JPH0161133B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a toilet bowl cleaning device that automatically cleans the toilet bowl by sensing the user of the toilet bowl.

Conventionally, there have been various structures for this type of toilet bowl cleaning device, but the representative one is the
There is one in Publication No. 19420.

The device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-19420 includes a sensing section that detects the use of the toilet bowl, an electric control section that operates based on the sensing signal, and a water supply section that supplies flush water to the toilet bowl based on the output of the electric control section. The electric control unit is configured to allow a predetermined time period from sensing to supplying cleaning water to be adjusted as appropriate, and to ignore the sensing signal during this time. However, this device takes a predetermined amount of time to supply cleaning water after sensing, depending on the situation at the installation site.
For example, it can be set arbitrarily depending on the frequency of use, etc., but once it is set, it is rarely changed after that, and if the set time is to be changed, it must be done by conscious operation.

However, the time it takes for urine to develop a bad odor varies depending on the temperature; the higher the temperature, the faster the urine decomposes, and when the temperature is high, such as in the summer, a bad odor will build up in the toilet within a short time after urinating. The conventional toilet bowl cleaning device described above cannot deal with this problem.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to automatically adjust the predetermined time from sensing to cleaning to an optimal time depending on the room temperature of the toilet.

The configuration of the present invention to achieve the above technical problem includes a sensing section that detects the use of the toilet bowl, an electric control section that operates based on the sensing signal, and a supply of flush water to the toilet bowl based on the output of the electric control section. a water supply section, and the electric control section operates the water supply section after a predetermined period of time after sensing the water supply section, and is configured to ignore the sensing signal during the predetermined period of time; The present invention is to provide an outside temperature correction circuit that automatically adjusts the predetermined time according to the room temperature of the toilet in which the toilet is installed, and shortens the predetermined time as the room temperature increases.

The sensor unit detects the user and the toilet bowl is flushed after a predetermined time, but the outside temperature correction circuit is activated automatically depending on the room temperature of the toilet during the predetermined time from the detection to the flushing. The time period is adjusted and becomes shorter as the room temperature rises, so even when the temperature is high, urine can be reliably washed before it rots and generates a bad odor, and this prevents bad odor from building up in the toilet. Can be done.

Hereinafter, an example of implementation of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

In the figure, 2 is a sensing section, 3 is an electric control section, 4 is a water supply section, and 1 is a toilet bowl, and the sensing section 2 is constituted by a known photoelectric sensor that changes the amount of reflected light.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sensing unit 2 has a main body 5 that is connected to a base 6, a support 7 that is rotatable in a horizontal plane with respect to the base 6, and a support that is attached to the tip of the support 7 in a vertical plane. The head 8 is rotatably attached to the head 8, and the head 8 is equipped with a light projecting section 9, a light receiving section 10, and a pilot lamp 11.

Therefore, this sensing section 2 can freely change the projection angle.

This sensing section 2 is attached to the ceiling near the toilet bowl 1, and projects infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, etc., for example, infrared light, into the space where the toilet user is located.

A part of the infrared light is diffusely reflected by the floor and walls of the toilet, and a certain amount of the reflected light is reflected by the light receiving section 10.
However, when a toilet user enters the projection space and a portion of the projected light is further reflected or absorbed by the human body, and the amount of light received by the light receiving section 10 changes, a signal is sent to the electric control section 3.

The electric control section 3 is integrally equipped with a cleaning switch section 12, as shown in the block diagram of FIG.

The electric control unit 3 includes a gate circuit b that removes noise and extracts only a predetermined signal from the sensing unit 2 through an OR circuit a, a first memory circuit c that stores the signal and operates a _T1 timer circuit d, and It operates for T ₁ hour based on the signal from the first memory circuit c, and when the time is up, it issues a signal that activates the T ₀ timer circuit g and the first memory reset circuit e, which will be described later.
_T1 timer circuit d and a _first memory reset circuit e which receives a signal from T1 timer circuit d or the second memory circuit j of the cleaning switch section 12 and sends a signal to the first memory circuit c to erase its memory; ₁
A T0 timer circuit g which receives a signal from the timer circuit d or the second memory circuit j of the cleaning switch section 12 through an OR circuit f and outputs an output signal for _T0 time, and an output signal from _{the T0} timer circuit g. It is composed of an output circuit h that increases the width of the current and energizes the water supply unit 4, and an outside temperature correction circuit i that sends a signal to the _T1 timer circuit d to change its operating time depending on the room temperature.

As shown in FIG. 11, for example, the outside temperature correction circuit i constitutes an oscillation circuit using a thermistor Th and a capacitor, and changes the frequency according to the outside temperature, increasing the frequency as the outside temperature increases. The voltage of the circuit is compared with the constant voltage using an IC comparator, and when the voltage of the transmitting circuit is higher than the constant voltage, a pulse is sent to the counter of the _T1 timer circuit C.

Therefore, the time for the counter to count a predetermined number of pulses, that is, the time for the _T1 timer d to time up, changes depending on the temperature; if the outside temperature is high, the time _T1 will be shorter, and if the outside temperature is low, the time _T1 will be shorter.
T ₁ hour is a long time.

Note that the _T1 time can be set by adjusting the time as appropriate, and here it is set to 30 seconds to 15 minutes.

In addition, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned outside temperature correction circuit i calculates, for example, T ₁ hour at 0°C, T ₁ ⁰ hour, 15°C.
If T ₁ ^{is 15} hours at 30°C and T ₁ is ³⁰ hours at 30°C, then T ₁ ⁰ =
It is set so that 1.2T ₁ ³⁰ and T ₁ ³⁰ = 0.8T ₁ ¹⁵ .

The relationship between this temperature and T ₁ hour is shown graphically in Figure 5.

Note that the relationship between temperature and T ₁ hour is arbitrary; it is sufficient that the lower the temperature, the longer the T ₁ hour, and the shorter the temperature, the shorter the T ₁ hour.

When the cleaning switch 12 receives a signal from the cleaning switch k which outputs an operation signal to operate the second memory circuit j and the cleaning switch k, it stores the signal and also outputs the T ₂ timer circuit l and the T ₀ timer circuit g. and a second memory circuit j that outputs a signal to the first memory reset circuit e and the second memory circuit j.
A T2 timer circuit l which operates for _T2 hours in response to a signal from T2 and outputs a signal to activate the second memory reset circuit m when the time is up, and _{a T2} timer circuit l.
and a second memory reset circuit m which receives the signal and erases the memory in the second memory circuit j.

The water supply unit 4 is a known electromagnetic flush valve that integrally combines a flush valve 13 and a driving electromagnet 14. The inlet side of the flush valve 13 is connected to a water supply source via a water supply pipe 15, and the outlet side is connected to a water supply source through a water supply pipe 15. It is connected to the toilet bowl 1 via a drainage pipe 16.

When the water supply section 4 receives the output from the electric control section 3, the plunger 18 is attracted to the fixed iron core 19 side by the electromagnetic force of the coil 17 of the electromagnet 14, and the push rod 20 provided integrally with the plunger 18 is advanced. and press the starting rod 21 of the flash valve 13.
The flush valve 13 is operated to flush water into the toilet bowl 1.

Then, after T ₀ hours, the output of the electric control section 3 disappears and the pressing force on the push rod 20 is released, the starting rod 21 retreats due to the elastic force of the spring 22, and the flush valve 13 releases one wash water. The system is configured to drain water and shut off the water supply.

The operation of this toilet bowl cleaning device will be explained below. When the sensing section 2 senses the use of the toilet bowl 1, the sensing signal passes through the OR circuit a and the gate circuit b, is stored in the first memory circuit c, and activates the _T1 timer circuit d. When the _T1 timer circuit d times up, the _T0 timer circuit g is activated, the _T0 time output circuit h is activated, the electromagnet 14 of the water supply section 4 is driven, the flush valve 13 is opened, and the first memory is reset. Activate circuit e, erase the memory of first memory circuit c, and wait for the next sensing signal.

Therefore, when the first use of the toilet bowl is sensed, the first memory circuit c of the control unit 3 stores the sensing signal, and while it is memorizing, it does not accept the next sensing signal, so the memory of the first memory circuit c is No matter how many times the toilet bowl 1 is used, the sensing signal is ignored until it disappears, that is, until the _T1 timer circuit d times up after _T1 time has passed and the water supply unit 4 is activated to flush the toilet bowl 1.

Therefore, if the above T ₁ time is called the ignored time, then
No matter how many times toilet bowl 1 is used during this ignored time,
It can be done with just one wash.

At this time, this ignored time is corrected to an optimal time according to the temperature inside the toilet by the outside temperature correction circuit i.

Next, a case will be described in which water is flushed regardless of the user's detection, such as when cleaning the toilet bowl 1.

In this case, the switch k of the cleaning switch section 12 is turned on to activate the second memory circuit j.
Once the switch k is turned on, the second memory circuit j memorizes it and starts the _T2 timer circuit l and also operates the _T0 timer circuit g, so the _T0 time output circuit h is activated and the water supply section 4 drive. On the other hand, when the _T2 timer circuit 1 times out, it activates the second memory reset circuit m, erases the memory in the second memory circuit j, and waits for the next turning on of the cleaning switch k.

Therefore, when the first operation signal is generated, the second memory circuit j memorizes it and performs cleaning, but while the signal is memorized, no matter how many times the switch k is turned on again, the second memory circuit j will not accept it. No cleaning will be performed. This T ₂ time is tentatively called a prohibition time, and the T ₂ time is set to, for example, 10 seconds to 30 seconds. When the _T2 timer circuit l times up, the second memory reset circuit m is activated, and the memory in the second memory circuit j is erased, and the switch k is turned on, cleaning is performed again at that point.

Next, the sensing part 2 and the cleaning switch k
We will explain the case where the inputs overlap.

First, when the user senses that the switch k is turned on before the _T1 timer circuit d times up, the second memory circuit j will turn on the switch k.
T ₀ timer circuit g is activated (cleaned)
At the same time, the first memory reset circuit e is activated,
The memory of the first memory circuit c is erased, and the elapsed time of the _T1 timer circuit d is also canceled.

Also, if switch k is turned on and cleaned, and there is a detection while T ₂ timer circuit l is operating, T ₁
The timer circuit d is activated and cleaning is performed after _T1 hours.

The time chart is shown in Figure 6.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of another embodiment, in which the control section of the first embodiment described above includes a counter control section 23 that counts sensing signals and generates an output when a predetermined number is reached, and a control section output. An equipment protection control unit 24 that generates a control unit output after ₄ hours when there is no input to the sensing unit for a long period of time is incorporated therein. The part (excluding part 12) obtains an output in T ₁ hour when the sensing part 2 senses the user and the count does not reach the set number of the counter control part 23;
This is temporarily called the ignore control section 25.

The counter control section 23 is composed of a third memory circuit n, a _T3 timer circuit o, a counting circuit p, a third memory reset circuit q, a counter reset circuit r, and a counter setting external switch s, and includes OR circuits a, f, The gate circuit b, the T ₀ timer circuit g, and the output circuit h are shared by the neglect control section 25, the cleaning switch section 12, and the equipment protection control section 24.

If only this counter control section 23 is taken out, a block diagram as shown in FIG. 8 will be obtained.

The sensing signal from the sensing section 2 passes through the OR circuit a and the gate circuit b and enters the third memory circuit n.

Upon receiving the sensing signal, the third memory circuit n enters the memory state and starts a _T3 timer circuit o, which can be set for example from 15 seconds to 60 seconds.

When the third memory circuit o is in the storage state, it does not accept the sensing signal. After the _T3 timer circuit o has started and the duplicate detection prevention time _T3 has elapsed, the _T3 timer circuit o times up and generates a pulse signal, and activates the third memory reset circuit q to reset the third memory.
The storage state of the memory circuit o is released, and the third memory circuit o accepts a new sensing signal.

The counting circuit p counts the pulse signals, and the pulse signals are counted by a predetermined number set by the counter setting external switch s (set to 3 in this embodiment).
When the T ₀ timer circuit g is activated, an output is generated from the T ₀ output circuit h during which the T ₀ timer circuit g is operating, and the water supply section 4 is operated.

Furthermore, the counter reset circuit r is activated by the operation of the output circuit h, and the count of the counting circuit p is returned to zero.

The time chart is shown in Figure 9.

The equipment protection control unit 24 starts the T ₀ timer circuit g and operates the output circuit h in order to prevent the sealing water in the toilet bowl 1 from evaporating and scaling to occur when the toilet bowl 1 is not flushed for a long time. For example, a _T4 timer circuit that can be set from 3 hours to 24 hours,
It is composed of a T ₄ timer reset circuit u, and an OR circuit a, f, a T ₀ timer circuit g, and an output circuit h are shared by the ignore control section 25, the counter control section 23, and the cleaning switch section 12.

The equipment protection control circuit 24 is activated by using the toilet bowl 1 or by turning on the cleaning switch k _.
When the timer circuit g is started and the output circuit h is activated, the _T4 timer reset circuit u is activated and the elapsed time of the _T4 timer circuit t is reset.

When the _T0 timer circuit g times up, the _T4 timer reset circuit u stops operating and the _T4 timer circuit t starts. Therefore, T ₄ hours will be tentatively referred to as equipment protection time.

Note that an outside temperature correction circuit may be added to this equipment protection control circuit 24.

When the T ₀ timer circuit g is started by using the toilet bowl 1 or by turning on the cleaning switch k before the T 4 timer circuit t times up, the T ₄ timer circuit t is reset by the _{T 4 timer} reset circuit u.
The elapsed time will be reset, but if the elapsed time is
When the T ₀ timer circuit g does not start, the T ₄ timer circuit t times up, starts the T ₀ timer circuit g, and supplies water to the toilet bowl 1.

Simultaneously with starting the T timer circuit g, the _T4 timer reset circuit u operates to reset the elapsed time of the _T4 timer circuit t, and when the operation of the _T0 timer circuit g stops, the _T4 timer circuit t starts again.

The time chart for the entire second embodiment is as follows.
FIG. 11 shows an example of the circuit configuration.

Since the present invention has the above configuration, it has the following unique effects.

When the temperature is high, cleaning is performed in a short predetermined period of time, so urine is cleaned before it dries, which reduces scale buildup on the toilet bowl and drain pipe.

When the outside temperature is low, such as in winter, cleaning takes a long time, which saves water.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a toilet bowl cleaning device showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the water supply section, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the sensing section, Fig. 4 is a block diagram, and Fig. 5 is a A graph showing the relationship between the time from sensing to cleaning and room temperature. Figure 6 is a time chart. A is when only the sensing part is sensed, B is when the sensing part is sensed and the cleaning switch is turned on. In this case, C shows the case where only the cleaning switch part is turned on, FIG. 7 is a block diagram of another embodiment (second embodiment), and FIG.
FIG. 9 is a time chart of the counter control section, FIG. 10 is a time chart of the entire second embodiment, and FIG. 11 is a circuit configuration diagram. 1...Toilet bowl, 2...Sensing section, 3...Electric control section, 4...
Water supply section, i...Outside temperature correction circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sensing part that detects the use of the toilet bowl, an electric control part that operates based on the sensing signal, and a water supply part that supplies flush water to the toilet bowl based on the output of the electric control part, and the electric control part detects the use of the toilet bowl. In the toilet bowl flushing device, the water supply unit is activated after a predetermined period of time, and the sensing signal is ignored during the predetermined period of time. A toilet bowl cleaning device characterized by being equipped with an outside temperature correction circuit that automatically adjusts the time and shortens the predetermined time as the room temperature rises.