JP2837582B2 - Dental automatic cup waterer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic cup watering apparatus for automatically controlling the water supply of a dental treatment cup.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus for automatically controlling water supply to a dental treatment cup, there is an invention described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-4006, for example. In the above-described invention, the presence / absence of the cup and the detection of the amount of supplied water are changed by changing the amount of deflection of the coil spring or the like by rotating the cup tray, and turning on the contact switch or the non-contact switch at the position where the weight of the cup or the supplied water is balanced. It was turned off to control the water supply solenoid valve.

However, in the above-mentioned invention, since the amount of deflection of the coil spring or the like is changed by rotating the cup tray, it is necessary to open a portion of the bending adjustment shaft, and overflowing water flows from this portion into the inside. There was a drawback of intrusion. Although a drainage channel is provided around the cup water supply to solve this drawback, it is difficult to remove the cup tray because of its structure, and it is difficult to ensure easy cleaning and infection prevention. Was.

Therefore, the following inventions have been proposed to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks. For example, JP-A-2-26875
In the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-73, a main body 53 is attached to a concave portion of a mounting surface 51 via an O-ring 52 as shown in FIG. On the upper surface of the main body 53, a cup receiving stand 55 on which the cup 54 is placed is provided. A projection 56 is attached to the center of the lower surface of the cup holder 55, and the lower end of the projection 56 is connected to an elastic beam 57 stretched over the main body 53.

[0005] A strain gauge 58 is attached to the lower surface of the elastic beam 57. The distortion gauge 58 is connected to a control circuit 59, and a water amount setting switch 60 and a water supply solenoid valve 61 are connected to the control circuit 59. The water supply solenoid valve 61 is provided on a pipe 62 from a water supply source (not shown), and the pipe 62 is connected to a water supply port 63 for supplying water to the cup 54. In the invention having the above-described structure, the amount of water supply is detected by a detector using the strain gauge 58.

[0006]

However, the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-268775 has the following disadvantages. That is, the mounting of the strain gauge 58 requires a special technique, so that the workability is poor and the structure is complicated, so that it is expensive. Further, the strain gauge 58 has a structure attached to the elastic beam 57, and it is difficult to generate enough distortion to detect a light cup such as a paper cup due to its elastic force, and it is impossible to detect a light cup. Was. Further, there is a drawback that the distortion state varies depending on the position where the cup is placed or the use of the raised bottom cup, and a stable water supply amount cannot be obtained.

Accordingly, the present invention has been developed in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks in the prior art, and has made it possible to easily detect the presence or absence of a lightweight cup, to have high reliability, and to be able to attach and detach a cup receiving stand. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive automatic dental cup water supply device which can be easily cleaned.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a dental automatic apparatus for detecting the presence of a cup and controlling the amount of water supplied to a cup by detecting the displacement of a cup pedestal caused by the weight of the cup and the amount of water supplied to the cup with a magnetic sensor. In the cup water supply device, the magnetic sensor has a waterproof structure, and the cup receiver is detachably supported by at least one or more elastic members.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the presence / absence of a lightweight cup can be easily detected, and the attachment / detachment of the cup holder can be easily performed.

[0010]

1 and 2 show the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view showing the outline, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of FIG. The main body 1 is fixed to the mounting surface 2 via an O-ring 8. A magnetic sensor 3 is provided inside a protrusion 1a at the center of the upper surface of the main body 1. Further, two springs 6 and 7 are fixed in an upright state near the convex portion 1a on the upper surface of the main body 1. At the upper ends of the two springs 6 and 7, a cup receiving base 4 made of metal or resin on which the cup 9 is placed is detachably mounted. A metal plate 5 is adhered to the lower central portion of the cup holder 4.

The magnetic sensor 3 is connected to a control circuit 10, to which a water amount setting switch 13 and a water supply solenoid valve 11 are connected. The water supply solenoid valve 11 is provided on a pipe 14 from a water supply source (not shown), and the pipe 14 is connected to a water supply port 12 for supplying water to the cup 9.

In the dental automatic cup water supply device having the above-described configuration, when the lightweight cup 9 is placed on the cup receiving base 4, the springs 6 and 7 are displaced. The magnetic sensor 3 detects the amount of displacement with respect to the metal plate 5, and the control circuit 10 obtains a voltage signal value corresponding to the weight.

Here, a reference voltage signal value corresponding to a predetermined weight of the cup 9 is compared with a voltage signal value obtained from the magnetic sensor 3 to detect the presence or absence of the cup 9 on the cup receiver 4. Then, the water supply electromagnetic valve 11 is opened and water supply is started from the water supply port 12. When the water supply is started, the springs 6 and 7 are displaced, and the control circuit 10 compares both the voltage signal value of the water supply amount set in advance with the water amount setting switch 13 and the voltage signal value obtained from the magnetic sensor 3, and the two are compared. At this time, the water supply solenoid valve 11 is closed.

According to this embodiment, the presence / absence of a lightweight cup on the cup holder and the desired amount of water supply can be easily and reliably detected. In addition, since there is no opening even if water overflows for some reason, water does not enter the apparatus. Further, cleaning can be easily performed by removing the cup holder.

In this embodiment, the springs 6 and 7 are used as the support means for the cup holder. However, the present invention is not limited to this. At least one or more elastically deformable springs 6 and 7 can be used. It is also possible to support the cup holder with a suitable member.

[0016]

As described above, according to the automatic dental cup water supply device of the present invention, the non-contact magnetic sensor performs the detection of the presence or absence of the cup and the detection of the amount of water supply, thereby providing mechanical contact. Since there are no parts, highly reliable detection can be performed. Also, since the structure is simple, it can be provided at low cost. Further, since the cup holder can be attached and detached, cleaning becomes easy, which can greatly contribute to prevention of infection.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view schematically showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 1a Convex part 2 Mounting surface 3 Magnetic sensor 4 Cup holder 5 Metal plate 6 Spring 7 Spring 8 O-ring 9 Cup 10 Control circuit 11 Water supply solenoid valve 12 Water supply port 13 Water volume setting switch 14 Pipe

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A dental automatic cup water supply device for detecting the presence or absence of a cup and controlling the amount of water supplied to a cup by detecting the displacement of a cup pedestal caused by the weight of the cup and the amount of water supplied to the cup with a magnetic sensor. A water-resistant structure, and a cup receiver is detachably supported by at least one elastic member.