Wastewater-reusing toilet system

Abstract

Provided is a wastewater-reusing toilet system that can suppress a toilet from becoming unusable even when the toilet is used more than a treatment capacity for wastewater reuse.　A wastewater-reusing toilet system S comprises: toilets 10a, 10b; corresponding washing water pipes F1a, F1b and wastewater pipes F2a, F2b; a first line L1 that has a treatment section L10 for treating wastewater and a pump L11 for supplying, to the toilets, treated water generated through treatment in the treatment section L10; a second line L2 that has a sewage pipe F22 that circulates wastewater to the sewer and a tap water pipe F21 that circulates tap water from a municipal water supply as washing water to the toilets 10a, 10b; a switching part 20 that can switch a connection destination of the washing water pipes F1a, F1b between the pump L11 and the tap water pipe F21 and switch a connection destination of the wastewater pipes between the treatment section L10 and the sewage pipe F22; and a control unit 310 that controls the switching part 20.

Description

Wastewater Reuse Toilet System

[0001] The present invention relates to a wastewater recycling toilet system.

[0002] Conventionally, wastewater reuse toilet systems that purify and reuse toilet wastewater are known. Patent Document 1 (JP-A-2005-102626) illustrates this type of technology. This patent document discloses a water treatment system that includes a first unit having a wastewater source, a second unit having at least one of a septic tank, a solid-liquid separation tank, and an oil separation tank for the purpose of water purification and temporarily treating the received wastewater, and a third unit having a wastewater receiving port, a primary water receiving tank, an intermediate treatment tank, a storage treatment tank, a circulating treatment tank, a concentrated wastewater impurity storage tank, and a sterile wastewater tank.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-053995

[0004] Incidentally, there is an upper limit to the amount of wastewater that a wastewater recycling toilet system can treat, and the amount of wastewater that the system can treat is set in advance based on an estimate of the number of toilet users, etc. However, there are cases where a larger number of people than expected use the toilets, such as during a temporary event. In such cases, the amount of toilet use exceeds the amount of wastewater that the wastewater recycling toilet system can treat, making it impossible to reuse the wastewater and making the toilets unusable.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a wastewater reuse toilet system that can prevent a toilet from becoming unusable even when the toilet is used in excess of its wastewater reuse treatment capacity.

[0006] (1) A wastewater reuse toilet system according to the present invention comprises a first line having a plurality of toilets, a plurality of flush water pipes connected to each of the plurality of toilets for distributing flush water to each of the plurality of toilets, a plurality of drainage pipes for distributing wastewater discharged from the toilets and corresponding to each of the plurality of toilets, a treatment unit connectable to the plurality of drainage pipes for treating the wastewater, and a supply unit connectable to the plurality of flush water pipes for supplying treated water produced by the treatment in the treatment unit to the toilets as flush water, a second line having a sewage pipe connectable to the plurality of drainage pipes for distributing wastewater to a sewer, and a tap water pipe connectable to the plurality of flush water pipes for distributing water from a tap water supply to the toilets as flush water, a switching unit capable of switching the connection of the flush water pipe between the supply unit and the tap water pipe for each of the plurality of toilets, and of switching the connection of the drainage pipe between the treatment unit and the sewer pipe, and a control unit for controlling the switching operation of the switching unit.

[0007] The wastewater reuse toilet system (1) can prevent the toilet from becoming unusable even if the toilet is used in excess of its wastewater reuse capacity.

[0008] (2) In the wastewater reuse toilet system described in (1), the control unit controls the switching operation of the switching unit based on event planning information for the area around the installation location of the toilet.

[0009] (2) The wastewater recycling toilet system can automatically control the switching operation of the switching unit based on event planning information, so it can more reliably prevent the toilet from becoming unusable even if the toilet is used in excess of its wastewater recycling processing capacity.

[0010] (3) The wastewater reuse toilet system described in (1) is equipped with a detection unit capable of detecting the usage status of the toilet, and the control unit controls the switching operation of the switching unit based on the detection results by the detection unit.

[0011] (3) The wastewater recycling toilet system cannot obtain event planning information in advance, and even if the toilet is used more than its wastewater recycling capacity, it can automatically control the switching operation of the switching unit, thereby more reliably preventing the toilet from becoming unusable.

[0012] (4) In the wastewater reuse toilet system described in (3), the control unit is capable of calculating the cumulative number of times the toilet has been used based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit, and when the cumulative number of times the toilet has been used based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit is equal to or greater than a first standard value, the switching unit controls the connection destinations of some of the flushing water pipes and the drainage pipes of the multiple toilets to the second line, and when the cumulative number of times the toilet has been used based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit is equal to or greater than a second standard value, the switching unit controls the connection destinations of all of the flushing water pipes and the drainage pipes of the multiple toilets to the second line.

[0013] (4) The wastewater recycling toilet system cannot obtain event planning information in advance, and even if the toilet is used more than its wastewater recycling capacity, it can automatically control the switching operation of the switching unit using simpler control, thereby more reliably preventing the toilet from becoming unusable.

[0014] (5) In the wastewater reuse toilet system described in (3), the control unit is capable of calculating the frequency of use of the toilet based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit, and when the frequency of use of the toilet based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit is a first frequency or higher, the switching unit controls the connection destinations of some of the flushing water pipes and the drainage pipes of the multiple toilets to the second line, and when the frequency of use of the toilet based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit is a second frequency or higher, the switching unit controls the connection destinations of all of the flushing water pipes and the drainage pipes of the multiple toilets to the second line.

[0015] (5) The wastewater recycling toilet system cannot obtain event planning information in advance, and even if the toilet usage exceeds the wastewater recycling processing capacity, it can automatically control the switching operation of the switching unit using simpler control, thereby more reliably preventing the toilet from becoming unusable.

[0016] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a wastewater reuse toilet system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of switching control by a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5 is a flowchart for explaining another example of switching control by a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] <Wastewater Reuse Toilet System> A wastewater reuse toilet system S according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 3. In Figure 1, arrows between blocks indicate the flow of water. Also, dotted lines between blocks indicate communication-enabled connections.

[0018] The wastewater reuse toilet system S is a system that uses water and purifies it after use within the system, circulating and reusing the water. The wastewater reuse toilet system S has a public toilet 10, a switching unit 20, a control device 30, a processing unit L10, a pump L11 as a supply unit, a circulation flow path F1c as a first line L1, clean water piping F21 and sewage piping F22 as second lines, flush water piping F1a, flush water piping F1b, drainage piping F2a, and drainage piping F2b.

[0019] The first line L1 is a flow path for reusing wastewater in the wastewater reuse toilet system. The first line L1 includes a treatment unit L10 and a pump L11. The second line L2 is a flow path for connecting the wastewater reuse toilet system S to at least one of a water supply system and a sewer system.

[0020] The public toilet 10 includes a plurality of toilets, known as toilets 10a and 10b. The wastewater reuse toilet system S may also include a detection unit 40 that detects information capable of detecting the usage status of the toilets within the public toilet 10. More specifically, the detection unit 40 may include a sensor such as an infrared sensor, and may use the sensor to detect information capable of determining the number of users of the toilets 10a and 10b.

[0021] For example, the detection unit 40 includes a sensor 40a and a sensor 40b. The sensors 40a and 40b are, for example, infrared sensors that detect infrared rays. However, the sensors 40a and 40b are not limited to non-contact sensors such as infrared sensors. For example, they may be contact sensors such as touch sensors.

[0022] Sensor 40a and sensor 40b are placed in a location where they can detect users of toilet 10a or toilet 10b. For example, if sensor 40a and sensor 40b are infrared sensors, sensor 40a and sensor 40b may be placed around toilet 10a or toilet 10b. Also, if sensor 40a and sensor 40b are touch sensors and toilet 10a or toilet 10b is placed in a private room, they may detect the opening and closing of the door of the private room by touching it, thereby detecting the use of toilet 10a or toilet 10b.

[0023] The switching unit 20 can switch the connection destination of the cleaning water pipe F1a and the cleaning water pipe F1b between the pump L11 and the drinking water pipe F21, and can switch the connection destination of the drainage pipe F2a and the drainage pipe F2b between the treatment unit L10 and the sewage pipe F22.

[0024] That is, the switching unit 20 can switch the connection destination of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b between the pump L11 and the clean water pipe F21 for each toilet 10a or 10b. Also, the switching unit 20 can switch the connection destination of the drainage pipes F2a and F2b between the treatment unit L10 and the sewer pipe F22 for each toilet 10a or 10b.

[0025] The switching unit 20 has switching devices 21a, 21b, 22a, and 22b. Switching device 21a can switch the connection destination of the flush water pipe F1a between the pump L11 and the clean water pipe F21. Switching device 21b can switch the connection destination of the flush water pipe F1b between the pump L11 and the clean water pipe F21. Switching device 22a can switch the connection destination of the drainage pipe F2a between the treatment unit L10 and the sewage pipe F22. Switching device 22b can switch the connection destination of the drainage pipe F2b between the treatment unit L10 and the sewage pipe F22.

[0026] The switching devices 21 a, 21 b, 22 a, and 22 b each have a known switching mechanism such as a known electric three-way valve. Therefore, the switching operations of the switching devices 21 a, 21 b, 22 a, and 22 b can be controlled by the control device 30.

[0027] The control device 30 is configured to control various operations of the wastewater reuse toilet system S. Details of the control device 30 will be described later.

[0028] The treatment unit L10 is configured to treat wastewater and can be connected to the plurality of drainage pipes F2a and F2b. The treatment unit L10 may include, for example, a sedimentation separation chamber, an aeration treatment chamber, a first shell contact aeration chamber, a second shell contact aeration chamber, a sedimentation filtration chamber, and an activated carbon adsorption chamber.

[0029] In the sedimentation separation chamber, solids in the wastewater are separated. In the aeration treatment chamber, the separated water discharged from the sedimentation separation chamber is aerated. In the first and second shell contact aeration chambers, the treated water discharged from the aeration treatment chamber is further aerated. In the sedimentation filtration chamber, the treated water discharged from the second shell contact aeration chamber is sediment filtered. In the activated carbon adsorption chamber, the supernatant treated water discharged from the sedimentation filtration chamber is decolorized.

[0030] The circulation flow path F1c connects the treatment section L10 and the pump L11 and is a flow path for circulating water in the treatment section L10 to the pump L11. As shown in Fig. 1, the circulation flow path F1c is a flow path between the switching devices 22a and 22b and the switching devices 21a and 22b. The circulation flow path F1c is, for example, a piping such as a known pipe. The pump L11 is connectable to the flush water piping F1a and the flush water piping F1b and is configured to supply treated water produced by the treatment in the treatment section L10 as flush water to the toilets 10a and 10b.

[0031] The flush water pipes F1a and F1b are connected to the toilets 10a and 10b, respectively, and are flow paths for circulating flush water to each of the plurality of toilets 10a and 10b. The drain pipes F2a and F2b are connected to the toilets 10a and 10b, respectively, and are flow paths for circulating wastewater discharged from the toilets 10a and 10b. The flush water pipes F1a, F1b, drain pipes F2a, and drain pipes F2b are, for example, known pipes or other piping.

[0032] Next, details of the control device 30 will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. An example of the hardware configuration of the control device 30 will be described with reference to Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, the control device 30 includes a processor 300, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 301, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 302, a bus 303, an input / output interface 304, an input unit 305, an output unit 306, an auxiliary storage device 307, a communication unit 308, and a power supply 309.

[0033] The processor 300 is a central part of a computer that performs various calculations, processes, etc., such as calculations and controls required for the operation of the control device 30. The processor 300 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), an SoC (System on a Chip), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). Alternatively, the processor 300 may be a combination of two or more of these. The processor 300 may also be a combination of these with a hardware accelerator or the like.

[0034] The processor 300 controls each unit to realize various functions of the control device 30 based on programs such as firmware, system software, and application software stored in the ROM 301, RAM 302, etc. The processor 300 executes processing based on the programs. Note that part or all of the programs may be incorporated into the circuitry of the processor 300.

[0035] The processor 300, ROM 301, and RAM 302 are connected to one another via a bus 303. An input / output interface 304 is also connected to this bus 303. An input unit 305, an output unit 306, an auxiliary storage device 307, a communication unit 308, and a power supply 309 are connected to the input / output interface 304.

[0036] The input unit 305 and output unit 306 are user interfaces electrically connected to the input / output interface 304 via wired or wireless connections. The input unit 305 is composed of, for example, operation buttons, and inputs various information, such as control commands for the wastewater reuse toilet system S, in response to user instructions. The output unit 306 is composed of, for example, a display for displaying images and a speaker for amplifying audio, and outputs images and audio. The output unit 306 may also display the cumulative number of toilet users in the wastewater reuse toilet system S and the amount of wastewater that can be treated. In this case, management by the administrator of the wastewater reuse toilet system S can be made easier.

[0037] The auxiliary storage device 307 is configured with a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), etc. The auxiliary storage device 307 stores various types of information such as programs related to various processes and setting values. The auxiliary storage device 307 stores, for example, log information on the detection results by the detection unit 40, various types of information such as criterion information, and programs. Details of the criterion information will be described later.

[0038] The communication unit 308 is a device that allows the processor 300 to communicate between the pump L11 of the wastewater reuse toilet system S, the sensor 40a, the sensor 40b, the switching device 21a, the switching device 21b, the switching device 22a, and the switching device 22b via a network not shown.

[0039] The power supply 309 is connected to, for example, an external power supply and supplies power to the control device 30. Note that the configuration of the power supply 309 is not limited to this, and the power supply 309 may have a battery and be configured to be able to supply power to each part of the control device 30.

[0040] Next, the functional configuration of the control device 30 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The control unit 310, which is a functional configuration of the control device 30 that executes various controls of the control device 30, is realized by the processor 300 that executes arithmetic processing by executing programs stored in the ROM 301, RAM 302, auxiliary storage device 307, etc.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 3 , the control unit 310 of this embodiment includes a determination information acquisition unit 311 , a determination criterion information acquisition unit 312 , a determination unit 313 , a switching control unit 314 , and a pump control unit 315 .

[0042] The determination information acquisition unit 311 acquires information for determining whether or not to switch the switching unit 20. For example, the determination information acquisition unit 311 executes a process to acquire today's date information from a clock function (not shown) of the control unit 310. Furthermore, if the wastewater reuse toilet system S has a detection unit 40 that can detect the usage status of at least one of the toilets 10a and 10b, the determination information acquisition unit 311 executes a process to acquire the detection result acquired by the detection unit 40 as information for determination.

[0043] The criterion information acquisition unit 312 executes a process to acquire the criterion information stored in the auxiliary storage device 307. The criterion information is information that serves as the criterion for the determination unit 313 to determine whether the connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b should be switched to the second line L2. The criterion information may be, for example, event plan information that serves as the criterion for the switching determination. The event plan information is, for example, information on the date of an event that requires the switching unit 20 to perform a switching operation. Therefore, the determination unit 313 determines whether there is an event today based on the event plan information.

[0044] In addition, depending on the scale of the event, it may be possible to switch the connection destinations of some or all of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drainage pipes F2a and F2b of toilets 10a and 10b.

[0045] Specifically, in the case of a first event of a first scale, the connections of some of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b may be switched depending on the scale of the event, and in the case of a second event of a second scale, the connections of some of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b may be switched. The scale of the event may be, for example, a large-scale event such as an exposition that is expected to attract visitors from all over the country, or a relatively small-scale event such as a Bon Odori festival that is expected to attract visitors from the local area.

[0046] In addition, the scale of the event is not limited to two types, but may be three or more types, in which case the switching targets among the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drainage pipes F2a and F2b of toilets 10a and 10b can be further subdivided.

[0047] The determination criteria information may be reference information that serves as a determination criterion for the switching determination of the switching unit 20. The reference information is information that serves as a criterion for the determination unit 313 to determine that the connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b should be switched to the second line L2, and is specified by the cumulative number of toilet users, the frequency of toilet use, etc.

[0048] When the switching unit 20 is switched in multiple stages based on different criteria, the criteria information may include multiple different criteria information. For example, in this embodiment, the criteria information includes first criteria information and second criteria information different from the first criteria information.

[0049] In this case, the first reference information is a threshold value used when determining whether to switch only some of the toilets 10a and 10b to water or sewerage, and the second reference information is a threshold value used when determining whether to switch all of the toilets 10a and 10b to water or sewerage.

[0050] The first and second reference values ​​are set according to the information acquired by the determination information acquisition unit. For example, if the determination information acquisition unit acquires the cumulative number of times the toilet has been used, the first and second reference values ​​are set based on the cumulative number of times the toilet has been used at the time when the user wishes to switch toilets.

[0051] Furthermore, when the determination information acquisition unit acquires the frequency of toilet use, the first reference value and the second reference value are set to the frequency of use at the timing when the user wishes to switch between toilets.

[0052] In this way, when switching the toilets 10a and 10b to water and sewerage in stages, multiple different reference values ​​are set. Therefore, the wastewater reuse toilet system S according to this embodiment can switch the switching unit 20 in two stages based on different determination criteria.

[0053] The determination criteria information is not limited to this, and may include only one piece of criteria information, or may include three or more pieces of criteria information. Therefore, the wastewater reuse toilet system S may switch the switching unit 20 in one stage based on one determination criterion, or may switch the switching unit 20 in three or more stages based on three or more different determination criteria.

[0054] The determination unit 313 performs a switching determination as to whether or not to control the switching unit 20 to perform switching, based on the determination information and the determination criterion information. If the determination information is not information that can be compared with the determination criterion, the determination unit 313 may perform a calculation process to calculate a numerical value that can be compared with the determination criterion information, based on the determination information. For example, if the determination information is detection information of toilet users acquired by the detection unit 40, the determination unit 313 performs a calculation process to calculate the cumulative number of toilet users and the frequency of toilet use, based on a log that is time-series data of the detection information.

[0055] Specifically, when the calculation process is performed, the determination unit 313 calculates the cumulative number of uses and frequency of use of the toilets 10a and 10b based on the detection results of the usage status of the toilets 10a and 10b by the detection unit 40. The determination unit 313 may calculate the number of users within one hour before the timing of the switching determination by the switching unit 20, and calculate the number of users per hour as the frequency of use of the toilets.

[0056] When the judgment information is information about today's date, the judgment unit 313 compares the event planning information stored in the auxiliary storage device 307 with today's date information when executing the judgment process to determine whether switching of the switching unit 20 is necessary.

[0057] Specifically, when today's date in the event planning information is the first event, the determination unit 313 determines to cause the switching unit 20 to switch some of the connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b to the second line L2. When today's date in the event planning information is the second event, the determination unit 313 determines to cause the switching unit 20 to switch all of the connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b to the second line L2.

[0058] When the judgment information is the detection result by the detection unit 40, in the calculation process, when the cumulative number of toilet users is calculated based on the detection result of the toilet usage status, the judgment unit 313 compares the calculated cumulative number of users with the first reference information and second reference information stored in the auxiliary memory device 307 when the judgment process is executed, and determines whether switching of the switching unit 20 is necessary.

[0059] Specifically, when the cumulative number of times toilets 10a and 10b have been used based on the detection results of the detection unit 40 is equal to or greater than a first reference value, the judgment unit 313 makes a judgment to cause the switching unit 20 to switch some of the piping of toilets 10a and 10b to the second line L2.

[0060] In addition, when the cumulative number of times toilets 10a and 10b are used based on the detection results by the detection unit 40 is equal to or greater than a second reference value, the judgment unit 313 makes a judgment to cause the switching unit 20 to switch all piping of toilets 10a and 10b to the second line L2.

[0061] When the judgment information is the detection result by the detection unit 40, the judgment unit 313 calculates the frequency of toilet use based on the detection result of the toilet use status in the calculation process, and when the judgment process is executed, compares the calculated frequency of use with the first reference information and second reference information stored in the auxiliary memory device 307 to determine whether switching of the switching unit 20 is necessary.

[0062] Specifically, when the frequency of use of toilets 10a and 10b based on the detection results by detection unit 40 is equal to or greater than the first standard information, judgment unit 313 makes a judgment to switch part of the piping of toilets 10a and 10b to second line L2 in switching unit 20.

[0063] In addition, when the frequency of use of toilets 10a and 10b based on the detection results by detection unit 40 is equal to or greater than the second standard information, judgment unit 313 makes a judgment to switch part of the piping of toilets 10a and 10b to second line L2 in switching unit 20.

[0064] When the judgment unit 313 makes a switching judgment based on the second reference information, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching unit 20 to switch all connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drainage pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b to the second line L2.

[0065] When the judgment unit 313 judges to switch based on the first reference information, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching unit 20 to switch the connection destinations of some of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drainage pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b to the second line L2.

[0066] The switching control unit 314 controls the switching operation of the switching unit 20. Specifically, when the determination unit 313 determines to switch to water supply and sewerage, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching unit 20 to switch the connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b of the toilets 10a and 10b to the clean water pipes F21 and sewer pipes F22.

[0067] The pump control unit 315 controls the operation of the pump L11. For example, when the pump L11 and the flush water pipe F1a of the toilet 10a are connected, and when a detection result indicating that flush water has been used in the toilet 10a is received from a sensor (not shown), the pump control unit 315 controls the pump L11 to supply water treated by the treatment unit L10 to the toilet 10a. When the pump L11 and the flush water pipe F1b of the toilet 10b are connected, and when a detection result indicating that flush water has been used in the toilet 10b is received from a sensor (not shown), the pump control unit 315 controls the pump L11 to supply water treated by the treatment unit L10 to the toilet 10a.

[0068] <Switching Control> Next, the switching control of the switching unit 20 executed by the control unit 310 of the wastewater reuse toilet system S according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 3, the switching control according to this embodiment is performed by the processor 300, which includes a determination criteria information acquisition unit 312, a determination unit 313, and a switching control unit 314. The switching control executed by the control unit 310 is started when the determination information acquisition unit 311 acquires the determination information.

[0069] Switching control in an example where there is one piece of determination criterion information and an example where there are two pieces of determination criterion information will be described with reference to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. First, switching control in an example where there is one piece of determination criterion information will be described with reference to Fig. 4.

[0070] First, the determination criterion information acquisition unit 312 acquires the determination criterion information stored in the auxiliary storage device 307 (step S10). Next, the determination unit 313 determines, based on the acquired determination information and determination criterion information, whether the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b should be connected to the second line (step S11).

[0071] If it is determined that the connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b are not to be the second line (step S11: NO), the control unit 310 proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching unit 20 to switch all of the connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b to the first line L1 (step S13), and ends the switching control.

[0072] Specifically, the switching control unit 314 checks whether the flush water pipe F1a of the toilet 10a is connected to the pump L11 of the first line L1. If the flush water pipe F1a of the toilet 10a is not connected to the pump L11 of the first line L1, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching device 21a of the switching unit 20 to switch the connection of the flush water pipe F1a of the toilet 10a to the pump L11 of the first line L1.

[0073] The switching control unit 314 checks whether the flush water pipe F1b of the toilet 10b is connected to the pump L11 of the first line L1. If the flush water pipe F1b of the toilet 10b is not connected to the pump L11 of the first line L1, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching device 21b of the switching unit 20 to switch the connection of the flush water pipe F1b of the toilet 10b to the pump L11 of the first line L1.

[0074] The switching control unit 314 checks whether the drainage pipe F2a of the toilet 10a is connected to the processing unit L10 of the first line L1. If the drainage pipe F2a of the toilet 10a is not connected to the processing unit L10 of the first line L1, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching device 22a of the switching unit 20 to switch the connection of the drainage pipe F2a of the toilet 10a to the processing unit L10 of the first line L1.

[0075] The switching control unit 314 checks whether the drainage pipe F2b of the toilet 10b is connected to the processing unit L10 of the first line L1. If the drainage pipe F2b of the toilet 10b is not connected to the processing unit L10 of the first line L1, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching device 22b of the switching unit 20 to switch the connection of the drainage pipe F2b of the toilet 10b to the processing unit L10 of the first line L1, and then ends the switching control.

[0076] If it is determined that the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of toilets 10a and 10b should all be connected to the second line L2 (step S11: YES), the control unit 310 proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching unit 20 to switch the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of toilets 10a and 10b to the second line L2 (step S12), and then ends the switching control.

[0077] Specifically, the switching control unit 314 checks whether the flush water piping F1a of the toilet 10a is connected to the clean water piping F21 of the second line L2. If the flush water piping F1a of the toilet 10a is not connected to the clean water piping F21 of the second line L2, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching device 21a of the switching unit 20 to switch the connection of the flush water piping F1a of the toilet 10a to the clean water piping F21 of the second line L2.

[0078] The switching control unit 314 checks whether the flush water pipe F1b of the toilet 10b is connected to the clean water pipe F21 of the second line L2. If the flush water pipe F1b of the toilet 10b is not connected to the clean water pipe F21 of the second line L2, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching device 21b of the switching unit 20 to switch the connection of the flush water pipe F1b of the toilet 10b to the clean water pipe F21 of the second line L2.

[0079] The switching control unit 314 checks whether the drain pipe F2a of the toilet 10a is connected to the sewer pipe F22 of the second line L2. If the drain pipe F2a of the toilet 10a is not connected to the sewer pipe F22 of the second line L2, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching device 22a of the switching unit 20 to switch the connection of the drain pipe F2a of the toilet 10a to the sewer pipe F22 of the second line L2.

[0080] The switching control unit 314 checks whether the drain pipe F2b of the toilet 10b is connected to the sewer pipe F22 of the second line L2. If the drain pipe F2b of the toilet 10b is not connected to the sewer pipe F22 of the second line L2, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching device 22b of the switching unit 20 to switch the connection of the drain pipe F2b of the toilet 10b to the sewer pipe F22 of the second line L2, and then ends the switching control.

[0081] Next, switching control in an example where there are two pieces of judgment criteria information will be described using Figure 5. First, the judgment criteria information acquisition unit 312 acquires the judgment criteria information stored in the auxiliary storage device 307 (step S20). Next, the judgment unit 313 determines whether or not the connection destinations of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b should all be the second line L2, based on the acquired judgment information and judgment criteria information (step S21).

[0082] If it is determined that the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b should all be connected to the second line L2 (step S21: YES), the control unit 310 proceeds to step S22. In step S22, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching unit 20 to switch the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b to the second line L2 (step S22), and ends the switching control. The specific content of the processing in step S22 is the same as the specific content of the processing in step 12 described above, and therefore will not be described again.

[0083] If it is determined that not all of the connection destinations of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b should be the second line L2 (step S21: NO), the control unit 310 proceeds to step S23. In step S23, the determination unit 313 determines, based on the acquired determination information and determination criterion information, whether or not some of the connection destinations of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b should be the second line L2 (step S23).

[0084] If it is determined that some of the connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b should be made the second lines (step S23: YES), the control unit 310 proceeds to step S25. In step S25, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching unit 20 to switch some of the connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b to the second lines.

[0085] Some of the connections between the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b may be the connections between the flush water pipes F1a and F2a of the toilet 10a. Also, some of the connections between the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b may be the connections between the flush water pipes F1b and F2b of the toilet 10b.

[0086] For example, if toilet 10a is a general toilet and toilet 10b is a multipurpose toilet, it is preferable to switch only the general toilet, which is used relatively frequently, to line 2. Therefore, in this case, it is preferable that the switching control unit 314 controls the switching unit 20 to switch the connections of the flush water pipe F1a and the drain pipe F2a of toilet 10a to line 2.

[0087] If it is determined that some of the connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b should not be made the second line (step S23: NO), the control unit 310 proceeds to step S24. In step S24, the switching control unit 314 controls the switching unit 20 to switch all of the connections of the flush water pipes F1a and F1b and the drain pipes F2a and F2b of the toilets 10a and 10b to the first line L1 (step S24), and ends the switching control. The specific content of the processing of step S24 is the same as the specific content of the processing of step 13 described above, and therefore will not be explained further.

[0088] The wastewater reuse toilet system S according to the present embodiment described above provides the following advantages. Public toilets are known that employ a wastewater reuse toilet system S that purifies and reuses toilet wastewater. The wastewater reuse toilet system S is environmentally friendly because it makes effective use of water, and because it can be used independently of infrastructure such as water supply and sewerage, it is a disaster-resistant system that can be used even when that infrastructure is damaged.

[0089] However, the wastewater reuse toilet system S has an upper limit to the amount of wastewater it can treat. If the amount exceeds the upper limit, unless pumping work is carried out, untreated water may mix with the flushed water in the wastewater tank, causing contamination, and the toilet may no longer be able to be flushed with purified water. Therefore, it is necessary to set the toilet capacity and maintenance plan based on the number of toilet users.

[0090] However, the number of visitors to a park or other facility where a toilet equipped with the wastewater reuse toilet system S is installed may not be constant throughout the year. For example, when an event is held in or around the park, a large number of people may temporarily visit and use the toilets.

[0091] Considering temporary increases in usage such as during events, it was necessary to set a large amount of wastewater that the wastewater recycling toilet system S could treat, and to set a certain number of toilets to receive flush water from the water supply and discharge wastewater into the sewer system, just like regular toilets.As a result, there were issues with the wastewater recycling toilet system S having excessive processing capacity and not being able to reuse wastewater from all toilets.

[0092] Here, the wastewater reuse toilet system S includes a toilet and toilet piping, a first line that reuses treated wastewater after flushing as flush water, a second line that flushes the toilet using water from the water supply and discharges the wastewater after flushing into the sewer system, a switching device that switches between a valve connecting the toilet to the first line and a valve connecting the toilet to the second line, and a control device that controls the switching device. This allows the wastewater to be used as flush water during normal low-use periods, and to be supplied from the water supply and sewerage system before or after the treatment capacity is exceeded during events, etc. Therefore, the wastewater reuse toilet system S can handle wastewater generated during use while preventing untreated wastewater from mixing with purified water from the gray water tank, etc., making it a more environmentally friendly system.

[0093] The wastewater reuse toilet system may also have multiple toilets, in which case the control device may control the switching device to switch some of the multiple toilets to the first line and the rest to the second line.

[0094] The wastewater reuse toilet system may have a detection means such as a human sensor that detects people using the toilet, and in this case, the control device may control the switching device based on the number of times the toilet is used.

[0095] For example, the switching device can be controlled so that when the number of times the toilets are used is low, all of the multiple toilets are switched to the first line, and when the number of times the toilets are used is high, all of the multiple toilets are switched to the second line.

[0096] The control device may control the switching device based on the frequency of use. For example, the control device can control the switching device so that when the frequency of use of the toilets is low, all of the plurality of toilets are switched to the first line, and when the frequency of use of the toilets is high, all of the plurality of toilets are switched to the second line.

[0097] [Other Modifications] While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above-described embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The present invention can take on various other embodiments, and various modifications such as omissions and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and spirit of the invention described in this specification, etc., and are also included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and their equivalents.

[0098] 10a Toilet 10b Toilet 20 Switching unit 310 Control unit F1a Flush water pipe F1b Flush water pipe F21 Clean water pipe F22 Sewage pipe F2a Drainage pipe F2b Drainage pipe L1 First line L10 Processing unit L2 Second line P Pump (supply unit) S Wastewater reuse toilet system

Claims

1. A wastewater reuse toilet system comprising: a plurality of toilets; a plurality of flush water pipes connected to each of the plurality of toilets for distributing flush water to each of the plurality of toilets; a plurality of drainage pipes for distributing wastewater discharged from the toilets and corresponding to each of the plurality of toilets; a first line having a treatment unit connectable to the plurality of drainage pipes for treating the wastewater, and a supply unit connectable to the plurality of flushing water pipes for supplying treated water produced by the treatment in the treatment unit to the toilets as flush water; a second line having a sewage pipe connectable to the plurality of drainage pipes for distributing wastewater to a sewer system, and a clean water pipe connectable to the plurality of flushing water pipes for distributing water from the clean water system to the toilets as flush water; a switching unit capable of switching the connection of the flush water pipe between the supply unit and the clean water pipe, and between the connection of the wastewater pipe between the treatment unit and the sewer pipe, for each of the plurality of toilets; and a control unit for controlling the switching operation of the switching unit.

2. The wastewater reuse toilet system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the switching operation of the switching unit based on planned event information for the area surrounding the installation location of the toilet.

3. A wastewater reuse toilet system as described in claim 1, comprising a detection unit capable of detecting the usage status of the toilet, and the control unit controls the switching operation of the switching unit based on the detection results by the detection unit.

4. The wastewater reuse toilet system of claim 3, wherein the control unit is capable of calculating the cumulative number of times the toilet has been used based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit, and when the cumulative number of times the toilet has been used based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit is equal to or greater than a first standard value, the switching unit controls the connection destinations of some of the flushing water pipes and the drainage pipes of the multiple toilets to be switched to the second line, and when the cumulative number of times the toilet has been used based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit is equal to or greater than a second standard value, the switching unit controls the connection destinations of all of the flushing water pipes and the drainage pipes of the multiple toilets to be switched to the second line.

5. The wastewater reuse toilet system of claim 3, wherein the control unit is capable of calculating the frequency of use of the toilet based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit, and when the frequency of use of the toilet based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit is a first frequency or higher, the switching unit controls the connection destinations of some of the flushing water pipes and the drainage pipes of the multiple toilets to be switched to the second line, and when the frequency of use of the toilet based on the detection result of the toilet usage status by the detection unit is a second frequency or higher, the switching unit controls the connection destinations of all of the flushing water pipes and the drainage pipes of the multiple toilets to be switched to the second line.

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