JP7482428B2 - Toilet equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a toilet device.

A seat-type toilet apparatus provided with a toilet lid that opens and closes the opening of the bowl portion is known. In such a toilet apparatus, it is sometimes desired to flush the toilet with the toilet lid closed in order to prevent the splashing of flush water, sewage, and the like during flushing.
For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a toilet facility that closes the toilet lid and then flushes the toilet bowl when a flush switch is operated to activate a flush valve device that supplies flush water to the toilet bowl.

JP 2008-200198 A

However, with the toilet equipment described in Patent Document 1, there is a concern that if the user wishes to flush the bowl with the toilet lid open, for example when cleaning, the user will need to grasp the toilet lid to open it.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a toilet device that allows the user to select whether the toilet lid is open or closed during flushing.

In order to achieve the above object, a toilet device according to one embodiment of the present invention is characterized by comprising a bowl section that opens upward, a toilet lid that opens and closes the opening of the bowl section, a toilet lid drive section that opens and closes the toilet lid, a flushing operation section that is operated when supplying flushing water to the bowl section, a flushing water supply section that supplies flushing water to the bowl section, and a control section that controls the flushing water supply section and the toilet lid drive section so that, when the flushing operation section is operated in a predetermined first operation pattern, flushing water is supplied to the bowl section with the toilet lid closed, and, when the flushing operation section is operated in a predetermined second operation pattern different from the first operation pattern, flushing water is supplied to the bowl section without closing the toilet lid.

In order to achieve the above object, a toilet device according to another embodiment of the present invention is characterized by comprising a bowl section that opens upward, a toilet lid that opens and closes the opening of the bowl section, a toilet lid drive section that opens and closes the toilet lid, a flushing operation section that is operated when supplying flushing water to the bowl section, a flushing water supply section that supplies flushing water to the bowl section, and a control section that controls the flushing water supply section and the toilet lid drive section so that, if the flushing operation section is operated in a predetermined first operation pattern, flushing water is supplied to the bowl section with the toilet lid closed, and, if the flushing operation section is operated in the first operation pattern within a predetermined time period after being operated in a predetermined second operation pattern different from the first operation pattern, flushing water is supplied to the bowl section without closing the toilet lid.

The toilet device of the present invention is configured as described above, allowing the toilet lid to be opened or closed during flushing.

1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a toilet device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a schematic block diagram of the toilet apparatus, and FIG. 2B is a schematic flow chart showing an example of a basic operation executed in the toilet apparatus. 6 is a schematic flow chart showing another example of the basic operation executed in the toilet device. 6 is a schematic flow chart showing another example of the basic operation executed in the toilet device.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following embodiment, the up-down direction will be described based on the state in which an example of the toilet device is installed. Also, based on the state in which the user faces the installed toilet device in an upright position, the near side will be defined as the front, the opposite side as the rear (deep side), and the direction perpendicular to the toilet depth direction and the up-down direction will be defined as the toilet width direction.
1 to 4 are diagrams that diagrammatically show an example of a toilet apparatus according to the present embodiment and an example of a basic operation executed in the toilet apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the toilet device 1 according to this embodiment is equipped with a bowl section 3 that opens upward, and a toilet lid 8 that opens and closes the opening of the bowl section 3. The toilet device 1 is a seat-type (so-called Western-style) toilet, and is installed on an installation part such as a floor or wall in a toilet space. The toilet device 1 also has a toilet body section 2 that defines a bowl section (toilet bowl) 3 that is shaped like a mortar. The toilet body section 2 is provided with a skirt section that surrounds the periphery of the bowl section 3. The toilet body section 2 is provided at the rear part of the toilet body in the toilet depth direction with a toilet seat body section 5 that rotatably holds the toilet seat 7 and the toilet lid 8. The toilet seat 7 and the toilet lid 8 are freely raised and lowered (rotatable) around an axis that is axially aligned in the toilet width direction relative to the toilet seat body section 5.

The toilet apparatus 1 is also equipped with a toilet cover drive unit 6 (see FIG. 2(a)) that opens and closes (raises and lowers) the toilet cover 8. This toilet cover drive unit 6 is provided on the toilet seat main body 5, and may be equipped with a motor or the like that rotates the toilet cover 8 about an axis. The toilet apparatus 1 may also be configured with a toilet seat drive unit that raises and lowers (opens and closes) the toilet seat 7.
The toilet apparatus 1 is also equipped with a toilet lid position detector 9 (see FIG. 2(a)) that detects the open/closed state (raised/dead state) of the toilet lid 8. This toilet lid position detector 9 may be a limit switch that is pressed when the toilet lid 8 is in the open position (upright position) and the closed position (dead position) or an angle sensor that detects the rotation angle of the toilet lid 8. The toilet apparatus 1 may also be configured with a toilet seat position detector that detects the open/closed state (raised/dead state) of the toilet seat 7.

The toilet device 1 also includes a flushing operation unit 12 that is operated when supplying flushing water to the bowl portion 3, and a flushing water supply unit 4 (see FIG. 2(a)) that supplies flushing water to the bowl portion 3. The flushing water supply unit 4 may be a water supply valve consisting of an electromagnetic valve or the like that opens and closes a flushing water supply pipe connected to a water supply pipe such as a water pipe, and supplies or blocks flushing water. The downstream end of the flushing water supply pipe may also be provided with a water supply port that discharges flushing water so as to follow a groove in a rim portion that is provided to extend circumferentially on the upper peripheral portion of the bowl portion 3. The flushing water passing through the flushing water supply pipe may also be provided with a supply unit that supplies disinfectant water such as ozone water or hypochlorous acid water, or detergent. The illustrated example shows the toilet device 1 as a so-called tankless type that does not have a flush tank (low tank), but it may also be configured with a flush tank.

The toilet device 1 is also provided with a drainage mechanism that is connected to a drain pipe on the floor side or wall side. The drainage mechanism may be a so-called mechanical discharge mechanism that is configured to drain and seal water by rotating a cylindrical trap connected to a drain outlet provided at the bottom of the bowl portion 3 using a trap drive unit. The drainage mechanism is not limited to this configuration, and other drainage mechanisms such as a siphon type, siphon jet type, siphon vortex type, neo-vortex type, wash-off type, etc. may also be used.
The toilet device 1 may also be provided with various functional devices such as a deodorizing device that deodorizes the inside of the bowl 3, a heating device that warms the toilet seat 7, a private parts washing device that washes the private parts, etc. The toilet device 1 may also be provided with various sensors such as a human body detection sensor and a seating sensor.

In this embodiment, the flushing operation unit 12 is provided on a remote controller (remote control device (remote control device)) 10 that is installed away from the toilet body 2 and remotely controls the various devices provided on the toilet body 2. This flushing operation unit 12 may be a large flushing operation unit that is operated when supplying a relatively large amount of flushing water. The remote controller 10 is also provided with a toilet lid opening/closing operation unit 11 that is operated when opening and closing the toilet lid 8, a small flushing operation unit 13 that is operated when supplying a relatively small amount of flushing water, and a toilet seat opening/closing operation unit 14 that is operated when opening and closing the toilet seat 7. The remote controller 10 is also provided with an operation unit for a private parts washing device, an operation unit for a deodorizing device, an operation unit for a heating device for the toilet seat 7, and the like.

The remote controller 10 is also provided with a control unit that controls the transmission of operation signals from each operation unit, including the flush operation unit 12, to the control unit 15 (see FIG. 2(a)) on the toilet body 2 side via the transmission unit. This control unit may be a microcomputer (MCU) or the like that includes a control circuit such as a CPU, various memories (storage units) such as ROM and RAM, etc. The transmission unit may be anything that corresponds to the receiving unit on the toilet body 2 side, and these transmission units and receiving units may be configured to be able to transmit and receive infrared communication. In this case, the transmission unit on the remote controller 10 side may be provided with an appropriate light-emitting unit that irradiates infrared rays, such as an infrared LED, and the receiving unit on the toilet body 2 side may be provided with an appropriate light-receiving unit that receives infrared rays. The transmission unit and receiving unit may also use various other wireless communication methods.

The remote controller 10 and the toilet body 2 may be connected by wire using an appropriate signal line, etc. The remote controller 10 is also provided with a battery storage section for storing a battery that serves as a power source, etc. The operation sections including the flush operation section 12 are not limited to those provided on the remote controller 10 that is installed away from the toilet body 2, but may be provided at appropriate locations on the toilet body 2.
The control unit 15 on the toilet body 2 side may be a microcomputer (MCU) similar to the above. The above-mentioned receiving unit, flush water supply unit 4, toilet lid drive unit 6, toilet lid position detection unit 9, trap drive unit, etc. are connected to this control unit 15 via signal lines, etc. Each unit is controlled according to a control program stored in a memory unit provided in this control unit 15, and each example of the basic operations described below is executed.

In the first basic operation example, as shown in FIG. 2(b), if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in a predetermined first operation pattern, the control unit 15 controls the flushing water supply unit 4 and the toilet lid drive unit 6 to supply flushing water to the bowl unit 3 with the toilet lid 8 closed. On the other hand, if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in a predetermined second operation pattern different from the first operation pattern, the control unit 15 controls the flushing water supply unit 4 and the toilet lid drive unit 6 to supply flushing water to the bowl unit 3 without closing the toilet lid 8. With this configuration, if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the first operation pattern, flushing can be performed with the toilet lid 8 closed, and if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the second operation pattern, flushing can be performed with the toilet lid 8 open. In addition, for example, the location where the flushing operation unit 12 is provided (in this embodiment, the remote controller 10) can be made more compact than in a case where the flushing operation unit 12 is provided with multiple operation buttons to select the open or closed state of the toilet lid 8 during flushing. In other words, the open/closed state of the toilet lid 8 during flushing can be selected using a single flushing operation unit 12. In addition, there is no need to open or close the toilet lid 8 by hand or by operating the toilet lid opening/closing operation unit 11, improving usability and reducing the number of contact points, which is also preferable from a hygienic standpoint.

The first operation pattern may be a normal push operation, and the second operation pattern may be one of a long push operation and a multiple push operation. With this configuration, if the flushing operation unit 12 is pushed normally, flushing can be performed with the toilet lid 8 closed, and if the flushing operation unit 12 is pushed long or multiple times, flushing can be performed with the toilet lid 8 open. This allows flushing to be performed with the toilet lid 8 closed, which is usually desirable from the perspective of preventing scattering, and when cleaning, etc., a specific operation allows flushing with the toilet lid 8 open. The normal push operation may be a single push operation for a relatively short time (e.g., about 1 second or less). The long push operation may be a single push operation for a relatively long time (e.g., about 3 seconds or more). The multiple push operation may be a multiple push operation (e.g., 2 times) for a relatively short time (e.g., about 1 second or less). Note that these first and second operation patterns may be stored and set in advance in a storage unit, or may be changeable.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2(b), if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the first operation pattern (normal pressing operation) (step 100), the toilet lid position detection unit 9 is referenced, and if the toilet lid 8 is open (step 101), the toilet lid drive unit 6 is controlled to close the toilet lid 8 (step 102). Then, with the toilet lid 8 closed, the flushing water supply unit 4 is controlled to supply flushing water to flush the bowl section 3 (step 103). If the toilet lid 8 is closed in step 101, with the toilet lid 8 closed, the flushing water supply unit 4 is controlled to supply flushing water to flush the bowl section 3 (step 103). When flushing water is supplied to flush the bowl section 3, the trap drive unit may be appropriately driven and controlled to drain the cylindrical trap in a draining position and then seal the cylindrical trap in a water sealing position.

On the other hand, if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the second operation pattern (for example, a long press operation) (step 104), the toilet lid position detection unit 9 is referred to, and if the toilet lid 8 is open (step 105), the flushing water supply unit 4 is controlled with the toilet lid 8 open to flush the bowl section 3 (step 103). If the toilet lid 8 is closed in step 105, the toilet lid 8 may be opened (step 106) and the flushing water supply unit 4 may be controlled to flush the bowl section 3 (step 103). After flushing the bowl section 3 with the toilet lid 8 open, if a predetermined time has passed or if the human body detection sensor is referred to and there is no human body, the toilet lid 8 may be closed. Also, in step 101, if the seating sensor is referred to and there is a seated state, the flushing water supply unit 4 may be controlled with the toilet lid 8 open to flush the bowl section 3. Also, instead of the long press operation as the second operation pattern, the operation may be a multiple press operation. Alternatively, the first operation pattern may be either a long press operation or a multiple press operation, and the second operation pattern may be a normal press operation.

Next, another example of the basic operation performed in the toilet device 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the explanation of operations similar to the first basic operation example will be omitted or will be explained briefly. Also, the explanation of the action and effect achieved similar to the first basic operation example will be omitted or will be explained briefly.

In the second basic operation example, as shown in FIG. 3, if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the first operation pattern, the control unit 15 controls the flushing water supply unit 4 and the toilet lid drive unit 6 to supply flushing water to the bowl unit 3 with the toilet lid 8 closed. On the other hand, if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the first operation pattern before a predetermined time has elapsed after the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the second operation pattern, the control unit 15 controls the flushing water supply unit 4 and the toilet lid drive unit 6 to supply flushing water to the bowl unit 3 without closing the toilet lid 8. With this configuration, as described above, under normal circumstances, if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the first operation pattern, flushing can be performed with the toilet lid 8 closed. Also, if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the first operation pattern before a predetermined time has elapsed after the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the second operation pattern, flushing can be performed with the toilet lid 8 open. In other words, after operating the flushing operation unit 12 in the second operation pattern, by operating the flushing operation unit 12 in the first operation pattern until a predetermined time has elapsed, it is possible to flush multiple times with the toilet lid 8 open without closing the toilet lid 8.

Specifically, the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the first operation pattern (normal pushing operation) (step 200), and if the toilet lid 8 is open (step 207), the toilet lid 8 is closed (step 208), and the bowl portion 3 is flushed with the toilet lid 8 closed (step 209). If the toilet lid 8 is closed in step 207, the bowl portion 3 is flushed with the toilet lid 8 closed (step 209).
On the other hand, if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the second operation pattern (e.g., a long press operation) (step 201), the timer is started and a predetermined time is counted (step 202). This predetermined time may be an appropriate time depending on the time required to flush the toilet lid 8 with the toilet lid 8 open for cleaning or the like, and may be, for example, about 5 to 20 minutes.

In step 202, if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the first operation pattern without the predetermined time having elapsed (step 203) and the toilet lid 8 is open (step 204), the bowl portion 3 is flushed with the toilet lid 8 open (step 206). If the toilet lid 8 is closed in step 204, the toilet lid 8 may be opened (step 205) before the bowl portion 3 is flushed (step 206). Also, in step 202, until the predetermined time has elapsed, each time the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the first operation pattern, the bowl portion 3 is flushed with the toilet lid 8 open, as described above. On the other hand, if the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the first operation pattern after the predetermined time has elapsed in step 202, the bowl portion 3 is flushed with the toilet lid 8 closed as described above.

In the third basic operation example, when the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the first operation pattern and the second operation pattern, as shown in FIG. 2(b) and FIG. 4, it is the same as the first basic operation example described above. In this basic operation example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the third operation pattern, the control unit 15 controls the flushing water supply unit 4 and the toilet lid drive unit 6 to supply flushing water to the bowl unit 3 without closing the toilet lid 8, and then close the toilet lid 8. With this configuration, when the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the third operation pattern, the toilet lid 8 can be closed after flushing in an open state. The third operation pattern may be an operation pattern different from the first operation pattern and the second operation pattern. For example, the first operation pattern may be a normal push operation, the second operation pattern may be a long push operation, and the third operation pattern may be a multiple push operation.

Specifically, when the flushing operation unit 12 is operated in the third operation pattern (step 107), if the toilet lid 8 is open (step 108), the bowl portion 3 is flushed with the toilet lid 8 open (step 110), and the toilet lid 8 is closed (step 111). If the toilet lid 8 is closed in step 108, the toilet lid 8 may be opened (step 109), and then the bowl portion 3 is flushed (step 110), and the toilet lid 8 may be closed (step 111).
The above-described basic operation examples are merely examples, and various other modified operations are possible. Furthermore, the configurations of the members and parts of the toilet device 1 according to the present embodiment are merely examples, and various other modifications are possible.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 toilet device 3 bowl section 4 flush water supply section 6 toilet lid drive section 8 toilet lid 12 flush operation section 15 control section

Claims (4)

A toilet device comprising: a bowl portion that opens upward; a toilet lid that opens and closes the opening of the bowl portion; a toilet lid drive portion that opens and closes the toilet lid; a flushing operation portion that is operated when flushing water is supplied to the bowl portion; a flushing water supply portion that supplies flushing water to the bowl portion; and a control portion that controls the flushing water supply portion and the toilet lid drive portion so that, when the flushing operation portion is operated in a predetermined first operation pattern, flushing water is supplied to the bowl portion with the toilet lid closed, and, when the flushing operation portion is operated in a predetermined second operation pattern different from the first operation pattern, flushing water is supplied to the bowl portion without closing the toilet lid. A toilet device comprising: a bowl portion that opens upward; a toilet lid that opens and closes the opening of the bowl portion; a toilet lid drive portion that opens and closes the toilet lid; a flushing operation portion that is operated when flushing water is supplied to the bowl portion; a flushing water supply portion that supplies flushing water to the bowl portion; and a control portion that controls the flushing water supply portion and the toilet lid drive portion so that, if the flushing operation portion is operated in a predetermined first operation pattern, flushing water is supplied to the bowl portion with the toilet lid closed, and, if the flushing operation portion is operated in the first operation pattern within a predetermined time period after the flushing operation portion is operated in a predetermined second operation pattern different from the first operation pattern, flushing water is supplied to the bowl portion without closing the toilet lid. In claim 1,
The control unit controls the flushing water supply unit and the toilet lid drive unit to supply flushing water to the bowl unit without closing the toilet lid, and then close the toilet lid when the flushing operation unit is operated in a predetermined third operation pattern different from the first operation pattern and the second operation pattern. In any one of claims 1 to 3,
The toilet device, wherein the first operation pattern is a normal push operation, and the second operation pattern is one of a long push operation and a multiple push operation.

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