Water server

Abstract

To provide a water server capable of effectively preventing a burn accident of an infant.SOLUTION: A water server has an infrared sensor 32 that detects the height of a person standing in front of a housing 3, determines whether or not the height of the person in front of the housing 3 is equal to or greater than a predetermined height based on an output signal of the infrared sensor 32, when the height of the person is less than a predetermined height, is in a hot water lock state in which hot water is not dispensed even if a water discharge operation part 4 is operated, when the height of the person is equal to or greater than a predetermined height, is set to a hot water lock release state in which hot water is permitted to be discharged in response to an operation of the water discharge operation part 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a water server. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, water servers have been used mainly in offices and hospitals, but in recent years, water servers are becoming more common in ordinary households due to growing interest in water safety and health (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] The water server in Patent Document 1 has a housing to be installed on the floor, a cold water tank and a hot water tank located inside the housing, a cold water flow path that allows cold water to flow from the cold water tank to the outside of the housing, a cold water solenoid valve that opens and closes the cold water flow path, a hot water flow path that allows hot water to flow from the hot water tank to the outside of the housing, a hot water solenoid valve that opens and closes the hot water flow path, and a water outlet control unit located on the front side of the housing, and it is possible to outlet cold water or hot water by operating the water outlet control unit.

[0004] This water server is also provided with a child lock function to prevent young children from getting scalded by hot water. Specifically, the water server is provided with a cold water button, a hot water button, and a child lock release button on the water discharge operation section. When cold water is to be discharged, the cold water solenoid valve opens by simply pressing the cold water button, and cold water can be discharged from the cold water tank. However, when hot water is to be discharged, the hot water solenoid valve does not open by simply pressing the hot water button. The hot water solenoid valve opens and hot water can be discharged from the hot water tank only after the child lock release button is pressed and held. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-210467 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, even if a child lock function (i.e., a function that prevents hot water from being dispensed even when the hot water button is pressed unless the child lock release button is pressed and held down) is provided as in Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that a small child may see and imitate the operation performed by an adult user to dispense hot water. Therefore, it is difficult to completely eliminate the risk of a small child being scalded by dispensing hot water.

[0007] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a water server capable of effectively preventing burns to small children. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a water server having the following configuration. [Configuration 1] A housing installed on the floor; A hot water tank disposed inside the housing; a hot water flow path for discharging hot water from the hot water tank to the outside of the housing; a hot water solenoid valve that opens and closes the hot water flow path; A water server having a water dispense operation unit disposed on the front side of the housing and operated by a user to dispense hot water, a height detection sensor for detecting a height of a person in front of the housing; The control unit controls the operation of the hot water solenoid valve based on an output signal of the height detection sensor and an operation signal of the water discharge operation unit. The control unit determines whether the height of a person in front of the housing is above a predetermined height based on the output signal of the height detection sensor, and when the person's height is less than the predetermined height, enters a hot water locked state in which hot water will not be dispensed even if the water outlet operating unit is operated, and when the person's height is above the predetermined height, enters a hot water unlocked state in which hot water can be dispensed in response to the operation of the water outlet operating unit.

[0009] With this configuration, the height of the person standing in front of the water server is detected by a height detection sensor, and if the person's height is less than a specified height, the hot water lock state is set so that hot water will not be dispensed even if the water dispenser is operated, so even if a small child sees and imitates the operation performed by an adult user to dispense hot water, hot water will not be dispensed if the child is shorter than the specified height. This makes it possible to effectively prevent burns to small children.

[0010] [Configuration 2] The water server of configuration 1, wherein the height detection sensor is an infrared sensor that outputs an ON signal when the height of the person in front of the housing is equal to or greater than the predetermined height, and outputs an OFF signal when the height of the person in front of the housing is less than the predetermined height.

[0011] By adopting this configuration, a relatively low-cost infrared sensor is used as the height detection sensor, making it possible to reduce the cost of the water server compared to, for example, using a CCD image sensor as the height detection sensor and detecting height based on the image output of the CCD image sensor.

[0012] [Configuration 3] The housing has a top plate at an upper end thereof, The water server of configuration 2, wherein the infrared sensor is disposed on the upper surface of the upper panel so that the housing blocks infrared rays from heights below the specified height and prevents them from reaching the infrared sensor.

[0013] By adopting this configuration, infrared rays from heights below a specified height can be blocked by the water server's housing, and part of the infrared sensor's detection area (the area below the specified height) can be masked, making it possible to effectively prevent the infrared sensor from malfunctioning in the event of a person who is less than the specified height.

[0014] [Configuration 4] 4. The water server according to configuration 3, wherein the upper panel is disposed at a height of 100 cm or more from the floor surface.

[0015] By adopting this configuration, it is possible to effectively prevent the infrared sensor from malfunctioning in the case of small children less than 100 cm tall.

[0016] [Configuration 5] 5. The water server according to any one of configurations 1 to 4, wherein the predetermined height is set to 105 cm or more.

[0017] By adopting this configuration, it is possible to effectively prevent burn accidents in small children less than 105 cm tall.

[0018] [Configuration 6] The water discharge operation unit has a hot water button and a child lock release button, The water server of any of configurations 1 to 5, wherein in the hot water locked state, the control unit maintains the hot water solenoid valve in a closed state even when the child lock release button and the hot water button are operated, and in the hot water unlocked state, opens the hot water solenoid valve when the hot water button is operated after the child lock release button is pressed and held.

[0019] By adopting this configuration, the child lock using the child lock release button and the child lock using the height detection sensor are used in combination, making it possible to effectively prevent burns to small children. Effect of the Invention

[0020] The water server of this invention uses a height detection sensor to detect the height of a person standing in front of the housing, and if the person's height is less than a specified height, the hot water lock state prevents hot water from being dispensed even if the water dispenser is operated, so even if a small child sees and imitates the operation performed by an adult user to dispense hot water, hot water will not be dispensed if the child is shorter than the specified height. This makes it possible to effectively prevent burns to small children. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] A front view of a water server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] Cross-section of the water server in Figure 1, seen from the right side [Diagram 3] Enlarged view of the area around the normal temperature water tank and cold water tank in Figure 2 [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Figure 3. [Diagram 5] Cross-sectional view taken along line VV in Figure 3. [Figure 6] Cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in Figure 5. [Figure 7] Block diagram of the control unit of the water server shown in Figure 1 [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of hot water lock control executed by the control unit shown in FIG. [Figure 9] A schematic diagram showing a state in which a small child (i.e., a person with a height less than a certain height) is in front of the housing of the water server shown in FIG. [Figure 10] A schematic diagram showing a state in which an adult (i.e., a person of a certain height or greater) is standing in front of the water server shown in FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] A water server according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figure 1. This water server is a purified water server in which raw water such as tap water is placed in a raw water tank 1, and the raw water in the raw water tank 1 is filtered through a water purification filter cartridge 2 (see Figure 2) to produce purified water that can be used as drinking water.

[0023] A water outlet operation unit 4 is provided on the front side of the housing 3, and the user can selectively outlet cold water, room temperature water, or hot water by operating this water outlet operation unit 4. The water outlet operation unit 4 has a cold water button 4a operated to outlet cold water, a room temperature water button 4b operated to outlet room temperature water, a hot water button 4c operated to outlet hot water, and a child lock release button 4d.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 2, the water server has a housing 3 placed on a floor surface F, a raw water tank 1, a replaceable water purification filter cartridge 2, a raw water pipe 5 that communicates between the raw water tank 1 and the water purification filter cartridge 2, an electric pump 6 provided midway along the raw water pipe 5, a cold water tank 7 that stores low-temperature drinking water, a room-temperature water tank 8 that stores room-temperature drinking water, and a hot water tank 9 (see Fig. 4) that stores high-temperature drinking water. The cold water tank 7, the room-temperature water tank 8, and the hot water tank 9 (see Fig. 4) are disposed inside the housing 3.

[0025] The housing 3 has a tubular portion 10 extending in the vertical direction, an upper plate 11 provided at the upper end of the tubular portion 10, and a bottom plate 12 provided at the lower end of the tubular portion 10. The raw water tank 1 is set removably on the upper plate 11. A raw water inlet 13 is provided on the upper plate 11 at the upstream end of the raw water pipe 5. The raw water tank 1 is provided with a tank opening / closing valve 14. The tank opening / closing valve 14 is an opening / closing valve that blocks communication between the inside and outside of the raw water tank 1 when the raw water tank 1 is lifted from the upper plate 11, and that connects the inside of the raw water tank 1 to the raw water inlet 13 when the raw water tank 1 is set on the upper plate 11.

[0026] The electric pump 6 sucks in raw water from the raw water tank 1 side and discharges the raw water to the water purification filter cartridge 2 side, thereby transferring the raw water in the raw water pipe 5 from the raw water tank 1 side to the water purification filter cartridge 2 side. The water purification filter cartridge 2 and the room temperature water tank 8 are connected by a purified water pipe 15, and purified water produced by filtration in the water purification filter cartridge 2 is introduced into the room temperature water tank 8 through the purified water pipe 15.

[0027] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, air and drinking water (purified water) are contained in two layers, one above the other, in the room temperature water tank 8. The room temperature water tank 8 is provided with a water level sensor 16 that detects the water level in the room temperature water tank 8. The electric pump 6 (see Figure 2) is controlled based on a signal from this water level sensor 16. The electric pump 6 operates when the water level sensor 16 detects that the water level in the room temperature water tank 8 is lower than a predetermined water level.

[0028] The cold water tank 7 is disposed below the room temperature water tank 8. The cold water tank 7 and the room temperature water tank 8 are connected via a tank connecting pipe 17. The tank connecting pipe 17 communicates between the cold water tank 7 and the room temperature water tank 8 so that drinking water is introduced from the room temperature water tank 8 to the cold water tank 7. A cooling device 18 that cools the drinking water contained in the cold water tank 7 is attached to the cold water tank 7. The drinking water in the cold water tank 7 is kept at a low temperature of 10°C or less by the cooling device 18.

[0029] 3, the upstream end of a cold water flow path 19 that causes cold water (low-temperature drinking water) to flow from the cold water tank 7 to the outside of the housing 3 is connected to the bottom surface of the cold water tank 7. A cold water solenoid valve 20 that opens and closes the cold water flow path 19 is provided midway along the cold water flow path 19.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 6, the cold water solenoid valve 20 has an annular valve seat 21 surrounding the cold water flow path 19, a valve element 22 movable between a closed position (position shown in the figure) where it seats on the valve seat 21 to close the cold water flow path 19 and an open position (position higher than the position shown in the figure) where it moves away from the valve seat 21 to open the cold water flow path 19, a valve stem 23 connected to the valve element 22 so as to move integrally with the valve element 22, a valve spring 24 that biases the valve stem 23 to move the valve element 22 from the open position toward the closed position, and an electromagnetic coil 25 that attracts the valve stem 23 so as to move the valve element 22 from the closed position toward the open position when current is applied. This cold water solenoid valve 20 is a normally closed solenoid valve in which, when current is applied to the solenoid coil 25, the valve element 22 moves from a closed position to an open position, thereby opening the cold water flow path 19, and, when current is stopped from being applied to the solenoid coil 25, the valve element 22 moves from the open position to the closed position, thereby closing the cold water flow path 19.

[0031] 3 opens to open cold water flow path 19, the cold water in cold water tank 7 is pushed out by the weight of the drinking water in room temperature water tank 8 located above cold water tank 7, and flows out through cold water flow path 19. At this time, the same amount of drinking water as the drinking water flowing out of cold water tank 7 flows into cold water tank 7 from room temperature water tank 8 through tank connecting pipe 17, so that cold water tank 7 is always kept full.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 4, the hot water tank 9 is also disposed below the room temperature water tank 8. The hot water tank 9 and the room temperature water tank 8 are connected via a tank connection pipe 26. The tank connection pipe 26 communicates between the hot water tank 9 and the room temperature water tank 8 so as to introduce drinking water from the room temperature water tank 8 to the hot water tank 9. A heating device 27 for heating the drinking water contained in the hot water tank 9 is attached to the hot water tank 9. The drinking water in the hot water tank 9 is kept at a high temperature of 80° C. or more by the heating device 27. The upstream end of a hot water flow path 28 for discharging hot water (high temperature drinking water) from the hot water tank 9 to the outside of the housing 3 is connected to the upper surface of the hot water tank 9. A hot water solenoid valve 29 (see FIG. 5) for opening and closing the hot water flow path 28 is provided midway through the hot water flow path 28.

[0033] 5, the hot water solenoid valve 29 is a normally closed solenoid valve that moves the valve element 22 from a closed position to an open position when current is applied to the solenoid coil 25, thereby opening the hot water flow path 28, and moves the valve element 22 from the open position to the closed position when current is stopped from being applied to the solenoid coil 25, thereby closing the hot water flow path 28. The hot water solenoid valve 29 has the same configuration as the cold water solenoid valve 20, and therefore the same reference numerals are used for the parts corresponding to the cold water solenoid valve 20, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0034] When the hot water solenoid valve 29 shown in Fig. 5 opens to open the hot water flow path 28, the drinking water in the hot water tank 9 shown in Fig. 4 is pushed out by the weight of the drinking water in the room temperature water tank 8 located above the hot water tank 9, and flows out of the housing 3 through the hot water flow path 28. At this time, the same amount of drinking water as the drinking water flowing out of the hot water tank 9 flows into the hot water tank 9 from the room temperature water tank 8 through the tank connecting pipe 26, and the hot water tank 9 is always kept full.

[0035] As shown in Fig. 4, the upstream end of a room temperature water flow path 30 through which room temperature water (room temperature drinking water) flows from the room temperature water tank 8 is connected to the bottom surface of the room temperature water tank 8. A room temperature water solenoid valve 31 (see Fig. 5) for opening and closing the room temperature water flow path 30 is provided midway through the room temperature water flow path 30. As shown in Fig. 5, the room temperature water solenoid valve 31 is a normally closed solenoid valve that moves the valve body 22 from the valve closed position to the valve open position by energizing the solenoid coil 25 to open the room temperature water flow path 30, and moves the valve body 22 from the valve open position to the valve closed position by stopping energization of the solenoid coil 25 to close the room temperature water flow path 30. The room temperature water solenoid valve 31 has the same configuration as the cold water solenoid valve 20, and therefore the same reference numerals are used for parts corresponding to the cold water solenoid valve 20, and description thereof will be omitted. When the room temperature water solenoid valve 31 opens to open the room temperature water flow path 30, the drinking water in the room temperature water tank 8 shown in FIG.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 2, an infrared sensor 32 is provided on the top plate 11 at the top end of the housing 3 to detect the height of a person in front of the housing 3. The infrared sensor 32 is an ON / OFF sensor that switches the sensor output between ON and OFF depending on the height of the person in front of the housing 3. Specifically, the infrared sensor 32 is attached to the housing 3 so as to output an ON signal when the height of the person in front of the housing 3 is equal to or greater than a predetermined height (e.g., 111 cm) set to 105 cm or more (preferably 110 cm or more), and output an OFF signal when the height of the person in front of the housing 3 is less than the predetermined height. The top plate 11 is disposed at a height of 100 cm or more (preferably 110 cm or more) from the floor surface F, and the infrared sensor 32 is disposed on the top surface of the top plate 11 so that the housing 3 blocks infrared rays from a height less than the predetermined height (e.g., 111 cm) and prevents them from reaching the infrared sensor 32.

[0037] The cold water solenoid valve 20, the room temperature water solenoid valve 31, and the hot water solenoid valve 29 are controlled by a control unit 33 shown in Fig. 7. The control unit 33 receives operation signals from the cold water button 4a, the room temperature water button 4b, the hot water button 4c, and the child lock release button 4d, as well as an output signal from an infrared sensor 32. The control unit 33 also outputs drive signals for the cold water solenoid valve 20, the room temperature water solenoid valve 31, and the hot water solenoid valve 29. The control unit 33 controls the operation of the cold water solenoid valve 20, the room temperature water solenoid valve 31, and the hot water solenoid valve 29 based on the operation signals from the cold water button 4a, the room temperature water button 4b, the hot water button 4c, and the child lock release button 4d, as well as the output signal from the infrared sensor 32.

[0038] An example of the control performed by the control unit 33 will now be described.

[0039] <Cold water discharge control> When the cold water button 4a is pressed, the control unit 33 shown in Fig. 7 opens the cold water electromagnetic valve 20. This causes the cold water in the cold water tank 7 shown in Fig. 3 to flow through the cold water flow path 19 and come out.

[0040] <Normal temperature water discharge control> When the room temperature water button 4b is pressed, the control unit 33 shown in Fig. 7 opens the room temperature water solenoid valve 31. This causes the room temperature water in the room temperature water tank 8 shown in Fig. 4 to flow out through the room temperature water flow path 30. At this time, in order to adjust the temperature of the room temperature water that flows out to a temperature that is palatable as room temperature water, the cold water solenoid valve 20 may also be opened together with the room temperature water solenoid valve 31 shown in Fig. 5 so that the cold water in the cold water tank 7 (see Fig. 3) is mixed with the water and then flowed out.

[0041] <Hot water discharge control> Based on the output signal from infrared sensor 32, control unit 33 shown in Fig. 7 performs hot water lock control such that hot water is released in response to operation of water outlet operating unit 4 only when the height of a person standing in front of housing 3 shown in Fig. 2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined height, and hot water is not released even if water outlet operating unit 4 is operated when the height of a person standing in front of housing 3 is less than the predetermined height. An example of this control will be described with reference to Fig. 8.

[0042] The control unit 33 sets the hot water lock state as an initial state. When this hot water lock state is set, the hot water solenoid valve 29 is maintained in a closed state and hot water is not discharged even if the child lock release button 4d and the hot water button 4c are operated. Next, the control unit 33 determines whether the height of the person in front of the housing 3 is equal to or greater than a predetermined height (e.g., 111 cm) based on the output signal of the infrared sensor 32, and when the height of the person in front of the housing 3 is less than the predetermined height (i.e., when the output signal of the infrared sensor 32 is an OFF signal), the control unit 33 maintains the hot water lock state in which hot water is not discharged even if the child lock release button 4d and the hot water button 4c are operated (steps S1 and S2). On the other hand, when the height of the person in front of the housing 3 is equal to or greater than the predetermined height (i.e., when the output signal of the infrared sensor 32 is an ON signal), the hot water lock state is released, and the hot water lock release state is set to allow hot water to be discharged in response to the operation of the child lock release button 4d and the hot water button 4c (step S3). When the hot water lock state is released, the hot water solenoid valve 29 opens and hot water is discharged when the hot water button 4c is operated after the child lock release button 4d is pressed and held. Even when the hot water lock state is released, the hot water solenoid valve 29 does not open just by pressing the hot water button 4c; in order to open the hot water solenoid valve 29, it is necessary to press the hot water button 4c after pressing and holding the child lock release button 4d. If a preset time (30 seconds in this case) has elapsed since the hot water lock state was released and the water discharge operation unit 4 was not operated, the hot water lock state is set again (steps S4, S5).

[0043] As shown in Figures 9 and 10, this water server uses infrared sensor 32 to detect the height of a person standing in front of housing 3, and as shown in Figure 9, if the height of the person standing in front of housing 3 is less than a predetermined height, the water server goes into a hot water lock state in which hot water will not be dispensed even if the water dispenser 4 is operated, so even if a small child sees and imitates the operation performed by an adult user to dispense hot water, hot water will not be dispensed if the child is shorter than the predetermined height. This makes it possible to effectively prevent burns to small children.

[0044] In addition, this water server uses a relatively low-cost infrared sensor 32 as a height detection sensor that detects the height of a person standing in front of the housing 3, making it possible to reduce the cost of the water server compared to, for example, using a CCD image sensor as the height detection sensor and detecting height based on the image output of the CCD image sensor.

[0045] 9 and 10, this water server has infrared sensor 32 disposed on the upper surface of top panel 11, so that infrared rays from heights below a predetermined height (for example, 110 cm) can be blocked by housing 3 of the water server, masking part of the detection area (area below the predetermined height) of infrared sensor 32. This makes it possible to effectively prevent infrared sensor 32 from malfunctioning due to people who are shorter than the predetermined height.

[0046] In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, this water server uses both a child lock with a child lock release button 4d and a child lock with an infrared sensor 32, which makes it possible to effectively prevent burns to small children.

[0047] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , a purified water type water server was used as an example in which raw water such as tap water is placed in raw water tank 1, and the raw water in raw water tank 1 is filtered through water purification filter cartridge 2 to produce purified water which is used as drinking water. However, the present invention can also be applied to an exchangeable bottle type water server in which replaceable water bottles filled with drinking water such as natural water or RO water are placed in housing 3, and the water from the water bottles is introduced into cold water tank 7, room temperature water tank 8, and hot water tank 9, respectively, as drinking water. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 3. Chassis 4 Water output operation section 4c Hot water button 4d Child lock release button 9. Hot Water Tank 11 Top plate 28 Hot water flow path 29 Hot water solenoid valve 32 Infrared sensor (height detection sensor) 33 Control Unit F Floor plate

Claims

1. A housing (3) installed on a floor surface (F); A hot water tank (9) disposed inside the housing (3); a hot water flow path (28) for discharging hot water from the hot water tank (9) to the outside of the housing (3); a hot water solenoid valve (29) for opening and closing the hot water flow path (28); The water server has a water supply operation unit (4) that is arranged on the front side of the housing (3) and that is operated by a user to supply hot water, a height detection sensor (32) for detecting the height of a person in front of the housing (3); a control unit (33) that controls the operation of the hot water solenoid valve (29) based on an output signal of the height detection sensor (32) and an operation signal of the water discharge operation unit (4), The control unit (33) determines whether the height of a person in front of the housing (3) is equal to or greater than a predetermined height based on an output signal from the height detection sensor (32), and when the person's height is less than the predetermined height, a hot water lock state is established in which hot water is not dispensed even if the water outlet operating unit (4) is operated, and when the person's height is equal to or greater than the predetermined height, a hot water unlock state is established in which hot water is permitted to be dispensed in response to the operation of the water outlet operating unit (4).

2. The water server of claim 1, wherein the height detection sensor (32) is an infrared sensor (32) that outputs an ON signal when the height of a person in front of the housing (3) is equal to or greater than the predetermined height, and outputs an OFF signal when the height of the person in front of the housing (3) is less than the predetermined height.

3. The housing (3) has a top plate (11) at its upper end, The water server of claim 2, wherein the infrared sensor (32) is arranged on the upper surface of the upper panel (11) so that the housing (3) blocks infrared rays from heights below the specified height and prevents them from reaching the infrared sensor (32).

4. 4. The water server according to claim 3, wherein the upper panel (11) is disposed at a height of 100 cm or more from the floor surface (F).

5. 5. The water server according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined height is set to 105 cm or more.

6. The water discharge operation unit (4) has a hot water button (4c) and a child lock release button (4d), 5. The water server according to claim 1, wherein the control unit (33) maintains the hot water solenoid valve (29) in a closed state in the hot water locked state even when the child lock release button (4d) and the hot water button (4c) are operated, and opens the hot water solenoid valve (29) in the hot water unlocked state when the hot water button (4c) is operated after the child lock release button (4d) is pressed and held.

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