JP4351615B2 - Equipment with human body detection means - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a device with human body detection means suitable for application to, for example, a hose-retaining automatic faucet.

  Conventionally, a human body detection sensor (human body detection means) has been provided as a faucet in the vicinity of the water outlet of the water discharge head (secondary side portion). Automatic faucets designed to automatically discharge water are widely used mainly as hand-washing faucets.

In recent years, it has been considered to apply this automatic faucet as a kitchen faucet.
By the way, as a faucet for kitchens or a toilet faucet, in recent years, a water faucet that can be pulled out together with a flexible hose connected to the water discharge head has been favorably used.

With this type of hose storage type faucet, by pulling out the water discharge head together with the hose, the water can be discharged from the water discharge port of the water discharge head at any position when cleaning the sink, washing the hair, or collecting water in a tall container. High convenience.
Accordingly, even when the above automatic faucet is applied as a kitchen faucet, a toilet faucet, etc., it is desired to configure such an automatic faucet as such a hose-accommodating faucet.

  By the way, in the automatic faucet as described above, it is necessary to supply power to the human body detection sensor provided in the water discharge head. Therefore, when the automatic faucet is configured as a hose-accommodating faucet, Means for supplying power to the human body detection sensor of the movable water discharge head becomes a problem.

As one means, it is conceivable to provide a terminal for power supply. In this case, the terminal is provided in a place where water is applied, and there is a problem that the terminal may be corroded or the terminal may be short-circuited by water.
On the other hand, it is conceivable to pass the electric wire cord through the hose. In this case, however, the durability of the electric wire is a problem, and if the electric wire cord is passed through the hose in this way, the hose inevitably becomes thicker. .

  On the other hand, it is conceivable that a battery is mounted on the water discharge head. In this case, however, the water discharge head is inevitably bulky, and the water discharge head is required to be compact. The problem of troublesome work arises.

Therefore, a primary coil on the power feeding side is provided in the main body (primary side portion) of the faucet including a holder for holding the water discharging head, and a secondary coil on the power receiving side is provided in the water discharging head (secondary side portion) having a human body detection sensor. And a power supply coil configured to supply power by electromagnetic induction with the primary coil and the secondary coil on the power transmission path from the power source to the human body detection sensor. It is possible.
If it does in this way, it will become possible to supply electric power without contact from the main part of a fixed faucet to the movable-side water discharge head side, solving the above-mentioned problem.

Conventionally, for example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses power supply using such a power supply coil.
In this Patent Document 1, power is supplied from a shower hook side to a movable shower head side using a feeding coil, and on the shower head side, the ultrasonic wave generating means is operated by the supplied power, Ultrasonic waves are propagated in the hot water sprayed from the shower head.

  By the way, although power transmission can be performed in a non-contact manner as described above, when a human body is detected by the human body detection sensor on the water discharge head side, a detection signal is transmitted to the main body side of the faucet. Therefore, the signal transmission means is a problem.

The drive control of an electric drive valve such as an electromagnetic valve is normally performed by the main control unit of the main body, but it is necessary to send a detection signal from the human body detection sensor for the drive control to the main control unit In this case, if signal transmission is performed by wire, the meaning of performing contactless power transmission without contact is lost.
Further, in this case, extra time is required for the wiring of the signal lines, and the internal structure is complicated by the wiring, and the appearance design is deteriorated.
Therefore, it is conceivable to perform signal transmission wirelessly. In this case, however, a separate communication means for wirelessly transmitting the signal is required, which complicates the configuration of the apparatus and increases the cost. End up.

  The hose storage type automatic faucet has been described above as an example. However, such a problem is that the secondary side portion is provided with the human body detection means, and the actuator is driven and controlled on the primary side portion based on the human body detection by the human body detection means. This is a problem that may occur in common in various other devices, particularly in devices in which the secondary part can be separated from the primary part.

  Patent Document 2 below discloses a two-wire alarm device that operates a switching element to extract a detection signal and drive a lamp, a sound device, and the like when a detection target is detected. However, this is not an electric power transmission by electromagnetic induction, the target is different, and the means for detecting the presence or absence of human body detection by the human body detection means is also different, which is different from the present invention. is there.

JP 2003-174978 A JP 59-66798 A

  With this background, the present invention can perform power transmission from the primary side to the secondary side in a non-contact manner, and can detect whether or not a human body is detected by the human body detection means without using a communication means. The object of the present invention is to provide a device with human body detection means that can be detected on the primary side.

  Thus, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the device for driving and controlling the actuator based on the human body detection by the human body detection means, the primary coil on the power supply side is provided in the primary side portion on the power supply side, and the human body detection means 2 is provided. A secondary coil on the power receiving side is provided on the secondary side, and they are electromagnetically coupled with each other facing each other. The primary coil and the secondary coil perform electromagnetic induction on the power transmission path from the power source to the human body detection means. The power supply coil for supplying power is configured, the power consumption means for increasing power consumption by human body detection by the human body detection means is detected on the secondary side portion, and the increased power consumption is detected on the primary side portion. A power consumption detecting means is provided, respectively.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the device is an automatic water faucet of a hose storage type, wherein the secondary side portion is a water discharge head that can be pulled out together with the hose, and the primary side portion is the water discharge head. It is a main part of a water faucet having a holder for holding the electric actuator, wherein the actuator is an electrically driven valve that is electrically driven.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first and second aspects, the power consuming unit is provided separately from the human body detecting unit.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the power consuming means is an LED.

Effects and effects of the invention

  As described above, the present invention provides a power supply coil that supplies power by electromagnetic induction using a primary coil provided in a primary side portion on the power source side and a secondary coil provided in a secondary side portion having a human body detecting means. In addition, the secondary side portion is provided with power consumption means for increasing power consumption by human body detection by the human body detection means, and the primary side portion is provided with power consumption detection means for detecting the increased power consumption. Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to supply electric power from the power source to the human body detection means in a non-contact manner, and the presence or absence of the human body detection by the human body detection means is determined in a non-contact manner and without using the communication means. It can be detected in the secondary part.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the need for extra wiring as compared with the case of wiring a signal line for transmitting the detection signal from the human body detection means to the main control unit of the primary side portion. The complexity of the structure can be avoided, and the design can be improved and the appearance can be improved.
Further, as compared with the case where a battery is mounted on the secondary side portion, the secondary side portion can be made compact, and further, labor for battery replacement can be saved.

The present invention is particularly effective when applied to a device in which the secondary part can be separated from the primary part.
Furthermore, the present invention is applied to a hose-accommodating type automatic faucet, and a water discharge head that can be pulled out together with the hose is used as a secondary part, and a main part of a water faucet including a holder that holds the water discharge head is used as a primary part The electric drive valve as the actuator can be driven and controlled by the main control unit provided in the primary side portion based on whether or not the human body is detected by the human body detecting means.

  In the present invention, when the human body detection means detects a human body, for example, the transmission pulse interval from the human body detection means is shortened, that is, the transmission pulses are increased to increase the power consumption by the sensor, and thus the human body detection. It is possible to configure power consumption means for increasing power consumption by means, but it is desirable to provide such power consumption means separately from the human body detection means (claim 3).

In this way, the amount of increase in power consumption can be easily optimized within the necessary minimum range, and the amount of increase in power consumption can be detected more reliably and easily by the power consumption detection means. It becomes.
In this case, the power consuming means can be constituted by LEDs (claim 4).

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, 10 is a hose-storing automatic faucet (hereinafter simply referred to as an automatic faucet) that is suitable mainly as a faucet for hand-washing or face-washing, 12 is a movable water discharge head, and 14 is standing and fixed on a counter 16. It is the holder which hold | maintains the water discharging head 12 provided in the state.

  One end of a flexible hose 18 for water supply is connected to the water discharge head 12, and the water discharge head 12 is held in the holder 14 under the state where the water discharge head 12 is held by the holder 14. The hose 18 in a state in which a part on the side of the water discharge head 12 is accommodated in the holder 14 is drawn out from the holder 14 together with the water discharge head 12.

  The movable water discharge head 12 includes a water discharge port 20 for discharging water sent through the hose 18 to the outside, a sensor window 22 at a position near the water discharge port 20, and a sensor window 22 inside the sensor window 22 as shown in FIG. As shown, an infrared human body detection sensor (human body detection means) 24 is provided.

Here, the human body detection sensor 24 emits infrared light in front of the spout 20 through the lens 25 and the sensor window 22, receives light reflected from the human body such as a hand, and detects the human body based on reception of the reflected light. To do.
The automatic faucet 10 of this embodiment automatically discharges water from the water discharge port 20 based on human body detection by the human body detection sensor 24.
In this case, automatic water discharge is performed from the water discharge port 20 only while the human body detection sensor 24 detects the human body such as the hand that has been pushed out, and water discharge is automatically performed when the human body detection sensor 24 detects no human body. Stopping, that is, stopping water may be performed, or water discharge and water stopping may be alternately repeated every time the human body detection sensor 24 detects a human body.

As shown in FIG. 1, a fitting protrusion 26 is provided on the top surface of the holder 14.
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the water discharge head 12 is provided with a corresponding fitting recess 28, and the water discharge head 12 is in a state in which the fitting protrusion 26 and the fitting recess 28 are fitted. Is set on the holder 14. That is, the holder 14 is held at the holding position.

The hose 18 is connected to a water supply source pipe via a solenoid valve 30 and a stop cock 32 below the counter 16, and water from the water supply source pipe passes through the stop cock 32 and the solenoid valve 30. The water is guided to the hose 18 and discharged from the water outlet 20 of the water discharge head 12 to which one end thereof is connected.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 34 denotes a control box.
In the present embodiment, the water discharge head 12 is the secondary side portion, and the main body portion of the water faucet including the holder 14, the electromagnetic valve 30, the control box 34 and the like is the primary side portion.

As shown in FIG. 2, a feeding coil (electromagnetic coupler) 36 is provided at the joint between the water discharge head 12 and the holder 14 when the water discharge head 12 is held by the holder 14.
This power supply coil 36 has a power supply side primary coil 38 facing each other in the axial direction of the water passage, more specifically in the axial direction of the hose 18, and a power reception side secondary coil 40 electromagnetically coupled thereto. is doing.

Here, the primary coil 38 is provided on the holder 14 side and the secondary coil 40 is provided on the water discharge head 12 side, and the primary coil 38 and the secondary coil 40 surround the hose 18, that is, a water passage. It is arranged in a state surrounding.
Here, the primary coil 38 is connected to the primary power supply circuit 44 of FIG. 3 via the power transmission line 42A, and the secondary coil 40 is connected to the secondary power supply circuit 46 of FIG. 3 via the power transmission line 42B. Has been.
Here, the secondary power supply circuit 46 is provided with a rectifier circuit 48 and a smoothing circuit 50.

The power transmission line 42A on the holder 14 side and the power transmission line 42B on the water discharge head 12 side are electromagnetically coupled by a power feeding coil 36 as shown in FIG. In the power feeding coil 36, electric power is transmitted by electromagnetic induction between the primary coil 38 and the secondary coil 40.
The electric power transmitted to the secondary coil 40 side is supplied to the human body detection sensor 24 through the power transmission line 42B and further through the secondary power supply circuit 46.
The human body detection sensor 24 performs a sensing operation based on this power supply.

In the power supply coil 36, the power supply from the primary coil 38 to the secondary coil 40 is specifically performed as follows.
That is, in FIG. 3, a switching signal is supplied from the main control circuit 52 to the switching transistor at a high frequency, so that the switching transistor 54 performs a switching operation.
Then, an induced current is generated in the secondary coil 40 by the electromagnetic induction action, and the induced current is rectified by the rectifier circuit 48, smoothed by the smoothing circuit 50, and supplied to the human body detection sensor 24.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 56 denotes a capacitor.

On the water discharge head 12 side, a sensor control circuit 60 and an LED 62 as power consuming means are provided together with the secondary power supply circuit 46.
The human body detection sensor 24 operates under the control of the sensor control circuit 60 and emits infrared rays in pulses at regular time intervals. The sensor control circuit 60 controls the pulse width or pulse interval of the infrared pulse from the human body detection sensor 24.

The sensor control circuit 60 also functions to increase power consumption by turning on the LED 62 when the human body detection sensor 24 detects a human body.
That is, here, when the human body detection sensor 24 detects a human body, the LED 62 is turned on to increase the power consumption, and when the human body detection sensor 24 is not detected, the LED 62 is turned off and the power consumption is restored. It is.

In this way, when the power consumption increases on the water discharge head 12 side based on the human body detection by the human body detection sensor 24, the power supply amount is increased in the power feeding coil 36 to compensate for this. Accordingly, a large amount of current I flows through the resistor 64 connected in series with the switching transistor 54.
Then, the voltage generated between both ends of the resistor 64 increases. The increased voltage is amplified and converted into a digital signal by the power consumption detection circuit (power consumption detection means) 66 and then input to the main control circuit 52.
In response to this, the main control circuit 52 drives the electromagnetic valve drive circuit 68 to open the electromagnetic valve 30 to discharge water from the water outlet 20.

  On the other hand, when the LED 62 is turned off on the water discharge head 12 side and the power consumption is restored, the main control circuit 52 closes the solenoid valve 30 via the solenoid valve drive circuit 68 based on the detection by the power consumption detection circuit 66. And stop water discharge.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, power can be supplied from the power source to the human body detection sensor 24 in a non-contact manner. It is possible to detect with the main body of the faucet which is the primary side portion.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, unnecessary wiring work can be eliminated as compared with the case where the signal line for transmitting the detection signal from the human body detection sensor 24 to the main control circuit 52 of the primary side portion is wired. Further, the complicated structure due to the wiring can be avoided, and the design can be improved and the appearance can be improved.
Moreover, compared with the case where a battery is mounted on the water discharge head 12 which is the secondary side portion, the water discharge head 12 can be made compact, and further, labor for battery replacement can be saved.

  In this embodiment, since the LED 62 as the power consumption means is provided separately from the human body detection sensor 24, the amount of increase in power consumption can be easily optimized within the necessary minimum range, and the power consumption It is possible to more reliably and easily detect the amount of increase.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, this is merely an example.
For example, in the above example, the human body detection means is configured as a non-contact type human body detection sensor. However, the human body detection means may be configured as a contact type switch, and the present invention is not limited to the above example. The present invention can be configured in various forms without departing from the gist, such as various automatic faucets and devices other than faucets.

It is a figure which shows the hose accommodation type automatic faucet which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which expands and shows the principal part of the embodiment. The circuit configuration in the same embodiment is shown as a block diagram. It is a figure which shows the state which pulled out the water discharge head in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Automatic faucet 12 Water discharging head 14 Holder 18 Hose 24 Human body detection sensor (human body detection means)
30 Solenoid valve 36 Feed coil 38 Primary coil 40 Secondary coil 42A, 42B Power transmission line 62 LED (power consumption means)
66 Power consumption detection circuit (power consumption detection means)

Claims (4)

In a device that drives and controls an actuator based on human body detection by human body detection means, a primary coil on the power supply side is provided on the primary side portion on the power supply side, and a secondary coil on the power reception side is provided on the secondary side portion having the human body detection means. In addition, each is opposed to each other and electromagnetically coupled, and on the power transmission path from the power source to the human body detection means, the primary coil and the secondary coil form a power feeding coil that feeds by electromagnetic induction, and The secondary side portion is provided with power consumption means for increasing power consumption by human body detection by the human body detection means, and the primary side portion is provided with power consumption detection means for detecting the increased power consumption. Equipment with human body detection means.   2. The water according to claim 1, wherein the device is a hose-accommodating automatic faucet, the secondary side portion is a water discharge head that can be pulled out together with the hose, and the primary side portion has a holder that holds the water discharge head. A device with a human body detecting means, which is a main body portion of a stopper, wherein the actuator is an electrically driven valve that is electrically driven.   3. The apparatus with human body detecting means according to claim 1, wherein the power consuming means is provided separately from the human body detecting means.   4. The apparatus with human body detecting means according to claim 1, wherein the power consuming means is an LED.

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