JP2989825B2 - Sanitary washing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sanitary washing apparatus having a local washing function, and more particularly to an improvement in a valve unit for adjusting a flow rate of washing water.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sanitary washing device having a local washing function is installed in, for example, a stool-type flush toilet. The sanitary washing device includes a nozzle for local washing in a casing thereof, and a hot water tank or a heat exchanger for supplying hot water for washing to the nozzle. In addition, a control unit for controlling the operation of the nozzle and the temperature and flow rate of the cleaning water is provided to provide a configuration in which comfortable cleaning can be performed.

A piping system for feeding the cleaning water heated from a hot water tank or a heat exchanger to a nozzle is provided with a valve unit for opening and closing a flow path including an electromagnetic valve and a needle valve and for adjusting a flow rate. Then, a water supply pipe for communicating with an external water supply source or a supply pipe for a hot water tank is connected to the valve unit.

As a sanitary washing device provided with such a valve unit, there is a sanitary washing device which has been filed by the present applicant and published as Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 61-164382. In this configuration, a needle valve provided for adjusting a flow rate in a valve unit is operated by an adjustment knob provided on a casing. A flexible cable is provided between the adjustment knob and the needle valve so that the flow rate of the washing water can be adjusted by manual operation.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, when the adjustment knob is provided on the casing, the shaft portion has a structure penetrating the casing. On the other hand, in a sanitary washing device, which is a type of water surrounding device, it is necessary to seal around the shaft portion because water enters the electric circuit of the built-in control unit and operation unit, etc., which causes an electric leakage accident and the like. . For this reason, the shape of the casing itself becomes complicated, and the adjustment knob protrudes, so that dust and the like are easily accumulated and cleaning is difficult.

Further, since a cable is provided from the adjustment knob to the valve unit, a wiring space for the cable is required, and assembly is complicated. Furthermore, since the valve body of the valve unit is moved by mechanical remote control using a cable, if the wiring of the cable is poor or the mechanical connection with the valve body is insufficient, it does not correspond to the rotation amount of the adjustment knob. The opening of the valve causes an obstacle to proper flow rate adjustment.

When a needle valve is used, a structure in which the flow path area is changed depending on the rotation angle of a valve body that advances and retreats into the flow path is generally used. The flow rate is basically adjusted by increasing or decreasing the flow path area in proportion to the rotation angle of the adjustment knob.
However, the flow path of the cleaning water provided in the valve unit is generally circular in cross section from the viewpoint of manufacturing processing, and the valve element is disposed so as to cross the flow path cross section or coaxially disposed at the flow path end. . For this reason, when the valve element is moved from a state in which the flow path is completely closed to a direction in which the flow path is opened at a constant speed, it is difficult to make the rate of increase in the flow path area uniform, and the flow characteristic is, for example, that of FIG. Usually, patterns such as (a) and (b) are formed.

With respect to the flow characteristics when such a needle valve is used, it is necessary to increase or decrease the flow path area substantially in proportion to the rotation angle of the flow adjustment knob. However, in a configuration in which the mechanical rotation of the adjustment knob is directly connected to the needle valve by a cable, the needle valve rotates in accordance with the rotation angle of the adjustment knob, so that it is impossible to linearly change the flow path area. . For this reason, even if a display unit for determining the magnitude of the flow rate is provided around the adjustment knob, a numerically accurate numerical display cannot be obtained. Therefore, since the display is not accurate, it often hinders the setting of the appropriate amount of washing water.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to directly connect an electric motor to a valve element of a needle valve to simplify the structure and to quantitatively and reliably set a flow rate.

[Means for solving the problem]

The sanitary washing device of the present invention is rotatable in a sanitary washing device that discharges washing water to a local part of a human body,
A valve unit (3) incorporating a valve element (9) for controlling the amount of washing water guided from the primary flow path (11) to the secondary flow path (12) according to the rotation angle, and fixed to the valve unit (3); ,
A motor (8) for applying a rotational force to the valve body (9) in accordance with a user's operation.

The motor (8) has a flat surface for being fixed to the valve unit (3), and further has an output shaft (I5) protruding from the flat surface for coupling with the valve element (9). Can be provided.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the features of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flush toilet provided with the sanitary washing device of the present invention.

In the figure, a sanitary washing device B for local washing is arranged across the upper surface on the rear side of a stool-type toilet body A, and a toilet seat 1a and a toilet lid 1b are provided in a casing 1 so as to be freely opened and closed. It is located in the central part.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the inside of the casing 1, in which a hot water tank 2 containing a heater, a temperature sensor and the like is disposed at the left end, and a valve unit 3 is provided on the right side thereof. The valve unit 3 is connected to a water supply pipe 4a that communicates with an external water supply source, and a supply pipe 4b is provided between the valve unit 3 and the hot water tank 2. The washing water heated by the hot water tank 2 is sent to the nozzle 1c by the feed pipe 4c. The nozzle 1c is included in a nozzle driving device 1d provided with an electric motor, and is configured to be able to advance from the illustrated storage position to the cleaning position in FIG. 1 and eject cleaning water.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the flow of the washing water sent through the valve unit 3.
Houses a pressure reducing valve, a solenoid on-off valve, and a needle valve, and further includes a flow path system as a countermeasure against dead water.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are a plan view and a front view showing the entire valve unit 3.

In the figure, a flow passage is formed in order from a pressure reducing valve 5 communicating with an inflow pipe 3a connected to a water supply pipe 4a, through an electromagnetic opening / closing valve 6 and a flow rate adjusting needle valve 7. And
The outflow pipe 3b is connected to the supply pipe 4b to the hot water tank 2, and water at a set flow rate is sent into the hot water tank 2.

The pressure reducing valve 5 has a function of giving resistance to water flowing from the water supply pipe 4a and reducing the pressure until the supply water pressure becomes appropriate. The specific structure employs a generally used throttle valve mechanism, in which the throttle of the flow path by the valve body is preset in accordance with the installation conditions.
The electromagnetic opening / closing valve 6 opens a flow path to the hot water tank 2 to supply water, and opens and closes a flow path on the side of the pressure reducing valve 5 and a flow path on the side of the needle valve 7 so as to open and close the water. Supply and stop. Examples of the structure of the solenoid on-off valve 6 include:
As with the pressure reducing valve 5, a valve that moves a valve body by energizing a conventionally used electromagnetic coil can be used.

The needle valve 7 has a flow path from the electromagnetic on-off valve 6 and an outflow pipe 3b.
And adjusts the flow rate of the water supplied to the hot water tank 2 by restricting the valve body, thereby fulfilling the function of adjusting the water force of the cleaning hot water from the nozzle 1c. The valve body of the needle valve 7 is directly connected to a motor 8 integrated with the valve unit 3, the valve body is moved forward / backward by forward / reverse rotation of an output shaft thereof, and the flow path area is changed to connect the hot water tank 2 to the hot water tank 2. The flow rate is adjusted.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the valve unit 3 as viewed from the mounting surface side except for the motor 8, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a main part taken along a line II-II in FIG.

In the figure, a fixing seat 8b for fixing the motor 8 with a screw 8a is provided on a side surface of the valve unit 3.
The valve element 9 which is directly connected to the output shaft of the rotary member 9 and rotates is inserted into the chamber 10. The chamber 10 has a large-diameter female screw on the wall side.
10a is formed, and a small-diameter flow passage hole 10b is provided coaxially toward the distal end side. The flow passage hole 10b is formed so that the primary flow passage 11 connected to the solenoid on-off valve 6 side and the secondary flow passage 12 connected to the outflow pipe 3b can be connected.
A valve hole 14 is formed in a partition wall 13 between b and the primary flow path 11.

On the other hand, the valve element 9 has a male screw 9a formed at the base end thereof, is screwed to the female screw 10a of the chamber 10, and is movable in the axial direction by rotation. At the tip of the valve body 9, a head 9b that fits into the valve hole 14 of the partition 13 is formed in a truncated cone shape, and closes the valve hole 14 in the illustrated state. When the valve body 9 is moved to the left while rotating, since the outer peripheral wall of the head 9b is tapered, the cross section of the annular flow path formed between the inner peripheral wall of the valve hole 14 gradually increases, The flow rate can be increased. A connection hole 9c for fitting an output shaft of the motor 8 is formed in the base end portion of the valve body 9 in the axial direction, and an engagement groove 9d is provided in a peripheral wall of the connection hole 9d so as to protrude in a radial direction.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show the motor 8, one surface of which is flat for fixing to the side wall of the valve unit 3.
The output shaft 15 protrudes. The output shaft 15 is fitted into the connection hole 9c of the valve body 9 and simultaneously protrudes the engagement pin 15a in the radial direction and is inserted into the engagement groove 9d to be integrated. In addition, a stopper pin 15b is provided on the base end side of the output shaft 15 separately from the engagement pin 15a, and is engaged with an arc-shaped stopper 3c protruding from the side wall of the valve unit 3 to keep the rotation of the output shaft 15 constant. Regulate to a range.

In addition to the water supply system to the hot water tank 2, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. Let me. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 4, and shows a flow path structure of a check valve 16 portion. Check valve
The flow path 16b to the 16 valve elements 16a is branched off from the flow path in the direction of the needle valve 7 downstream of the electromagnetic on-off valve 6. Further, a drainage flow passage 16c downstream of the check valve 16 and directed to the drainage pipe 17.
Is provided with an orifice 18. A safety valve can be provided in parallel with the orifice 18, as shown in FIG.

Control of energization of the heater 8 in the hot water tank 2, the nozzle driving device 1d, and the motor 8 for the needle valve 7 is controlled by the casing 1
The operation is performed by the operation panel 19 provided on the surface. Below the operation panel 19, as shown in FIG.
a is provided, and a switch 20 for starting cleaning, stopping, drying, etc. by the nozzle 1c is provided in the insulator 19a. A first setting button switch 21 and a second setting button switch 22 for adjusting the flow rate by operating the motor 8 to set the moving amount of the valve element 9 of the needle valve 7.
Is also provided. A display 23 for displaying the flow rate of the washing water is disposed between the first and second setting button switches 21 and 22.

The operation panel 19 is a thin synthetic resin sheet 19.
b is attached to the surface of the casing 1, and a function display is provided on the surface corresponding to each switch.
Then, by pressing these function display portions, each switch or button can be operated.

The first setting button switch 21 is used to reduce the flow rate of the washing water.
In the figure, the output shaft 15 of the motor 8 is rotated so that the valve 9 moves to the right. The second setting button switch 22
Is used to increase the flow rate of the washing water. The output shaft 15 is reversed to move the valve body 9 away from the valve hole 14. And
The first and second setting button switches 21 and 22 can continuously rotate the output shaft 15 by continuously pressing them, and can set the flow rate to an arbitrary value.

The display section 23 is an array of seven pilot lamps 23a to 23g (see FIG. 11), and by lighting these, the flow rate of the washing water can be known quantitatively. That is, if one of the first and second setting button switches 21 and 22 is continuously pressed as described above, the valve element 9 is moved by the forward / reverse rotation of the motor 8, and the flow rate of the washing water is reduced by increasing / decreasing the flow path area. It can be varied, and the flow rate can be visually confirmed by the pilot lamps 23a to 23g.

Here, as described above, when the needle valve is used, the flow characteristic is not necessarily linear, but has a characteristic curve as shown in FIG. Therefore, in order to properly display the flow rate by the pilot lamps 23a to 23g, the flow rate cannot be known quantitatively simply by displaying the rotation angle of the valve body 9 as a reference.

FIG. 11 shows the pilot lamps 23a to 23j assuming that the needle valve 7 has the flow characteristics shown in FIG. 12 (a).
3 shows the display by the following. Pilot lamps 23a-2
Since the size of the flow rate that can be displayed by 3g is seven, the range from the minimum flow rate to the maximum flow rate is divided into seven sections by Δq, and the rotation angle θ of the valve 9 corresponding to the flow rate on the vertical axis at this time is obtained. If the pilot lamps 23a to 23g are turned on so as to correspond to the range of the value of the rotation angle θ from 0 to 6, it can be confirmed that the flow rate is increased or decreased by a fixed amount, that is, Δq. For example, when the flow rate is in the range of “3”, the pilot lamp 23d is turned on, the flow rate is decreased by Δq when the adjacent pilot lamp 23c is turned on, and the flow rate is similarly increased by Δq when the pilot lamp 23e is turned on. Can be confirmed. Thus, each pilot lamp
By lighting 23a to 23g, even if the flow rate characteristics are not linear, the increase or decrease rate of the flow rate can be confirmed as a constant value change of Δq.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, in the sanitary washing device of the present invention, the flow rate adjusting valve element incorporated in the valve unit can be driven by the motor operated by the switch of the operation unit to set the flow rate of the washing water. As compared with the conventional structure, members such as cables are not required, and the structure can be simplified. Since the motor is fixed to the valve unit containing the valve body, the motors are close to each other, so that the size of the apparatus can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flush toilet provided with the sanitary washing device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the inside of a casing of the sanitary washing device, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the flow of washing water by a valve unit. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the valve unit,
FIG. 5 is a front view of the same, FIG. 6 is a side view of the same, FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part taken along line II-II of FIG. 4, FIG. 8 is a front view of the motor, and FIG. FIG. 10 is the side view of FIG.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing the relationship between flow characteristics and display, and FIG. 12 shows an example of flow characteristics when a needle valve is used. 1: Casing, 1a: Toilet seat 1b: Toilet lid, 1c: Nozzle 1d: Nozzle drive, 2: Hot water tank 3: Valve unit, 3a: Inlet pipe 3b: Outlet pipe, 3c: Stopper 4a: Water supply pipe, 4b: Supply Pipe 5: pressure reducing valve, 6: solenoid on-off valve 7: needle valve, 8: motor 8a: screw, 8b: fixed seat 9: valve body, 9a: male screw 9b: head, 9c: connecting hole 9d: engagement groove, 10: Chamber 10a: Female thread, 10b: Channel hole 11: Primary channel, 12: Secondary channel 13: Partition wall, 14: Valve hole 15: Output shaft, 15a: Engagement pin 15b: Stopper pin, 16: Check valve 16a: Valve body, 16b: Flow path 16c: Drainage flow path, 17: Drainage pipe 18: Orifice, 19: Operation panel 19a: Insulator 19b: Seat, 10: Switch 21: First setting button switch 22: No. 2 setting button switch 23: Display 23a to 23g: Pilot lamp A: Toilet bowl body, B: Sanitary washing device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Mitsuru Momomi 5-1-1, Kushiamihigashi, Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka Tokoki Co., Ltd. Kokura Second Factory (72) Inventor Shigeru Niki Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture 100, Maeda-cho, Tototsuka-ku, Koito Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) The inventor Takao Sakuma 100, Maeda-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Pref. Koito Kogyo Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-63-194040 (JP, A) JP-A-63-184626 (JP, A) JP-A-61-186632 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) E03D 9/00-9/16

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sanitary washing apparatus for discharging washing water to a local part of a human body, the amount of washing water being rotatable and being guided from a primary flow path (11) to a secondary flow path (12) according to a rotation angle. Unit (3) with a built-in valve element (9) for controlling
And a motor (8) fixed to the valve unit (3) and applying a rotational force to the valve element (9) in accordance with a user operation.
A sanitary washing device comprising: 2. The sanitary washing device according to claim 1, wherein
The sanitary washing device, wherein the motor (8) has a flat surface to be fixed to the valve unit (3). 3. The sanitary washing device according to claim 2, wherein
The sanitary washing device, wherein the motor (8) has an output shaft (I5) protruding from the flat surface and connected to the valve body (9).