JP2011188190A - Remote control unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote control unit which allows a remote control to be charged by having the remote control irradiated with electromagnetic waves from an apparatus body, and which is capable of preventing a human body from receiving strong electromagnetic waves. <P>SOLUTION: In a case 31 of a remote control 30, a capacitor 38 for storing power generated by a solar cell 33, a control circuit 36, a switch element 37 and a transmission element 34a are installed. A reception means 32 is arranged on the front face of the case 31. A toilet seat box 12 is provided with a human body detection means 22a and an electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a. When human body is not detected, the human body detection means of the toilet seat box 12 has the remote control 30 irradiated with electromagnetic waves with the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a. The solar cell 33 of the remote control 30 receives the electromagnetic waves to generate power, and the capacitor 38 stores the power thereof. When a human body is detected, the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a stops the irradiation of the electromagnetic waves. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control unit having a remote control and a device main body operated by the remote control, and more particularly to a remote control unit capable of supplying electromagnetic energy from the device main body to the remote control.

  A remote control unit capable of supplying electromagnetic energy from the device main body to the remote control is well known.

  For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-120641 (Patent Document 1), the sanitary washing toilet seat transmits a microwave toward the remote control only while the human body is seated on the sanitary washing toilet seat of the toilet. It is described that the power source is charged (FIG. 3 and paragraph 0015 of the same number).

JP 2004-120641 A

  When a remote control is charged by transmitting an electromagnetic wave from a sanitary washing toilet seat at the time of detecting a human body as in Patent Document 1, the human body receives this electromagnetic wave, so a strong electromagnetic wave cannot be transmitted and is charged sufficiently. I can't.

  The present invention solves the above problems, and provides a remote control unit that can irradiate electromagnetic waves from the device main body to charge the remote control well and prevent the human body from receiving strong electromagnetic waves. Objective.

  A remote control unit of the present invention (Claim 1) is a remote control unit having a remote control, a device main body operable by the remote control, and a human body detection means, and the device main body transmits electromagnetic wave energy toward the remote control. The remote control unit includes an electromagnetic wave irradiation means for irradiating, and the remote controller includes a power storage means for receiving and storing electromagnetic energy, and when the device main body receives a human body detection signal from the human body detection means Further, it has a control means for stopping the irradiation of the electromagnetic wave energy by the electromagnetic wave irradiation means or reducing the electromagnetic wave energy.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the remote control unit according to the first aspect, wherein the remote control can be switched between a wake-up mode in which the device main body can be operated and a sleep mode in which energy consumption is smaller than the wake-up mode. The control means is configured to irradiate the electromagnetic wave irradiation means with a modulation signal for setting the remote control to a wake-up mode when the human body detection signal is received.

  A remote control unit according to a third aspect of the present invention is the remote control unit according to the first or second aspect, wherein the human body detection means is disposed in the device main body.

  A remote control unit according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the remote control unit according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the remote control includes a transmission unit that transmits a charging completion signal when the charging of the power storage unit is completed. The main body has receiving means for receiving the charging completion signal and outputting it to the control means, and the control means stops the irradiation of the electromagnetic energy by the electromagnetic wave irradiation means when the charging completion signal is input. Or is configured to reduce electromagnetic energy.

  A remote control unit according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the remote control unit according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the remote control includes a transmission unit that transmits an insufficient charge signal when the power storage unit is insufficiently charged. The main body has receiving means for receiving the undercharge signal and outputting it to the control means, and the control means starts irradiation of electromagnetic energy by the electromagnetic wave irradiation means when the undercharge signal is input. Or the electromagnetic wave energy is increased.

  According to the remote control unit of the present invention (claim 1), it is possible to satisfactorily charge the power storage means of the remote controller by irradiating strong electromagnetic energy from the device body toward the remote controller. Further, when the human body is detected, the electromagnetic wave energy to be irradiated is reduced or the irradiation of the electromagnetic wave energy is stopped, so that the human body is prevented from receiving strong electromagnetic waves.

  According to the remote control unit of the second aspect, the sleep mode is set when the human body is not detected, and the energy consumption is reduced. In addition, the remote control is in the wake-up mode when detecting a human body, and the remote control operation can be performed reliably.

  In addition, it is preferable that the human body detection means for detecting a human body is arrange | positioned in the apparatus main body (Claim 3). In this case, the power consumption of the remote control is reduced compared to the case where the human body detection means is arranged in the remote control device, and the power storage means can be downsized.

  According to the remote control unit of claim 4, since the irradiation of the electromagnetic energy from the device main body is stopped or reduced when the charging of the power storage device of the remote control is completed, the energy consumption of the device main body can be reduced, and Overcharge is prevented.

  According to the remote control unit of claim 5, when the charging of the power storage means of the remote control is insufficient, the irradiation of electromagnetic energy from the device body starts or increases, so that the charging of the power storage means is prevented from being insufficient.

It is a perspective view in the toilet room in which the remote control unit according to the embodiment is installed. It is sectional drawing of the remote control 30 of FIG. (A) is a top view of the western style toilet bowl of FIG. 1, (b) is an enlarged view in the electromagnetic wave irradiation part 20 of (a). It is a block diagram of the remote control unit of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toilet room in which a remote control unit according to the embodiment is installed, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the remote control 30 of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 3 (b) is an enlarged view of the electromagnetic wave irradiation unit 20 in FIG. 3 (a), and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the remote control unit in FIG. In FIG. 2, the arrangement and size relationship of each part of the remote control is different from those in FIGS. 1 and 4, but this is for convenience of explaining each part of the remote control in an easy-to-understand manner. In FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts.

  The remote control unit according to the present embodiment includes a toilet seat box 12 as a device main body and a remote control 30.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a toilet seat box 12 is installed on the upper surface of the rear part of the western-style toilet 10, and a toilet seat 14 and a toilet lid 16 are pivotally supported by the toilet seat box 12 so that they can be tilted up and down. A manual flush handle 18 is provided on the right side surface of this toilet seat box 12 (the right side surface for a toilet seat occupant; the same applies hereinafter). Further, an electromagnetic wave irradiation part 20 made of an electromagnetic wave transmission material and a sensor arrangement part 22 made of an infrared transmission material are provided on the upper left corner of the toilet seat box 12. As will be described later, electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20 a and adjustment means 20 b are arranged in these electromagnetic wave irradiation parts 20, and human body detection means 22 a is arranged in the sensor arrangement part 22. The electric circuit in the toilet seat box 12 is supplied with power from a commercial power supply (AC 100 V) via a cord and a plug (not shown). This western style toilet 10 can supply tap water via a hose and a stop cock (not shown).

  A remote control mounting bracket (not shown) is attached to the left wall surface of the toilet room, and the remote control 30 is detachably hooked on the remote control mounting bracket.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a shower switch 30a and a bidet switch 30b for cleaning the buttock are dried on the lower half of the front surface of the case 31 constituting the outer shell of the remote controller 30, and drying for blowing hot air is performed. A switch 30c, a cleaning strength adjustment dial 30d for adjusting the cleaning strength, and a stop switch 30s for stopping cleaning and drying are provided. Further, a receiving means 32 for receiving a signal from an electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a (to be described later) of the toilet seat box 12 is provided in the lower half of the front surface of the case 31. A solar cell 33 is provided in the upper half of the front surface of the remote controller 30. On the upper surface of the remote controller 30, there are provided a large flash switch 30e for supplying a large amount (for example, about 6 L) of washing water to the Western-style toilet 10, and a small boy flash switch 30f for supplying a small amount (for example, 5 L) of cleaning water. ing. A transmitter 34 is provided at the upper front of the remote controller 30.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the case 31 of the remote controller 30, a capacitor 38 for storing electric power generated by the solar cell 33 and a substrate 35 are arranged. On the substrate 35, a control circuit (control means) 36, a switch element 37, and a transmission element 34a for transmitting a signal toward a human body detection means 22a (to be described later) in the toilet seat box 12 are installed. The control circuit 36 is connected to the solar cell 33, the receiving means 32, the capacitor 38, the switch element 37, and the transmitting element 34a through wiring. The solar cell 33 and the capacitor 38 constitute a power storage means. In FIG. 2, the switch element 37 is installed on the back side of the resin sheet 39 of the shower switch 30a. However, the switch element 37 is installed on the back side of the resin sheet 39 of the other switches 30b to 30f and 30s. Yes. The transmission element 34 a is provided at a position facing the transmission unit 34.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a human body detecting means 22a for detecting a human body by receiving infrared rays emitted from a human body approaching the Western-style toilet 10 is provided inside the sensor arrangement portion 22 of the toilet seat box 12. . The human body detecting means 22a also serves as a receiving means for receiving various signals transmitted from the transmitting element 34a of the remote controller 30. The electromagnetic wave irradiation unit 20 includes an electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a for irradiating the solar cell 33 and the reception means 32 of the remote controller 30 with electromagnetic waves, and the irradiation direction of the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a in the vertical direction (FIG. 3). An adjusting means 20b is provided which includes a first motor that rotates in the (α direction of (b)) and a second motor that rotates in the left-right direction (the θ direction of FIG. 3B). The adjusting means 20b can adjust the irradiation direction of electromagnetic waves by operating an operation switch (not shown) provided in the toilet seat box 12 and / or the remote controller 30. The adjusting means 20b is operated at the time of installation of the remote control unit or the like, and adjustment is made so that the electromagnetic waves are irradiated to the remote control 30 satisfactorily. The operations of the human body detection means 22a, the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a, and the adjustment means 20b are controlled by a control circuit 54 (FIG. 4) installed in the toilet seat box 12.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, each device whose operation is controlled by the control circuit 54 is installed in the toilet seat box 12. Each device is configured to operate as follows by the switches 30 a to 30 f and 30 s of the remote controller 30.

  When the shower switch 30a is pressed, the valve 50 opens, the shower nozzle 46A provided in the toilet seat box 12 moves forward, hot water is ejected from the tip, and shower washing (anal washing) of the user's buttocks is performed. When the bidet switch 30b is pressed, the valve 52 is opened, and the bidet nozzle 46B provided in the main body of the toilet seat box 12 is similarly operated, and warm water is ejected from the tip of the bidet nozzle 46B. Is done. In this cleaning, water from the pipe 40 in the toilet seat box connected to the hose and the stop cock is heated by the heater 44 in the hot water tank 42, and then the shower nozzle 46A or the bidet nozzle 46B through the pipe 46 or 48. Sent to. In addition, the opening degree of the valves 50 and 52 is controlled by turning the cleaning strength adjustment dial 30d, and the cleaning strength (warm water ejection amount) is adjusted.

  When the drying switch 30c is pressed, the warm air fan composed of the blower 56 and the air heater 58 in the toilet seat box 12 is operated, and the warm air is blown to the human body to dry.

  When the stop switch 30s is pressed, the operation of the shower nozzle, the bidet nozzle or the hot air fan is stopped. By operating the flash switch 30e (large) or 30f (small), the valve 74 or the valves 74 and 76 are opened, water is supplied into the toilet bowl of the Western-style toilet 10, and the filth is discharged. These valves 74 and 76 are provided in pipes 70 and 72 that receive water from the hose and the stop cock. The pipe 70 supplies water to the rim of the toilet bowl, and the pipe 72 supplies water to the trap section (jet hole section) of the toilet bowl.

  When the large flush switch 30e is pressed, the valve 74 is first opened for a predetermined time, the bowl surface is washed by the rim water supply, and then the valve 76 is opened for a predetermined time, generating siphon in the trap portion to remove dirt. After that, the valve 74 is opened for a predetermined time and the sealed water is stored in the bowl by the rim water supply. In this case, a total of about 6 L of water is supplied. When the small flush switch 30f is pressed, the valve 74 is first opened for a predetermined time, and the bowl surface is washed by the rim water supply, and then the valve 76 is opened. The valve is opened for a predetermined time, siphon is generated in the trap portion to discharge the filth, and then the valve 74 is opened for a predetermined time, and the water is stored in the bowl by rim water supply. However, the valve opening time (predetermined time) of these valves 74 and 76 is made different when the flash switch 30e is pressed and when the flash switch 30f is pressed.

  Of course, the operation of the valves 74 and 76 when the flash switches 30e and 30f are pressed is not limited to the above case. For example, when the small flush switch 30f is pressed, only the valve 74 is opened for the required time, and the bowl surface may be washed with about 2 L of water and the trap water may be replaced.

[When human body is not detected]
Next, the operation of the remote control unit configured as described above when no human body is detected will be described.

  When there is no person in the toilet room, the remote control 30 is in the sleep mode. In the sleep mode, the switches 30a to 30f and 30s (switch element 37) are in an inoperable state (a state in which no signal is transmitted even when the switch is pressed). Thereby, the energy consumption of the remote controller 30 is reduced.

  In this sleep mode, the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20 a of the toilet seat box 12 irradiates the remote controller 30 with electromagnetic waves. This electromagnetic wave is received by the solar cell 33 of the remote controller 30 to generate power, and this power is stored in the capacitor 38 (storage process).

  When the charged amount of the capacitor 38 reaches the first set value, the transmitting element 34a of the remote controller 30 transmits a charging completion signal. The human body detection means (reception means) 22a of the toilet seat box 12 receives this charge completion signal, and the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a stops the irradiation of electromagnetic waves (power storage stop process). Thereby, overcharging of the capacitor 38 is prevented.

  When the charged amount of the capacitor 38 falls below the second set value due to elapse of a long time after the irradiation of the electromagnetic wave by the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a is stopped, the transmitting element 34a of the remote control 30 transmits an undercharge signal. . The human body detection means 22a of the toilet seat box 12 receives this insufficient charging signal, and the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a starts irradiation of electromagnetic waves (power storage start step). Thereby, it returns to the said electrical storage process. In this way, the amount of stored electricity is maintained above the second set value and below the first set value.

[When detecting human body]
Next, the operation of the remote control unit during human body detection will be described.

  When the user approaches the Western-style toilet 10 in the sleep mode, the human body detection means 22a of the toilet seat box 12 detects the human body, and the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a transmits the wake-up signal (modulation signal), and then stops the electromagnetic wave irradiation. . This wake-up signal is a modulation signal different from the electromagnetic wave during power storage. The modulation method of the modulation signal is not particularly limited, and may be digital modulation or pulse modulation in addition to analog modulation such as AM modulation and FM modulation.

  The receiving means 32 of the remote controller 30 receives this wake-up signal, and the remote controller 30 enters the wake-up mode. In the wake-up mode, the switches 30a to 30f and 30s (switch element 37) are operable (a state in which a signal is transmitted when the switch is pressed).

  In the wake-up mode, when the user operates the switches 30a to 30f and 30s of the remote controller 30, the devices in the toilet seat box 12 operate as described above.

  When the user leaves the toilet room and the human body detection means 22a of the toilet seat box 12 detects no human body, the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a transmits a sleep signal (modulation signal). This sleep signal is a modulation signal different from the electromagnetic wave and the wake-up signal during power storage. When the receiving means 32 of the remote controller 30 receives this sleep signal, the remote controller 30 switches to the sleep mode. When the charged amount of the capacitor 38 is lower than the second set value, the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a irradiates the remote controller 30 with electromagnetic waves and executes the power storage process. When the charged amount of the capacitor 38 is equal to or greater than the second set value, the electromagnetic wave irradiation unit 20a stops the irradiation of the electromagnetic wave after transmitting the sleep signal. Thereafter, when the amount of power stored in the capacitor 38 falls below the second set value, the power storage start process and the power storage process are executed.

  According to the remote control unit according to the present embodiment, it is possible to charge the capacitor 38 of the remote control 30 satisfactorily by irradiating strong electromagnetic energy from the toilet seat box 12 toward the remote control 30 when no human body is detected. Moreover, since the irradiation of the electromagnetic wave by the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a is stopped at the time of detecting the human body, the human body is prevented from receiving the electromagnetic waves from the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a.

  According to the remote control unit according to the present embodiment, the sleep mode is set when no human body is detected, so that energy consumption can be reduced. Further, since the remote control is in the wake-up mode when detecting a human body, the remote control can be reliably performed.

  According to the remote control unit according to the present embodiment, when charging of the capacitor 38 of the remote control 30 is completed (when the charge amount is equal to or higher than the first set value), the electromagnetic wave energy irradiation from the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a of the toilet seat box 12 is performed. As a result, the energy consumption of the toilet seat box 12 is reduced, and overcharging of the capacitor 38 is prevented. Further, when the capacitor 38 is insufficiently charged (when the charge amount is less than the second set value), the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a irradiates the electromagnetic wave to charge the capacitor 38, thereby preventing the capacitor 38 from being insufficiently charged. Is done.

  The above embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the irradiation of the electromagnetic wave by the electromagnetic wave irradiation unit 20a is stopped when the human body detection unit 22a detects the human body, but the electromagnetic wave energy to be irradiated may be reduced. In this case, the human body is prevented from receiving strong electromagnetic waves, and charging of the capacitor 38 can be continued. The electromagnetic wave energy may be increased as the charged amount of the capacitor 38 decreases. As a result, it is well prevented that the remote control operation becomes impossible due to insufficient charging of the capacitor 38. You may irradiate visible light as an electromagnetic wave at the time of this human body detection. This makes it easy to see the switches 30a to 30f and 30s of the remote controller 30. In addition, at night, etc., the remote controller can be operated without turning on the lighting in the toilet room, and the user is prevented from feeling dazzled. Moreover, you may irradiate an ultraviolet-ray and infrared rays as an electromagnetic wave at the time of this human body detection.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the remote control 30 is set to the sleep mode at the time of a human body non-detection, it is good also as a wake-up mode. However, it is preferable to set the sleep mode in order to reduce energy consumption.

  Further, the human body detection means 22 a is provided in the device main body (toilet seat box) 12, but may be provided in the remote controller 30. However, if the human body detection means 22a is provided in the remote controller 30, the power consumption of the remote controller increases, so it is preferable to provide it in the device body (toilet seat box) 12. However, the human body detection means 22a may be provided in a place different from the device body (toilet seat box) 12 and the remote controller 30.

  Although transmission of the charging completion signal and the insufficient charging signal from the transmitting element 34 of the remote controller 30 may be omitted, it is preferable not to omit the charging because it is possible to prevent overcharging and insufficient charging of the capacitor 38.

  In the above embodiment, the receiving unit 32 is provided separately from the solar cell 33, but the solar cell 33 may also serve as the receiving unit 32. Reception of the signal from the remote controller 30 on the device main body (toilet seat box 12) side may not be performed by the human body detection means 22a, and a separate reception means may be provided.

  In the above embodiment, the human body detection means 22a also serves as a signal reception means from the transmitting element 34a of the remote controller 30, but a reception means may be provided separately from the human body detection means 22a. The human body detection means 22a is not limited to an infrared sensor, and may be, for example, an electromagnetic wave sensor or a pyroelectric sensor. The electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a transmits a wake-up signal (modulation signal) and a sleep signal (modulation signal). A modulation signal transmission means is provided separately from the electromagnetic wave irradiation means 20a, and these modulation signals are transmitted from the transmission means. May be sent.

  The contents of the sleep mode and the wake-up mode are not limited to the case of the above embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 of Patent Document 1, when a display screen such as a liquid crystal is provided on the remote control, the screen display may be turned off in the sleep mode and the screen display may be turned on in the wake-up mode. In addition, when the various switches of the remote control are non-contact switches provided with operation means such as a capacitance sensor and an optical sensor (light emitting / receiving light), the operation means is turned off in the sleep mode and the operation means is turned on in the wake-up mode. It may be ON.

  In the said embodiment, although the remote control unit which consists of the toilet seat box 12 and its remote control was illustrated, it is not limited to this. For example, a remote control unit consisting of a kitchen water heater and a remote control of a faucet at hand operation, a remote control unit consisting of a bathroom water heater and its remote control, a remote control unit consisting of an air conditioner and its remote control, a TV and its remote control A remote control unit or the like may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Western style toilet 12 Toilet seat box 20 Electromagnetic wave irradiation part 20a Electromagnetic wave irradiation means 22 Human body detection means arrangement | positioning part 22a Human body detection means 30 Remote control 32 Reception means 33 Solar cell 34 Transmission part 34a Transmission element 36 Control circuit 37 Switch element 38 Capacitor

Claims (5)

A remote control unit having a remote control, a device body operable by the remote control, and a human body detection means,
The device body includes electromagnetic wave irradiation means for irradiating electromagnetic wave energy toward the remote control,
The remote control is a remote control unit that includes power storage means for receiving and storing electromagnetic energy,
The apparatus main body has a control means for stopping irradiation of electromagnetic energy by the electromagnetic wave irradiation means or reducing electromagnetic energy when receiving a human body detection signal from the human body detection means . In claim 1, the remote control can be switched between a wake-up mode in which the device main body can be operated and a sleep mode in which energy consumption is smaller than the wake-up mode.
The control unit is configured to irradiate the electromagnetic wave irradiation unit with a modulation signal for setting the remote control to a wake-up mode when the human body detection signal is received.   3. The remote control unit according to claim 1, wherein the human body detection means is disposed in the device main body. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3, this remote control has a transmission means which transmits a charge completion signal, when charge of this electrical storage means is completed,
The device main body has a receiving means for receiving the charging completion signal and outputting it to the control means,
The remote control unit, wherein the control means is configured to stop irradiation of electromagnetic energy by the electromagnetic wave irradiation means or reduce electromagnetic energy when the charging completion signal is input. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4, this remote control has a transmission means which transmits a charge shortage signal, when charge of this electrical storage means is insufficient,
The device body has a receiving means for receiving the undercharge signal and outputting it to the control means,
The remote control unit, wherein the control means is configured to start irradiation of electromagnetic energy by the electromagnetic wave irradiation means or increase electromagnetic energy when the insufficient charging signal is input.

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