JP7043834B2 - Nozzle unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a nozzle unit used in a human body local cleaning device.

Conventionally, as a nozzle unit for this kind of sanitary washing toilet seat device, a pair of nozzle devices having a cylinder and a nozzle arranged in the cylinder and capable of advancing and retreating between a storage position and a cleaning position, and a pair of nozzle devices facing each other inside the cylinder. A rack gear formed in each of the rack gears, a pinion gear rotatably arranged between the rack gears and a tooth portion formed on a part of the outer periphery capable of meshing with the rack gear, and a motor capable of driving the pinion gear in both forward and reverse rotation directions. Has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this nozzle unit, the pinion gear is formed in a sector shape that meshes with or does not mesh with either of the rack gears, and the pinion gear is rotated forward or reverse by a motor to selectively advance or retreat one of the two nozzles. Can be made to. In addition, both cylinders are constantly urged in the backward direction by a spring supported by the plate of the case, and the nozzle device is placed in the storage position by the urging force of the spring when the corresponding rack gear and pinion gear are disengaged. Retreat to.

Further, the first and second nozzles having two meshing grooves (rack) extending in the front-rear direction on the side walls facing each other, the drive gear engaged with the meshing grooves of the first and second nozzles, and the drive gear, respectively. Nozzle units are also proposed that include driven gears that are spaced apart from each other and engage with the meshing grooves of the first and second nozzles, respectively, and a motor that can drive the drive gear in both forward and reverse rotation directions (eg,). , Patent Document 2). In this nozzle unit, one of the two meshing grooves is formed with a total height from the upper part to the lower part of the side wall, is engaged with the drive gear at the lower part, and is engaged with the driven gear at the upper part. .. The other meshing groove is connected to the one meshing groove and is formed long on the rear side with a length from the middle position to the lower part of the side wall, and is engaged only with the drive gear. Further, the driven gear is formed with a recess in which a part of the driven gear is missing. When performing local cleaning using the first nozzle, the first nozzle moves to the front side by rotating the drive gear in the forward direction, and the second nozzle moves slightly to the rear side accordingly, but the teeth of the drive gear When the second nozzle is separated from the meshing groove, the recess of the driven gear is located on the side wall of the first nozzle, the driven gear stops rotating, and only the first nozzle engages the teeth of the drive gear with the meshing groove. Continue to move the first nozzle further forward toward the cleaning position. Then, the washing water is discharged from the small hole of the first nozzle to perform local washing. When the local cleaning is completed, the drive gear is reversed to move the first nozzle to the rear side, and when the first nozzle moves to a predetermined position, the meshing groove of the first nozzle engages with the driven gear and the driven gear. Pushes the second nozzle slightly forward. When the second nozzle is pushed forward, the teeth of the drive gear engage with the meshing groove of the second nozzle, and the second nozzle returns to its original position. When local cleaning is performed using the second nozzle, the motor is driven in the reverse operation.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-243840 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-11923

In the nozzle unit described in Patent Document 1, since the sector-shaped pinion gear is rotationally driven to advance and retreat the nozzle, the amount of nozzle advancing and retreating is limited to the portion where the tooth portion that meshes with the rack gear of the pinion gear is formed. Therefore, if it is attempted to increase the amount of advancement and retreat of the nozzle, it is necessary to use a pinion gear having a large outer diameter, and the unit becomes large. Further, the nozzle device of the pair of nozzle devices that is not engaged with the pinion gear is held on the retracting side by the urging force of the spring, but the spring is provided for each of the pair of nozzle devices, and the number of parts is increased. Will increase.

Further, in the nozzle unit described in Patent Document 2, when one of the first and second nozzles is moved to the front side by the rotation of the drive gear, until the teeth of the drive gear are separated from the meshing groove of the other nozzle. Since the other nozzle moves to the rear side, it is necessary to secure a space for the nozzle to retract. Further, there is no means for holding the standby side rack that is not engaged with the drive gear among both the first and second nozzle racks on the rear side, and the standby side rack may interfere with the drive gear.

The main purpose of the nozzle unit of the present invention is to appropriately hold the nozzles on the standby side and to make the entire unit more compact in a nozzle unit capable of selectively advancing and retreating a pair of nozzles by one drive source.

The nozzle unit of the present invention has adopted the following means in order to achieve the above-mentioned main object.

The nozzle unit of the present invention is
A nozzle unit used in the local cleaning device for the human body.
With the base
A pair of nozzles supported by the base, each having a rack and capable of ejecting wash water locally on the human body at the advanced position.
The pair of nozzles can be engaged and disengaged from both racks, respectively, and symmetrical motion is transmitted to both racks by the driving force from the drive source in the state of being engaged with both racks. A drive device that selectively moves the pair of nozzles back and forth by a drive force from the drive source while engaged with one of the two racks.
Each of the two racks of the pair of nozzles can be engaged and disengaged, and can be rotated within a predetermined rotation range, and the movement of one rack while engaged with both racks A driven device that engages the other rack with the driving device by transmitting motion symmetrically to the other rack with a rotational motion.
Of the two racks, an urging member that applies an urging force in the rotational direction to the driven device so as to hold the rack separated from the driving device and engaged with the driven device on the retracting side.
Equipped with
One end of the urging member is provided at a position radially separated from the rotation center of the driven device, and the other end is supported by the base.
The driven device is configured to operate at a higher angular velocity than the driving device.
The gist is that.

The nozzle unit of the present invention includes a driving device, a driven device, and an urging member in addition to the first and second nozzles each having a rack. The drive unit can be engaged and disengaged from both racks, respectively, and while engaged with both racks, it transmits symmetrical motion to both racks and engages with one of the racks. In this state, the first and second nozzles are selectively moved back and forth. The driven device can be engaged and disengaged from both racks, and can rotate within a predetermined rotation range, and is rotated by the movement of one rack while engaged with both racks. The motion is transmitted to the other rack symmetrically with one rack to engage the other rack with the drive device. The urging member applies an urging force in the rotational direction to the driven device so as to separate the rack from the driving device and hold the rack engaged with the driven device on the retracted side. Further, one end of the urging member is provided at a position radially separated from the rotation center of the driven device, and the other end is supported by the base. As a result, the direction of the urging force applied from the urging member to the driven device is switched depending on the rotation angle of the driven device, and one urging member holds the standby side rack separated from the driving device among both racks on the retracted side. can do. However, since the urging force applied to the driven device changes in magnitude according to the rotation angle of the driven device, the driven device rotates more than a certain amount in order to obtain the thrust necessary for holding the standby rack. Need an angle. Therefore, in the nozzle unit of the present invention, the driven device is configured to operate at a faster angular velocity than the driving device. As a result, when the standby rack is retracted by the drive device and engaged with the driven device, the driven device rotates at a faster angular velocity than the drive device, so that the driven device is given a small amount of retracting of the standby rack. The urging force applied can be increased to generate the thrust required to hold the standby rack. Therefore, the amount of retreat of the standby rack can be reduced, and a large space for allowing the standby rack to retreat is not required. As a result, in a nozzle capable of selectively advancing and retreating a pair of nozzles by one drive source, the nozzles on the standby side can be appropriately held and the entire unit can be made more compact.

In such a nozzle unit of the present invention, the driven device is arranged on the retracting side in the advancing / retreating direction of both racks with respect to the driving device, and both racks of the pair of nozzles are the driving device and the driven device, respectively. May have a common engaging surface with which they engage. By doing so, by arranging the driven device on the retracting side, it is possible to prevent one rack from interfering with the driven device when the driving device drives one rack to the forward side. Also, since the drive device and the driven device engage with the rack on a common engagement surface, the entire unit can be made more compact. Further, a single engaging surface allows the drive device and the driven device to be accurately interlocked via the rack.

Further, in the nozzle unit of the present invention, one end of the urging member may be provided at a position radially separated from the rotation center of the driven device, and the other end may be supported by the base. By doing so, the direction of the urging force applied to the driven device from the urging member is switched according to the rotational operation of the driven device by a simple configuration, and the rack separated from the driving device and engaged with the driven device is retracted. Can be held in.

Further, in the nozzle unit of the present invention, the drive device has a drive gear that is meshable with both racks and is driven by the drive source, and the driven device is meshable with both racks and is driven. It may have a driven gear having a larger angular distance between adjacent teeth than the gear. In this way, the driven gear can be operated at a higher angular velocity than the drive gear with a simple configuration.

In this case, the rack may be configured with a straight tooth profile, the drive gear and the driven gear may be configured with an involute tooth profile, and the diameter of the driven gear may be equal to or larger than the diameter of the drive gear. Here, the diameter of the gear means the diameter of the reference circle when the dislocation coefficient is zero, and means the diameter obtained by adding the amount of dislocation to the diameter of the reference circle when the number of dislocation forms is not zero. The reference circle diameter is calculated by multiplying the module by the number of teeth, and the dislocation amount is calculated by multiplying the module by the dislocation coefficient.

It is an external view of the toilet bowl 1 to which the sanitary washing toilet seat device 10 is attached. It is an external perspective view of the front side of a nozzle unit 20. It is an external perspective view of the back surface side of the 2nd nozzle 24. It is an external perspective view of the front side of the base 30 to which the drive device 41 and the driven device 45 are assembled. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the back surface side of the base 30 to which the drive device 41 and the driven device 45 are assembled. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of operation of a nozzle unit 20. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of operation of a nozzle unit 20. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of operation of a nozzle unit 20. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of operation of a nozzle unit 20. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of operation of a nozzle unit 20. It is explanatory drawing which shows the tooth profile of a drive gear 42 and a driven gear 46. It is an enlarged view of the main part which enlarged the main part of the nozzle unit 20. It is explanatory drawing which shows each operating range of the drive gear 42, the driven gear 46, the coil spring 48, the 1st nozzle 22 and the 2nd nozzle 24 at the time of performing a bidet cleaning. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode that the urging force applied to the driven gear 46 is switched from a coil spring 48 in an overlap section. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the driven gear angle θ and the torque T acting on a driven gear 46. It is explanatory drawing which shows the interlocking state of the drive gear 42 and the driven gear 46 in the overlap section. It is an external view of the driven gear 146 of a modification.

A mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the toilet bowl 1 to which the sanitary washing toilet seat device 10 is attached, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the front side of the nozzle unit 20, and FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the back surface side of the second nozzle 24. Is. Further, FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the front side of the base 30 to which the drive device 41 and the driven device 45 are assembled, and FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the back surface side of the base 30 to which the drive device 41 and the driven device 45 are assembled. 6 to 10 are explanatory views showing the operation of the nozzle unit 20. In FIG. 2, the vertical direction is a direction parallel to the vertical direction of the sanitary cleaning toilet seat device 10 (nozzle unit 20) installed in the toilet bowl 1, and the front-rear direction is the direction of the first and second nozzles 22 and 24. It is an advancing / retreating direction, and the left-right direction is a direction orthogonal to the up-down direction and the front-back direction.

The toilet bowl 1 is a Western-style toilet bowl, and a sanitary washing toilet seat device 10 is installed on the upper surface of the toilet bowl 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the sanitary washing toilet seat device 10 is mounted on the toilet seat device main body 12 installed behind the toilet bowl 1, the toilet seat 14 rotatably supported by the toilet seat device main body 12, and the toilet seat device main body 12. It includes a toilet lid 16 that is movably supported and an operation panel 18 that is operated by the user.

The toilet seat device main body 12 includes a washing water flow path connected to a water supply pipe (water supply pipe), a water stop valve, a heat exchange unit, a pulsating pump for adjusting the washing strength, a nozzle unit 20 for ejecting water, and the like. , These are housed in a resin housing. The heat exchange unit is provided with a water tank, a heater, and a temperature sensor, and the water from the water supply pipe is converted into hot water by the heater.

Further, the toilet seat device main body 12 includes a control device (not shown) that controls the sanitary washing toilet seat device 10. The control device includes a heater in the water tank, a pulsation pump, a nozzle unit 20 (a motor of a switching valve described later) based on signals from an operation panel 18, a seating sensor 13 (see FIG. 1), a water tank temperature sensor, and the like. It controls the motor 44) of the nozzle drive unit 40. Although not shown, the operation panel 18 has a cleaning switch for the buttocks instructing the cleaning of the buttocks, a cleaning switch for the bidet instructing the cleaning of the bidet, a cleaning strength adjusting switch for adjusting the strength of the cleaning, and an instruction to stop the cleaning. A stop switch or the like is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the nozzle unit 20 has a cleaning position advanced forward from the first and second nozzles 22, 24, the base 30 supporting the first and second nozzles 22, 24, and the base 30. A nozzle drive unit 40 for selectively advancing and retreating the first and second nozzles 22 and 24 between the nozzle and the accommodation position accommodated in the base 30, a switching valve (not shown), and the like are provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the base 30 is provided with two concave portions 32, 34 as nozzle mounting portions extending in the front-rear direction side by side in the width direction (left-right direction). The first nozzle 22 and the second nozzle 24 are mounted on the concave portions 32 and 34, respectively. As shown in FIG. 5, an opening 30o is formed at the rear end portion of the base 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first and second nozzles 22 and 24 are single-stage nozzles that extend in parallel to each other and do not expand and contract, and are along the extending direction (front-back direction) of the concave portions 32 and 34. It is possible to move forward and backward. In the present embodiment, the first nozzle 22 is configured as a nozzle for cleaning the tail, and the second nozzle 24 is configured as a nozzle for cleaning a bidet formed longer than the first nozzle 22. Water supply ports 22i and 24i are provided at the rear ends of the first and second nozzles 22 and 24, and one end of a hose (not shown) is connected to the water supply ports 22i and 24i. A switching valve is connected to the other end of the hose. The switching valve switches whether the supply destination of the washing water in the washing water flow path downstream of the pulsating pump is ejected from the first or second nozzles 22 or 24. For example, a rotary valve driven by a motor. It is configured as. The first and second nozzles 22 and 24 may be composed of multi-stage nozzles that can be expanded and contracted by, for example, water pressure at the time of water supply. In this case, the first and second nozzles 22, 24 may be configured to have the same length when contracted.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3, 6 to 10, the first and second nozzles 22 and 24 extend from the rear end (base end) portion toward the front end (tip) side and each other's tooth tips. Have racks 26, 28 facing each other. In the present embodiment, the racks 26 and 28 are both linear tooth profiles, and are formed by the same module, pressure angle (pressure angle on the reference line), and number of teeth. As for the reference lines of the racks 26 and 28, the distance from the reference line to the tooth tip is 1.00.m and the distance from the reference line to the tooth bottom is 1.25.m when the module is m. Is defined to be.

The nozzle drive unit 40 selectively moves the first and second nozzles 22 and 24 back and forth, and as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the drive device 41, the driven device 45, and the urging member are used. A coil spring 48 is provided.

The drive device 41 is rotatably supported on the front end side in the central portion in the width direction of the two concave portions 32, 34 so as to be able to engage (mesh) with both racks 26, 28 of the first and second nozzles 22, 24. It has a drive gear 42 and a motor 44 attached to the back surface of the base 30 and capable of driving the drive gear 42 in both forward and reverse rotation directions. The drive gear 42 is an involute tooth profile spur gear in the present embodiment, and is formed by the same module and pressure angle (pressure angle on a reference circle) as both racks 26 and 28. The reference circle of the gear is defined so that the diameter d of the reference circle is m · z when the module is m and the number of teeth is z. The drive gear 42 can be engaged (engaged) and separated from each of the racks 26 and 28, and the drive device 41 is driven in a state where the drive gear 42 is engaged with the racks 26 and 28. By rotationally driving the gear 42, symmetrical motion transmission is possible so that one rack is advanced and the other rack is retracted with respect to both racks 26 and 28, and the drive gear 42 is capable of transmitting the motion symmetrically to both racks 26 and 28. By rotationally driving the drive gear 42 in a state of being engaged with one of the racks and separated from the other rack, it is possible to move only one of the racks back and forth.

The driven device 45 can be rotated toward the rear end side in the center portion in the width direction of the two recessed portions 32, 24 so as to be able to engage (mesh) with both racks 26, 28 of the first and second nozzles 22, 24. It has a supported driven gear 46. The driven gear 46 is arranged apart from the drive gear 42 at intervals slightly shorter than the length of the racks 26 and 28. As a result, the racks 26 and 28 have a section (overlap section) in which the drive gear 42 and the driven gear 46 can be engaged with each other at the same time. In the present embodiment, the driven gear 46 is an involute tooth profile spur gear, has the same module and pressure angle (pressure angle on the reference circle) as the drive gear 42, and has a smaller number of teeth than the drive gear 42. Is formed in. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the driven gear 46 is formed so that the angle distance θ2 between the adjacent teeth is larger than the angle distance θ1 between the adjacent teeth of the drive gear 42. Here, assuming that the distance from the reference line of the rack 26 or the rack 28 to the rotation center of the drive gear 42 is the reference distance A, the reference distance A is 1/2 (reference circle radius) of the reference circle diameter d of the drive gear 42. Is calculated by adding a value (dislocation amount x · m) obtained by multiplying the shift coefficient x of the drive gear 42 by the module m. Similarly, assuming that the distance from the reference line of the rack 26 or the rack 28 to the rotation center of the driven gear 46 is the reference distance B, the reference distance B is 1/2 of the reference circle diameter d of the driven gear 46 of the driven gear 46. It is calculated by adding the value obtained by multiplying the dislocation coefficient x and the module m. As described above, the reference circle diameter d is the product of the number of teeth z and the module m, and the drive gear 42 and the driven gear 46 are composed of the same module. Therefore, by making the dislocation coefficient x of the driven gear 46 larger than that of the drive gear 42, the reference distance B is made equal to the reference distance A while the number of teeth of the driven gear 46 is smaller than that of the drive gear 42, that is, the rack 26. , 28 (first and second nozzles 22, 24) can be arranged in parallel. For example, by setting the dislocation coefficient x of the driven gear 46 to be 1.0 larger than that of the drive gear 42, the number of teeth z of the driven gear 46 is set to the drive gear while maintaining the same relationship between the reference distance A and the reference distance B. It can be reduced by 2 teeth from 42. As a result, the driven gear 46 is configured as a mysterious gear that engages (meshes) with the racks 26 and 28 common to the drive gear 42 and at the same time rotates (rotates) at a rotation angular velocity faster than that of the drive gear 42. The driven gear 46 can be engaged (engaged) and separated from each of the racks 26 and 28, and the driven device 45 is in a state where the driven gear 46 is engaged with both racks 26 and 28. It is possible to transmit the motion symmetrically to one rack to the other rack by the linear motion of the rack, and to engage the other rack with the drive gear 42.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of a main part of the nozzle unit 20 in which the main part is enlarged. 12 (a) is a front view, FIG. 12 (b) is a back view, and FIG. 12 (c) is a side view. As shown in the figure, the end surface of the driven gear 46 (the end surface on the base 30 side) is provided with a protrusion 46p that is inserted through the opening 30o of the base 30 and protrudes outward at a position radially separated from the center of rotation. ing. The rotation range of the driven gear 46 is determined by the protrusion 46p and the opening 30o, and the protrusion 46p abuts on the edge of the opening 30o and is positioned at both rotation ends of the rotation range. Further, one end of the coil spring 48 is locked to the protrusion 46p of the driven gear 46, and the other end of the coil spring 48 is supported by the protrusion 30p provided on the back surface of the base 30. The protrusion 30p is formed so as to be located on the back side in the central portion in the width direction of the two concave portions 32, 34 formed on the surface of the base 30. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, an urging force (torque T) due to the tensile load of the coil spring 48 is applied in the circumferential direction of the driven gear 46. The circumferential urging force (torque T) applied to the driven gear 46 becomes zero when the protrusion 46p is located at a neutral point on a straight line passing through the center of rotation of the driven gear 46 and the protrusion 30p, and the protrusion 46p becomes zero. When it is located on the clockwise side of the neutral point, the torque is in the clockwise direction, and when the protrusion 46p is located on the counterclockwise side of the neutral point, the torque is in the counterclockwise direction.

Next, the operation of the sanitary washing toilet seat device 10 (nozzle unit 20) of the present embodiment configured in this way will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10. In the nozzle unit 20 of the present embodiment, the second nozzle (bidet cleaning nozzle) 24 is formed to be longer than the first nozzle (tail cleaning nozzle) 22, and the first and second nozzles 22 and 24 are formed. In the non-operating shunt state, as shown in FIG. 6, the tips of the first and second nozzles 22 and 24 are aligned at the same front and rear positions, and the rear end of the second nozzle 24 is from the rear end of the first nozzle 22. Also protrudes to the retreat side. At this time, the drive gear 42 is engaged with the rack 26 of the first nozzle 22 and separated from the rack 28 of the second nozzle 24. On the other hand, in the drawing provided by the coil spring 48, the driven gear 46 is positioned in a state where the protrusion 46p is in contact with one end edge of the opening 30o of the base 30 by the urging force in the counterclockwise direction, and the first Separation from the rack 26 of the nozzle 22 (strictly speaking, the position where the tooth surface on the rear end side of the tooth at the rearmost end of the rack 26 is on the most drive gear 42 side on the line of action (contact line) with the driven gear 46. It is in contact with the rack 28 of the second nozzle 24. As a result, the second nozzle 24 is held on the retracting side by the counterclockwise urging force applied from the coil spring 48 to the driven gear 46, and the state of being separated from the drive gear 42 is maintained. Here, in the present embodiment, the protrusion 46p of the driven gear 46 is brought into contact with the end edge of the opening 30o of the base 30 by the urging force applied from the coil spring 48 to the driven gear 46 in the circumferential direction, so that the coil spring 48 Since the load of the above is received only by the base 30, the load does not act on the second nozzle 24. This makes it possible to suppress deformation and damage due to stress on the nozzle and improve the durability of the nozzle.

When the control device of the sanitary washing toilet seat device 10 determines that the user is seated on the toilet seat 14 by the seating sensor 13 and determines that the washing switch for the back of the operation panel 18 is pressed, the standby state of FIG. 6 is determined. The drive gear 42 is rotated forward (rotated counterclockwise in the figure) by the motor 44 to advance the rack 26 engaged with the drive gear 42. As shown in FIG. 7, the first nozzle (buttock cleaning nozzle) 22 connected to the rack 26 advances toward the cleaning position as the rack 26 advances. When the first nozzle 22 reaches the washing position, the control device controls the switching valve (motor) so that the washing water from the pulsating pump is supplied to the ejection hole of the first nozzle 22. As a result, washing water is ejected from the ejection hole of the first nozzle 22 toward the anus of the human body, and the buttocks cleaning is started. When the stop switch of the operation panel 18 is pressed and the control device is instructed to stop the buttocks washing, the control device stops the water supply to the first nozzle 22. Then, the drive gear 42 is rotated in the reverse direction (rotated clockwise in the figure) by the motor 44, and the rack 26 engaged with the drive gear 42 is pulled to the retracted side. The first nozzle 22 connected to the rack 26 retracts toward the accommodation position as the rack 26 retracts, and is accommodated in the base 30 to return to the standby state of FIG.

Further, when the control device determines that the user is seated on the toilet seat 14 by the seating sensor 13 and determines that the bidet cleaning switch of the operation panel 18 is pressed, the motor 44 determines from the standby state of FIG. The drive gear 42 is rotated in the reverse direction (rotated clockwise in the figure) to retract the rack 26 (first nozzle 22) that engages with the drive gear 42. FIG. 13 shows the operating ranges of the drive gear 42, the driven gear 46, the coil spring 48, the first nozzle 22, and the second nozzle 24 when performing bidet cleaning. The rack 26 engages with the driven gear 46 by retracting, and rotates the driven gear 46 clockwise. Here, an urging force is applied to the driven gear 46 in the counterclockwise direction from the coil spring 48 (see the dotted arrow of “spring → driven gear” in FIG. 13), and the rack 26 engaged with the driven gear 46 is applied. Since the urging force on the forward side acts on the rack 26, the control device further drives the rack 26 (first nozzle 22) by driving the drive gear 42 in the reverse direction with a driving force that overcomes the urging force of the rack 26 by the motor 44. It can be set back. The driven gear 46 rotates clockwise due to the retracting of the rack 26 to advance the other rack 28 (second nozzle 24) engaged with the driven gear 46. When the rack 28 advances, as shown in FIG. 8, the rack 28 engages with the drive gear 42, and both racks 26 and 28 are engaged at the same time as the drive gear 42 and the driven gear 46, and the first and second nozzles 22 are engaged. , 24, the drive gear 42 and the driven gear 46 are in a state of operating at the same time (see “overlap section” in FIG. 13). The circumferential urging force applied to the driven gear 46 switches from the counterclockwise direction to the clockwise direction at the neutral point (see the solid arrow of "spring → driven gear" in FIG. 13), and retracts the rack 26. It is a thrust that urges the rack 28 to the forward side while urging the rack 28 to the side. The driven gear 46 is positioned with the protrusion 46p abutting against the other edge of the opening 30o of the base 30, and as shown in FIG. 9, the rack 28 is separated from the driven gear 46 and the rack 26 is separated from the drive gear 42. It will be in a separated state. Therefore, the standby side rack 26 separated from the drive gear 42 is held on the retracting side by the clockwise urging force applied to the driven gear 46, and interference with the drive gear 42 is suppressed. Then, in the control device, the drive gear 42 is further rotated in the reverse direction (rotated counterclockwise in the drawing) by the motor 44, and the rack 28 is further advanced. As shown in FIG. 10, the second nozzle (bidet cleaning nozzle) 24 connected to the rack 28 advances toward the cleaning position as the rack 28 advances. When the second nozzle 24 reaches the cleaning position, the control device controls the switching valve (motor) so that the cleaning water from the pulsating pump is supplied to the ejection hole of the second nozzle 24. As a result, the washing water is ejected from the ejection hole of the second nozzle 24 toward the bidet portion of the human body, and the bidet cleaning is started. When the stop switch of the operation panel 18 is pressed and the control device is instructed to stop the bidet cleaning, the control device stops the water supply to the second nozzle 24. Then, the drive gear 42 is rotated forward (rotated counterclockwise in the figure) by the motor 44, and the rack 28 engaged with the drive gear 42 is pulled to the retracted side. The second nozzle 24 connected to the rack 28 retracts toward the accommodation position as the rack 28 retracts, and is accommodated in the base 30 to return to the standby state of FIG.

Here, as shown in FIG. 14, the direction of the urging force (torque T) applied from the coil spring 48 to the driven gear 46 is such that the drive gear 42, the driven gear 46, and both racks 26, 28 are simultaneously engaged with each other. It switches depending on the state (overlap section). Then, when the rack (standby side rack) of both racks 26 and 28 is separated from the drive gear 42 after the overlap section is removed, the standby side rack is subjected to the urging force in the circumferential direction applied by the driven gear 46 (the standby side rack). It is held on the retracted side by the torque T). FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the driven gear angle θ and the torque T acting on the driven gear 46. In the figure, the horizontal axis indicates the rotation angle (driven gear angle θ) of the driven gear 46 with respect to the neutral point at which the urging force acting in the circumferential direction of the driven gear 46 from the coil spring 48 becomes zero. The vertical axis shows the urging force, that is, the torque T acting in the circumferential direction of the driven gear 46. Further, “θe” and “−θe” indicate the driven gear angle when they are at the rotating end on one side and the rotating end on the other side of the driven gear 46, respectively. Therefore, the driven gear 46 rotates within the operating range from −θe to θe. As shown in the figure, the urging force (torque T) in the circumferential direction applied to the driven gear 46 by the coil spring 48 is positive or negative (torque T) with respect to the neutral point of the driven gear angle θ defined in the overlap section. Direction) switches. In this way, by switching the direction of the urging force (torque T) applied to the driven gear 46 by the coil spring 48 during the overlap section, the standby side rack separated from the drive gear 42 outside the overlap section. It is possible to immediately apply the thrust on the retreating side. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced and the entire unit can be made more compact, as compared with the case where springs are provided on the first and second nozzles 22 and 24 to urge the retracting side. ..

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the urging force (torque T) applied from the coil spring 48 to the driven gear 46 increases to the positive side as the driven gear angle θ approaches the rotating end (θe), and the driven gear The closer the angle θ is to the rotation end (−θe), the larger it becomes on the negative side. In the present embodiment, the absolute value of the torque T applied to the driven gear 46 at the boundary of the overlap section in the operating range of the driven gear 46 is the thrust (F,) required to hold the standby rack on the retracting side. The spring constant of the coil spring 48 is set so as to be larger than the absolute value of −F). This makes it possible to secure the thrust required to hold the standby rack separated from the drive gear 42 on the retracting side at any driven gear angle θ outside the overlap section.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing how the drive gear 42 and the driven gear 46 are interlocked in the overlap section. As shown in the figure, the driven gear 46 rotates clockwise in the figure due to the retracting of the standby side rack (rack 26 in the figure) driven by the drive gear 42, and the clock is applied to the driven gear 46 from the coil spring 48. The turning urging force (torque T), that is, the backward thrust applied to the standby rack, increases as the rotation angle of the driven gear 46 approaches the clockwise rotation end. In the present embodiment, as described above, the driven gear 46 is compared with the drive gear 42 so that the driven gear 46 rotates at a faster angular velocity than the drive gear 42 while engaging with the common racks 26 and 28. Since it is configured with a small number of teeth (mysterious gear), it is possible to rotate the driven gear 46 to the rotation end with a small retracting amount of the standby side rack. This makes it possible to generate sufficient thrust to hold the standby rack on the retracted side with a small amount of retracting of the standby rack, and the unit does not require extra space for the standby rack to retract. The whole can be made more compact.

In the nozzle unit 20 of the embodiment described above, in addition to the first and second nozzles having racks 26 and 28, respectively, the drive device 41 and the drive device 41 capable of engaging and disengaging both racks 26 and 28, respectively. A nozzle drive unit 40 having a driven device 45 and a coil spring 48 that applies an urging force to the driven device 45 in the rotational direction is provided. One end of the coil pulling 48 is provided at a position radially separated from the rotation center of the driven gear 46, and the other end is supported by the base 30. As a result, the direction of the urging force applied from the coil pulling 48 to the driven gear 46 is switched depending on the rotation angle of the driven gear 48, and the standby side separated from the drive gear 42 of both racks 26 and 28 by one coil pulling 48. The rack can be held on the retracted side. Further, since the urging force applied to the driven gear 46 changes in magnitude according to the rotation angle of the driven gear 46, the driven gear 46 has a certain amount or more in order to obtain the thrust necessary for holding the standby side rack. Requires a rotation angle of. In the nozzle unit of the present embodiment, when the standby side rack is retracted by the drive gear 42 and engaged with the driven gear 46, the driven gear 46 rotates at a faster angular velocity than the drive gear 42, so that the standby side rack The urging force applied to the driven gear 46 can be increased with a small amount of retreat, and the thrust required for holding the standby rack can be generated. Therefore, the amount of retreat of the standby rack can be reduced, and a large space for allowing the standby rack to retreat is not required. As a result, in a motor 44 capable of selectively advancing and retreating the first and second nozzles 22 and 24, the standby side nozzle can be appropriately held and the entire unit can be made more compact.

Further, in the nozzle unit 20 of the embodiment, the driven gear 46 is arranged on the retracting side of both racks 26 and 28 in the advancing / retreating direction with respect to the drive gear 42, and both racks 26 of the first and second nozzles 22 and 24 are arranged. , 28 have a common tooth surface on which the drive gear 42 and the driven gear 46 are engaged, respectively. Thereby, when one rack (drive side rack) is advanced by the drive gear 42, the drive side rack can be prevented from interfering with the driven gear 46. Further, since the racks 26 and 28 need only have a single tooth surface on which the drive gear 42 and the driven gear 46 are engaged, the entire unit can be further made compact. Further, the drive gear 42 and the driven gear 46 can be accurately interlocked with each other via the racks 26 and 28 by a single tooth surface.

Further, in the nozzle unit 20 of the embodiment, in the driven gear 46, the protrusion 46p is brought into contact with the end edge of the opening 30o of the base 30 by the urging force applied in the circumferential direction from the coil spring 48, so that the coil spring 48 Since the load is received only by the base 30, the load of the coil spring 48 can be prevented from acting on the nozzle. This makes it possible to suppress deformation and damage due to stress on the nozzle and improve the durability of the nozzle.

In the embodiment, the drive device 41 directly drives the drive gear 42 by the motor 44, but the present invention is not limited to this, and one or more intermediate gears are inserted between the drive gear 42 and the motor 44. It may be provided. Further, the driven device 45 applies an urging force in the circumferential direction to the driven gear 46 by locking one end of the coil spring 48 to the protrusion 46p of the driven gear 46, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, one or more intermediate gears may be provided between the driven gear 46 and the coil spring 48 (the urging member). Further, the driven device 45 transmits the motion of one rack to the other rack by the driven gear 46, but the motion of one rack is transmitted symmetrically with respect to the other rack with a rotational motion. Anything is acceptable as long as it is possible.

In the embodiment, the driven gear 46 is composed of gears having teeth at equal intervals over the entire circumference, but the driven gear 46 is not limited to this, and as shown in the driven gear 146 of the modified example of FIG. It may be composed of a missing gear having teeth at a portion that meshes with the racks 26 and 28, respectively, and lacking teeth at other portions.

In the embodiment, the first and second nozzles 22 and 24 are arranged in parallel, respectively, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the first and second nozzles 22 and 24 may be arranged so as to be closer to each other toward the tip. That is, the diameter of the driven gear 46 arranged behind the drive gear 42 (diameter obtained by adding the dislocation amount to the reference circle diameter) may be equal to or larger than the diameter of the drive gear 42. Further, although the first and second nozzles 22 and 24 are arranged in the width direction (horizontal direction, horizontal direction), they may be arranged in the vertical direction.

The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the column of means for solving the problem will be described. In the embodiment, the base 30 corresponds to the "base", the racks 26 and 28 correspond to the "rack", and the first nozzle (nozzle for cleaning the tail) 22 and the second nozzle (nozzle for cleaning the bidet) 24 correspond to "a pair". The drive device 41 including the drive gear 42 and the motor 44 corresponds to the "drive device", the driven device 45 including the driven gear 46 corresponds to the "driven device", and the coil spring 48 is attached. Corresponds to "force member".

As for the correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the column of means for solving the problem, the invention described in the column of means for solving the problem in the embodiment is carried out. Since it is an example for specifically explaining the mode for solving the problem, the elements of the invention described in the column of means for solving the problem are not limited. That is, the interpretation of the invention described in the column of means for solving the problem should be performed based on the description in the column, and the embodiment is the invention described in the column of means for solving the problem. It is just a concrete example.

Although the embodiments for carrying out the present invention have been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and may be in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course it can be done.

The present invention can be used in the manufacturing industry of sanitary washing toilet seat devices and the like.

1 toilet bowl, 10 sanitary cleaning toilet seat device, 12 toilet seat device body, 13 seating sensor, 14 toilet seat, 16 toilet lid, 18 operation panel, 20 nozzle unit, 22 1st nozzle, 24 2nd nozzle, 22i, 24i water inlet, 26 , 28 racks, 30 bases, 30p protrusions, 32,34 recesses, 40 nozzle drive units, 42 drive gears, 44 motors, 46,146 driven gears, 46p, 146p protrusions, 48 coil springs.

Claims (4)

A nozzle unit used in the local cleaning device for the human body.
With the base
A pair of nozzles supported by the base, each having a rack and capable of ejecting wash water locally on the human body at the advanced position.
The pair of nozzles can be engaged and disengaged from both racks, respectively, and symmetrical motion is transmitted to both racks by the driving force from the drive source in the state of being engaged with both racks. A drive device that selectively moves the pair of nozzles back and forth by a drive force from the drive source while engaged with one of the two racks.
Each of the two racks of the pair of nozzles can be engaged and disengaged, and can be rotated within a predetermined rotation range, and the movement of one rack while engaged with both racks A driven device that engages the other rack with the driving device by transmitting motion symmetrically to the other rack with a rotational motion.
Of the two racks, an urging member that applies an urging force in the rotational direction to the driven device so as to hold the rack separated from the driving device and engaged with the driven device on the retracting side.
Equipped with
One end of the urging member is provided at a position radially separated from the rotation center of the driven device, and the other end is supported by the base.
The driven device is configured to operate at a higher angular velocity than the driving device.
Nozzle unit. The nozzle unit according to claim 1.
The driven device is arranged on the retracting side in the advancing / retreating direction of both racks with respect to the driving device.
Both racks of the pair of nozzles have a common engaging surface on which the driving device and the driven device are engaged, respectively.
Nozzle unit. The nozzle unit according to claim 1 or 2.
The drive device has drive gears that are meshable with both racks and are driven by the drive source.
The driven device has a driven gear that can mesh with both racks and has a large angular distance between adjacent teeth as compared with the driving gear.
Nozzle unit. The nozzle unit according to claim 3.
The rack is composed of straight tooth profiles.
The drive gear and the driven gear are composed of involute tooth profiles.
The diameter of the driven gear is equal to or larger than the diameter of the driving gear.
Nozzle unit.

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