JP7499632B2 - Cleaning toilet seat device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a toilet seat cleaning device that sprays liquid onto the inner surface of a toilet bowl before the user uses the bowl.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional water purification toilet seat device equipped with a pre-cleaning spray function that, when a human body detection sensor detects that a user has entered the toilet room, causes a spray device to spray a mist of cleaning liquid onto the inner surface of the toilet bowl to prevent dirt from adhering or sticking. Also, instead of the human body detection sensor in Patent Document 1, a water purification toilet seat device is known in which a lid sensor is provided on the axis of an openable and closable toilet lid, and the action of opening the toilet lid detected by this lid sensor is used as a trigger to perform a pre-cleaning spray before the user uses the toilet. In this case, the choice of whether or not to use the pre-cleaning spray function must be separately set in advance, and the factory default setting is set to "pre-cleaning on" which uses the pre-cleaning function.

JP 2019-173539 A

In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when the user enters the toilet room, the spray device performs a pre-cleaning spray on the inner surface of the toilet bowl. In addition, mist can also be sprayed on the inner surface of the toilet bowl by manual operation from a remote control, which is a remote control unit separate from the main body. However, in this case, even if the pre-cleaning spray is not necessary, unless the default setting is changed regardless of manual operation of the remote control, the pre-cleaning spray on the inner surface of the toilet bowl is forcibly performed every time the user enters the toilet room or opens the toilet lid, and the effect of saving cleaning liquid cannot be expected.

In addition, the main reason why a user would need to manually operate the remote control to perform an additional flushing spray is if they visually notice that dirt remains on the inside of the toilet bowl after performing a pre-flush spray. However, if the user's manual operation from the remote control is accepted unconditionally, the effect of saving on cleaning fluid would not be expected due to unnecessary flushing sprays on the inside of the toilet bowl.

The present invention aims to provide a toilet seat cleaning device that can conserve cleaning fluid without unnecessary cleaning sprays being activated.

The cleaning toilet seat device of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises, in a main body, a nozzle device which sprays cleaning liquid onto the user's private parts, and a spraying device which sprays cleaning liquid to wet the toilet bowl, and an operating body which operates the spraying device is provided in a remote control unit provided separately from the main body, and cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device only when the operating body is operated, and the manner in which cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device varies by changing the manner in which the operating body is operated, and the force of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the spraying device increases the longer the operating body is pressed .

The cleaning toilet seat device of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises, in a main body, a nozzle device which sprays cleaning liquid onto the user's private parts, and a spraying device which sprays cleaning liquid to wet the toilet bowl, and an operating body which operates the spraying device is provided in a remote control unit provided separately from the main body, and cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device only when the operating body is operated, and the manner in which cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device can be changed by changing the manner in which the operating body is operated, so that when the operating body is pressed for a short period of time less than a certain period of time, cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device for a preset set period of time, and when the operating body is pressed for a period of time longer than the certain period of time, cleaning liquid continues to be sprayed from the spraying device for a period of time longer than the set period of time in proportion to the time the operating body is kept pressed.

According to the present invention, regardless of whether the user enters the toilet room or opens the toilet lid, the spray device sprays cleaning liquid onto the inner surface of the toilet bowl only when the user operates the operating body. This allows the user to select the operation of the cleaning spray onto the inner surface of the toilet bowl at will, and prevents unnecessary cleaning sprays from being operated, thereby providing a cleaning toilet seat device that can be expected to save cleaning liquid.

According to the present invention, the way in which cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device can be switched between multiple modes simply by changing the way the operating body is operated, thereby providing a user-friendly toilet seat device that keeps the number of operating bodies to a minimum.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration example of a cleaning toilet seat device in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cleaning toilet seat device as viewed from the bottom side. 2A and 2B are a plan view and a front view of the remote control according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the main body of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the remote control according to the first embodiment.

Below, a preferred embodiment of the cleaning toilet seat device of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of a cleaning toilet seat device 10 that is installed around a toilet bowl 1 in a toilet room S. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the main body 11 of the cleaning toilet seat device 10, viewed from the back (bottom side). In each of these figures, the toilet bowl 1 has a concave bowl portion 2 with an open upper surface that receives waste, and this bowl portion 2 forms the inner surface of the toilet bowl 1. The main body 11 of the cleaning toilet seat device 10 is installed on top of the toilet bowl 1. A roughly rectangular remote control 12 is detachably disposed as a remote control for the cleaning toilet seat device 10, separate from the main body 11, on, for example, a side wall in the toilet room S. The cleaning toilet seat device 10 of this embodiment is composed of the main body 11 and the remote control 12.

The main components of the main body 11 are a casing 13 which is the main body part, a toilet seat 14 which is O-shaped in plan view, and a toilet lid 15 which covers the toilet seat 14. The casing 13 is made of a synthetic resin outer shell member consisting of a main body fixing plate 17 which is attached and fixed to the rear part of the upper surface of the toilet bowl 1, and a cover 18 which covers the upper surface of the main body fixing plate 17. The toilet seat 14 and toilet lid 15, both made of synthetic resin, are rotatably attached to the casing 13. With the toilet lid 15 open as shown in FIG. 1, a user (not shown) can sit with his/her buttocks on the toilet seat 14 by tilting the toilet seat 14 towards the toilet bowl 1. Whether or not the user is sitting on the toilet seat 14 is detected by a seating sensor 19 provided in the front center of the casing 13. The seating sensor 19 which serves as a seating detection means is, for example, an infrared sensor which does not come into contact with the user.

On the underside of the bottom of the toilet seat 14, multiple convex seat legs 20 are arranged at intervals, which come into direct contact with the top surface of the toilet bowl 1 when the toilet seat 14 is tilted down towards the toilet bowl 1. One of the toilet seat legs 20 may incorporate a mechanical seat switch as a seat detection means, instead of the seat sensor 19 described above. In this case, it is possible to detect whether or not the user is seated on the toilet seat 14, depending on whether or not the seat switch is pressed when the toilet seat leg 20 comes into contact with the toilet bowl 1.

21 is a main body operation unit provided on the side of the casing 13. The main body operation unit 21 includes various operation buttons including, for example, flush buttons such as a butt button and a bidet button, and a stop button, and user operations are input via these operation buttons. 22 is a main body display unit provided on the top of the casing 13. The main body display unit 22 includes indicator lamps such as a power lamp, a deodorizing lamp, a power saving lamp, and a toilet seat lamp, and the display forms of these indicator lamps inform the user of the operating status of each part of the cleaning toilet seat device 10. A remote control light receiving unit 23 that receives infrared signals from the remote control 12 is arranged alongside the main body display unit 22 on the top of the casing 13.

A so-called movable cleaning nozzle 25 is provided at the front lower part of the casing 13. The cleaning nozzle 25, which corresponds to a nozzle device, is cylindrical and extends linearly along the front-rear direction of the main body 11, and is arranged so as to be movable back and forth along the front-rear direction of the main body 11. One or more nozzles (not shown) are provided on the peripheral surface of the tip of the cleaning nozzle 25 so that cleaning liquid is efficiently sprayed toward the private parts of the user sitting on the toilet seat 14 when the cleaning nozzle 25 is advanced to a position protruding from below the toilet seat 14. In addition, a nozzle guard 26 that is convex toward the bottom of the main body 11 is integrally formed on the main body fixing plate 17 that forms the bottom of the casing 13 to protect the cleaning nozzle 25 housed in the casing 13 when the cleaning nozzle 25 is retracted to a position below the toilet seat 14. The material of the cleaning nozzle 25 is preferably stainless steel to maintain cleanliness, but other materials may be used. In addition, although neither is shown in the present embodiment, the washing nozzle 25 is made up of a rear washing nozzle that sprays washing liquid onto a first local area of the user, and a bidet washing nozzle that sprays washing liquid onto a second local area different from the first local area of the user. The rear washing nozzle and the bidet washing nozzle are each movable along the same axis or separate axes.

28 is a spraying device provided inside the casing 13 close to the cleaning nozzle 25. The spraying device 28 has one or more spray outlets 29 arranged on the front bottom of the casing 13 so that cleaning liquid is sprayed toward the bowl portion 2 of the toilet 1. In order to protect the spray outlets 29, a nozzle guard 31 is integrally formed on the main body fixing plate 17 in a convex shape facing downward from the main body 11 so as to surround the spray outlets 29. In order to supply tap water to the cleaning nozzle 25 and the spraying device 28, a main body water intake 32 is provided on the rear side of the casing 13, which communicates with a stop valve (not shown) previously installed in the toilet room S. The cleaning nozzle 25 and the spraying device 28 spray tap water as a liquid supplied from the main body water intake 32 as it is, or sterilized water generated from tap water as a cleaning liquid. A sterilization device (not shown) may be further incorporated inside the casing 13 to generate sterilized water from tap water.

In addition, the casing 13 has a built-in deodorizing unit 34 to reduce and remove odors in the toilet bowl 1. The deodorizing unit 34 is configured by arranging a deodorizing filter 37 and a deodorizing fan 38 (see FIG. 4) in a deodorizing passage (not shown) between an intake port 35 provided at the front bottom of the casing 13 facing the top surface of the toilet bowl 1, and an exhaust port 36 provided at the rear of the casing 13. The deodorizing filter 37 is detachably provided inside the casing 13 facing the exhaust port 36, and can be replaced with a new deodorizing filter 37 as necessary. The deodorizing fan 38 is arranged between the exhaust port 36 and the deodorizing filter 37, and while the deodorizing fan 38 is operating, it sucks in odors in the toilet bowl 1 from the exhaust port 36 and forcibly sends them to the deodorizing filter 37, where the odors are removed and the odor-reduced air is discharged from the exhaust port 36.

Figure 3 shows the external configuration of the remote control 12. In the figure, the remote control 12 is equipped with a remote control operation section 41 having a number of buttons 41-1 to 41-15 arranged on its front and top surfaces, and a remote control display section 42 having a number of lamps 42-1 to 42-3 arranged on the front surface of the remote control 12. The remote control operation unit 41 is configured by arranging a stop button 41-1, a butt button 41-2, a bidet button 41-3, and a move button 41-4 side by side on the upper front part of the remote control 12, a front button 41-5 and a rear button 41-6 for adjusting the nozzle position, a weak button 41-7 and a strong button 41-8 for adjusting the water pressure, a hot water temperature adjustment button 41-9, and a toilet seat temperature adjustment button 41-10 side by side on the lower front part of the remote control 12, and a power saving 1 button 41-11, a power saving 2 button 41-12, a mist button 41-13, a deodorization button 41-14, and a nozzle cleaning button 41-15 side by side on the top surface of the remote control 12. The remote control display unit 42 is configured with multiple water pressure lamps 42-1 arranged above the water pressure adjustment buttons 41-7 and 41-8, multiple hot water temperature lamps 42-2 arranged above the hot water temperature adjustment button 41-9, and multiple toilet seat temperature lamps 42-3 arranged above the toilet seat temperature adjustment button 41-10. Note that the layout of the remote control operation unit 41 and remote control display unit 42 shown in FIG. 3 is only one example, and can be changed, added, or deleted as appropriate depending on the specifications of the cleaning toilet seat device 10.

Next, an example of the electrical configuration including the control system of the cleaning toilet seat device 10 will be described. Figure 4 shows an example of the electrical configuration of the main body 11, in which the control means 51 is mainly composed of, for example, a microcomputer as an arithmetic and control device, a memory as a recording medium, an input/output interface for analog/digital conversion, etc., and is mounted inside the casing 13 to control the overall operation of the main body 11. The main body operation unit 21, the seating sensor 19, and the remote control light receiving unit 23 are each electrically connected to the input port of the control means 51, and the hot water heater 52, the toilet seat heater 53, the water supply pump 54, the switching valve 55, and the first motor unit 56 are each electrically connected to the output port of the control means 51 in addition to the main body display unit 22 and the deodorizing fan 57.

The hot water heater 52 corresponds to a liquid heating means for heating the tap water to be supplied to the cleaning nozzle 25, and is configured, for example, by arranging a linear heater in a water supply passage leading to the cleaning nozzle 25 inside the casing 13. The toilet seat heater 53 corresponds to a toilet seat heating means for heating the toilet seat 14, and is configured, for example, by arranging a linear heater in a serpentine shape on a metal sheet member inside the toilet seat 14. The water supply pump 54 corresponds to a liquid supply means for supplying tap water to the cleaning nozzle 25 and the spraying device 28, and is configured, for example, by a pulsating pump driven by a motor built into the casing 13. The switching valve 55 corresponds to a switching means for supplying tap water sent out from the water supply pump 54 to either the cleaning nozzle 25 (bottom washing nozzle or bidet washing nozzle) or the spraying device 28. The first motor unit 56 corresponds to a first drive mechanism for moving the cleaning nozzle 25 from the main body 11 to a desired position, and in this embodiment, one or more motors are used as drive sources to move the rear cleaning nozzle and the bidet cleaning nozzle to their respective desired positions.

As a modification of this embodiment, a lid sensor 58 may be electrically connected to the input port of the control means 51, and a second motor unit 59 may be electrically connected to the output port of the control means 51. The lid sensor 58 is disposed on the shaft (not shown) of the toilet lid 15 as a lid opening detection means for detecting when the toilet lid 15 is open, and the toilet lid 15 is provided so as to be rotatable around this shaft. The second motor unit 59 corresponds to a second drive mechanism for moving the ejection device 28 to a desired position, and is configured to move the ejection device 28, particularly the ejection port 29, to a desired position using a single motor as a drive source.

The control means 51 outputs display control signals to the main body display 22 based on each operation signal from the main body operation unit 21 and the remote control light receiving unit 23, and each detection signal from the seat sensor 19 and, in the modified example, the lid sensor 58, and also has the function of outputting drive control signals to the deodorizing fan 38, the hot water heater 52, the toilet seat heater 53, the water supply pump 54, the switching valve 55, the first motor unit 56, and, in the modified example, the second motor unit 59. These functions are realized by the control means 51 reading, with the arithmetic and control device, a program recorded in the memory, which serves as the recording medium described above, and, in this embodiment in particular, the control means 51 is provided with a program that causes it to mainly function as the heating control unit 61, the cleaning control unit 62, and the deodorizing control unit 63.

The heating control unit 61 controls the operation of the hot water heater 52 and toilet seat heater 53, which are the heating means of the cleaning toilet seat device 10. Specifically, the heating control unit 61 sends an appropriate control signal to the hot water heater 52 so that the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 25 is heated to the hot water temperature stored and set in the memory of the control unit 51, regardless of whether the user is seated on the toilet seat 14 in normal mode, and sends an appropriate control signal to the toilet seat heater 53 so that the toilet seat 14 is heated to the toilet seat temperature stored and set in the memory separately. Moreover, the heating control unit 61 adjusts and changes the hot water temperature stored and set in the memory stepwise in the order of "OFF" → "Low" → "Medium" → "High" → "OFF" each time the hot water temperature adjustment button 41-9 of the remote control operation unit 41 is pressed and the operation signal is received by the remote control light receiving unit 23, and adjusts and changes the toilet seat temperature stored and set in the memory stepwise in the order of "OFF" → "Low" → "Medium" → "High" → "OFF" each time the toilet seat temperature adjustment button 41-10 of the remote control operation unit 41 is pressed and the operation signal is received by the remote control light receiving unit 23. Here, when the hot water temperature adjustment button 41-9 is manually operated to be in the "OFF" state, that is, when the hot water temperature is not set and stored in the memory, the heating control means 61 stops the supply of electricity to the hot water heater 52 and stops heating the cleaning liquid from the cleaning nozzle 25. Similarly, if the toilet seat temperature adjustment button 41-10 is manually operated to the "off" state, i.e., if the toilet seat temperature is not set and stored in the memory, the power supply to the toilet seat heater 53 is stopped, and heating of the toilet seat 14 is stopped.

In addition, the heating control unit 61 has the function of switching the operation of the toilet seat heater 53 between the above-mentioned normal mode and power saving first mode each time the power saving 1 button 41-11 on the remote control operation unit 41 is pressed and the operation signal is received by the remote control light receiving unit 23, and switching the operation of the toilet seat heater 53 between the above-mentioned normal mode and power saving second mode each time the power saving 2 button 41-12 on the remote control operation unit 41 is pressed and the operation signal is received by the remote control light receiving unit 23. When the power saving 1 mode is set by the power saving 1 button 41-11, the heating control unit 61 automatically sets a power saving toilet seat temperature that is lower than any of the normal toilet seat temperatures that can be set by the hot water temperature adjustment button 41-9, regardless of the normal toilet seat temperature that is stored and set in memory by the hot water temperature adjustment button 41-9, and when the seat sensor 19 detects that a user has sat on the toilet seat 14, it sends an appropriate control signal to the toilet seat heater 53 so that the toilet seat heater 53 is energized until the toilet seat 14 reaches the set normal toilet seat temperature, and when the seat sensor 19 detects that the user has stood up from the toilet seat 14, for example, and is no longer seated on the toilet seat 14, it sends an appropriate control signal to the toilet seat heater 53 so that the toilet seat 14 reaches the power saving toilet seat temperature. In this way, in the first power saving mode, when the user is not seated on the toilet seat 14, the operation of the toilet seat heater 53 is controlled so that the toilet seat 14 is at a power saving toilet seat temperature, thereby shortening the time that electricity is applied to the toilet seat heater 53 and achieving a power saving effect.

In addition, when the power saving 2 mode is set by the power saving 2 button 41-12, the heating control unit 61 stops the supply of electricity to the hot water heater 52 and the toilet seat heater 53 until a first hour (e.g., 8 hours) has elapsed since the power saving 2 mode was set, and until a second hour (e.g., 16 hours) has elapsed since the first hour has elapsed, the hot water heater 52 is energized so that the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 25 has the set hot water temperature, and the toilet seat heater 53 is energized so that the toilet seat portion 14 has the set toilet seat temperature, and thereafter, the operations for the first and second hours are repeated until the setting is switched from the power saving 2 mode to the normal mode by the power saving 2 button 41-12. However, when the seating sensor 19 detects that the user has sat on the toilet seat 14, even during the first period, the hot water heater 52 is energized so that the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 25 has the set hot water temperature, and the toilet seat heater 53 is energized so that the toilet seat 14 has the set toilet seat temperature. As a result, for example, if the second power-saving mode is set before going to bed, the power supply to the hot water heater 52 and the toilet seat heater 53 can be stopped unless the user sits on the toilet seat 14 during the nighttime hours when it is not used much, and power can be saved.

The flushing control unit 62 controls the operation of the water supply pump 54, the switching valve 55, the first motor unit 56, and in a modified example, the second motor unit 57, which serve as the flushing means of the flushing toilet seat device 10. Specifically, during the period when the seating sensor 19 detects that the user is seated on the toilet seat 14, the cleaning control unit 62 accepts operation inputs from the stop button, buttocks button, and bidet button on the main unit operation unit 21 and the stop button 41-1, buttocks button 41-2, and bidet button 41-3 on the remote control operation unit 41, and when the buttocks button on the main unit operation unit 21 or the buttocks button 41-2 on the remote control operation unit 41 is pressed during this seating period, the cleaning control unit 62 operates the first motor unit 56 so that the buttocks cleaning nozzle in the cleaning nozzle 25 moves forward from a retracted position below the toilet seat 14 to a protruding position, and supplies tap water as a cleaning liquid delivered from the water supply pump 54 to the buttocks cleaning nozzle, and controls the operation of the water supply pump 54 and the switching valve 55 so that tap water is sprayed from the nozzle of the buttocks cleaning nozzle towards the first private part of the user with a set water force (pressure). In addition, when the bidet button on the main body operation unit 21 or the bidet button 41-3 on the remote control operation unit 41 is pressed during the above-mentioned sitting period, the wash control unit 62 operates the first motor unit 56 so that the bidet wash nozzle in the wash nozzle 25 advances from a retracted position below the toilet seat 14 to a protruding position, and controls the operation of the water supply pump 54 and the switching valve 55 so that tap water delivered from the water supply pump 54 is supplied to the bidet wash nozzle and the tap water is sprayed from the outlet of the bidet wash nozzle toward the user's second private parts with a set water force. Furthermore, when the stop button on the main body operation unit 21 or the stop button 41-1 on the remote control operation unit 41 is pressed during a rear wash in which the rear wash nozzle sprays tap water to wash a first private part of the user while the user is seated on the toilet seat 14, or during a bidet wash in which the bidet nozzle sprays tap water to wash a second private part of the user, the wash control unit 62 stops the operation of the water supply pump 54 so that the spray of tap water from the rear wash nozzle or the bidet wash nozzle stops, and controls the operation of the first motor unit 56 so that the rear wash nozzle or the bidet wash nozzle returns to their retracted positions.

The cleaning control unit 62 accepts operation inputs from the move button 41-4, front button 41-5, and back button 41-6 of the remote control operation unit 41 during the above-mentioned rear wash and bidet wash. For example, when the move button 41-4 is pressed during a rear wash, the cleaning control unit 62 controls the operation of the first motor unit 56 so that a move wash is performed in which the rear wash nozzle moves back and forth continuously within a predetermined range. Similarly, when the move button 41-4 is pressed during a bidet wash, the cleaning control unit 62 controls the operation of the first motor unit 56 so that a move wash is performed in which the bidet wash nozzle moves back and forth continuously within a predetermined range. This allows the user's first and second private parts to be washed over a wide area.

When the front button 41-5 is pressed during rear washing, the washing control unit 62 controls the operation of the first motor unit 56 to move the rear washing nozzle further forward than before, and when the rear button 41-6 is pressed during rear washing, the washing control unit 62 controls the operation of the first motor unit 56 to move the rear washing nozzle further backward than before. Similarly, when the front button 41-5 is pressed during bidet washing, the washing control unit 62 controls the operation of the first motor unit 56 to move the bidet washing nozzle further forward than before, and when the rear button 41-6 is pressed during bidet washing, the washing control unit 62 controls the operation of the first motor unit 56 to move the bidet washing nozzle further backward than before. This allows the first and second private parts of the user to be washed with pinpoint precision.

Furthermore, the cleaning control unit 62 accepts operation inputs from the weak button 41-7, strong button 41-8 and nozzle cleaning button 41-15 on the remote control operation unit 41, regardless of whether the user is seated on the toilet seat 14. For example, when the weak button 41-7 for adjusting water pressure is pressed, the cleaning control unit 62 resets the water pressure of the tap water sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 25 during rear wash or bidet wash to a weaker pressure than before, whereas when the strong button 41-8 for adjusting water pressure is pressed, the cleaning control unit 62 resets the water pressure to a stronger pressure than before. This setting is possible even when a rear wash or bidet wash is not in progress, allowing the user to perform a rear wash or bidet wash at the water pressure of their choice. In addition, when the nozzle cleaning button 41-15 is pressed, the cleaning control unit 62 controls the operation of the water supply pump 54, the switching valve 55, and the first motor unit 56 so that the cleaning nozzle 25 is advanced from a retracted position below the toilet seat 14 to a predetermined position while cleaning the cleaning nozzle 25 with tap water spurting from the nozzle of the cleaning nozzle 25. This makes it possible to wipe the cleaning nozzle 25 advanced to a predetermined position while cleaning the cleaning toilet seat device 10 with tap water, or to clean the cleaning nozzle 25 removed from the main body 11.

In this embodiment, the flushing control unit 62 receives an operation input from the mist button 41-13 of the remote control operation unit 41, regardless of whether the user has opened the toilet lid 15 or whether the user has sat on the toilet seat 14, and when the mist button 41-13 is pressed, the flushing control unit 62 controls the operation of the water supply pump 54 and the switching valve 55 so that tap water sent from the water supply pump 54 is supplied to the spray device 28 and the tap water serving as the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spray outlet 29 toward the bowl portion 2 of the toilet bowl 1 for a certain period of time to wet the inner surface of the bowl portion 2. The flushing control unit 62 has a flushing spray function for the toilet bowl 1, including a pre-flush spray that sprays a mist of cleaning liquid from the spray device 28 toward the inner surface of the bowl portion 2 of the toilet bowl 1 when the mist button 41-13 of the remote control operation unit 41 is pressed, regardless of whether the user has entered the toilet room S, opened the toilet lid 15, or sat on the toilet seat 14. Here, a remote control 12 separate from the main body 11 is used, and the flushing control unit 62 receives only the operation input from the mist button 41-13 provided as an operating body on the remote control 12, and flushing spray is performed from the spraying device 28 onto the toilet bowl 1, eliminating the need for a lid sensor that triggers the opening of the conventional toilet lid 15.

As a modified example, in a cleaning toilet seat device 10 equipped with a lid sensor 58, the cleaning control unit 62 receives a detection signal from the lid sensor 58 when the toilet lid 15 is opened from a closed state, in addition to the operation input from the mist button 41-13 of the remote control operation unit 41 described above. In this case, when the user opens the toilet lid 15 to use the toilet 1, the cleaning control unit 62 receives a detection signal from the lid sensor 58 and controls the operation of the water supply pump 54 and the switching valve 55, respectively, to perform a pre-cleaning spray in which tap water serving as a cleaning liquid is sprayed from the nozzle 29 of the spraying device 28 toward the bowl portion 2 of the toilet 1 for a certain period of time. Even if the mist button 41-13 is pressed at least between the start and end of the pre-cleaning spray, the cleaning control unit 62 does not accept any operation input from the button, invalidating it and suppressing unnecessary cleaning spray toward the toilet 1. On the other hand, when the mist button 41-13 is pressed after the pre-cleaning spray has finished and a certain amount of time has passed to allow the user to check for dirt adhering to the inner surface of the bowl portion 2, the cleaning control unit 62 will then accept the operation input from the mist button 41-13 regardless of the detection output from the lid sensor 58, and will be able to perform an additional cleaning spray toward the toilet bowl 1.

In this modified example, instead of the lid sensor 58, a human body detection means such as an infrared sensor that detects the user's entry into the toilet room S may be used. In this case as well, when the human body detection means detects the presence of a user, a pre-cleaning spray is performed in which cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spray device 28 toward the bowl portion 2 of the toilet 1, and at least from the start to the end of the pre-cleaning spray, even if the mist button 41-13 is pressed, no operation input from the mist button 41-13 is accepted and the operation is invalidated. Then, after a certain time has passed since the end of the pre-cleaning spray, the cleaning control unit 62 is configured to accept operation input from the mist button 41-13 regardless of the detection output from the lid sensor 58, and to perform an additional cleaning spray toward the toilet 1.

Regardless of whether the toilet is equipped with the above-mentioned lid sensor 58 or human body detection means, as long as the seat sensor 19 detects that a user is seated on the toilet seat 14, the flushing control unit 62 disables operation of the mist button 41-13, preventing the misted tap water from the spraying device 28 from splashing on the user.

As another variation, in a cleaning toilet seat device 10 equipped with a second motor unit 59 that allows the spraying device 28 to move relative to the main body 11, the cleaning control unit 62 may be configured to accept operation of the mist button 41-13 while the user is seated on the toilet seat 14, rather than disabling operation from the mist button 41-13, and control the operation of the second motor unit 59 so that cleaning liquid is sprayed in a different direction compared to when the user is not seated on the toilet seat 14, when the mist button 41-13 is operated while the user is seated on the toilet seat 14. In addition to this, or instead of this, the operation of the water supply pump 54 may be controlled so that the water pressure of the cleaning liquid is weakened when the mist button 41-13 is operated while the user is seated on the toilet seat 14, compared to when the user is not seated on the toilet seat 14. In either case, when the mist button 41-13 is operated while the user is seated on the toilet seat 14, the spraying device 28 is configured to spray cleaning liquid in a different way than when the user is not seated on the toilet seat 14, thereby preventing the user from getting cleaning liquid from the spraying device 28.

The deodorizing control unit 63 controls the operation of the deodorizing fan 38 built into the deodorizing unit 34. Specifically, when the seating sensor 19 detects that a user has sat on the toilet seat 14, the cleaning control unit 63 starts the operation of the deodorizing fan 38 to remove odors from inside the toilet bowl 1, and when the seating sensor 19 subsequently detects that the user is no longer seated on the toilet seat 14, the cleaning control unit 63 stops the operation of the deodorizing fan 38 after a predetermined time (e.g., one minute) has elapsed.

The control means 51 sends a display control signal to the main body display unit 22 as necessary to visually inform the user of the operating state of the cleaning toilet seat device 10. For example, when a predetermined operating voltage is supplied to each unit including the control means 51, the control means 51 turns on the power lamp on the main body display unit 22, and when the heating control unit 61 controls the operation of the toilet seat heater 53 to heat the toilet seat unit 14, the control means 51 turns on the toilet seat lamp on the main body display unit 22. In addition, when the first power saving mode or the second power saving mode is set by the heating control unit 61, the control means 51 turns on the power saving lamp on the main body display unit 22 to indicate this, and when the deodorization control unit 63 becomes able to control the operation of the deodorization fan 38, the control means 51 turns on the deodorization lamp on the main body display unit 22 to indicate this. In addition, the control means 51 is configured to flash the lamp on the main body display unit 22 when some abnormality occurs in the main body 11.

Figure 5 shows an example of the electrical configuration of the remote control 12. The control means 61 in the figure is mainly composed of, for example, a microcomputer as an arithmetic and control device, a memory as a recording medium, an input/output interface for analog/digital conversion, etc., and is implemented inside the remote control 12 to control the overall operation of the remote control 12. The remote control operation unit 41 is electrically connected to the input port of the control means 61, and in addition to the remote control display unit 42, the remote control transmission unit 62 is electrically connected to the output port of the control means 51.

The control means 61 has a function of outputting a display control signal to the remote control display unit 42 based on each operation signal from the remote control operation unit 41, and outputting a transmission control signal corresponding to each operation signal to the remote control transmission unit 62. These functions are realized by the control means 61 reading a program recorded in the memory, which is the above-mentioned recording medium, with the arithmetic and control device, but in this embodiment in particular, the control means 61 is provided with a program that mainly functions as a remote control control unit 63. When any of the buttons 41-1 to 41-15 in the remote control operation unit 41 is pressed, the remote control control unit 63 receives the operation signal from the button and sends a transmission control signal to the remote control transmission unit 62. The remote control transmission unit 62 transmits a transmission signal corresponding to the control signal from the remote control control unit 63, and the control means 51 on the main body 11 side receives this at the remote control light receiving unit 23 and identifies which button 41-1 to 41-15 in the remote control operation unit 41 has been operated.

Next, the operation of the cleaning toilet seat device 10 configured as above will be described in detail, particularly with regard to the cleaning spray onto the toilet bowl 1. Note that before the user uses the toilet bowl 1, the toilet seat 14 is tilted down towards the toilet bowl 1 and the toilet lid 15 is closed so as to cover the top surface of the toilet seat 14 and the top opening of the bowl portion 2 of the toilet bowl 1.

In the present embodiment of the cleaning toilet seat device 10, which does not have a lid sensor 58, the user enters the toilet room S and opens the toilet lid 15 to use the toilet bowl 1. The user then sits on the toilet seat 14, and when this is detected by the seating sensor 19 provided on the casing 13, the deodorizing control unit 63 automatically starts the operation of the deodorizing fan 38 to remove odors from within the toilet bowl 1. When the user remains seated on the toilet seat 14 and presses the buttocks button 41-2 or bidet button 41-3 of the remote control operation unit 41, or the buttocks button or bidet button of the main body operation unit 21, the cleaning control unit 62 controls the operation of the water supply pump 54, the switching valve 55, and the first motor unit 56 to move the cleaning nozzle 25 forward from a retracted position below the toilet seat 14 to a protruding position, and also sprays tap water, which serves as a cleaning liquid, toward the user from the nozzle of the cleaning nozzle 25 with a preset water force to clean the user's private parts. Thereafter, when the user presses the stop button 41-1 on the remote control operation unit 41 or the stop button on the main body operation unit 21, the cleaning control unit 62 stops the operation of the water supply pump 54, stops the spraying of tap water from the cleaning nozzle 25, and controls the operation of the first motor unit 56 to return the cleaning nozzle 25 to its original retracted position. When the seating sensor 19 detects that the user has stood up and left the toilet seat 14, the deodorization control unit 63 stops the operation of the deodorization fan 38 after a predetermined time.

In the series of actions in which the user uses the toilet 1 described above, unless the user operates the mist button 41-14 on the remote control operation unit 41, that is, unless the user wishes to spray a cleaning jet toward the toilet 1, the spraying device 28 will not operate unnecessarily and tap water used as cleaning fluid will not be sprayed wastefully from the spraying device 28. In other words, regardless of whether the user enters the toilet room S or opens the toilet lid 15, only when the user wishes to operate the mist button 41-13 will the flushing control unit 62 control the operation of the water supply pump 54 and the switching valve 55, respectively, to spray tap water in a mist from the spraying device 28 toward the toilet 1, and the flushing toilet seat device 10 is expected to have the effect of saving on cleaning fluid. Moreover, because the mist button 41-13 is provided on a remote control 12 that is provided separately from the main body 11, the user can easily operate the mist button 41-13 on the remote control operation unit 41 before sitting on the toilet seat 14 to pre-wet the toilet bowl 1 with cleaning liquid from the spraying device 28, and the user can operate the mist button 41-13 to ensure good feces removal from the inner surface of the toilet bowl 1 without the need to bother to provide a lid sensor 58.

On the other hand, in the modified cleaning toilet seat device 10 provided with the lid sensor 58, the action of opening the toilet lid 15 before using the toilet 1 is used as a trigger, and the cleaning control unit 62 controls the operation of the water supply pump 54 and the switching valve 55 by the detection signal from the lid sensor 58, and tap water as cleaning liquid is sprayed in a mist form from the nozzle 29 of the spraying device 28 toward the toilet 1 for a certain period of time. Even if the user operates the mist button 41-13 of the remote control operation unit 41 during this pre-cleaning spray of the toilet 1, the cleaning control unit 62 does not accept the operation input from the mist button 41-13 and invalidates it, suppressing unnecessary cleaning spray toward the toilet 1. On the other hand, the cleaning control unit 62 accepts the operation input from the mist button 41-13 after a certain time has passed since the end of the pre-cleaning spray, and allows an additional cleaning spray to be performed toward the toilet 1 if the user has confirmed the dirt on the inner surface of the toilet 1 after the pre-cleaning spray.

Even if the cleaning toilet seat device 10 is equipped with a human body detection sensor as disclosed in Patent Document 1 instead of the lid sensor 58, when the human body detection sensor detects the user's actions when entering the toilet room S, the cleaning control unit 62 will not accept any operation input from the mist button 41-13 and will invalidate it while the cleaning control unit 62 is performing a pre-cleaning spray in which a mist of tap water is sprayed from the nozzle 29 of the spraying device 28 toward the toilet bowl 1 for a certain period of time, and will accept operation input from the mist button 41-13 once a certain period of time has passed since the end of the pre-cleaning spray. In this way, when the lid sensor 58 or human body detection sensor is provided, by only accepting operations to the mist button 41-14, unnecessary cleaning sprays will not be performed, and the cleaning toilet seat device 10 can be expected to conserve cleaning fluid.

Regardless of the presence or absence of the above-mentioned lid sensor 58 or human body detection sensor, at least while the user is seated on the toilet seat 14, the flushing control unit 62 receives a detection signal from the seating sensor 19 and disables operation input from the mist button 41-13 of the remote control operation unit 41. This prevents the mist of tap water from the spraying device 28 from splashing on the user. As a variation, in a flushing toilet seat device 10 configured to be able to move the spraying device 28 relative to the main body 11 by the second motor unit 59, if the mist button 41-13 is operated while the user is seated on the toilet seat 14, the flushing control unit 62 may control the operation of the second motor unit 59 to spray mist of tap water in a direction different from when the user is not seated on the toilet seat 14. Furthermore, if the mist button 41-13 is operated while the user is seated on the toilet seat 14, the flushing control unit 62 may control the operation of the water supply pump 54 to weaken the force of the tap water sprayed from the spraying device 28 compared to when the user is not seated on the toilet seat 14. Even in these cases, it is possible to prevent the misted tap water from the spraying device 28 from splashing on the user.

When the cleaning control unit 62 receives an operation input from the mist button 41-13, it controls the operation of the water supply pump 54 so that, for example, the longer the mist button 41-13 is pressed, the stronger the force of the tap water sprayed from the spraying device 28 becomes, or when the mist button 41-13 is pressed for a short time less than a certain time, tap water is sprayed from the spraying device 28 for a preset time, and when the mist button 41-13 is pressed for a long time equal to or longer than a certain time, tap water is sprayed from the spraying device 28 for a longer time than the preset time in proportion to the time the mist button 41-13 is pressed. In this way, if the spraying device 28 controls the operation of, for example, the water supply pump 54 so that the way the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device 28 varies depending on how the user operates the mist button 41-13, it becomes possible to switch between various ways of spraying the cleaning liquid from the spraying device 28 with a single mist button 41-13.

As described above, the cleaning toilet seat device 10 of this embodiment is equipped with the cleaning nozzle 25, which serves as a nozzle device for spraying cleaning liquid onto the user's private parts, and the spraying device 28, which sprays cleaning liquid to wet the toilet bowl 1, on the main body 11 attached to the toilet bowl 1, and the remote control 12, which serves as a remote control unit provided separately from the main body 11, is provided with a mist button 41-13 as an operating body for operating the spraying device 28. Even when the user enters the toilet room S in which the toilet bowl 1 is installed or opens the toilet lid 15 provided on the main body 11, cleaning liquid will not be sprayed from the spraying device 28, but only when the mist button 41-13 provided on the remote control 12 is operated, cleaning liquid will be sprayed from the spraying device 28.

Therefore, by providing a mist button 41-13 for operating the spray device 28 on the remote control 12 provided separately from the main body 11, the user can easily operate the device before sitting on the toilet seat 14, and by operating the mist button 41-13 to pre-wet the toilet 1 with cleaning liquid from the spray device 28, the feces can be easily removed from the inner surface of the bowl part 2 of the toilet 1. In addition, regardless of whether the user enters the toilet room S or opens the toilet lid 15, cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spray device 28 toward the inner surface of the bowl part 2 of the toilet 1 only when the user operates the mist button 41-13. Therefore, by allowing the user to select the operation of the cleaning spray toward the inner surface of the bowl part 2 of the toilet 1 at their own will, it is possible to provide a cleaning toilet seat device 10 that can be expected to conserve cleaning liquid without operating unnecessary cleaning sprays.

As a variation, the cleaning toilet seat device 10 may be configured to include the above-mentioned cleaning nozzle 25, the spraying device 28, and a mist button 41-13 as an operating body on the remote control 12, and when the human body detection means detects the presence of a user near the main body 11, or when the lid sensor 58 detects that the toilet lid 15 covering the top surface of the toilet bowl 1 has been opened, a pre-cleaning spray is performed to spray cleaning liquid from the spraying device 28 before the user uses the toilet bowl 1, and operation from the mist button 41-13 is disabled so that cleaning liquid is not sprayed from the spraying device 28 at least until the pre-cleaning spray is completed.

In this case, until the pre-cleaning spray, which sprays cleaning liquid from the spraying device 28 onto the inner surface of the bowl portion 2 of the toilet 1, is completed, operation from the mist button 41-13 is disabled and operation to the remote control 12 is only accepted to a limited extent, thereby preventing unnecessary cleaning sprays from being performed by the spraying device 28, and providing a cleaning toilet seat device 10 that can be expected to conserve cleaning liquid.

The above-mentioned cleaning toilet seat device 10 further includes a seating sensor 19 as seating detection means for detecting whether or not a user is present on the toilet seat 14, and is configured so that while the seating sensor 19 detects that a user is seated on the toilet seat 14, operation from the mist button 41-13 is disabled and cleaning liquid is not sprayed from the spraying device 28.

In this case, even if a user operates the mist button 41-13 while seated on the toilet seat 14, the operation is not accepted and is disabled, preventing the user from being sprayed with atomized cleaning liquid from the spraying device 28.

Alternatively, when the user operates the mist button 41-13 while seated on the toilet seat 14, the cleaning liquid may be sprayed from the spraying device 28 in a different manner than when the user is not seated on the toilet seat 14.

In this case, even if the user operates the mist button 41-13 while seated on the toilet seat 14, the way in which the cleaning liquid is sprayed is changed compared to when the user is not seated on the toilet seat 14, so that the mist of cleaning liquid from the spraying device 28 can be prevented from splashing on the user.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned cleaning toilet seat device 10 is configured so that the way cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device 28 varies depending on how the mist button 41-13 is operated.

As a result, simply by changing the way one mist button 41-13 is operated, the way in which cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device 28 can be switched between multiple options, providing a user-friendly cleaning toilet seat device 10 that keeps the number of operating objects for operating the spraying device 28 to a bare minimum.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment or its modified examples, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In this embodiment, a push-button type mist button 41-13 is provided on the remote control 12 as an operating body for operating the spraying device 28, but the operating form is not limited. For example, an operating body in place of the mist button 41-13 may be constituted by a transparent touch panel provided on the surface of the liquid crystal display device, and the manner in which the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device 28 may be changed by changing the way the user touches the touch panel.

1 Toilet bowl 10 Cleansing toilet seat device 11 Main body 12 Remote control (remote control unit)
15 Toilet lid 19 Sitting sensor (sitting detection means)
25 Cleaning nozzle (nozzle device)
28 Spray device 41-13 Mist button (operation body)

Claims (4)

A nozzle device for spraying cleaning liquid onto a user's private parts;
The toilet is provided with a spraying device for spraying cleaning liquid to wet the toilet bowl,
A remote control unit provided separately from the main body is provided with an operating body for operating the ejection device,
The cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device only when the operating body is operated,
By changing the manner in which the operating body is operated, the manner in which the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device is changed;
A toilet seat cleaning device characterized in that the force of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the spraying device becomes stronger as the operating body is pressed for a longer period of time. A nozzle device for spraying cleaning liquid onto a user's private parts;
The toilet is provided with a spraying device for spraying cleaning liquid to wet the toilet bowl,
A remote control unit provided separately from the main body is provided with an operating body for operating the ejection device,
The cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device only when the operating body is operated,
By changing the manner in which the operating body is operated, the manner in which the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device is changed;
This toilet seat cleaning device is configured so that when the operating body is pressed for a short period of time that is less than a certain period of time, cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device for a preset period of time, and when the operating body is pressed for a period of time that is longer than the certain period of time, cleaning liquid is continued to be sprayed from the spraying device for a period of time longer than the preset period of time in proportion to the time that the operating body is kept pressed . The toilet seat cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the operation from the operating body is disabled while the user is seated on the toilet seat. The cleaning toilet seat device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when the user operates the operating body while seated on the toilet seat, the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spraying device in a different manner than when the user is not seated on the toilet seat.

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