JP2553611B2 - Sanitary washing equipment - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sanitary washing device for washing a human body part with warm water or the like.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a flow rate sensor that can be mounted in this type of sanitary washing device, there is a flow sensor which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-97921. FIG. 6 shows a schematic sectional view of the flow sensor, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG.

That is, the annular chamber 51 forming the annular flow path, and the annular chamber 51
A ferromagnetic ball 52 loosely fitted inside, a liquid inlet 53 to the annular chamber 51, a liquid outlet 54 from the annular chamber 51, and a magnetic sensor.
55 and a permanent magnet 56. The annular chamber 51 and the case main body A are formed by attaching a case lid B having a guide protrusion 58 to a bottomed short cylindrical container portion 57 formed in the center thereof. Ball 52 is a guide protrusion
It is guided by 58 and rotates along the inner wall of the annular chamber 51. Ring room
The central axis X is arranged horizontally, and the liquid inlet 53 is tangentially connected to the annular chamber 51 from the lower side to the upper side. This is because water is easily drained from the inside of the annular chamber 51 via the liquid inlet 53. On the other hand, the liquid outlet 54 is connected in the axial center X direction of the annular chamber 51, and a retainer 59 for the ball 52 is provided. The liquid flows upward from below through the liquid inlet 53 into the annular chamber 51,
The ball 52 is swirled to flow out from the liquid outlet 54. The ball 52 changes the magnetic flux distribution of the permanent magnet 56 by rotation,
By grasping this by the magnetic sensor 55, the liquid flow rate can be detected.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with such a configuration, the liquid inlet 53
However, when air is mixed in the liquid because it is connected to the annular chamber 51 from below, the air tends to stay in the upper portion of the annular chamber 51 and is difficult to escape. When the liquid flows at high speed, air is also discharged from the liquid outlet 54 together with the fluid, but when the liquid is at low speed, the air does not escape and the ball 52
The rotation speed of the is slow or irregular and the correct flow rate cannot be detected. Also, when the inflow of fluid is stopped, air always stays in the upper part of the annular chamber 51, and the rotation at the next start always becomes irregular. Since the detection unit (magnetic sensor 55, permanent magnet 56) is provided, the error doubles.)

The sanitary washing toilet seat has a maximum flow rate of about 1 dm ³ / min and cleans sensitive parts of the human body, so accurate flow rate detection at the time of startup and low flow rate is essential. I couldn't.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and provides a sanitary washing device equipped with a flow rate sensor that does not cause air retention at all.

Means for Solving the Problems To solve the above problems, the sanitary washing device of the present invention,
It is equipped with a flow rate detector used to control the flow rate of wash water and a hot water tank. The inlet that is provided so as to flow in, the outlet that is provided in a substantially horizontal direction at the axial center of the swirl chamber, the sphere that rotates in the vertical plane in proportion to the flow rate of the fluid flowing in the spiral chamber, It comprises a rotation speed detecting means for detecting, and the outlet of the flow rate device is connected to the side surface and the lower portion of the hot water tank.

Action With the above configuration, the flow inlet of the flow rate detection device is provided so that the fluid flows into the swirl chamber from almost the top to the bottom. Therefore, even if the air in the fluid is mixed, the air in the swirl chamber It does not stay in the chamber and is discharged from the inlet.
In addition, since the outlet is connected near the lower part of the side surface of the hot water tank, the water pressure of the hot water tank is applied to the swirl chamber, and bubbles in the fluid rise upward from the inlet and are discharged. Promote.

Therefore, at the time of starting the flow rate detection device or during low flow rate operation, the rotation of the sphere becomes smooth and accurate flow rate detection becomes possible.

Example Hereinafter, one example of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the sanitary washing device of the present invention, on which a device body 2, a toilet seat 3 rotatably attached to the device body 2 and a toilet lid 4 are placed. . 5 is a low tank for cleaning the toilet bowl 1, which is supplied with water by a water supply pipe 6. A branch faucet 7 is connected in the middle of the water supply pipe 6. Water is supplied to the apparatus main body 2 by connecting a discharge port of the branch faucet 7 and a water supply port 8 of the apparatus main body 2 with a connecting pipe 9. Have been. 10 and 11 are washing nozzles, and an operation panel provided on the upper surface of the left sleeve portion facing the apparatus body 2 by the user.
By performing a washing operation at 12, the human body is locally washed by extending and jetting warm water. The cleaning nozzle 10 located near the center of the apparatus body 2 is for cleaning the anus and is called a family nozzle. The washing nozzle 11 is for a female bidet and is called a ladies nozzle. Reference numeral 13 denotes an adjustment box containing setting knobs for setting a user's favorite washing flow rate, hot water temperature, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a washing water channel diagram from the branch faucet 7 to the washing nozzles 10 and 11. The branch faucet 7 has a built-in check valve 14 for preventing backflow when the water supply is cut off, a water stopcock 15 for manually opening and closing water passage to the apparatus main body 2, and a strainer 16.
15 is usually left open. An electromagnetic water shutoff valve 17 is connected to a water supply port 8 connected to the branch faucet 7 by a connecting pipe 9, and is opened by a user's washing operation to supply water to the apparatus body 2. On the secondary side of the water shutoff valve 17, a flow rate control valve 18 driven by a motor, a flow rate sensor 19 for detecting the flow rate, a hot water tank 2 for supplying hot water by a heater 20.
1. A pair of nozzle selection valves 22 and 36 arranged in parallel and cleaning nozzles 10 and 11 are sequentially connected to form a main cleaning water passage.
The flow rate control valve 18 is controlled based on the detection value of the flow rate sensor 19.

On the other hand, a sub-water passage 25 is provided that branches from between the water shutoff valve 17 and the flow rate control valve 18 and discharges water near the cleaning nozzles 10 and 11 via the vacuum breaker 24.

Further, a relief valve 26 is provided from the secondary side of the flow rate control valve 18 to open when the pressure exceeds a certain pressure and to pass water to the sub water passage 25. 27 and 28 are constant flow valves, which prevent abnormal large flow of water.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a specific configuration of the flow rate detecting device 19 and the hot water tank 21, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the flow rate sensor 19 taken along the line CC in FIG. 1, and FIG. Is D- in FIG.
It is a D sectional view. 29 is a substantially cylindrical swirl chamber whose vertical cross section is circular and whose axis is oriented in the horizontal direction, and 30 is an inlet provided so that fluid flows in from the top to the bottom in the tangential direction of the swirl chamber 29. The swirl chamber 29 and the inflow port 30 are integrally formed by a case 31 made of a translucent material. The case 31 is watertightly attached to a protrusion 32 provided near the lower portion of the side surface of the warm water tank 21 by an O-ring 33.
An outlet 34 is provided at the axial center of the swirl chamber 29 so that the swirl chamber 29 communicates with the inside of the hot water tank 21. An opaque sphere 35 that can swivel in the vertical direction is provided in the spiral chamber 29. The sphere 35 is made of a material slightly heavier than the specific gravity of water. At a position corresponding to the outflow port 34 on the inner surface of the case 31, a substantially conical guide 36 having a pointed end on the outflow port 34 side projects, and promotes a swirling motion of the fluid entering from the inflow port 30. The sphere 35 is prevented from getting into the outlet 34. Reference numerals 37 and 38 denote a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion as rotation speed detecting means mounted at a position higher than the horizontal center of the spiral chamber 29 (inflow port 30 side), and the optical axis reaching the light receiving portion 38 from the light receiving portion 37 is , Is set so as to cross the orbit of the sphere 35. The light receiving section 38 is a phototransistor that conducts when it receives light from the light emitting section 37, but is in a non-conducting state when it does not receive light because the optical axis is blocked by the rotation of the sphere 35 and this light receiving section 38 receives light. By applying a constant voltage to the portion 38, it is possible to extract a signal having a frequency corresponding to the rotation speed of the sphere 35. The light emitted from the light emitting portion 37 passes through the substantially cylindrical case 31 and the water and reaches the light receiving portion 38, but since it undergoes complicated refraction, the light receiving portion 37 and the light receiving portion 38 are formed at the same height, 37
It is possible to obtain a large output when the is mounted at a position slightly higher than the light receiving portion 38.

39 is an opaque cover that blocks out optical noise from the outside.

In the tank 21, a baffle plate 40 is attached so that the fluid discharged from the outlet 34 of the flow rate sensor 19 is guided to the bottom portion of the tank 21, and the baffle plate 40 has a large number of holes 41. It is provided so that the fluid will rise through the holes 41. Reference numeral 42 is a fluid discharge port heated by the heater 20.

 Next, the operation of the configuration of this embodiment will be described.

When the user performs a cleaning operation on the operation panel 12, the water shutoff valve 17 and the nozzle selection valve 22 or 23 are opened. At the same time, the flow rate control valve 18 gradually opens from the closed state, and water enters the main body 2 of the apparatus from the branch faucet 7 through the connecting pipe 9. Water flowing through the main washing channel is swirled in the swirl chamber 29 from the inlet 30 of the flow sensor 19.
To flow into the swirl chamber 29 and enter the hot water tank 21 through the outlet 34. Due to the rotational force of the water in the swirl chamber 29, a sphere
35 turns in proportion to the flow rate. At this time, due to the turning of the sphere 35, the light reaching from the light emitting portion 37 to the light receiving portion 38 is blocked at a rate of once per rotation, and a signal having a frequency equal to the number of rotations of the sphere 35 is generated in the light receiving portion 38. . Based on this signal, the flow rate control valve 18 is automatically adjusted so that the flow rate becomes the flow rate desired by the user set in the control box 13. Then, the adjusted amount of water pushes out the warm water stored in the warm water tank, and the warm water is ejected from the cleaning nozzle 10 or 11 to be used for local cleaning.

Even if air is mixed in the water, the inflow port 30 of the flow rate sensor 19 moves from the upper side to the lower side of the swirl chamber 29.
Since air is not attached to the swirl chamber 29 even if the flow rate is low, the rotation of the sphere 35 does not slow down or become irregular. Further, when the cleaning operation is stopped, the water pressure of the hot water tank 21 is applied to the swirl chamber 29, so that the air in the water does not remain in the swirl chamber 29 and is above the inflow port 30. It does not come off and does not adversely affect the starting rotation of the sphere 35 during the next cleaning operation.
Therefore, the spherical body 35 is not affected by air in the entire range of low speed rotation and high speed rotation from the time of starting, and the flow rate can be accurately detected, and the flow rate desired by the user can always be maintained.

Further, in this embodiment, since the light emitting section 37 and the light receiving section 38 are not installed in the swirl chamber 29 installed at a position higher than the horizontal center of the swirl chamber 29, it is detected by refraction of light by bubbles. It does not cause defects, and when installed at a high position, fluctuations due to external vibration of the ball 35 when not in use, fluctuations due to inertia when cleaning is stopped, etc. Never detected.

Moreover, since the flow rate sensor 19 is directly fixed to the hot water tank 21, there is no fear of receiving heat from the hot water tank 21 and freezing.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As is apparent from the above description, in the sanitary washing device of the present invention, even if air is mixed in the fluid, the inlet of the flow rate detecting device is attached to the spiral chamber from top to bottom. Therefore, the air does not stay in the swirl chamber, and the rotation of the sphere does not slow down or become irregular.

When the washing is stopped, the water pressure of the hot water tank is applied to the swirl chamber, so the air in the water does not remain in the swirl chamber and does not adversely affect the starting rotation of the sphere during the next washing operation. As for the device, the sphere rotates at low speed from the start,
It is possible to detect the correct flow rate in the entire range of high-speed rotation, and it is possible to always maintain the wash flow rate that the user likes.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a specific configuration of a flow rate detecting device and a hot water tank of a sanitary washing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the sanitary washing device, and FIG. 3 is the sanitary washing device. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the flow rate detecting device taken along the line CC in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line D-D in FIG. 4, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional flow rate detecting device, and FIG. 7 is I of FIG.
It is a -I sectional view. 19 …… Flow rate detector, 21 …… Warm water tank, 29 …… Vortex chamber, 30 …… Inlet, 34 …… Outlet, 35 …… Sphere, 37 ……
Light emitting part (rotation speed detecting means), 38 ... Light receiving part (rotation speed detecting means).

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A flow rate detecting device used for controlling the flow rate of washing water, and a hot water tank. The flow rate detecting device comprises: a spiral chamber having a circular vertical section; and a fluid provided in a tangential direction of the spiral chamber. An inlet, an outlet for a fluid provided at the axial center of the swirl chamber, a sphere that rotates in a vertical plane in proportion to the flow rate of the fluid flowing in the swirl chamber, and a rotational speed detection that detects the rotational speed of the sphere. A sanitary washing device comprising means, wherein the inlet is introduced substantially vertically from the top to the bottom, the outlet is led out in the substantially horizontal direction, and the outlet is connected near the lower portion of the side surface of the hot water tank.