JP7663871B2 - Drain plug device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a drain plug device that opens and closes a drain outlet formed in a tank body.

A conventional drain plug device, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, is known to have a plug cover that covers a drain hole formed in a tank body, and the drain hole is opened and closed by raising and lowering the plug cover.

The drain plug device described in Patent Document 1 above is equipped with a manual operation mechanism that raises and lowers the plug cover by directly pressing a manual switch, and an electric operation mechanism that operates a motor by operating an operation panel installed in the kitchen or bathroom to raise and lower the plug cover, allowing the user to select either operation to open or close the drain.

JP 2018-131741 A

In the above-mentioned drain plug device, if the drain is open when the water supply device performs a hot water filling operation, the hot water supplied to the tank cannot be stored and is wasted. However, the only way to check the open/closed state of the drain is to run hot water into the tank or to visually check the plug cover or manual switch, but this checking process is cumbersome, and even if the checking process is performed, there is a possibility that the user will misinterpret the open/closed state.
Therefore, a structure has been considered in which the drain plug device is linked to an external device such as a water supply device, and the drain is automatically opened and closed without the user having to directly open and close the drain to prevent the waste of hot and cold water. However, there is a problem that this cannot be used if linking with an external device is not possible due to reasons such as incompatible communication standards. On the other hand, if a structure is used that automatically opens and closes the drain independently of an external device, there is a problem that the functionality is limited compared to when it is linked to an external device. However, if there is both a drain plug device that can automatically open and close the drain in linkage with an external device, and a drain plug device that can automatically open and close the drain without linking with an external device, new problems arise in that the number of parts and management are complicated, and costs are high.

In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a drain plug device that can automatically open and close a drain, regardless of whether it is linked to an external device.

The first invention includes a plug cover that can be attached to open and close a drain outlet formed in a tank body,
A drive unit that opens and closes the cap based on a drive signal ;
A drain plug device including a control unit that controls the operation of the drive unit ,
A first opening/closing function that automatically opens and closes the drain outlet by operating the drive unit in response to a situation inside the tank body without linking with an external device that supplies water to the tank body;
A second opening/closing function that operates the drive unit to open and close the drain outlet in conjunction with the operation of the external device ,
The first opening/closing function is a drain plug device characterized in that it has a detection means for detecting the situation inside the tank body, and the control unit controls the drive unit based on the information detected by the detection means to automatically open and close the drain outlet .

According to this invention, it is possible to reliably prevent the waste of hot and cold water, regardless of whether it is linked to an external device or not. The first opening and closing function and the second opening and closing mechanism may only open or close the drain outlet. Also, the drain outlet can be reliably opened and closed according to the situation inside the tub.

The second invention is the drain plug device,
2. The drain plug device according to claim 1, wherein the first opening/closing function and the second opening/closing function are switchable so that only one of them is active.

This invention makes it possible to restrict the use of unnecessary functions.

The third invention is the drain plug device,
The drain plug device according to claim 1, wherein both the first opening and closing function and the second opening and closing function can be used in an enabled state.

According to this invention, it is possible to activate both the first opening and closing function and the second opening and closing function, making the drain plug device more multifunctional.

A fourth invention is the drain plug device according to claim 1, further comprising a main body that houses the drive unit and the control unit .

The fifth invention is a drain plug device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the second opening and closing function communicates with the outside via a wired or wireless transmission path.

According to this invention, the second opening and closing function can be stably operated by communicating with the outside via a wired or wireless transmission path.

According to the present invention, when storing hot water in the tank, it is possible to close the drain outlet, preventing the supplied hot water from going to waste.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a bathroom and a water supply device. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the drain plug device. This is a cross-sectional view of A-A' in Figure 2. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an example of communication between a control unit and an external device. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of a first opening and closing function. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a drain plug device according to a second embodiment.

The drain plug device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the invention described below is intended to facilitate understanding of the embodiments, and is not intended to limit or limit the invention.

The bathroom 200 is equipped with a bathtub 100, a washing area, and a shower, and an operation panel 24a is attached to the side wall. In addition, a power box for the drain plug device 1 is attached to the ceiling of the bathroom 200.

The water supply device 300 is an external device that supplies water to the tank body 100, and is a water heater that performs a water supply operation to heat water supplied through a water supply pipe connected to the water supply system and supply it to a hot water supply pipe, and is connected to the tank body 100 through a bath supply pipe and a bath return pipe (not shown). Based on a signal from the operation panel 24, the water supply device 300 can perform a reheating operation that heats the hot water in the tank body 100 while circulating it, a water filling operation that supplies a set amount of hot water to the tank body 100, and a cleaning operation that cleans the inside of the tank body 100 by spraying cleaning water from a jet hole (not shown).
The operation panel 24 is a panel for operating the water supply device 300, and consists of an operation panel 24a installed inside the bathroom and an operation panel 24b installed outside the bathroom. In the following description, when the operation panel 24 is simply mentioned, it refers to both the operation panel 24a and the operation panel 24b.

The tank body 100 is a bathtub with openings formed on the bottom and edges, the opening formed on the bottom is clamped between the drain outlet member 2 and the piping member 4, and the main body 10 of the drain plug device 1 is attached to the opening formed on the edges.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the drain plug device 1 of the present invention is a device for opening and closing the drain outlet 101 of the tank body 100, which is a bathtub placed in the bathroom 200. The drain plug device 1 also includes an operating mechanism consisting of a manual operating mechanism that opens and closes the drain outlet 101 by manual operation, a drive unit 19 that opens and closes the plug cover 7 based on a drive signal, an opening detection means that detects the lifting and lowering state of the plug cover 7, and a water flow detection means that detects the flow of water to the drain outlet 101. The drain plug device 1 of the present invention also includes a first opening and closing function that operates the drive unit 19 depending on the situation in the tank body 100 without interlocking with the water supply device 300 to automatically open and close the drain outlet 101, and a second opening and closing function that operates the drive unit 19 in conjunction with the water supply device 300 to automatically open and close the drain outlet 101 according to an instruction from the water supply device 300, and can be switched by a dip switch (not shown) or the like so that only one of the first opening and closing function and the second opening and closing function is active. This switching can also be configured to be instructed from the operation panel 24.
In addition, the first opening/closing function is a function that allows the drain plug device 1 to decide alone whether to keep the drain outlet 101 open to drain hot and cold water from the tank body 100, or to close the drain outlet 101 to supply hot water from the water supply device 300 to the tank body 100 when water is passed through the drain outlet 101.

The drain outlet member 2 is a hollow, cylindrical member with a flange formed on the upper end, and is attached to the tank body 100 to form a drain outlet 101 for discharging hot and cold water from the tank body 100. The drain outlet member 2 is screwed into the piping member 4 on the back surface of the tank body 100, and is attached in a watertight manner by clamping the tank body 100 via a packing.
The wire receiver 3 is attached to the inside of the drain outlet member 2, and is a member for holding and fixing the release wire 8 inside the drain outlet member 2. The wire receiver 3 is composed of an annular portion having approximately the same diameter as the inner diameter of the drain outlet member 2, and a support portion that supports the end of the release wire 8, and is fixed by the annular portion engaging with the inner surface of the drain outlet member 2.

The piping member 4 is a pipe that discharges wastewater discharged from the drain outlet 101 toward the sewer side, and has an outlet 5 formed on the side, and a branch pipe section 6 through which a release wire 8 is inserted on the side opposite the outlet 5.

The plug 7 is a circular lid that can be attached to open and close the drain outlet 101. A release wire 8 is engaged on the back side, and the plug 7 is connected to the main body 10 attached to the edge of the tank body 100 via the release wire 8. The plug 7 opens and closes the drain outlet 101 by rising and falling in response to the operation applied to the operating mechanism.

The release wire 8 is a power transmission member consisting of a resin outer tube and a metal inner wire. When manual operation is performed on the drain plug device 1, the inner wire slides inside the outer tube to transmit power from the manual operation mechanism and raise and lower the plug lid 7.

The guide pipe 9 is a hose pipe that connects the branch pipe section 6 of the piping member 4 to the main body section 10, and serves to guide the placement of the release wire 8 during installation, and also directs the wastewater that flows into the main body section 10 from the edge of the tank body 100 to join the drainage flow path that continues from the drain outlet 101.

The main body 10 is a casing that houses the switch 15, the operating shaft 16, the locking mechanism 17, the pushing part 18, the driving part 19, and the control part 20. The upper end of the main body 10 is attached to the edge of the tank body 100, and the rest of the main body 10 is located on the back side of the tank body 100, except for the part exposed on the surface of the tank body 100.

The switch unit 15 is disk-shaped and exposed from the top end of the main body 10 into the bathroom 200, is movable up and down within the main body 10, and has an operating shaft 16 fitted to its back surface.
The operating shaft 16 is rod-shaped and extends in the vertical direction, and its lower end is connected to a locking mechanism 17. The operating shaft 16 also has a convex contact portion 161 protruding outward for contact with a pushing portion 18, and a position information generating portion 21 constituting a plug opening detection means, which will be described later, is attached inside.

The lock mechanism 17 has an operating shaft 16 connected to its upper end and a release wire 8 connected to its lower end. The lock mechanism 17 transmits power to the plug lid 7 via the release wire 8 each time the operating shaft 16 descends, and maintains the raised and lowered state of the plug lid 7, i.e., the open and closed state of the drain outlet 101, by switching between meshing and disengagement of the rotating gear and fixed gear housed inside.

The drive unit 19 is a stepping motor or the like whose operation is controlled by a drive signal from the control unit 20, and rotates the gear 191 based on the drive signal, and transmits the power of the drive unit 19 to the operating shaft 16 by pushing down the operating shaft 16 via the pushing unit 18. In this embodiment, the drive unit 19 is capable of rotating in both directions. The drive unit 19 can also be configured with a servo motor other than a stepping motor.

The control unit 20 is equipped with a memory unit that stores and executes various setting information, programs, etc. necessary for controlling the operation of the drain plug device 1 and communicating with the outside, and a communication unit 30 that communicates with the outside of the drain plug device 1 via a wired transmission path or a wireless transmission path.
As shown in Figure 4, the external devices, such as the operation panel 24 and the water supply device 300, are equipped with a memory unit that stores and executes various setting information and programs necessary for their respective operation control and communication with the outside, and a communication unit 40 and a communication unit 50 that communicate with the outside, such as the operation panel 24 and the water supply device 300, via a wired transmission path or a wireless transmission path.
The communication units 30, 40, and 50 can be configured to include at least one of communication means capable of communication via a wired transmission path or communication via a wireless transmission path, or both.
Furthermore, communication between the control unit 20 (communication unit 30) and the operation panel 24a or operation panel 24b (communication unit 40) or the water supply device 300 (communication unit 50) is not limited to one-to-one communication via a wired or wireless transmission path, and it is also possible, for example, to configure the operation instructions from an application installed on the mobile communication device 60 to be transmitted via a wireless transmission path to the communication unit 40 of the operation panel 24 or the communication unit 50 of the water supply device 300 to the communication unit 30 of the control unit 20, in which case operation instructions can be given while away from home.
As another embodiment, it is possible to configure the portable communication device 60 and the control unit 20 to communicate directly via a wired transmission path, and it is also possible to configure the portable communication device 60 and an external device to communicate via wireless transmission paths.

The gear 191 has gear teeth that mesh with the pushing portion 18 , and is rotated by the operation of the driving portion 19 .
The pushing portion 18 is a cylindrical member arranged on the outer periphery of the operating shaft 16, and has a rack formed on its outer surface that meshes with a gear 191, and is displaced up and down with the rotation of the gear 191. In addition, a step is formed at the upper end of the pushing portion 18, which comes into contact with the upper surface of a contact portion 161 formed on the operating shaft 16.

The opening detection means is composed of a position information generating section 21 and a position information detecting section 22 .
The position information generating unit 21 is a magnet attached to the operating shaft 16, and the position information detecting unit 22 is a magnetic sensor that detects the magnetism emitted from the position information generating unit 21. The position information detecting units 22 are fixed to the main body 10, and are provided at two locations, one above the other and one below the other, along the axial direction of the operating shaft 16.
The position information generating unit 21 is positioned so as to face the lower position information detecting unit 22 when the cap 7 is in the raised position, and is positioned so as to face the upper position information detecting unit 22 when the cap 7 is in the lowered state. This makes it possible to detect the raised or lowered state of the cap 7 depending on whether the upper or lower position information detecting unit 22 detects magnetism.
Furthermore, when the driving unit 19 is composed of a servo motor or the like, it is also possible to configure the cap opening detection means so that the control unit 20 senses the lifting and lowering state of the cap 7 by utilizing the output of an encoder or the like that constitutes the servo motor. In this case, the position information generating unit 21 and the position information detecting unit 22 may be unnecessary.

The water flow detection means is a detection means for detecting the condition inside the tank body 100. The water flow detection means is a temperature sensor for detecting the water temperature, and has a detection unit 23 for detecting the temperature of the water flowing from the drain outlet 101, and transmits the detected temperature to the control unit 20. In addition, the detection unit 23 is attached to the release wire 8, and the wiring connecting the detection unit 23 and the control unit 20 of the main body 10 is arranged along the release wire 8.
Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, when installation is completed, the detection unit 23 is located near the branch pipe section 6 of the piping member 4, and when the drain outlet 101 is in an open state, a portion of the hot and cold water comes into contact with the detection unit 23, thereby enabling the temperature inside the drain outlet 101 to be detected.

The following describes how to open and close the drain outlet 101 using the manual operation mechanism.

The manual operation mechanism is activated by manually pushing the switch unit 15. When the switch unit 15 is pushed while the plug lid 7 is in the lowered position and the drain outlet 101 is closed by the plug lid 7, the switch unit 15 and the operating shaft 16 lower, and the inner wire in the release wire 8 protrudes from the outer tube, causing the plug lid 7 to rise and opening the drain outlet 101. At this time, the rotating gear and fixed gear inside the locking mechanism 17 mesh, and the plug lid 7 is maintained in the raised position, allowing hot and cold water in the tub body 100 to be drained through the drain outlet 101.
Next, when the switch portion 15 is pressed again while the plug lid 7 is in the raised state, the gears within the locking mechanism 17 are disengaged, and the plug lid 7 is lowered by the elasticity of a spring (not shown), thereby closing the drain outlet 101 again.
Next, the installation of the drain plug device 1 will be described.

First, the drain outlet member 2 and the piping member 4 are attached to the opening formed in the bottom of the tank body 100 .
Next, the main body 10 is attached to the opening formed on the edge of the tank body 100 .
Next, the main body 10 and the branch pipe 6 of the piping member 4 are connected by the guide pipe 9, and the release wire 8 is inserted into the guide pipe 9 from the main body 10 side, while the end of the release wire 8 is taken out from the drain outlet 101. The taken-out end of the release wire 8 is attached to the inside of the drain outlet member 2 by the wire receiver 3. At this time, the detection unit 23 of the water flow detection means is attached to the release wire 8, and with the installation of the release wire 8 completed, the detection unit 23 is also placed in the prescribed position.
Finally, the end of the release wire 8 is engaged with the plug 7, and the switch portion 15 is attached to the main body portion 10, thereby completing the installation.

Next, the operation of the first opening and closing function of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5. In the following paragraphs 0041 to 0046, the drain plug device 1 is switched by a dip switch (not shown) so that only the first opening and closing function is active, and the second opening and closing function is disabled.

First, in step S1, the plug lid 7 is lowered and the drain outlet 101 is in a plugged state. At this time, the open plug detection means detects that the drain outlet 101 is plugged. When the plug lid 7 is raised by the manual operation mechanism and the drain outlet 101 is opened, the open plug detection means detects the open state, and the first opening/closing function proceeds to step S2.
In step S2, the water flow detection means judges the temperature of the water flowing from the drain outlet 101. If a temperature change is detected, it is recognized that hot and cold water stored in the tank body 100 is flowing, and the process proceeds to step S3, whereas if no temperature change is detected, the process proceeds to step S4.
In step S3, the water flow detection means is in a sensor-invalid state in which it does not detect water flow until a predetermined time has elapsed. After the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S4. Note that the "predetermined time" in step S3 is preferably set to be longer than the time expected to be required for the tank body 100 to completely drain when it is full of water.
In step S4, the drain plug device 1 is in a plug-closing standby state, and when the water flow detection means detects a temperature change in the drainage flow path, the process proceeds to step S5.
In step S5, a determination is made as to whether the drain is closed, and if the detected temperature change is below the standard, the process returns to step S4 and maintains the drain-closing standby state. On the other hand, if the detected temperature change is equal to or above the standard, the plug lid 7 is lowered and the drain outlet 101 is closed. At this time, the open-drain detection means detects the closed state of the drain outlet 101, and the process returns to step S1. The "standard" in step S5 can be changed as appropriate, and the temperature change may be detected only when the temperature rises and a determination is made as to whether the temperature change is above the standard, or the temperature change may be detected only when the temperature drops and a determination is made as to whether the temperature change is above the standard.

The first opening and closing function described above can prevent the waste of hot and cold water caused by forgetting to close the drain outlet 101 in the following way.

First, when the drain outlet 101 is opened by the manual operation mechanism, the first opening/closing function shifts from step S1 to step S2.
Next, when a temperature change is detected by the water flow detection means (detection unit 23), the hot and cold water stored in the tank body 100 is discharged due to the temperature change, and it is recognized that water is flowing through the drain outlet 101, and the first opening and closing function proceeds to step S3, and after the sensor invalid time has elapsed, it proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if no temperature change is detected by the water flow detection means, it is determined that hot and cold water is not being discharged from the tank body 100, and it proceeds to step S4 without going through step S3, and the tap is placed in a standby state.
If the user forgets to close the drain cover 7 and leaves it there, the drain cover waiting state remains in step S4, and the drain outlet 101 remains in an open state.
Then, when the water supply device 300 is instructed to start filling the tub with water while the drain outlet 101 is in the open state, the water supplied from the water supply device 300 comes into contact with the detection unit 23, a temperature change caused by the water supply is detected, and a determination to close the tub is made in step S5. If the detected temperature change is equal to or greater than the standard, the control unit 20 recognizes that water is being supplied from the water supply device 300, lowers the plug lid 7 to automatically close the drain outlet 101, and returns to step S1. If water is passed through the tub body 100 from a shower or the like to clean it, the shower water temperature is low and the water flow detection means does not detect a temperature change equal to or greater than the standard, so the tub remains in the standby state of closing the tub at step S4.

In this way, the drain plug device 1 of the present invention is equipped with a first opening and closing function, and can respond to the situation inside the tank body 100 without linking with the water supply device 300, which is an external device that supplies water to the tank body 100, and can prevent waste of hot and cold water by automatically plugging the drain outlet 101 after water flow has stopped.
Incidentally, the first opening/closing function can prevent the tap from closing while hot water is being discharged from the tank body 100 by providing a sensor invalid time in step S3. That is, the sensor becomes invalid for a period longer than the time assumed when the discharge of hot water from the tank body 100 is completed in step S3, and the tap is judged to be closed (step S5) after passing through a tap waiting state (step S4) while hot water is being discharged, thereby preventing the tap from being closed.

In addition, in the drain plug device 1 of the present invention, the detection unit 23 constituting the water flow detection means is attached to the release wire 8, so the placement of the detection unit 23 is completed at the same time as the placement of the release wire 8 is completed. This makes it easy to place the detection unit 23, improving workability.

The first opening and closing function operates only with the drain plug device 1 and does not require linkage with the water supply device 300. Therefore, it is possible to impart the first opening and closing function to the tank body 100 in which any water supply device 300 is used.

On the other hand, the drain plug device 1 can be linked to the water supply device 300 by communicating between the control unit 20 and the water supply device 300. At this time, it is possible to provide the drain plug device 1 with an electric operation mechanism in addition to a manual operation mechanism, and it is possible to activate a second opening and closing function that closes the drain outlet 101 in conjunction with the water supply device 300 filling the tank body 100 with hot water.

The electric operation mechanism is an operation mechanism that operates the opening and closing of the drain outlet 101 based on a drive signal. When an operation is applied to the operation panel 24a or 24b attached inside or outside the bathroom 200, the electric operation mechanism detects the position of the plug lid 7 by the open detection means. If the state of the plug lid 7 differs from the open/close command from the operation panel 24, the drive unit 19 operates and rotates the gear 191. At this time, the operation shaft 16 is pushed down by the pushing unit 18, so that the operation of the drive unit 19 is transmitted to the operation shaft 16, and the plug lid 7 is raised and lowered. After the pushing unit 18 descends to a predetermined position, the drive unit 19 rotates in the reverse direction to raise the pushing unit 18 and return to the position before the operation. In this way, it is possible to operate the manual operation mechanism after operating the electric operation mechanism.
The electric operation mechanism does not operate if the position of the plug 7 detected by the plug opening detection means matches the operation instructed by the operation panel 24. For example, if an instruction to close the drain outlet 101 is given from the operation panel 24 and the plug 7 is already in the lowered state, the electric operation mechanism does not operate.

Next, the operation of the second opening and closing function will be explained. In the following explanation, the drain plug device 1 is switched by a dip switch (not shown) or the like so that only the second opening and closing function is active, and the first opening and closing function is disabled. This switching can also be configured so that it can be instructed from the operation unit or operation panel 24 of the water supply device 300.

First, when the plug lid 7 is in the raised state, the drain outlet 101 is in an open state, and the open plug detection means detects that the drain outlet 101 is in an open state. At this time, because the first opening/closing function is disabled, the water flow detection means does not detect water flowing through the drain outlet 101. Therefore, the plug lid 7 maintains the raised state and the drain outlet 101 is in an open state as long as no operation is performed on the manual operation mechanism or the operation panel 24.
Next, when an operation is performed on the operation panel 24 and the water supply device 300 is instructed to start filling the tub, the control unit 20 communicates with the water supply device 300 and, in response to the communication, operates the drive unit 19 to lower the plug lid 7. Here, the drain outlet 101 is closed as the plug lid 7 is lowered, and when the closed state of the drain outlet 101 is detected by the open plug detection means, the water supply device 300 starts supplying water into the tank body 100.

In this way, by providing the drain plug device 1 of the present invention with a second opening and closing function, even if the drain outlet 101 is forgotten to be closed, the drain plug device 1 can be linked to the operation of the water supply device 300 to operate the drive unit 19 to automatically close the drain outlet 101, thereby preventing the waste of hot and cold water.
Furthermore, if the drain outlet 101 is in a closed state when the water filling operation begins, the interlocking closing mechanism detects that the drain outlet 101 is in a closed state by the open-drain detection means, and the water supply device 300 does not operate the drive unit 19 and begins supplying water into the tank body 100.

The drain plug device 1 of the present invention is switchable so that either the first opening/closing function or the second opening/closing function is enabled, and whether or not to link the device can be selected depending on the water supply device 300 used. Therefore, when the device can be linked with the water supply device 300, the drain outlet 101 can be opened and closed by the electric operation mechanism, and the device communicates with the water supply device 300, and the second opening/closing function automatically closes the drain outlet 101 during the hot water filling operation to prevent waste of hot water. On the other hand, since the first opening/closing function can be operated independently of the water supply device 300, even if the water supply device 300 to be attached cannot be linked with the drain plug device 1, it is possible to impart the first opening/closing function to the tank body 100. Also, the first opening/closing function may be enabled independently and linked with the water supply device 300.
In this way, in the present invention, waste of hot and cold water can be reliably prevented regardless of whether or not it is linked to the water supply device 300. The transmission path for communication with the water supply device 300 may be wired or wireless, and may be linked via the Internet. Furthermore, by providing a communication unit that can connect to the Internet for either or both of the water supply device 300 and the drain plug device 1, remote operation is possible from a mobile communication device such as a smartphone.
The drain plug device 1 may also operate in conjunction with an external device other than the water supply device 300, such as a water faucet or a monitoring sensor that detects the breathing and pulse of the bather and notifies of any abnormalities. When linked to a water faucet, the drain plug device 1 may operate to automatically close when water is discharged, and when linked to a monitoring sensor, the drain plug device 1 may operate to automatically open when an abnormality in the bather is detected.

The first embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the drain plug device 1 of the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the first embodiment described above, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the first embodiment described above, the drain plug device 1 does not have an electric operation mechanism when not linked to the water supply device 300, and the drain outlet 101 is opened and closed by operating the manual operation mechanism by pressing the switch unit 15, but it may be configured so that the electric operation mechanism is operated by operating the switch unit 15, as in the second embodiment shown in Figure 6.
The drain plug device 1 of the second embodiment does not have a manual operation mechanism, but only an electric operation mechanism. The electric operation mechanism in the second embodiment is structured so that the drive unit 19 is activated by operating the switch unit 15, and the plug lid 7 is raised and lowered directly via the release wire 8. The drain plug device 1 of the second embodiment also has a first opening and closing function similar to that of the first embodiment, and can automatically close the drain outlet 101 without interlocking with the water supply device 300. Of course, it can also be interlocked with the water supply device 300.

In addition to the above-described embodiments, various modifications may be made as follows.
In the drain plug device 1 of the present invention according to the first embodiment, it is possible to switch between the second opening/closing function and the first opening/closing function by operating a dip switch (not shown). In this case, the function that is not enabled is disabled and cannot be used, but it is also possible to use both the first opening/closing function and the second opening/closing function in an enabled state. In this way, it is possible to make the drain plug device 1 more multifunctional. For example, when only the second opening/closing function is enabled, the water flow detection means does not function, and it is not possible to displace the plug cover 7 in response to the flow of water from the drain outlet 101, but when both the first opening/closing function and the second opening/closing function are enabled, it is possible to detect the flow of water from the drain outlet 101 by the water flow detection means and displace the plug cover 7.

In addition, in each embodiment, the water flow detection means for detecting the condition inside the tank body 100 uses a temperature sensor that detects the water temperature as the detection unit, but various sensors such as a float sensor, a water flow sensor, and a pressure sensor may be used instead of the temperature sensor.

The location of the water flow detection means is not limited to the locations described in each embodiment. For example, it may be freely changed to inside the plug cap 7 or at the end of the release wire 8.

The location of the device is not limited to inside the drainage pipe, but may be attached to the side of the hot water pipe connecting the water supply device 300 and the tank body 100 to detect the temperature. In this way, it is possible to reliably detect the water filling operation by the water supply device 300.

Furthermore, the water flow detection means does not necessarily have to be provided in one place, and may be provided in multiple places as necessary. For example, there may be a water flow detection means that is attached inside the guide tube 8 at a position higher than the bottom surface of the tank body 100 to detect when a large amount of water is flowing through the tank body 100, and a water flow detection means that is attached to the bottom surface of the piping member 4 to detect when a small amount of water is flowing. In this way, it is possible to more accurately grasp the state of the tank body 100 and the water supply device 300.

The opening and closing function of the present invention is not limited to operating to close the drain outlet 101. For example, if the external device has a function for cleaning the tub body 100 or a function for discharging hot and cold water in an emergency, the second opening and closing function may be linked to the external device and operate the drive unit 19 to open the drain outlet 101. In other words, the opening and closing function of the present invention may be a function that only performs an opening operation, a function that only performs a closing operation, or a function that is capable of both operations.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Drain plug device 2 Drain outlet member 3 Wire receiver 4 Piping member 5 Drain 6 Branch pipe section 7 Plug lid 8 Release wire 9 Guide tube 10 Main body section 15 Switch section 16 Operation shaft 161 Contact section 17 Lock mechanism 18 Pushing section 19 Drive section 191 Gear 20 Control section 21 Position information generating section 22 Position information detecting section 23 Detection sections 24a, 24b Operation panel 30, 40, 50 Communication section 60 Portable communication device 100 Tank body 101 Drain 200 Bathroom 300 Water supply device

Claims (5)

A plug cover that can be attached to open and close a drain outlet formed in the tank body;
A drive unit that opens and closes the cap based on a drive signal ;
A drain plug device including a control unit that controls the operation of the drive unit ,
A first opening/closing function that automatically opens and closes the drain outlet by operating the drive unit in response to a situation inside the tank body without linking with an external device that supplies water to the tank body;
A second opening/closing function that operates the drive unit to open and close the drain outlet in conjunction with the operation of the external device ,
A drain plug device characterized in that the first opening/closing function has a detection means for detecting the situation inside the tank body, and the control unit controls the drive unit based on information detected by the detection means to automatically open and close the drain outlet . The drain plug device is
2. The drain plug device according to claim 1, characterized in that the first opening/closing function and the second opening/closing function can be switched so that only one of them is active. The drain plug device is
The drain plug device according to claim 1, wherein both the first opening and closing function and the second opening and closing function can be used in an enabled state. The drain plug device according to claim 1 , further comprising a main body that houses the drive unit and the control unit. The drain plug device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the second opening and closing function communicates with the outside via a wired or wireless transmission path.

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