Pressure-feed toilet device

Abstract

To provide a pressure-feed toilet device capable of reducing the retention of excrement on the bottom of a bowl.SOLUTION: A pressure-feed toilet device 1 includes: a washing water supply part 6 for supplying washing water to a bowl part 12; a pressure-feed pump 20 that is connected to a discharge part 14 at a lower end of the bowl part via a trap part 15, and pressure-feeds waste water discharged from the bowl part toward a drain pipe 3; and a control unit 25 that is configured so as to, when receiving a predetermined washing operation signal, control the washing water supply part and the pressure-feed pump to execute the water supply and pressure-feed several times.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a pressure feeding toilet device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Pressure-feed toilet devices are known that are installed in locations where a drain pipe leading to a sewer is not installed in advance on the floor or wall, such as in bedrooms. For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a pressure-feed toilet apparatus equipped with a pressure-feed device that agitates waste contained in wastewater discharged from the toilet body and pressure-feeds it together with the wastewater into a downstream drain pipe leading to the sewer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-170414 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the pressure-feed toilet device described in Patent Document 1, a trap is provided connected to the discharge part of the toilet body. Therefore, depending on the condition of the stool, there is a concern that some of the waste will not be discharged by the series of flushing operations consisting of water supply and the subsequent pressure-feeding, and will tend to remain on the bottom side of the toilet body, such as at the connection part with the trap.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a pressure-feed toilet device that can reduce the accumulation of waste on the bottom side of the bowl portion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the pressure-feed toilet device disclosed herein is characterized by comprising a flush water supply unit which supplies flush water to a bowl portion, a pressure pump which is connected to a discharge portion at the lower end of the bowl portion via a trap unit and which pressure-feeds wastewater discharged from the bowl portion towards a drain pipe, and a control unit which, upon receiving a specified flush operation signal, controls the flush water supply unit and the pressure pump to carry out water supply and pressure-feeding multiple times. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The pressure-feed toilet device according to the present disclosure is configured as described above, thereby making it possible to reduce the accumulation of waste on the bottom side of the bowl portion. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic, partially cutaway, side cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a pressure-feed toilet device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 5(a) to 5(c) are schematic side cross-sectional views showing an example of a basic operation carried out in the pressure-feed toilet device. [Diagram 3] 5(a) to 5(c) are schematic side cross-sectional views showing an example of a basic operation carried out in the pressure-feed toilet device. [Figure 4] FIG. 1(a) is a control block diagram of the pressure-feed toilet device, and (b) to (d) are general time charts that typically show an example of the basic operations carried out in the pressure-feed toilet device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In some drawings, some of the detailed reference numerals used in other drawings are omitted. In the following embodiment, directions such as the up-down direction will be described based on the installed state of one example of the pressure-feed toilet device according to this embodiment. Also, based on a user facing the installed pressure-feed toilet device in an upright position, the near side will be defined as the front and the opposite side as the rear (deep side), and the direction perpendicular to the depth direction (front-rear direction) and the up-down direction will be defined as the width direction of the toilet.

[0010] 1 to 4 are diagrams showing an example of a pressure-feed toilet device according to the present embodiment and an example of its basic operation. As shown in FIG. 1, the pressure-feed toilet device 1 according to this embodiment is equipped with a toilet body 10 having a bowl section 12. The pressure-feed toilet device 1 is equipped with a flush water supply section 6 that supplies flush water to the bowl section 12, and a pressure-feed pump 20 that is connected to the discharge section 14 at the lower end of the bowl section 12 via a trap section 15 and pressure-feeds wastewater discharged from the bowl section 12 toward the drain pipe 3. With this configuration, the trap section 15 can seal the water, so there is no need to provide a valve or the like at the discharge section 14 at the lower end of the bowl section 12 to suppress the movement of odors and the like downstream (pump side) toward the indoor side, simplifying the structure and control. In addition, the pressure-feed toilet device 20 can pressure-feed wastewater (flush water and wastewater containing waste such as excrement, hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as wastewater) toward the drain pipe 3. This allows the pressure-feed toilet device 1 to be installed in places where the drain pipe 3 leading to the sewer has not been installed in advance on the floor side or wall side.

[0011] Specifically, the pressure-feed toilet device 1 is of a seated type (so-called Western style). The installation location of this pressure-feed toilet device 1 is not limited to a toilet room that has been designed in advance as an installation location for a toilet device and has a drain pipe installed on the floor or wall, etc., but may also be, for example, a bedroom, a storage room such as a closet, etc. The installation location of the pressure-feed toilet device 1 is not limited to ordinary housing such as detached houses, apartment buildings, temporary housing, etc., but may be various locations such as public facilities such as accommodation facilities, medical facilities, welfare facilities, commercial facilities such as offices, various stores, etc. The bowl portion 12 is shaped like a mortar and opens upward. The toilet body 10 is provided with a skirt portion 11 that surrounds the bowl portion 12. The skirt portion 11 is provided so as to form the outer decorative surface of both sides in the width direction and the front side of the toilet body 10. The skirt portion 11 and the bowl portion 12 may be made of a synthetic resin such as organic glass, or may be made of ceramic. Also, an appropriate metal frame may be provided within the skirt portion 11.

[0012] The pressure-feed toilet device 1 includes a toilet seat 4 placed on the upper peripheral edge of the bowl portion 12, and a toilet lid 5 for opening and closing the opening of the bowl portion 12. A suitable holder is provided at the rear end of the toilet body 10 to hold the toilet seat 4 and the toilet lid 5 so that they can be raised and lowered (rotated) around an axis along the width direction of the toilet. The toilet body 10 may be provided with a toilet seat drive unit for raising and lowering the toilet seat 4, a toilet lid drive unit for opening and closing the toilet lid 5, and the like. The toilet body 10 may also be provided with various functional devices such as a disinfecting water supply device for supplying disinfecting water such as ozone water or hypochlorous acid water into the bowl portion 12, an air bubble generator for adding air bubbles to the washing water, and a deodorizing device for deodorizing the inside of the bowl portion 12. The toilet body 10 or the toilet seat device including the toilet seat 4 and the toilet lid 5 may also be provided with various functional devices such as a heating device for heating the toilet seat 4, and a local cleansing device 9 for cleaning the local area. The pressure-feed toilet device 1 may be provided with various sensors such as a human body detection sensor and a seating sensor, and may also be provided with a remote control device as an operating unit for operating the various functional devices described above, and a transmission / reception device that enables transmission and reception of various signals from the remote control device.

[0013] The cleaning water supply section 6 is equipped with a cleaning water supply pipe 8, the downstream end of which serves as a supply port for supplying cleaning water toward the bowl section 12, and a water supply valve 7 for opening and closing the cleaning water supply pipe 8 to supply or cut off cleaning water. The upstream end of the cleaning water supply pipe 8 may be connected to a water supply pipe 2 such as a water pipe. In other words, the cleaning water supply section 6 may be of a direct water pressure type. Alternatively, the upstream end of the cleaning water supply pipe 8 may be connected to a water supply pump, a water tank, or the like. Also, an appropriate branch pipe branching off from the upstream part of the cleaning water supply pipe 8 may be connected to the local cleaning device 9. The supply port of the cleaning water supply pipe 8 may be arranged to extend circumferentially around the upper end peripheral edge of the bowl portion 12 and to discharge cleaning water along a groove in the rim portion 13 which is arranged to protrude radially inward to form a groove. The water supply valve 7 is provided so as to be incorporated into a midway portion of the cleaning water supply pipe 8, and may be an appropriate solenoid valve or the like. A flow rate sensor 24 (see FIG. 4(a)) that measures the flow rate of cleaning water supplied to bowl portion 12 may be provided at an appropriate position in cleaning water supply pipe 8, for example, near the downstream side of water supply valve 7.

[0014] The discharge portion 14 of the bowl portion 12 is provided so as to extend rearward from the lower end portion, which is the bottom side of the bowl portion 12, and is cylindrical in shape. The trap section 15 is provided so as to be continuous with the discharge section 14. The trap section 15 and the discharge section 14 may be formed integrally with each other, or may be formed separately. Trap section 15 is formed with the lower end portion of bowl section 12 to form a so-called S-trap. This trap section 15 has a rising portion 15a rising from discharge section 14, and a hanging portion 15d hanging down from the upper end of rising portion 15a via a bent portion 15b. In this embodiment, an exhaust section 16 that exhausts air from within trap section 15 is provided at bent portion 15b of trap section 15. The rising portion 15a is provided so as to rise substantially vertically from the discharge portion 14 which extends toward the rear side in a substantially horizontal direction. In the illustrated example, the rising portion 15a is formed so as to be slightly inclined toward the rear side toward the upper end side. In the illustrated example, hanging portion 15d is provided so as to hang down substantially vertically.

[0015] Bending portion 15b is provided so as to bend the discharge flow path from the rising flow path in rising portion 15a constituting the discharge flow path toward the downward flow path in downward portion 15d constituting the discharge flow path. The bottom wall portion on the inner circumferential surface of this bending portion 15b, i.e., the upper end portion of the rising flow path in rising portion 15a, becomes water sealing portion 15c that regulates the water level in bowl portion 12 (see also FIG. 2(a)). The exhaust section 16 is provided so as to open at the top wall portion on the inner circumferential surface of the bent portion 15b. In the illustrated example, the exhaust section 16 is provided so as to be located at the downstream side portion of the bent portion 15b. The exhaust section 16 may be provided with a backflow prevention mechanism such as a suitable check valve that allows air to pass from inside the trap section 15 to outside the trap section 15 while preventing air from passing from outside the trap section 15 to inside the trap section 15. The exhaust section 16 may also be provided with a suitable trap mechanism or the like that suppresses the passage of wastewater from inside the trap section 15 to outside the trap section 15. The exhaust side of the exhaust section 16 may also be provided with a suitable deodorizing mechanism, and the exhaust side may be provided so as to communicate with a sewage discharge pipe 18 or a drain pipe 3, which will be described later.

[0016] The pressure pump 20 is connected such that its suction side communicates with the downstream side of the trap portion 15 . This pressure pump 20 is provided so as to be located inside the toilet body 10. With this configuration, it is possible to achieve a more compact structure compared to a configuration in which a grinding section, pressure pump, etc. are provided in a wastewater storage section, etc., provided outside the toilet body 10. In the illustrated example, the pressure pump 20 is provided so as to be located below the bowl section 12. This pressure delivery pump 20 includes a pump drive unit 21 consisting of a motor or the like, an impeller 22 rotated by this pump drive unit 21, and a casing 23 that houses this impeller 22. The casing 23 is provided with a suction port that is connected to the downstream end of the trap unit 15. In the illustrated example, a rising portion that rises via a bent portion is provided on the suction side of the casing 23, and the upper end of this rising portion is connected to the lower end of the hanging portion 15d of the trap unit 15, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration.

[0017] In addition to the function of pumping the wastewater from the bowl portion 12 downstream, the impeller 22 also functions as a crushing section that crushes waste matter such as excrement and toilet paper contained in the wastewater from the bowl portion 12. Note that in addition to the impeller 22, appropriate rotating blades or the like for crushing waste matter may be provided inside the casing 23. Furthermore, the pressure-feed pump 20 is not limited to a centrifugal pump as shown in the figure, and various other pumps may be used. A wastewater discharge pipe 18 is connected to the discharge side of the casing 23. The downstream end of this wastewater discharge pipe 18 is connected to an appropriate drain pipe 3. The diameters of these wastewater discharge pipe 18 and drain pipe 3 may be smaller than the diameter of a general drain pipe that is pre-installed in a toilet room or the like. In addition, the sewage discharge pipe 18 may be provided with a backflow prevention mechanism 19 such as an appropriate check valve that allows wastewater to pass from the pressure pump 20 side to the drain pipe 3 side, while preventing wastewater from passing from the drain pipe 3 side to the pressure pump 20 side.

[0018] In this embodiment, the pressure-feed toilet device 1 is equipped with a water level sensor 17 that detects abnormal water levels downstream of the discharge section 14 of the bowl section 12 and upstream of the pressure-feed pump 20. The illustrated example shows an example in which the water level sensor 17 is provided to configure a path connecting the discharge section 14 of the bowl section 12 and the pressure-feed pump 20, and to detect the water level at a rising section provided on the suction side of the casing 23 of the pressure-feed pump 20. Such a water level sensor 17 may be a water pressure sensor that detects water pressure, or various other sensors such as a capacitance type, radio wave type, or ultrasonic type. As shown in Fig. 4(a), the pressure-feed toilet device 1 is equipped with a notification unit 29 that notifies the user of the operating state, the occurrence of an abnormality, etc. Such notification unit 29 may be an alert lamp made of a light source such as an LED that notifies the user by light, or alternatively or in addition to such a configuration, it may be a buzzer or speaker that notifies the user by sound.

[0019] The pressure-feed toilet device 1 is equipped with a control unit 25 (see FIG. 4(a)) that, upon receiving a specified flush operation signal, controls the flush water supply unit 6 and pressure pump 20 to execute water supply and pressure-feeding multiple times. With this configuration, pressure-feeding is repeated, so waste that was not completely flushed away by the first pressure-feed and remains at the bottom of the bowl section 12 can be effectively pressure-feeded downstream by the second and subsequent pressure-feeds. In other words, since the configuration uses pressure pump 20 to suck up wastewater from the bowl section 12 and pressure-feed it downstream, there is a concern that waste may be more likely to remain at the bottom of the bowl section 12 than with a configuration that uses siphon action to drain water or a configuration that is provided with a mechanical trap. With the above configuration, it is possible to reduce the amount of waste remaining. When the control unit 25 receives a flushing operation signal, it may execute the water supply and pumping multiple times by executing the pumping multiple times while the flushing water is being supplied to the bowl portion 12. With this configuration, the drainage is less likely to be interrupted in the path from the bottom of the bowl portion 12 through the trap portion 15 to the pumping pump 20, compared to a configuration in which the supply of flushing water is stopped between pumpings. In other words, so-called air entrapment is less likely to occur, the drainage water from the bowl portion 12 can be effectively sucked toward the pumping pump 20, and the accumulation of waste on the bottom side of the bowl portion 12 can be more effectively reduced.

[0020] When the control unit 25 receives a predetermined few-times flushing operation signal, the control unit 25 may execute water supply and pressure transfer less times than when the flushing operation signal was received. With this configuration, when the few-times flushing operation signal is received, water supply and pressure transfer is executed less times than when the flushing operation signal was received, which can save water and power. In this embodiment, the pressure-feed toilet device 1 is equipped with a large flush operation unit 27 that outputs a flush operation signal, and a small flush operation unit 28 that outputs a few-times flush operation signal. With this configuration, when the large flush operation unit 27 is operated, water supply / pressure-feed is executed multiple times, and when the small flush operation unit 28 is operated, water supply / pressure-feed is executed fewer times than when the large flush operation unit 27 is operated.

[0021] Specifically, the large flush operation unit 27 and the small flush operation unit 28 constitute the flush operation unit 26 which is operated when supplying flush water to the bowl portion 12. This flush operation unit 26 may be provided on the toilet body 10 side, for example, in an appropriate location of the toilet seat device, or in addition to or instead of on the toilet body 10 side, it may be provided on an appropriate remote controller (remote control device (remote control equipment)) installed away from the toilet body 10. In this case, the remote controller may be provided with an appropriate control unit or the like that controls the transmission of operation signals of each operation unit of the flush operation unit 26 to the control unit 25 on the toilet body 10 side via a transmission unit. The transmission unit may be configured to correspond to the reception unit on the toilet body 10 side, and these transmission unit and reception unit may be configured using various wireless communication methods. Furthermore, instead of being wirelessly connected to the toilet body 10 in this manner so as to be able to send and receive signals, the remote controller and the toilet body 10 may be wired connected by an appropriate signal line or the like.

[0022] The control unit 25 may be a microcomputer (MCU) or the like including a control circuit such as a CPU, and various memories (storage units) such as a ROM and a RAM for storing various programs, etc. The above-mentioned water supply valve 7, flow rate sensor 24, pump drive unit 21, cleaning operation unit 26, notification unit 29, water level sensor 17, etc. are connected to this control unit 25 in a wired or wireless manner via appropriate signal lines, etc. In a standby state where no operation (flushing operation) of the flushing operation unit 26 is being performed, flushing water is stored in the bowl portion 12 up to the height of the water sealing portion 15c of the trap portion 15, as shown in Fig. 2(a). Also, in the standby state, due to the pressure-feeding caused by the previous execution of each mode described below, there is no residual water to be drained in the bent portion 15b and the hanging portion 15d of the trap portion 15, and they are in an empty state, and there is residual water to be drained in the casing 23 of the pressure-feed pump 20 and part of the rising portion connected thereto. In this standby state, if there is no abnormality in the water supply system or the drainage system, the residual water level will be lower than the abnormality detection level of the water level sensor 17. In other words, the water level sensor 17 is not detecting.

[0023] On the other hand, when the cleaning operation unit 26 is operated (cleaning operation), each unit is controlled according to a control program stored in a memory unit provided in the control unit 25, and the following basic operations (each mode) are performed. When the large-flush operating unit 27 is operated (for example, pushed), the large-flush mode is executed as shown in Fig. 4(b). In this large-flush mode, in the illustrated example, the configuration is such that two pressure transfers are executed with flush water being supplied to the bowl portion 12. When the large-flush operating section 27 is operated, the water supply valve 7 is opened. This causes pre-flush supply, in which flush water is supplied from the supply port through the flush water supply pipe 8 toward the bowl section 12, as shown in Fig. 2(b). At the beginning of the pre-flush supply, water is discharged beyond the water seal section 15c of the trap section 15 without the pressure pump 20 (pump drive section 21) being started (ON), and the water levels in the casing 23 and trap section 15 rise, as shown in Figs. 2(b) and (c).

[0024] In this pre-supply, if a predetermined amount of flush water is supplied after the water supply valve 7 is opened, the pump drive unit 21 may be started. At this time, if it is determined based on the measurement by the flow rate sensor 24 that a predetermined amount of flush water has been supplied, the pump drive unit 21 may be started. With this configuration, it is possible to control the supply amount to an appropriate amount without being affected by the water supply pressure or the opening degree of the stop valve, etc., compared to a configuration in which the supply of flush water until the start of the pump drive unit 21 is time-controlled, that is, until a predetermined time has passed. Also, at this time, as shown in FIG. 2(c), if it is determined based on the measurement by the flow rate sensor 24 that an amount of flush water has been supplied such that the path from the bottom of the bowl portion 12 to the pressure pump 20 is generally filled with wastewater, the pump drive unit 21 may be started. With this configuration, the so-called poor suction caused by air entrapment is less likely to occur in the pressure pump 20. As a result, the wastewater from the bowl portion 12 can be stably sucked toward the pressure pump 20, and the retention of waste at the bottom of the bowl portion 12 can be more effectively reduced. Furthermore, since exhaust section 16 is provided in trap section 15 as described above, the air within trap section 15 can be discharged when the path from the bottom of bowl section 12 to pressure pump 20 is generally filled with wastewater, allowing the path to be filled smoothly with wastewater.

[0025] In the above case, pump drive unit 21 may be started if a predetermined time has elapsed (time-up) before the supply amount calculated based on the measurement value of flow sensor 24 reaches the above-mentioned predetermined amount. With this configuration, pumping can be performed even if flow sensor 24 fails or detects erroneously, and overflow from bowl portion 12 can be suppressed. In addition, in the above-mentioned pre-water supply, the manner of determining whether a predetermined amount of cleaning water has been supplied after the water supply valve 7 is opened may be time control instead of the manner of control based on the measurement of the flow rate sensor 24 as described above. When pump driving unit 21 is started, a first pumping operation is performed in which wastewater is pumped from casing 23 toward sewage discharge pipe 18, as shown in Fig. 3(a). This first pumping operation may be performed until a predetermined time has elapsed. In other words, pump driving unit 21 may be stopped (OFF) when a predetermined time has elapsed after pump driving unit 21 is started. Alternatively, for example, a suitable water level sensor may be provided to detect the water level in bowl portion 12, trap portion 15, casing 23, etc., and pump driving unit 21 may be stopped when the water level reaches a pump stop level.

[0026] When the first pumping is completed, that is, when the pump driving unit 21 is stopped, the water supply valve 7 is in an open state, so the water level rises, and the pump driving unit 21 is started again to perform the second pumping. At this time, if a predetermined amount of flush water is supplied after the pump driving unit 21 is stopped in the first pumping, the pump driving unit 21 may be started to perform the second pumping. In this case, similar to the above, if it is determined based on the measurement by the flow rate sensor 24 that a predetermined amount of flush water has been supplied, the pump driving unit 21 may be started. Also, if it is determined that an amount of flush water that fills the path from the bottom of the bowl portion 12 to the pumping pump 20 with drainage has been supplied, the pump driving unit 21 may be started. Also, similar to the above, if a predetermined time has passed (time-up) until the supply amount calculated based on the measurement value of the flow rate sensor 24 reaches the above-mentioned predetermined amount, the pump driving unit 21 may be started. Note that instead of controlling the start of the second pumping based on the measurement by the flow rate sensor 24, time control may be used.

[0027] Then, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the second pumping, that is, since the pump driving unit 21 in the second pumping has been started, the water supply valve 7 may be closed. As a result, only pumping is performed without supplying flush water, and the water level further drops as shown in FIG. 3(b), and the wastewater in the bowl section 12 and the trap section 15 is mostly drained. The illustrated example shows a state in which there is residual water in the discharge section 14 on the bottom side of the bowl section 12 and on the bottom side of the casing 23. In this state, the wastewater discharge pipe 18 and the bowl section 12 are in communication, that is, in a broken state, but since the wastewater discharge pipe 18 is provided with a backflow prevention mechanism 19, it is possible to prevent the bad odor from the drain pipe 3 (sewer) from entering the room. Then, in the second pumping, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the water supply valve 7 was closed, the pump driving unit 21 may be stopped to end the second pumping. Alternatively, similar to the above, an appropriate water level sensor may be provided to detect the water level in the casing 23, etc., and when the water level reaches a pump stop level, the pump driving unit 21 may be stopped.

[0028] When the second pumping is completed, as shown in Fig. 3(c), water supply valve 7 is opened to supply flush water to bowl portion 12, and post-water supply is performed to store flush water in bowl portion 12. In the illustrated example, water supply valve 7 is configured to be opened after the second pumping is completed, that is, after a predetermined time has elapsed since pump drive portion 21 was stopped. At this time, if water level sensor 17 detects an abnormal water level, that is, if pumping and draining are not being performed normally, notification portion 29 may be operated, and the flush mode (large flush mode) may be ended without performing post-water supply. In addition, in the post-supply, if it is determined based on the measurement by the flow rate sensor 24 that a predetermined amount of flush water has been supplied, the water supply valve 7 may be closed. For example, if the supply amount calculated based on the measurement value of the flow rate sensor 24 reaches a predetermined amount at which the water level in the bowl section 12 is approximately the height of the water sealing section 15c, the water supply valve 7 may be closed. In this case, similar to the above, if a predetermined time has elapsed (time-up) before the supply amount calculated based on the measurement value of the flow rate sensor 24 reaches the above-mentioned predetermined amount, the water supply valve 7 may be closed. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the trap section 15 or the bowl section 12 from reaching an abnormal water level even if the flow rate sensor 24 fails or detects erroneously. Instead of controlling the closure of the water supply valve 7 in the post-supply based on the measurement by the flow rate sensor 24, time control may be used.

[0029] When the small-flush operating unit 28 is operated (e.g., pressed), the small-flush mode is executed as shown in Fig. 4(c) In this small-flush mode, in the illustrated example, one pressure feed is executed with flush water being supplied to the bowl portion 12. When the small-flush operation unit 28 is operated, the water supply valve 7 is opened and pre-water supply is performed as described above. As described above, at the beginning of pre-water supply, water is drained beyond the water seal portion 15c of the trap portion 15 without starting the pump drive unit 21, and the water levels in the casing 23 and the trap portion 15 rise.

[0030] In this pre-water supply, pump drive unit 21 may be started if a predetermined amount of flush water has been supplied after water supply valve 7 is opened (for example, an amount that fills the path from the bottom of bowl portion 12 to pressure pump 20 with drainage water), similarly to the above. At this time, pump drive unit 21 may be started based on measurement by flow rate sensor 24, similarly to the above. Also, in this case, pump drive unit 21 may be started if a predetermined time has elapsed (time-up) before the supply amount calculated based on the measurement value of flow rate sensor 24 reaches the above-mentioned predetermined amount. Note that instead of such an embodiment, in the pre-water supply, a mode may be used in which it is determined by time control whether a predetermined amount of flush water has been supplied after water supply valve 7 is opened.

[0031] When the pump drive unit 21 is started, wastewater is pumped from the casing 23 to the wastewater discharge pipe 18, as described above. When a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of this pumping, that is, since the pump drive unit 21 was started, the water supply valve 7 may be closed. As a result, only pumping is performed without supplying flush water, the water level further drops, and most of the wastewater in the bowl section 12 and the trap section 15 is drained. Then, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the water supply valve 7 was closed, the pump drive unit 21 may be stopped to end the pumping. Alternatively, an appropriate water level sensor may be provided to detect the water level of the casing 23, etc., and the pump drive unit 21 may be stopped when the water level reaches a pump stop level.

[0032] Then, as described above, after the pumping has finished, that is, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the pump drive unit 21 was stopped, the water supply valve 7 is opened to supply post-water. At this time, as described above, if the water level sensor 17 detects an abnormal water level, the notification unit 29 may be activated, or the flush mode (small flush mode) may be ended without carrying out post-water supply. In the post-supply, the water supply valve 7 may be closed based on the measurement by the flow rate sensor 24, as described above, or the water supply valve 7 may be closed after a predetermined time has elapsed. In the pre-water supply for the large flush mode and small flush mode described above, for example, if the flow rate sensor 24 does not detect the passage of flush water, it may be determined that a water outage has occurred or the stopcock is closed, and the alarm unit 29 may be activated.

[0033] In this embodiment, in addition to the large flush mode and small flush mode described above, the pressure-feed toilet device 1 is capable of executing a drain mode in which the amount of water supplied in the pre-water supply is less than that in the large flush mode and small flush mode (or zero), as shown in Fig. 4(d). This drain mode may be executed, for example, by receiving a drain operation signal output by operating a drain operation unit provided in an appropriate location, or by simultaneously pressing or long-pressing the large flush operation unit 27 and the small flush operation unit 28. This drain operation signal may be the limited-flush operation signal described above. In the illustrated example, when a discharge operation signal is received, the water supply valve 7 is opened and the pump drive unit 21 is started. In addition, in the illustrated example, the water supply valve 7 is opened and the pump drive unit 21 is started simultaneously, but either one of them may be slightly delayed from the other.

[0034] Also, in this drain mode, water supply valve 7 may be closed if a predetermined time has elapsed, and similarly to the above, water supply valve 7 may be closed if it is determined that a predetermined amount of flush water has been supplied based on measurement by flow rate sensor 24. The amount of water supplied in this drain mode may be relatively small, and water supply valve 7 may be open for, for example, about 0.5 to 2 seconds. Also, in this drain mode, since it is expected that the stopcock will be closed when it is desired to perform drainage only, for example, the drain mode may be configured not to notify of an abnormality even if flow rate sensor 24 does not detect the passage of flush water. Moreover, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the water supply valve 7 was closed (or the pump drive unit 21 was started), the pump drive unit 21 may be stopped to end the pumping. Alternatively, a suitable water level sensor may be provided to detect the water level in the casing 23, etc., and when the water level reaches a pump stop level, the pump drive unit 21 may be stopped. Then, similarly to the above, after the pumping is completed, that is, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the pump drive unit 21 was stopped, the water supply valve 7 is opened to supply post-water. At this time, similarly to the above, if the water level sensor 17 detects an abnormal water level, the notification unit 29 may be operated, or the discharge mode may be ended without carrying out post-water supply. In the post-supply, the water supply valve 7 may be closed based on the measurement by the flow rate sensor 24, as described above, or the water supply valve 7 may be closed after a predetermined time has elapsed.

[0035] The basic operation described above is merely an example, and appropriate modifications are possible. For example, instead of performing two pumping operations when the large-flush operation unit 27 is operated, that is, when a predetermined flush operation signal is received, a configuration may be adopted in which pumping is performed three or more times. In this case, when the small-flush operation unit 28 is operated, that is, when a predetermined few-times flush operation signal is received, a configuration may be adopted in which pumping is performed fewer times than the above, not just once. In addition, in the large flush mode, instead of performing pressure transfer multiple times while supplying cleaning water to the bowl portion 12, a mode in which water supply and pressure transfer are performed simultaneously and intermittently may be used, or even a mode in which water supply and pressure transfer are performed alternately multiple times.

[0036] Furthermore, the large flush operation unit 27 and the small flush operation unit 28 are not limited to a configuration in which they are operated by pressing, and may be non-contact operation units that accept the detection of the user's hand, etc. as an operation. Moreover, instead of or in addition to being output by the operation of the large flush operation unit 27 or the small flush operation unit 28, the flush operation signal and the small number of flush operation signal may be output, for example, when a seating sensor or the like detects leaving the toilet seat 4, or when soiling is detected by various other sensors or the like. The configurations of the various members and parts of the pressure-feed toilet device 1 described above are merely examples, and various other modifications are possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1. Pressure-feed toilet device 6. Washing water supply section 12 Bowl section 14 Discharge section 15 Trap section 20 Pressure Pump 25 Control Unit 27 Large cleaning operation section 28 Small cleaning operation unit 3 Drain pipe

Claims

1. a cleaning water supply unit for supplying cleaning water to the bowl unit; a pressure pump connected to a discharge portion at a lower end of the bowl portion via a trap portion and pressure-feeding the wastewater discharged from the bowl portion toward a drain pipe; a control unit that, upon receiving a predetermined cleaning operation signal, controls the cleaning water supply unit and the pressure-feed pump to perform water supply and pressure-feed multiple times; A pressure-feed toilet device comprising:

2. In claim 1, The pressure-feed toilet device is characterized in that, when the control unit receives a predetermined small number of flush operation signals, it executes the water supply and pressure-feeding so that the number of times is smaller than when the flush operation signal was received.

3. In claim 2, A pressure-feed toilet device comprising: a large-flush operation unit that outputs the flush operation signal; and a small-flush operation unit that outputs the few-flush operation signal.

4. In any one of claims 1 to 3, The control unit, when receiving the flushing operation signal, performs pressure feeding multiple times while supplying flushing water to the bowl portion, thereby performing the water supply and pressure feeding multiple times.

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