Detection Device

Abstract

To provide a detector for watching which can be mounted on a variety of sanitary facility equipment so as to correspond to various kind of sanitary facility equipment.SOLUTION: A detector 1 mounted on sanitary facility equipment detachably comprises a body part 2, an inflow part 35 which is installed in a top face 311 of the body part 2 and which water flowing to the top face 311 flows into, and detection parts 118 and 119 which are installed on the downstream side of water flow of the inflow part 35 in the body part 2 and which detect water flow. In the detector 1, the top face 311 has a guide part 33 for guiding water to the inflow part 35.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a sensing device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is a technology that monitors whether an abnormality occurs in a resident by detecting when the toilet is used. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a communication device that is installed at the toilet's water outlet, generates electricity using the water discharged from the outlet, and transmits data to a server using the generated electricity. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-121971 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As described above, the communication device is provided at the water outlet of the toilet hand washing unit, and since the shape of the water outlet varies from toilet to toilet, it is not possible to accommodate various types of toilets.

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide a monitoring detection device that can be mounted on various types of sanitary equipment and is thereby compatible with various types of sanitary equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present disclosure relates to a detection device to be placed on a sanitary equipment, the detection device comprising: a main body; an inlet portion into which water that has flowed onto the upper surface of the main body flows; and a detection portion provided downstream of the water flow in the inlet portion of the main body, the detection portion detecting the water flow. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a top perspective view showing the detection device of the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view showing the detection device of the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the detection device of the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Detection device 1 is a device that is detachably placed on the top surface of a hand-washing basin at the top of a toilet flushing water tank, which is a sanitary equipment, and detects the flow of water from a water outlet provided above the top surface of the toilet flushing water tank. Detection device 1 comprises a main body 2 and a control board 50.

[0009] The main body 2 has a cylindrical outer shape and is composed of a lower housing 10 and an upper housing 30. The lower housing 10 has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and has a bottom wall 11 and a side wall 13. The upper part of the lower housing 10 has an opening that opens toward the upper side. The upper housing 30 covers the opening of the lower housing 10 and is formed in a disk shape.

[0010] The outer surface 111 of the bottom wall 11 of the lower housing 10 is configured with a curved surface that is convex downward. The radius of curvature of the curved surface is smaller than the radius of curvature of the upper surface of the hand-washing basin of the toilet flushing water tank on which the detection device 1 is placed. As shown in Fig. 2, the outer surface 111 is provided with protrusions 113 that protrude downward from the outer surface. There are four protrusions 113, which are arranged at predetermined intervals around the center of the bottom wall 11.

[0011] Thus, the radius of curvature of outer surface 111 is smaller than the radius of curvature of the top surface of the hand wash basin of the toilet flush water tank on which detection device 1 is placed. Furthermore, because protrusion 113 is provided, outer surface 111 does not abut on the top surface of the hand wash basin of the toilet flush water tank. As a result, a predetermined gap is formed between outer surface 111 and the top surface of the hand wash basin of the toilet flush water tank. This allows water to flow between outer surface 111 and the top surface of the hand wash basin of the toilet flush water tank.

[0012] A pair of upwardly protruding convex portions 115, 116 are provided at a diametric position on the bottom wall 11 of the lower housing 10. The entire upper end of one of the convex portions 116 has a cylindrically recessed opening. As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of electrodes 118, 119 are provided as a detection unit in a portion of the one of the convex portions 116 below the opening. The pair of electrodes 118, 119 are provided by insert molding in the one of the convex portions 116. The pair of electrodes 118, 119 are provided downstream of the water flow from an inlet portion 35 (described later) of the upper housing 30, and are provided in an annular shape on the inner peripheral surface of the one of the convex portions 116 coaxially with the opening of the one of the convex portions 116, and are arranged at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction.

[0013] That is, the inner circumferential surface of the upper end of one of the convex parts 116 is connected to the inner circumferential surface of the lowermost end of the inlet part 35 of the upper housing 30 described later to form a flow path through which water flows, and the pair of electrodes 118, 119 are arranged at a predetermined interval on the upstream side and downstream side of the flow direction of the water in the flow path. Therefore, when water flows through the flow path and contacts both of the pair of electrodes 118, 119 at the same time, they are conductive, so that electricity flows and it is possible to detect the flow of water. The lower end of one of the convex parts 116 opens downward and forms an outlet part through which the water that has flowed through the flow path flows out. Therefore, the pair of electrodes 118, 119 are arranged at an intermediate position between the inlet part 35 and the outlet part arranged downstream of the inlet part 35 in the flow of water. This intermediate position is configured such that the distance from inflow section 35 is longer than the distance from the outflow section formed by convex section 116 so that when a user of detection device 1 places a finger or the like in inflow section 35 with detection device 1 placed on the top surface of the hand-washing basin of the toilet flushing water tank, the finger or the like is not easily brought into contact with electrodes 118, 119 and it is possible to protect electrodes 118, 119.

[0014] The opening area of ​​the lowermost end of the inflow section 35 is smaller than the opening area of ​​the water outlet in the toilet flushing water tank. That is, the opening of the lowermost end of the inflow section 35 has a shape that is on a horizontal plane that is parallel to the horizontal direction that is perpendicular to the axial direction of the inflow section 35. The area of ​​this opening is smaller than the opening area of ​​the water outlet in the toilet flushing water tank.

[0015] The other protrusion 115 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the upper end of the other protrusion 115 is opened with a reduced diameter. A screw 117 as a fixing tool penetrating a washer 302 and an O-ring 3011 as a sealing member penetrates the upper end of the other protrusion 115. The screw 117 is screwed into a hole formed in a fixed part 303 (described later) of the upper housing 30. The head of the screw 117 presses the O-ring 3011 as a sealing member against the upper end of the other protrusion 115 via the washer 302, and the upper housing 30 is fixed to the lower housing 10 while being sealed watertight via the O-ring 3011 by the screw 117 so that water does not enter the inside of the lower housing 10 through the hole through which the screw 117 penetrates.

[0016] A control board 50 is provided inside the lower housing 10. The control board 50 is provided with a control device 55 and a transmission device (not shown), and the control board 50 has a detection circuit for detecting the flow of water by a pair of electrodes 118, 119. The control device 55 is electrically connected to the pair of electrodes 118, 119. When the flow of water is detected by the pair of electrodes 118, 119, the control device 55 controls the transmission device to notify the aggregation server of the detection of the water flow, for example, via a repeater and a communication network (not shown).

[0017] Two AAA batteries are provided on the control board 50. One of the two AAA batteries, AAA battery 54, is housed in an AAA battery case 53. The other of the two AAA batteries is housed in a case 52 whose outer shape is formed to the outer shape of an AA battery. As shown in FIG. 3, the control board 50 is separated from the bottom surface 112 of the bottom wall 11 of the lower housing 10 by a predetermined space and is disposed above the bottom surface 112 of the bottom wall 11 of the lower housing 10.

[0018] The upper housing 30 has an upper wall 31 formed in a disk shape. Therefore, the upper housing 30 is formed in a circular shape in a plan view. The peripheral portion of the upper wall 31 has a downward extension portion 304 extending in an annular shape in the downward direction, and the outer circumferential surface of the downward extension portion 304 is covered by the upper end portion of the peripheral portion of the lower housing 10 extending upward via an O-ring 3012 as a seal member. As a result, the upper housing 30 is connected to the lower housing 10 in a watertight manner at this portion so that water does not enter the inside of the lower housing 10 from between the peripheral surface of the upper housing 30 and the peripheral surface of the lower housing 10.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the upper surface 311 of the upper wall 31 includes a guide portion 33, an inflow portion 35, and a peripheral convex portion 37. Specifically, the peripheral portion of the upper surface 311 of the upper housing 30 includes a peripheral convex portion 37 that protrudes upward from the upper surface 311 and is formed to go around the peripheral portion. Since it protrudes upward in this manner, it is possible to prevent water on the upper surface 311 from overflowing from the upper surface 311. As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the upper surface 311 of the upper housing 30 includes an inflow portion 35 that is recessed so as to protrude downward at a position that is closer to the periphery than the center of the upper surface 311 and is out of the center of the upper surface 311 in a plan view, and a guide portion 33 that gradually becomes lower from the periphery toward the inflow portion 35 is provided between the peripheral portion of the upper housing 30 and the inflow portion 35. The lowest end of the guide portion 33 is integrally molded and connected to the upper end of the inflow portion 35.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom end of the inflow section 35 is inserted and connected to a cylindrical recess at the top end of one of the convex parts 116 of the lower housing 10. As a result, as described above, the inner circumferential surface of the top end of one of the convex parts 116 is connected to the inner circumferential surface of the bottom end of the inflow section 35 of the upper housing 30 described later to form a flow path through which water flows. An O-ring 301 is provided as a seal member between the outer circumferential surface of the inserted part and the inner circumferential surface of the top end of the convex part 116. In this part, the inner circumferential surface of the top end of the convex part 116 and the outer circumferential surface of the inflow section 35 are connected in a watertight manner so that water does not enter the inside of the lower housing 10 from between the inner circumferential surface of the top end of one of the convex parts 116 and the outer circumferential surface of the inflow section 35. For this reason, the upper housing 30 is fixed in a watertight manner to the lower housing 10 via these O-rings 3011, 3012, and 3013.

[0021] The upper housing 30 is formed in a circular shape in a plan view. An inlet 35 is opened in the upper housing 30. A fixed portion 303 that protrudes from the inner peripheral surface of the upper housing 30 toward the inside of the upper housing 30 is provided at a diameter position of the inlet 35. The fixed portion 303 has a positional relationship facing the upper end portion of the other protrusion 115 of the lower housing 10, and as described above, the screw 117 is screwed into the upper housing 30, and the upper housing 30 is fixed to the lower housing 10 by the screw 117 as a fixing device.

[0022] According to this embodiment, the following effects are achieved. This embodiment includes a main body 2, an inflow section 35 that is provided on an upper surface 331 of the main body 2 and into which water that has flowed onto the upper surface 331 flows, and electrodes 118, 119 that are provided downstream of the water flow of the inflow section 35 in the main body 2 and serve as detectors that detect the water flow. As a result, water flows down from the spout of the toilet flushing water tank onto the upper surface 331 of the main body 2, causing the water to flow into the inflow section 35 and then reliably flow to the electrodes 118, 119, making it possible to reliably detect the water flow.

[0023] In this embodiment, the upper surface 331 has a guide portion 33 that guides water to the inflow portion 35. This makes it possible to reliably guide water from the spout of the toilet flushing water tank, which has flowed down onto the upper surface 331 of the main body portion 2, to the inflow portion 35.

[0024] In this embodiment, the inflow section 35 is disposed at a position that is offset from the center of the upper surface 331 in a plan view. This makes it possible for water to flow into the inflow section 35 even if the water from the toilet flushing water tank outlet does not flow down to the center of the upper surface 331.

[0025] In this embodiment, the electrodes 118, 119 as the detection unit are disposed at an intermediate position between the inflow section 35 and the outflow section that is provided in the main body section 2 and disposed downstream of the flow of water relative to the inflow section 35. As a result, the electrodes 118, 119 are disposed at positions inside the main body section 2 away from the inflow section 35 and the outflow section, respectively, and even if a finger or the like is inserted into either the inflow section 35 or the outflow section, it is not easy to come into contact with the electrodes 118, 119, making it possible to protect the electrodes 118, 119.

[0026] In this embodiment, the opening area of ​​the inflow section 35 is smaller than the opening area of ​​the water outlet of the sanitary equipment. This makes it possible to make the amount of water flowing into the inflow section 35 smaller than the amount of water flowing out from the outlet, and makes it possible to temporarily store the water entering the inflow section 35 upstream of the inflow section 35. This makes it possible for a predetermined amount of water to pass through the electrodes 118, 119, and makes it possible for the electrodes 118, 119 to reliably detect water.

[0027] In this embodiment, the sanitary equipment is constituted by a toilet flush water tank, and the detection device 1 is placed on the hand-washing basin of the toilet flush water tank, thereby making it possible to make the detection device 1 compatible with various types of toilet flush water tanks.

[0028] In this embodiment, the detection device 1 can be placed at any position on the top surface of the washbasin. This allows the detection device 1 to be placed on the top surface of the washbasin and used regardless of the position of the toilet flush water tank's water outlet.

[0029] In this embodiment, the device includes a main body 2 having an upper housing 30 and a lower housing 10 that can be separated in the vertical direction, and a control board 50 that is disposed inside the main body 2 and has a detection circuit for detecting the flow of water into the main body 2. This allows the upper housing 30 to be configured to cover the upper part of the lower housing 10, making it possible to provide a detection device 1 having a structure that makes it difficult for water to enter the inside of the main body 2 of the detection device 1. In this embodiment, the upper housing 30 is fixed to the lower housing 10 in a watertight manner via O-rings 3011, 3012, and 3013 as sealing members. This makes it possible to more reliably prevent water from entering the inside of the main body 2.

[0030] In this embodiment, the upper housing 30 is fixed to the lower housing 10 by screws 117 as fasteners. This makes it possible to reliably maintain the state in which the upper housing 30 is fixed to the lower housing 10.

[0031] In this embodiment, the control board 50 is separated from the bottom surface 112 of the bottom wall 11 of the lower housing 10 by a predetermined space and is disposed above the bottom surface 112 of the bottom wall 11 of the lower housing 10. This makes it possible to prevent the control board 50 from being immersed in water even in the unlikely event that water infiltrates into the main body 2.

[0032] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, etc. within the scope that can achieve the object of the present disclosure are included in the present disclosure.

[0033] The configurations of the main body, the detection unit, the seal member, etc. are not limited to the configurations of the main body 2, the electrodes 118, 119, the O-rings 3011, 3012, 3013, etc. in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the sanitary equipment is constituted by a toilet flush water tank. However, it is not limited to this. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1. Detection device 2 Main unit 10 Lower housing 30 Upper housing 33 Guide section 35 Inlet 50 Control Board 117 Screw (fixing device) 118, 119 Pair of electrodes (detection unit) 3011, 3012, 3013 O-rings (sealing materials) 311 Top surface

Claims

1. A detection device mounted on a sanitary equipment, A main body portion, an inlet portion into which water that has flowed onto an upper surface of the main body portion flows; A detection unit is provided on the main body downstream of the water flow of the inlet portion and detects the water flow, The upper surface has a guide portion that guides water to the inlet portion, The guide portion is gradually lowered from the peripheral portion of the upper surface toward the inlet portion, The detection unit is disposed at an intermediate position between the inflow portion and an outflow portion provided in the main body portion and disposed downstream of the water flow relative to the inflow portion, A detection device in which the detection unit includes a pair of electrodes, the pair of electrodes being arranged at a predetermined distance upstream and downstream of the water flow.

2. The detection device according to claim 1 , wherein the inlet portion is disposed at a position offset from a center of the upper surface in a plan view.

3. The sanitary equipment comprises a toilet flush water tank; The detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, which is placed on a hand-washing basin of the toilet flushing water tank.

4. The detection device according to claim 3, which can be placed at any position on the upper surface of the hand-washing basin.

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