JPH0354216Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field This invention relates to an automatic flush valve used in toilet bowls installed in toilets and the like.

Prior Art Conventionally, automatic flush valves that utilize reflection of infrared rays or other light to automatically flush water after use have required an external power source.

Problems that the invention seeks to solve: However, the need for an external power supply is
There is an inconvenience in that wiring work from the indoor power distribution system to the automatic flush valve is required, and the cost for that work is also inconvenient.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic flush valve that does not require an external power source and is operated by a built-in battery.

Means for Solving the Problems The automatic flush valve according to the present invention includes a pulse generator that generates pulses with an extremely small pulse width compared to the pulse interval, and a pulse generator that emits light in synchronization with the pulses generated by the pulse generator. LED and this
A photodiode that receives reflected infrared light emitted by the LED, an amplifier that amplifies the output of this photodiode, an analog switch connected to the output side of this amplifier, and an integrating circuit that integrates the output signal of this analog switch. , a comparator that receives the output signal of this integrating circuit and determines whether this output signal has reached a predetermined value, a differentiating circuit connected to the output side of this comparator, a timer, a motor, and a timer. A motor drive circuit that drives the motor during operation, a battery that supplies power to these electrical circuits and electrical components, a reduction gear mechanism connected to the motor, and a cam and limit switch provided on the reduction gear mechanism; The automatic flush valve is equipped with a flush valve whose lever is displaced by rotation of the output shaft of the reduction tooth mechanism to allow water to flow, and the analog switch is closed only while the pulse is generated. In addition, the differentiating circuit differentiates the output signal of the integrating circuit received by the comparator, and the motor drive circuit rotates the motor forward and reverse for a predetermined time set in the timer corresponding to the differential value, and the cam and limit switch decelerate. The motor is stopped when the gears of the tooth mechanism rotate to a predetermined position.

Function: When a person approaches the toilet for a predetermined period of time to relieve themselves, the infrared rays are received by the photodiode and amplified, and the comparator detects that the output voltage of the integrating circuit exceeds a certain value. Then, when the person leaves the toilet, the differential circuit detects that the output voltage rapidly decreases, the motor rotates, and the reduction gear mechanism pushes the flush valve lever, causing water to flow.

Example This automatic flash valve is designed to operate using only the built-in battery without requiring an external power source.In order to save power, the pulse current applied to the LED that generates infrared rays is reduced as described below. The pulse width is extremely small compared to the pulse interval, and instead of a solenoid valve, etc., which is often used as a means for flushing water in a flush valve,
A method is adopted in which water is caused to flow by pushing the lever of a known manual flush valve using the power of a motor having a reduction gear mechanism. Figures 1 and 2 below
This embodiment will be explained based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. The automatic flash valve 100 includes a pulse generator 1, an LED 2, a photodiode 3,
It is composed of an amplifier 4, an analog switch 5, an integrating circuit 6, a comparator 7, a differentiating circuit 8, a timer 9, a motor drive circuit 10, a motor 11, a reduction gear mechanism 12, a flash valve 20, and a battery 30.

Of the above-mentioned components constituting the automatic flush valve 100, all but the flush valve 20 are housed in a single case 40.
is equipped near the

Further, those of the components that require a power source are supplied with power from a battery 30 via wiring (not shown).

FIG. 2 shows a partially cutaway front view of the motor 11, reduction gear mechanism 12, and flush valve 20. The motor 11 is connected to one end of the reducer 121, and the gear 122 is connected to the other end. The gear 122 is connected to a gear 123, and the gear 123 and the push rod shaft 125 are connected by a spline 124 formed at one end of the push rod shaft 125. Natsu 1
A male thread 126 formed on the push rod shaft 125 is screwed into a female thread (not shown) formed on the push rod shaft 125 .

The flush valve 20 installed near the toilet (not shown) is a known one, and when the lever 21 of the flush valve 20 is pushed leftward (leftward on the paper in FIG. 2), the flush valve 20 is opened. 20 directs the water coming in from the direction of arrow A to arrow B.
Flow in the direction of.

Next, the operation of this automatic flush valve 100 will be explained.

The pulse current generated by the pulse generator 1, ie, the pulse current 1a having an extremely short pulse width of 10 microseconds with a pulse interval of 30 milliseconds, for example, is sent to the LED 2 for the purpose of power saving. , an infrared pulse 2a having the same pulse width and pulse interval as the pulse current 1a is an LED.
Fired from 2.

Now, if a person 50 approaches the toilet, the LED
The infrared pulse 2a emitted from 2 is human 50
The infrared light pulse 2a' is reflected by the photodiode 3 and converted into a pulse current 3a. This pulse current 3a is input to an amplifier 4, amplified, and output as a pulse current 4a to the output side of the amplifier 4.

On the other hand, a pulse signal 1a' synchronized with the pulse current 1a from the pulse generator 1 is sent from the pulse generator 1 to the gate 5A of the analog switch 5, and while this pulse signal 1a' is applied to the gate 5A, the analog switch 5 is closed and the analog switch 5 is open while the pulse signal 1a' is not applied.

Since the pulse currents 1a and 4a may occur almost simultaneously, the pulse current 1a
If the analog switch 5 is closed only while the current is occurring, the pulse current 4a generated on the output side of the amplifier 4 can pass through the analog switch 5.

The capacitor 6 in the integrating circuit 6 is caused by the pulse current 4a generated when a person approaches the toilet bowl.
a and 6b are charged, and the terminal voltages of capacitors 6a and 6b increase sequentially.

Incidentally, if the analog switch 5 is not provided, the terminal voltage of the capacitors 6a and 6b charged by the pulse current 4a will be the same as the pulse current 4a.
The capacitor 6a is discharged by the output resistor etc. of the amplifier 4 while the capacitor 6a is
The terminal voltages of terminals 6b and 6b do not rise to a value suitable for input to the comparator 6 during the time when people relieve themselves.

Now, when a person approaches the toilet for a predetermined period of time, the reflected light 2a' of the infrared pulse 2a continues to be received by the photodiode 3, and the terminal voltage of the capacitor 6b eventually reaches a certain value A. exceed. As a result, the comparator 7 detects that the infrared pulse 2a' has been continuously received for a predetermined period of time, that is, it determines that the person has relieved himself. Then, when the person leaves the toilet, an infrared pulse 2 is emitted.
Since reception by the photodiode 3 of a' is eliminated, the pulse current 4a is also eliminated, and the capacitor 6a
and 6b are discharged by the output resistance of the amplifier 4 while the analog switch 5 is closed, so that the terminal voltage of the capacitor 6b becomes the above-mentioned certain value A.
Decrease more rapidly. This determines that reception of the infrared pulse 2a' has been stopped.

That is, the differentiation circuit 8 provided immediately after the comparator 7 detects the rapid change in the terminal voltage of the capacitor 6b as described above, and issues a command to the timer 9 to operate the motor drive circuit 10. The timer 9 gives a signal to the motor drive circuit 10 to cause the motor 11 to rotate forward for a predetermined time R seconds, and then to rotate reversely for a predetermined time S seconds. Normally, R seconds and S seconds are equal.

In Figure 2, when the motor 11 rotates forward, the push rod shaft 125 moves forward (to the left on the paper in Figure 2).
However, when reversing, it moves backwards. Motor 11 is R
By rotating forward for seconds, the push rod shaft 125 moves several millimeters to the left, and the flush valve 2
0 lever 21 to the left. Next, the motor 11 rotates in reverse for S seconds, and the push rod shaft 125 returns to its original position. By the push rod shaft 125 displacing the lever 21, the known flush valve 20
The water flows into the toilet bowl in the same way as when the lever 21 is manually operated and displaced.

As mentioned above, the forward rotation and reverse rotation of the motor 11 are started and stopped by the timer 9, but as a backup for stopping by the timer 9, a cam and a limit switch (not shown) are built into the reduction gear mechanism 12. The rotation of the motor 11 is stopped when the gear 122 rotates forward or backward to a predetermined position.

Effects of the invention As explained above, according to the invention, by providing an analog switch between the amplifier and the integrating circuit, charging current corresponding to infrared pulses with an extremely small pulse width compared to the pulse interval can be used.
In addition to being able to obtain an appropriate output voltage from the integrating circuit, the automatic flush valve does not require an external power source and is powered by a built-in battery, as it uses a motor with a reduction gear mechanism to drive the displacement of the flush valve lever. It has the advantage that it can only be activated by Furthermore, since the reduction tooth mechanism is provided with a cam and a limit switch, the motor can be reliably stopped even if the timer fails.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a partially cutaway front view of the motor 11, reduction gear mechanism 12, and flush valve 20. 1...Pulse generator, 1a, 3a, 4a...Pulse current, 1a'...Pulse signal, 2...LED, 2
a, 2a'...Infrared pulse, 3...Photodiode, 4...Amplifier, 5...Analog switch,
5A...Gate, 6...Integrator circuit, 7...Comparator, 8...Differentiating circuit, 9...Timer, 10...
...Motor drive circuit, 11...Motor, 12...Reduction gear mechanism, 20...Flash valve, 21...
...Lever, 30...Battery, 40...Case, 50
...Human, 100...Automatic flush valve, 1
25...Push rod shaft.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A pulse generator that generates pulses with an extremely small pulse width compared to the pulse interval, and an LED that emits light in synchronization with the pulses generated by this pulse generator.
, a photodiode that emits reflected infrared light emitted by this LED, an amplifier that amplifies the output of this photodiode, an analog switch connected to the output side of this amplifier, and an analog switch that integrates the output signal of this analog switch. an integrating circuit, a comparator that receives the output signal of the integrating circuit and determines whether the output signal has reached a predetermined value, and a differentiating circuit connected to the output side of the comparator;
a timer, a motor, a motor drive circuit that drives the motor while the timer is operating, a battery that supplies power to the electrical circuit and electrical components, a reduction tooth mechanism connected to the motor, and the reduction tooth mechanism. The automatic flush valve is equipped with a cam and a limit switch provided in the pulse generator, and a flush valve whose lever is displaced by rotation of the output shaft of the reduction gear mechanism to allow water to flow. is closed only while it is occurring, and
The differentiating circuit differentiates the output signal of the integrating circuit received by the comparator, and the motor drive circuit rotates the motor in the forward and reverse directions for a predetermined period of time set in the timer corresponding to the differential value, and the cam and limit switch rotate the gears of the reduction gear mechanism. An automatic flush valve that stops the motor when it rotates to a predetermined position.