JP6724580B2 - Urinal device - Google Patents

Description

Aspects of the invention relate generally to urinal devices that conserve water.

In the urinal device, the urine that has flowed into the trap is discharged to the drain pipe by the wash water that flows after use. However, since the trap structure generally has a bent portion and stagnation occurs at the bent portion, the sealing water in the trap cannot be uniformly discharged by the washing water, and the urine concentration is high in a part of the trap. There was a risk that the condition (including the condition where the urine was intact) would remain. As a result, the urine concentration in the entire trap increases as compared with that before urination, which causes odor generation. When the urine in the trap is replaced with water, it is desirable that the amount of urine remaining in the trap be as small as possible in the state after replacement, that is, the state after washing.

Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the amount of wash water to be discharged after use, but with the recent increase in environmental awareness, the tendency to save water is increased, and it is required to reduce the amount of wash water. However, if the amount of wash water used is reduced, the rate of replacement of the wash water with the urine that collects in the trap at the urinal drainage decreases, and the concentration of urine in the trap increases.

On the other hand, while detecting the urine flow with the flow rate sensor installed in the trap, by flushing the wash water, by discharging the urine flow into the trap while diluting urine, in the trap, A urinal device that prevents urine from locally remaining in a high urine concentration state and drains the sealing water in the trap to a drain pipe by flushing water after use is known. ing. (For example, Patent Document 1)

JP2012-149415A

However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, since the urine flow is detected when the urine flow flows into the trap, there is a time lag between the time of urination and the detection of the urine flow.
Therefore, there is a gap between the start of urination and the start timing of spouting wash water, the urine flow is not diluted from the time of urination until the wash water is spouted, and urine flows into the trap in a high-concentration state. Urine concentration increases locally. In addition, for the same reason, there is a problem that useless flushing water is discharged regardless of dilution of the urine flow after urination and before the flushing water is stopped.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a urinal device capable of diluting urine based on accurate start and end timings of urine flow.

In order to achieve the above object, in the urinal device according to claim 1, a standing surface facing the user, a bowl surface provided below the standing surface for receiving the urine of the user, and the bowl surface. And a drain pipe, and a urinal having a trap for retaining wash water, and a water discharge part for discharging wash water to the bowl surface provided at the upper part of the standing surface. Wash water function part for adjusting the flow rate of wash water to be supplied to, the first flow rate for diluting the user's urine, and the wash water staying in the trap. In the urinal device including a control unit that switches to a second flow rate that is greater than the first flow rate that pushes into the drain pipe, and a detection unit that detects a urine flow discharged by the user into the urinal, The detection unit is a Doppler sensor that transmits and receives radio waves toward the bowl surface to detect a urine flow, and the control unit determines the supply flow rate by the wash water function unit when the urine flow is detected by the Doppler sensor. Start the dilution cleaning with the first flow rate, when the urine flow is no longer detected by the Doppler sensor, stop the dilution cleaning, the Doppler sensor, in the dilution cleaning, of the standing surface. It is arranged at a position that overlaps in the front-rear direction with the non-water-discharging region where the first flow rate of the washing water spouted from the water spouting unit is not applied.
Therefore, it is possible to directly detect the urine flow toward the bowl surface, control the opening and closing of the water discharge in accordance with the timing of urination, and eliminate the time lag from the start of urination to the start of the discharge of wash water for dilution cleaning.
Therefore, urine flows into the trap in a diluted state from the start of urination. That is, urine in the trap does not locally remain in a state where the urine concentration is high, and the odor from the inside of the trap can be suppressed by flowing the sealing water inside the trap to the drain pipe by bowl cleaning.
Furthermore, since it is possible to stop the wash water for dilution washing immediately after the end of urination, it is possible to eliminate the discharge of wash water that has a low contribution to the dilution of the urine flow and save water.
Further, since no wash water is applied in front of the Doppler sensor, a wash water film is not formed, and the influence of wash water when the urine flow is extracted from the Doppler signal is suppressed.
Therefore, even during washing, the urine flow can be detected more accurately, so that the wash water can be stopped immediately when urination ends, leading to water saving.

In addition, in the urinal device according to claim 2 , the water discharge part discharges water at the first flow rate toward at least one of the left and right directions, and the Doppler sensor is disposed below the water discharge part. It is provided in.
Therefore, urine flows into the trap in a diluted state from the start of urination. That is, urine in the trap does not locally remain in a state where the urine concentration is high, and the odor from the inside of the trap can be suppressed by flowing the sealing water inside the trap to the drain pipe by bowl cleaning.
Furthermore, since it is possible to stop the wash water for dilution washing immediately after the end of urination, it is possible to save water by eliminating the discharge of wash water that contributes little to the dilution of the urine flow.

According to the present invention, the urine flow passing through the inner space of the bowl portion can be directly detected, and the water discharge can be controlled to be opened and closed in accordance with the timing of urination, eliminating the time lag from the start of urination to the start of discharge of wash water for diluting and cleaning. be able to.
Therefore, urine flows into the trap in a diluted state from the start of urination. That is, urine in the trap does not locally remain in a state where the urine concentration is high, and the odor from the inside of the trap can be suppressed by flowing the sealing water inside the trap to the drain pipe by bowl cleaning.
Furthermore, since it is possible to stop the wash water for dilution washing immediately after the end of urination, it is possible to save water by eliminating the discharge of wash water that contributes little to the dilution of the urine flow.

It is a front view showing the urinal concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing in the cutting plane A1-A1 shown in FIG. It is a side view of the spreader shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows typically the principal part structure of the urinal device concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flow chart which illustrates operation of a urinal device concerning an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be appropriately omitted.

A urinal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a urinal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section plane A1-A1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the spreader shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the urinal 200 has a bowl portion 210 and a trap portion 211 that extends from the lower portion of the bowl portion 210.
The bowl portion 210 includes a bowl surface 210a, a standing surface 210b, and a side surface 210c. The bowl surface 210a is a surface below the same height in the horizontal plane as the front end of the bowl portion 210 protruding forward for receiving urine from the user. The standing surface 210b is a surface facing the user and extending upward from the rear of the bowl surface 210a continuously.
The side surface 210c is a surface extending from the left and right ends of the standing surface 210b to the front end of the bowl portion 210.
The trap portion 211 forms a water seal inside itself. As a result, the trap portion 211 can prevent a bad odor, pests, or the like from entering the toilet room or the like through a horizontal drainage pipe (not shown) provided behind the trap portion 211.

In the bowl portion 210, the bowl surface 210a, the standing surface 210b, and the side surface 210c are integrally fired. The upper end of the standing surface 210b is the upper end of the urinal 200. In the urinal 200, the entire bowl surface 210a is opened upward. That is, in the bowl portion 210, a top plate or the like is not provided above the standing surface 210b. Compared with a urinal having a top plate, the user can get closer to the bowl surface 210a of the urinal 200, so that urine dirt scattered on the floor during urination can be reduced, and hygiene and comfort can be improved.

A spreader 220 having a first water discharge port 221 and a second water discharge port 222 as a water discharge portion is provided above the standing surface 210b. The first water outlet 221 and the second water outlet 222 communicate with the first flow path 140 (see FIG. 4) and the second flow path 150 (see FIG. 4), respectively.
The first spout 221 is provided at one location below the spreader 220, and the second spout 222 is provided at each location on the left and right sides of the spreader 220.
Water supplied to the first flow path 140 and the second flow path 150 from a water supply source (not shown) (for example, water supply or a tank) flows downward from the first water discharge port 221 to the bowl portion 210, and from the second water discharge port 222. Cleaning water is spouted on both left and right sides of the bowl portion 210.
The number of the second water outlets 222 is not limited to two, and the number of the second water outlets 222 may be one, and water may be discharged only on one side in the left-right direction, or three or more may be provided.

Hereinafter, the spouting of the washing water to the bowl portion 210 by the first flow path 140 will be referred to as “bowl washing” for convenience. Then, the spouting of the washing water through the second flow path 150 is referred to as “dilution washing” for convenience. The bowl cleaning refers to the cleaning in which the cleaning water staying in the trap portion 211 is pushed to the drain pipe, and the diluting cleaning refers to the cleaning to dilute the urine of the user. In the bowl cleaning and the diluting cleaning, the instantaneous water discharge flow rate is larger in the bowl cleaning, and the diluting cleaning only needs to dilute the urine, and only a small amount of water is discharged.

The wash water spouted from the second spout 222 extends over substantially the entire bowl surface 210a.
On the standing surface 210b, a region above the second water outlet 222 does not come into contact with the sprayed cleaning water. Furthermore, since the cleaning water is discharged from the second water outlet 222 in the left-right direction and travels to the trap portion 211 located below, an area where the cleaning water is not applied also occurs in a partial area below the spreader 220.
That is, the standing surface 210b is not covered with the washing water spouted on each of the spouting area WA to which the washing water spouted from the second spout 222 is applied and the spreader 220 upper area and the spreader 220 lower partial area. It has water discharge areas NA1 and NA2.

A microwave Doppler sensor 120 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “Doppler sensor”) is provided on the back surface 210d of the standing surface 210b, which is the back side of the non-water discharge area NA2 below the spreader 220. In other words, the Doppler sensor 120 is arranged at a position where the front side overlaps with the non-water discharge area NA2. Therefore, since the Doppler sensor 120 is not exposed to the outside, it is possible to prevent a failure due to external interference or the like.
The Doppler sensor 120 may be provided in the non-water-jetting area NA1 above the spreader 220, or may be arranged at a position overlapping the non-water-jetting areas NA1 and NA2 in the front-rear direction.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing a main part configuration of the urinal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Note that FIG. 4 also shows the main configuration of the water channel system and the electrical system of the urinal device 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, the urinal device 10 includes a flush water function unit 100, a control unit 110, a Doppler sensor 120 that detects a human body and a urine flow, and a urinal 200.

The wash water functional unit 100 is provided between the water supply source and the first flow path 140 and the second flow path 150, and the first flow path 140 and the second flow path 150 that are the flow paths through which the water supplied from the water supply source passes. It has a first electromagnetic valve 160 and a second electromagnetic valve 170 for discharging and stopping the discharged water, and a spreader 220 for discharging the water supplied from the first flow path 140 and the second flow path 150 to the bowl portion 210. ing.

The control unit 110 includes a urine flow bandpass filter 110a and a human body bandpass filter 110b.
The frequency bands of the urine flow band filter 110a and the human body band filter 110b are set according to the frequencies transmitted and received from the Doppler sensor 120. In this embodiment, the frequency transmitted/received from the Doppler sensor 120 is set to 24 GHz, and will be described below.
The urine flow band filter 110a is a bandpass filter that removes a frequency band (a frequency band other than 200 Hz to 500 Hz) unnecessary for urine flow detection, and the urine flow band filter 110a extracts a urine flow detection Doppler signal.
The human body bandpass filter 110b is a bandpass filter that removes a frequency band (a frequency band of 200 Hz or higher) unnecessary for human body detection, and the human body bandpass filter 110b extracts a human body detection Doppler signal.

The Doppler sensor 120 transmits a microwave as a transmission wave toward the bowl surface 210a of the bowl 210, receives the reflected wave, generates a Doppler signal (detection signal), and inputs the Doppler signal (detection signal) to the controller 110. The control unit 110 determines, based on the Doppler signal from the Doppler sensor 120, whether or not the user in front of the urinal 200 and the bowl 210 have urinated. The opening/closing operation of the first solenoid valve 160 and the second solenoid valve 170 is controlled according to the determination result.

Here, the mechanism of generation of ammonia is as follows, for example.
When urine is discharged to the urinal 200, the urine adheres to the surface of the urinal 200 or stays in the sealed water (retained water) of the trap portion 211. General bacteria existing in the air or on the surface of the toilet bowl adhere to the accumulated urine. General bacteria absorb nutrients from urine, activate the activity of producing urease enzyme, and promote the decomposition of urea by the urease enzyme. Urea is decomposed into ammonia and carbon dioxide, which contributes to the foul odor. In addition, when the pH is more alkaline than 8.0 to 8.5 due to the generated ammonia, the calcium ions dissolved in the urine are converted into sparingly soluble calcium compounds (calcium phosphate, etc. Will be called). This urine stone becomes a hotbed of bacteria, and the process up to this point is repeated at an accelerated rate to generate more ammonia.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the urinal device according to the embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, the processing in the control unit 110 accompanying the user's approach to the urinal 200 is shown.

In step S01, the control unit 110 determines the presence/absence of human body detection based on the detection signal from the Doppler sensor 120.
When it is determined that the human body is detected (S01: Yes), the process proceeds to step S02, and when it is determined that the human body is not detected (S01: No), step S01 is repeated.
The sensor for detecting the human body is not limited to the Doppler sensor 120, and may be a pyroelectric sensor using an infrared signal. Further, the number of Doppler sensors is not limited to one, and two Doppler sensors may be provided to transmit and receive radio waves toward the front.

In step S02, control unit 110 determines whether or not urine flow is detected based on the detection signal from Doppler sensor 120.
If it is determined that there is urine flow detection (S02: Yes), the process proceeds to step S03, and if it is determined that there is no urine flow detection (S02: No), the process returns to step S01.

In step S03, the control unit 110 opens the second electromagnetic valve 170 and starts water discharge from the water supply source to the bowl unit 210 via the second flow path 150. In other words, the urinal 200 is started to be diluted and washed by diluting urine flowing into the trap portion 211 with washing water.

Here, by directly detecting the urine flow passing through the inner space of the bowl portion 210 toward the bowl surface 210a by the Doppler sensor 120, it is possible to control the opening and closing of the water discharge in accordance with the timing of urination, and to dilute and wash from the start of urination. It is possible to eliminate the time lag until the start of spouting of wash water.
Therefore, urine flows into the trap portion 211 in a diluted state from the start of urination. That is, urine in the trap portion 211 does not locally remain in a high urine concentration state, and the odor from the inside of the trap portion 211 is eliminated by flowing the sealing water in the trap portion 211 to the drain pipe by bowl cleaning. Can be suppressed.

In step S04, control unit 110 determines whether or not urine flow is detected based on the detection signal from Doppler sensor 120.
If it is determined that there is urine flow detection (S04: Yes), the process proceeds to step S05, and if it is determined that there is no urine flow detection (S04: No), step S04 is repeated.

In step S05, the control unit 110 closes the second electromagnetic valve 170 and stops the water discharge from the second water discharge port 222. In other words, the dilution cleaning for the urinal 200 is completed.

By directly detecting the urine flow passing through the inner space of the bowl portion 210 toward the bowl surface 210a by the Doppler sensor 120, it is possible to stop the wash water for dilution washing immediately after the end of urination. It is possible to save water by eliminating spouting of wash water, which has a low contribution to the dilution of urine flow.

Further, since the Doppler sensor 120 is installed behind the non-water discharge areas NA1 and NA2, the standing surface 210b located in front of the Doppler sensor 120 when the cleaning water is discharged from the second water discharge port 222 to the bowl 210. No wash water on. Therefore, the wash water film is not formed in front of the Doppler sensor 120, and the influence of wash water is suppressed when the urine flow is extracted from the Doppler signal.
Therefore, even during washing, the urine flow can be detected more accurately, so that the wash water can be stopped immediately when urination ends, leading to water saving.
In the present embodiment, the Doppler sensor 120 is installed behind the non-water discharge areas NA1 and NA2, but it can also be installed inside the spreader 220 located above the second water discharge port 222.

Further, since the Doppler sensor 120 is installed in the non-water discharge area NA2 below the spreader 220, the distance to the urine flow passing through the internal space of the bowl portion 210 becomes short. The Doppler sensor 120 does not detect the spouting state of the wash water spouted from the second spout 222 to the bowl 210, particularly the wash water having a relatively high speed near the second spout 222. Further, the wash water spouted from the second spout 222 to the bowl portion 210 spreads in the left-right direction, and then drops downward. Therefore, from the detection area of the Doppler sensor 120 targeted for the lower area to detect the urine flow. It shifts.
Therefore, the intensity of the Doppler signal becomes strong. In addition, the water is discharged from the second water outlet 222 so as to spread in the left-right direction and drops downward (except for the wash water having a relatively high speed near the second water outlet 222), the speed V1 of the wash water and the bowl portion 210. The velocity V2 of the urine flow passing through the internal space can be easily identified (V1<V2) by the detection frequency of the Doppler signal, and more accurate detection can be performed. When the detection frequency range of the Doppler signal is compared, the speed V1 of the wash water is stable with little fluctuation in speed, and the detection frequency range of the wash water (0 Hz to 200 Hz) is the detection frequency range of the urine flow (200 Hz to 500 Hz). ) Is narrower, that is, the detection frequency of the wash water does not overlap with the detection frequency of the urine flow passing through the inner space of the bowl portion 210, so it is accurate even when the signal intensity of the Doppler signal is small when a child urinates. It can perform various detections.
Therefore, even during washing, the wash water can be stopped immediately upon completion of urination, which leads to water saving.

In step S06, control unit 110 determines the presence/absence of human body detection based on the detection signal from Doppler sensor 120.
If it is determined that there is human body detection (S06: Yes), the process proceeds to step S07, and if it is determined that there is no human body detection (S06: No), step S06 is repeated.

In step S07, the control unit 110 opens the first electromagnetic valve 160 and starts water discharge from the water supply source to the bowl unit 210 via the first flow path 140. In other words, with respect to the urinal 200, the bowl cleaning in which the diluted urine accumulated in the trap portion 211 is pushed to the drain pipe is started.
It should be noted that the bowl cleaning may be started when a fixed time has elapsed after the completion of the dilution cleaning, regardless of the human body detection.

In step S08, control unit 110 determines whether or not a predetermined time set in advance has elapsed.
When it is determined that the predetermined time has been exceeded (S08: Yes), the process proceeds to step S09, and when it is determined that the time has not been exceeded (S08: No), step S08 is repeated.

In step S09, the control unit 110 closes the first electromagnetic valve 160 to stop the water discharge from the first water discharge port 221 to the bowl unit 210. In other words, the bowl cleaning for the urinal 200 is completed.

When the user starts urinating next time while cleaning the bowl, the cleaning of the drain pipe connected to the downstream side of the trap portion 211 of the urinal device 10 may be considered and the bowl cleaning may be continued or the cleaning may be switched to the diluted cleaning. May be. In particular, when the urinal device 10 and the drain pipe are spouting a predetermined amount of cleaning water regularly regardless of the usage state of the urinal device 10 in order to prevent clogging and clogging, the cleaning action itself is diluting cleaning. Therefore, it is preferable not to dilute and wash even during urination.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to these descriptions. With respect to the above-mentioned embodiment, those appropriately modified by a person skilled in the art,
As long as it has the features of the present invention, it is included in the scope of the present invention. For example, the shape, size, material, arrangement, etc. of each element of the urinal device 10 and the like, the installation form of the urinal device 10 and the like are not limited to the exemplified ones but can be appropriately changed.

10 urinal device, 100 flush water function part, 110 control part, 120 Doppler sensor, 140 first flow path, 150 second flow path, 160 first solenoid valve, 170 second solenoid valve, 200 urinal, 210 bowl part, 210a bowl surface, 210b standing surface, 210c side surface, 210d back surface, 211 trap section, 220 spreader, 221 first spout, 222 second spout

Claims (2)

A standing surface facing the user, a bowl surface provided below the standing surface for receiving the urine of the user, and a trap provided between the bowl surface and the drain pipe for retaining the wash water. A urinal with
A wash water function unit that is provided above the standing surface and has a water discharge unit that discharges wash water on the bowl surface, and that adjusts the flow rate of the wash water supplied to the water discharge unit,
A second flow rate in which the flow rate supplied to the water discharge section by the wash water function section is higher than the first flow rate for diluting the urine of the user and the first flow rate for flushing the wash water retained in the trap to the drain pipe. And a control unit that switches to
A detection unit that detects a urine flow that the user urinates into the urinal,
In a urinal device equipped with
The detection unit is a Doppler sensor that transmits and receives radio waves toward the bowl surface to detect urine flow,
When the urine flow is detected by the Doppler sensor, the control unit starts a dilution wash with the supply flow rate by the wash water function unit as the first flow rate, and the urine flow is no longer detected by the Doppler sensor. At this time, stop the dilution washing ,
The Doppler sensor is
Wherein the dilution washing, urinal and wherein the water discharge portion is not applied washing water in the first flow spouted from being disposed at a position overlapping in the non-water discharge area and a longitudinal direction Rukoto of the standing surface .. The water discharge part is for discharging water at least in one of the left and right directions at the first flow rate,
The Doppler sensor is
The urinal device according to claim 1 , wherein the urinal device is provided below the water discharge portion.

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