact moving operation is completely completed. .

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