JP2010236229A - Urinal flushing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a urinal flushing apparatus which avoids malfunction due to radio wave interference with other urinals. <P>SOLUTION: The urinal flushing apparatus controlling a valve for supplying flushing water to the urinal includes a control unit for determining the movement of an object according to the output of a Doppler sensor to control the valve. The control unit has a urine-flow detecting means for extracting a predetermined frequency signal corresponding to urine flow included in the output of the Doppler sensor and determining the presence of urine flow when a signal level of the extracted frequency signal exceeds a threshold, and a human-body detecting means for detecting a signal level of a human body based on a Doppler signal included in the output of the Doppler sensor. When the signal level of the human body detected by the human-body detecting means exceeds a value corresponding to the proximity state of the distance between the human body and the urinal flushing device, the urine-flow detecting means changes to a proximity urine determination threshold of a signal level lower than a standard urine determination threshold for determining the presence of urine-flow on the signal level of the extracted frequency signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  Aspects of the present invention generally relate to a urinal cleaning device, and more particularly to a urinal cleaning device that performs automatic cleaning of a urinal.

  There is a toilet cleaning system that detects a human body and urine flow using a microwave sensor (Patent Document 1). According to the toilet flushing system described in Patent Document 1, a predetermined frequency signal corresponding to human movement and urine flow included in the Doppler signal is extracted, and detection processing is performed using those signals, and the detection result Supply flush water to the urinal accordingly.

  However, when the user urinates in the vicinity of the urinal, the trajectory until the urine flow collides with the urinal is short, and a Doppler signal is not easily generated. Normally, the orbit of the urine flow becomes a parabola, and the Doppler signal is likely to occur because the velocity component that opposes the radio wave radiation direction of the microwave sensor is included in the urine flow, but the urine flow is a straight line in the state close to the urinal Therefore, depending on the radiation angle of the urine flow, there are few velocity components parallel to the radio wave radiation direction of the microwave sensor, and it is difficult to generate a Doppler signal. Therefore, the frequency signal corresponding to the urine flow included in the Doppler signal becomes small, and a sufficient signal level cannot be obtained, making it difficult to detect.

  Further, a Doppler signal in a frequency band corresponding to the urine flow is generated by interference with a radio wave radiated from a microwave sensor mounted on another urinal (Patent Document 2). The signal generated by radio wave interference has a higher signal level than the Doppler signal due to urination in the vicinity of the urinal, and the urine flow detection threshold of the Doppler signal is the radio wave to avoid malfunction due to radio wave interference with other urinals. It must be set higher than the signal level generated by the interference. For this reason, urination in the state of being close to the urinal cannot be detected, and there are cases in which cleaning water cannot be supplied to the urinal.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-330672 JP 2007-247158 A

  The present invention has been made on the basis of recognition of such problems, avoids malfunction due to radio wave interference with other urinals, and detects urination in a state close to the urinals and reliably supplies washing water. An object of the present invention is to provide a urinal washing device that can be used.

The invention according to claim 1 is a urinal washing device that controls a valve for supplying washing water to a urinal and is provided with an object detection means and is attached in a simultaneous manner, wherein the object detection means is the urinal washing A Doppler sensor comprising a transmitting means for transmitting a radio wave to an object to determine use of the apparatus and a receiving means for receiving the reflected wave to generate a Doppler signal, and movement of the object according to the output of the Doppler sensor And a control unit that controls the valve, the control unit extracts a predetermined frequency signal corresponding to the urine flow included in the output of the Doppler sensor, and when the extracted frequency signal level exceeds a threshold value, Urine flow detection means for determining that the flow is present, and human body detection means for detecting a signal level of the human body based on a Doppler signal included in the Doppler sensor output, When the signal level of the human body detected by the human body detection means exceeds the distance corresponding to the proximity between the human body and the urinal washing device, the urine flow detection means has urine flow presence with respect to the extracted frequency signal level. The urinal washing apparatus is characterized by changing to a proximity urine determination threshold value having a frequency signal level lower than the standard urine determination threshold value.
According to this urinal washing device, it is possible to set an appropriate urine determination threshold value corresponding to the standing position, assuming the standing position of the urinal user based on the signal level of the human body. Therefore, when the standing position is far from the urinal, the standard urine determination threshold is set to avoid radio wave interference, and when the standing position is close to the urinal, radio waves emitted from other urinals by the human body can be blocked. Therefore, since the proximity urine determination threshold having a signal level lower than the standard urine determination threshold can be set, it is possible to reliably detect the urine flow in the vicinity of the urinal where the Doppler signal is hardly generated.

In the invention according to claim 2, the proximity urine determination threshold value is a frequency due to radio wave interference from another urinal cleaning device adjacent to the urinal cleaning device at a distance at which the human body detection means starts detecting the human body. 2. The urinal washing device according to claim 1, wherein the urinal washing device has a value lower than a signal level.
According to this urinal washing apparatus, in a state where the distance between the human body and the urinal is close, the frequency signal level due to radio wave interference from another urinal washing apparatus adjacent to the urinal washing apparatus starts to be detected by the human body Since the frequency signal level is lower than the frequency signal level due to radio wave interference in the human body, the proximity urine determination threshold value is set to a value lower than the signal level due to radio wave interference from other urinal washing devices at a distance where the human body detection means starts to detect human bodies The detection sensitivity of urine is improved and urine can be detected accurately.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the control unit further expands a range of Doppler frequencies to detect and determine a frequency signal corresponding to the urine flow extracted from the Doppler signal to a lower frequency side. It is a urinal washing device of Claim 1 or 2.
According to this urinal washing device, in urination in a state where the distance between the human body and the urinal is close, even when the velocity component of the urine flow parallel to the radio wave radiation direction of the Doppler sensor is small, the urine flow By expanding the frequency range to be extracted to the lower frequency side, it is possible to detect the low frequency band that was limited to prevent false detection due to radio wave interference from other adjacent urinal washing devices, so the detection sensitivity of urine Can be improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the human body detection means detects a human body based on the variance value of the extracted frequency signal, and the urine flow of the urine flow detection means according to the frequency signal level of the variance value. 4. The urinal washing device according to claim 1, wherein the detection condition is changed.
According to this urinal washing device, the dispersion value of the Doppler signal appears more conspicuously than the amplitude value of the Doppler signal and changes more stably, so the determination as to whether or not the detected object has approached the urinal is Easy.

The human body detecting means may detect the human body based on a standing wave signal included in the output of the Doppler sensor, and the urine flow detecting means may detect the human body according to the standing wave signal level. 4. The urinal washing device according to claim 1, wherein the urine flow detection condition is changed.
According to this urinal washing device, the human body is detected using a standing wave signal whose signal level changes according to the distance between the Doppler sensor and the human body. Can grasp.

  According to the aspect of the present invention, there is provided a urinal washing apparatus that can avoid malfunction due to radio wave interference with other urinals, and that can detect urination in a state close to the urinal and reliably supply flush water. Provided.

It is a side surface schematic diagram showing the urinal washing device concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a side surface schematic diagram showing the user's general usage method with respect to a urinal. It is a side surface schematic diagram for demonstrating the detection direction of a Doppler sensor. It is a side surface schematic diagram for demonstrating the difference in the standing position of the user with respect to a urinal. It is the figure which showed the relationship between the user's standing position with respect to a urinal, and a Doppler signal. It is a block diagram which illustrates the composition of the urinal washing device concerning this embodiment. It is a flowchart which illustrates the operation | movement of the human body determination of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which illustrates the operation | movement of the urine flow determination of this embodiment. It is a block diagram which illustrates the composition of the urinal washing device concerning this embodiment. It is a flowchart which illustrates the operation | movement of the human body determination of this embodiment. It is a graph showing an example of the Doppler signal by a human body approach, and the dispersion value of the Doppler signal. It is a block diagram which illustrates the example of a structure of the urinal washing apparatus concerning this embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the specific example of determination operation | movement at the time of using a standing wave.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each drawing, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted suitably.
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a urinal washing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The urinal washing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is attached to a male urinal 100 and controls a microwave Doppler sensor (hereinafter simply referred to as “Doppler sensor”) 200 for detecting a human body and urine flow, and controls urinal washing. And a control unit 300.

  The urinal 100 has a ball portion 110. A water supply unit 120 for discharging cleaning water to the ball unit 110 is provided at the upper part of the ball unit 110, and a trap unit 130 for temporarily storing the cleaning water is provided at the lower part of the ball unit 110. The water (sealed water) stored in the trap part 130 prevents bad odors and pests from entering the ball part 110 side from the drainage channel side. And the water stored in the trap part 130 is suitably discharged | emitted from the drain outlet 140 to a drainage channel according to the amount of washing water discharged from the water supply part 120.

  The Doppler sensor 200 is installed on the back surface (rear) side of the urinal 100, that is, on the side opposite to the ball portion 110. The Doppler sensor 200 radiates (transmits) high-frequency radio waves such as microwaves or millimeter waves, receives reflected waves from the detected object of the emitted radio waves, detects the presence or absence of the detected object, and detects the detection signal. Is a high radio wave sensor. The Doppler sensor 200 detects a user (human body) 510 standing in front of the urinal 100, urination from the user 510, and the like, as in the detection range 201 illustrated in FIG. The Doppler sensor 200 will be described in detail later.

  Based on the detection signal (Doppler signal) output from the Doppler sensor 200, the controller 300 drives the water supply valve 400 provided in the middle of the water supply path. The water supply unit 120 and the water supply valve 400 are connected by a water supply channel. When the water supply valve 400 is opened, water passes through the inside of the water supply channel and is discharged from the water supply unit 120. On the other hand, when the water supply valve 400 is closed, water is not discharged from the water supply unit 120. In the present specification, “water” includes “hot water”.

  FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the urinal of this embodiment is used. The standing position of the user 510 varies, and the difference in standing position affects the human body and urine flow detection signals. The effect of this difference in standing position will be described later. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view for explaining the detection direction of the Doppler sensor. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view illustrating the case where the Doppler sensor is installed to be inclined with respect to the ball surface.

  2 and 3, the Doppler sensor 200 is installed on the back surface side of the urinal 100, and is inclined with respect to the ball surface 111 so that the detection range 201 faces forward and downward. ing.

    Here, the radio wave radiation direction (maximum directivity direction) of the Doppler sensor 200 is inclined with respect to the trajectory of the urine flow 520, as shown in FIG. The emitted radio wave is reflected by the urine flow 520, and the Doppler sensor 200 receives the reflected radio wave (reflected wave). The amount of radio wave received is closer to the distance from the Doppler sensor 200 to the urine flow 520. The relationship is the same in the detection range 201. The Doppler signal (detection signal) output from the Doppler sensor 200 is determined by the amount of radio waves received and the velocity component parallel to the radio wave reflection direction of the urine flow 520 that is a reflecting object. This applies not only to the urine flow but also to the user 510 as the reflecting object. That is, when the urine flow 520 mainly includes a velocity component orthogonal to the radio wave radiation direction, the obtained Doppler signal is a very small signal. When the user 510 urinates close to the urinal 100, the trajectory until the urine flow 520 collides with the urinal 100 becomes almost straight, so the velocity component in which the urine flow is orthogonal to the radio wave radiation direction is the main component. In such a case, the urinal washing device may not be detected.

In addition, when the urinal washing apparatus is installed in combination, a Doppler signal is generated due to the influence of radio wave interference caused by receiving the radio wave (transmitted wave) transmitted from the Doppler sensor 200 installed in another apparatus. Since the frequency band is close to the frequency band of the Doppler signal generated by the urine flow 520, if the threshold value for detecting the urine flow 520 is set low (proximity urine determination threshold value), the urinal cleaning device causes the urine flow to flow under the influence of radio wave interference. It will be mistakenly detected.

The urinal washing device according to the present embodiment can prevent erroneous detection due to radio wave interference, and can reliably detect urination in a state where the user 510 is close to the urinal 100 (proximity position). Hereinafter, prevention of radio wave interference and detection of urination immediately in the urinal will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 4A shows a state where the user 510 is standing in a position (standard position) away from the urinal 100, and FIG. It is the figure which showed a mode that it is used in the state which stood in the near position.

  When the user 510 is standing at a position (standard position) away from the urinal 100 as shown in FIG. 4A, the trajectory of the urine flow 520 becomes a parabola, and therefore the urine flow 520 collides with the toilet 100. Therefore, the Doppler signal output from the Doppler sensor 200 becomes large. Although a Doppler signal is also generated due to radio wave interference with other urinal washing devices, the signal level of the Doppler signal due to urine flow 520 is larger, so the signal level of the Doppler signal due to radio wave interference and the Doppler signal due to urine flow 520 By setting a urine flow detection threshold (standard urine determination threshold) between the signal levels, only the urine flow 520 can be reliably detected without malfunction due to radio wave interference.

  When the user 510 stands at a position close to the urinal 100 (close position) as shown in FIG. 4B, the urine flow 520 immediately collides with the urinal 100, so the trajectory of the urine flow 520 is almost a straight line. When the velocity component of the urine flow 520 is orthogonal to the radio wave radiation direction, the obtained Doppler signal is small. Regarding the Doppler signal due to radio wave interference with other urinal cleaning devices, since the user 510 is close to the urinal 100, the radio wave transmitted from the other urinal cleaning devices becomes Doppler because the user 510 is blinded. It does not reach the sensor 200 and is not affected by radio wave interference. Therefore, although the signal level of the Doppler signal by the urine flow 520 is small, if the threshold value (proximity urine determination threshold value) is set to a lower value, only the urine flow 520 can be reliably detected without malfunction due to radio wave interference.

  Further, regarding the human body detection signal by the user 510, when the user 510 stands at a position away from the urinal 100 as shown in FIG. 4A, the amount of reflected radio waves received by the Doppler sensor 510 is small. Therefore, the generated Doppler signal is also small. On the other hand, when the user 510 stands at a position close to the urinal 100 as shown in FIG. 4B, the amount of reflected radio waves received by the Doppler sensor 200 is large, and the generated Doppler signal is also large.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the standing position of the user 510 and each Doppler signal. FIG. 5 (a) is a signal by urine flow, FIG. 5 (b) is a Doppler signal by radio wave interference, and FIG. 5 (c) is a Doppler signal by a user. As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the more the user stands away from the urinal, the longer the distance until the urine flow collides with the urinal and the trajectory becomes a parabola, and the generated Doppler signal increases. . Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the closer the user is to the urinal, the less the radio waves generated by other adjacent urinal cleaning devices are blocked by the human body and reach the Doppler sensor 200. The Doppler signal generated by radio wave interference becomes small. Further, as shown in FIG. 5C, the closer the user is to the urinal, the greater the amount of radio waves reflected by the human body that the Doppler sensor 200 receives, and the greater the generated Doppler signal.

  Therefore, the control unit 300 of the urinal washing device according to the present embodiment, when the signal level of the human body exceeds the value corresponding to the proximity of the human body 510 and the urinal 100, the urine flow detecting means The threshold value for determining presence is changed to a proximity urine determination threshold value having a signal level lower than the standard urine determination threshold value. The signal level of the human body is a signal obtained by extracting the frequency component of the human body from the Doppler signal output from the Doppler sensor 200, and increases as the user 510 stands near the urinal 100. When the signal level of the human body becomes larger than the value corresponding to the proximity of the human body 510 and the urinal 100 (for example, when the amplitude of the Doppler signal becomes equal to or greater than the value corresponding to the proximity of the urinal 100) ) Assuming that the user 510 stands close to the urinal 100 and the Doppler signal due to urine flow becomes small, and that the human body acts as a blind and does not generate a Doppler signal due to radio wave interference, the control unit 300 The urine flow detection threshold is changed to a low value (proximity urine determination value), and urine flow detection determination is performed. Note that the changed urine determination threshold (proximity urine determination value) is a value larger than the signal level of urine flow generated by radio wave interference with other Doppler sensors.

  As described above, the urinal washing apparatus according to the present embodiment changes the urine flow detection condition based on the characteristics of the human body, the urine flow, and the Doppler signal of radio wave interference due to the difference in the standing position of the human body 510. That is, the urinal washing device according to the present embodiment does not always detect urine flow based on a constant detection condition, but selects the optimum detection condition according to the standing position of the human body and determines urine flow detection. Therefore, the urinal washing device according to the present embodiment can reliably detect the urine flow regardless of the standing position of the human body.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the urinal washing device according to this embodiment.
7 and 8 are flowcharts illustrating the operation of the determination unit of this embodiment.

  The Doppler sensor 200 of the present embodiment includes a transmission unit 210, a reception unit 220, and a difference detection unit 230. From the transmission means 210, radio waves in a frequency band of 10 kHz to 100 GHz such as high frequency, microwave, or millimeter wave are radiated. Reflected waves from the human body 510 and the urine flow 520 are input to the receiving means 220.

  By performing such a transmission / reception mode using radio waves, it is possible to detect a detected object that is difficult to detect with a sensor having very narrow directivity, such as a photoelectric sensor (infrared sensor). Therefore, by using radio waves in the vicinity of the urinal cleaning device, detection can be performed regardless of the shape, color, and material, and the detection accuracy of the detection target can be improved.

  A part of the transmission wave and the reception wave are respectively input to the difference detection unit 230 and synthesized, and an output signal reflecting the Doppler effect is output. That is, the difference detection unit 230 takes a frequency difference between a part of the transmission wave and the reception wave and outputs a Doppler signal. The Doppler signal output from the difference detection unit 230 is output to the control unit 300.

The Doppler signal output from the difference detection unit 230 has a waveform in which a high frequency signal is superimposed on a low frequency baseline. The high frequency component includes information on the Doppler effect. That is, when the detection object such as the human body 510 or the urine flow 520 moves, the wavelength of the reflected wave shifts due to the Doppler effect. The Doppler frequency ΔF (Hz) can be expressed by the following equation (1).

ΔF = Fs−Fb = 2 × Fs × v / c (1)

Where Fs: transmission frequency (Hz)
Fb: reflection frequency (Hz)
v: object moving speed (m / s)
c: speed of light (= 300 × 106 m / s)

  When the object to be detected moves relative to the Doppler sensor 200, an output signal including a frequency ΔF proportional to the velocity v can be obtained as represented by the equation (1). The output signal has a frequency spectrum, and there is a correlation between the peak frequency corresponding to the peak of the spectrum and the velocity v of the moving object. Therefore, the velocity v can be obtained by measuring the Doppler frequency ΔF.

  On the other hand, the control unit 300 includes a reception output unit 310, a human body detection unit 320, and a urine flow detection unit 330. The human body detection unit 320 includes a human body frequency filter 321 and a human body determination unit 323, and the urine flow determination detection unit 330 includes a urine flow frequency filter 331 and a urine flow determination unit 333. The Doppler signal output from the difference detection unit 230 is received by the reception output unit 310 and then output to the human body frequency filter 321 and the urine flow frequency filter 331. The human body frequency filter 321 and the urinary flow frequency filter 331 delete the frequency components corresponding to the human body approach and the frequency component corresponding to the urine flow from the Doppler signal, respectively, and the human body detection frequency signal and the urine corresponding to the human body approach. A urine flow detection frequency signal corresponding to the flow is extracted. The filtering frequency at this time can be changed as appropriate.

  The human body frequency filter 321 removes frequency components unnecessary for human body detection, and the Doppler signal from which the human body detection frequency corresponding to the human body approach is extracted is output to the human body determination unit 323. The human body determination unit 323 detects a human body by an operation like the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, and opens and closes the water supply valve 400 based on the determination result.

Further, a frequency component unnecessary for urine flow detection is removed by the urine flow frequency filter 331, and the Doppler signal from which the urine flow detection frequency corresponding to the urine flow is extracted is output to the urine flow determination unit 333. The urine flow determination means detects the urine flow by an operation like the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, and opens and closes the water supply valve 400 based on the determination result.

  Here, the operation of the human body determination unit 323 shown in FIG. 7 will be described. First, when the determination unit 323 starts the human body detection process (step S101), the determination unit 323 determines whether the amplitude of the Doppler signal from the human body frequency filter 321 is greater than or equal to the human body threshold (step S103). When the amplitude of the Doppler signal from the human body frequency filter 321 is less than the human body detection threshold (step S103: No), the operation of step S103 is repeated. On the other hand, when the amplitude of the Doppler signal from the human body frequency filter 321 is greater than or equal to the human body detection threshold (step S103: Yes), it is determined that the human body 510 has approached the urinal 100 (step S105).

When human body detection is established (step S105), it is determined whether or not the amplitude of the Doppler signal is equal to or less than a predetermined value A (where A <human body detection threshold) (step S107).
If the amplitude of the Doppler signal is A or less (step S107: Yes), I is substituted for the urine determination threshold value N used by the urine flow determination means (step S109), and the human body detection process is terminated (step S113). . If the amplitude of the Doppler signal is larger than A (step S107: No), II (where II <I) is substituted for the urine determination threshold N used by the urine flow determination means (step S111), and the human body The detection process is terminated (step S113).

  Subsequently, the operation of the urine flow determination means 333 shown in FIG. 8 will be described. First, when the determination unit 333 starts the urine flow detection process (step S201), the determination unit 333 sets a value of N as the urine determination threshold value (step S203). Here, the value set by the human body determination means (step S109 or S111) is used as the value of N. When the urine determination threshold N is set (step S201), it is determined whether the amplitude of the Doppler signal from the urine flow frequency filter 331 is N or more (step S205). When the amplitude of the Doppler signal from the urine flow frequency filter 331 is less than N (step S205: No), the operation of step S205 is repeated. On the other hand, when the amplitude of the Doppler signal from the urine flow frequency filter 331 is N or more (step S205: Yes), it is determined that urination has occurred (step S207), and the urine flow detection process is terminated (step S209). .

  Further, in this specific example, when human body detection is established, the amplitude of the human body Doppler signal is divided into two cases of whether or not it is A or less, and a urine determination threshold is set for each. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the magnitude of the amplitude of the human Doppler signal may be classified into three or more cases, and a urine determination threshold value may be set for each. Even if the amplitude of the human Doppler signal is divided into three or more cases, the urine determination threshold value is set to a lower value as the amplitude of the human Doppler signal increases. To do.

  In this specific example, the urine determination threshold value N based on the amplitude value of the urinary flow Doppler signal is changed according to the amplitude of the human Doppler signal, but the frequency band used for urine flow detection is changed. May be. When the human body 510 stands at a position close to the urinal 100 and urinates, the urine flow trajectory is close to a straight line, and the trajectory has a velocity component that is perpendicular to the radiation direction of the radio wave radiated from the Doppler sensor 200. In the main case, since the frequency of the Doppler signal becomes low, a Doppler signal in a frequency band corresponding to the urine flow is hardly generated. Therefore, when the amplitude of the Doppler signal of the human body is larger than a predetermined value, the human body 510 comes close to the urinal 100 by setting the lower limit value of the frequency range of the Doppler signal used for urine flow detection to a low value. Urination in the state can also be detected. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the urinal washing device according to this embodiment.

  When the human body determination unit 323 determines that the human body is present, the human body detection unit 320 of this specific example changes the lower limit value of the cutoff frequency used in the urine flow frequency filter 331 of the urine flow detection unit 330. That is, in the block diagram shown in FIG. 6, the human body determination unit 323 changes the condition of the urine flow determination unit 333, but instead, the human body determination unit 323 corresponds to changing the condition of the urine flow frequency filter 331. . About another structure, it is the same as that of the structure of the urinal washing apparatus represented to FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the human body determination unit 323.

First, when the determination unit 323 starts the human body detection process (step S151), the determination unit 323 determines whether or not the amplitude of the Doppler signal from the human body frequency filter 321 is greater than or equal to the human body threshold (step S153). When the amplitude of the Doppler signal from the human body frequency filter 321 is less than the human body detection threshold (step S153: No), the operation of step S153 is repeated. On the other hand, when the amplitude of the Doppler signal from the human body frequency filter 321 is greater than or equal to the human body detection threshold (step S153: Yes), it is determined that the human body 510 has approached the urinal 100 (step S155).

When human body detection is established (step S155), it is determined whether or not the amplitude of the Doppler signal is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value A (where A <human body detection threshold) (step S157).
If the amplitude of the Doppler signal is A or less (step S157: Yes), a is substituted for the urinary flow frequency filter lower limit F used in the urine flow frequency filter 331 (step S159), and the human body detection process is terminated. (Step S163). If the amplitude of the Doppler signal is larger than A (step S157: No), b (where b <a) is substituted for the urinary flow frequency filter lower limit F used in the urinary flow frequency filter 331 (step <step S157>) S161), the human body detection process is finished (step S163).

  As in this specific example, when the urinary flow frequency filter lower limit F used in the urine flow frequency filter 331 is set to a small value when the amplitude of the human Doppler signal is large, the human body 510 stands close to the urinal 100. Even when the urine flow is close to a straight line and the trajectory is mainly composed of velocity components that are orthogonal to the radiation direction of the radio wave emitted from the Doppler sensor 200, the frequency is higher than that of the normal urine flow. Since a low signal is also determined as a urine flow, the urine flow can be reliably detected.

  In this specific example, the determination as to whether or not the human body 501 has approached the urinal 100 is taken as an example in which the human body detection determination is performed based on the amplitude of the Doppler signal from the human body frequency filter 321, but for a predetermined time The determination may be made using a variance value representing the fluctuation of the Doppler signal between them. That is, the human body determination unit 323 illustrated in FIG. 6 may perform determination using a variance value that represents a variation in the amplitude of the Doppler signal during a predetermined time.

  The variance value of the Doppler signal can be expressed by the following equation.

  Based on the Doppler signal due to the approach of the human body, the variance value calculated by Equation (2) is as shown in FIG. According to this, the dispersion value of the Doppler signal due to the approach of the human body increases as the human body 510 approaches the urinal 100 and the fluctuation of the amplitude of the Doppler signal increases.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the variance value of the Doppler signal appears more significantly than the amplitude of the Doppler signal and changes more stably. Therefore, using the variance value of the Doppler signal makes it easier to determine whether or not the human body 510 has approached the Doppler sensor 200.

Further, whether or not the human body 501 has approached the urinal 100 may be determined using a standing wave signal. The level of the standing wave signal changes according to the distance between the Doppler sensor 200 and the human body 510 that is the detection target. That is, the voltage level of the standing wave signal increases as the distance from the Doppler sensor 200 to the human body 510 is shorter. Next, a specific example of the urinal washing device according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the urinal washing device according to this embodiment.

The human body detection means 320 of this specific example is a standing wave detection means 325 that detects and outputs only a standing wave signal from a Doppler signal, and a human body approaches the standing wave signal output from the standing wave detection means 325. Standing wave determination means 327 for determining whether or not. That is, the human body detection unit 320 shown in FIG. 6 corresponds to having the standing wave detection unit 325 instead of the frequency filter 321 and the standing wave determination unit 327 instead of the human body determination unit 323. About another structure, it is the same as that of the structure of the urinal washing apparatus represented to FIG.

The standing wave detection unit 325 detects a standing wave signal included in the signal input from the reception output unit 310, and includes a low-pass filter circuit (AC component removal circuit), a phase shift circuit, a full wave rectification circuit, It consists of an adder circuit.

  The signal input from the reception output means 310 is composed of a DC component that is a standing wave signal and an AC component that is a Doppler signal, and the Doppler signal component is removed by the low-pass filter circuit of the standing wave detection means 327. To extract a standing wave signal. That is, the AC component is removed from the sensor output.

  The level of the standing wave signal changes according to the distance between the Doppler sensor 200 and the human body that is the detection target. That is, the voltage level of the standing wave signal increases as the distance from the Doppler sensor 200 to the detection target becomes shorter.

  When the standing wave detection unit 325 generates a standing wave signal for human body detection, the phase of the standing wave signal output from the low-pass filter circuit of the standing wave detection unit 325 is first shifted. The signal is generated by a shift circuit.

  Next, the standing wave detection unit 325 performs full wave rectification on the standing wave signal whose phase is shifted in this way by the full wave rectification circuit, and also outputs the phase output from the low pass filter circuit of the standing wave detection unit 325. Full-wave rectification is performed on the unshifted standing wave signal by a full-wave rectifier circuit.

  Thereafter, the standing wave detecting means 325 generates a standing wave composite signal by adding the two standing wave signals thus full-wave rectified by the adder circuit, and using the standing wave composite signal for human body detection. It outputs to the standing wave determination means 327 as a standing wave signal.

  The standing wave determination unit 327 detects the presence / absence of the user (human body) 510 who uses the urinal 100 using the standing wave signal for human body detection input from the standing wave detection unit 325. . That is, since the standing wave signal generated by the standing wave detection unit 325 is a signal having a voltage level corresponding to the distance between the Doppler sensor 200 and the human body that is the detection target, the human body detection unit 327 includes: By detecting this voltage level, the distance between the Doppler sensor 200 and the human body can be detected.

  Therefore, the standing wave determination unit 327 performs a calculation process for comparing the voltage level of the standing wave signal input from the standing wave detection unit 325 with a predetermined threshold value set in advance, and thereby determines the voltage of the standing wave signal. When the level is larger than the set threshold value, it can be determined that the user exists.

  Then, when the standing wave determination unit 327 detects the presence of the user, the standing wave determination unit 327 determines the standing position of the user 510 from the voltage level of the standing wave signal, and determines the urine determination threshold included in the urine flow determination unit 333. The value is changed according to the standing position of the user 510.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the standing wave determination unit 327.

First, when the standing wave determination unit 327 starts the standing wave determination process (step S301), it is determined whether or not the voltage level of the standing wave signal from the standing wave detection unit 325 is equal to or higher than the standing wave threshold value. Judgment is made (step S303). When the voltage level of the standing wave signal from the standing wave detection means 325 is less than the standing wave threshold (step S303: No), the operation of step S303 is repeated. On the other hand, when the voltage level of the standing wave signal from the standing wave detection means 325 is equal to or higher than the standing wave threshold (step S303: Yes), it is determined that the human body 510 has approached the urinal 100 (step S305). ).

When the human body detection is established (step S305), it is determined whether or not the voltage level of the standing wave signal is equal to or lower than a predetermined value B (where B <standing wave threshold) (step S307).
If the voltage level of the standing wave signal is B or less (step S307: Yes), I is substituted for the urine determination threshold value N used by the urine flow determination means (step S309), and the standing wave determination process is terminated. (Step S313). When the voltage level of the standing wave signal is higher than B (step S307: No), II (where II <I) is substituted for the urine determination threshold N used by the urine flow determination means (step S311). ), And the standing wave determination process is terminated (step S113).

  When the standing wave signal is used to determine whether or not the human body 501 has approached the urinal 100 as in this specific example, the voltage level of the standing wave signal is determined by the distance from the Doppler sensor 200 to the detection target. Since it has the characteristic that it gets closer as it gets closer, it is possible to grasp the standing position of the human body 501 in more detail and to set an appropriate urine determination threshold value, so that urine flow can be detected reliably. Can do.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to these descriptions. As long as the features of the present invention are provided, those skilled in the art appropriately modified the design of the above-described embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention. For example, the shape, size, material, arrangement, etc. of each element included in the urinal 100 and the like, the installation form including the installation position and installation angle of the Doppler sensor 200 are not limited to those illustrated, and may be changed as appropriate. Can do.
Moreover, each element with which each embodiment mentioned above is provided can be combined as long as technically possible, and the combination of these is also included in the scope of the present invention as long as it includes the features of the present invention.

  100 urinal, 110 ball section, 111 ball surface, 120 water supply section, 130 trap section, 140 drain outlet, 200 Doppler sensor, 201 detection range, 210 transmission means, 220 reception means, 230 difference detection means, 300 control section, 310 Reception output means, 320 human body detection means, 321 human body frequency filter, 323 human body determination means, 325 standing wave detection means, 327 standing wave determination means 330 urine flow detection means, 331 urine flow frequency filter, 333 urine flow determination means, 400 Water supply valve, 510 User (human body), 520 Urine flow

Claims (5)

  A urinal washing device that controls a valve for supplying washing water to a urinal and is provided with an object detection means and is installed in combination, wherein the object detection means is used to determine the use of the urinal washing device. A Doppler sensor comprising a transmitting means for transmitting a radio wave to an object and a receiving means for receiving a reflected wave to generate a Doppler signal, and controlling the valve by determining the movement of the object according to the output of the Doppler sensor A urine flow detector that extracts a predetermined frequency signal corresponding to the urine flow included in the output of the Doppler sensor and determines that the urine flow is present when the extracted frequency signal level exceeds a threshold value. And human body detecting means for detecting a signal level of the human body based on a Doppler signal included in the Doppler sensor output, and the human body detecting means When the signal level of the human body to be output exceeds the distance corresponding to the proximity between the human body and the urinal washing device, the urine flow detecting means determines that the urine flow is present with respect to the extracted frequency signal level. A urinal washing apparatus, wherein the urine washing device is changed to a proximity urine determination threshold value having a frequency signal level lower than the determination threshold value.   The proximity urine determination threshold is a value lower than a frequency signal level due to radio wave interference from another urinal cleaning device adjacent to the urinal cleaning device at a distance at which the human body detecting unit starts to detect a human body. The urinal washing device according to claim 1, characterized in that:   The urinal washing according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit further expands a range of a Doppler frequency to a lower frequency side by detecting and determining a frequency signal corresponding to the urine flow extracted from the Doppler signal. apparatus.   The human body detection means detects a human body based on a variance value of the extracted frequency signal, and changes a urine flow detection condition of the urine flow detection means according to the frequency signal level of the variance value. The urinal washing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The human body detection means detects a human body based on a standing wave signal included in the Doppler sensor output, and changes the urine flow detection condition of the urine flow detection means according to the standing wave signal level. The urinal washing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein