JP6804040B2 - Water supply device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a water supply device, specifically, a water supply device that automatically discharges and stops water according to the detection status of a reflective sensor.

A water supply device having a reflective sensor, for example, discharges water when it detects a user's hand or the like, and stops water when it does not detect it. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the reflective sensor movable at all times. Therefore, the water supply device having the reflective sensor always consumes electric power.

Here, the reflection type sensor projects light from the light projecting element onto the object with a predetermined light projecting amount, receives the reflected light by the light receiving element, and outputs it as a light receiving level. In such a reflection type sensor, when it is not possible to determine whether the light receiving level when the light is periodically projected from the light projecting element is due to the reflection of an object or due to noise, it is not easily affected by noise. There is known a water supply device that emits light to switch to a large amount of light and confirm that there is an object (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In the water supply device described in Patent Document 1, since the second light projection is performed by switching to a larger light projection amount than the first light projection with a small light projection amount, the detection accuracy of the reflection sensor is improved and malfunctions are reduced. can do.

JP-A-2009-102889

However, in the above-mentioned conventional water supply device, in an environment where there is a lot of disturbance noise due to lighting or the like or internal disturbance noise generated from the circuit itself of the reflection sensor, for example, the amount of light projected is larger than that of the first time (second time). The number of times the light is projected will increase. As the amount of light projected increases, the amount of power consumed also increases accordingly, so there is a concern that if the amount of second light projected, which is a large amount of light projected, increases, more power will be consumed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a water supply device capable of reducing power consumption while maintaining the detection accuracy of a reflective sensor.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the water supply device according to one aspect of the present invention, a predetermined amount of light is projected from the light projecting element onto an object, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving element and output as a light receiving level. A reflective sensor, a control unit that determines the presence or absence of an object based on the light receiving level and instructs a predetermined operation, an electromagnetic valve that opens and closes the valve based on the instruction of the control unit, and a spout that discharges water. In the water supply device provided with, the control unit periodically projects light from the light projecting element and an object when the light receiving level based on the normal light exceeds a predetermined threshold. A light projection executing means for confirming that there is an object, or confirming that there is no object when the light receiving level based on the normal light projection falls below a predetermined threshold. have a, a confirmation light emitting condition setting means for setting a projection whether the confirmation projection, the confirmation projection condition setting unit, when the received light level based on the normal projection exceeds a predetermined threshold value or If it falls below the limit and the normal projection is the first time, the confirmation projection is suspended .

According to this configuration, since the water supply device has the confirmation projection condition setting means for setting the presence / absence of confirmation projection, the confirmation projection can be performed at an appropriate timing. As a result, it is possible to reduce the confirmation projection when the detected signal is likely to be noise, and it is possible to reduce the power consumption due to the confirmation projection.
Further, according to this configuration, when the light receiving level based on the normal projection exceeds or falls below a predetermined threshold value and the normal projection is the first time, the confirmation projection is suspended. As a result, since the confirmation projection is not performed and is held at the first time of the normal projection, the power consumption due to the confirmation projection can be reduced.

Further, in the water supply device according to one aspect of the present invention, preferably, the confirmation projection condition setting means sets a plurality of threshold values of the light receiving level for executing confirmation projection.

According to this configuration, since a plurality of light receiving level thresholds for executing confirmation projection are set, it is more accurately determined whether the light receiving level received by the light receiving element is due to an object or noise. can do.

Further, in the water supply device according to one aspect of the present invention, preferably, the confirmation light projection condition setting means sets a plurality of hold times for holding the confirmation light projection.

According to this configuration, since a plurality of holding times for holding the confirmation projection are set, the number of confirmation projections can be reduced. This makes it possible to further reduce the power consumption due to the confirmation projection.

According to the present invention, in the water supply device, power consumption can be reduced while maintaining the detection accuracy of the reflection sensor.

It is a schematic diagram which illustrates the water supply device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which illustrates the water supply device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a time chart diagram which shows the specific example of the operation of the water supply device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the specific example of the operation of the water supply device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which illustrates the urinal provided with the water supply device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing, similar components are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

First, the water supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In the following, the directions shown in the drawings will be used for description.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a water supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a water supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the water supply device according to the present embodiment includes a reflection sensor 10, a control unit 20, a water supply source 40, a solenoid valve 50, and a faucet main body 60. The reflection type sensor 10 is provided inside the faucet main body 60, and has a light emitting element 12 and a light receiving element 14. The reflection type sensor 10 is, for example, a sensor called an integral type sensor. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be changed as appropriate.

The control unit 20 is provided below the wash basin 70, and includes a determination unit 22 that determines the presence or absence of an object based on a light receiving level 21 described later, a normal light projection execution means 24 that is a light projection execution means, and a confirmation light projection execution means. It has 26 and a confirmation floodlight condition setting means 28.
The faucet body 60 has a spout 62 provided so as to face the bowl portion 72 of the wash basin 70. The solenoid valve 50 is provided in a water supply pipe line 52 that connects the water supply source 40 and the water discharge port 62. The reflection type sensor 10 and the control unit 20 are connected by a wiring 16 for transmitting an electric signal.

The light projecting element 12 is provided so as to face the bowl portion 72, and emits a predetermined amount of light to the bowl portion 72 based on a signal from the normal light projecting execution means 24 or the confirmation light projecting execution means 26, which will be described later. Throw light toward it. The signals from the normal light projecting means 24 and the confirmation light projecting means 26 are transmitted to the light projecting element 12 through the wiring 16. The light projected from the light projecting element 12 is reflected by, for example, the bowl portion 72 or the user's hand, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving element 14. The light receiving element 14 outputs the received reflected light as an electric signal of the light receiving level 21 to the control unit 20 through the wiring 16.

The light receiving level 21 received by the control unit 20 from the light receiving element 14 is transmitted to the determination unit 22. Then, the determination unit 22 determines the presence / absence of the object based on the light receiving level 21 received from the light receiving element 14. As a result, when it is determined that the object is "present", the determination unit 22 opens and drives the solenoid valve 50 to perform a water discharge operation. On the other hand, when it is determined that the object is “none”, the determination unit 22 closes and drives the solenoid valve 50 to stop water.

Further, the light receiving level 21 received by the control unit 20 from the light receiving element 14 is transmitted to the confirmation light projecting condition setting means 28. The confirmation light projection condition setting means 28 performs arithmetic processing based on the light receiving level 21, and sets a condition for performing confirmation light projection, which will be described later. More specifically, conditions such as the presence / absence of confirmation projection, timing, and number of times are set. Then, the conditions set by the confirmation projection condition setting means 28 are transmitted to the confirmation projection execution means 26. The confirmation light projection executing means 26 transmits a command signal to the light projecting element 12 so as to execute the confirmation light projection based on the conditions set by the confirmation light projection condition setting means 28.

The normal light projecting means 24, which is a light projecting means, performs normal light projecting that periodically projects light from the light projecting element 12. Normal light projection is performed at regular intervals, and a command signal is transmitted to the light projecting element 12 so as to perform normal light projection. The normal flooding cycle is, for example, 60 to 2000 [msec (milliseconds)]. The normal light projection cycle can be changed as appropriate depending on the environment in which the water supply device is installed.
On the other hand, the confirmation light projection executing means 26 performs confirmation light projection to confirm that there is an object when the light receiving level 21 based on the normal light projection exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Further, the confirmation light projection executing means 26 performs confirmation light projection for confirming that there is no object when the light receiving level 21 based on the normal light projection falls below a predetermined threshold value. The conditions for performing the confirmation light projection are set by the confirmation light projection condition setting means 28. This confirmation projection is usually performed in a period shorter than the period of the projection. The period of confirmed light projection is, for example, 5 to 6 [msec (milliseconds)]. The period of this confirmation projection may be shorter than that of the normal projection, and the period may be changed as appropriate.

Next, the operation and operation of the water supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 is a time chart diagram showing a specific example of the operation of the water supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A shows an example of the transition of the light receiving level over time. FIG. 3B represents the timing at which it is determined that there is an object in FIG. 3A. In FIG. 3A, the horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis is voltage. Further, the light receiving level 21 shown in FIG. 3A represents a signal transmitted from the light receiving element 14 converted into a voltage value.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the operation of the water supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, normal light projection is performed by the normal light projection executing means 24 at regular intervals. Further, in the confirmation projection condition setting means 28, a plurality of threshold values for determining whether to execute or suspend the confirmation projection based on the light receiving level 21 are set. Specifically, the confirmation light emission hold level 1 and the confirmation light emission hold level 2 which are larger than the confirmation light emission hold level 1 are set.
In the present embodiment, the threshold value of the light receiving level 21 for executing the confirmed light projection in the confirmation light projection condition setting means 28 is the confirmation light projection hold level 1 and the confirmation light projection hold level 2. , The threshold value of the light receiving level 21 for executing the confirmation light projection may be set to three or more.
In this way, since a plurality of threshold values of the light receiving level 21 for executing the confirmation projection are set, it is more accurate to determine whether the light receiving level 21 received by the light receiving element 14 is due to an object or noise. You can judge.

When the light receiving level 21 by normal light projection is less than the confirmation light emitting hold level 1 which is a predetermined threshold value, it is always determined that there is no object (section T1 in FIG. 3). When the light receiving level 21 due to normal projection exceeds the confirmed light emitting hold level 1 and the normal light projection is the first time (the state where the light receiving level 21 due to normal light projection does not exceed the confirmed light emitting hold level 1). Therefore, if the light receiving level 21 due to the normal projection exceeds the confirmation projection hold level 1 for the first time), the confirmation projection is suspended (section T2 in FIG. 3).

When the light receiving level 21 due to the normal projection exceeds the confirmation projection hold level 1 in the next normal projection in which the confirmation projection is suspended, the confirmation projection is executed. If the light receiving level 21 due to the confirmed light projection does not exceed the confirmed light emitting hold level 2, it is determined that there is no object (section T3 in FIG. 3).

Further, as in the section T4 of FIG. 3, when the normal light projection is the first time and the light receiving level 21 by the normal light emission exceeds the confirmation light emission hold level 2, the confirmation light emission is not held and immediately. Perform confirmation flooding. In the present embodiment, when the light receiving level 21 due to the confirmed light projection after the normal light projection exceeds the confirmed light emitting hold level 2, the second confirmed light emitting is performed and the light receiving level 21 is the confirmed light emitting hold. If it exceeds level 2, it is judged that there is an object. That is, when the light receiving level 21 in the confirmation light projection exceeds a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that there is an object, and the water supply device is in a water discharge state.

Next, a case where it is determined that there is an object and the water supply device is in a water discharge state will be described. If the light receiving level 21 falls below the confirmed light projection hold level 1 in the normal light projection after determining that there is an object, it is determined that there is no object and the water supply device is stopped (the section shown in FIG. 3). T5).
When the light receiving level 21 of the normal light emission falls below the confirmed light emitting hold level 1 or 2 in the normal light projecting after determining that there is an object, the confirmed light projecting is performed and the light receiving level of the confirmed light projecting is performed. The water stoppage may be determined based on 21. Further, if the normal projection is the first time (when the light receiving level 21 falls below the confirmation projection hold level 1 or 2 for the first time in the normal projection after determining that there is an object), the confirmation projection is performed. May be suspended and the confirmation projection may be performed after the next normal projection.

In the present embodiment, the threshold value for determining the presence or absence of the object is set at the confirmation floodlight hold level 2, but any threshold value of the confirmation floodlight hold level 1 or higher is sufficient, and the confirmation floodlight hold level 2 It may be set separately from.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the operation of the water supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention is started, the determination unit 22 determines that there is no object. That is, when the operation of the water supply device is started, the solenoid valve 50 is closed and the water supply device is in the water stop state (step S101). Subsequently, the confirmation light projection condition setting means 28 sets the number of times of normal light projection N and the number of times of confirmation light projection M to zero (step S102).

The normal light projection executing means 24 of the control unit 20 executes normal light projection from the light projecting element 12 at predetermined intervals (step S103). Then, the number of times N of normal light projection is performed is counted (step S104).
When normal light projection is performed, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the light receiving level 21 due to normal light projection is equal to or higher than the confirmation light projection holding level 1 which is a predetermined threshold value (step S105). If it is determined that the confirmation light emission hold level is 1 or higher, it is determined whether or not the confirmation light emission hold level 2 or higher, which is a threshold value larger than the confirmation light emission hold level 1, is set (step S106). On the other hand, in step S105, if it is determined that the light receiving level 21 by normal light projection is less than the confirmed light projection holding level 1, it is determined that there is no human body, and the process returns to step S101.
That is, if the light receiving level 21 by normal light projection is less than the confirmed light projection holding level 1, it is determined that there is no human body, and the processes of steps S101 to S105 are repeated.

In step S106, when it is determined that the light receiving level 21 due to the normal light projection is less than the confirmed light emitting hold level 2, the normal light emitting when it is determined to be the confirmed light emitting hold level 1 or higher is the confirmed light emitting hold level. It is determined whether or not it is the first normal light projection exceeding 1 (step S107). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the number of times N of normal light projection is 1. When it is determined that the normal projection is the first time, the confirmation projection is suspended (step S108). When the confirmation projection is suspended, the process returns to step S103 and normal projection is performed again.

On the other hand, in step S107, when it is determined that the normal projection is not the first time (the number N of normal projections is not one), in other words, the confirmation projection is held once, the confirmation projection is executed. (Step S109).
In the present embodiment, when it is determined that the light receiving level 21 by the normal projection is the confirmation projection holding level 1 or higher and the confirmation projection is held once, the confirmation projection is executed. However, a plurality of hold times for holding the confirmation projection may be set. Specifically, in step S107, if the number of normal light projections N is less than the predetermined number of times, the confirmation light projection is suspended (to step S108), and if the number of normal light projects N is equal to or more than the predetermined number of times, the confirmation light projection is suspended. Is executed (to step S109). That is, as the predetermined number of times here is increased, the number of times the confirmation projection is suspended increases.
In this way, since a plurality of holding times for holding the confirmation projection are set, the number of confirmation projections can be further reduced. This makes it possible to further reduce the power consumption due to the confirmation projection.

Further, in step S106, when it is determined that the light receiving level 21 by normal light projection is equal to or higher than the confirmation light projection holding level 2, confirmation light projection is executed (step S109). That is, the control unit 20 is not the first time that the light receiving level 21 due to normal light projection is equal to or higher than the confirmed light projection holding level 1 and less than the confirmed light emitting hold level 2 (the number of times N of normal light projection is 1 or more). If it is determined that the light receiving level 21 due to the normal projection is equal to or higher than the confirmation projection hold level 2, the confirmation projection is executed.

Subsequently, when the confirmation light projection is performed, the number of times M of the confirmation light projection is performed is counted (step S110). Then, it is determined whether or not the light receiving level 21 by the confirmation light projection is the confirmation light emission holding level 2 or higher (step S111).
When it is determined that the light receiving level 21 by the confirmation light projection is less than the confirmation light emission holding level 2, the determination unit 22 determines that there is no human body (step S101). When it is determined that the light receiving level 21 by the confirmation light projection is equal to or higher than the confirmation light emission holding level 2, it is determined whether or not the number of times M of the confirmation light projection is performed is the predetermined number of times or more (step S112). In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the number of times M of confirmed light projection is 2 or more, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the predetermined number of times here can be appropriately selected.

If it is determined in step S112 that the number of times M of confirmed light projection is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times (twice), the determination unit 22 determines that there is a human body, and a water discharge operation is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the number of times M of the confirmation light projection is less than two times, the confirmation light projection is executed again (step S109). In other words, if the confirmation projection is performed a plurality of times and the light receiving level 21 due to the confirmation projection is all the confirmation projection hold level 2 or higher, it is determined that there is a human body.

In this specific example, a configuration for confirming the presence of an object when the light receiving level 21 based on the normal light projection exceeds a predetermined threshold value (confirmed light emitting hold level 2) has been described. However, when it is determined that there is no object from the state where it is determined that there is an object, the light receiving level 21 based on the normal light projection falls below a predetermined threshold value (confirmed light emitting hold level 1 or confirmed light emitting hold level 2). Confirmation projection may be performed to confirm that there is no object. That is, confirmation projection that confirms the existence of an object when the light receiving level 21 based on normal projection exceeds a predetermined threshold value, or when the light receiving level 21 based on normal projection falls below a predetermined threshold value. Any configuration may be used as long as at least one of the confirmation projections for confirming that there is no object is performed.

As described above, according to the water supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the confirmation light projection condition setting means 28 for setting the presence / absence of the confirmation light projection is provided, the confirmation light projection is performed at an appropriate timing. Can be done. As a result, it is possible to reduce the confirmation projection when the detected signal is likely to be noise, and it is possible to reduce the power consumption due to the confirmation projection. Further, since the light projecting distance of the sensor is not changed (the light projecting distance is shortened in order to reduce power consumption), the light receiving level 21 received by the light receiving element 14 may be due to an object or noise. It is possible to accurately judge whether it is due to.

Further, when the light receiving level 21 based on the normal light projection exceeds or falls below a predetermined threshold value and the normal light projection is the first time, the confirmation light projection is suspended. As a result, since the confirmation projection is not performed and is held at the first time of the normal projection, the power consumption due to the confirmation projection can be reduced.

The water supply device described above has been described by taking the case of being provided in the wash basin 70 as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be provided in, for example, a urinal or a toilet bowl.
FIG. 19 is a schematic view illustrating a urinal provided with a water supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The water supply device shown in FIG. 19 includes a reflection sensor 10, a control unit 20, a water supply source 40, a solenoid valve 50, and a faucet main body 60. The reflection type sensor 10 is provided inside the faucet main body 60, and has a light emitting element and a light receiving element (not shown). The reflective sensor 10 detects the presence or absence of a user standing in front of the urinal 80.

The control unit 20 is provided further rearward, such as a wall surface (not shown) provided behind the urinal 80, so that it cannot be seen by the user. The faucet body 60 has a spout 62 provided toward the urinal 80. The solenoid valve 50 is provided in a water supply pipe line 52 that connects the water supply source 40 and the faucet main body 60. The reflection type sensor 10 and the control unit 20 are connected by a wiring 16 for transmitting an electric signal.

Even the water supply device provided in the urinal 80 is similar to the water supply device provided in the wash basin 70 by having the structure and operation described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. The effect of can be obtained.

Further, in the above-described embodiment of the present invention, it has been described that the light projection executing means is the normal light projection executing means 24 and the confirmed light emitting executing means 26, but the normal light emitting executing means 24 and the confirmed light projecting means 24. One light projecting means having both functions of the executing means 26 may be provided.

The elements included in each of the above-described embodiments can be combined as technically possible, and the combination thereof is also included in the scope of the present invention as long as the features of the present invention are included.

10 Reflection type sensor 12 Light emitting element 14 Light receiving element 16 Wiring 20 Control unit 21 Light receiving level 22 Judgment unit 24 Normal light flooding executing means 26 Confirming light flooding executing means 28 Confirming light flooding condition setting means 40 Water supply source 50 Solenoid valve 52 Water supply pipe Road 60 Faucet body 62 Spout 70 Washbasin 72 Bowl 80 Urinal

Claims (3)

A reflective sensor that projects light from a light projecting element onto an object with a predetermined amount of light projected, receives the reflected light with a light receiving element, and outputs it as a light receiving level.
A control unit that determines the presence or absence of an object based on the light receiving level and instructs a predetermined operation.
A solenoid valve that opens and closes the valve based on the instructions of the control unit,
In a water supply device equipped with a spout for discharging water
The control unit
It is determined that there is an object when the normal light projection that is periodically projected from the light projecting element and the light receiving level based on the normal light projection exceeds a predetermined threshold value, or the normal light projection Based on the light projection executing means for performing confirmation projection for confirming that there is no object when the light receiving level falls below a predetermined threshold value.
Confirmation projection condition setting means for setting the presence or absence of projection of the confirmation projection, and
Have a,
The confirmation light projection condition setting means is the case where the light receiving level based on the normal light projection exceeds or falls below a predetermined threshold value, and when the normal light projection is the first time, the confirmation light projection is performed. Water supply device to hold . The water supply device according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation light projection condition setting means sets a plurality of threshold values of the light receiving level for executing the confirmation light projection. The confirmation projection condition setting means, the water supply device according to claim 1, setting a plurality of hold times for holding the check projection.

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