JPH037835A - Operating device for toilet ventilation fan - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the most appropriate ventilation to be attained for both urination and evacuation of bowel without consuming surplus electrical power by a method wherein a control means is provided to select a speed of a driving motor for a ventilation fan in response to output signals from a human sensing means and an odor sensing means and to execute a set ventilation operation pattern. CONSTITUTION:In case that a user enters a toilet room 1 for his urination, a human sensor 9 detects a person and a sensing circuit 11 may output a human sensing signal S12. A micro- computer 15 may output a weak operating signal S15a a from an output port O. A motor driving circuit 16 may form a low speed energization circuit for the driving motor 4 and a ventilation fan 3 may start a weak ventilation operation and continues to operate. In case that the user enters the toilet room 1 for his evacuation of bowel, the ventilation fan 3 may perform a weak ventilation operation under a judgement of the micro-computer 15. However, odor may be generated within the toilet room 1 in the middle of usage of evacuation of bowel, so that a gas sensor 10 may detect this state and a sensor circuit 13 may output an odor sensing signal S14. Accordingly, the micro-computer 15 may output a strong operation signal S15b from the output port O, the motor driving circuit 16 may form a high speed energization circuit for the driving motor 4 and then the ventilation fan 3 may perform a strong ventilating operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to an operating device for a ventilation fan for a restroom that automatically operates the ventilation fan depending on the person in the restroom and the presence or absence of an odor.

(Prior art) Conventionally, as an operating device for operating a toilet ventilation fan that exhausts odor from the toilet, the user sets a timer at the time of use, and the ventilation operation is performed only while the timer is running. There are devices that automatically start and stop ventilation operation based on a human detection sensor that detects infrared rays emitted by a person.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) In the conventional configuration, ventilation is performed at a constant air volume only for a time set on a timer or while a human sensor detects a person, regardless of whether it is for small or large use. In addition, the ventilation operation often consumes extra electricity or is stopped before the odor has been exhausted, and there is a problem that the ventilation operation is not performed optimally depending on the state of use of the toilet. Ta.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an operating device for a ventilation fan for a toilet that can perform optimal ventilation operation depending on the presence or absence of people in the toilet and the presence or absence of odor. be.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The operating device for a ventilation fan for a toilet according to the present invention includes a ventilation fan equipped with a speed-selectable drive motor to ventilate the toilet, and detects a person in the toilet. and odor detection means for detecting odor in the toilet and outputting an output signal, and detecting the presence or absence of output signals of these person detection means and the output signal of the odor detection means. The present invention is characterized by a configuration in which a control means is provided for selecting the speed of the drive motor of the ventilation fan depending on the presence or absence of the ventilation fan and causing the set ventilation operation pattern to be executed.

(Function) According to the toilet ventilation fan operating device of the present invention, the ventilation fan is equipped with a speed-selectable drive motor and can switch the air volume, and the control means detects the presence or absence of an output signal from the person detection means and detects odor. The speed of the drive motor is selected depending on the presence or absence of an output signal from the means, and the set ventilation operation pattern is executed. Therefore, the optimum ventilation operation is performed depending on the presence or absence of people in the toilet and the presence or absence of odor. can be carried out.

(Example) Hereinafter, a first example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

First, the configuration of the toilet will be described according to FIG. That is, a toilet bowl 2 is installed in the toilet 1, and
A ventilation fan 3 is attached to the back wall 1a of the toilet 1.

This ventilation fan 3 has a selectable speed, for example, a high speed,
The fan 5 is configured to include a drive motor 4 (see FIG. 1) that can be switched to two low-speed stages, and a fan 5 is rotated by the drive motor 4. Further, a wall switch 6 is disposed on the wall 1b on the entrance/exit side of the toilet 1, and a light switch 7 and a ventilation fan switch 8 are attached to this as shown in FIG. In this case, when the light switch 7 is operated to the "on" position, the light switch 7 energizes and lights up the light (not shown) in the toilet 1, and when it is operated to the "off" position, the light is turned off. It is designed to turn off the light. Furthermore, ventilation fan 3
A human sensor 9 and a gas sensor 10 are attached to the. Here, the human sensor 9 is made of, for example, a pyroelectric effect optical sensor, and is adapted to detect infrared rays generated by a human. The gas sensor 10 is a commercially available semiconductor sensor that is highly sensitive to amines, which are nitrogen-containing substances, or mercaptans, which are sulfur-containing substances, and is designed to detect odors within the toilet 1.

Now, the electrical configuration will be described according to FIG.

The human sensor 9 is connected to an input terminal of a detection circuit 11 to constitute a human detection means 12, and the detection circuit 11 outputs a human detection signal StZ when the human sensor 9 detects a person. Further, the gas sensor 10 is connected to an input terminal of a detection circuit 13 to constitute an odor detection means 14, and the detection circuit 13 outputs an odor detection signal S14 when the gas sensor 10 detects an odor in the toilet 1. Each output terminal of the detection circuits 11 and 13 is connected to an input port Ia of a microcomputer 15 serving as a control means.
and Ib, respectively. The ventilation fan switch 8
When it is operated to the "auto" side, it outputs the automatic operation signal S8, and when it is operated to the "off" side, it stops outputting the automatic operation signal S8, and its output terminal is connected to the microcomputer. 15 input ports Ic. Further, the output port 0 of the microcomputer 15 is connected to the drive motor 4 via a motor drive circuit 16.

In this case, the motor drive circuit 16 forms a low-speed energization circuit for the drive motor 4 when the weak operation signal 515a is given from the microcomputer 15, and the strong operation signal 51sb
When is given, a high-speed energizing circuit for the drive motor 4 is formed, and of course both signals S15a and S15
When there is no b, the drive motor 4 is stopped.

Note that the electric circuit shown in FIG. 1 is built into the ventilation fan 3.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

When the power is turned on (start), the microcomputer 15 performs initialization and then goes to judgment step A of "Is s8 present?" Here, it judges "NO" and returns to judgment step A. .

Therefore, when the user operates the ventilation fan switch 8 to the "auto" side, the ventilation fan switch 8 outputs the automatic operation signal S8, and the microcomputer 15 outputs the automatic operation signal S8.
Is there one? In judgment step A of ``, it is judged as rYEsJ, and the process moves to the next judgment step B of ``Is S12 present?'', and when it is judged as rNOJ here, the process returns to judgment step B via output step C of ``stop operation''. become.

(B) In the case of errands (see Figure 4) When the user enters the toilet 1 for errands (time t1 in Figure 4), the human sensor 9 detects a person and the detection circuit 11 is activated. A human detection signal 512 is output. Therefore, the microcomputer 15 determines rYESJ in the determination step B of "Is S12 present?", outputs the output step D of "weak operation", and outputs the weak operation signal 51sa from the output port 0.

As a result, the motor drive circuit 16 comes to form a low-speed energization circuit for the drive motor 4, and the ventilation fan 3 starts a weak ventilation operation. After that, the microcomputer 15
Do you have an rsl number? ” is the judgment step E. When the toilet is used for errands, almost no odor is generated in the toilet 1, so the gas sensor 10 does not detect any odor, and the detection circuit 13 does not output the odor detection signal Sl&. Therefore, does the microcomputer 15 have rsta?
In judgment step E, it is judged as rNOJ and the process returns to judgment step B. Below, microcomputer 15
are judgment step B, output step D and judgment step E.
As a result, the ventilation fan 3 continues its weak ventilation operation. After that, the user finishes his errands and goes to the restroom.
(time t2 in FIG. 4), the human sensor 9 no longer detects a human and the detection circuit 11 stops outputting the human detection signal Stz. Therefore, microcomputer 1
Does 5 have rS12? ” At judgment step B, rNOJ
It is determined that the output step C is "operation stop", and the output of the weak operation signal 515a from the output port O is stopped.

As a result, the motor drive circuit 16 turns off the power to the drive motor 4, and the ventilation fan 3 stops its ventilation operation. The microcomputer 15 then returns to decision step B.

(b) In the case of Okawa (see Figure 5) When the user enters the toilet 1 at Okawa (time jl in Figure 5), the microcomputer 15 asks "Is S12 present?" as described above. rYESJ in judgment step B
After that, the process of returning to judgment step B via output step D and judgment step E is repeated, and the ventilation fan 3 performs a weak ventilation operation. In the case of Okawa, an odor is generated in the toilet 1 during use, so the gas sensor 10 detects this and the detection circuit 13 outputs an odor detection signal S14 (time tz in FIG. 5). Therefore, microcomputer 1
Does 5 have RS? " rYEs in judgment step E
It is judged as J and becomes the output step F of the next "strong operation",
Strong operation signals S, , b are output from output port 0. As a result, the motor drive circuit 16 drives the drive motor 4
A high-speed energization circuit is now formed, and the ventilation fan 3 now performs strong ventilation operation. The microcomputer 15 then goes to the judgment step G of "Is S12 present?", and here it judges "YESJ" and returns to the output step F. After that, when the user finishes the large river and exits the toilet 1 ( FIG. 5 Time t3), detection circuit 11
stops the output of the human detection signal S12, so the microcomputer 15 determines rNOJ in the judgment step G of "Is S2 present?" and determines whether rs is present. ”, the process moves to judgment step H. Even if the user leaves the toilet 1 after finishing Okawa, there is a residual odor inside the toilet 1, so the detection circuit 13
outputs the odor detection signal Sl&, therefore, the microcomputer 15 determines rYEsJ in the determination step H and returns to the output step F. Then, when the residual odor in the toilet 1 disappears, the detection circuit 13 stops outputting the odor detection signal S14, so the microcomputer 15 determines whether rs is present or not. ” At judgment step H, rN
It is determined that OJ is present, and the output step 1 is "stop operation after weak delay operation." In this output step I, the microcomputer 15 outputs the weak operation signal 5ISa from the output port 0 for a certain period of time T, and the ventilation fan 3 then performs the weak ventilation operation for a certain period of time T (time t4 ts in FIG. 5). As a result, residual odor that cannot be detected by the gas sensor 10 is discharged. After this output step (2), the microcomputer 15 returns to the determination step B.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. That is, in the case of small business, the human detection signal S12
A small ventilation operation pattern is executed in which the ventilation fan 3 performs a weak ventilation operation only while the is being outputted, and in the case of Okawa, the ventilation fan 3 is caused to perform a weak ventilation operation by the output of the human detection signal S12, and then, The ventilation fan 3 is caused to perform strong ventilation operation by outputting the odor detection signal SI&, and further thereafter, the output of the human detection signal 512 is stopped and the odor detection signal SIA is output.
Since the output of the ventilation fan 3 is stopped, the ventilation fan 3 performs a weak ventilation operation for a certain period of time T, so that the Okawa ventilation operation pattern is executed. It is possible to automatically perform the optimal ventilation operation for each of the rivers and rivers. Therefore, unlike in the past, there is no possibility that the S ventilation operation is performed unnecessarily, consuming extra power, or that the ventilation operation is stopped before the residual odor cannot be completely exhausted.

In the above embodiment, in the case of Okawa, time t4 (FIG. 5)
Although the ventilation operation is switched to the weak ventilation operation at the time, the strong ventilation operation may be continued until the time ts as in the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

8 and 9 show a third embodiment of the present invention, and a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
The same parts as those in the figures and FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and only the different parts will be explained below.

That is, Figures 4 and 5 are the small ventilation operation pattern and Okawa ventilation operation pattern for the summer, and Figures 8 and 9 are the small ventilation operation pattern and the Okawa ventilation operation pattern for the winter. be. In FIG. 8, the ventilation fan 3 is left stopped even if the person detection signal S12 is output (time t), and the ventilation fan 3 is stopped when the output of the person detection signal S12 is stopped (time t2). Fixed time/duration T (time tz-t3)
Only use weak ventilation. In Okawa's FIG. 9, the ventilation fan 3 remains stopped even when the human detection signal 812 is output (time 11), and the ventilation fan 3 is operated in a weak ventilation mode when the odor detection signal SI& is output (time t2). , Then, when the output of the human detection signal 812 is stopped (time t3), ventilation B is started.
3 is operated with strong ventilation, and furthermore, when the output of the odor detection signal S14 is stopped (time ta), a certain period of time T (time ta-t
s) The ventilation fan 3 is operated to provide strong ventilation.

According to the third embodiment, it is possible to perform optimal ventilation operation in winter without causing the user to experience cold roads.

In addition, as means for switching to execute the ventilation operation patterns shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in the summer and to execute the ventilation operation patterns shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 in the winter, for example, a temperature sensor that detects the outside air temperature is used. Alternatively, a manual changeover switch may be provided that can be changed and set manually.

[Effects of the Invention] The operating device for a ventilation fan for a toilet according to the present invention executes a ventilation operation pattern set according to the presence or absence of people in the toilet and the presence or absence of odor, so This provides an excellent effect in that the optimum ventilation operation can be performed, and the ventilation operation will not be stopped without consuming excessive power or without exhausting the odor.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a block diagram of the electrical configuration, Figure 2 is a block diagram of the toilet, Figure 3 is a front view of the wall switch, Figures 4 and 5 are time charts for explaining the operation, and Figure 6 is the operation. 7 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 showing a third embodiment of the present invention. and a diagram equivalent to Figure 5. In the drawing, 1 is a toilet, 3 is a ventilation fan, 4 is a drive motor, 6
is a wall switch, 8 is a ventilation fan switch, 9 is a human sensor,
10 is a gas sensor, 12 is a person detection means, 14 is an odor detection means, and 15 is a microcomputer (control means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A ventilation fan equipped with a speed-selectable drive motor to ventilate the toilet, a person detection means for detecting a person in the toilet and outputting an output signal, and a person detecting means for detecting an odor in the toilet and outputting an output signal. odor detection means; and a control means for executing a set ventilation operation pattern by selecting the speed of the drive motor of the ventilation fan according to the presence or absence of an output signal from these human detection means and the presence or absence of an output signal from the odor detection means. A toilet ventilation fan operating device comprising: