JPH031009B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a heating device for a toilet seat installed on a toilet bowl.

Structure of conventional example and its problems As shown in FIG.
is attached to the back surface of the seat body 1, and the temperature of the seat body 1 is detected by a sensor 3. In this FIG. 1, 4 is a rear case, and inside this rear case 4 is a control unit that controls the heater 2 based on the signal from the sensor 3 to maintain the temperature of the seat body 1 at a set temperature. Means 5 is housed.
6 is a power cord for supplying power to the control means 5, and 7 is a power switch. In the configuration shown in FIG. 1 above, since the control means 5 is provided,
The seat body 1 of the toilet seat can always be kept at an optimal temperature, for example, 41°C.

However, in recent years, there has been an increase in the use of toilet seat covers in order to eliminate the cold feeling that occurs the moment you sit on the seat body 1, as well as to maintain a sense of hygiene or to freely change the color scheme. However, when a toilet seat cover is attached, the temperature felt by the human body becomes lower, and as a result, a satisfactory sense of warmth cannot be obtained. Furthermore, when using a commercially available cloth toilet seat cover, the temperature must be set about 3 degrees Celsius higher than usual to obtain the optimal sense of warmth. In the past, when using a toilet seat cover, you always get an unsatisfactory feeling of warmth, and even when the temperature setting is variable, it is not clear that it is, so you can only get an unsatisfactory feeling of warmth. The problem was that it was difficult to use because it was difficult to use, or the appropriate temperature display range was off.

Purpose of the Invention In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an optimal sense of warmth regardless of whether or not a toilet seat cover is attached.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a cover detection means for detecting whether or not a toilet seat cover is attached to the seat body, and a switching means for switching a set temperature according to a signal from the cover detection means. With this configuration, when the user attaches the toilet seat cover to the seat body, the set temperature is automatically raised, so even when the toilet seat cover is used, a comfortable feeling of warmth can be obtained. This has an excellent effect.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. Note that in FIGS. 2 to 5, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 shown in the conventional example are given the same numbers. In Figure 2,
8 is a light emitting element that emits light having a certain degree of directivity toward the seat 1, and 9 is a light receiving element that detects reflected light from the light emitting element 8 reflected on the seat 1 surface. The light from the light emitting element 8 is reflected by the surface of the seat 1 and enters the light receiving element 9, as shown by the arrow in FIG. Incidentally, since the light input/reflection surface is located at the corner of the seat body 1, even when the user sits on the seat body 1, that area is vacant and will not be obstructed by the human body.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the toilet seat cover 10 is attached to the seat body 1, the light from the light emitting element 8 is diffusely reflected by the rough surface of the toilet seat cover 10, so that it enters the light receiving element 9. The light that comes out becomes extremely weak.

FIG. 5 shows a control circuit diagram in the above embodiment, where 11 is a power supply, 12 is a DC power supply circuit that rectifies the power supply 11 to obtain pulsating current and smoothed DC, and 13 is a toilet seat cover detection circuit. , this toilet seat cover detection circuit 13 is composed of a resistor 14 for converting the signal of the light receiving element 9 into an a potential, resistors 15 and 16 for obtaining a reference b potential, a comparator 17 for comparing the a and b potentials, and the like. has been done. 1
Reference numeral 8 denotes set temperature switching means. This set temperature switching means 18 is composed of one resistor, and together with resistors 19 and 20 and the sensor 3, generates a reference potential c. 21 is a charging resistor, 22 is a capacitor, 23 is a trigger element, 24 is a pulse transformer, and 25 is a power control element.

The operation in the above configuration will be explained. In the state shown in FIG. 3 where the toilet seat cover 10 is not attached to the seat body 1, the incident light on the light receiving element 9 is strong, so that a>
The potential relationship is b. In this case, the comparator 17 is off, and at that time, the power of the heater 2 is controlled according to the potential c obtained by the resistors 18, 19, 20 and the sensor 3, so as to maintain a constant temperature of 41°C, for example. automatic temperature control.
In addition, the fourth toilet seat cover 10 is attached to the seat body 1.
In the state shown in the figure, since the light incident on the light receiving element 9 is weak, the potential relationship is a<b. As a result, the comparator 17 is turned on and the resistor 18, which is a temperature switching means, is turned on, so that the potential c decreases and the trigger phase advances. Temperature controlled. Thereby, an optimal sense of warmth can be obtained on the surface of the toilet seat cover 10.

In this way, since the presence or absence of the toilet seat cover 10 is automatically determined and the set temperature is switched to the optimal value, the user can unconsciously always obtain the optimal sense of warmth, and the device is also capable of variable temperature settings. Even if there is a problem, you can get the right temperature using the conventional settings, which is convenient and less likely to make mistakes. In addition, since the configuration utilizes the difference in reflection on the surface of the seat body 1, the toilet seat cover 1
It has the advantage of being able to clearly read the difference between the presence and absence of 0 and having a high S/N ratio. In order to distinguish it from outside light, the light-emitting element 8 is biased towards a certain frequency band, and the light-receiving element 9 is one having filter characteristics that allows only the frequency band to pass through well. It heightens the senses. In addition to this embodiment, the locations for installing the light emitting element 8 and the light receiving element 9 are the seat body 1 and the rear case 4.
It is also possible to select and set the gap between
In this case, since the person sitting on the seat body 1 does not interfere, the light can be easily distinguished from outside light.

6a and 7b and 7a and 7b show other embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 6 shows a toilet seat cover 1.
0 is not attached to the seat body 1, and FIG. A front temperature sensor 27 is embedded in the front surface separated from the front surface, and a back surface temperature sensor 27 is embedded in the back surface. In the state shown in FIG. 6, the toilet seat cover 10 is not attached to the surface and the surface is cooled by room temperature, so the temperature gradient T ₀ −T _I
indicates a relatively large value. On the other hand, in the state shown in FIG. 7, since the toilet seat cover 10 is attached to the surface, the surface of the seat body 1 is not directly exposed to room temperature and is kept warm by the toilet seat cover 10. Therefore, the temperature gradient T _OC −T _IC exhibits a small value. The presence or absence of the toilet seat cover 10 is automatically detected using this characteristic.

FIG. 8 shows a circuit diagram of the other embodiment described above, in which the same parts as in FIG. 5 are given the same numbers. In the state shown in FIG. 6 where the toilet seat cover 10 is not attached to the seat body 1, the temperature of the temperature sensor 26 is considerably lower than the temperature of the temperature sensor 27.
The resistance value of the temperature sensor 26 is extremely large, so that the potential relationship is a<b, and as a result, the comparator 15 is turned off and the temperature of the seat body 1 is automatically controlled to 41°C. In addition, in the state shown in FIG. 7 in which the toilet seat cover 10 is attached to the seat body 1, the temperature of the temperature sensor 26 and the temperature of the temperature sensor 27 become close to each other.
The potential increases and becomes a potential relationship of a>b. As a result, the comparator 15 is turned on and the resistor 18, which is a temperature switching means, is turned off and the potential c is lowered. As a result, the set temperature of the seat body 1 is raised and controlled to 44° C., and as in the above-mentioned embodiment, an optimal sense of warmth can be automatically obtained. In this other embodiment, since the temperature of the seat 1 is detected, the surface of the seat 1 and the temperature sensor 2 are
It has the feature that detection accuracy is not affected by dirt on the surfaces of 6 and 27.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the toilet seat heating device of the present invention includes a cover detection means for detecting whether or not a toilet seat cover is attached, and a switching means for switching the set temperature according to a signal from the cover detection means. When the toilet seat cover is attached to the seat body, the set temperature is automatically raised, so the user can always obtain the optimal sense of warmth that matches the usage condition of the toilet seat without having to be aware of whether or not the toilet seat cover is attached. Moreover, even if the temperature setting is variable, it is possible to obtain the appropriate temperature with conventional settings, and it has the excellent feature of being convenient and less likely to make mistakes.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of a conventional toilet seat heating device;
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a toilet seat heating device showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the same toilet seat heating device.
Fig. 4 is a partial perspective view showing the toilet seat heating device with the toilet seat cover attached, Fig. 5 is a control circuit diagram of the toilet seat heating device, Figs. 6 a, b, and 7 a, b
8 is a partial sectional view of a seat body and its temperature gradient diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a control circuit diagram in the other embodiment. 1... Seat body, 2... Heater, 3... Sensor, 5
... Control means, 8 ... Light emitting element, 9 ... Light receiving element, 10 ... Toilet seat cover, 13 ... Toilet seat cover detection circuit, 17 ... Comparator, 18 ... Switching means (resistance), 23 ... Trigger element , 25...
Power control element, 26, 27...temperature sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A toilet seat seat, a heater that heats the seat, a sensor that detects the temperature of the seat or the heater, and a signal from the sensor to control the heater and set the temperature of the seat. A toilet seat heating device comprising a control means for maintaining the temperature, a cover detection means for detecting whether or not a toilet seat cover is attached to the seat body, and a switching means for switching the set temperature according to a signal from the cover detection means. .