JP3817901B2 - Toilet seat or toilet lid position detection device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a toilet automation configuration, and more specifically, to an opening / closing detection mechanism for a toilet seat or toilet lid accompanying the automation.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The automation of flush toilets has been progressing, and heating toilet seats, warm water flush toilet seats, and automatic opening / closing devices for toilet seats and toilet lids have come to be equipped. However, since it is a waste of energy to always operate these functions, it is desirable to keep the functions provided at a low level or to stop them when the toilet is not used. Therefore, the closing of the toilet lid is one representation for judging when the toilet is not in use, and a means for detecting that the toilet lid is in the closed position has been required.
[0003]
As a direct means, an operation member such as an operation piece or a permanent magnet is provided on the toilet lid side, a micro switch is provided for the operation piece on the toilet side, and a reed switch or a Hall IC is provided for the permanent magnet. A means for attaching a sensitive member and generating a signal indicating that the toilet lid is closed is conceivable. However, there is instability of the relative position in attaching the toilet lid and the toilet seat and changes with time due to handling, and since ordinary microswitches are not suitable around the water field, these means lack reliability.
[0004]
However, most toilets equipped with various incidental functions are equipped with a damper mechanism that is directly connected to the pivot of the toilet seat / toilet lid so that the toilet seat / toilet lid can be opened and closed quietly for safety against the weak, depending on the machine configuration. It is known that it is preferable to apply means for detecting the closure of the toilet lid to the damper mechanism because of certainty.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional damper mechanism that applies the closing detection member to the toilet lid is a mechanical damper, and it is not necessary to seal the switch mechanism or the lead wire drawer part, but the mechanical damper has a large number of parts, Due to the high cost and the large space required, it has become impossible to meet the demands of recent miniaturized hot water toilet seats.
Oil dampers, on the other hand, are superior in shock-absorbing performance and can be maintained in a smaller size than mechanical dampers.However, if a switch mechanism that detects the closure of the toilet lid is installed in the damper, it has a sealing property against oil leakage at the lead wire drawer. Securing increases the cost and becomes a factor that impairs reliability. For this reason, there is no known example in which a detection member for confirming the closure of the toilet lid is applied to the oil damper.
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable toilet seat or toilet lid position detecting device that is mounted on an oil damper that has excellent buffer performance and is easy to maintain.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, the position detecting device of the toilet seat or toilet lid according to the present invention, the oil damper for controlling the opening and closing of the toilet seat or toilet lid, provided with a sensor for detecting the open and closed positions of the toilet seat or toilet lid . As this sensor, a permanent magnet was embedded in the rotor of the oil damper, and a magnetic detection member was externally mounted on the case of the oil damper to detect the position of the permanent magnet in a non-contact manner. In addition, the magnetic detection member can be retrofitted, and the permanent magnet and the magnetic detection member can be attached without impairing the sealing performance of the oil damper.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of a toilet seat or toilet lid position detecting device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an oil damper 10 to which a toilet lid position detecting device according to the present invention is applied. In the figure, 12 is a toilet seat opening / closing axis, 14 is a toilet lid opening / closing axis, and the toilet lid opening / closing axis 14 has a double structure penetrating the toilet seat opening / closing axis 12 and is directly connected to the rotation axis of the toilet seat and toilet lid, Each can rotate independently.
[0009]
The rotation of the toilet seat opening / closing shaft 12 is controlled by a toilet seat damper 16, and the rotation of the toilet lid opening / closing shaft 14 is controlled by a toilet lid damper 18. Reference numeral 20 denotes an oil chamber of the toilet seat damper 16, and a body portion 22 of the toilet seat opening / closing shaft 12 constitutes a damper rotor. 24 is an oil chamber of the toilet lid damper 18, and a damper rotor 26 is attached to the tip of the toilet lid opening / closing shaft 14, and rotates coaxially and integrally with the toilet lid opening / closing shaft 14.
[0010]
A bottomed recess 28 is formed in the end surface of the toilet lid damper rotor 26 opposite to the direction in which the toilet lid opening / closing shaft 14 extends, and a permanent magnet 30 is fitted so that the magnetic pole direction is parallel to the rotation axis. Buried. Since the outer surface of the permanent magnet 30 that swivels together with the toilet lid damper rotor 26 is always in sliding contact with the inner surface of the damper case 32, there is no possibility of falling off, but it may be fixed with an oil-resistant adhesive. As the permanent magnet, a ferrite magnet, a ferrite rubber magnet, or the like can be suitably applied. The concave portion 28 of the toilet lid damper rotor 26 is a square concave portion formed by molding so as to match the shape and dimension of the permanent magnet 30 in FIG. 2, but the circular concave portion corresponding to the disk-shaped magnet is drilled or processed. You may finish by an end mill process.
[0011]
34 is a partition wall that partitions the toilet seat damper oil chamber 20 and the toilet lid damper oil chamber 24. The joint between the toilet seat damper case 36 and the toilet lid damper case 32 is filled with a sealing material 35 and is liquid-tightly blocked from the outside. Yes. The partition wall 34 has a cylindrical inner surface and pivotally supports one end of the toilet seat opening / closing shaft 12 and the toilet seat damper rotor 22, and an O-ring 38 for preventing oil leakage is disposed at the sliding contact portion.
[0012]
In this manner, the toilet seat damper rotor 22 including the damper mechanism and having the permanent magnet 30 embedded therein is liquid-tightly sealed together with oil in the bottomed toilet seat damper case 36. Further, the other end portion of the toilet seat opening / closing shaft 12 is pivotally supported on the inner surface of the toilet seat damper case 36 and is similarly sealed by O-rings 39 and 40, so that it is enclosed in the oil chambers 20 and 24 of the oil damper 10. Oil does not leak.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 2, reference numeral 42 denotes a Hall IC fixed to the substrate 44 with an adhesive. The permanent magnet 30 and the bottom wall 46 of the toilet seat damper case 36 are positioned at an angle assumed to be a closed position of a toilet seat (not shown). Can be disposed so as to face each other and in close contact with the outer surface of the bottom wall 46. The base plate 44 has a blind hole 49 formed in two partition walls 48 that divide the toilet lid damper oil chamber 24 into two chambers so as not to communicate with the oil chamber 24, and a small screw 50 is screwed in and fixed. be able to. Therefore, the relationship between the permanent magnet 30 and the Hall IC 42 can be ensured without worrying about oil leakage.
[0014]
In FIG. 2, the lead terminal circuit 52 is printed on the substrate 44, the lead wire 54 is soldered to the lead terminal 53, and the opposite side of the lead wire 54 is connected to the connector 55. In this manner, since the permanent magnet 30 is rotated to the position adjacent to the Hall IC 42 at the toilet lid closing position, an H level signal is output from the Hall IC 42. On the other hand, during use of the toilet with the toilet lid open, since the permanent magnet 30 is rotated away from the Hall IC 42, the output signal of the Hall IC 42 is at L level.
[0015]
Therefore, by detecting this difference, it is possible to determine whether or not the toilet bowl is used. For example, in a heating toilet seat, when the toilet bowl is not used and the toilet lid is closed, the heating toilet seat is covered with the toilet lid. Since there is little heat radiation, the output signal H of the Hall IC 42 suppresses the output of electric heat to a low level that is about the amount of residual heat, and the output signal L of the Hall IC 42 that indicates in-use indicates a predetermined thermal level. Needless to say, such means is effective in saving power consumption. Instead of the Hall IC 42, a reed switch or an MR element can be used.
[0016]
If the position of the toilet seat is biased depending on the usage state, such as the weight difference of the user or whether or not the cover is used, the closing position of the toilet lid that comes into contact with the toilet seat moves in conjunction with this, The Hall IC 42 is set to a sensitivity that allows the fluctuation range, and the mounting hole of the substrate 44 is elongated in the rotation direction so that the position of the Hall IC 42 can be adjusted when the fluctuation range is deviated. desirable.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the toilet oil damper equipped with the toilet seat or toilet lid position detection device according to the present invention, a permanent magnet is embedded in the rotor, and the magnetic field is detected by the Hall IC from the outside of the damper case. Therefore, the position of the toilet seat or the toilet lid can be detected in a non-contact manner without impairing the sealing performance of the oil damper.
[0018]
Moreover, since it can be made to function as a seating sensor by detecting whether the toilet lid is open or closed, when the toilet lid is closed, the warm water flush toilet seat can be disabled.
[0019]
Furthermore, when the toilet lid is closed by detecting whether the toilet lid is open or closed, the heater may be weak because the heating toilet seat has little heat dissipation, and the toilet lid position detector detects the strength of this heater. Can be adjusted to contribute to power saving.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing, in partial cross section, an embodiment of an oil damper equipped with a toilet lid position detecting device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, and a part thereof is shown in cross section.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Oil damper 14 Toilet lid opening-and-closing axis 18 Toilet lid damper 24 Toilet lid damper oil chamber 26 Toilet lid damper rotor 28 Recess 30 Permanent magnet 32 Toilet lid damper case 42 Hall IC
44 Substrate 46 Bottom wall 54 Lead wire

Claims (3)

The oil damper that controls the opening and closing of the toilet seat or toilet lid is provided with a sensor that detects the opening and closing position of the toilet seat or the toilet lid. As the sensor, a permanent magnet is embedded in the rotor of the oil damper, and the magnetic detection member is used as the oil damper. A position detection device for a toilet seat or toilet lid, wherein the position of the permanent magnet is detected in a non-contact manner.   The position detection device for a toilet seat or toilet lid according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic detection member is configured to be retrofitted.  The position detection device for a toilet seat or toilet lid according to claim 2, wherein the permanent magnet and the magnetic detection member can be attached without impairing the sealing performance of the oil damper.

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