JP2020140858A - Footlight, toilet system and guidance method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a foot light, a toilet system, and a guidance method that improve the safety of walking to a destination, for example, for elderly people, and also enable the elderly people to reach the destination without dazzling.SOLUTION: An illumination device 10 is provided with a footlight that irradiates light obliquely downward from a cabinet 30 to a passage where a person US moves. The footlight includes a light source unit, a transmission unit that irradiates light from the light source unit as irradiation light having a predetermined shape, and a control unit that controls at least one of the intensity and shape of the irradiation light. When the person US sits, the control unit of the footlight reduces the illuminance on the passage by changing at least one of the light intensity of the light source unit and the transmission shape of the transmission unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to, for example, a foot light that assists an elderly person in walking safely, a toilet system equipped with the foot light, and a guidance method using the foot light.

As is well known, falls in the elderly are relatively frequent events in daily life. The trauma and fractures associated with this fall have a significant impact on function.

In order to prevent falls in the elderly, a method of inducing walking by using a pattern on the floor has been proposed (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

CiNii Paper-Effects of Floor Condition on Walking in the Elderly (Physical Therapy Supplement 2009 (0), E4P2278-E4P2278, 2010 Japanese Physical Therapy Association)

By the way, what is indispensable in daily life is the use of the toilet room. In the toilet room, when the single lighting is a single lighting fixed to the ceiling, the hands and feet become dark due to the shadow of the user and the toilet bowl. In addition, in the toilet room, for example, the lighting at the hands and feet may be unnecessarily turned on even in the daytime when it is sufficiently bright due to the lighting from the window, or it may feel too dazzling due to the lighting in the middle of the night.
Therefore, even if the method of inducing walking described in Non-Patent Document 1 is used, a user whose limbs are uncertain, such as an elderly person, feels too dazzling due to lighting, and the toilet bowl is used from the entrance of the toilet room. There is a risk of falling while walking to.

Furthermore, even in facilities other than the toilet room, users with uncertain limbs, such as the elderly, may fall while walking if they feel that the lighting is too dazzling.

An object of the present invention is to provide, for example, a foot light, a toilet system, and a guidance method for elderly people to improve the safety of walking to a destination point and to reach the destination point without dazzling.

The foot lamp according to one aspect of the present invention is a foot lamp that irradiates light toward a passage in which a person moves diagonally downward, and illuminates a light source unit and light from the light source unit in a predetermined shape. A control unit that controls at least one of the intensity and shape of the irradiation light is provided, and the control unit changes at least one of the intensity and shape of the irradiation light based on the ambient illuminance. However, it is characterized in that the illuminance with respect to the passage is adjusted.

In the above aspect, the control unit may be configured to adjust the illuminance with respect to the passage based on the height of the human eye.

In the above aspect, when a person is seated, the control unit reduces the illuminance to the passage by changing at least one of the intensity of the irradiation light and the irradiation range of the irradiation light. It may be configured to be made to.

According to the foot lamp, which is one aspect of the present invention, by irradiating the light toward the movement path in which the person moves diagonally downward, the irradiation light is not blocked by the shadow of a person, equipment, or the like, and moreover. Since light does not enter the human eye even during walking, it is possible to guide the elderly person to walk to the destination, thereby reducing glare and improving walking stability. In addition, it is possible to reduce the glare of a pedestrian seated at a destination point.

It is a perspective view of a part of the toilet system provided with the foot light which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the state where the footlight of FIG. 1 is attached to a substrate. It is a top view which shows the internal structure of the foot lamp of FIG. It is a plan view and the perspective view which shows the toilet apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state of irradiating light with an arbitrary shape when the ambient illuminance is bright by the foot lamp of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the foot lamp of FIG. 1 irradiates light in an arbitrary shape when the ambient illuminance is dim. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the foot lamp of FIG. 1 irradiates light in an arbitrary shape when the ambient illuminance is dark. It is a top view which shows how the irradiance is changed according to the distance between the eyes of a user and the floor surface of a toilet room by the footlight of FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a light irradiation procedure when walking from the entrance of the toilet room to the toilet device and when walking from the toilet device to the entrance of the toilet room by the control unit of FIG.

Hereinafter, the foot lamp according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, similar components are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a part of the toilet system 1 according to the embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the toilet system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a lighting device 10, a toilet device 20, and a cabinet 30. These components are provided inside the toilet room TR in which the toilet device 20 is arranged.

In addition, "direction" is used for the explanation of each embodiment. All of these "directions" are "front" when viewed from the user seated on the toilet seat of the toilet device 20, and "right side" when viewed from the user seated on the toilet seat.

As shown in FIG. 1, the toilet device 20 is installed on the floor surface FS of the toilet room TR. Alternatively, the toilet device 20 may be supported by a support column on the side wall of the toilet room TR.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lighting device 10 included in the toilet system 1 according to the embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, the lighting device 10 includes three footlights 11a, 11b, 11c and a substrate 12 that supports these footlights 11a, 11b, 11c.

The substrate 12 is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape, and three support portions 12b1, 12b2, 12b3 are attached to one surface 12a. These support portions 12b1, 12b2, 12b3 are formed in a substantially L-shaped plate shape, and one end portion is attached to one surface 12a of the substrate 12 by a screw or the like. The other end of the support portions 12b1, 12b2, 12b3 stands upward from the substrate 12 and is formed with two screw holes for attaching the foot lights 11a, 11b, 11c. One of the two screw holes (on the right side in FIG. 2) is formed in an elongated shape so that the foot lamps 11a, 11b, and 11c can rotate around the other screw hole portion. The foot light 11a is attached to the support portion 12b1, the foot light 11b is attached to the support portion 12b2, and the foot light 11c is attached to the support portion 12b3. The other side of the substrate 12 is attached to the cabinet 30. Further, on the other surface of the substrate 12, a connecting portion (not shown) for electrically connecting to the power supply portion (not shown) is provided.

By attaching the foot lights 11a, 11b, 11c to the support portions 12b1, 12b2, 12b3, for example, the power supply unit via a circuit pattern (not shown) or wiring formed on the support portions 12b1, 12b2, 12b3. Can be electrically connected to. Further, the foot lights 11a, 11b, and 11c are arranged at a distance in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 12 (corresponding to the arrow direction indicating the front-rear in FIG. 2), and light toward the floor surface FS of the toilet room TR. It is supported by the support portions 12b1, 12b2, 12b3 of the substrate 12 so as to irradiate. Here, when the mounting position of the substrate 12 with respect to the cabinet 30 is on the right side of the user seated on the toilet seat of the toilet device 20, the foot lights 11a, 11b, 11c are the users seated on the toilet seat of the toilet device 20. It is supported by the support portions 12b1, 12b2, 12b3 of the substrate 12 so as to irradiate light from the feet of the toilet room TR toward the entrance side.

The foot lights 11a, 11b, and 11c hold an LED (Light Emitting Diode) substrate 14, a convex lens 15, and a masking portion 16 in a case 13. The LED substrate 14 corresponds to the “light source unit”, the convex lens 15 and the masking unit 16 correspond to the “irradiation unit”, respectively. Further, in FIG. 2, it is shown only that the LED substrate 14, the convex lens 15, and the masking portion 16 are housed in the foot lamp 11b. Further, the foot lights 11a, 11b, 11c include an irradiation control unit 17 corresponding to the “control unit”.

The convex lens 15 and the masking unit 16 irradiate the light from the LED substrate 14 as irradiation light having an arbitrary shape. The irradiation control unit 17 changes the light intensity of the LED substrate 14, the transmission shape of the convex lens 15 and the masking unit 16 based on the ambient illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor (not shown) provided in the toilet room TR. , Adjusts the illuminance of the irradiation light.

The cabinet 30 is attached to the side wall SW of the toilet room TR. The cabinet 30 has a space inside, and is configured to be able to store equipment in this internal space. A lighting device 10 is attached to the bottom surface (not shown) inside the cabinet 30. Further, the cabinet 30 is separated from the floor surface FS of the toilet room TR, and a space is formed between the cabinet 30 and the floor surface FS.

Further, on the bottom surface inside the cabinet 30, a hole (not shown) for irradiating the floor surface FS of the toilet room TR with the light emitted from the foot lights 11a, 11b, 11c at the mounting position of the substrate 12 (not shown). Alternatively, a transparent transparent portion (not shown) is provided. As a result, the foot lights 11a, 11b, and 11c are supported by the support portions 12b1, 12b2, and 12b3, respectively, and the rear part of the case 13 is pushed up or down by a human hand, thereby causing the toilet room. It is adjusted so that light can be irradiated between the entrance of the TR and the toilet device 20. The lighting device 10 may be mounted under the cabinet 30, that is, at a position where the user's line of sight does not enter.

The upper surface of the cabinet 30 is a smoothed flat surface, which is a counter 31. The counter 31 extends along the side wall SW of the toilet room TR, and is configured so that ornaments can be placed on the counter 31 and small items can be placed by the user of the toilet room TR.

As shown in FIG. 3, the foot lamps 11a, 11b, and 11c are composed of an LED substrate 14, convex lenses 15a, 15b arranged on the optical axis of the LED substrate 14, and a masking portion 16. The light generated from the LED substrate 14 is first guided to the convex lens 15a side by the convex lens 15b. The light emitted from the convex lens 15b is guided to the floor surface FS of the toilet room TR by the convex lens 15a via the masking portion 16. The masking unit 16 projects the figure onto the floor surface FS of the toilet room TR by focusing the light emitted from the convex lens 15b and transmitting it to the figure to be projected. The masking unit 16 may be a transmissive unit or a screen.

The light emitted from the foot light 11a irradiates a part of the area from the entrance of the user in the movement path of the user from the entrance of the toilet room TR to the toilet device 20. On the other hand, the light emitted from the footlight 11b irradiates a region including a region not illuminated by the footlight 11a in the movement path. Further, the light emitted from the footlight 11c irradiates a region including a region not irradiated by the footlights 11a and 11b in the moving path. The area irradiated by the foot lamps 11a, 11b, 11c is a predetermined area, and can be adjusted by the position and angle at which the convex lenses 15a, 15b and the lighting device 10 are attached to the cabinet 30. For example, when illuminating the moving path with one footlight 11a, a convex lens 15a having a long focal length is used.

Next, the toilet device 20 will be described.
FIG. 4A is a plan view of the toilet device 20, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the toilet device 20.

The toilet device 20 includes a toilet bowl 21, a toilet seat 22, a toilet lid 23, and a main body 24. The toilet seat 22 is provided on the toilet bowl 21. The toilet lid 23 is provided on the toilet bowl 21 so as to cover the toilet seat 22. The main body 24 is provided in the upper rear part of the toilet bowl 21. The toilet seat 22 and the toilet lid 23 are rotatably supported by the main body portion 24.

The main body 24 has a control 25. The control unit 25 controls the operation of the toilet device 20 and other components provided in the toilet room TR. As shown in FIG. 4A, the main body 24 may further include a human body detection sensor 27 and a seating detection sensor 28. The human body detection sensor 27 is, for example, an infrared sensor or a microwave sensor, and detects the entry and exit of the user into the toilet room TR. The seating detection sensor 28 is, for example, a distance measuring sensor using infrared rays, and detects the user's seating on the toilet seat 22.

When the main body 24 has the human body detection sensor 27 and the seating detection sensor 28, these sensors transmit the detection result to the control unit 25. The control unit 25 can control the operation of each component provided in the toilet room TR based on the detection results transmitted from the human body detection sensor 27 and the seating detection sensor 28.

Next, the range and intensity of the light emitted by the foot lamps 11a, 11b, and 11c based on the ambient illuminance will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7.

When the user US enters the entrance of the toilet room TR, the illuminance S0 detected by the illuminance sensor (not shown) is taken into the irradiation control unit 17, and the required illuminance values S1 and S2 set in advance as reference values. Is compared with. The required illuminance value S1 is larger than the required illuminance value S2.

Here, when the detected illuminance S0 exceeds the required illuminance value S1 (when the inside of the toilet room TR is sufficiently bright in the daytime or the like), the irradiation control unit 17 weakens the light intensity of the LED substrate 14, as shown in FIG. Then, by controlling the masking unit 16 to reduce the irradiation range, the irradiation illuminance is changed to P1.

On the other hand, when the detected illuminance S0 is between the required illuminance value S1 and the required illuminance value S2 (when the inside of the toilet room TR is dim), the irradiation control unit 17 determines the light intensity of the LED substrate 14 as shown in FIG. Is made stronger than when the irradiance is P1, and the irradiation range is made wider than when the irradiance is P1 by controlling the masking unit 16 to change to the irradiance P2.

Further, when the detected illuminance S0 is lower than the required illuminance value S2 (when the inside of the toilet room TR is dark), the irradiation control unit 17 makes the light intensity of the LED substrate 14 stronger than that when the irradiation illuminance P2, as shown in FIG. Then, by controlling the masking unit 16 to make the irradiation range wider than when the irradiance is P2, the irradiance is changed to P3.
Therefore, it is possible to reduce the irradiance of light when the inside of the toilet room TR is bright, such as in the daytime, in the toilet room TR having a window.

The irradiation control unit 17 may only control the light intensity of the LED substrate 14, or may only control the masking unit 16 to control the irradiation range.

Next, refer to FIG. 8 for the operation of changing the irradiance when the user US walks on the walking path from the entrance of the toilet room TR to the toilet device 20, sits on the toilet device 20, and stands up. I will explain. At this time, the control unit 24 executes the control procedure shown in FIG.

In step ST8a, the control unit 24 detects the user US in the toilet room TR by the human body detection sensor 27, and when there is no person in the toilet room TR (No), the lighting is not wasted. ..

In step ST8a, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the human body detection sensor 27 detects that the user US has entered the entrance of the toilet room TR (Yes), the control unit 24 sends the foot lights 11a and 11b. , 11c of the irradiation control unit 17 is controlled to irradiate the feet of the user US with substantially elliptical light (step ST8b).

Subsequently, the control unit 24 determines whether or not the user US has been seated on the toilet seat 22 by the seating detection sensor 28 (step ST8c). If the user US is not seated on the toilet seat 22 (No), the control unit 24 continues the process of step ST8b.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the seating detection sensor 28 detects that the user US is seated on the toilet seat 22 (Yes), the control unit 24 uses the foot lights 11a, 11b, 11c. The irradiation range is reduced and darkened by controlling the irradiation control unit 17 to reduce the light intensity of the LED substrate 14 and reducing the transmitted shape by the convex lens 15 and the masking unit 16 (step ST8d).

Subsequently, the control unit 24 determines whether or not the seating detection sensor 28 has detected the rise from the seated state on the toilet seat 22 (step ST8e).

Here, as shown in FIG. 8C, when the seating detection sensor 28 detects the rise from the seated state on the toilet seat 22 (Yes), the control unit 24 controls the foot lights 11a, 11b, 11c. By controlling the irradiation control unit 17 to increase the light intensity of the LED substrate 14 and increasing the transmitted shape by the convex lens 15 and the masking unit 16, the illuminance with respect to the floor surface FS is restored (step ST8f). Then, the control unit 24 uses the human body detection sensor 27 or another sensor to determine whether or not the user US has left the toilet room TR (step ST8g), and the user US is still from the toilet room TR. When not exiting (No), the light intensity of the LED substrate 14 of the foot lamps 11a, 11b, 11c and the transmitted shape by the convex lens 15 and the masking portion 16 are left as they are.

On the other hand, in step ST8g, when it is detected by the human body detection sensor 27 or another sensor that the user US has left the toilet room TR (Yes), the control unit 24 drives the foot lights 11a, 11b, 11c. It is stopped and the irradiation of the irradiation light is turned off (step ST8h).

In the above control procedure, the irradiation control unit 17 may only control the light intensity of the LED substrate 14, or may only control the masking unit 16 to control the irradiation range.

As described above, according to the above embodiment, the foot lights 11a, 11b, 11c provided below the cabinet 30 are used to emit light diagonally toward the movement path from the entrance of the toilet room TR to the toilet device 20. By irradiating, the irradiation light is not blocked by the shadow of the user US or equipment, and the light does not enter the eyes of the user US even while walking. Therefore, for example, the elderly can walk to the toilet device 20. Can be induced, thereby reducing glare and improving walking stability. In addition, it is possible to reduce the glare of the user US seated by the toilet device 20.

Further, in the above embodiment, the irradiation control unit 17 changes the irradiation illuminance based on the ambient illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor, so that the irradiation illuminance is weakened when the ambient illuminance is bright, while the ambient illuminance is dark. Sometimes, the irradiance can be adjusted to the optimum illuminance for each ambient illuminance, such as increasing the irradiance.

Further, in the above embodiment, the irradiance is increased when the user US is walking, while the irradiance is decreased when the user US is seated on the toilet seat 22 of the toilet device 20. The optimum irradiance can be adjusted for each distance from the US eye to the floor.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, the toilet system 1 has been described as an example, but it can be applied to shopping malls, hospitals, welfare facilities, etc. in addition to the toilet system. As an example, when applied in a welfare facility, the footlight is placed below the eyes of pedestrians walking in the corridor, with the entrance of the welfare facility as the starting point and the rest room where the sofa etc. are placed as the destination point. , Light is radiated diagonally downward to the floor of the corridor with a foot light. In this way, the pedestrian can safely reach the destination.

Further, in the above embodiment, when the user sits on the toilet seat of the toilet device, the irradiance of light reaching the movement path is lowered, and when the user stands up from the state of sitting on the toilet seat, the movement path is reached. Although the example of returning the irradiance of the light to be returned to the original irradiance has been described, the irradiance of the light reaching the moving path may be adjusted based on the height of the user. In this case, a sensor installed in the toilet room to detect the height of the user is used. In this way, the optimum light irradiance can be adjusted for each user.

In addition, in many apartments and condominiums, the toilet room is not provided with a window, and when the user returns from the outside in the daytime and enters the toilet room, he / she may feel dazzling. Since the control unit 24 is equipped with a timer function, it is possible to reduce the irradiance of light in the daytime by using the timer function even if the toilet room is not provided with a window.

The embodiments described above merely show typical embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. That is, those skilled in the art can carry out various modifications according to conventionally known knowledge within a range that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. As long as the foot lamp configuration of the present invention is still provided by such deformation, it is, of course, included in the scope of the present invention.

1 Toilet system 10 Lighting device 11a, 11b, 11c Foot light 12 Board 12a One side 12b1, 12b2, 12b3 Support part 13 Case 14 LED board 15, 15a, 15b Convex lens 16 Masking part 17 Irradiation control part 20 Toilet device 21 Toilet bowl 22 Toilet seat 23 Toilet lid 24 Main body 25 Control unit 27 Human body detection sensor 28 Seating detection sensor 30 Cabinet 31 Counter TR Toilet room SW Side wall FS Floor surface P1 to P3 Irradiation illumination

Claims (6)

It is a foot light that irradiates light toward the passage where people move diagonally downward.
Light source and
An irradiation unit that irradiates the light from this light source unit as irradiation light of a predetermined shape,
A control unit that controls at least one of the intensity and shape of the irradiation light,
With
The foot lamp is characterized in that the control unit changes at least one of the intensity and the shape of the irradiation light based on the ambient illuminance to adjust the illuminance for the passage. The footlight according to claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts the illuminance with respect to the passage based on the height of the human eye. The control unit is characterized in that when a person is seated, the illuminance to the passage is reduced by changing at least one of the intensity of the irradiation light and the irradiation range of the irradiation light. The foot light according to claim 2. A toilet seat that is installed in the toilet room and allows people to sit on it,
The foot light according to any one of claims 1 to 3 provided on the side of the toilet seat, and the foot light.
Equipped with
The foot light is a toilet system characterized by irradiating light obliquely toward a passage from the entrance of the toilet room to the toilet seat based on the illuminance in the toilet room. The foot light is
When a person enters from the entrance of the toilet room, the irradiation light is applied to the passage to obtain the irradiation light.
When a person sits on the toilet seat, the illuminance to the passage is lowered by changing at least one of the intensity of the irradiation light and the irradiation range of the irradiation light.
When a person stands up from the state of being seated on the toilet seat, the illuminance of the irradiation light is increased.
The toilet system according to claim 4, wherein when a person exits from the entrance of the toilet room, the irradiation of the irradiation light is turned off. The guidance method using a footlight according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein light is irradiated toward a passage in which a person moves diagonally downward.
A guidance method comprising changing at least one of the intensity and shape of the irradiation light based on the ambient illuminance and the height of the human eye to adjust the illuminance with respect to the passage.

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