JPH0793913B2 - Toilet seat sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a toilet seat sterilizer that automatically sterilizes and disinfects the surface of a toilet seat by irradiation of ultraviolet rays.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in public flush toilets such as airplanes, department stores, restaurants, and offices, disposable sheet paper similar to the surface shape of the toilet seat is prepared in advance, and this sheet paper is used as the toilet seat. Lay it on
I indirectly prevented bacteria attached to the toilet seat from transferring to the human body, but I laid this sheet paper on the toilet seat by hand,
This work was troublesome because it had to be thrown away by hand after use.

In addition, an automatic sheet paper feeding device that automatically feeds this sheet paper to the surface of the toilet seat has been marketed recently, but this also requires that the sheet paper be thrown away by hand, and the surface of the toilet seat is sterilized. Not a thing.

In addition, in order to sterilize the surface of the toilet seat, water-soluble disposable sterilizing paper impregnated with a sterilizing solution is also commercially available,
It was troublesome to carry this with me when I went out.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] An object of the present invention is to solve the drawbacks of the above-described conventional techniques, and to provide a toilet seat that can directly sterilize the surface of the toilet seat and always keep the surface clean. A sterilizer is provided.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a sterilizer for a toilet seat according to the present invention includes a toilet seat including an ultraviolet light guide material and an ultraviolet light source that emits ultraviolet light. The emitted ultraviolet rays are introduced from one end of the toilet seat, the ultraviolet rays are propagated to the other end of the toilet seat, and the ultraviolet rays are emitted from almost the entire surface of the toilet seat.

That is, in the present invention, by using an ultraviolet light guide material as the toilet seat, the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source is introduced from one end of the toilet seat, and this ultraviolet light is propagated to the other end of the toilet seat using the principle of the optical fiber, By radiating ultraviolet rays from almost the entire surface of the toilet seat and illuminating the surface of the toilet seat substantially uniformly with the ultraviolet rays, almost the entire surface of the toilet seat is sterilized by the sterilizing action of ultraviolet rays.

As the above-mentioned ultraviolet light source, a normal sterilization lamp (low-pressure mercury lamp) in which the application of the fluorescent paint of a fluorescent lamp is stopped and an ultraviolet-transparent glass such as quartz is used as the glass for the outer tube.
Can be used.

The wavelength of 2600 angstroms (angstr) emitted by the low-pressure mercury discharge of this germicidal lamp.
om) (2500-2800 angstroms) UV (U
V: ultraviolet ray) is known to have a strong sterilizing effect, and the present invention utilizes this sterilizing lamp.

The toilet seat may be formed of an ultraviolet or light guiding inorganic or organic molded body.

In addition, the term "molded body" described in this specification means that an inorganic or organic molding material is brought into a fluid state by heating or the like to produce a product having a predetermined shape by using a die, that is, "mold molding" ( It has a broad meaning not only for products with a prescribed shape by processing, but also for products made into a prescribed shape by cutting or cutting solid materials such as inorganic or organic plate-like or block-like solid materials. Is.

Alternatively, the toilet seat may be composed of an inorganic or organic top plate that guides ultraviolet light, a bottom plate that reflects ultraviolet light, and a space that is provided between the top plate and the bottom plate and that guides ultraviolet light.

Alternatively, the toilet seat may be composed of an inorganic or organic top plate and a bottom plate having an ultraviolet light guiding property, and a plurality of optical fibers having different lengths having an ultraviolet light guiding property provided between the top plate and the bottom plate.

Alternatively, the above-described toilet seat may be configured by embedding a plurality of ultraviolet-guided optical fibers having different lengths in an ultraviolet-guided molded body.

One end of the toilet seat can be an ultraviolet ray incident portion, and the ultraviolet light source can be arranged near the incident portion of the toilet seat.

Alternatively, one end of the toilet seat is an ultraviolet ray incident part, one end of the optical fiber cable having ultraviolet light guiding property is directly connected to or close to the incident part, and the other end of the optical fiber cable is arranged at an arbitrary position. Can be optically coupled with.

[Operation] In the toilet seat sterilizer of the present invention, the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source is incident on the ultraviolet light guide portion of the toilet seat, and is emitted from the ultraviolet light emission portion on the surface of the toilet seat via the ultraviolet light guide portion of the toilet seat. Therefore, the bacteria attached to the surface of the toilet seat can be directly sterilized by the strong bactericidal action of ultraviolet rays to keep the surface of the toilet seat clean.

Embodiments Various embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

It should be noted that the drawings are for explaining the principle and features of the present invention, and the relative dimensions and sizes of the respective parts are shown differently from the actual ones. For example, in the figure, the thickness of the toilet seat is exaggerated compared to the size of the toilet bowl.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining the concept common to the first embodiment (see FIG. 2), the second embodiment (see FIG. 3) and the third embodiment (see FIG. 4) of the present invention. Is.

In the toilet seat sterilizer shown in FIG. 1, 100 is a toilet seat containing an ultraviolet light guide material, 101 is an ultraviolet ray incident portion provided on the rear end surface of the toilet seat, 102 is an ultraviolet ray emitting portion which is the surface of the toilet seat, 20 Is a 5-30W rod-shaped straight tube low-pressure mercury lamp (ultraviolet light source) that emits a light ray rich in ultraviolet rays (hereinafter simply referred to as ultraviolet ray) that has a bactericidal action, and 22 is a reflecting mirror.

The ultraviolet light source 20 is arranged near the ultraviolet light incident portion 101 provided on the rear end surface of the toilet seat 100.

In the sterilizer for toilet seats shown in FIG. 1, ultraviolet rays (incident light rays) 30 emitted from an ultraviolet light source 20 are emitted from an incident portion 101 on the rear end surface of the toilet seat 100, and the toilet seat 100 includes a light guide material.
Introduced inside of the toilet seat 10 according to the principle of optical fiber
The light propagates through the inside of 0 to reach the front end portion 103 of the toilet seat 100, and is emitted from the emission portion 102 on the entire surface of the toilet seat 100 to become an emission light beam 31.

Therefore, the surface (emission part) 102 of the toilet seat 100 is substantially uniformly illuminated by the ultraviolet light 31, and the surface 102 of the toilet seat
Almost the entire surface will be sterilized by the sterilization effect of ultraviolet rays.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the first embodiment of the present invention cut along the line AA in FIG. The figure shows a state in which the toilet seat 100 is placed on the surface 40a of the toilet 40, that is, the toilet seat 100 is closed. Further, in the figure, a well-known mechanism for opening and closing the toilet seat 100 and a lid are omitted.

In FIG. 2, 100 is a plate-shaped molded body 1 having an ultraviolet light guiding property.
04, an ultraviolet light guide transparent plate 105 adhered and fixed to the bottom surface of the molded body 104, and a plurality of elastic feet 106 such as rubber fixed to predetermined positions on the bottom surface of the transparent plate 105. The toilet seat of this embodiment, 20 is an ultraviolet light source, 22 is a reflecting mirror, 21 is a known lighting circuit for controlling the lighting of the ultraviolet light source 20, and 23 is a power supply circuit for supplying power to the lighting circuit 21.

As the ultraviolet light guiding material that can be used as the molded body 104 and the transparent plate 105, as an inorganic material, transparent quartz glass containing at least 99.9% by weight of SiO ₂ (fused quartz: f
used quarts), sapphire, composition SiO ₂ , 7
5.3, B ₂ O ₃ , 13.8, ZnO, 1.4, Al ₂ O ₃ , 4.3, NaO, 5.0 weight percent borosilicate glass, etc., and dimethyl silicone as an organic material. Silicone resin such as
Examples include polycarbonate resin.

In the above configuration, the molded body 104, the bottom surface 104a of the molded body 104
The transparent plate 105 in contact with the surface of the molded body 104 and the air in contact with the surface 102 of the molded body 104 have an optical refractive index (refractive index) of N ₁ , respectively.
When N ₂ and N ₃ are set, N ₁ > N ₂ > N ₃ is set.

A molded body 104 having a high refractive index N ₁ has a surface 102 sandwiched between air having a low refractive index N ₃ and a transparent plate 105 having a bottom surface having a medium refractive index N ₂ , and thus a molded body forming a central portion. 104 corresponds to the core of the optical fiber, and the air existing on the surface of the molded body 104 and the transparent plate 105 are the cladding of the optical fiber.
Corresponds to d).

Therefore, the incident portion 101 on the rear end face of the molded body 104 (toilet seat 100)
Ultraviolet rays (incident light rays) 30 introduced from the inside are confined in the molded body 104 that is the core according to the principle of the optical fiber and propagate while repeating total internal reflection to propagate to the front end portion of the molded body (toilet seat 100). As it reaches 103, it emerges (leaks) from the emission part 102 on the entire surface of the toilet seat 100 and becomes an emission ray 31.

The literature on the above-mentioned optical fibers includes, for example, Nagao, Kyoritsu Publishing Co., Ltd., Optical Technology Series 2 "Optical Fiber" (hereinafter referred to as Literature 1), NSKAPANY, Academic Press ( ACADEMIC
PRESS), "Fiber Optics" (Fiber Optics), published in 1967 (hereinafter referred to as Reference 2), edited by Fukutomi, The Telecommunications Association, "Optical Fiber Cable", issued October 20, 1983 (see below) 3)) and the like.

Further, 60 is a well-known seating sensor including a micro switch, a photoelectric sensor and the like fixed to a transparent plate 105 that detects whether a human body is sitting on the toilet seat 100 and outputs the detection signal to the lighting circuit 21.

As the above-mentioned lighting circuit 21, the same one as a normal fluorescent lamp using a lighting tube (glow switch) and a ballast (choke coil) can be used, and if the same wattage is used, the fluorescent lamp is lit. You can use the tube and ballast as they are.

As a reference of the lighting circuit 21, for example, 3
Please refer to OHM Bunko (22) "Practice of handling fluorescent lamps", P33-P49, published by Tsuki Ohmsha.

In the toilet seat 100 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, as the ultraviolet light guiding molded body 104, the thickness of the rear incident portion 101 is increased, and the thickness is gradually reduced toward the front end portion 103 thereof. Since the taper structure is used, the ultraviolet light 31 is gradually averaged from the surface (emission part) 102 of the molded body 104 little by little as it goes from the rear incident portion 101 of the molded body 104 toward the front end portion 103. Since the light can be emitted, the entire surface of the molded body 104, that is, the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100 can be sterilized and disinfected substantially uniformly by irradiation of the ultraviolet rays 31.

In the figure, 104a indicates the bottom surface of the molded body 104, and this bottom surface 104a
Vapor deposition (evaporating), sputtering (sputterin
It is possible to provide a reflection layer for ultraviolet rays such as aluminum (Al) and nickel (Ni) formed by g) or the like. In this case, the plate 105 need not be transparent because of the reflection layer. Further, since it is shielded from ultraviolet rays, any plastic resin which is opaque and easily deteriorates with respect to ultraviolet rays can be used.

An ultraviolet light guiding molded body 104, which is the main part of the toilet seat 100 described above.
Is a heat-melting powdery or pelletized UV-transparent molding material such as quartz glass, borosilicate glass, or polycarbonate, and is molded using a female mold corresponding to the shape of the toilet seat shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 1 and 2 by processing
It can be processed into the shape of the toilet seat shown in the figure.

Alternatively, the ultraviolet light guiding molded body 104, which is the main part of the toilet seat 100, is cut by a plate-shaped UV transparent material such as quartz glass, borosilicate glass, or polycarbonate by mechanical processing, carbon dioxide gas laser processing, or the like. By cutting and polishing, the shape of the toilet seat shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be obtained.

In this embodiment, it is needless to say that the ultraviolet ray guiding molded body 104 does not necessarily have to be tapered as shown in FIG. 2, and the rear end portion of the molded body 104, that is, the incident portion 101 and the front end. The thickness of the portion 103 may be substantially equal.

In this case, the amount of ultraviolet rays 31 emitted from the surface 102 of the toilet seat is not uniform depending on the location, but even in this case
The ultraviolet light 31 can gradually and gradually be emitted from the surface (emission part) 102 of the molded body 104 from the incident portion 101 behind the 104 toward the front end portion 103, so that the molded body 104, that is, the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100. The entire surface of the can be sterilized and disinfected by irradiation of ultraviolet rays 31.

Further, in this embodiment, the rear end portion of the molded body 104, that is, the incident portion 101 and the front end portion 103 can be made substantially equal in thickness, and the plate 105 can be omitted.

In this case, the molded body 104 having a high refractive index N ₁ constitutes the central portion because the surface 102 is sandwiched between air having a low refractive index N ₃ and the bottom surface thereof is also air having a low refractive index N _3. The molded body 104 corresponds to the core of the optical fiber, and the air existing between the surface and the bottom surface of the molded body 104 corresponds to the clad of the optical fiber.

Therefore, the incident portion 101 on the rear end face of the molded body 104 (toilet seat 100)
Ultraviolet rays (incident light rays) 30 introduced from the inside are confined in the molded body 104 that is the core according to the principle of the optical fiber and propagate while repeating total internal reflection to propagate to the front end portion of the molded body (toilet seat 100). As it reaches 103, it emerges (leaks) from the emission part 102 on the entire surface of the toilet seat 100 and becomes an emission ray 31.

In this case, the ultraviolet rays 30 are also emitted from the bottom surface 104a of the molded body 104.

Therefore, by providing an ultraviolet ray reflective layer such as Al or Ni on the bottom surface 104a of the molded body 104, it is possible to prevent the ultraviolet rays 30 from leaking from the bottom surface 104a of the molded body 104, and the ultraviolet ray 31 is effective only from the surface 102. When the ultraviolet light source 20 is turned on, the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100 is
Ultraviolet rays 31 are always emitted from the outside to the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100.
Will be sterilized and disinfected.

Ultraviolet rays 30 and 31 having a wavelength of about 2600 angstroms emitted from the sterilizing lamp 20 have a great sterilizing effect,
On the other hand, if the strength is high, it may be harmful to the naked eye.Therefore, it is necessary not to stare at the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100 with the naked eye when the ultraviolet light 31 is radiated to the outside. is necessary.

For this reason, the seat sensor 60 detects that the human body is sitting on the toilet seat 100, and outputs the detection signal to the lighting circuit 21, so that the ultraviolet light source 20 is normally turned off, and the toilet seat is seated only when seated. The ultraviolet light source 20 can be turned on for a predetermined period of time sufficient to sterilize the surface 102 of the 100.

Or, normally, turn on the UV light source 20 and turn on the surface 1 of the toilet seat 100.
02 is being sterilized. For example, a pyroelectric effect type infrared sensor 28 that detects infrared rays emitted from the human body detects the approach of the human body, and outputs this detection signal to the lighting circuit 21 to emit ultraviolet rays. Toilet seat 10 with light source 20 turned off
It is possible to avoid looking directly at the ultraviolet light 31 emitted from the surface 102 of 0.

Furthermore, normally, the ultraviolet light source 20 is turned on to sterilize the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100, the approach of the human body is detected by the infrared sensor 28, this detection signal is output to the lighting circuit 21, and the ultraviolet light source 20 is turned off. This prevents the ultraviolet rays 30 emitted from the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100 from directly looking at the human body, and then when the human body is seated on the toilet seat 100, the detection signal of the seating sensor 60 is turned on to operate the lighting circuit 21 and the ultraviolet light source 20 for a predetermined time. It can be lit and the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100 can be sterilized again.

Next, when the human body separates from the toilet seat 100, the detection signal of the seating sensor 60 turns off, but the human body detects the infrared sensor 28.
When it is far enough away from, the ultraviolet light source 20 can be turned on again to return to the initial state.

Furthermore, by omitting the seating sensor 60, only the infrared sensor 28 is used instead, the ultraviolet light source 30 is constantly turned on, the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100 is constantly sterilized, and the human body approaches the infrared sensor 28. At some times, the ultraviolet light source 30 may be configured to be turned off to prevent the ultraviolet light 30 emitted from the toilet seat 100 from entering the naked eye.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 is a sectional view for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention taken along the line AA of FIG. The illustration shows the toilet seat 100 with the toilet 4
It shows a state in which the seat is placed on the surface 40a of 0, that is, the toilet seat 100 is closed.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 100 designates alternately a light-scattering surface 108a and a smooth surface 108b each having a plurality of roughened surfaces, and is made of quartz or the like, and has an ultraviolet light guide molding 108 and a molding 108.
A UV-resistant UV-transmissive layer 113 made of a silicone resin or the like formed on the surface of the UV-resistant UV-resistant layer 113 and the molded body 1
The toilet seat of this embodiment is composed of a plurality of elastic feet 106 made of rubber or the like fixed to a predetermined portion of the bottom surface 108c of 08.

Reference numeral 20 is an ultraviolet light source, 22 is a reflecting mirror, 21 is a known lighting circuit for controlling the lighting of the ultraviolet light source 20, and 23 is a power supply circuit for supplying power to the lighting circuit 21.

Further, 60 is a well-known seating sensor including a micro switch or the like fixed to the bottom surface 108c of the molded body 108 for detecting whether or not the human body is sitting on the toilet seat 100 and outputting it to the lighting circuit 21.

In the toilet seat 100 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the thickness of the ultraviolet light guiding molded body 108 is substantially constant, and the surfaces of the molded body 108 are alternately rough surfaces 108a and smooth surfaces 108b.

Therefore, the ultraviolet rays (incident light rays) 30 introduced from the incident portion 101 on the rear end surface of the molded body 108 (toilet seat 100) are confined in the molded body 108 that is the core according to the principle of the optical fiber to cause total internal reflection. It propagates repeatedly and reaches the front end 103 of the molded body (toilet seat 100).

Then, the ultraviolet light 31 gradually and uniformly goes out from the plurality of rough surfaces 108a on the surface of the molded body 108 to the outside via the ultraviolet light transmitting layer 113 as it goes from the incident portion 101 at the rear of the molded body 108 to the front end portion 103. It can be emitted. Therefore toilet seat 10
The entire surface 102 of 0 can be sterilized substantially uniformly by irradiation of ultraviolet rays 31.

When the ultraviolet light source 20 is on, the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100
Ultraviolet rays 31 are always emitted from the outside to the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100.
Will be sterilized.

In this embodiment, the surface 1 of the ultraviolet light guiding molded body 108
The entire surface of 08a can be a rough light-scattering surface.

In this case, the amount of the ultraviolet rays 31 emitted from the surface 102 of the toilet seat is not uniform depending on the location, but even in this case, the ultraviolet rays 31 are emitted from the incident portion 101 at the rear of the molded body 108 toward the front end 103. 108 total light-scattering surface (outgoing part) 1
Since the light can be gradually emitted from 02, the entire surface of the molded body 108, that is, the surface 102 of the toilet seat 100 can be sterilized and disinfected by irradiation with the ultraviolet light 31.

Further, an ultraviolet reflection layer may be provided on the bottom surface of the molded body 108.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 4 is a sectional view for explaining the third embodiment of the present invention taken along the line AA of FIG. The illustration shows the toilet seat 100 with the toilet 4
It shows a state in which the seat is placed on the surface 40a of 0, that is, the toilet seat 100 is closed.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 100 denotes an ultraviolet light guiding top plate 114 and a bottom plate 115 having an inner surface 115a thereof reflecting ultraviolet light, and a space 116 for guiding ultraviolet light between the top plate 114 and the bottom plate 115.
And a plurality of elastic feet 106 made of rubber or the like fixed to predetermined portions of the bottom plate 115.

Reference numeral 20 is an ultraviolet light source, 22 is a reflecting mirror, 21 is a known lighting circuit for controlling the lighting of the ultraviolet light source 20, and 23 is a power supply circuit for supplying power to the lighting circuit 21.

Further, 60 is a well-known seating sensor including a micro switch or the like fixed to the bottom surface of the bottom plate 115 that detects whether or not a human body is sitting on the toilet seat 100 and outputs it to the lighting circuit 21.

Further, the contact surface 117 between the top plate 114 and the bottom plate 115 is joined by an adhesive or the like and integrated with each other.

In the toilet seat 100 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The main part of this is composed of an ultraviolet light guiding top plate 114 and a bottom plate 115 whose inner surface 115a is UV reflecting, and the top plate 114 and the bottom plate 11
Since a space 116 that guides ultraviolet rays is provided between the
The ultraviolet light 31 can be gradually emitted from the surface (emission portion) 102 of the ultraviolet light guiding top plate 114 gradually from the rear entrance portion 101 of the toilet seat 100 toward the front end portion 103. UV light 31 over 100 surface 102
Can be sterilized almost uniformly by irradiation with.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 5, 100 is a toilet seat containing an ultraviolet light guide material, 101
Is an ultraviolet ray incident portion provided on the rear end surface of the toilet seat, 102
Is a surface of the toilet seat that emits ultraviolet rays, 24 is a U-shaped low-pressure mercury lamp (ultraviolet light source) that emits ultraviolet rays, 50 is an optical fiber that guides ultraviolet light, and 51 is a bundle of multiple optical fibers 50 that can be bent. It is a well-known flexible optical fiber cable (optical fiber bundle) that can be used.

Then, the optical fiber bundle 51 having an ultraviolet light guiding property is made to face the substantially rectangular ultraviolet light incident portion 101 on the rear end surface of the toilet seat 100.
The one end 50a of the plurality of optical fibers 50 constituting the
101 and one end 50a of the optical fiber are brought into close proximity or close contact (close proximity in the figure).

The other end 50b of the optical fiber bundle 51 is optically coupled by the ultraviolet light source 24 and the condenser lens 70.

The optical fiber, that is, the core (co) of the optical fiber 50 and the optical fiber cable 51 having the ultraviolet light guiding property
re: core) and clad (clad: sheath, covering material)
High-purity fused silica, sapphire, inorganic optical materials such as borosilicate glass described in the first embodiment, and silicone-based resins (silis) such as dimethyl silicone.
cone base plastics or resin), polycarbonate (p
olycarbonate resin, carbon fluoride
An organic optical material such as a base resin can be used.

Of course, it is necessary to use a core member having a relatively high refractive index among the above materials and a clad member having a relatively low refractive index in combination.

The above-mentioned optical materials in the ultraviolet region are known, and for example, refer to P108 to 110 of the optical fiber for the ultraviolet region in the above-mentioned document, P308 to 311 of the above-mentioned document in the paragraph of Ultraviolet Fiber Optics (ultraviolet fiber optical). Have been described.

Examples of the optical fiber 50 and the optical fiber cable 51 in the ultraviolet range include, for example, MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.
UBISHI CABLE INDUSTRIES, LTD) commercially available optical fiber for UV (ST-U series) listed in Table 1 below (attenuation at wavelength 0.26micron meter: 6dB / 10m
eter or less) can be used.

(Fifth Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 6, 100 is a toilet seat including an ultraviolet light guide material, 101
Is an ultraviolet ray incident portion provided on the rear end surface of the toilet seat, 102
Is a UV emitting part that is the surface of the toilet seat, 25 is a rod-shaped or U-shaped low-pressure mercury lamp (ultraviolet light source) that radiates ultraviolet rays, a lamp house that houses a reflecting mirror, and 51 is a plurality of ultraviolet light guides. It is a well-known flexible optical fiber cable (optical fiber bundle) in which optical fibers are bundled and can be freely bent.

In this embodiment, the plurality of optical fibers 50 are not linearly arranged as shown in FIG.
One end 51a of the optical fiber cable 51 having an ultraviolet light guiding property is close to, close to, or embedded in a part of the.

The other end 51b of the optical fiber cable 51 is guided into the lamp house 26.

In this embodiment, since the optical fiber cable 51 is provided between the toilet seat 100 and the ultraviolet light source 24 to guide the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source 24 to the toilet seat 100, the ultraviolet light source 24 that takes up a relatively large space can be provided. It can be placed anywhere away from the toilet seat 100.

As a specific configuration of the toilet seat 100 used in this embodiment, the one shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 can be used as it is.

(Sixth Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 7.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 200 denotes a toilet seat containing an ultraviolet light guide material, 201
Is an ultraviolet ray incident part provided on the rear end face of the toilet seat, 202
Is an ultraviolet ray emitting portion on the surface of the toilet seat, 20 is a rod-shaped low-pressure mercury lamp (ultraviolet light source) that emits ultraviolet rays, and 22 is a reflecting mirror.

As shown in FIG. 8, the toilet seat 200 described above includes a plurality of ultraviolet light guiding optical fibers of different lengths provided in a space 208 between the ultraviolet light guiding top plate 206 and the bottom plate 207 and both 206, 207. twenty two
It is composed of a spacer 203 and an elastic foot 205 which form a space for installing the optical fiber 220 between 0, the top plate 206 and the bottom plate 207 and fix them.

One ends 220a of the plurality of optical fibers 220 are all terminated at one end 201 of the toilet seat 200, and the other ends 220b, that is, free ends of the plurality of optical fibers 220 are terminated at different positions.

The other ends of the plurality of optical fibers 220, that is, the free ends 2
Although 20b are regularly terminated at different positions in the figure, they may be irregularly terminated at random in view of uniformity of emitted light and manufacturing cost.

An ultraviolet reflection layer may be provided on the inner surface 207a of the bottom plate 207.

In addition, the plurality of free ends 220b of the plurality of optical fibers 220 described above.
Space 208 between the top plate 206 and the bottom plate 207 to secure the
It is desirable that the resin is filled with an ultraviolet light guiding resin such as a silicone resin.

As is well known, the optical fiber 220 is composed of an ultraviolet light guiding high refractive index core such as quartz and a low refractive index clad covering the core. The optical fiber 220 is one end surface 201 of the toilet seat 200, that is, the optical fiber.
The ultraviolet rays 30 incident from the one end surface 220a of the 220 are propagated to the other end 220b of the optical fiber 220 while repeating total internal reflection, and are emitted from the other end 220b to become an outgoing ray 31.

Since the lengths of the plurality of optical fibers 220 are different,
The positions of the other ends 220b of the plurality of optical fibers, that is, the positions where the ultraviolet rays are emitted are different from each other, so that the ultraviolet rays 31 are emitted from substantially the entire surface 202 of the toilet seat 200.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view for explaining a seventh embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

In FIGS. 9 and 10, 200 is a toilet seat containing an ultraviolet light guide material, 201 is an ultraviolet ray incident portion provided at one end of the rear side surface of the toilet seat, 202 is an ultraviolet ray emitting portion which is the surface of the toilet seat, 2
21 is an optical fiber that is a collection of multiple optical fibers 220.
A cable, 20 is a rod-shaped low-pressure mercury lamp (ultraviolet light source) that emits ultraviolet light, 22 is a reflecting mirror, and 25 is a lamp house that houses the ultraviolet light source 20, the reflecting mirror 22, and the condenser lens 70.

The toilet seat 200 has a plurality of ultraviolet light guiding optical fibers 220 of different lengths embedded in an ultraviolet light guiding molded body 206 such as a silicone resin.

Multiple fiber optic fibers 220 in fiber optic cable 221
One end 220b of the optical fiber 220 extends outward from one end 201 of the toilet seat 200 and terminates in the lamp house 25, while the other ends 220b of the plurality of optical fibers 220 terminate in different positions in the toilet seat 200.

Ultraviolet rays 3 incident from one end 220a of a plurality of optical fibers 220
0 is propagated to the other ends 220b of the plurality of optical fibers 220 in the molded body 206 while repeating total internal reflection in the optical fiber cable 221, and is emitted from the other ends 220b at different positions, and the emitted light beam 31 is emitted. Become.

Since the lengths of the plurality of optical fibers 220 are different,
The positions of the other ends 220b of the plurality of optical fibers, that is, the positions where the ultraviolet rays are emitted are different from each other, and therefore the surface 202 of the toilet seat 200 is different.
The ultraviolet light 31 will be emitted uniformly from substantially the entire surface.

A reflective layer may be provided on the bottom surface 206b of the molded body 206.

Since the optical fiber 220 is used in this embodiment, the ultraviolet light source 23, which takes up a relatively large space, can be arranged at an arbitrary position apart from the toilet seat 200.

In this embodiment, further, a plurality of optical fibers 220 arranged in the toilet seat 200 are gathered in the toilet seat 200 to form an optical fiber cable 221, which is extended to the outside so that the lamp house 25
Has reached.

That is, the optical fiber 220 and the lamp house 25 in the toilet seat 200.
The optical fiber 220 is the same as that of the optical fiber 220, and since there is no optical coupling portion between the toilet seat 200 and the optical fiber 220, there is no attenuation due to the optical coupling between the two.

Therefore, the ultraviolet rays 30 emitted from the ultraviolet light source 20 can be efficiently transmitted to the toilet seat 200, and the ultraviolet rays 31 can be uniformly emitted from the surface 202 thereof.

(Eighth Embodiment) FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view for explaining an eighth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a condenser, and FIG. 13 is an application of the eighth embodiment. It is an explanatory view shown.

In FIG. 11, 300 is a plurality of toilets 300 ₁ , 300 ₂ , ...
..., public toilets equipped with 300 _n , 100 ₁ , 100 ₂ , ...
100 _n (or 200 ₁ , 200 ₂ , ..., 200 _n ) is shown in Fig. 5,
The plurality of toilet seats described with reference to FIGS. 6, 9, and 10 ₁ , 51 ₁ , 51 ₂ , ..., 51 _n (or 2211, 22 ₁₎
1 _2, ····, 221 _n) is a plurality of fiber optic cable, 10 is a wall or partition, 11 a plurality of doors, 25 lamp house 26 is concentrator sunlight.

Multiple fiber optic cables 51 ₁ , 51 ₂ , ... to the only lamp house 25 or the only collector 26 to be described later.
· · ·, 51 _n (or 221 _1, 221 _2, ..., 221 _n) at one end of collected concentrated, their other ends each of the toilet seat 100 _1, 100 _2, ..., 100 _n (or 201 ₁ , 201 ₂ , ...
..., 201 _n ) are dispersed and arranged.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a plurality of fiber optic cables 5
By using 1 and 221, a plurality of toilet seats 100 and 200 can be collectively sterilized and disinfected with only one ultraviolet light source 25 and 26.

As shown in FIG. 12, the concentrator 26 is a collector of sunlight, collects the sunlight 400 by the parabolic mirror 27, etc., and parabolizes the sunlight 400a focused on the focus of the parabolic mirror 27. Multiple fiber optic cables 51 or 22 placed at the focal point of the mirror 27
It is incident on one end of 1.

The sunlight 400, 400a containing ultraviolet rays is generated by plural optical fiber cables 51 (51 ₁ , 51 ₂ , ..., 51) shown in FIG.
_n or _{2211,221 2,, ····, 221 n} ) is the propagation to the respective other ends, respectively corresponding to the toilet seat 100 (100 _1, 1
00 ₂ , ..., 100 _n , or 200 ₁ , 200 ₂ , ..., 2
00 _n ) and then exits from the surface of the toilet seat to sterilize the surface of the toilet seat.

Fig. 13 shows this embodiment with 400F _{1 on} each floor of the building 400.
··· Shows an example applied to each toilet 300 (300 ₁ , ..., 300 _n ) of 400F _n .

A concentrator 26, which is a collector of sunlight, is installed on the roof of the building 400, and the sunlight is transmitted through a plurality of optical fiber cables 51 (51 ₁ , 51 ₂ , ..., 51 _n , or 220 ₁ , 220 ₁ , 220
₂ , ..., 220 _n ) is incident from one end and propagates to the other end, and the toilet 300 (300 ₁ , ..., 30) on each floor
Sterilize and disinfect each toilet seat in 0 _n ).

In this case, since the sunlight also contains infrared rays, that is, heat rays, there is a secondary effect that it doubles as a heating toilet seat.

(Other Embodiments) The toilet seat sterilizing apparatus of the present invention can be modified or combined in various ways as described below, for example, in addition to the various embodiments described above.

By making the ultraviolet light sources 20, 24 small and earthquake resistant,
It can be embedded or embedded inside the toilet seat 100, 200 itself.

Also, by installing electric heaters on the toilet seats 100 and 200,
It can also serve as a heating toilet seat.

Further, the present invention can be easily incorporated into the well-known washing toilet seat, dry toilet seat, and washing / drying toilet seat.

Further, when a plurality of toilets and toilet seats are provided in one place like a public toilet, a plurality of large-capacity only ultraviolet light sources (including a solar collector) and a plurality of optical fiber cables can be used for a plurality of the present invention. It is possible to supply ultraviolet rays to the toilet seat all at once.

[Effects] The present invention includes the toilet seat including the ultraviolet light guide material as described above, and an ultraviolet light source that emits ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source is introduced from one end of the toilet seat to generate the ultraviolet light. Since it is configured to emit ultraviolet rays from almost the entire surface of the toilet seat while propagating to the other end of the toilet seat, it is possible to eliminate all the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, and to irradiate the surface of the toilet seat with ultraviolet rays by a simple configuration. Can be directly sterilized and kept clean.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings are for purposes of illustrating various embodiments of the invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining the concept common to the first to third embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the first embodiment of the present invention cut along the line AA in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the second embodiment of the present invention cut along the line AA in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the third embodiment of the present invention taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the sixth embodiment of the present invention cut along the line BB in FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view for explaining the seventh embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the seventh embodiment of the present invention taken along the line CC of FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view for explaining the eighth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram for explaining the condenser 26,
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an application example of the eighth embodiment. (Description of main symbols) 20,24 …… UV light source (UV: ultraviolet light) 21 …… Light control circuit 22 …… Reflector 23 …… Power supply circuit 25 …… Lamp house 26 …… light collector 27 …… parabolic refrector 28 …… infrared ray sensor 30 …… incident ray 31 …… Outgoing ray 40 …… close stool, or chamber pot 40a …… toilet surface 50 …… optical fiber 51 …… optical fiber cable 60 …… seating sensor (Sit down sensor) 100,200 …… stool seat, or pot seat 101,201 …… incident portion 102,202 …… outgoing portion 103 …… front terminal 104,108,206 …… (ultraviolet rays UV-guidable molding article 105 …… Transparent plate (tra nsparent plate) 106 …… elastic legs 114,206 …… top plate 115,207 …… bottom plate 116 …… space 117 …… confronted contact surface 300… … Public toilet, public toilet 400 …… Building

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A toilet seat, at least the surface of which is made of an ultraviolet light guide material, wherein one end of the toilet seat serves as an ultraviolet introducing portion.
The surface portion of the toilet seat is used as an ultraviolet ray emitting portion, and ultraviolet rays introduced from the ultraviolet ray introducing portion are propagated to the other end of the toilet seat, and ultraviolet rays are emitted from almost the entire surface of the toilet seat. The toilet seat sterilizer. 2. A sterilizer for toilet seats, wherein the toilet seat according to claim 1 includes an ultraviolet light guiding molded body. 3. The toilet seat according to claim 1, comprising a top plate and a bottom plate having an ultraviolet light guiding property, and a space for guiding the ultraviolet light is provided between the top plate and the bottom plate. , Toilet seat sterilizer. 4. The toilet seat according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of ultraviolet light guiding top and bottom plates, and a plurality of ultraviolet light guiding optical fibers having different lengths between the top plate and the bottom plate. A toilet seat sterilizer characterized by being provided. 5. The toilet seat sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of ultraviolet light guiding optical fibers having different lengths are embedded in an ultraviolet light guiding molded body. . 6. The toilet seat sterilizer according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein one end of the toilet seat is an ultraviolet ray incident portion, and an ultraviolet light source is disposed near the incident portion of the toilet seat. A toilet seat sterilizer. 7. The apparatus for sterilizing a toilet seat according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein one end of the toilet seat serves as an ultraviolet ray incident portion, and the ultraviolet ray guiding optical fiber cable is connected to the incident portion. A sterilizer for toilet seats, characterized in that one end is directly connected or close to the other end, and the other end of the optical fiber cable is optically coupled to an ultraviolet light source arranged at an arbitrary position.