JP2009095366A - Toilet seat heating system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toilet seat heating system capable of extremely reducing the power consumption of electric power energy by controlling the temperature of a toilet seat heater in a short period of time and turning off the electric power in a time slot in which a toilet is not used. <P>SOLUTION: The power supply to the heater for heating the toilet seat is stopped, until it is detected that a user enters a toilet room. When it is detected that the user enters the toilet room, the electric power stored in an electric double layer capacitor provided as the source of electrical energy is quickly discharged to instantaneously apply a heating current to the toilet seat heater and heat the toilet seat to a certain temperature in a short period of time. After that, the power from the power supply is supplied to the heater until it is detected that the user leaves the toilet room. When it is detected that the user leaves the toilet room (no one stays in the toilet room), the electric power from the power supply is supplied to the electric double layer capacitor to charge the electric double layer capacitor. After charging it to a predetermined value, the supply of the electric power from the power supply is stopped. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a toilet seat heating method for a toilet which can perform heating of a toilet seat used in a toilet and warming water for washing a human body with less power energy consumption.

  In recent years, the situation surrounding energy, such as consideration for environmental issues and soaring crude oil prices, has deteriorated. For example, the construction of new nuclear power plants and thermal power plants in response to increasing demand for power From the viewpoint of the above, it is not easy because of the strong opposition from the residents of the planned construction site due to the fear of increased environmental pollution.

  For this reason, electronic and electrical equipment used in a wide range of homes, factories, offices, etc. are required to reduce their power consumption as much as possible. Specific examples of the electronic device include home electrical products such as a television receiver and a video device, OA devices such as a personal computer, various servers, and a copy machine. These electronic devices contribute to energy saving by turning off the power supply and stopping the operation of the power load device in a time zone where the electronic device is not operated such as at night.

  Toilet-related products are examples of products that take this energy saving into consideration. In modern toilets, the temperature of the water used for washing is not kept at a cold temperature that makes the user feel uncomfortable, and the temperature is lower than the body temperature but more than the temperature that the user feels cold. is doing. The toilet seat is also designed to be heated by a heater. For example, if the toilet seat is not warmed when sitting on the toilet seat in winter, the user may feel uncomfortable with the coldness. Become. In particular, at night in winter, sitting on a cold toilet seat has an adverse effect on the health of the user.

  For this reason, recent washing water for toilets is warmed, and the user can wash with warm water warmed to an appropriate temperature. Also, the toilet seat has a heater embedded in the toilet seat, and the heater is energized so that the temperature of the toilet seat is always appropriate so that the user does not feel cold when sitting. It is made.

In Patent Document 1, a sensor unit that automatically detects the presence or absence of a human body is disposed in the toilet room separately from the main body, and the sensor unit is disposed on the wall of the toilet entrance, so that the size of the toilet room is reduced. Accordingly, there has been disclosed a toilet apparatus that can detect the presence or absence of a human body at an optimal timing without giving a sense of incongruity to the human body. Based on the human body detection signal, the heating temperature control of the heating toilet seat is executed. Efficient use of electric power energy is realized.
JP 2006-320747 A

  Patent Document 1 discloses a heating toilet seat characterized in that the set temperature of toilet seat heating is changed based on the detection state of the human body detection means. This Patent Document 1 discloses a heating toilet seat characterized by changing the energization state of the toilet seat heating means based on the detection state of the human body detection means, in addition to changing the set temperature of the toilet seat heating. And as an example which changes the energization state to a toilet seat heating means, stopping energization of heating of a heating means and reducing the energization rate of heating of a heating means are indicated.

  In the heating toilet seat described in Patent Document 1, since the energization state of the heating means is changed when the human body detection means is in the absence of the human body, the power consumption when there is no toilet user is reduced. It is possible. However, even if the toilet user enters the toilet room and the human body detecting means detects the human body and the toilet seat is heated, the temperature of the toilet seat remains within a short period of time until the toilet user sits on the toilet seat. In some cases, the temperature does not rise to the optimum temperature.

  As a result, the toilet seat is heated regardless of whether a person has entered the toilet or no human body in the toilet room, and the temperature control of the toilet seat and the temperature of the washing water are performed all day. For this reason, although the time when the human body enters the toilet room and sits on the toilet seat and the time for irradiating the warm water for washing is as short as several minutes to several tens of minutes, the temperature control of the toilet seat and warm water is 1 It is carried out 24 hours a day, and wasteful consumption of electric power energy cannot be ignored.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and can control the temperature of the toilet seat in the toilet and the temperature of the hot water applied to the human body in a short time, and can turn off the use of power in the unused time zone of the toilet. In addition, the present invention provides a heating system for warm water and a toilet seat that can extremely reduce the consumption of electric energy.

  A toilet seat heating system according to the present invention includes a toilet seat placed in a toilet room, a toilet seat heater provided for warming the toilet seat, a control circuit for controlling the temperature of the toilet seat heated by the toilet seat heater, and a user in the toilet room A human body detecting means for detecting the presence of the power, a power source for supplying heating power to the toilet seat heater, and a first power source provided on the input side of the power source for switching on and off the power supply to the power source. A switch, an electric double layer capacitor provided on the output side of the power source, a capacitor control circuit for controlling charge / discharge of the electric double layer capacitor, and a second switch provided between the electric double layer capacitor and the toilet seat heater When the human body detection signal from the human body detection means detects that the human body is not in the toilet room, the first switch is turned off, the power supply to the power supply is stopped, and the human body is When it is detected that the room has entered the first room, the first switch is turned on and the power is supplied to the power source. Based on the detection signal from the human body detection means, the human body is in the toilet. When it is detected that the room has been entered, the second switch between the electric double layer capacitor and the toilet seat heater is turned on, the electric power stored in the electric double layer capacitor is rapidly discharged, and the electric power is supplied to the toilet seat heater. And a second switch control circuit for controlling as described above.

  The toilet seat heating system according to the present invention also includes a washing water heating means for heating water for washing the human body, and a second switch is provided between the electric double layer capacitor and the washing water heating means. When it is detected that the human body has entered the toilet room based on the detection signal from the human body detection means, the second switch between the electric double layer capacitor, the toilet seat heater and the washing water heating means is turned on, The electric power stored in the double layer capacitor is rapidly discharged, and the electric power is supplied to the washing water heating means together with the toilet seat heater.

  In the present invention, for example, the supply of electric power to the heater that warms the toilet seat is stopped until the entry of a user into the toilet room is detected. That is, the supply of input power to the heater power supply is completely stopped. When it is detected that the user enters the toilet room, the electric power stored in the electric double layer capacitor provided as a power source is rapidly discharged, and a heating current is instantaneously supplied to the toilet seat heater. That is, in the present invention, the rapid charge / discharge characteristics of the electric double layer capacitor are utilized to the maximum, and the necessary power is used when necessary, so that a great energy saving effect can be achieved.

  As a result, the toilet seat is heated to a certain temperature in a short time, and thereafter, power from the power source is supplied to the heater until it is detected that the user has left the toilet room. When it is detected that the user has left the toilet room (there is no person in the toilet room), power from the power source is supplied to the electric double layer capacitor, and the electric double layer capacitor is charged. The charging voltage of the electric double layer capacitor is monitored, and after being charged to a predetermined value, the supply of power to the power supply is stopped.

  Thus, power supply to the heater for warming the toilet seat is limited to the time when the user of the toilet is actually in the toilet room. When the toilet room is empty, power is supplied to the power source. Since the toilet is stopped, the heater for heating the toilet seat is energized only for several tens of minutes, which is the total time the toilet is used in one day, and the heater is heated all day. Significant energy saving effect is achieved compared to the method. As with the toilet seat heating method, heating to an appropriate temperature for the washing water is also performed. Therefore, in addition to the energy saving effect of the toilet seat heating method, the heating time of the washing water can be remarkably shortened, and the effect of reducing the energy used is very large.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a toilet of the present invention that can significantly reduce the consumption of electric energy, can warm the toilet seat to an appropriate temperature in a short time, and can set the temperature of the hot water for washing to an appropriate temperature in a short time. A basic configuration is shown. In addition, the path | route shown by the continuous line in the figure is an electric power supply path | route, and the path | route shown by the dotted line is a supply path | route of the signal of a control signal or detection data.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an AC commercial power input terminal, and the input terminal 1 is connected to a switching power supply 3 via a first switch 2. The switching power supply 3 rectifies AC input power, and the rectified DC power includes a motor 5 for adjusting the amount of cleaning water irradiated on the human body, a cleaning water heater 6 for heating the cleaning water, It is supplied to a toilet seat heater 7 for warming the toilet seat. The motor 5 is controlled by a water amount control circuit 8 for arbitrarily adjusting the irradiation water amount of the cleaning water. Further, the heating current of the cleaning water heater 6 that warms the cleaning water is adjusted by a control circuit 9 for adjusting the temperature of the pre-purified water to a predetermined range.

  Further, the heating current of the heater 7 for warming the toilet seat is adjusted by the control circuit 10 for adjusting the temperature of the toilet seat. A second switch 11 is provided between the switching power supply 3 and the motor 5, and a third switch 12 is provided between the switching power supply 3 and the washing water heater 6 and the toilet seat heater 7. Yes. The first and second switches 11 and 12 are turned on and off by a relay 13.

  A capacitor block 14 is connected to the output side of the switching power supply 3. The capacitor block 14 includes, for example, four electric double layer capacitor cells C1 to C4 connected in series. The capacitor block 14 connected in series is connected to a power supply line from the switching power supply 3 to the motor 5, the heaters 6 and 7. Connected in parallel. The reason why the plurality of electric double layer capacitors are connected in series is to secure a sufficient power capacity and supply power of a predetermined voltage.

  The capacitor block 14 has a function of monitoring the remaining electric energy of the four capacitors, and a capacitor control for generating a signal for starting the capacitor charging mode when the monitored remaining electric energy is equal to or less than a specified value. A circuit 15 is connected. The capacitor control circuit 15 also has a function of controlling the charge state of each capacitor when the capacitor C1-4 in the capacitor block 11 is set to the mode for charging.

  The first switch 2 provided between the AC input terminal 1 and the switching power supply 3 is turned on / off by the relay 16, and when the first switch 2 is turned on by the relay 16, The AC input terminal 2 and the switching power supply 3 are electrically connected, and the power supply 3 is supplied with AC power. On the other hand, when the first switch 2 is turned off by the relay 16, the supply of AC power from the AC input terminal 2 to the switching power supply 3 is stopped.

  The main control circuit 18 performs on / off control of the first switch 2 via the relay 16 and on / off control of the second and third switches 11 and 12 via the relay 13. This main control circuit 18 is provided in the toilet room, and from the human body detection means 17 for monitoring that the human body has entered the toilet room and conversely that the user of the toilet has left the toilet. A signal is also provided. In addition, the voltage of the electric power output by the discharge from the capacitor in the capacitor block 14 is maintained at a constant voltage of 12 V, for example, by the DC-DC converter 20 provided on the output side of the capacitor block 14, for example. The operation of such a configuration will be described next.

  The main control circuit 18 is supplied with information on the storage capacities of the capacitors C1 to C4 obtained by the capacitor control circuit 15, and the temperature of the washing water, the heating temperature of the toilet seat, and the like are set by appropriate input means. Further, the main control circuit 15 is also supplied with a detection signal from the human body detection means 19, and the main control circuit 18 controls each component based on the various data supplied and set.

  In the initial state, the electric double layer capacitors C1 to C4 in the capacitor block 14 are not charged. Therefore, the capacitor is first charged. In this charging, each capacitor is charged in a well-balanced manner by the capacitor control circuit 15, and power loss due to charging is extremely reduced. When charging of a predetermined capacitor is completed by the capacitor control circuit 15, the main control circuit 18 drives the relay 16 and turns off the first switch 2 based on the charging end signal supplied from the capacitor control circuit 15. .

  As a result, the supply of power to the switching power supply 3 is stopped, and the supply of current to the motor 5 that adjusts the amount of washing water, the washing water heater 6 that warms the washing water, and the toilet seat heater 7 that warms the toilet seat is also stopped. As a matter of course, for example, in winter, when the supply of current to the heater is stopped, the temperature of the toilet seat heater and the washing water decreases in a short time. If a person sits on the toilet seat and uses washing water in that state, the coldness will cause a great discomfort. In the initial state described so far, it is assumed that no person is in the toilet room.

  In the initial state where no person is in the toilet room, the first switch 2 is turned off. Similarly, the second and third switches 11 and 12 provided on the output side of the power supply circuit 3 are also turned off. Has been. Here, when a person enters the toilet room, the human body detection means 19 detects the person's entry, and the entry detection signal is supplied to the main control circuit 18. The main control circuit 17 receives the entry detection signal, drives the relay 13, turns on the second and third switches 11 and 12, and controls the capacitor control circuit 15. The electric energy stored in the electric double layer capacitors C1 to C4 is instantaneously discharged. The electric power discharged from the capacitor block 14 is boosted to, for example, 12 V by a DC-DC converter 20 provided at the subsequent stage of the capacitor block 14 and supplied to the motor 5, the washing water heater 6, and the toilet seat heater 7, for example. Is done.

  As a result, the electric power stored in the capacitors C1 to C4 in the capacitor block 14 is supplied to the toilet seat heater 7 and the washing water heater 6 in a short time, and the heaters 6 and 7 are heated to a high temperature at a stretch. . As a result, the temperature of the toilet seat and the washing water, in which the power supply to the heater is stopped, is raised to a predetermined temperature range near the appropriate temperature in a short time by the rapid supply of heating current to the heaters 6 and 7.

  The heaters 6 and 7 are instantaneously supplied with the heating current generated by the discharge from the capacitor block 14. At this time, since the first switch 2 is turned on, the switching power supply 3 is supplied with AC. Power from the input terminal 1 is supplied. The AC power supplied to the switching power supply 3 via the first switch 2 is rectified to direct current, and the second and third switches 11, 12 are turned on in the same way as the first switch 2. To the motor 5 and the heaters 6 and 7. By adopting such a switch connection state, it is possible to realize a power supply line similar to a conventional toilet having a function of maintaining the temperature of the toilet seat and washing water at a temperature suitable for the human body.

  That is, the motor 5 adjusts the flow rate of the cleaning water, and the flow rate control circuit 8 adjusts the power to the motor 5, and the water amount of the cleaning water is based on the control signal regarding the water amount from the main control circuit 18. It can be adjusted by controlling the rotational speed of the motor 5 by the flow rate control circuit 8. At the same time, the cleaning water heater 6 is supplied with the cleaning water heating current via the third switch 12. The value of this heating current is controlled by the washing water temperature control circuit 9 so that a current corresponding to the set water temperature flows through the heater 6.

  Furthermore, a current for the toilet seat heater 7 is passed through the switch 12, and the current value to the heater 7 is controlled by the toilet seat temperature control circuit 10 with reference to the temperature of the toilet seat and set in the main control circuit 18 in advance. The control circuit 10 operates so that the temperature of the toilet seat matches the temperature. Thus, the first to third switches 2, 11, 12 are all turned on, and the temperature of the toilet seat and the washing water is maintained at the set temperature. In this state, when there is surplus power from the power source 3, the surplus power is used to charge the electric double layer capacitors C <b> 1 to C <b> 4 in the capacitor block 14.

  When the toilet user leaves the room from such a state, the human body detection means 17 detects that there is no person in the toilet room and supplies the signal to the main control circuit 18. The main control circuit 18 turns off the second and third switches 11 and 12 based on the toilet user's leaving signal, and stops the supply of power to the motor 5 and the heaters 6 and 7. Thereafter, the power from the power source 3 is exclusively used for charging each capacitor in the capacitor block 14. The capacitor control circuit 15 performs control so that the capacitors C1 to C4 are charged with good balance.

  Further, when each capacitor is fully charged or a predetermined ratio with respect to the full charge level is reached, a charge end signal is supplied to the main control circuit 18. The main control circuit 18 drives the relay 16 based on the charging end signal and turns off the first switch 2. As a result, no power is supplied to the switching power supply 3, so no power drive power is generated, and no power is supplied to the power loads of the motor 5 and the heaters 6, 7, and there is no toilet user. During the period, almost no power is consumed and the energy saving effect is extremely large. For example, in view of the fact that the toilet usage time in a general household is about several tens of minutes out of 24 hours a day, or about one hour at the longest, the supply time of power for warming the toilet seat and washing water is shortened. It is understood that the power saving effect associated with is extremely large.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, although the on / off control of the switch 9 is performed by the mechanical relay 8, it is desirable to perform the on / off control by a semiconductor such as triac or SSR for the reason that the influence of the life or noise is small. Further, the category of the electric double layer capacitor includes not only a pure electric double layer capacitor but also a hybrid capacitor in which an electric double layer is formed in a part thereof, such as a lithium ion capacitor.

It is a figure which shows the basic composition of the toilet using the toilet seat heating system based on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 AC input terminal 2 1st switch 3 Switching power supply 5 Motor 6 Washing water heater 7 Toilet seat heater 8 Motor control circuit 9 Washing water temperature control circuit 10 Toilet seat temperature control circuit 11, 12 Switch 13, 16 Relay 14 Capacitor block 15 Capacitor control Circuit 17 Human body detection means 18 Main control circuit 20 DC-DC converter

Claims (5)

  Toilet seat placed in the toilet room, toilet seat heater provided to warm the toilet seat, a control circuit for controlling the temperature of the toilet seat heated by the toilet seat heater, and for detecting that a user has entered the toilet room A human body detecting means, a power source for supplying heating power to the toilet seat heater, a first switch provided on the input side of the power source for switching on / off of power supply to the power source, and provided on the output side of the power source A double-layer capacitor, a capacitor control circuit for controlling charging / discharging of the double-layer capacitor, a second switch provided between the double-layer capacitor and the toilet seat heater, and human body detection from human body detection means Based on the signal, when it is detected that the human body is not in the toilet room, the first switch is turned off, the power supply to the power supply is stopped, and it is detected that the human body has entered the toilet room When it is detected that the human body has entered the toilet room based on the first switch control circuit that controls to supply power to the power supply by turning on the first switch and the detection signal from the human body detection means, A second switch control circuit that controls to turn on the second switch between the double layer capacitor and the toilet seat heater, rapidly discharge the electric power stored in the electric double layer capacitor, and supply the electric power to the toilet seat heater And toilet seat heating system.   2. The electric double layer capacitor includes a plurality of electric double layer capacitors connected in series to form a capacitor block, and the capacitor block is connected in parallel to a power supply line from a power source to a heater for heating the toilet seat. Toilet seat heating method.   The capacitor control circuit monitors the terminal voltage of the electric double layer capacitor. When the terminal voltage is discharged below a predetermined voltage, the first switch is turned on and the electric double layer capacitor is charged by the power from the power source. The toilet seat heating method according to claim 1, wherein the toilet seat is heated.   A washing water heater for heating water for washing the human body is provided, and the washing water heater is connected in common to one terminal to which the toilet seat heater of the second switch means is connected, and the human body detection means When it is detected that the human body has entered the toilet room based on the detection signal from, the second switch is turned on, the electric power stored in the electric double layer capacitor is quickly discharged, and the washing water heater is connected with the toilet seat heater. The toilet seat heating method according to claim 1, wherein the toilet seat heating method is configured to supply electric power.   The toilet seat heating method according to claim 1, wherein the power supplied to the power source is AC commercial power, and the AC power is converted into DC power by the power source.

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