US20210045594A1

US20210045594A1 - Toilet device

Info

Publication number: US20210045594A1
Application number: US16/963,490
Authority: US
Inventors: Takahide Isomura; Keishi Horiuchi; Toru Katayama; Kenji Takemura; Yu Torikai; Nobuyuki Tanaka
Original assignee: Lixil Corp
Current assignee: Lixil Corp
Priority date: 2018-01-22
Filing date: 2019-01-15
Publication date: 2021-02-18
Also published as: WO2019142771A1; DE112019000473T5; JP7028655B2; CN111615352A; JP2019126406A

Abstract

A toilet device disposed at a toilet bowl has a main body fixed to an upper surface of the toilet bowl, a toilet seat supported by the main body, and a reflection-type optical sensor disposed at the toilet seat, the optical sensor having a light emitter configured to emit light from a surface of the toilet seat, and a light receiver configured to receive reflection light of the light.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national stage application under 35 USC 371 of International Application No. PCT/JP2019/000887, filed Jan. 15, 2019, which claims the priority of Japanese Application No. 2018-007841, filed Jan. 22, 2018, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to a toilet device.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Conventionally, a type of the toilet device is proposed to have a main body fixed to a rear side of an upper surface of a toilet bowl, a toilet seat and a toilet lid pivotally supported by the main body, and an optical sensor configured in the main body to be capable of detecting a user (human body) (For example, see Patent Document 1). In some embodiments the toilet device, shapes of a rear end side of the toilet seat and the toilet lid in a closed state thereof is configured in a manner that two end portions at the left and right sides which are supported by the main body extend toward the rear side with respect to a central portion such that the optical sensor is exposed in either of an open state or the closed state of the toilet seat and the toilet lid. Accordingly, it is possible to enable the detection by the optical sensor in either of the open state and the closed state of the toilet seat and the toilet lid.
Patent Document 1 Japanese Patent No. 4467866

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In some embodiments, the toilet device, the shape of the toilet seat and the like is determined as shown above to enable the detection by the optical sensor such that flexibility in design of the toilet seat is limited. In recent years, since the demand for appearance and cleanliness is also growing due to change in the consciousness of the user, there is room for improvement with respect to such toilet device.
The present disclosure is configured to achieve a main goal of enabling an appropriate detection by the optical sensor.
The present disclosure is configured to take the following methods so as to achieve the above-described main goal.
The toilet device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is configured as a toilet device disposed at a toilet bowl having a main body fixed to an upper surface of the toilet bowl, a toilet seat supported by the main body, and a reflection-type optical sensor disposed at the toilet seat having a light emitter configured to emit light from a surface of the toilet seat, and a light receiver configured to be able to receive reflection light of the light emitted by the light emitter.
The toilet device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is configured to have the light emitter emitting the light from the surface of the toilet seat and the reflection-type optical sensor with the light receiver being capable of receiving the reflection light of the light emitted by the light emitter which are disposed on the toilet seat supported by the main body such that the toilet device appropriately detects the entrance and sitting motion of the user. The optical sensor may be a sitting sensor configured to detect the sitting motion of the user on the toilet seat.
According to the toilet device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the toilet seat may have a sitting portion to which the user sits and an extending portion configured to extend backward from the sitting portion toward the main body to cover the main body, and the optical sensor may be disposed at the extending portion. The extending portion may have an inclination portion smoothly connected to the sitting portion and inclined backward from the sitting portion with an upward slope and a flat portion being substantially flat and extending backward from an upper end of the inclination portion, wherein the optical sensor may be disposed at the inclination portion. Accordingly, the optical sensor is disposed at an appropriate position for the detection without obstructing the sitting motion of the user on the toilet seat and it is possible to form the toilet seat in the shape to cover the main body. Here, in the case in which the optical sensor is disposed in the main body of the toilet device and the toilet seat is formed in the shape to make the optical sensor exposed, it is possible that a gap between the toilet seat and the main body is also exposed and dirt collects in the gap. Since the gap is prevented from being exposed by forming the toilet seat to cover the main body, the cleanliness of the toilet device can be maintained. Since the gap is prevented from being seen to make the external appearance of the toilet device to be elegant, the aesthetic appearance of the toilet device can be improved.
The toilet device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, may further comprise a hinge extending from a central side in a width direction so as to extend from either of the toilet seat or the main body toward the other of the toilet seat or the main body, the hinge fitting into a concave portion formed at the other one of the toilet seat and the main body to be pivotally supported, and being configured to rotatably support the toilet seat. Therefore, the hinge is fitted into the concave portion and pivotally supported such that the hinge is the configuration to stably support the toilet seat with less looseness. Thus, even in the case that the weight of the toilet seat increases due to the toilet seat being formed in the shape to cover the main body, it is possible to stabilize the open/close operation of the toilet seat. The toilet seat may be configured to be rotatably supported by the main body not only at the hinge but also at the two end sides in the width direction. Accordingly, the toilet seat is supported more stably at the two end sides and the central side in the width direction.
In the toilet device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the hinge may be supported by a hinge shaft having a hollow shaft shape, and the wiring of the optical sensor may be drawn through the hinge shaft to pass through an interval between the toilet seat and the main body. Accordingly, it is easy to draw the wiring of the optical sensor in the case when the optical sensor is disposed in the toilet seat.
In the toilet device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the toilet seat may be rotatably supported by the main body at the two end sides in the width direction, and the toilet device may have a damper which is configured to apply rotational resistance with respect to the toilet seat may be provided at least two positions among the positions where the toilet seat is supported by the main body at the two end sides and the positions where the hinge is pivotally supported by internal walls at the two sides of the concave portion. Accordingly, sudden open/close operations of the toilet seat can be appropriately prevented.
In the toilet device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the toilet seat may be rotatably supported by the main body at the two end sides in the width direction, and the toilet seat may have a damper which is configured to apply rotational resistance with respect to the toilet seat may be provided at three positions among the positions where the toilet seat is supported by the main body at the two end sides and the positions where the hinge is pivotally supported by the internal walls at the two sides of the concave portion. Accordingly, sudden open/close operations of the toilet seat can be appropriately prevented.
The toilet device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may have a toilet-lid-less structure without providing a toilet lid for covering the toilet seat. Accordingly, the position of the optical sensor disposed in the toilet seat is not restricted by the toilet lid such that the flexibility in design of the toilet seat can be further improved. Cost reduction of the toilet seat can be achieved since the toilet device is configured without the toilet lid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing the toilet bowl 1 to which the toilet device 10 is attached, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a configuration view showing an outline configuration of the toilet device 10, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing portions of the toilet device 10, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the toilet device 10, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing part of an internal configuration of the toilet device 10, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of a sitting sensor 40, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the sitting sensor 40, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing the toilet bowl 1 to which the toilet device 10 is attached. FIG. 2 is a configuration view showing an outline configuration of the toilet device 10. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing portions of the toilet device 10. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the toilet device 10. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing part of an internal configuration of the toilet device 10. In some embodiments, the left-right direction, the front/rear direction, and the up/down direction are shown as each figure. The configuration disposed in the toilet device 10 is shown by the dotted line in FIG. 2, and shown by the bold line as the solid line in FIG. 3 for convenience.
As shown in FIG. 1, the toilet bowl 1 is a western style toilet, and the toilet device 10 is disposed on an upper surface of the toilet bowl 1. The toilet device 10 has a toilet device main body 20 fixed to the rear side portion of the upper surface of the toilet bowl 1, and a toilet seat 30 pivotally supported by the toilet device main body 20 to be able to open and close. The toilet device 10 is configured to have a sitting sensor 40 configured to detect the sitting motion of a user (human body) and a state notification lamp 47 configured to notify the state of the toilet device 10 which are disposed in the toilet seat 30. The toilet device 10 is configured in a toilet-lid-less structure where the toilet lid covering the toilet seat 30 is not provided. An upper surface of the toilet seat 30 in a close state when the toilet seat 30 is in the close position (see FIG. 1) is defined as a front surface and a under surface is defined as a back surface. FIGS. 2-4 show an open state when the toilet seat 30 is in the open position. The toilet device 10 also has an operation panel configured to receive the operations from the user and the like, however, the view of the operation panel is omitted.
The toilet device main body 20 has a plurality of private part washing nozzles 22 (for example, two) configured to wash the private part of the user and a control device 24 configured to control the whole of the toilet device 10. The toilet device main body 20 is formed in a substantial triangular prism shape, wherein a lateral surface 20 a corresponding to a bottom surface of the triangular prism is in a substantial right angled triangle shape, and an inclination surface 20 b is formed to have a downward slope toward the front side. A right support block 25 and a left support block 26 are provided at the inclination surface 20 b. The right support block 25 and the left support block 26 are configured to support the toilet seat 30. The right support block 25 and the left support block 26 are formed in substantial rectangular solid shapes. The right support block 25 and the left support block 26 are formed to be apart from each other with a predetermined gap in the left-right direction (the width direction of the toilet seat 30), and a concave portion 27 is formed therebetween. The right support block 25 and the left support block 26 are formed in a left-right symmetry shape to sandwich the concave portion 27 and a control device 24 is disposed in the left support block 26.
The toilet seat 30 is configured to have a sitting portion 30 a formed in a substantial annular shape and configured for the user to sit on, an inclination portion 30 b smoothly connected with the sitting portion 30 a wherein the inclination portion 30 b inclines from the sitting portion 30 a toward the rear side with the upward slope, and a flat portion 30 c formed in a substantial flat shape extending from the upper end of the inclination portion 30 b toward the rear side. In other words, the toilet seat 30 is formed from the sitting portion 30 a and the inclination portion 30 b and the flat portion 30 c. The inclination portion 30 b and the flat portion 30 c extend from the sitting portion 30 a toward the rear side. The toilet seat 30 is configured to have the sitting portion 30 a, the inclination portion 30 b, and the flat portion 30 c integrally formed that boundaries of the portions are not determined in a rigorous manner. A toilet heater 38 is built in the toilet seat 30 and configured to heat a sitting surface which is a front surface of the sitting portion 30 a. The inclination portion 30 b is formed to be inclined along the inclination surface 20 b of the toilet device main body 20, and a sitting sensor 40 is provided at the central upper side in the left-right direction. The flat portion 30 c is provided with a state notification lamp 47 at the center thereof in the left-right direction. The toilet seat 30 is configured to cover the toilet device main body 20 from above by the inclination portion 30 b and the flat portion 30 c. In the toilet seat 30, a block accommodation portion 32 recessed to accommodate the right support block 25 and the left support block 26 of the toilet device main body 20 in the close state is formed at the back sides of the inclination portion 30 b and the flat portion 30 c respectively. At the two end sides in the left/right side of the block accommodation portion 32, a lateral wall portion 34 is formed as the lateral wall of the inclination portion 30 b and the flat portion 30 c. A rotation shaft 34 a is provided at the front end of the lateral wall portion 34 (the lower side in FIG. 2), and the toilet seat 30 is supported by the rotation shaft 34 a so as to be rotatable with respect to the toilet device main body 20.
In the toilet device 10, a center hinge 35 is provided between the toilet device main body 20 and the toilet seat 30. The center hinge 35 is configured from a rotation member 36 and a support member 37. The rotation member 36 fits into an internal lateral wall portion 25 a of the right support block 25 and the internal lateral wall portion 26 a of the left support block 26 which are the internal walls of the concave portion 27 of the toilet device main body 20 so as to be pivotally supported. The support member 37 is connected to the rotation member 26 while being connected to the bottom of the block accommodation portion 32. At the side of the internal lateral wall portion 25 a of the right support block 25, a main damper 28 is provided to be connected to the rotation shaft 36 a disposed at the right side in the rotation member 36 and configured to apply rotational resistance to the rotation member 36. The rotation member 36 is connected with the toilet seat 30 via the support member 37 such that the main damper 28 is configured to apply the rotational resistance to the toilet seat 30 along the rotation axis S1. In the rotation member 36, a hinge shaft 36 b is inserted from the inside of the rotation member 36 through the internal lateral wall portion 26 a of the left support block 26. Details of the hinge shaft 36 b is omitted, however, the hinge shaft 36 b is inserted into a hinge cylinder which is not shown in figures and provided at each of the internal lateral wall portion 26 a and the rotation member 36, and the hinge shaft 36 b connects the hinge cylinders to make the hinge cylinders to be able to relatively rotate around the rotation axis S2. The hinge shaft 36 b is formed in a hollow shaft shape. In the right lateral wall portion 25 b of the right support block 25, an auxiliary damper 29 is connected to the rotation shaft 24 a at the right lateral wall portion 34 of the toilet seat 30 and configured to apply the rotational resistance to the toilet seat 30 in the rotation axis S3. Similarly, in the left lateral wall portion 26 b of the left support block 26, the auxiliary damper 29 is connected to the rotation shaft 34 a at the left lateral wall portion 34 of the toilet seat 30 and configured to apply the rotational resistance to the toilet seat 30 in the rotation axis S4. The auxiliary damper 29 is configured to apply the rotational resistance less than the rotational resistance applied by the main damper 28. In order to provide convenience of description, the rotation axes S1-S4 are shown separately, however, the rotation axes S1-S4 are on the same axis line.
The sitting sensor 40, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, has a sensor main body 41, a hood 42, a sensor cover 43 and a packing 44. The sensor main body 41 has a light emitter 40 a configured to emit light such as the infrared light and the like and a light receiver 40 b configured to receive reflection light of the light emitted by the light emitter 40 a. The hood 42 is disposed between the sensor main body 41 and the sensor cover 43 and configured to prevent the diffused reflection inside the sensor cover 43. The sensor cover 43 is formed from the material having the optical transparency and attached to the sensor main body 41. The packing 44 is configured to prevent the water infiltration from the sensor main body 41 side. In a state when the sensor cover 43 is attached to the sensor main body 41 with the hood 42 being sandwiched therebetween and then the packing 44 is installed on the sensor cover 43, the sitting sensor 40 is installed to a sensor fixing member 37 a (see FIG. 5) disposed in the support member 37 of the center hinge 35. Then, when the support member 37 is attached to the rotation member 36 in the state when the sitting sensor 40 is installed to the sensor fixing member 37 a, the sitting sensor 40 is accommodated in the sensor accommodation portion 33 (see FIG. 4) to be incorporated in the toilet seat 30, wherein the sensor accommodation portion 33 is disposed at the bottom of the block accommodation portion 32 of the toilet seat 30. Accordingly, the sitting sensor 40 can detect whether the user sits on the toilet seat 40. When the sitting sensor 50 is incorporated into the toilet seat 30, the packing 44 is pressed to the back surface of the toilet seat 30 (inclination portion 30 b) so as to prevent the water infiltration from the sensor main body 41 side. The wiring 45 (see FIG. 3) of the sitting sensor 40 is drawn to pass through the support member 37, the rotation member 36, the hinge shaft 36 b, and the left support block 26 and then connected to the control device 24 disposed in the left support block 26. That is, the wiring 45 is drawn between the toilet seat 30 and the toilet device main body 20 through the hollow hinge shaft 36 b.
The state notification lamp 47 is configured from a plurality of LEDs, for example, the state notification lamp 47 has a power LED 47 a configured to be turned on in the state when the power is supplied, a power-saving LED 47 b configured to be turned on in the state when the power-saving mode is activated to reduce the power consumption, and an inspection LED 47 c configured to be turned on in the state at a predetermined inspection timing. The power-saving mode can be set by the above-described operation panel and the like. Wiring 48 of these state notification lamps 47 (see FIG. 3), similar to the wiring 45 of the sitting sensor 40, is connected to the control device 24 by being drawn through the hollow hinge shaft 36 b. The wiring 39 of the toilet heater 38 (see FIG. 3) is connected to the control device 24 by being drawn through the hollow hinge shaft 36 b.
The control device 24 which is not shown in figures is configured as a micro-computer having a CPU as a central part, and the control device 24 has a ROM, a RAN, an input-output port and the like besides the CPU. The detection signal from the sitting sensor 40 and the operation signal from the operation panel which is not shown in figures are input to the control device 24 via the input port. The driving signal for the private part washing nozzles 22, the driving signal for the toilet heater 38, the lighting signal for each LED of the state notification lamp 47 and the like are output from the control device 24 via the output port.
The toilet device 10 having such configuration is configured to detect whether the user sits on the toilet seat 30 based on the detection signal from the sitting sensor 40. When the sitting motion is detected based on the detection signal from the sitting sensor 40, the control device 24 is configured to output the driving signal to the toilet heater 38 based on the setting of the operation panel so as to heat the sitting surface of the toilet seat 30 and prepare to discharge the washing water from the private part washing nozzle 22. In the situation in which the sitting motion of the user is detected by the sitting sensor 40, the control device 24 is configured to discharge the washing water from the private part washing nozzle 22 based on the operation with respect to the operation panel. When the sitting motion is not detected due to the detection signal from the sitting sensor 40, the control device 24 is configured to terminate heating the sitting surface of the toilet seat 30 by the toilet heater 38. Due to the toilet-lid-less structure of the toilet device 10, the sitting sensor 40 is disposed in the toilet seat 30 such that the sitting sensor 40 can properly detect the sitting motion when the toilet seat 30 is in the close state. In the open state of the toilet seat 30, generally there is no necessity for the sitting sensor 40 to detect the sitting motion, for example, it is possible to prevent the malfunction of the toilet device 10 occurring due to the misdetection of the user at the time when a man urinates.
According to the toilet device 10 described above, since the sitting sensor 40 is disposed in the toilet seat 30, it is possible to detect the user when the toilet seat 30 is in the close position and there is no necessity to design the toilet seat 30 in a shape to expose the sitting sensor as in the case that the sitting sensor is disposed in the toilet device main body. The sitting sensor 40 is disposed in the toilet seat 30 rather than the toilet device main body 20, there is no necessity to design the toilet seat 30 in a shape to expose the sitting sensor as in the case that the sitting sensor is disposed in the toilet device main body. Accordingly, it is possible to detect the user by the sitting sensor 40 while enhancing a degree of freedom for the design of the toilet seat 30.
The toilet seat 30 is configured to have the inclination portion 30 b and the flat portion 30 c which extend from the sitting portion 30 a toward the rear side so as to cover the toilet device main body 20 in the close position. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the gap between the toilet seat 30 and the toilet device main body 20 from exposing so as to maintain the cleanliness of the toilet device 10 while simplifying the external appearance of the toilet device 10 so as to enhance the aesthetics of the toilet device 10.
Since the toilet seat 30 is supported by the center hinge 35 at the central side in the left-right direction (width direction) and the center hinge 35 is formed to fit into the concave portion 27 so as to suppress the looseness, even in the situation when the weight of the toilet seat 30 increases due to the shape thereof to cover the toilet device main body 20, the open/close operation of the toilet seat can be stabilized. The dampers (main damper 28 and auxiliary damper 29) are provided in three positions in the rotation axes S1, S3 and S4, it is possible to properly suppress the sudden open/close operation of the toilet seat 30.
The wiring 45 of the sitting sensor 40 can be easily drawn through the hinge shaft 36 b. It is possible to prevent the wiring 45 from extending excessively and efficiently draw the wiring 45 by drawing the wiring 45 through the hinge shaft 36 b of the center hinge 35 in the situation in which the sitting sensor 40 is disposed in the center side in the left-right direction of the toilet seat 30 for properly detecting the sitting motion of the user. It is possible to draw all the wirings by drawing the wiring 39 of the toilet heater 38 and the wiring 48 of the state notification lamp 47 through the hinge shaft 36 b.
Since the toilet device 10 is configured to have the toilet-lid-less structure, there is no restriction of the position of the sitting sensor 40 due to the toilet lid such that the degree of freedom for the design of the toilet seat 30 can be further enhanced. Due to the toilet-lid-less structure, it is possible to reduce the cost of the toilet device 10.
According to the above-described embodiments, the example of the optical sensor used as the sitting sensor configured to detect the sitting motion on the toilet seat 30 is described, however, the present disclosure it not limited thereto, the optical sensor may be used as the room-entry sensor configured to detect the entry of the user into the room where the toilet device 10 is provided and the like. It is possible to provide the sitting sensor, the room-entry sensor and the like in the toilet seat 30 to dispose a plurality of optical sensors in the toilet seat 30.
According to some embodiments, the toilet device 10 is described to have the toilet-lid-less structure where the toilet lid for covering the toilet seat 30 is not provided, however, the toilet device 10 is not limited thereto, and the toilet device 10 may be configured to have the structure with the toilet lid. The toilet seat 30 is described to have the structure to cover the toilet device main body 20, however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, the toilet seat 30 may be configured to have the structure that the toilet device main body 20 is not covered and is exposed.
According to some embodiments, it is described to provide the dampers at three positions among the four positions of the rotation axes S1-S4, however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and the dampers may be provided at least two positions. The damper may be provided at only one position, however, in consideration of the weight increase of the toilet seat 30 used as the configuration to cover the toilet device main body 20, it is preferable to provide the dampers at least two positions.
According to some embodiments, two types of dampers (main damper 28 and auxiliary damper 29) configured to apply different rotational resistance to the toilet seat 30 are provided, however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, a plurality of dampers configured to apply the same rotational resistance may be configured, for example, it is possible to provide the damper (equivalent to the main damper) at each of the two end portions thereof.
According to some embodiments, it is described that the wiring 45 of the sitting sensor 40 is drawn through the hollow hinge shaft 36 of the center hinge 25, that is, the wiring 45 is drawn from the center portion of the toilet seat 30 to the toilet device main body 20, however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, the wiring 45 may be drawn from the left and right end sides of the toilet seat 30 to the toilet device main body 20. The heat wiring 39 of the toilet heater 38 and the lamp wiring 48 of the state notification lamp 47 are drawn through the hinge shaft 36 b, however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, the hinge shaft 36 may be the configuration through which only the wiring 45 of the sitting sensor 40 is drawn. It is described to provide the heater 38 and the state notification lamp 47, however, the configurations may be not provided thereto.
According to some embodiments, it is described that the center hinge 35 is connected (fixed) to the toilet seat 30 and pivotally supported at the concave portion 27 formed at the toilet device main body 20, however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, the center hinge 35 may be connected to the toilet device main body 20 and pivotally supported at the concave portion formed at the toilet seat 30. It is described that the toilet seat 30 is supported at the two end sides and the center side in the left-right direction, however, the present disclosure it not limited thereto, the toilet seat 30 may be supported at either of the two end sides or the center side. However, in consideration of the weight increase of the toilet seat 30 for covering the toilet device main body 20, it is preferable to configure the toilet seat 30 to be supported at the two end sides and the center side. The hinge may be configured to not to fit in the concave portion.
The corresponding relationship between the elements according to the present embodiments and corresponding elements according to the disclosure in the summary of the disclosure will be described. The toilet device 10 according to the present embodiments corresponds to the “toilet device” according to the present disclosure, the toilet device main body 20 corresponds to the “main body”, the toilet seat 30 corresponds to the “toilet seat”, and the sitting sensor 40 corresponds to the “optical sensor”. The sitting portion 30 a corresponds to the “sitting portion” and the inclination portion 30 b and the flat portion 30 c correspond to the “extending portion”. The concave portion 27 corresponds to the “concave portion”, the center hinge 35 corresponds to the “hinge”, and the hinge shaft 36 b corresponds to the “hinge shaft”. The wiring 45 corresponds to the “wiring of the optical sensor”. The main damper 28 and the auxiliary damper 29 correspond to the “damper”.
However, the corresponding relationship between the elements according to the present embodiments and the corresponding elements according to the disclosure in the summary of the disclosure is an example of specifically describing the embodiments for carrying out the disclosure disclosed in the summary of the disclosure, and the elements of the disclosure disclosed in the summary of the disclosure are not limited thereto. In other words, the interpretation of the disclosure disclosed in the summary of the disclosure should be based on the disclosure in the summary of the disclosure, and the present embodiments is only a typical example of the disclosure disclosed in the summary of the disclosure.
Hereinabove, the embodiments for carrying out the present disclosure is described, however, the present disclosure is not limited by the present embodiments, and various changes within a range not departing from the gist of the present disclosure are possible to be realized.
The present disclosure may be applied in the manufacturing industry of the toilet device and the like.

Claims

1. A toilet device disposed at a toilet bowl, comprising:

a main body fixed to an upper surface of the toilet bowl;

a toilet seat supported by the main body; and

a reflection-type optical sensor disposed at the toilet seat, the optical sensor having

a light emitter configured to emit light from a surface of the toilet seat, and

a light receiver configured to receive reflection light of the light.

2. The toilet device of claim 1,

wherein the toilet seat has a sitting portion to which an user sits and an extending portion extending backward from the sitting portion toward the main body to cover the main body, and

wherein the optical sensor is disposed at the extending portion.

3. The toilet device of claim 2,

wherein the extending portion has:

an inclination portion smoothly connected to the sitting portion and inclined backward from the sitting portion with an upward slope; and

a flat portion being substantially flat and extending backward from an upper end of the inclination portion, and

wherein the optical sensor is disposed at the inclination portion.

4. The toilet device of claim 2, further comprising a hinge extending from a central side in a width direction so as to extend from the toilet seat toward the main body, the hinge fitting into a concave portion formed at the main body to be pivotally supported, and being configured to rotatably support the toilet seat.

5. The toilet device of claim 4,

wherein the hinge is supported by a hinge shaft having a hollow shaft shape, and

wiring of the optical sensor is drawn through the hinge shaft to pass through an interval between the toilet seat and the main body.

6. The toilet device of claim 4,

wherein the toilet seat is rotatably supported by the main body at two end sides in the width direction, and

the toilet device comprises a damper which is configured to apply rotational resistance with respect to the toilet seat at least two positions among the positions where the toilet seat is supported by the main body at the two end sides and the positions where the hinge is pivotally supported by internal walls at the two sides of the concave portion.

7. The toilet device of claim 4,

the toilet device comprises a damper which is configured to apply rotational resistance with respect to the toilet seat at three positions among the positions where the toilet seat is supported by the main body at the two end sides and the positions where the hinge is pivotally supported by internal walls at the two sides of the concave portion.

8. The toilet device of claim 1, wherein the toilet device has a toilet-lid-less structure without providing a toilet lid for covering the toilet seat.

9. The toilet device of claim 1, wherein the optical sensor is a sitting sensor configured to detect a sitting motion of the user to the toilet seat.

10. The toilet device of claim 2, further comprising a hinge extending from a central side in a width direction so as to extend from the main body toward the toilet seat, the hinge fitting into a concave portion formed at the toilet seat to be pivotally supported, and being configured to rotatably support the toilet seat.

11. The toilet device of claim 10,

wherein the hinge is pivotally supported by a hinge shaft having a hollow shaft shape, and

12. The toilet device of claim 10,

wherein the toilet seat is rotatably supported by the main body at two end side in the width direction, and

the toilet device comprises a damper which is configured to apply rotational resistance with respect to the toilet seat at least two positions among the positions where the toilet seat is supported by the main body at the two end side and the positions where the hinge is pivotally supported by internal walls at two sides of the concave portion.

13. The toilet device of claim 10,

the toilet device comprises a damper which is configured to apply rotational resistance with respect to the toilet seat at three positions among the positions where the toilet seat is supported by the main body at the two end side and the positions where the hinge is pivotally supported by internal walls at two sides of the concave portion.