JPH09125495A - Hot water-washing toilet seat device and judging method of its service condition - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To use a detective function in common at both cases with use of a toilet seat and without use thereof, by providing a judging means receiving reference data signals from an optical sensor and comparing the level displacement of the reference data signals with the frequency of the level variation and discriminating the service conditions. SOLUTION: When the data of signal input from an photo-detector 1 which has received the reflective beam from a luminous element, into a microcomputer, have increased by several bits or more than a basic value, it is judged that the hot water-washing toilet seat is used and the data are stored in RAM. When the data have decreased by several bits or more than the stored initial value it, is judged that the use of the toilet seat has ceased and the basic value is contained in the RAM. When the toilet seat is erected, the reflective beam from the toilet seat inside wall is not received by the photodetector and hence, the data are abruptly reduced lower than the basic value. In this time, it is judged that the toilet seat is erected and the cleaning function and the drying function are brought to a stop.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot water washing toilet seat device, and more particularly to a hot water washing toilet seat for both sitting and standing which corresponds to a predetermined washing method by appropriately distinguishing the sitting and standing positions. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, generally, in a hot water washing toilet seat device, the usage state of the hot water washing toilet seat device is judged and a corresponding washing method is appropriately selected. In this case, it is important to properly identify and judge the usage state of the warm water flush toilet seat device. As an example of such a hot water washing toilet seat device, in the case of inversion, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-256807 proposes a hot water washing toilet seat device as shown in FIG. As shown in the conceptual diagram of FIG. 5, in the conventional example, as a method of determining the usage state, the light emitting element 2 and the current obtained at both ends of the light receiving surface by light reception are associated with the detected object M. , Light receiving element (semiconductor position detecting element: PSD) configured to be proportional to the incident position of light
A distance sensor S including a light emitting element 2 is provided.
7 shows the reflected light from the object M to be detected by the light receiving element (PSD) 1 ', and the output current due to the light received by the light receiving element (PSD) 1'is shown in FIG. Input to the signal processing circuit 12 including the current-voltage conversion circuit unit 13, the subtraction circuit unit 14, the addition circuit unit 15, and the incident position detection circuit unit (microcomputer) 16, and the arithmetic processing by the signal processing circuit 12 Distance D between detection object M and distance sensor S
Is calculated and the distance D is detected to determine whether the hot water washing toilet seat device is in use.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional warm water washing toilet seat device, the light receiving element 1'provided in the distance sensor S has its light receiving surface as shown in the sectional view of FIG. Requires a special semiconductor position detecting element (PSD) configured so that the current obtained at both ends of the element is proportional to the incident position of light, and using the output current of the semiconductor position detecting element (PSD) In order to calculate the distance D between the detected object M and the distance sensor S,
As shown in FIG. 7, a special signal processing circuit is required. Therefore, there are disadvantages that the system of the hot water washing toilet seat device becomes expensive and the number of constituent parts increases.

Further, since the presence / absence of the hot water washing toilet seat device is being used is determined by referring to the absolute value itself of the electric signal output from the signal processing circuit, the hot water for both sitting and standing is used. When it is applied to a flush toilet seat device, there is a drawback that it is not possible to determine both the sitting and standing use states by only one type of detection device as in the conventional example.

[0005]

The hot water washing toilet seat device of the first invention is a hot water washing toilet seat device for both sitting and standing which is provided with a light emitting element and a light receiving element for detecting the presence / absence of use in the toilet seat sheet portion. Receiving the reference data signal corresponding to the data signal level received and output by the light receiving element for the reflected light of the projection light of the light emitting element which varies depending on the usage state of the hot water washing toilet seat device, and the reference data It is characterized in that at least a means for determining the presence or absence of a use state is provided with reference to the level change amount of the signal and the level change frequency of the data signal.

In the warm water washing toilet seat device of the first aspect of the present invention, as means for determining the presence / absence of the usage state, an amplification means for amplifying and outputting the data signal, and a reference output from the amplification means. A microcomputer having at least an A / D conversion function for determining whether or not the hot water washing toilet seat device is in use is referred to by referring to the level change amount of the data signal and the level change frequency of the data signal. Good.

A method of determining the use state of a warm water washing toilet seat device according to the second invention is to use in a warm water washing toilet seat device for both sitting and standing, which is provided with a light emitting element and a light receiving element for detecting the presence or absence of the use state in the toilet seat portion. In the state determination method, the base level value of the reference data signal corresponding to the data signal level of the light receiving element output in the unused state is stored as an initial value in the storage means of the microcomputer functioning as a means for determining the presence or absence of the used state. Step, determining whether the data value of the reference data signal is a value larger than the initial value by several bits or more, and if affirmative, it is determined that the warm water flush toilet seat device is in the sitting use state, The step of storing the reference data signal at that time in the storage means of the microcomputer, and the reference data corresponding to the state of use It is determined whether the data value of No. is smaller than the initial value by a few bits or less, and if the affirmed state remains unchanged for several cycles, it is determined that the seating use state has ended. A step of storing the initial value in the storage means of the microcomputer as at least a method for determining the presence / absence of seating use state, and when the toilet seat portion is raised, the data value of the reference data signal is more than the initial value. Also determines whether it is a small value of several bits or less, and if affirmative, it judges that it is in the standing use state, stops the cleaning function and the drying function, and outputs the reference data signal The data value of the reference data signal is larger than the initial value by several bits or more in correspondence with the step of storing in the storage means of the computer and the state of use. It is judged whether or not the, upright usage state is determined to have ended when the state in which the condition to be the positive does not change for several cycles continues,
A step of storing the initial value in the storage means of the microcomputer as at least a method for determining whether or not the user is standing upright.

[0008]

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 (a) is a conceptual diagram showing a structural cross section of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (b) is a conceptual diagram showing the back surface of the sheet of the one embodiment. FIG. 1 (a)
And (b), the installation location of the light receiving element 1 and the light emitting element (LED) 2 is shown corresponding to the toilet seat portion 3. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are image diagrams of the optical paths of the optical signal at the time of sitting and standing, respectively, and the detected object M, buttocks 5, light receiving element 1, light emitting element (L
ED) 2, toilet seat portion 3 and optical path 4 are clearly shown.

Further, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an equivalent circuit in the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a determination procedure for determining whether or not the hot water flush toilet seat device is in use in the present embodiment. . Hereinafter, the operation function of the conventional embodiment will be described with reference to these drawings.

In FIG. 3, first, in the unused state of the warm water washing toilet seat device, the light emitting element (LE) when not in use
D) In order to set the light emission output of 2, the light emitting element (LE
D) The drive current for 2 is set to a predetermined current value. At that time, the only signal input to the light receiving element 1 including the phototransistor is the current generated by the light reflected on the inner wall of the toilet seat. By selecting the output port 7 of the microcomputer 11 via the resistance circuit 10 so that the signal level input to the light receiving element 1 at this time becomes the initial value of the ground state, the light emitting element (LE
D) Set the drive current value for 2. Next, when the user sits down, as shown in FIG. 2A, the amount of signal input to the light-receiving element 1 is in addition to the signal due to the reflected light from the inner wall of the toilet described above, as well as the buttocks 5 of the user. A signal due to reflected light from is also added. Therefore, the signal level input to the A / D port 8 of the microcomputer 11 via the signal amplification element 6 increases more rapidly than the base value set as described above. When the user leaves the seat, the signal level input to the A / D port 8 returns to the original ground level. As described above, in the present embodiment, as a means for determining the usage state of the warm water washing toilet seat device by using the change in the signal level of the light receiving element 1, the determination processing procedure by the microcomputer 11 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. It is easily realized by performing based on.

In FIG. 4, first, in step 101, the A / D port 8 to the microcomputer 11
The ground state data input to is used as an initial value, and the initial value is stored in a predetermined RAM. Then, Step 10
2, the microcomputer 11 performs A / D every time the main routine of the program makes one cycle.
The data of the port 8 is read, and it is determined whether or not the data value is larger than the initial value stored in the RAM by several bits (α) or more, and the data value is several bits or more than the initial value. If it is increasing, it is determined from that moment that the warm water flush toilet seat device is in the sitting use state, and the data value of the A / D port 8 at that time is stored in the RAM in step 103. Then, in step 104, during the subsequent use state, the A / D is calculated every time the main routine of the program makes one revolution.
It is determined whether the data value input from the port 8 to the microcomputer 11 is smaller than the initial value stored in the RAM by a few bits (α) or less, and the data value is smaller than the initial value. If the number of bits has not decreased, the process returns to step 104 again, and if the data value has decreased to a few bits or less than the initial value and remains unchanged for several cycles. Is determined to be in the sitting use state, the initial value (base value) is stored in the RAM in step 105, and the process returns to step 102.
That is, when the user is seated, it is possible to deal with the fine movements when using the seat by using the method of performing the judgment process based on both the change of the data value input to the A / D port 8 and the frequency of the change. The effect of data fluctuation within a short time can be ignored.

In the standing position, the toilet seat sheet portion 3
When the light is generated, the light reflected from the inner wall of the toilet bowl is received by the light receiving element 1
The data input to the microcomputer 11 from the A / D port 8 sharply decreases because the data is not obtained at. Therefore, in step 102, since the data value input to the A / D port 8 is lower than the initial value stored in the RAM, step 106 is performed.
In step 106, whether the data value input from the A / D port 8 to the microcomputer 11 is smaller than the initial value stored in the RAM by several bits (α) or less is determined. In this case, of course, in this case, since the data value is at a level sufficiently lower than the initial value, from that moment,
It is determined that the warm water flush toilet seat device is in the standing position, and unnecessary cleaning function and drying function are stopped when standing. Then, in step 107, the data value of the A / D port 8 at that time is stored in the RAM. Then, in step 108, the data value input to the microcomputer 11 from the A / D port 8 is stored in the RAM every time the main routine of the program makes one revolution during the subsequent use state. It is determined whether or not the value is larger than the initial value by several bits (α) or more, and if the data value has not increased to several bits from the initial value, the process returns to step 108 again, and If the data value has increased by several bits or more from the initial value and remains unchanged for several cycles, it is determined that the standing use state has ended, and step 109 Where R
The initial value (base value) is stored in AM, and the process returns to step 102. That is, even when standing up, A
By adopting a method of performing judgment processing based on both the change of the data value input to the / D port 8 and the frequency of the change, the influence of the data change within a short time corresponding to the fine movement during use can be reduced. Can be ignored.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, the seating /
It is applied to a toilet seat device for hot water washing that also serves as an upright position, and a system is configured only by a light emitting element, a light receiving element, a signal amplifying element, and a microcomputer with a built-in A / D conversion that are commonly used, without using special components. Therefore, there is an effect that the cost can be reduced by using a smaller number of general components.

Further, it is possible to judge the presence or absence of the use state based on the amount of change in the signal output from the light receiving element and the frequency of the change in the signal, and it is possible to determine whether the user is sitting or standing by using only one type of detecting device. There is an effect that the time detection function can also be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a structural cross section and a back surface of a sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an optical path image diagram of an optical signal when using a seat and when using a standing posture according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram related to a use state detection function of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a usage state detection processing procedure in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a distance detection function of a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is a light receiving element of a conventional example (semiconductor position detecting element: PS
It is a block diagram of D).

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a conventional signal processing circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Light receiving element 1'Light receiving element (PSD) 2 Light emitting element 3 Toilet seat section 4 Optical path 5 Buttocks 6 Signal amplification element 7 Output port 8 A / D port 9 Resistor 10 Resistor circuit 11 Microcomputer 12 Signal processing circuit 13 Current-voltage conversion circuit Part 14 Subtraction circuit part 15 Addition circuit part 16 Incident position detection circuit part (microcomputer)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location G01S 17/06 G01S 17/06

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A warm water washing toilet seat device for both sitting and standing, comprising a light emitting element and a light receiving element for detecting the presence / absence of use in the toilet seat portion, wherein the hot water washing toilet seat device varies depending on the usage state of the hot water washing toilet seat device. Receiving the reflected light of the projected light of the light emitting element by the reference data signal corresponding to the data signal level received and output by the light receiving element, and referring to the level change amount of the reference data signal and the level change frequency of the data signal Then, the hot water washing toilet seat device is provided with at least means for determining whether or not it is in use. 2. The means for determining the presence or absence of the usage state,
Whether or not the hot water washing toilet seat device is in use, with reference to the amplification means for amplifying and outputting the data signal and the level change amount of the reference data signal output from the amplification means and the level fluctuation frequency of the data signal. A / D that distinguishes
The warm water washing toilet seat device according to claim 1, which is configured to include at least a microcomputer having a conversion function. 3. A method of determining a usage state in a seated / standing hot-water washing toilet seat device comprising a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element for detecting the presence / absence of a usage state on a toilet seat sheet, and data of the light-receiving element output in an unused state. Storing the base level value of the reference data signal corresponding to the signal level as an initial value in the storage means of the microcomputer functioning as a means for determining the presence or absence of the use state, and the data value of the reference data signal is the initial value. Is determined to be a large value of several bits or more, and if the result is affirmative, it is determined that the warm water washing toilet seat device is in the sitting use state, and the reference data signal at that time is stored in the storage means of the microcomputer. The step of storing and the data value of the reference data signal is several bits or less than the initial value, corresponding to the usage state. It is determined whether it is a small value, and if the affirmative state remains unchanged for several cycles, it is determined that the seating use state has ended,
A step of storing the initial value in the storage means of the microcomputer, and a method for determining at least the presence / absence of seating use state, wherein the data value of the reference data signal is greater than the initial value when the seat portion is raised. Also determines whether it is a small value of several bits or less, and if affirmative, it is determined that it is in the standing use state, and the cleaning function and the drying function are stopped,
A step of storing the reference data signal in the storage means of the microcomputer at that time, and whether or not the data value of the reference data signal is larger than the initial value by several bits or more depending on the use state. Determining that the standing use state has ended when the affirmative state remains unchanged for several cycles, and stores the initial value in the storage means of the microcomputer. A method for judging the condition of use of a toilet seat device for warm water washing, characterized by having a method for judging the presence or absence of standing condition.