JP4651426B2 - Water soap dispenser - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water soap dispenser that constitutes a water soap discharge device having a function of automatically discharging water soap by a human body detecting means.

  Some washbasins equipped with a counter are provided with a water soap water discharge device that discharges water soap when a user performs a certain operation in addition to a water tap for supplying hot water. There are various types of water soap discharge devices, but conventionally, when a predetermined member provided near the discharge port is pushed or pulled by hand, water soap is discharged from the discharge port. The manual type was the mainstream. However, in recent years, the one that has a function of automatically discharging mousse-like water soap just by bringing the user close to the vicinity of the discharge port (for example, see Patent Document 1) has become mainstream. It is going

  In the case of the water discharge device with water soap supply means described in Patent Document 1 (hereinafter referred to as “water discharge device”), when the user brings his hand close to the vicinity of the water soap discharge port in order to use the water soap, the sensor When the air supply means is operated via the control unit and the water soap supply means is activated, the mousse-like water soap is automatically discharged from the discharge port.

JP 2001-25447 A

  The water discharge device described in Patent Document 1 is easy to use and very convenient because mousse soap is discharged just by the user bringing his hand close to the discharge port. However, the user does not realize that the water discharge device is an automatic type, and may misunderstand that it is a conventional manual water soap discharge device. In this case, the user does not realize that it is only necessary to bring his / her hand close to the discharge port, and often places his / her hand on the discharge port or pushes the discharge port. For this reason, the pump may be activated by a signal from a sensor that detects the approach of the hand, even though the discharge port is closed by the user's hand.

  When the pump is operated under such circumstances, water soap will not be discharged if the discharge port is completely blocked by the user's hand, but there is a gap between the discharge port and the hand. If there is, water soap may spout from the gap. Since soap that has been ejected from a gap narrower than the discharge port may splash in an unexpected direction, the splashed soap may adhere to the face or clothes of the user or people nearby, causing discomfort. May give.

  On the other hand, the automatic water soap dispenser tends to attract children's interest, and as a result of the child's mischief closing the outlet, water soap splashes may occur. Moreover, the water soap discharge port may be blocked by a malicious mischief by an adult, and the above-described splashing of water soap may occur. In addition, such a mischief is particularly likely to occur in an automatic water soap dispenser installed in a public facility.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is a safe and comfortable water soap discharge that does not cause an unexpected splash of water soap even if the water soap discharge port is blocked by hand due to misunderstanding or mischief of the user. To provide an instrument.

The water soap dispenser of the present invention comprises a human body detecting means for detecting the approach of a human body, and a discharge path for discharging water soap supplied by a pump operated based on a detection signal from the human body detecting means from a tip opening. In the water soap dispenser equipped with the present invention, the discharge path is composed of a liquid feed pipe serving as a flow path for the water soap, and an external insertion pipe in which the liquid feed pipe is inserted with a gap communicating with the atmosphere. A double-pipe structure is adopted, the tip opening of the liquid feeding tube is arranged upstream of the tip opening of the extrapolation tube, and a gap provided between the outer tube and the liquid feeding tube and the atmosphere It is characterized in that a through portion is provided to connect the two.

  With such a configuration, when water soap is discharged from the tip opening of the liquid feeding tube in a state where the tip opening of the extratubation tube serving as the water soap discharge port is manually blocked, It flows out from the tip opening of the tube into the extrapolated tube and backflows in the gap communicating with the atmosphere. For this reason, the pressure in the outer cannula which comprises a discharge path | route does not become higher than atmospheric pressure, and water soap does not spout from the clearance gap between the front-end | tip opening part of an outer canal tube and a hand.

In addition , by providing a penetrating portion connecting the gap between the outer tube and the liquid feeding tube and the atmosphere on the outer periphery of the outer tube, the penetrating portion serves as a water soap discharge port. When water soap supplied in a state where the section is closed by hand flows backward through the gap between the extratubation tube and the liquid feeding tube, it functions as an air vent channel or water soap discharge path. For this reason, the ejection of water soap can be prevented more reliably.

  In addition, if the penetrating portion is provided at a position including the lower surface region of the extratubation tube, when the distal end opening of the extratubation tube serving as the water soap discharge port is blocked by hand, the extratubation tube and the liquid feeding tube Water soap that collects in the lower surface area of the extratubation tube according to gravity while flowing backward through the gap can be quickly discharged downward. Therefore, the effect of preventing scattering to the human body can be further enhanced.

  In addition, if a refracting portion is provided in a part of the outer cannula, it is extremely difficult to grip the extrapolated tube constituting the discharge path with a hand without any gap. It is possible to avoid a vicious mischief that attempts to completely block up to the provided through portion.

  Further, if the extrapolation tube is formed of a hard material and the liquid supply tube is formed of a soft material that can be elastically deformed, the liquid supply tube will have elastic flexibility, so that the refracting portion is provided. Assembling workability at the time of forming a double pipe structure by interpolating the liquid feeding pipe into the outer insertion pipe is greatly improved.

  On the other hand, the water soap dispenser is composed of a main body part fixed to a support such as a counter and provided with human body detection means, and the discharge path protruding substantially horizontally from the main body part, and the extratubation tube It is desirable to arrange the tip opening outside the detection area of the human body detection means of the main body. With such a configuration, when a situation occurs in which the distal end opening of the extratubation is blocked by a hand due to misidentification or mischief, the human body detecting means provided in the main body avoids the hand from being detected. Will be able to. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a trouble that the water soap supply pump operates in a state where the distal end opening of the extratubation tube is blocked by hand.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a safe and comfortable water soap discharge device in which water soap does not scatter even if the water soap discharge port is blocked due to misidentification or mischief of the user.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a water soap dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a water soap dispenser using the water soap dispenser shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the water soap dispenser shown in FIG. 1 with the top cover removed, FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the water soap dispenser shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a water soap dispenser shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. It is the figure seen from the arrow C direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the water soap dispenser 1 of this embodiment is used in the vicinity of a wash basin 3 disposed on a counter 2 such as a washroom along with a faucet 4 and the like. The water soap dispenser 1 (hereinafter referred to as “dispenser 1”) includes a main body 5 (see FIG. 3) covered with an inverted cup-shaped main body cover 5a, and mounting holes from the main body 5 to the main body cover 5a. 5b (see FIG. 3) and a discharge path 6 provided so as to protrude into the washbasin 3. A sensor window 7 is provided below the mounting hole 5b on the front surface of the main body 5, and an object A sensor 8 that detects the approach of the sensor window 7 is disposed inside the sensor window 7.

  The discharge device 1 is often installed in a toilet of a public facility such as a railway station or a hotel. In that case, as shown in FIG. A water soap discharge device 11 is formed by disposing the water soap tank 9 and the control unit 10 in the lower region. A water soap tube 12 communicating with the inside of the water soap tank 9 and an air tube 14 extending from the air pump 13 are connected to the main body 5 of the discharge device 1, and the air pump 13, the sensor 8, and the control unit 10 are connected to each other. An electric wire 15 is wired between them. The water soap dispenser 11 is operated by a commercial power supply (AC 100 V) supplied to the control unit 10 via the power cord 27.

  Liquid water soap S is stored in the water soap tank 9, and a float switch 16 for detecting the fullness of the water soap S is provided on the peripheral wall portion 9 a of the water soap tank 9, and the remaining amount of water soap S is reduced. A float switch 17 for detection is provided at the bottom 9 b of the soap bar 9. These float switches 16 and 17 are connected to the control unit 10 via electric wires 18 and 19. The upper part of the water soap tank 9 is closed with a lid 9c, and a plurality of water soap pumps 20 corresponding to the respective discharge devices 1 are arranged on the upper part of the lid 9c. These water soap pumps 20 are connected to the control unit 10 via electric wires 21, respectively. Further, a check valve 12a for preventing the backflow of the water soap S into the water soap tank 9 is provided in the water soap tube 12 near the top of the lid 9c.

  On the other hand, a replenishment unit 22 for replenishing water soap into the water soap tank 9 is provided near the counter 2, and water soap is replenished into the water soap tank 9 between the replenishment unit 22 and the water soap tank 9. A replenishing hose 23 serving as a liquid feeding path when the water soap is used and an air vent hose 24 for releasing the air in the water soap tank 9 when water soap is replenished are provided. The replenishment unit 22 is connected to the control unit 10 via an electric wire 25.

  When the water soap S in the water soap tank 9 decreases from the specified remaining amount, the float switch 17 detects this and sends a signal to the control unit 10, and the LED 26 provided in the replenishment unit 22 is at a relatively slow interval (for example, 2 Hz). ) Flashes. When the water soap S in the water soap tank 9 increases beyond the specified capacity due to the water soap replenishment from the replenishment unit 22, the float switch 16 detects this and sends a signal to the control unit 10, and the LED 26 of the replenishment unit 22 lights continuously. .

  Next, the internal structure of the discharge device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the main body cover 5a is removed, the main body portion 5 appears. Below the main body 5, a substantially cylindrical male screw portion 28 having a flange 28a and a female screw member 29 screwed into the male screw portion 28 are provided as means for fixing to the counter 2 (see FIG. 1). It has been. The male screw portion 28 with the female screw member 29 removed is inserted from a vertically upward direction into a fixing hole (not shown) provided in the counter 2, and the female screw member 29 protrudes from the lower surface of the counter 2. Are screwed together so that the counter 2 is sandwiched between the flange 28 a and the packing 29 a provided on the upper surface of the female screw member 29 to fix the main body 5. In the male screw portion 28, a water soap tube 12 and an air tube 14 are piped.

  A mounting portion 30 for each component is formed above the flange 28a. The sensor 8 and a fixing member 31 for fixing the base end portion of the discharge path 6 are mixed with the mounting portion 30 and water soap and air are mixed. The water soap tube 12 and the upper end portions 12b and 14b of the air tube 14 which are erected from the flange 28a through the side of the sensor 8 are connected to the mixing chamber joint 32, respectively. .

  As shown in FIG. 6, a gas-liquid flow path 33 communicating with the mixing chamber joint 32 is formed inside the fixing member 31, and a downstream portion of the gas-liquid flow path 33 and a base end portion of the discharge path 6 A mousse mesh 34 is disposed between them. The water soap supplied from the water soap tube 12 and the air supplied from the air tube 14 are mixed in the mixing chamber joint 32 and fed to the discharge path 6 via the gas-liquid flow path 33, and finally. As a result, it passes through the mousse mesh 34 to change to a finer mousse shape, and is discharged from the tip opening 6c of the discharge path 6 as mousse soap MS (see FIG. 1). In the description of the present embodiment, the phrases “upstream” and “downstream” are based on the direction of flow when the mousse soap MS is discharged.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the discharge path 6 includes a hard outer tube 6a formed of a metal tube, and an outer tube 6a made of synthetic rubber or synthetic resin inserted with a gap P in the outer tube 6a. Compared to this, a double pipe structure composed of a soft liquid feeding pipe 6b is formed, and the tip 6d of the liquid feeding pipe 6b is arranged upstream of the tip opening 6c of the external insertion pipe 6a. The total length of the liquid feeding pipe 6b is shorter than that of the outer insertion pipe 6a, and flange members 38 and 39 having axial through holes 38h and 39h are attached to the distal end 6d and the base end 6e of the liquid feeding pipe 6b, respectively. ing. And the outer peripheral part of these flange members 38 and 39 contact | abuts to the internal peripheral surface of the external insertion pipe 6a, and at least the front-end | tip part 6d and the base end part 6e of the liquid feeding pipe 6b are substantially coaxial in the inside of the external insertion pipe 6a. It is held so that it is located above.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the flange member 39 positioned on the upstream side is disposed with its outermost peripheral portion in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the outer insertion tube 6a without any gap, thereby allowing the inside of the proximal end portion 6f of the outer insertion tube 6a to be located. And the gap P are partitioned. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the downstream flange member 38 is formed with four radial projections 38a at intervals of 90 degrees on the outer peripheral portion thereof, and the outer peripheral portions of these projections 38a are arranged in the outer tube 6a. The liquid supply pipe 6b is held by being brought into contact with the peripheral surface. Accordingly, four gaps P1 are formed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer insertion tube 6a and the flange member 38. The protrusions 38a may be two (180 degree intervals) or three (120 degree intervals), and are provided so that a gap P is formed between the inner surface of the outer tube 6a and the flange member 38. That's fine.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the base end portion 6f of the outer insertion tube 6a passes through the mounting hole 5b of the upper cover 5a and is horizontally inserted into the fixing member 31 of the main body portion 5, and the bottom surface of the base end portion 6f. Then, a screw 35 is inserted into a screw hole 36 provided obliquely toward the upstream side, and a tip end portion thereof is screwed to the fixing member 31 to be fixed to the main body portion 5. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the outer tube 6a is extended obliquely downward from the main body 5 through the horizontal portion 6h protruding in the horizontal direction and from the downstream side of the horizontal portion 6h via the refracting portion 6g. It is comprised with the inclination part 6i.

  The liquid feeding tube 6b inserted in the outer insertion tube 6a is arranged along the shape of the outer insertion tube 6a, and keeps a curved state along the shape in the bending portion 6g. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, a plurality of slit-shaped through portions 37a, 37b, and 37c are provided along the axial direction of the outer tube 6a at positions including the lower surface region of the outer tube 6a. Yes. Since the liquid feeding pipe 6b made of a soft material has elastic flexibility, the assembly workability when forming the double pipe structure by inserting the liquid feeding pipe 6b into the outer insertion pipe 6a having the refracting portion 6g is as follows. It is good.

  Next, how to use the water soap dispenser 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12 are perspective views showing an example of the usage state of the water soap dispenser shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, when the user inserts his hand H toward the basin 3 and brings the palm H1 close to the tip opening 6c of the discharge path 6, the body 5 is disposed at the lower front portion (see FIG. 3). The sensor 8 detects this, and the water soap pump 20 and the air pump 13 are operated via the control unit 10. As a result, the stored water soap S is pumped into the mixing chamber joint 32 of the main body 5 of the discharge device 1 via the water soap tube 12 and mixed from the air pump 13 via the air tube 14. Air is supplied into the joint 32.

  After the water soap and air sent into the mixing chamber joint 32 are mixed here, they pass through the mousse mesh 34 from the gas-liquid flow path 33 shown in FIG. 6 is fed into the base end portion 6f of the outer cannula 6a constituting the motor 6. Thereafter, the mousse-like soap MS flows into the liquid feeding pipe 6b from the through hole 39h of the flange member 39, passes through the liquid feeding pipe 6b as it is, and is inclined from the through hole 38h of the flange member 38 to the inclined portion 6i of the outer insertion pipe 6a. As shown in FIG. 1, the mousse soap MS is discharged toward the user's hand H in the wash basin 3 through the tip opening 6c.

  As shown in FIG. 1, if the user is holding out the hand H, the air pump 13 and the water soap pump 20 are operated for a preset time (for example, adjustable within a range of 0.2 to 20 seconds). After that, since it automatically stops, about 3 ml of water soap is discharged. If the hand H moves away from the detection area of the sensor 8 during the discharge of the mousse soap MS, for example, the air pump 13 and the water soap pump 20 are stopped, the mousse soap MS is automatically discharged. Stopped.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, a malicious user closes the distal end opening 6 c (see FIG. 1) of the external insertion tube 6 a constituting the discharge path 6 of the discharge device 1 with a hand H for the purpose of mischief or the like. Sometimes. However, in the case of the discharge device 1, the sensor 8 is an infrared reflection type sensor, the infrared light projecting / receiving direction is directed obliquely downward, and the distal end opening 6 c of the extratubation tube 6 a is from the sensor 8. Since the tip opening 6c of the extratubation tube 6a can be outside the range of the detection region G of the sensor 8, even if the hand H is at a position where the tip opening 6c is blocked, The sensor 8 does not detect it. Therefore, even if the situation shown in FIG. 10 occurs, the air pump 13 and the water soap pump 20 do not operate, and the mousse soap MS (see FIG. 1) does not discharge, so that damage due to mischief can be avoided. it can.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, a user who misunderstood that the discharge device 1 is a manual type extends the palm H1 of his / her hand H extended from the detection region of the sensor 8 to the distal end opening 6c (see FIG. 1), or the user for mischief purpose places his hand H in the detection area of the sensor 8 and presses the palm H1 against the tip opening 6c (see FIG. 1), thereby opening the tip opening 6c. May be blocked. In this case, since the hand H is in the detection region of the sensor 8, the air pump 13 and the water soap pump 20 are operated, and the mousse soap MS is discharged from the flange member 38 of the distal end portion 6d of the liquid feeding pipe 6b. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the front end opening 38a of the flange member 38 is disposed upstream of the front end opening 6c of the outer insertion tube 6a, so that the mousse soap MS discharged from the front end opening 38a is Bounced back by the palm H closing the front end opening 6c and backflowing in the inclined portion 6i, passing through the gap P1 (see FIG. 9) between the inner peripheral surface of the outer insertion tube 6a and the flange member 38, the gap Flows into P.

  The mousse-like soap MS that has flowed into the gap P attempts to flow back as it is, but as shown in FIG. 7, through portions 37a, 37b, and 37c are opened in the lower surface region of the outer cannula 6a. The soap MS is discharged from any of the through portions 37a, 37b, and 37c in the direction of the arrow M, and flows out into the user's palm H1 or the basin 3. In this case, since the extratubation tube 6a has penetrating portions 37a, 37b, and 37c communicating with the atmosphere, even if the mousse soap MS is supplied in a state where the distal end opening portion 6c is closed, The pressure does not increase, and the mousse-like soap MS is not ejected from the gap between the palm H1 and the tip opening 6c, and does not adhere to the face or clothes.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the user for mischief purpose closes the palm H1 by pressing the palm H1 against the tip opening 6c (see FIG. 1) while placing his hand H in the detection region of the sensor 8. Thus, the outer insertion tube 6a may be grasped and the through portions 37a, 37b, and 37c may be blocked. Even in such a situation, since the hand H is in the detection region of the sensor 8, the air pump 13 and the water soap pump 20 are operated, and the mousse soap MS is discharged from the flange member 38 of the distal end portion 6d of the liquid feeding pipe 6b. The

  However, since the extrapolation tube 6a is bent in a substantially hemispherical shape through the refracting portion 6g, when the extrapolation tube 6a is grasped by the palm H1 for the purpose of closing the through portions 37a, 37b, 37c, the inner side of the refracting portion 6g. In the region, a gap is generated between the palm H1 and the extratubation tube 6a. Accordingly, it is almost impossible to completely close the through portions 37a and 37b in the vicinity of the refraction portion 6g, and any one of the through portions 37a, 37b, and 37c functions as an outlet for the mousse soap MS. The mousse soap MS does not erupt from the gap between H and the extratubation tube 6a, and mischief damage can be avoided.

  As described above, since the water soap does not scatter even if the tip opening 6c, which is the water soap discharge port, is blocked due to misunderstanding or mischief by the user, the water soap discharge device 1 is safe. And comfortable. Although the water soap dispenser 1 of the present embodiment discharges the mousse soap MS formed by mixing the water soap S and air, the present invention is not limited to this. It can be widely used in water soap dispensers having a function of discharging only soap.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used by being placed in a washroom of a public facility used by an unspecified number of people such as a station, a theater, a hotel, a school, etc., and preferably performs water discharge and water stop based on human body detection. It can be widely used in combination with automatic faucets.

It is a perspective view which shows the water soap discharge instrument which is embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the water soap discharge apparatus using the water soap discharge instrument shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the front side which shows the water soap discharge instrument shown in FIG. 1 in the state which removed the upper cover. It is a perspective view of the back side of the water soap discharge instrument shown in FIG. It is a partially abbreviated bottom view of the water soap dispenser shown in FIG. It is the sectional view on the AA line in FIG. FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 6. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is the figure seen from the arrow C direction in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the use condition of the water soap discharge instrument shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the use condition of the water soap discharge instrument shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the use condition of the water soap discharge instrument shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water soap dispenser 2 Counter 3 Basin 4 Water faucet 5 Main body part 5a Main body cover 5b Mounting hole 6 Discharge path 6a Extrapolation pipe 6b Liquid supply pipe 6c, 38a Front opening part 6d Tip part 6e, 6f Base end part 6g Refraction part 6h Horizontal portion 6i Inclined portion 7 Sensor window 8 Sensor 9 Water soap tank 9a Peripheral wall portion 9b Bottom portion 9c Cover 10 Control unit 11 Water soap discharge device 12 Water soap tube 12b, 14b Upper end portion 12a Check valve 13 Air pump 14 Air tube 15 , 18, 19, 21, 25 Electric wires 16, 17 Float switch 20 Water soap pump 22 Supply unit 23 Supply hose 24 Air vent hose 26 LED
27 Power cord 28 Male thread portion 28a Flange 29 Female thread member 29a Packing 30 Mounting portion 31 Fixing member 32 Mixing chamber joint 33 Gas-liquid flow path 34 Moose mesh 35 Screw 36 Screw hole 37a, 37b, 37c Through hole 38, 39 Flange member 38a Projection Part 38h, 39h Through hole G Detection area H Hand H1 Palm M Arrow line MS Moose soap S Water soap P, P1 Crevice

Claims (5)

In a water soap dispenser comprising a human body detecting means for detecting the approach of a human body, and a discharge path for discharging water soap supplied by a pump operated based on a detection signal from the human body detecting means from a tip opening, The discharge path has a double-pipe structure including a liquid supply pipe serving as a flow path for the water soap and an external insertion pipe in which the liquid supply pipe is inserted by providing a gap communicating with the atmosphere. The tube end opening is disposed upstream of the outer tube end opening , and the outer periphery of the tube is provided with a penetrating portion that connects the gap between the tube and the atmosphere. Water soap dispenser characterized by. Said through portion, liquid soap dispensing appliance according to claim 1, characterized by providing a position including the lower surface area of the outer cannula. The water soap dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a refracting portion is provided in a part of the extratubation tube. The water soap dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the outer insertion tube is formed of a hard material and the liquid feeding tube is formed of a soft material that can be elastically deformed. The water soap dispenser is composed of a main body portion fixed to a support such as a counter and provided with human body detection means, and the discharge path projecting substantially horizontally from the main body portion, and the distal end opening of the extratubation tube The water soap dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the portion is disposed outside the detection region of the human body detection means of the main body portion.

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