JP6618032B2 - Toilet equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toilet apparatus, and more particularly to a toilet apparatus that detects a failure of a temperature sensor in a heated toilet seat.

  As a conventional method for controlling a heated toilet seat, a method is known in which the temperature of a toilet seat is detected by a temperature sensor, and energization to a heater mounted on the toilet seat is controlled according to the detected temperature. In this control method, in order to reduce a risk that an abnormally high temperature of the heating toilet seat is generated due to a failure of the temperature sensor, the failure detection of the temperature sensor is performed.

  As a means of detecting a failure of the temperature sensor, if the temperature gradient of the heating toilet seat is calculated by inputting the temperature detection signal from the temperature sensor at a predetermined time interval and the temperature gradient is out of the predetermined range, the heater is energized. A device that detects that control has become abnormal and performs processing such as displaying a failure and stopping energization is disclosed (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 2769670

  However, in the temperature sensor failure detection means as in Patent Document 1, the temperature of the heating toilet seat calculated by the temperature detection signal from the temperature sensor due to the body temperature of the seated user affecting the temperature of the heating toilet seat. Is out of the predetermined range, and it may be determined that the temperature sensor has failed even though the temperature sensor has not failed. Therefore, it is necessary to set an individual detection threshold value for each of a wide variety of situations, and there is a problem that sufficient detection accuracy cannot be obtained, and there is a problem that versatility is low.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toilet apparatus that suppresses erroneous detection of a temperature sensor failure detection in a heated toilet seat and improves versatility.

In order to achieve the above object, a toilet apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a toilet seat in which a heater is incorporated, a temperature detection unit that changes a resistance value in accordance with the temperature of the toilet seat, and a toilet seat that is energized by the heater. A toilet device that performs a temperature raising operation to raise the temperature, detects a temperature of the toilet seat based on a resistance value, and controls a power supply amount to the heater; Sometimes the temperature detector detects a failure, and if the absolute value of the change in resistance value does not exceed a preset threshold before the predetermined time elapses from the start of failure detection, the temperature detector is abnormal. There and determines if the absolute value of the variation in resistance from the fault detection start until a predetermined time has elapsed exceeds a threshold value, and ends the failure detection as well as determined that there is no abnormality in the temperature detector, and further, control The human body detection unit When the body is detected, the temperature rise operation is started and the temperature of the toilet seat is detected based on the resistance value. If the difference between the detected temperature of the toilet seat and the target temperature set for the toilet seat is equal to or greater than the specified value, failure detection is performed. On the other hand, if the difference is less than the specified value, failure detection is not started .

In the present invention configured as described above, failure detection of the temperature detection unit is performed during the temperature raising operation, and in the failure detection, the amount of change in the resistance value of the temperature detection unit before the predetermined time elapses from the start of failure detection. When the absolute value does not exceed a preset threshold, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the temperature detection unit. Therefore, during the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat, the temperature detection unit detects the temperature of the toilet seat that has temporarily changed due to external interference, such as a user with low body temperature sitting on the toilet seat, so that the temperature detection unit However, it is possible to suppress erroneous detection of the failure of the temperature detection unit due to the determination that there is an abnormality even though there is no failure. In addition, since the failure detection is performed during the temperature raising operation in which the resistance value of the temperature detection unit greatly changes, erroneous detection due to the detection value error is unlikely to occur. Furthermore, when the absolute value of the change amount of the resistance value of the temperature detection unit exceeds the set threshold value, it is determined that there is no abnormality in the temperature detection unit and the failure detection is terminated, and then the outside to the toilet seat is Even if the value falls below the threshold due to the interference, the failure is not determined. Therefore, it is failure detection of the temperature detection unit with high versatility and high detection accuracy.
In addition, when the temperature of the toilet seat at the start of the heating operation is close to the target temperature set for the toilet seat, the change in the resistance value of the temperature detection unit is small, so false detection is likely to occur. If the difference between the temperature and the target temperature set for the toilet seat is greater than or equal to the specified value, failure detection is started.If the difference is less than the specified value, failure detection is not performed. Detection can be suppressed.

  Further, the toilet device according to one embodiment of the present invention may be configured to stop the temperature detection operation of the heater and end the failure detection when the end condition is satisfied.

  In the present invention configured as described above, if the termination condition is satisfied while the temperature raising operation and the failure detection are performed, the temperature raising operation is stopped and the failure detection is terminated, thereby reducing wasteful power consumption. Can be suppressed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the misdetection of the failure detection of the temperature sensor in a heating toilet seat can be suppressed, and versatility can be improved.

It is the whole toilet bowl perspective view in this embodiment. It is a block diagram showing the main structure of the toilet apparatus in this embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the control flow of the control part in the temperature rising operation of the toilet seat by embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a start condition and an end condition in FIG. 3. It is a flowchart showing the control flow of the control part in the failure detection of the thermistor by embodiment of this invention.

<Composition of the toilet>
First, an overall configuration of a toilet apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a toilet according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of the toilet apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the toilet 1 includes a toilet body 10 having a bowl, and a toilet device 40 installed on the upper portion of the toilet body 10. The toilet device 40 includes a casing 15 installed on the upper rear side of the toilet main body 10, and a toilet seat 20 and a toilet lid 30 that are pivotally supported by the casing 15 so as to be freely opened and closed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the toilet device 40 includes a control unit 50, a thermistor 60 as a temperature detection unit built in the toilet seat 20, and a human body detection sensor 70 as a human body detection unit that detects a human body in the toilet room. And a functional device 80 housed in the casing 15. The functional device 80 includes a local cleaning device 81 for cleaning the user's local area, a drying device 82 for drying the user's local area, an elevating device 83 for moving the casing 15 up and down relative to the toilet body 10, There is a toilet seat opening and closing device 84 that opens and closes the toilet seat 20.

  A heater 21 is incorporated in the toilet seat 20, and the toilet seat 20 is heated by energizing the heater 21.

  The thermistor 60 changes its own resistance value R according to the temperature of the toilet seat 20. Specifically, the resistance value R increases as the temperature of the toilet seat 20 increases. The thermistor 60 outputs detection information 60 </ b> A corresponding to the resistance value R to the control unit 50. The controller 50 can detect the temperature of the toilet seat 20 based on the input detection information 60A.

  When detecting the human body in the toilet room, the human body detection sensor 70 transmits a detection signal 70A to the control unit 50.

  An operation unit 90 is installed in the toilet room where the toilet 1 is installed, and when the user operates the operation unit 90, an output signal 90A is sent to the control unit 50. The control unit 50 controls the operation of the functional device 80 or sets and changes the set temperature T as the target temperature of the toilet seat 20 according to the information of the output signal 90A received from the operation unit 90. In addition, the operation unit 90 is provided with an LED 91 that performs a blinking operation according to an instruction from the control unit 50.

  The controller 50 controls the energization amount to the heater 21 according to the reception results of the detection information 60A, the detection signal 70A, and the output signal 90A. In addition, the control part 50 receives electric power supply from the external power supply 100 connected by the outlet. Further, the control unit 50 has a timer S.

<Control Flow of Control Unit 50>
Next, a control flow of the control unit according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the control unit in the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the start condition and the end condition in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the control unit in the detection of a thermistor failure according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the control flow process of the control unit described here is called at a constant cycle and repeatedly executed. Further, the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat means an operation of heating the toilet seat 20 by the heater 21 in order to make the temperature of the toilet seat 20 substantially the same as the set temperature T by increasing the energization amount to the heater 21. .

<Control flow in temperature rising operation>
As shown in FIG. 3, first, the control unit 50 determines whether a start condition is satisfied (S1). As shown in FIG. 4, the start condition referred to here is a state where the toilet seat 20 is closed (toilet seat closed), a state where the casing 15 is not lifted by the elevating device 83 (front down), disconnection of the heater 21, etc. There are five conditions such as no abnormality of the toilet seat 20 (no toilet seat abnormality), the set temperature T of the toilet seat 20 is input (set temperature is present), and the heater 21 is in a standby state (standby state). It is to satisfy all. That is, the start condition is satisfied by satisfying all these five conditions. Here, the heater 21 being in the standby state refers to a state in which the control unit 50 lowers the energization amount to the heater 21 as compared with the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat 20.

  When it is determined in step S1 that the start condition is satisfied, it is determined whether or not the detection signal 70A is received from the human body detection sensor 70 (S2). If it is determined in step S2 that the detection signal 70A has been received, the initial temperature T0 of the toilet seat 20 is detected based on the detection information 60A received from the thermistor 60 when the detection signal 70A is received, and the initial temperature T0 is stored. (S3).

  If it is determined in step S1 that the start condition is not satisfied, or if it is not determined in step S2 that the detection signal 70A has been received, the process returns to step S1 again.

  After storing the initial temperature T0 in step S3, it is determined whether or not the difference (T−T0) between the set temperature T and the initial temperature T0 is equal to or greater than a specified value (S4). In the present embodiment, this specified value is set to 6.5 ° C.

  If it is determined in step S4 that the difference (T−T0) is 6.5 ° C. or more, the temperature of the toilet seat 20 is started by controlling the amount of current supplied to the heater 21 and at the same time, the failure detection of the thermistor 60 is performed. Start (S5A).

  If it is not determined in step S4 that the difference (T−T0) is 6.5 ° C. or more, the temperature detection operation of the toilet seat 20 is started without starting the failure detection of the thermistor 60 (S5B). The process proceeds to step S12.

  After the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat 20 and the failure detection of the thermistor 60 are started in step S5A, it is determined whether or not the determination result is confirmed in the failure detection of the thermistor 60 (S6). If it is determined in step S6 that the determination result is confirmed, the failure detection of the thermistor 60 is terminated (S7).

  If it is not determined in step S6 that the determination result is confirmed, it is determined whether an end condition is satisfied (S8). As shown in FIG. 4, the end condition here is a state in which the toilet seat 20 is opened (toilet seat open), a state in which the casing 15 is raised by the elevating device 83 (front up), disconnection of the heater 21, etc. The toilet seat 20 has an abnormality as described above (the toilet seat is abnormal), and the set temperature T of the toilet seat 20 has been changed since the start of the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat 20 (set temperature change input). Satisfy any one. That is, the end condition is satisfied by satisfying at least one of these four conditions.

  If it is determined in step S8 that the termination condition is satisfied, the failure detection of the thermistor 60 is terminated, energization of the heater 21 is set in a standby state (S9), and the process is terminated. If it is determined in step S8 that the end condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step S6.

  After completing the failure detection of the thermistor 60 in step S7, it is determined whether or not the determination result determined in step S6 has determined that the thermistor 60 is abnormal (S10). If it is determined in step S10 that the thermistor 60 is abnormal, the power supply to the heater 21 is turned off and the LED 91 provided on the operation unit 90 is blinked (S11). Thereafter, the process is terminated.

  If it is not determined in step S10 that the thermistor 60 is abnormal, the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat 20 is continued as it is (S12). After continuing the temperature raising operation in step S12, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the toilet seat 20 has reached the set temperature T (S13). If it is not determined in step S13 that the temperature of the toilet seat 20 has reached the set temperature T, it is determined whether an end condition is satisfied (S14). If it is determined in step S14 that the end condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step S12 and the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat 20 is continued.

  If it is determined in step S13 that the temperature of the toilet seat 20 has reached the set temperature T, or if it is determined in step S14 that the end condition is satisfied, energization of the heater 21 is set in a standby state (S15). The process is terminated.

<Control flow for fault detection>
Here, determination of the determination result of the failure detection of the thermistor 60 performed in step S6 in FIG. 3 will be described.

  First, when failure detection of the thermistor 60 is started, as shown in FIG. 5, the initial resistance value R0 of the thermistor 60 at the start of the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat 20 is stored and the timer S starts counting (S100).

  After performing step S100, the absolute value of the difference between the resistance value R of the thermistor 60 and the initial resistance R0 received as the detection information 60A from the thermistor 60, that is, the resistance value of the thermistor 60 from the start of the heating operation of the toilet seat 20 is obtained. It is determined whether or not the absolute value (| R−R0 |) of the change amount exceeds the threshold value X (S101). Note that the threshold value X is preset in the control unit 50, and in the present embodiment, this threshold value X is 3AD. Incidentally, 1AD is a resistance value corresponding to about 0.5 ° C.

  If it is determined in step S101 that | R−R0 | has exceeded 3AD, the determination result that there is no abnormality is determined in the thermistor 60, and the count of the timer S is reset (S102).

  If it is not determined in step S101 that | R−R0 | has exceeded 3AD, it is determined whether or not the count of the timer S has elapsed for 60 seconds (S103). When it is determined in step S103 that the count of the timer S has elapsed for 60 seconds, the determination result that the thermistor 60 is abnormal is fixed, and the count of the timer S is reset (S104). If it is not determined in step S103 that the count of the timer S has elapsed 60 seconds, the process returns to step S101.

  The determination result determined by detecting the failure of the thermistor 60 is reflected in step S10 in FIG.

<Action and effect>
Next, the effect of the toilet apparatus by embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, in the failure detection of the thermistor 60, the absolute value of the difference between the resistance value R of the thermistor 60 and the initial resistance R0 received by the control unit 50 as the detection information 60A from the thermistor 60, that is, the toilet seat 20 If the absolute value (| R−R0 |) of the change amount of the resistance value of the thermistor 60 from the start of the temperature raising operation is not determined to have exceeded 3AD set as the threshold value X and the timer S has passed 60 seconds, the thermistor At 60, the determination result that there is an abnormality is fixed. Accordingly, when the temperature of the toilet seat 20 is raised, even if the temperature of the toilet seat 20 temporarily changes due to external interference such as a user having a low body temperature sitting on the toilet seat 20, the timer S passes 60 seconds. Since the determination result of the failure detection of the thermistor 60 is not finalized, it is possible to suppress erroneous detection that is determined to be abnormal although the thermistor 60 is not broken. Further, since the failure detection of the thermistor 60 is performed during the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat 20 in which the change in the resistance value R of the thermistor 60 is large, erroneous detection of the failure of the thermistor 60 due to an error in the detection value is unlikely to occur. Further, when it is determined by the control unit 50 that | R−R0 | exceeds 3AD set as the threshold value X, the determination result that the thermistor 60 is normal is determined and the failure detection of the thermistor 60 is ended. As a result, even if | R−R0 | falls below 3AD set as the threshold value X due to external interference with the toilet seat 20, the thermistor 60 is not determined to be faulty. Therefore, it is failure detection of the thermistor 60 with high versatility and high detection accuracy.

  Further, it is determined whether or not the difference (T−T0) between the set temperature T and the initial temperature T0 is 6.5 ° C. or more set as a specified value, and the difference (T−T0) is 6.5 ° C. or more. Is determined, the temperature of the toilet seat 20 is controlled by controlling the amount of current supplied to the heater 21, and simultaneously the failure detection of the thermistor 60 is started. The difference (T-T0) is 6.5 ° C. or more. If it is not determined, the detection of the thermistor 60 failure is not started, and only the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat 20 is started. Thus, only when the difference between the initial temperature T0 of the toilet seat 20 and the set temperature T at the start of the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat 20 is equal to or higher than the specified value of 6.5 ° C., and the resistance value R of the thermistor 60 is largely changed. By performing the temperature raising operation of the toilet seat 20 and the failure detection of the thermistor 60, erroneous detection of the failure of the thermistor 60 can be suppressed.

  Further, in the failure detection of the thermistor 60, when the end condition is satisfied, energization of the heater 21 is set in a standby state and the failure detection is ended. Thereby, since it does not perform in the situation which does not need to perform the temperature rising operation of the toilet seat 20 and the failure detection of the thermistor 60, consumption of useless electric power can be suppressed.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the thermistor 60 has a higher resistance value R as the temperature of the toilet seat 20 is higher. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the lower the temperature of the toilet seat 20 is, the lower the resistance value R is. A thermistor having a high resistance value R may be used.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the temperature rising operation of the toilet seat 20 shall be started based on the detection by the human body detection sensor 70, the human body detection part which concerns on this invention is not restricted to this, For example, of the human body detection sensor 70 Instead, a seating detection sensor that detects that the user is seated on the toilet seat 20 may be used.

  In addition, the start condition and the end condition in the embodiment may be appropriately changed according to the application.

  The respective elements included in each of the embodiments of the present invention described above can be combined as long as technically possible, and combinations thereof are also included in the scope of the present invention as long as they include the features of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toilet bowl 10 Toilet bowl main body 15 Casing 20 Toilet seat 21 Heater 30 Toilet lid 40 Toilet device 50 Control part 60 Thermistor (temperature detection part)
60A Detection information 70 Human body detection sensor (human body detection unit)
70A Detection Signal 80 Functional Device 81 Local Cleaning Device 82 Drying Device 83 Lifting Device 84 Toilet Seat Opening / Closing Device 90 Operation Unit 90A Output Signal 91 LED
100 External power supply X Threshold value T Set temperature (target temperature)
S Timer R Resistance value

Claims (2)

A toilet seat with a built-in heater,
A temperature detection unit whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the toilet seat;
Performing a temperature raising operation for raising the temperature of the toilet seat by energizing the heater, detecting a temperature of the toilet seat based on the resistance value, and controlling a power supply amount to the heater;
A human body detection unit for detecting a human body;
A toilet device comprising:
The controller is
Detecting a failure of the temperature detection unit during the temperature raising operation,
In the failure detection, if the absolute value of the change amount of the resistance value does not exceed a preset threshold before a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the failure detection, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the temperature detection unit,
When the absolute value of the change amount of the resistance value exceeds the threshold before a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the failure detection, the temperature detection unit determines that there is no abnormality and ends the failure detection .
Furthermore, the control unit
When the human body detection unit detects a human body, the temperature raising operation is started and the temperature of the toilet seat is detected based on the resistance value, and a difference between the detected temperature of the toilet seat and a target temperature set in the toilet seat is detected. A toilet apparatus that starts the failure detection if the difference is greater than or equal to a specified value, and does not start the failure detection if the difference is less than the specified value . Wherein the control unit ends the failure detection to stop the heating operation of the heater and the end condition is satisfied, according to claim 1 Symbol placing the toilet apparatus.

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