JP6233771B2 - Toilet device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an improvement of a toilet device configured as an electric device including a power supply battery for power failure.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a basic configuration of such an electric device according to the prior art.
The electric device 100 includes a DC power supply circuit 11 connected to a commercial power supply and a power supply battery 12 for power failure, and outputs of the respective devices are connected to each other via a backflow prevention diode 13. The motor 2 and the heater 3 are examples of functional loads of the electric device 100, and these are controlled by the control circuit 18. The step-down circuit 20 is a circuit that steps down the output voltage of the DC power supply circuit 11 or the power supply battery 12.

  The following Patent Document 1 is an example of a conventional technique related to the above electric device. This document describes an electric device that supplies power to a control circuit from a commercial power source and controls a load by the control circuit, and includes a charging circuit that supplies power instead of the commercial power source during standby. Yes.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-8378

However, in the configuration as shown in FIG. 7, since the power supply battery always supplies power to the step-down circuit and the control circuit even if the electrical equipment is not operating during a power failure, the power maintenance time of the power supply battery is short. There is a problem of becoming. Further, even in the configuration of Patent Document 1, power is always supplied from the charging circuit to the control circuit during standby, and it is considered that the same problem occurs.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve such problems and to provide a toilet device configured as an electrical device that uses very little power from a power source battery during a power outage.

The present invention provides a toilet device including a DC power supply circuit connected to a commercial power supply and a power supply battery for power failure, and when the power supply battery is energized by a start-up operation during a power failure, the power supply from the power supply battery And a power supply control circuit that shuts off the power supply battery after operating the drainage mechanism among all functional loads of the toilet device .

  The power supply control circuit is activated by energization of the power supply battery, a control element that energizes or cuts off the power supply battery, a start switch that receives the operation and energizes the control element, and the electric device operates as described above. A control circuit for holding the energized state of the control element until completion of the process and then returning it to the shut-off state.

The toilet device may further include a power failure detection circuit for determining whether the toilet device is activated during a power failure.

The toilet device may further include a notification circuit that notifies that the activation process is being performed.

In the toilet apparatus according to the present invention, when a startup operation is performed during a power failure, the power supply battery is energized, the drainage mechanism is operated by the power supplied by the power supply battery, and then the power supply battery is shut off. That is, the power battery is energized only when a specific functional load is operating during a power failure, and is cut off at other times, so the power of the power battery is not consumed except when necessary. The power maintenance time becomes longer.

It is a circuit diagram showing an example of the basic composition of the present invention. It is the circuit diagram which showed the other example of the basic composition of this invention. It is the circuit diagram which showed an example of the structure further developed of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed an example of the basic operation | movement of the electric equipment by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the toilet device to which this invention is applied. (A), (b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part of the toilet device shown in FIG. It is the circuit diagram which showed the basic composition of the conventional electric equipment.

Hereinafter, a basic embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The circuit diagram of FIG. 1 is an example of a basic configuration of the present invention, and it is assumed that the electrical apparatus 1 includes a plurality of functional loads. The motor 2 and the heater 3 are shown as examples of such a functional load function.

  The electric device 1 includes a DC power supply circuit 11 connected to a commercial power supply and a power supply battery 12 for power failure, and outputs of the respective devices are connected to each other via a backflow prevention diode 13. An electrolytic capacitor 14 for stabilizing the power supply is disposed. The power battery 12 is assumed to be a primary battery, but may be a secondary battery.

  Furthermore, as a characteristic constituent element, when a startup operation is performed during a power failure, the electric device 1 energizes the power battery 12 to cause the electric device 1 to perform a predetermined operation and then shuts off the power battery 12. A power supply control circuit 15 is provided. The predetermined operation is, in short, an operation of a functional load (hereinafter referred to as a specific functional load) selected in advance from all the functional loads of the electrical device 1 and it is particularly desirable that the predetermined operation can be executed by the power battery 12 even during a power failure. Is. For example, if the electric device 1 is a toilet device, it can be relieved that it can be drained electrically even during a power failure. In the case of a water heater pot, it is convenient that the hot water can be supplied electrically even if the outlet is unplugged.

  The power control circuit 15 includes a control element 16 that energizes or interrupts the power battery 12, a start switch 17 that energizes the control element 16 in response to a predetermined operation, and a control circuit 18 that maintains the energized state of the control element 16. And.

  Although the control element 16 is a bipolar transistor, it is not limited to this and may be a field effect transistor or the like.

  The start switch 17 is not particularly limited in its shape and arrangement, but may be provided in an operation unit (not shown) of the electric device 1 like other switches. The start switch 17 may also be used as another switch that is operated during normal operation.

  A start switch 17 and a transistor element 19 controlled by the control circuit 18 are connected in parallel to the base terminal of the control element 16. If either the start switch 17 or the transistor element 19 is in an energized state, the control element 16 is kept in the energized state through the base current. Thereby, the power battery 12 is energized.

  The control circuit 18 is constituted by a microcomputer or the like. The control circuit 18 basically controls all the functions of the electric device 1, but in the present invention, particularly when activated by energization of the power supply battery 12, the control element 16 until the electric device 1 completes the predetermined operation. It is set as the structure which returns to the interruption | blocking state, after hold | maintaining this energization state.

  The step-down circuit 20 is composed of a regulator or the like, and supplies the stepped down power to the control circuit 18 and the heater 3. The motor 2 is configured to operate by receiving power from the DC power supply circuit 11.

  The power supply path to each functional load is provided with a switch element 21 for the control circuit 18 to control them. The means for this control is not limited to a bipolar transistor or the like, and may be a more complicated circuit.

  The circuit diagram of FIG. 2 shows another example of the basic configuration of the present invention. This example is characterized in that a relay element is used as the control element 16 instead of a bipolar transistor. Since other components are common to the configuration of FIG. 1, the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted.

  The relay element uses an a contact that is closed only when the coil is energized. Therefore, the coil is energized while either the start switch 17 or the transistor element 19 is energized, whereby the relay element is energized and the power supply battery 12 is energized.

  The circuit diagram of FIG. 3 shows an example of a more developed configuration of the present invention. This example is characterized in that the control circuit 18 includes a power failure detection circuit 4 for determining whether or not it has been activated during a power failure, and a notification circuit 5 for notifying that the activation process is being performed. . Since other components are common to the configuration of FIG. 1, the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted.

  In the figure, the power failure detection circuit 4 connected to the output part of the DC power supply circuit 11 and the power failure detection circuit 4 connected to the base terminal of the control element 16 are shown, but only one of them is actually used. You may prepare. The control circuit 18 can determine whether or not a power failure is occurring by detecting the output of the DC power supply circuit 11 or the operation of the start switch 17 by the power failure detection circuit 4.

  The notification circuit 5 is constituted by a lamp, a buzzer, or the like, and the control circuit 18 operates the notification circuit 5 immediately after being activated, and continues the operation state until the activation process is completed, thereby performing the activation process. This is notified to the user. Since the holding operation of the energization state of the control element 16 by the control circuit 18 is started after the start-up process is completed, it is desirable to provide such a notification circuit 5 to notify the user that the control is being started. .

  Next, basic operations related to the present invention of the electrical equipment shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

  When activated, the control circuit 18 activates the notification circuit 5 at the head of the activation process to notify that the activation process is in progress. After the start-up process, the control circuit 18 determines whether or not the power failure is detected by the power failure detection circuit 4, branches based on the determination result, and performs the following processing.

  When it is determined that the control circuit 18 is activated at the normal time, the control circuit 18 stops the notification circuit 5 and thereafter keeps the control element 16 in the cut-off state. Thereafter, the control circuit 18 continues to monitor the presence / absence of an operation at the operation unit or the presence / absence of a user by a sensor or the like in order to operate each functional load at an appropriate timing.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the power supply battery 12 has been activated at the time of a power failure, the power supply battery 12 is energized by the activation switch 17 at this time, so the control circuit 18 maintains the energization of the power supply battery 12 by the transistor element, thereby starting the activation switch 17. Preparing for the suspension of operations. Thereafter, the control circuit 18 stops the notification circuit 5, causes the specific functional load to operate, maintains the energized state of the control element 16 until the operation is completed, and then returns to the cutoff state. When the control element 16 returns to the shut-off state, the power battery 12 is shut off and the power supply to the control circuit 18 is also stopped.

  The flowchart of FIG. 4 shows the procedure of the basic operation, and each step is controlled by the control circuit 18.

  Step 101 is an activation process, and the notification circuit 5 is activated at the head of the activation process. The start-up process also requires a certain amount of time (several seconds) because it also performs self-diagnosis processing of electrical equipment. In the start-up process, a procedure for initializing the control element 16 to the one-off state may be executed. Step 101 is a step of determining whether or not the power failure detection circuit 4 has been activated during a power failure.

  Steps 102 to 104 are procedures to be executed when it is determined in Step 101 that the program has been started up at normal time. In step 102, the notification circuit 5 is stopped. Steps 103 and 104 are loops for monitoring the operation unit and operating the corresponding functional load if any operation is performed, and this loop is continued until the commercial power supply of the electrical device 1 fails.

  Steps 105 to 108 are procedures to be executed when it is determined in step 101 that the system has been started during a power failure. Step 105 is a procedure for energizing the power supply battery 12, and it is particularly desirable to execute it before the procedure for stopping the notification circuit 5 in Step 106. Step 107 is a procedure for causing a specific functional load to perform an operation. Step 108 is a procedure for shutting off the power battery 12. As a result, the supply of power to the control circuit 18 is also stopped, and the electrical device 1 basically does not consume power.

  The block diagram of FIG. 5 shows the main configuration of a toilet device to which the present invention is applied. The toilet device is an example of the electric apparatus 1 according to the present invention, and is configured to operate a functional load such as washing, draining, showering, and toilet seat warming by a commercial power source. Elements common to those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The operation unit 6 is provided with a shower switch, a shower temperature adjustment switch, a toilet seat heater switch, a toilet seat temperature adjustment switch, and the like (not shown). The operation unit may be provided with a lamp indicating that the toilet device is being activated, that is, that the control circuit 18 is being activated.

  The toilet device according to the present invention is characterized in that wastewater treatment can be performed by the power battery 12 even during a power failure. That is, among the plurality of functional loads of the toilet device, the drainage mechanism 7 is selected as a specific functional load that operates by operating the start switch 17 even during a power failure. This eliminates the need to pour a large amount of water into the toilet device with a bucket or the like for draining during a power outage. The motor 2 in FIG. 5 indicates a DC motor that drives the drainage mechanism 7, and the heater 3 indicates a heat retaining heater for the toilet seat 8.

  6 (a)-(b) is a view when the same toilet device is viewed from the side, and FIG. 6 (a) shows a state waiting for drainage, and FIG. 6 (b). ) Shows the state during drainage. In these figures, the toilet seat 8, the lid, and the like are omitted.

  The toilet device is a Western type, and a bowl portion 9a for receiving a stool is opened on the upper surface of the toilet body 9, and a drainage mechanism 7 for discharging sewage is disposed behind (a right side in the figure), a bowl A water injection mechanism 10 for injecting tap water into the portion 9a is provided.

  The drainage mechanism 7 is interposed between a drainage port 9b and a sewage port 9c provided behind the bowl portion 9a, and includes an airtight wall 7a and a turn trap 7b.

  The turn trap 7b is a bellows body made of a flexible resin or the like, and the tip thereof is either the trap position shown in FIG. 6A or the purge position shown in FIG. It is designed to be positioned. The arm 7 c is rotated by the motor 2.

  Here, the trap position is a position waiting for drainage. At this time, tap water is stored in the bowl portion 9a up to the level of the tip of the turn trap 7b facing upward, and shuts off the sewage port 9c. On the other hand, the purge position is a position at the time of drainage, and the sewage accumulated in the bowl portion 9a at this time is discharged to the sewage port 9c through the turn trap 7b facing downward.

  The water injection mechanism 10 is constituted by an electromagnetic valve or the like connected to a faucet of a water pipe, and operates based on the control of the control circuit 18. For example, the water injection mechanism is opened by manual operation, hydroelectric power is generated with tap water generated by the opening, the electric power is stored in a secondary battery (not shown), and an actuator (not shown) controlled by the control circuit 18. ) To close the valve. The closing timing is linked to the operation timing of the turn trap 7b. The tap water released from the water injection mechanism 10 is poured into the bowl portion 9a through the path indicated by the arrow in the figure.

  When the water injection mechanism 10 has the above-described configuration, the secondary battery can be used as the power supply battery 12 for power failure, so that it is not necessary to prepare a primary battery separately. Moreover, although the start switch 17 for operating the drainage mechanism 7 during a power failure may be provided in the operation part 6, the lever which comprises the water injection mechanism 10 may be used.

  As a utilization form of the toilet device, the turn trap 7b is a trap position before and during use of the toilet device, and tap water is stored in the bowl portion 9a. After use of the toilet device, tap water is poured from the water pouring mechanism 10 in order to wash the bowl portion 9a by lever operation. At the same time, the turn trap 7b is at one end purge position, and the sewage collected in the bowl portion 9a is discharged through the sewage port 9c. When the predetermined time elapses, the turn trap 7b is returned to the trap position, but the tap water is continuously poured for a while, and the tap water is again stored in the bowl portion 9a. During a power outage, the drainage mechanism 7 and the water injection mechanism 10 can be operated by the power of the power battery 12, but the shower and toilet seat warming function cannot be operated.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric equipment 4 Power failure detection circuit 5 Notification circuit 7 Drainage mechanism 7b Turn trap 11 DC power supply circuit 12 Power supply battery 15 Power supply control circuit 16 Control element 17 Start switch 18 Control circuit

Claims (4)

In a toilet device equipped with a DC power supply circuit connected to a commercial power supply and a power supply battery for power failure,
When the power supply battery is energized by a start-up operation during a power failure, the power supply battery is started by receiving power from the power supply battery , and the drainage mechanism is operated among all the functional loads of the toilet device. A toilet device comprising a power supply control circuit for cutting off. In claim 1,
The power supply control circuit
A control element for energizing or shutting off the power battery;
A start switch for receiving the operation and energizing the control element;
A toilet apparatus, comprising: a control circuit that is activated by energization of the power supply battery, maintains the energization state of the control element until the electric device completes the operation, and then returns to the shut-off state. In claim 2,
A toilet device further comprising a power failure detection circuit for determining whether or not it has been activated during a power failure. In claim 2 or 3,
A toilet device further comprising a notification circuit for notifying that the activation process is being performed.

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