JP7180701B2 - toilet equipment - Google Patents

Description

Aspects of the present invention relate generally to toilet apparatus.

A toilet seat device has been proposed that includes a human body detection unit that uses radio waves to detect the entry and exit of a user into and out of a toilet room, a toilet seat, and a metal member provided inside the toilet seat to warm the toilet seat. . In such a toilet seat device, depending on the position of the human body detector, radio waves may be reflected by the metal member inside the toilet seat, which may reduce the detection accuracy of the human body detector.

For this reason, in Patent Document 1, in order to avoid the influence of the metal member inside the toilet seat, the human body detection unit is arranged in a region where the opening of the toilet seat in the open state is projected backward. Specifically, the toilet device is attached to the low-tank facility on the rear upper surface of the toilet bowl, and the human body detection unit is arranged in a rearward projected area of the opening of the toilet seat standing upright along the low-tank facility.

JP-A-2004-194999

However, in the toilet seat device disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the human body detector is arranged in the low tank facility, when the toilet lid is opened, the front of the human body detector is covered by the toilet lid. As a result, part of the radio waves emitted from the human body detection unit may be reflected backward by the open toilet lid, causing the human body detection unit to erroneously detect the movement of the water in the washing tank as the movement of the human body. There is
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a toilet apparatus capable of improving the detection accuracy of a human body.

A first invention comprises a toilet seat, a main body on which the toilet seat can be opened and closed, a toilet provided under the main body on which the main body is placed, and a toilet provided in the toilet, a tank for storing water for cleaning the toilet bowl; and a radio wave sensor arranged above the tank in the main body and detecting a human body by emitting radio waves in front of the main body. It is a toilet device.

According to this toilet apparatus, even if the radio wave emitted from the radio wave sensor is reflected backward, the movement of the water in the tank is hardly detected by the radio wave sensor. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of erroneous detection by the radio wave sensor and improve the detection accuracy of the radio wave sensor.

In a second invention, the toilet lid of the first invention is further provided with a toilet lid pivotally supported by the main body, and when the toilet lid is open, the toilet lid is positioned behind the radio wave sensor, and the In the toilet apparatus, the toilet lid is positioned forward of the radio wave sensor when the toilet lid is closed.

According to this toilet device, when the toilet lid is open, the reflection of radio waves by the toilet lid is reduced, so it is possible to detect the movement of the user of the toilet device with higher accuracy.

A third invention is the toilet device according to the first or second invention, wherein the position of the radio wave sensor in the left-right direction is different from the position of the tank in the left-right direction.

According to this toilet device, it becomes more difficult for the radio wave sensor to detect the movement of the water in the tank, and it is possible to further improve the detection accuracy of the radio wave sensor.

A fourth invention is the toilet apparatus according to any one of the first to third inventions, wherein the maximum directivity direction of the radio waves emitted from the radio wave sensor passes through the opening of the toilet seat when the toilet seat is open. .

According to this toilet device, when the toilet seat is opened, it is possible to suppress the reflection of radio waves by the metal member inside the toilet seat, and to detect the movement of the user of the toilet device with higher accuracy.

An aspect of the present invention provides a toilet apparatus with improved detection accuracy for a human body.

1 is a side view of a toilet apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. It is a sectional view showing a part of toilet device concerning an embodiment. It is a side view showing operation of the toilet apparatus concerning an embodiment. It is a rear view of the toilet apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each drawing, the same reference numerals are given to the same constituent elements, and detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

1 is a side view of a toilet apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG.
A toilet device 1 shown in FIG. The body portion 4 is placed on the toilet bowl 6 . The toilet seat 2 and the toilet lid 3 are rotatably supported on the main body 4 so as to be openable and closable.

FIG. 1(a) shows a state in which the toilet seat 2 and the toilet lid 3 are closed (lowered). FIG. 1(b) shows a state in which the toilet seat 2 is closed and the toilet lid 3 is opened. FIG. 1(c) shows a state in which the toilet seat 2 and the toilet lid 3 are opened (raised).

In the following description of the embodiments, "upward", "downward", "forward", "rearward", "left side" and "right side" are used, and these directions refer to the direction of the user sitting on the toilet seat 2. It is seen from

The tank 11 is built in the rear of the toilet bowl 6. - 特許庁Tap water or the like is supplied and stored in the tank 11 . The toilet device 1 has a pressure pump and a water supply pipe connected to the tank 11 . Water stored in the tank 11 is pressure-fed into the bowl of the toilet bowl 6 through the water supply pipe by a pressure pump, thereby cleaning the inside of the bowl. On the other hand, the toilet device 1 is also configured to be capable of direct-pressure water supply in which tap water is directly supplied into the toilet bowl 6 . For this reason, the toilet device 1 has a valve unit that receives tap water supply, a water supply path switching valve that switches between a water supply path to the bowl and a water supply path to the tank 11, and the like.

Inside the body part 4, there is built-in a part washing function part and the like for washing the "buttocks" of the user sitting on the toilet seat 2. - 特許庁Further, a radio wave sensor 10 is provided inside the body portion 4 . The radio wave sensor 10 is arranged above the tank 11 . The radio wave sensor 10 is a Doppler sensor using the Doppler effect. The radio wave sensor 10 radiates high-frequency radio waves such as microwaves or millimeter waves, and receives reflected waves of the radiated radio waves from a detection target. The reflected wave contains information about the state of the detection target. Based on the radiated radio waves and the reflected waves, the user's entry into the toilet room and the movement of the user in front of the toilet seat are detected.

The radio wave sensor 10 outputs detection results to a control unit such as a microcomputer. Upon receiving this detection result, the control unit opens the toilet lid 3, cleans the toilet bowl 6 using the tank 11 or the like, heats the toilet seat 2, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing part of the toilet apparatus according to the embodiment.
FIG. 2(a) shows a state in which the toilet seat 2 and the toilet lid 3 are closed, and FIG. 2(b) shows a state in which the toilet seat 2 and the toilet lid 3 are opened.

As shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), inside the toilet seat 2, a metal member 2a is provided as a heating element to heat the seating surface. The metal member 2a is provided along the periphery of the opening OP of the toilet seat 2, for example. When the user sits on the toilet seat 2, the toilet seat 2 is warmed by energizing the metal member 2a. As the heater provided on the toilet seat 2, for example, a tubing heater, a sheathed heater, a halogen heater, a carbon heater, or the like is used. The metal member 2a is made of, for example, aluminum or copper. Moreover, various shapes such as a sheet shape, a wire shape, and a mesh shape can be adopted as the shape of the metal member 2a.

The toilet seat 2, the toilet lid 3, and the case of the main body 4 are made of a material such as resin that easily transmits radio waves. On the other hand, the metal member 2a reflects radio waves without transmitting them. A maximum directivity direction D of the radio wave TW emitted from the radio wave sensor 10 is tilted upward with respect to the horizontal direction. The direction of maximum directivity of radio waves means the direction in which the maximum value appears in the intensity distribution of the radiated radio waves. When radio waves having maximum values are radiated from the radio wave sensor 10 in a plurality of directions, at least one of them should be inclined upward with respect to the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIG. 2( a ), when the toilet seat 2 and the toilet lid 3 are closed, the maximum directivity direction D passes above the toilet seat 2 . As shown in FIG. 2B, when the toilet seat 2 is open, the maximum directivity direction D passes through the opening OP of the toilet seat 2. As shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 2B illustrates a case where the maximum directivity direction D passes through the vicinity of the lower end of the opening OP, but if the maximum directivity direction D passes through the opening OP, the inclination and the like can be changed as appropriate. .

An example of the operation of the toilet apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing the operation of the toilet device according to the embodiment.

For example, the toilet seat 2 and toilet lid 3 are closed before the user enters the toilet room TR. When the user enters the toilet room TR, the entry is detected by the radio wave sensor 10, and the toilet lid 3 is opened as shown in FIG. 3(a). After that, when the user uses the toilet device 1 as shown in FIG. 3(b) and leaves the toilet device 1 as shown in FIG. It is detected and the inside of the toilet bowl 6 is cleaned. After flushing the toilet bowl 6 , the toilet apparatus 1 may further close the toilet seat 2 and the toilet lid 3 .

Although the case where the user urinates while standing has been described here, the same applies to the case where the user urinates while sitting on the toilet seat 2 . That is, when the radio wave sensor 10 detects that the user has left the toilet device 1 after using the toilet device 1 , the toilet device 1 cleans the toilet bowl 6 and closes the toilet lid 3 .

In this embodiment, the radio wave sensor 10 is arranged above the tank 11 for cleaning the inside of the toilet bowl 6 . With such a configuration, even if the radio wave emitted from the radio wave sensor 10 is reflected backward by the case of the main body 4, the toilet lid 3, or the like, the radio wave sensor 10 detects the water in the tank 11. Movement is difficult to detect. Therefore, the possibility of false detection by the radio wave sensor 10 is reduced, and the detection accuracy of the radio wave sensor 10 can be improved.

Moreover, it is desirable that the toilet device 1 can detect the movement of the user with higher accuracy while the toilet seat 2 and the toilet lid 3 are open. If it is erroneously detected that the user has finished using the toilet device 1 while the user is using the toilet device 1, the toilet bowl 6 is washed or the toilet seat is washed even during use. This is because 2 and toilet lid 3 are closed.

Regarding this point, in the toilet device 1 according to the present embodiment, when the toilet lid 3 is in the closed state, the toilet lid 3 is positioned in front of the radio wave sensor 10, but when the toilet lid 3 is in the open state, The toilet lid 3 is positioned behind the radio wave sensor 10. - 特許庁When the toilet lid 3 is in an open state, the toilet lid 3 is positioned behind the radio wave sensor 10, thereby reducing reflection of radio waves by the toilet lid 3 and detecting the movement of the user in the toilet room more accurately. becomes possible.

Furthermore, in the toilet device 1 according to the present embodiment, when the toilet seat 2 is in the open state, the maximum directivity direction D of the radio wave TW emitted from the radio wave sensor 10 is the direction of the toilet seat 2, as shown in FIG. Pass through the opening OP. Therefore, when the toilet seat 2 is open, the reflection of the radio wave TW by the metal member 2a inside the toilet seat 2 is reduced, and the movement of the user in the toilet room can be detected with higher accuracy.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the toilet apparatus according to the embodiment;
As shown in FIG. 4, in the toilet device 1, the tank 11 provided at the rear of the toilet bowl 6 and the radio wave sensor 10 provided inside the main body 4 are not aligned in the vertical direction, but shifted in the horizontal direction. are placed. That is, the position of the tank 11 in the left-right direction is different from the position of the radio wave sensor 10 in the left-right direction. By arranging in this way, when part of the radio wave emitted from the radio wave sensor 10 is reflected by the case of the main body 4 or the toilet lid 3, the movement of the water in the tank 11 becomes more difficult to detect. . Therefore, it is possible to further improve the detection accuracy of the radio wave sensor 10 .

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the invention is not limited to these descriptions. Appropriate design changes made by those skilled in the art with respect to the above embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention as long as they have the features of the present invention. For example, the shape, size, material, arrangement, installation form, and the like of each element provided in the toilet device 1 are not limited to those illustrated and can be changed as appropriate.
Moreover, each element provided in each of the above-described embodiments can be combined as long as it is technically possible, and a combination of these is also included in the scope of the present invention as long as it includes the features of the present invention.

1 toilet device, 2 toilet seat, 2a metal member, 3 toilet lid, 4 main body, 6 toilet bowl, 10 radio wave sensor, 11 tank, D maximum directional direction, DR door, OP opening, TR toilet room, TW radio wave

Claims (4)

a toilet seat;
a body part pivotally supported so that the toilet seat can be opened and closed;
a toilet provided under the main body on which the main body is placed;
a tank provided in the toilet and storing water for cleaning the toilet;
a radio wave sensor disposed above the tank and detecting a human body by emitting radio waves forward of the main body;
with
The tank is arranged so that at least part of the tank is behind the radio wave sensor,
In a rear view, the radio wave sensor does not overlap the tank in the vertical direction,
A toilet apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a maximum directivity direction of radio waves emitted from said radio wave sensor passes through an opening of said toilet seat when said toilet seat is open . a toilet seat;
a body part pivotally supported so that the toilet seat can be opened and closed;
a toilet provided under the main body on which the main body is placed;
a tank provided in the toilet and storing water for cleaning the toilet;
a radio wave sensor disposed above the tank and detecting a human body by emitting radio waves forward of the main body;
with
The tank is arranged so that at least part of the tank is behind the radio wave sensor,
The position of the radio wave sensor in the left-right direction is different from the position of the tank in the left-right direction,
A toilet apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the toilet seat is fully open, the maximum directivity direction of the radio wave emitted from the radio wave sensor passes through the opening of the toilet seat. Further comprising a toilet lid pivotally supported by the main body,
When the toilet lid is open, the toilet lid is positioned behind the radio wave sensor,
3. The toilet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the toilet lid is positioned forward of the radio wave sensor when the toilet lid is closed. The radio wave sensor is provided inside the main body,
The toilet apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the radio wave sensor is positioned above the toilet seat when the toilet seat is closed.

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