JP7310306B2 - sanitary washing equipment - Google Patents

Description

The disclosed embodiments relate to sanitary washing devices.

Conventionally, in a sanitary washing device that jets water from a nozzle to wash the human body's private parts, the nozzle (surface) is sterilized by discharging the sterilized water generated by the sterilized water generator toward the nozzle. It is known. In such a sanitary washing device, for example, in the sterilized water generator, water flows into the case and contacts the solid sterilizing agent contained in the case, thereby removing the sterilizing component from the sterilizing agent. There is a technique for generating sterilized water by eluting metal ions that are (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2018-127764 A

By the way, in the sanitary washing device, it is preferable to sterilize the inner flow path up to the nozzle in the main flow path leading to the nozzle by flowing sterilized water. In this case, it is conceivable to dispose the disinfected water generator in the main flow path. However, when the sterilized water generator is arranged in the main flow path, the sterilized water may flow into the main flow path and be discharged from the nozzle toward the human body's private parts.

One aspect of the embodiments has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a sanitary washing device capable of suppressing ejection of sterilized water from a nozzle.

A sanitary washing device according to an aspect of an embodiment includes a flow path through which water flows, a nozzle that jets the water that has flowed through the flow path to wash a human body's private parts, and is provided in the flow path and housed in a case. Metal ions are eluted from the sterilizing agent when water comes into contact with the sterilizing agent, and the longer the water stays in the case, the higher the concentration of metal ions. a water generating unit, a water discharging unit for discharging the sterilized water generated in the sterilized water generating unit to the nozzle or the bowl portion of the toilet bowl, and a control unit for controlling the water discharged by the water discharging unit; has a main flow path leading to the nozzle, is branched from the main flow path so as to be flow-switchable, is arranged in parallel with the main flow path, and is upstream of the outlet of the nozzle and/or the water discharge section. has a sub-channel that merges with the main channel at , and the sterilized water generator is arranged in the sub-channel.

According to such a configuration, by arranging the sterilized water generating part in the sub-flow path avoiding the main flow path leading to the nozzle, it is possible to suppress the flow of the sterilized water into the main flow path. It is possible to suppress the discharge of the sterilizing water. That is, it is possible to prevent the disinfected water from being discharged toward the human body, thereby improving safety.

Further, the sanitary washing apparatus described above further includes an operation unit that is operated when starting washing of the human body part with the nozzle, and the control unit causes the main flow path to be filled with water when the operation unit is operated. Replace.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to more reliably suppress contamination of the sterilized water into the main flow path, and further improve safety.

Further, in the sanitary washing device described above, the water discharger has a nozzle-side water discharger for discharging sterilized water toward the nozzle, and a toilet-side water discharger for discharging sterilized water toward the bowl. The sterilized water generator supplies sterilized water to the nozzle-side water discharger and the toilet bowl-side water discharger.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to automatically spout sterilized water toward each of the nozzle and the bowl, thereby enhancing the sterilization effect of each of the nozzle and the bowl.

Further, the sanitary washing apparatus described above further includes a human body detection section for detecting a human body, and the control section replaces the main flow path with water when the human body detection section detects the human body.

According to such a configuration, by replacing the main flow path with water before the nozzle is used, it is possible to suppress the contamination of the main flow path with the sterilized water. Water discharge can be suppressed, and safety can be further improved.

Further, the sanitary washing device described above further includes a vacuum breaker provided in the flow path and arranged upstream of the sterilized water generating section, and the control section controls the flow of sterilized water into the main flow path. After that, the flow path is switched after discharging the sterilized water from the main flow path by the vacuum breaker.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to more reliably suppress contamination of the sterilized water into the main flow path, more reliably suppress the discharge of the sterilized water from the nozzle, and remove the sterilized water toward the human body. It is possible to suppress the germ water from being discharged. Thereby, safety can be improved.

According to one aspect of the embodiment, it is possible to prevent the disinfected water from being discharged from the nozzle.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a sanitary washing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the flow channel configuration of the sanitary washing device. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a metal ion elution unit. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure of a series of sterilization processes (automatic sterilization mode) including the bowl portion sterilization process.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the sanitary washing device disclosed in the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by embodiment shown below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a sanitary washing device 10 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the sanitary washing device 10 is provided above a toilet bowl 20. As shown in FIG. The sanitary washing device 10 includes a body portion 11 , a valve lid 12 and a toilet seat 13 . The main body 11 includes a casing 111 and a nozzle 112 that is housed in the casing 111 and ejects (injects) water toward the human body's private parts.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the flow path configuration of the sanitary washing device 10. As shown in FIG. 2 also shows a control system centering on the control unit 60. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the sanitary washing device 10 has a channel 30 through which water (called wash water) flows. The channel 30 includes a main channel 31 and sub-channels 32 branching from the main channel 31 .

The sanitary washing device 10 includes a water supply source 41, a solenoid valve 42, a pressure regulating valve 43, a heat exchanger unit 44, a flow rate sensor 45, a vacuum breaker (VB) 46, and a pressure It includes a modulation device 47 , flow path switching units 48 a and 48 b , a flow rate adjustment unit 49 , the nozzle 112 described above, and a water discharge unit 114 . The nozzle 112 is driven forward and backward by a drive source (nozzle motor) 113 .

The sanitary washing device 10 also includes a sterilized water generator (metal ion elution unit) 50 in the sub-channel 32 . The sanitary washing device 10 further includes a control section 60 , a power supply circuit 61 , a human body detection section 62 and an operation section 63 .

The water supply source 41 supplies washing water to the channel 30 (main channel 31). The electromagnetic valve 42 controls the supply of cleaning water from the water supply source 41 by opening and closing. In addition, the solenoid valve 42 is driven according to a control signal from the control section 60 which will be described later. The pressure regulating valve 43 regulates the water pressure of the supplied washing water. The heat exchanger unit 44 heats the wash water to a predetermined temperature (for example, 38° C.) set by the user.

The flow rate sensor 45 detects the flow rate of cleaning water (the flow rate per unit time at the position where the flow rate sensor 45 is arranged in the main flow path 31). A detection result of the flow sensor 45 is transmitted to the control unit 60 . The vacuum breaker 46 prevents the backflow of wash water from the nozzle 114 by allowing the backflow of wash water to flow through an air opening path (not shown) when negative pressure is generated in the main flow path 31 . The vacuum breaker 46 is arranged on the upstream side of the metal ion elution unit 50, which is a sterilized water generator, which will be described later.

The pressure modulation device 47, for example, changes the channel volume to pulsate the washing water. By pulsating the cleansing water, the pressure modulating device 47 can strengthen the water force for cleansing the human body's private parts even when the flow rate of the cleansing water is relatively low.

The channel switching unit 48 a is a switching valve that is driven according to a control signal from the control unit 60 , and switches the outflow destination of the cleaning water flowing through the main channel 31 to the secondary channel 32 . The flow rate adjusting section 49 adjusts the flow rate of the cleaning water. The flow path switching unit 48b is a switching valve that is driven in accordance with a control signal from the control unit 60. The flow path switching unit 48b selects one of the plurality of water discharge ports of the nozzle 114, or the nozzle side of the water discharge unit 114. Switch to the water discharge unit (nozzle cleaning chamber) 115 or the toilet side water discharge unit (spray nozzle) 116 .

As described above, the nozzle 112 jets cleansing water toward the private parts of the user seated on the toilet seat 13 (see FIG. 1). The nozzle 112 can move back and forth with respect to the casing 111 (see FIG. 1). The nozzle 112 sprays cleansing water toward the human body's private parts at the advanced (advanced) position to wash the human body's private parts, and is housed in the casing 111 at the retracted position.

The nozzle cleaning chamber 115 , which is a nozzle-side water discharge section, discharges the sterilized water toward the nozzle 112 when the sterilized water is supplied. The nozzle cleaning chamber 115 cleans (sterilizes) the surface of the nozzle 112 by flushing the surface of the nozzle 112 with sterile water from the water discharge hole.

Spray nozzle 116 , which is a toilet-side water discharger, discharges sterilized water toward bowl portion 21 that receives filth in toilet 20 when sterilized water is supplied. The spray nozzle 116 discharges (sprays) the sterilizing water in mist form from the water discharge hole onto the surface of the bowl portion 21 . The spray nozzle 116 sprays sterilized water to wet the surface of the bowl portion 21 to suppress adhesion of dirt and sterilize the surface of the bowl portion 21 .

The sub-channel 32 is arranged parallel to the main channel 31 in part of the main channel 31 . Further, the sub-flow path 32 rejoins the main flow path 31 upstream of the nozzle cleaning chamber 115 and the spray nozzle 116 which are the water discharge section 114 . In the example shown in FIG. 2 , the secondary flow path 32 branches off from the main flow path 31 at the flow switching portion 48 a and joins the main flow path 31 at the flow adjustment portion 49 .

The metal ion elution unit 50, which is a sterilized water generator, adds a sterilizing component to the washing water flowing through the secondary flow path 32 to generate sterilized water. The sterilized water generator (metal ion elution unit) 50 will be described later with reference to FIG.

The control unit 60 is implemented by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or the like executing a program stored in a storage unit using a RAM as a work area. Also, the control unit 60 can be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

The control unit 60 controls the flow path switching units 48a, 48b and the like based on various input signals. The control unit 60 controls the flow path switching units 48 a and 48 b to cause the nozzles 112 in the main flow path 31 to discharge water and the sub flow path 32 to discharge water from the water discharge units 114 , that is, the nozzle cleaning chambers 115 and the spray nozzles 116 . Control.

The storage unit is implemented by, for example, semiconductor memory elements such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and flash memory.

The power supply circuit 61 supplies power to the control section 60 . The human body detection unit 62 detects a human body such as a user. The human body detection unit 62 includes, for example, a room entry sensor 62a that detects that the user has entered the toilet room, a seating sensor 62b that detects that the user is seated on the toilet seat 13 (see FIG. 1), and opening and closing of the toilet lid 13. A toilet lid sensor 62c for detecting is provided. Human body detection unit 62 transmits a detection signal to control unit 60 .

The operation unit 63 is manually operated by the user to send an instruction signal to the control unit 60 to perform washing water and sterilization water from the nozzle 112, the nozzle washing chamber 115, and the spray nozzle 116 in addition to washing the toilet bowl. to send. Upon receiving a signal from the operation unit 63, the control unit 60 controls each unit according to the signal.

Next, the sterilized water generator (metal ion elution unit) 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the metal ion elution unit 50. As shown in FIG. A metal ion elution unit 50, which is a sterilized water generator, is arranged in the sub-channel 32 (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 3 , the metal ion elution unit 50 includes a case 51 and a disinfectant 52 . The case 51 has, for example, a rectangular box shape, and includes a cylindrical inlet portion 511 on the upstream side and a cylindrical outlet portion 512 on the downstream side.

The disinfectant 52 is housed in the case 51 . The sterilizing agent 52 is in a solid form, and the sterilizing component is eluted by contact with the water W1. The sterilizing agent 52 is, for example, antibacterial glass, and dissolves metal ions (silver ions), which are sterilizing components. The metal ion elution unit 50 generates sterilization water (silver ion water) W2 by eluting metal ions into the sterilization agent 52 . In the metal ion elution unit 50, the longer the water stays in the case 51, the higher the concentration of the metal ions.

The volume of the metal ion elution unit 50 is preferably smaller than the water discharge amount of the water discharge section 114 described above, that is, the nozzle cleaning chamber 115 and the spray nozzle 116 (see FIG. 2).

In addition, the control unit 60 controls each unit to cause the nozzle cleaning chamber 115 and the spray nozzle 116 to discharge water at predetermined timings. In addition, the control unit 60 periodically spouts water from the nozzle cleaning chamber 115 and the spray nozzle 116 by controlling each unit. Thus, the control unit 60 has an automatic sterilization (also referred to as automatic water discharge) mode including sterilization processing of the bowl portion 21 (see FIG. 1) of the toilet 20 .

Next, the automatic sterilization mode will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure of a series of sterilization processes (automatic sterilization mode) including the sterilization process of the bowl portion 21 . As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 60 outputs a human body detection signal from the human body detection unit 62 (for example, one of the room entry sensor 62a, the seating sensor 62b, and the toilet lid opening/closing sensor 62c) or the operation of the operation unit 63 (step S101), it is determined whether or not a private part washing instruction has been output toward the nozzle 112 (step S102).

When the instruction to wash the private parts is output (step S102: Yes), the control unit 60 starts washing the private parts by injecting washing water from the nozzle 112 (step S103). In addition, the control part 60 returns before the process of step S101, when the private-parts washing|cleaning instruction|indication is not output in the process of step S102 (step S102: No).

After the start of washing the private parts, when an instruction to finish washing the private parts is input (step S104), the control unit 60 controls the flow path switching unit 48b to stop water discharge from the nozzle 112 (step S105). Next, the control unit 60 stores the nozzle 112 (step S106), and performs the sterilization process for the nozzle 112 (step S107). In this case, the control unit 60 switches the channel switching unit 48 b to cause the nozzle cleaning chamber 115 to discharge the sterilized water.

When the controller 60 receives an instruction to wash the toilet by manual operation from the user or by a signal from the seating sensor 62b (step S108), the controller 60 flushes the bowl by flushing water into the bowl 21 (step S109). . Next, the control unit 60 performs sterilization processing of the bowl portion 21 (step S109). In this case, the control unit 60 switches the flow path switching unit 48b to cause the spray nozzle 116 to spray the sterilized water.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the channel configuration includes the sub-channel 32 branching from the main channel 31, the sub-channel 32 being arranged in parallel with the main channel 31, and the main channel Rejoin 31. By arranging the metal ion elution unit 50 in the secondary channel 32, it is possible to suppress the flow of the sterilized water to the main channel 31, thereby suppressing the discharge of the sterilized water from the nozzle 112''. can do. As a result, it is possible to prevent the disinfected water from being discharged toward the human body, thereby enhancing safety.

In addition, since the metal ion elution unit 50 is configured to supply sterilized water to the nozzle cleaning chamber and the spray nozzle, it is possible to automatically discharge sterilized water toward the nozzle 112 and the bowl portion 21, respectively. The sterilization effect of each of the bowl portions 21 can be enhanced.

Further, in the automatic sterilization mode described above, when the control unit 60 performs the washing of the human body's private parts with the nozzle 112 by the operation of the operation unit 63, the control unit 60 causes the main flow path 31 to be washed when the operation unit 63 is operated. Control is performed to flow water and replace the main flow path 31 with washing water. By performing such control, it is possible to more reliably suppress the contamination of the sterilized water into the main flow path 31, thereby further enhancing safety.

In the automatic sterilization mode described above, when a human body is detected by the human body detection unit 62 (for example, one of the room entry sensor 62a, the seating sensor 62b, and the toilet lid opening/closing sensor 62c), the control unit 60 The cleaning water is caused to flow through 31 to replace the main flow path 31 with the cleaning water. By performing such control, it is possible to suppress the contamination of the main channel 31 with the sterilized water, suppress the spouting of the sterilized water toward the human body, and further improve safety. can.

In the automatic sterilization mode described above, the controller 60 discharges the sterilized water from the main flow path 31 by the vacuum breaker 46 after the sterilized water flows in the main flow path 31, and then switches the flow path. As a result, it is possible to more reliably suppress the contamination of the sterilized water into the main flow path 31, more reliably suppress the ejection of the sterilized water from the nozzle 112, and the sterilized water is directed toward the human body. Ejection can be suppressed. Thereby, safety can be improved.

Further effects and modifications can be easily derived by those skilled in the art. Therefore, the broader aspects of the invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments so shown and described. Accordingly, various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

10 Sanitary washing device 112 Nozzle 114 Water discharge part 115 Nozzle side water discharge part 116 Toilet bowl side water discharge part 30 Flow path 31 Main flow path 32 Secondary flow path 50 Disinfected water generation part 51 Case 52 Disinfectant 60 Control part 62 Human body detection part 63 Operation Part W1 Water W2 Sterilized water

Claims (4)

a channel through which water flows;
a nozzle for spraying water flowing through the flow path to wash a human body part;
Metal ions are eluted from the disinfectant provided in the flow path and contained in the case when the water comes into contact with the disinfectant, and the longer the water stays in the case, the more the metal ion concentration. A sterilized water generation unit that generates sterilized water with a high
a water discharger that discharges the sterilized water generated in the sterilized water generator to the nozzle or the bowl of the toilet;
a control unit that controls water discharge by the water discharge unit;
The flow path has a main flow path leading to the nozzle, branches off from the main flow path so as to be flow-switchable, is arranged in parallel with the main flow path, and is arranged in parallel with the main flow path. also has a secondary flow path that joins the main flow path on the upstream side,
The sterilized water generator is arranged in the sub-channel ,
A vacuum breaker provided in the flow path and arranged upstream of the sterilized water generator.
further comprising
The sanitary washing device, wherein the controller discharges the sterilized water from the main flow path by the vacuum breaker after the sterilized water flows in the main flow path, and then switches the flow path. further comprising an operation unit operated when starting washing of the human body part with the nozzle,
2. The sanitary washing device according to claim 1, wherein said control section replaces said main flow path with water when said operation section is operated. The water discharger has a nozzle-side water discharger for discharging sterilized water toward the nozzle, and a toilet-side water discharger for discharging sterilized water toward the bowl,
3. The sanitary washing device according to claim 1, wherein said sterilized water generator supplies sterilized water to said nozzle-side water discharger and said toilet bowl-side water discharger. It also has a human body detector that detects a human body.
The sanitary washing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control section replaces the main flow path with water when the human body detection section detects a human body.

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