Patent Application
20180064295
The present invention relates to a device for wiping the buttocks with paper.
A buttocks wiping device described in Patent Literature 1 is a device configured such that a toilet seat lifting/lowering device is used to provide a clearance between a toilet bowl and a toilet seat and such that a plurality of servomotors are used to wipe the buttocks by a wiping arm. The wiping arm of Patent Literature 1 is configured to wipe the buttocks with rolled paper being pinched by a pinching member (e.g., FIG. 8 of Patent Literature 1).
Patent Literature 2 discloses the embodiment (e.g., FIG. 7 of Patent Literature 2) for wiping the buttocks with special paper being pinched by a clip member and the embodiment (e.g., FIG. 18 of Patent Literature 2) for wiping the buttocks with special paper being inserted into a U-shaped cutout portion.
Patent Literatures 3 to 5 disclose various embodiments, and as in FIGS. 6E, 48, 79, 83 to 86, 117, etc., the embodiment for wiping the buttocks with paper being pinched by tip end portions of a wiping arm.
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Patent Literature 12 discloses a device configured to wipe the buttocks with toilet paper winded around a roller.
Patent Literature 13 discloses a device configured to wipe the buttocks with toilet paper being pinched by wiping plates.
Patent Literature 14 discloses a device configured to wipe the buttocks with paper being pinched by a clip pad (c).
Patent Literature 15 discloses a device configured to wipe the buttocks with paper being pinched by a paper holder (11) of an artificial hand (10).
Conventional technologies as described above exist.
Any of these conventional buttocks wiping devices has not been manufactured or commercialized. For commercialization, various problems including not only operation as desired but also structure simplification, cost reduction, sanitation, usability, and easy maintenance need to be solved.
In the buttocks wiping device described in Patent Literature 1, the wiping arm needs to pinch the rolled paper, leading to a complicated structure for such pinching. Moreover, the wiping arm is driven by the plurality of servomotors, leading to a cost increase on that point. Further, the toilet seat lifting/lowering device needs to be used, leading a further cost increase. In addition, in the case of driving the wiping arm by the servomotors, maintenance is too technical, leading to a difficulty in practical use of the device.
An attempt has been made to provide the buttocks wiping device described in Patent Literature 2 together with a warm-water cleansing device. However, the warm-water cleansing device itself needs to be driven, and for this reason, this device requires further study for practical use. In terms of wiping, there is a probability that wiping is insufficient only by attachment of the special paper by means of the clip member as illustrated in FIG. 7 etc. of Patent Literature 2. Moreover, in FIG. 18 etc. of Patent Literature 2, the special paper which can be inserted into the U-shaped cutout portion needs to be prepared separately, and there is a probability that wiping is insufficient only by insertion of the special paper into the cutout portion as described in Patent Literature 2. That is, in the case of attaching the special paper to the clip member or inserting the special paper into the U-shaped cutout portion, a portion which is to contact the buttocks can be only on a plane, leading to the probability of not sufficiently performing wiping. As described above, the device of Patent Literature 2 not only leads to a structural problem due to installation together with the warm-water cleansing device, but also has not been improved to arrive at sufficient wiping. For this reason, this device requires further study. Thus, practical use of the device has not been realized yet.
The paper is firmly pinched by the wiping arm in the devices described in Patent Literatures 3 to 8, and therefore, the buttocks can be sufficiently wiped. The applicant of the present invention has actually manufactured some of the disclosed devices to check the feeling of wiping by such devices. However, for practical use, a wiping arm drive unit structure is complicated, and costs high. In addition, the structure of holding the paper by the wiping arm is a complicated structure such as use of a wire or shape-memory metal. This leads to problems that breakdown is easily caused and that it is difficult to perform maintenance. Thus, prototypes could be developed, but practical use of the devices cannot be realized.
The devices described in Patent Literatures 9 to 11 have a basic structure similar to those of the devices described in Patent Literatures 3 to 8, and are not dramatically-developed devices. In the devices described in Patent Literatures 9 to 12, a wiping arm drive unit structure is also complicated, and costs high. In addition, the structure of holding the paper by the wiping arm is a complicated structure such as use of a wire. This leads to problems that breakdown is easily caused and that it is difficult to perform maintenance.
The device described in Patent Literature 12 not only has a complicated structure, but also is configured such that wiping is performed using the roller from the back. Thus, there is a fundamental problem due to installation together with a toilet bowl, and this device requires still further study.
Patent Literature 13 also has a problem similar to that of Patent Literature 12.
In Patent Literature 14, there is no way to conveniently hang the paper down to the clip pad (c) one by one, and it must be said that this device is uncompleted as an invention. Moreover, a hole needs to be formed at a toilet bowl, and for this reason, this device is not realistic.
Patent Literature 15 discloses the device merely as an idea. It is assumed that a toilet bowl is below a toilet seat and that the artificial hand is to be exposed from the back of the toilet bowl. Thus, a hole also needs to be formed at the toilet bowl in the device of Patent Literature 15. It is unclear how to perform installation together with the toilet bowl, and it must be said that this device is uncompleted as an invention.
Moreover, the structure of the paper holder (11) is unclear, and it is unclear whether or not the paper is held as desired. Needless to say, this device is far from practical use.
In view of above, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a buttocks wiping device configured so that structure simplification, cost reduction, sanitation, usability, and easy maintenance can be realized and to provide a commercializable buttocks wiping device.
For solving the above-described problems, the present specification discloses the following aspects. The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device for wiping the buttocks with a wiping material. The buttocks wiping device includes a wiping arm including a pressing unit configured to press the wiping material against the buttocks and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The wiping arm drive unit moves, without attaching or inserting the wiping material to the pressing unit, the wiping arm with the wiping material being placed on the pressing unit, and the pressing unit has a curved shape.
In all of conventional Patent Literatures 1 and 3 to 15, the buttocks have been wiped with the paper being held. Thus, the mechanism for holding the paper is necessary. This leads to a complicated structure. In addition to the complicated structure, the portion for holding the paper is to contact the buttocks, and therefore, such a contact portion needs to be held in a sanitary manner. However, due to the mechanism configured to hold the paper, the contact portion needs to have a waterproof structure. In any of the conventional technologies, no sufficient study has been made on such a point. Patent Literature 2 discloses the device configured to wipe the buttocks with the special paper being pinched by the clip member or being inserted into the U-shaped cutout portion. However, a wiping portion is on the plane, and therefore, wiping cannot be sufficiently performed. In contrast, in the present invention, the wiping arm drive unit moves, without attaching or inserting the wiping material to the pressing unit, the wiping arm with the wiping material being placed on the pressing unit, and therefore, the mechanism for holding is not necessary. The structure is simplified, and as well the waterproof structure for the pressing unit needs not to be taken into consideration. Further, the pressing unit can be easily held in a sanitary manner by, e.g., whole-washing. Further, the pressing unit is in the curved shape along the shape of the buttocks. Thus, the pressing unit can contact the vicinity of the anus, leading to more sufficient wiping of the buttocks as compared to the device described in Patent Literature 2. With this structure, the buttocks wiping device can be provided, which is configured so that structure simplification, cost reduction, sanitation, usability, and easy maintenance can be realized.
Upon movement with the wiping material being placed on the pressing unit, the pressing unit may have, in the present invention, a surface exhibiting such friction that the wiping material does not drop, or have such a shape that the wiping material does not drop.
With this structure, dropping of the wiping material can be prevented without the wiping material being attached or inserted to the pressing unit.
Moreover, the present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device for wiping the buttocks with a wiping material. The buttocks wiping device includes a wiping arm including a pressing unit configured to press the wiping material against the buttocks, a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation, and a paper supply unit configured to expose the wiping material below the buttocks. The wiping arm drive unit drives the wiping arm such that the pressing unit pushes up, from below, the wiping material exposed by the paper supply unit.
As described above, the paper supply unit for exposing the wiping material below the buttocks is provided so that the wiping material can be reliably disposed below the buttocks. For example, in a case where the structure of not attaching or inserting the wiping material is employed for the pressing unit, there is a probability that the wiping material drops from the pressing unit upon movement of the wiping arm due to an unexpected situation. In a case where the pressing unit needs to move with the wiping material being placed on the pressing unit, a clearance corresponding to the wiping material needs to be provided between a raised portion and the pressing unit, for example. However, there is a probability that the wiping material hangs down from the pressing unit or warps up from the pressing unit. Such a clearance needs to have a margin. Moreover, there is a probability that the raised portion gets wet with dirty water, leading to insanitation due to, e.g., the dirty water adhering to the wiping material.
Even in the technique of moving the wiping arm with the wiping material being merely placed on the pressing unit, the objective of the present invention might be accomplished. However, there is a still problem that the probability of causing dropping or contamination of the wiping material upon movement cannot be fully denied. For this reason, in the present invention, a perceptional change leads to the idea of moving the wiping material separately from the wiping arm, and therefore, the buttocks are reliably wiped in such a manner that the pressing unit pushes up, from below, the wiping material disposed below the buttocks. With this structure, reliable wiping can be performed without the wiping material being held. Note that an idea underlying the invention described in the present specification is that the wiping material is held forcedly. Additionally, note that the invention described in the present specification has been made by such a perceptional change. Note that reconsidering the invention described in the present specification, the present invention can be also utilized for the buttocks wiping device configured to hold the paper. For this reason, various aspects of the invention described in the present specification should not be interpreted as being limited only to the buttocks wiping device configured not to hold the paper.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes a paper loading guide configured to place the wiping material, and exposes the wiping material below the buttocks in such a manner that the paper loading guide is exposed with the wiping material being placed on the paper loading guide.
The paper loading guide can reliably expose the wiping material below the buttocks.
In the present invention, after the wiping arm drive unit has caused the pressing unit to push up the wiping material, the paper supply unit returns the paper loading guide to a retracted position.
With this structure, the paper loading guide is returned to the retracted position upon wiping. Thus, the paper loading guide does not get dirty, and can be held in a sanitary manner.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit uses a rack-and-pinion mechanism to move the paper loading guide.
By the rack-and-pinion mechanism, the paper loading guide can be reliably exposed in a simple manner.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes a first movement mechanism configured to move the paper loading guide, and a second movement mechanism configured to move the first movement mechanism itself.
There is a probability that depending on the sizes of a toilet seat and a toilet bowl, a stroke is insufficient only by movement of the paper loading guide by means of the first movement mechanism. For this reason, the first movement mechanism itself is moved by the second movement mechanism. Thus, a region protruding to the side of the toilet seat can be reduced, and therefore, the stroke of the paper loading guide can be ensured. This contributes to size reduction of the buttocks wiping device.
In the present invention, the first movement mechanism uses the rack-and-pinion mechanism to move the paper loading guide, and the second movement mechanism uses the rack-and-pinion mechanism to move the first mechanism.
The first and second mechanisms form the rack-and-pinion mechanism so that the stroke can be ensured by a simple and reliable mechanism.
In the present invention, the first movement mechanism includes a motor configured to move the paper loading guide, and the second movement mechanism moves the first movement mechanism in association with rotation movement of the motor.
Movement by the first and second movement mechanisms can be realized by a single motor, leading to cost reduction.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit uses rotation of a screw shaft to move the paper loading guide.
By rotation of the screw shaft, the paper loading guide can be linearly moved. Thus, the paper loading guide can be reliably exposed below the buttocks.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes a paper supply roller configured to deliver the wiping material to the paper loading guide.
When the wiping material is delivered to the paper loading guide by means of the paper supply roller, the paper loading guide can be disposed below the toilet seat, for example. Moreover, the stroke of the paper loading guide can be small, leading to size reduction of the buttocks wiping device.
In the present invention, the buttocks wiping device further includes an automatic paper supply unit configured to set the wiping material onto the paper supply unit.
By use of the automatic paper supply unit for setting the wiping material onto the paper supply unit, the wiping material can be automatically supplied to the paper supply unit even in the case of a user with impairment in a hand.
In the present invention, the automatic paper supply unit cuts a long wiping material at a predetermined length, and sets the cut wiping material onto the paper supply unit.
The automatic paper supply unit can be implemented by a simple mechanism for cutting the long wiping material at the predetermined length.
In the present invention, the long wiping material is folded, and is housed in a paper stocker. The automatic paper supply unit cuts, at the predetermined length, the long wiping material housed in the paper stocker, and sets the cut wiping material onto the paper supply unit.
The long wiping material is folded and housed in the paper stocker so that the long wiping material can be not only housed compactly, but also a simple and reliable mechanism of the automatic paper supply unit can be provided. This contributes to practical use of the automatic paper supply unit.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes a paper supply sensor configured to detect whether or not the wiping material has been set.
The paper supply sensor can prevent malfunction that the paper loading guide moves despite the absence of the wiping material.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes a paper supply roller configured to deliver the wiping material, and a paper delivery sensor configured to detect whether or not the wiping material has been delivered from the paper supply roller.
The paper delivery sensor can prevent malfunction that the paper loading guide moves despite the absence of the wiping material.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes the paper supply sensor configured to detect whether or not the wiping material has been set. In a case where the paper delivery sensor does not detect delivery of the wiping material even after a lapse of a predetermined time after detection of the wiping material by the paper supply sensor, such a state is determined as an error.
When delivery of the wiping material is not detected even after a lapse of the predetermined time, there is a probability that the wiping material is jammed somewhere. For this reason, such a diagnosis function can be provided to notify such an error to the user, thereby clearing the error.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes a paper loading guide sensor configured to detect whether or not the wiping material is placed on the paper loading guide.
The paper loading guide sensor can prevent malfunction that the paper loading guide is exposed despite the absence of the wiping material.
In the present invention, the paper loading guide is returned to the retracted position in a case where the paper loading guide sensor detects that the wiping material is not placed.
For any reasons, there is a probability that the wiping material is detached from the paper loading guide in the course of exposure. When wiping is performed with the wiping material being detached, the pressing unit of the wiping arm directly contacts the buttocks. For this reason, in the case where the paper loading guide sensor detects, as described above, that the wiping material is not placed, the paper loading guide is returned to the retracted position so that such a situation can be avoided.
In the present invention, the paper loading guide has such a shape that the pressing unit can pass upward from below.
With such a shape, the pressing unit lifts the wiping material from the paper loading guide so that the wiping material can contact the buttocks.
When facing the toilet seat, the paper supply unit and the wiping arm drive unit are, in the present invention, on an identical side in the right-to-left direction or on opposite sides in the right-to-left direction.
As described above, a position relationship between the paper supply unit and the wiping arm drive unit is not specifically limited. As necessary, the position relationship may be properly designed according to, e.g., the shapes of the toilet seat and a warm-water cleansing device.
In the present invention, a plane including an opening for housing the paper supply unit is in a planer shape.
With the planer shape, the shape of an opening/closing unit can be simplified. This contributes to cost reduction of the buttocks wiping device.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes the paper supply roller configured to deliver the wiping material onto the paper loading guide, and a common motor is shared as a motor configured to expose the paper loading guide and a motor configured to rotate the paper supply roller.
Since the common motor is shared as the motor for the paper loading guide and the motor for the paper supply roller, a cost for a single motor can be reduced.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit exposes the paper loading guide by angular movement.
The method for exposing the paper loading guide includes not only exposure by linear movement but also exposure by angular movement. A proper exposure method can be selected as necessary. In the case of exposure by angular movement, it can be expected that a portion protruding to the side of the toilet bowl is reduced. This contributes to size reduction of the buttocks wiping device.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes, about a single shaft, a mechanism configured to angularly move the paper loading guide, and a mechanism configured to move the paper loading guide up and down.
Since the paper loading guide is, about the single shaft, moved angularly and moved up and down, the size of the buttocks wiping device can be not only reduced, but also the height of the paper loading guide can be adjusted. By adjustment of the height of the paper loading guide, contact of the paper loading guide with buttock muscles can be prevented even in a case where the buttock muscles are sagging from the toilet seat.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit uses, as the single shaft, a shaft provided with a screw groove and a spline shaft groove together, thereby performing angular movement and upper-to-lower movement of the paper loading guide.
Examples of the shaft provided with the screw groove and the spline shaft groove together include shafts in practical use, such as a ball screw spline. Desired angular movement and upper-to-lower movement can be realized with a reliable structure.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit is able to adjust the height of the paper loading guide by the mechanism for upper-to-lower movement.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit is able to adjust the height of the paper loading guide.
By adjustment of the height of the paper loading guide, contact of the paper loading guide with the buttock muscles can be prevented even in the case where the buttock muscles are sagging from the toilet seat.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit has a mechanism configured to adjust the height of the paper loading guide by rotation of the screw shaft.
Since the height of the paper loading guide is adjusted with a simple structure using rotation of the screw shaft, the cost of the buttocks wiping device can be reduced even with a height adjustment function.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes a movable portion configured to move together with the paper loading guide when the paper loading guide is exposed, and the paper loading guide is slidable on the movable portion.
The paper loading guide is slidable on the movable portion. Thus, even in a case where the stroke of the paper loading guide cannot be ensured, only the paper loading guide is, as in a drawer, slid on the movable portion so that the wiping material can be placed.
In the present invention, when the wiping arm is exposed, the wiping arm drive unit inclines the wiping arm downward such that the pressing unit is positioned below the paper loading guide.
By downward inclination of the wiping arm, the arrangement position of the paper loading guide can be lowered. Even for a user with buttock muscles sagging from the toilet bowl, contact of the paper loading guide with the user can be prevented.
In the present invention, the wiping arm drive unit includes a slidable movable portion, a sliding mechanism configured to slide the movable portion, a swingable portion fixed to the wiping arm and configured to slide in association with sliding of the movable portion, and a swinging mechanism configured to swing the swingable portion. The paper loading guide is attached to the movable portion, and is moved by the sliding mechanism.
With this structure, movement of the wiping arm and movement of the paper loading guide can be unified, and simplification of a drive mechanism can be expected.
In the present invention, a common motor is shared as a motor used for the sliding mechanism and a motor used for the swinging mechanism.
Thus, motor sharing can be realized as described above.
In the present invention, the wiping arm drive unit includes the slidable movable portion, the sliding mechanism configured to slide the movable portion, the swingable portion fixed to the wiping arm and configured to slide in association with sliding of the movable portion, and the swinging mechanism configured to swing the swingable portion. The paper supply unit includes a paper loading guide sliding mechanism separated from the movable portion and configured to slide the paper loading guide.
With this structure, only the paper supply unit can be moved separately from the movable portion. Thus, after the pressing unit has lifted the wiping material, only the paper loading guide can be retracted. Consequently, dropping of the wiping material after wiping is facilitated.
In the present invention, a common motor is shared as the motor used for the sliding mechanism, the motor used for the swinging mechanism, and a motor used for the paper loading guide sliding mechanism.
By employing such a mechanism, motor unification can be, in some cases, realized depending on a manufacturing cost. Moreover, significant cost reduction can be expected.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes the paper loading guide sliding mechanism configured to slide the paper loading guide.
The sliding mechanism can be employed as a section configured to move the paper loading guide.
In the present invention, the wiping arm drive unit includes the slidable movable portion, the sliding mechanism configured to slide the movable portion, the swingable portion fixed to the wiping arm and configured to slide in association with sliding of the movable portion, and the swinging mechanism configured to swing the swingable portion. The paper supply unit includes the paper loading guide swinging mechanism separated from the movable portion and configured to swing the paper loading guide.
The paper loading guide is swung so that the paper loading guide can face downward upon wiping. Thus, paper dropping is facilitated.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes a sensor configured to detect whether or not the paper loading guide has contacted the user, and in a case where the paper loading guide has contacted the user, stops or backwardly moves the paper loading guide.
In the case where the paper loading guide has contacted the user, such a structure avoids the processing from forcibly proceeding to the wiping operation.
The present invention relates to a paper supply device used for a buttocks wiping device for wiping the buttocks with a wiping material. The paper supply device is configured to expose the wiping material below a portion of the buttocks, the portion being to be wiped by a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks. The paper supply device further includes a paper loading guide configured to place the wiping material, and exposes the paper loading guide with the wiping material being placed on the paper loading guide.
The present specification also discloses the following aspects, and all of the aspects can contribute to practical use.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device for wiping the buttocks with a wiping material. The buttocks wiping device includes a raised portion provided between a toilet bowl and a toilet seat, a wiping arm configured to use the wiping material to wipe the buttocks, and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. Part or entirety of the wiping arm drive unit is housed below the toilet seat in the raised portion.
Part or entirety of the wiping arm drive unit is housed in the raised portion, leading to size reduction of the entire device.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device for wiping the buttocks with a wiping material. The buttocks wiping device includes a toilet seat, a wiping arm configured to use the wiping material to wipe the buttocks, and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. Part or entirety of the wiping arm drive unit is housed in the toilet seat.
Part or entirety of the wiping arm drive unit is housed in the toilet seat, leading to size reduction of the entire device.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device for wiping the buttocks with a wiping material. The buttocks wiping device includes a wiping arm configured to use the wiping material to wipe the buttocks, and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The wiping arm drive unit performs the wiping operation in such a manner that the wiping arm is angularly moved about a supporting point fixed at the side of a toilet seat such that a wiping portion of the wiping arm moves back and forth in the vicinity of the anus.
The wiping arm angularly moves about the supporting point fixed at the side of the toilet seat, leading to size reduction of the entire device.
For example, in comparison with the devices described in Patent Literatures 3 to 8 and 9 to 11, the wiping operation is performed in these devices by angular movement and exposure of the wiping arm after sliding. Thus, in the devices described in Patent Literatures 3 to 8, the motor for exposure is placed on the mechanism for sliding. The motor for exposure is configured to move on the mechanism for sliding. That is, only for the purpose of exposing the wiping arm, two motors including the motor for sliding and the motor for angular movement and exposure are provided. In addition, a crucial problem of the devices described in Patent Literatures 3 to 8 and 9 to 11 is that all of the motors are placed on the mechanism for sliding and the motor for moving the wiping arm up and down and the motor for rotating the wiping arm are placed on the motor for exposure by angular movement. That is, all of the motors are placed in series. Although multiaxial movement is realized, movement unnecessary for wiping of the buttocks is included. This is a primary cause for an increase in a cost and a device size. Needless to say, a motor generating a great torque needs to be used. Moreover, for realizing such complicated multiaxial movement, employment of a servomotor as the motor is more reliable. This also leads to a cost increase. Further, the wiping arm drive unit is provided at the side of the toilet seat. For this reason, the length of the wiping arm drive unit needs to be increased, and therefore, the motor generating the great torque is necessary.
In contrast, the structure has been fundamentally reviewed for the present invention. Thus, the motor for exposure is fixed, and the wiping arm is exposed by angular movement. Further, front-to-back wiping operation is also performed by means of the motor for exposure. When exposure and wiping can be realized by a single motor, more significant cost reduction can be realized by such a structure as compared to the conventional devices. Further, size reduction can be also realized.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material. The wiping arm includes a wiping portion and a strut portion, and the strut portion is bent in advance.
With the strut portion bent in advance, the wiping portion can be held horizontal upon wiping. Moreover, the wiping portion can be moved to a higher position.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The wiping arm drive unit has a mechanism configured to expose the wiping arm and move the wiping arm up and down by a single motor.
By the mechanism realizing exposure and upper-to-lower movement by the single motor, significant cost reduction and size reduction can be realized.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The wiping arm drive unit includes, about a single shaft, a mechanism configured to angularly move the wiping arm and a mechanism configured to move the wiping arm up and down.
Angular movement and upper-to-lower movement about the single shaft are realized so that a common motor can be shared. This leads to significant cost reduction and size reduction.
In the present invention, the wiping arm drive unit uses, as the single shaft, a shaft provided with a screw groove and a spline shaft groove together, thereby performing angular movement and upper-to-lower movement of the wiping arm.
Such a shaft is in practical use as a ball screw spline, for example. This leads to reliable operation.
In the present invention, the wiping arm drive unit rotates a screw shaft to expose the wiping arm, and restricts movement of the wiping arm to move the wiping arm up and down along the screw shaft.
In the present invention, the wiping arm drive unit includes a restriction rod portion configured to restrict movement of the wiping arm, and a restriction rod drive unit configured to slide restriction rods.
In the present invention, the restriction rod portion includes the two restriction rods. Upon upper-to-lower movement of the wiping arm, the wiping arm is inserted between the two restriction rods, thereby moving up and down. The wiping arm is moved in such a manner that the wiping arm is slid on the two restriction rod portions with the wiping arm being inserted between the two restriction rod portions.
By such restriction, upper-to-lower movement and the wiping operation can be performed.
In the present invention, the mechanism for upper-to-lower movement by the wiping arm drive unit uses piston movement.
Needless to say, upper-to-lower movement can be performed by piston movement.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device for wiping the buttocks with a wiping material. The buttocks wiping device includes a raised portion provided between a toilet bowl and a toilet seat, a wiping arm configured to use the wiping material to wipe the buttocks, and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. A wiping arm opening provided at the raised portion is provided with a dropping portion configured to contact the wiping material when the wiping arm is retracted.
For example, in the conventional devices described in Patent Literatures 3 to 8 and 9 to 11, the wiping arm is, for dropping the paper, rotated in an axial direction such that a tip end portion thereof faces downward. Thinking objectively, the paper can be, however, dropped without such a complicated mechanism. In the conventional devices described in Patent Literatures 3 to 8 and 9 to 11, such a thought is not taken into consideration at all, and desired operation is, in a direct way, realized merely using the plurality of motors. These devices have not been made based on an idea that use of the motors is avoided as much as possible for realizing operation. Thus, even if development is continued in the direction of the devices described in Patent Literatures 3 to 8 and 9 to 11, it is impossible to develop a device configured so that cost reduction and size reduction are realized with suitability for practical use and configured such that breakdown is less caused and maintenance is easily performed. It is vital for development of the buttocks wiping device to depart from the direction of the devices described in Patent Literatures 3 to 8 and 9 to 11. The present specification discloses various embodiments, and discloses, with flexible mindset, other embodiments than the direction of the devices described in Patent Literatures 3 to 8 and 9 to 11. The contents of description of the present specification is surely helpful in future development of the buttocks wiping device.
Specifically in the case of focusing on paper dropping, dropping can be performed even by a simple element such as the dropping portion. The present invention describes, throughout the present specification, that the attitude of simplifying elements as much as possible without reliance on motor driving in a case where these elements can be implemented using a simple mechanism is vital for cost reduction and size reduction. Since this invention is simple, a lack of the inventive step of the present invention tends to be argued against hindsight reasoning. However, as long as the present invention is not reviewed with sufficient understanding of a difficulty in arriving at such a perceptional change, the present invention is misjudged. A typical example is the dropping portion described herein. The dropping portion may be an originally-protruding portion or a portion configured to use, e.g., an electromagnetic solenoid to electrically protrude only for dropping the wiping material. With a pull-type electromagnetic solenoid, the dropping portion may be configured such that a rod-shaped member protrudes. With a swing-type electromagnetic solenoid, the dropping portion may be configured such that a plate-shaped member swings. The structure of the dropping portion is not limited.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The wiping arm drive unit includes an exposure motor configured to expose the wiping arm through an opening of a toilet seat, and an upper-to-lower motor configured to move the wiping arm up and down upon exposure. The exposure motor is, without movement, fixed to the buttocks wiping device.
A point is that the exposure motor is fixed. In the conventional devices described in Patent Literatures 3 to 8 and 9 to 11, the mechanism for exposure is complicated. The wiping arm is slid by a slider once, and then, is exposed by angular movement. Since such operation is only for exposure of the wiping arm, all one have to do is exposure by the exposure motor as in the present invention. The present invention might be misjudged as long as the present invention is, without denying the inventive step of the present invention due to simplification, reviewed in terms of whether or not one has easily arrived at the present invention based on the conventional technologies.
In the present invention, the wiping arm drive unit uses rotation of the exposure motor to angularly move the upper-to-lower motor, thereby exposing the wiping arm.
By angular movement of the upper-to-lower motor, the wiping arm attached to the upper-to-lower motor is also angularly moved, and then, is exposed.
In the present invention, the wiping arm drive unit uses rotation of the exposure motor to slide the upper-to-lower motor, thereby exposing the wiping arm.
By sliding of the upper-to-lower motor, the wiping arm attached to the upper-to-lower motor is also slid, and then, is exposed.
In this aspect, the motor targeted for movement is only the upper-to-lower motor. A complicated mechanism that the plurality of motors move together as in the conventional devices of Patent Literatures 3 to 8 and 9 to 11 is not employed. Since the mechanism is simplified as described above, the present invention contributes to cost reduction, size reduction, easy maintenance, and less occurrence of breakdown.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The wiping arm drive unit includes a sliding section configured to slide the wiping arm from a lateral side to a toilet seat opening when a toilet seat is viewed from the front, and an upper-to-lower motor attached to the sliding section to move the wiping arm up and down. The wiping arm is exposed in such a manner that the sliding section slides the upper-to-lower motor from the lateral side to the toilet seat opening.
In the present invention, exposure and upper-to-lower movement of the wiping arm are realized by sliding of the upper-to-lower motor, and therefore, wiping can be realized with a simple structure.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. A wiping portion of the wiping arm is held horizontal upon wiping.
Usually in the case of inclining the wiping arm upward, the wiping portion also inclines diagonally. When the wiping portion inclines diagonally, an area contacting the buttocks is small, leading to the probability of not sufficiently performing wiping. For this reason, in the present invention, the wiping portion of the wiping arm is held horizontal upon wiping, and therefore, the area contacting the buttocks is increased as much as possible. Consequently, wiping is sufficiently performed.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. A plane including an opening provided for housing the wiping arm is in a planer shape.
For waterproofing, an opening/closing unit is preferably provided at a wiping arm housing portion. However, when an opening of the opening/closing unit is in a curved shape, the structure of the opening/closing unit is inevitably complicated. For this reason, when the opening can be in the planer shape, the structure of the opening/closing unit can be simplified. Finally, cost reduction of the entire device can be realized.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The wiping arm drive unit performs torque control or torque limitation for a motor configured to drive the wiping arm, thereby controlling the force of contact of the wiping arm with the buttocks.
Considering the feeling of wiping and safety, the force of contact of a wiping portion with the buttocks is preferably controlled. Contact with great fore might lead to an injury, and therefore, is not proper. Contact with small force might lead to unsatisfaction of wiping. For this reason, control is made by contact force control (controlling a torque to fall within a certain range) or contact force limitation (controlling the torque not to be equal to greater than an upper limit). This leads to improvement of the safety and the feeling of wiping.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device for wiping the buttocks with a wiping material. The buttocks wiping device includes a raised portion provided between a toilet bowl and a toilet seat, a wiping arm configured to use the wiping material to wipe the buttocks, and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. Part or entirety of the wiping arm drive unit is housed below a warm-water cleansing device in the raised portion.
When part or entirety of the wiping arm drive unit can be housed below the warm-water cleansing device in the raised portion, the volume of a device portion protruding from the side of the toilet seat can be decreased. This leads to size reduction of the entire device.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The wiping arm drive unit includes a slidable movable portion, a sliding mechanism configured to slide the movable portion, a swingable portion fixed to the wiping arm and configured to slide in association with sliding of the movable portion, and a swinging mechanism configured to swing the swingable portion.
In the present invention, the wiping arm is fixed to the swingable portion configured to slide in association with sliding of the movable portion. Moreover, the swingable portion can be swung by the swinging mechanism. Thus, the wiping arm can be exposed by the movable portion, and can be moved up and down by the swingable portion. Such a mechanism is not only a mechanism having not been conventionally provided at all, but also a mechanism useful for size reduction of the entire device and reliable wiping.
In the present invention, part or entirety of the movable portion, the sliding mechanism, the swingable portion, and the swinging mechanism is provided below the warm-water cleansing device, provided in the raised portion, or provided in the toilet seat.
This leads to size reduction of the entire device.
In the present invention, a common motor is shared as a motor used for the sliding mechanism and a motor used for the swinging mechanism.
In the case of using the movable portion, the sliding mechanism, the swingable portion, and the swinging mechanism as described above, such a structure can be implemented by, e.g., a linear drive mechanism combined with a sliding screw, a spline shaft, etc. Thus, the common motor can be shared by switching using an electromagnetic clutch etc., for example. As a result, this leads to cost reduction of the device.
In the present invention, a slide-type opening/closing unit configured to slide in association with sliding of the movable portion is provided.
With this structure, the opening/closing unit can be opened/closed by sliding together with sliding of the movable portion. Thus, it is not necessary to separately provide the mechanism for opening/closing. As a result, this leads to cost reduction of the device.
In the present invention, a hinge-type opening/closing unit is provided, and the movable portion includes a press-down portion configured to hold the hinge-type opening/closing unit in an opened state upon exposure of the wiping arm.
In the case of exposing the wiping arm by the movable portion, there is a probability that the hinge-type opening/closing unit perpendicular to the slide-type opening/closing unit is closed. For this reason, the press-down portion is provided at the movable portion, and therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide the mechanism for opening/closing the hinge-type opening/closing unit. As a result, this leads to cost reduction of the device.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The wiping arm exhibits flexibility.
For example, when a strut portion or a wiping portion of the wiping arm can be flexible, the wiping arm can deform to fit the shape of the buttocks upon contact with the buttocks. Thus, the feeling of wiping is improved.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. A wiping portion of the wiping arm exhibits flexibility.
When the wiping portion of the wiping arm can be flexible, the wiping portion can deform to fit the shape of the vicinity of the anus. Thus, the feeling of wiping is improved.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The buttocks wiping device further includes a paper supply unit having a roller configured to deliver the wiping material onto a wiping portion of the wiping arm.
When the wiping material can be delivered to the wiping portion by the roller, the wiping arm can be in such a state that the wiping arm is in a raised portion, for example. This leads to size reduction of the entire device.
In the present invention, the buttocks wiping device further includes an automatic paper supply unit configured to insert the wiping material into the paper supply unit.
With this structure, a user does not necessarily insert the wiping material into the paper supply unit, and therefore, convenience is improved.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit delivers the wiping material onto the wiping portion such that the wiping material hangs down in front of the wiping portion.
With this structure, the wiping material can be reliably placed on the wiping portion.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit includes a cutting unit configured to cut, at a predetermined length, a long wiping material delivered by the roller.
With this structure, the wiping material can be automatically supplied.
In the present invention, the paper supply unit further includes a movable delivery unit, and the delivery unit moves in association with rotation of the roller to place the wiping material onto the wiping portion.
With this structure, the wiping material can be automatically placed on the wiping portion.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The buttocks wiping device further includes a negative pressure generation device configured to generate a negative pressure. A wiping portion of the wiping arm is provided with a hole communicating with the negative pressure generation device.
With this structure, the wiping material is sucked, and therefore, dropping of the wiping material from the wiping portion can be prevented.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The buttocks wiping device further includes a positive pressure generation device configured to generate a positive pressure. A wiping portion of the wiping arm is provided with a hole communicating with the positive pressure generation device.
With this structure, the wiping material can be blown off by the positive pressure, and therefore, dropping of the wiping material is facilitated.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The buttocks wiping device further includes a positive pressure generation device configured to generate a positive pressure. A wiping portion of the wiping arm communicates with the positive pressure generation device, and is expandable by the positive pressure from the positive pressure generation device.
With this structure, the wiping portion is expanded by the positive pressure so that an area contacting the buttocks can be increased. Thus, reliable wiping can be expected. In this case, the wiping portion is not always disposable, and the wiping material may be separately placed on the wiping portion. Moreover, the wiping portion may be disposable.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The wiping arm drive unit includes a link mechanism configured to move the wiping arm.
By the link mechanism, the position of the wiping arm can be fine-adjusted.
In the present invention, the wiping arm includes an extendable portion coupled to a rotary shaft of an upper-to-lower motor configured to swing the wiping arm up and down and to the wiping arm, and the extendable portion extends/contracts according to the track of a free end of the link mechanism.
By use of the extendable portion and the link mechanism, the length of the wiping arm can be adjusted.
In the present invention, when a pressing unit moves upward, the extendable portion extends such that a wiping portion of the wiping arm moves straight up.
One of advantageous effects provided by use of the link mechanism is that the wiping portion can be moved straight up. This allows wiping at a center portion regardless of an individual difference in the position of the user's anus.
In the present invention, when the wiping arm is exposed or retracted, the extendable portion extends/contracts to perform position adjustment of the wiping portion of the wiping arm.
One of the advantageous effects provided by use of the link mechanism is that the wiping arm is extended/contracted so that the position of the wiping portion of the wiping arm can be adjusted. In a case where collision is caused due to a space upon retraction of the wiping arm, the wiping arm is, for retraction, slightly contracted by the link mechanism.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. In the wiping arm, a wiping portion for wiping the buttocks with the wiping material is swingably attached.
The wiping portion such as a pressing unit is swingably attached to the wiping arm. Thus, when the wiping portion contacts the buttocks, the wiping portion can be held horizontal, and the inclination angle of the wiping portion can be automatically adjusted according to the shape of the buttocks. This improves the feeling of wiping.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The buttocks wiping device further includes a sterilization/cleansing arm configured to spray a sterilization and/or cleansing solution. The sterilization/cleansing arm is exposed separately from the wiping arm, and sterilize and/or cleanse a wiping portion of the wiping arm.
As described above, the sterilization/cleansing arm is used separately from the wiping arm, and therefore, the wiping portion is cleansed/sterilized after these two arms have been exposed. Thus, there is almost no need of consideration on waterproofing of a sterilization/cleansing device provided in a raised portion.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The buttocks wiping device includes, at a lid of a toilet seat, a nozzle configured to spray a sterilization and/or cleansing solution.
With the nozzle provided at the lid of the toilet seat, it is not necessary to provide a cleansing/sterilization device in a raised portion or to use a sterilization/cleansing arm. Thus, sterilization/cleansing can be performed in an extremely-simple manner. As a result, this leads to cost reduction of the device.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The buttocks wiping device further includes a raised portion provided between a toilet bowl and a toilet seat. A wiping portion of the wiping arm is housed in a sterilization and/or cleansing unit provided in the raised portion, and therefore, the wiping portion is sterilized and/or cleansed.
With this structure, the wiping portion can be sterilized/cleansed upon housing of the wiping arm, leading to improvement of convenience.
In the present invention, the sterilization and/or cleansing unit is configured to spray a sterilization and/or cleansing solution, and has such a shape that the sprayed sterilization and/or cleansing solution flows down to a toilet bowl side.
This allows the solution to naturally flow down, leading to enhancement of a waterproofing effect.
In the present invention, the wiping arm includes a defensive barrier configured to prevent the sterilization and/or cleansing solution from entering the wiping arm drive unit.
This enhances the waterproofing effect.
In the present invention, the sterilization and/or cleansing unit is detachable.
With this structure, the device for cleansing/sterilization can be optionally detached.
In the present invention, the sterilization and/or cleansing unit mixes the sterilization and/or cleansing solution accumulated in a tank with water from a tap water pipe, thereby spraying the resultant solution to the wiping portion.
By such mixing with the water, the tank for the sterilization and/or cleansing solution can be downsized, leading to size reduction of the entire device.
In the present invention, the sterilization and/or cleansing unit sprays the water from the tap water pipe to the wiping portion.
This allows cleansing with the water.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. In a case where a toilet seat is not lowered, the buttocks wiping device is not operated.
When the buttocks wiping device is driven with the toilet seat being lifted, it is dangerous because the wiping arm pushes a user with force more than necessary. For this reason, when the buttocks wiping device can be configured not to operate in the case where the toilet seat is not lowered, safety is enhanced.
The present invention relates to an automatic paper supply device used for a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The automatic paper supply device includes a paper stocker portion configured to house a long wiping material in a folded state, and a cutting unit configured to cut the long wiping material at a predetermined length.
When the long wiping material can be housed in the folded state, the wiping material can be compactly housed, leading to size reduction of the entire device.
The present invention relates to an automatic paper supply device used for a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The automatic paper supply device includes a paper stocker portion configured to house a stack of multiple wiping material pieces cut to a predetermined shape in advance, a paper feeding roller configured to deliver one of the wiping material pieces housed in the paper stocker portion, and a drive unit configured to upwardly move, by a single piece, the wiping material housed in the paper stocker portion.
The wiping material is soft, and for this reason, a design needs to be made to deliver a single piece. When the wiping material can be moved upward by a single piece as described above, only the uppermost piece can be reliably delivered. Thus, an automatic paper supply device suitable for practical use can be provided.
In the present invention, a slide is provided, which is configured to slide the wiping material delivered by the paper feeding roller to place the wiping material on a wiping portion of the wiping arm.
By the slide, the wiping material can be, after delivered, automatically placed on the wiping portion.
The present invention relates to an automatic paper supply device used for a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The automatic paper supply device includes a paper stocker portion configured to house a stack of multiple wiping material pieces cut to a predetermined shape in advance, and a paper feeding roller configured to deliver one of the wiping material pieces housed in the paper stocker portion.
When the paper feeding roller configured to deliver a single wiping material piece can be used, only the uppermost piece can be delivered. Thus, an inexpensive automatic paper supply device suitable for practical use can be provided.
In the present invention, the paper stocker portion has a friction plate provided below a leading end portion of the stack of multiple wiping material pieces.
Friction between the wiping material and the friction plate is greater than friction between adjacent ones of the wiping material pieces. Moreover, friction between the wiping material and the paper feeding roller is greater than friction between adjacent ones of the wiping material pieces. As a result, only the uppermost piece can be delivered by the paper feeding roller. Thus, an inexpensive automatic paper supply device suitable for practical use can be provided.
The present invention relates to an automatic paper supply device used for a buttocks wiping device including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material and a wiping arm drive unit configured to cause the wiping arm to move and perform wiping operation. The automatic paper supply device includes a paper stocker portion configured to house a stack of multiple wiping material pieces cut to a predetermined shape in advance, and a holding unit configured to hold one of the wiping material pieces housed in the paper stocker portion.
The wiping material is soft, and for this reason, a design needs to be made to take out only a single piece. When the holding unit can be used as described above, only a single piece can be reliably taken out.
The present invention relates to a wiping arm used for a buttocks wiping device for wiping the buttocks with a wiping material. The wiping arm is formed by pressing a water-soluble or water-degradable material.
When the wiping arm can be formed by pressing the water-soluble or water-degradable material, the wiping arm is disposable. Thus, sanitation of a wiping portion of the wiping arm does not need to be taken into consideration.
In the present invention, the wiping arms can be stacked on each other in the upper-to-lower direction.
With this structure, the disposable wiping arms can be compactly housed, leading to size reduction of the entire device.
The present invention relates to a wiping material used for a buttocks wiping device. The buttocks wiping device has a pressing unit configured to press the wiping material against the buttocks. As viewed in the plan, the wiping material is larger than the pressing unit, and has a predetermined shape.
By use of such a wiping material, moisture etc. can be wiped in a sanitary manner across a wide area without the moisture etc. adhering to the pressing unit.
The present invention relates to a wiping material used for a buttocks wiping device. The buttocks wiping device has a pressing unit configured to press the wiping material against the buttocks. In a state in which multiple wiping material pieces are stacked on each other in the upper-to-lower direction, the wiping material pieces are at least partially joined together in the upper-to-lower direction.
The wiping material joined in the upper-to-lower direction can have a certain thickness, and can be provided at low cost. Thus, such a wiping material is useful.
The present invention relates to the method for manufacturing a wiping material used for a buttocks wiping device. The method includes the step of delivering rolled paper, the step of folding the delivered rolled paper, the step of cutting the rolled paper, and the step of joining the folded rolled paper.
A method in which the rolled paper is folded and joined as described herein is first conceivable as the method for manufacturing the wiping material. In the case of this method, the step of folding the rolled paper is necessary, but a manufacturing device itself can be downsized.
The present invention relates to the method for manufacturing a wiping material used for a buttocks wiping device. The method includes the step of stacking multiple pieces of rolled paper on each other, the step of joining the stack of rolled paper, and the step of cutting the stack of rolled paper.
In the wiping material manufacturing method described herein, the stack of multiple pieces of rolled paper is joined and cut, and therefore, a folding step is not necessary. A folding accuracy does not need to be taken into consideration, and therefore, high-accuracy manufacturing for wiping can be performed.
The present invention relates to the method for manufacturing a wiping material used for a buttocks wiping device. The method includes the step of stacking multiple pieces of rolled paper on each other, the step of bonding the stack of rolled paper, and the step of cutting the stack of rolled paper.
In the wiping material manufacturing method described herein, the stack of multiple pieces of rolled paper is bonded and cut, and therefore, a folding step is not necessary. A folding accuracy does not need to be taken into consideration, and therefore, high-accuracy manufacturing for wiping can be performed.
The present invention relates to the method for manufacturing a wiping material used for a buttocks wiping device. The method includes the step of stacking multiple wiping material pieces on each other, and the step of joining the stack of wiping material pieces.
In the wiping material manufacturing method described herein, the stack of multiple wiping material pieces is merely joined, and therefore, a folding step is not necessary. A folding accuracy does not need to be taken into consideration, and therefore, high-accuracy manufacturing for wiping can be performed.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping tool including a wiping arm configured to wipe the buttocks with a wiping material, and a wiping arm movement section for wiping operation performed in such a manner that a user exposes the wiping arm through a toilet bowl opening and moves the wiping arm up and down.
Although wiping is manually performed, the buttocks can be wiped in a simple manner by means of such a buttocks wiping tool. For example, in a case where when a caregiver wipes the buttocks of a nursing target such as a user having a difficulty in getting up one's backside, it is hard to lift the nursing target, the buttocks can be sufficiently wiped even by such a simple manual buttocks wiping tool.
The present invention relates to a wiping material used specially for any of the above-described buttocks wiping devices and the above-described buttocks wiping tool.
Other various solutions are also stated in the present specification.
When the wiping material is not attached or inserted to the wiping arm, the mechanism for such attachment or insertion is not necessary, and therefore, the buttocks wiping tool can be simplified by such a mechanism. This leads to cost reduction and easy maintenance. For example, the pressing unit may be configured to exhibit friction, or may be in a less-droppable shape.
In a case where the wiping arm is exposed with the wiping material being placed on the pressing unit, there is a probability that the wiping material is unexpectedly dropped or becomes unsanitary due to adhering of moisture etc. in the middle of exposure. However, when the paper supply unit configured to expose the wiping material below the buttocks can be used separately from the wiping arm such that the pressing unit pushes up the exposed wiping material from below, a situation where the wiping material is dropped in the middle of movement of the wiping arm or dirt adheres to the wiping material can be avoided. Thus, a sanitary user-friendly buttocks wiping device can be provided. Since a simple mechanism for exposing the paper loading guide can be used as the paper supply unit, entire device simplification, cost reduction, and easy maintenance can be realized.
Since part or entirety of the wiping arm drive unit is housed below the toilet seat in the raised portion, the size of the entire device can be reduced. Similarly, it is effective to house part or entirety of the wiping arm drive unit in the toilet seat.
The wiping arm drive unit angularly moves the wiping arm about the supporting point fixed at the side of the toilet seat such that the wiping portion of the wiping arm moves back and forth in the vicinity of the anus, thereby performing the wiping operation. Thus, exposure of the wiping arm and wiping can be realized by a simple mechanism. Consequently, the buttocks wiping device can be provided, which is configured so that structure simplification, cost reduction, usability, and easy maintenance can be realized.
Since the strut portion of the wiping arm is bent in advance, the wiping portion can be held horizontal upon wiping. Moreover, the wiping portion can be moved to a higher position. Thus, improvement of the feeling of wiping can be expected.
Since the wiping arm drive unit includes the mechanism configured to realize exposure and upper-to-lower movement of the wiping arm by the single motor, structure simplification and cost reduction can be expected.
Since the wiping arm drive unit includes, about the single shaft, the mechanism configured to angularly move the wiping arm and the mechanism configured to move the wiping arm up and down, structure simplification and cost reduction can be expected.
Since the dropping portion configured to contact the wiping material when the wiping arm is retracted is provided at the wiping arm opening provided at the raised portion, it is not necessary to separately provide the mechanism for dropping the wiping material. This can realize significant structure simplification, cost reduction, usability, and easy maintenance.
The wiping arm drive unit includes the exposure motor for exposing the wiping arm through the toilet seat opening, and the upper-to-lower motor for moving the wiping arm up and down upon exposure. The exposure motor is, without movement, fixed to the buttocks wiping device. This can realize structure simplification, cost reduction, usability, and easy maintenance.
The wiping arm drive unit includes the sliding section configured to slide the wiping arm from the lateral side to the toilet seat opening when the toilet seat is viewed from the front, and the upper-to-lower motor attached to the sliding section to move the wiping arm up and down. The wiping arm is exposed in such a manner that the sliding section slides the upper-to-lower motor from the lateral side to the toilet seat opening. This can realize structure simplification, cost reduction, usability, and easy maintenance.
The wiping portion of the wiping arm is held horizontal upon wiping, and therefore, the area of the wiping portion contacting the buttocks is increased. Consequently, wiping is sufficiently performed.
The plane including the opening provided for housing the wiping arm is in the planer shape. Thus, the structure of the opening/closing unit is simplified. As a result, the buttocks wiping device can be provided, which is configured so that structure simplification, cost reduction, sanitation, usability, and easy maintenance can be realized.
The wiping arm drive unit performs the torque control or the torque limitation for the motor configured to drive the wiping arm, thereby controlling the force of contact of the wiping portion with the buttocks. Thus, the feeling of wiping and safety can be improved.
Part or entirety of the wiping arm drive unit is housed below the warm-water cleansing device in the raised portion. Thus, the size of the entire device can be reduced.
The wiping arm drive unit includes the slidable movable portion, the sliding mechanism configured to slide the movable portion, the swingable portion fixed to the wiping arm and configured to slide in association with sliding of the movable portion, and the swinging mechanism configured to swing the swingable portion. Thus, the size of the entire device can be reduced while reliable wiping can be realized.
The strut portion of the wiping arm is configured flexible, or the wiping portion of the wiping arm is configured flexible. Thus, the feeling of wiping can be improved.
The roller configured to deliver the wiping material onto the wiping portion of the wiping arm is provided so that the wiping material can be delivered to the wiping portion. For example, the wiping arm can be in such a state that the wiping arm is in the raised portion, for example. This leads to size reduction of the entire device.
When the wiping material can be sucked by the negative pressure generation device, dropping of the wiping material from the wiping portion can be prevented. Moreover, when the wiping material can be blown off by the positive pressure generation device, the wiping material can be reliably dropped.
When the wiping portion configured to expand by the positive pressure generation device can be used, the area closely contacting the buttocks can be increased. Thus, reliable wiping can be expected. Moreover, the wiping portion can be configured disposable.
When the wiping arm drive unit can include the link mechanism for moving the wiping arm, the position of the wiping arm can be fine-adjusted. Thus, the wiping portion can be moved straight up, and the wiping arm can be contracted upon retraction.
The wiping portion such as the pressing unit is swingably attached to the wiping arm. Thus, when the wiping portion contacts the buttocks, the wiping portion can be held horizontal, and the inclination angle of the wiping portion can be automatically adjusted according to the shape of the buttocks. This improves the feeling of wiping.
The sterilization/cleansing arm is used separately from the wiping arm, and therefore, the wiping portion is cleansed/sterilized after these two arms have been exposed. Thus, there is almost no need of consideration on waterproofing of the sterilization/cleansing device provided in the raised portion. Moreover, when the nozzle can be provided at the lid of the toilet seat, it is not necessary to provide the cleansing/sterilization device in the raised portion or to use the sterilization/cleansing arm. Thus, sterilization/cleansing can be performed in an extremely-simple manner. Moreover, when the sterilization/cleansing unit can be provided in the raised portion, sterilization/cleansing can be performed upon retraction. This improves convenience.
When the buttocks wiping device can be configured not to operate in the case where the toilet seat is not lowered, safety is enhanced.
By the automatic paper supply device including the paper stocker portion configured to house the long wiping material in the folded state and the cutting unit configured to cut the long wiping material at the predetermined length, the wiping material can be compactly housed.
By the automatic paper supply device including the drive unit configured to upwardly move, by a single piece, the wiping material housed in the paper stocker portion, only the uppermost piece can be reliably fed. Thus, an automatic paper supply device suitable for practical use can be provided.
By the automatic paper supply device including the paper feeding roller configured to deliver one of the wiping material pieces housed in the paper stocker portion, only the uppermost piece can be fed. Thus, an inexpensive automatic paper supply device suitable for practical use can be provided.
By the automatic paper supply device including the holding unit configured to hold one of the wiping material pieces housed in the paper stocker portion, only the uppermost piece can be reliably fed. Thus, an automatic paper supply device suitable for practical use can be provided.
When the wiping arm formed by pressing the water-soluble or water-degradable material can be used, the wiping arm can be thrown away after use. Thus, sanitation does not need to be taken into consideration.
When the wiping material can be formed larger than the pressing unit and be formed to have the predetermined shape, the moisture etc. can be wiped in a sanitary manner across a wide area without the moisture etc. adhering to the pressing unit.
The wiping material joined in the upper-to-lower direction can have a certain thickness, and can be provided at low cost. Thus, such a wiping material is useful.
According to the wiping material manufacturing method of the present invention, a simple buttocks wiping device with a high dimension accuracy can be manufactured.
As described above, the aspects of the invention described in the present specification can be combined as necessary to provide the buttocks wiping device configured so that structure simplification, cost reduction, sanitation, usability, and easy maintenance can be realized and to provide the commercializable buttocks wiping device.
These objectives, features, aspects, and advantageous effects of the present invention and other objectives, features, aspects, and advantageous effects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the attached drawings.
The modes for carrying out the invention are embodiments as illustrated in the attached drawings, and are configured such that the buttocks are wiped using a wiping arm drive unit housed in a raised portion. Moreover, the thickness of a toilet seat may be slightly increased so that a section for driving an arm is provided in the thick toilet seat instead of providing in the raised portion. Other structures are illustrated in detail in the drawings.
Devices with various combinations of all of disclosed mechanisms are also included in the present invention.
Buttocks wiping devices illustrated in
A detection function includes, e.g., the following functions:
detection (e.g., a mechanical switch or a contact sensor) on whether or not paper is supplied by a user;
a detection unit (e.g., an optical sensor) configured to detect whether or not paper is properly fed;
a detection unit (e.g., a photoelectric sensor or a color identification sensor) configured to detect whether or not paper is properly fed to below the anus):
a detection unit (e.g., a color identification sensor configured to identify the color of the anus or a sensor configured to simply detect whether or not a switch of a warm-water cleansing device has been pressed or detect warm-water cleansing sound) configured to detect whether or not warm-water cleansing has been completed: and
a detection unit (A seating sensor used for a toilet seat can be used. For example, the seating sensor may be placed on a toilet bowl, and a control unit of the buttocks wiping device may receive a signal from the seating sensor) configured to detect seating.
Moreover, operation is made as follows.
1. Completion of warm-water cleansing is detected.
2. The user instructs wiping. When warm-water cleansing is not completed yet, the buttocks wiping device alerts the user and stands by without operation.
3. If no paper has been supplied, the buttocks wiping device makes an alert and stands by.
4. If paper has been supplied, paper feeding rollers are driven to feed the paper.
5. Detection on whether or not the paper is properly placed on a paper loading guide is made.
6. The paper loading guide is driven forward.
7. After the paper loading guide has been moved to below the anus, detection on whether or not the paper is properly disposed is made.
8. If the paper has not been properly disposed, an alert is made, the paper loading guide is returned to an original position, and the buttocks wiping device prompts the user to supply paper again.
9. If the paper has been properly disposed, the head moves to a wiping position.
10. The head moves upward such that the paper moves apart from the paper loading guide.
11. The paper loading guide is returned to the original position at the timing of moving the paper apart from the paper loading guide.
12. The arm drive unit presses the head against the buttocks. The head moves back and forth and up and down such that moisture and dirt on the buttocks adhere to the paper.
13. With wiping adjustment by the user, such as the instruction of firm upward pressing, front-to-back movement, or lowering of the head, the drive unit moves the head according to preferences.
14. Upon completion of wiping, the head returns to an original position. Wiping may be completed according to a user's instruction, or may be automatically completed after predetermined operation.
15. When the head returns to the original position, wiping is completed.
16. After the seating sensor has confirmed that the user has left, a sterilization and/or cleansing unit is driven to sterilize and/or cleanse the head. Note that a dryer (an air blower) may be built in the sterilization and/or cleansing unit, and drying may be performed by the dryer after cleansing etc.
17. A cleaning mode is provided so that cleaning can be performed. When an instruction on the cleaning mode is made, maintenance of the head can be performed with the arm being exposed through the toilet bowl. With the instruction on the cleaning mode, the paper loading guide may be also exposed. Note that in this buttocks wiping device, an internal structure thereof can be easily checked in such a manner that a lid provided at the raised portion is merely opened. Thus, maintenance can be performed without exposure on a toilet bowl side.
18. In addition, an abnormal location may be notified using a lamp etc.
Buttocks wiping devices illustrated in
The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals are generally used for elements with the same names in the drawings. Even when the same reference numerals are used, the elements might have different functions, characteristics, structures, etc. In this case, such differences will be mainly described in each case. Moreover, even for the elements with the same names, description might be made using different reference numerals for the sake of clarifying the differences in function, characteristic, structure, etc.
In addition, all aspects described in the present specification and illustrated in the drawings can be utilized in various combinations. As necessary, these combinations will be described in the present specification. However, even when specific description is not made, these aspects can be utilized in combination. Further, the embodiments described below will be set forth merely as examples, and the present invention should not be interpreted limiting to the embodiments.
In the embodiments of the present invention described in the present specification, there are some descriptions on use of paper flushable down a toilet, such as toilet paper, for wiping the buttocks. As long as the buttocks can be wiped, other materials than paper may be used. For avoiding limited interpretation of the present invention, an object for wiping the buttocks will be referred to as a “wiping material.” Thus, in description below, “paper” will be recognized as a replacement term “wiping material.” Although phrases such as an automatic paper supply unit and a paper supply unit include the term “paper,” these units should be interpreted as a device configured to automatically supply the wiping material and a device configured to supply the wiping material.
In the beginning, great differences of the buttocks wiping device described in the present specification from a conventional buttocks wiping device will be first outlined.
In the conventional buttocks wiping device, paper is held by a head portion of a wiping arm, and a wiping arm drive unit exposes, in a state in which the paper is held by the head portion, the wiping arm at a wiping position below the buttocks. As described above, the conventional buttocks wiping device needs to have the structure for holding the paper.
However, the mechanism for holding the paper is provided at the buttocks wiping device, and therefore, various actuators for holding the paper, such as a motor, a wire, or shape-memory alloy, are necessary. Further, even the mechanism for reliably dropping the held paper is also necessary. As a result, this leads to a complicated structure, as well as leading to a cost increase. The head portion for holding the paper directly contacts the buttocks, and therefore, needs to be sanitary. However, because of these built-in actuators, there is a problem that it is difficult to perform maintenance for maintaining a sanitary state. For example, it is difficult to perform whole-washing of the head portion.
However, upon development of a commercializable buttocks wiping device, the inventor of the present invention has reviewed inventions relating to the buttocks wiping device. The warm-water cleansing device removes almost all of dirt on the anus, and dirt in the vicinity of the anus is merely slight remaining moisture and feces (hereinafter referred to as “moisture etc.”). Thus, the buttocks are not necessarily firmly wiped with the paper being firmly held by the head portion, and the moisture etc. can be wiped only by pressing the paper against the vicinity of the anus. Consequently, the inventor has reached such a significant perceptional change that the paper is not necessarily held by the head portion. When viewed in hindsight, it seems that such a significant perceptional change has been made merely by exclusion of the component for holding the paper, but it has not been easy to reach such a perceptional change. The inventor of the present invention has developed the buttocks wiping device since around 2007, and it has taken about 8 years to reach the perceptional change. Taking advantage of this perceptional change, the present specification specifically discloses as many embodiments as possible, but the greatest characteristics of the present invention are as follows.
The head portion of the wiping arm does not hold paper. The following two techniques have been developed as alternative techniques of not holding the paper by the head portion:
(1) First Technique: friction force or the shape of the pressing unit of the wiping arm is utilized to move, without attaching or inserting the paper to the pressing unit, the wiping arm with the paper being placed on the pressing unit, thereby wiping the buttocks; and
(2) Second Technique: the paper is exposed below the buttocks, and the buttocks are wiped in such a manner that the pressing unit of the wiping arm pushed up the exposed paper from below.
Any of these techniques contributes to structure simplification, cost reduction, sanitation, usability, and easy maintenance of the buttocks wiping device.
Further, the inventor of the present invention has also considered, as a problem, the large size of the conventional buttocks wiping device. The conventional buttocks wiping device has been configured such that a drive mechanism is disposed at the side of a toilet bowl. For this reason, a large space at the side of the toilet bowl is inevitably consumed. Thus, the inventor of the present invention has developed the following two techniques for avoiding, as much as possible, consumption of the space at the side of the toilet bowl:
(3) Third Technique: part or entirety of the mechanism of the wiping arm drive unit for driving the wiping arm is provided below the toilet seat in the raised portion provided between the toilet bowl and the toilet seat or provided inside the thick toilet seat. Not only right and left spaces but also a space below the warm-water cleansing device can be used as the space below the toilet seat in the raised portion or the space inside the thick toilet seat. This can avoid, as much as possible, consumption of the space at the side of the toilet bowl; and
(4) Fourth Technique: in wiping of the buttocks, reliable wiping can be performed by movement of the pressing unit in a direction from the front to the back of a human body. A method in which the wiping arm moves back and forth on a rail has been conventionally employed as the mechanism for moving the pressing unit from the front to the back. However, in the present invention, the wiping arm is rotated about a fixed supporting point at the side of the toilet bowl, and in this manner, the pressing unit is moved back and forth in the vicinity of the anus. With this structure, the big structure of moving the wiping arm itself back and forth on the rail can be omitted, leading to significant size reduction.
By employment of the first and second techniques, the third and fourth techniques can be more easily employed.
Any of the above-described characteristics is an invention that has been obtained based on significant perceptional changes, and is not to be easily developed. The inventive step of the present invention should not be argued as so-called “hindsight.”
In addition, various aspects necessary for practical use are disclosed in the present specification. Even if the above-described four techniques are not employed, these techniques can respectively function as independent techniques.
The embodiments of the aspects for practical use of the buttocks wiping device will be sequentially described below.
The automatic paper supply unit 5 has the function of deliver roll-shaped toilet paper 11, folding and cutting the toilet paper 11 to a predetermined length, and placing the cut paper on a pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm 4. The pressing unit 4a is a head provided at a tip end portion of the wiping arm 4, and is a wiping unit for pressing the paper against the buttocks to wipe moisture etc. when the wiping arm 4 inclines upward. The automatic paper supply unit 5 has been already practically used as an electric toilet roll. With application of such an electric toilet roll, the automatic paper supply unit 5 can be implemented. Thus, only main points will be described in this embodiment, and detailed description of the structure will not be made.
Note that a roll shape indicates a state in which long toilet paper is winded. In addition to the case of the roll shape, the present specification also discloses a case where long toilet paper is compactly folded in advance and the automatic paper supply unit 5 automatically delivers such long toilet paper to fold and cut such toilet paper at predetermined intervals. In a case where the toilet paper itself has a certain thickness, such long toilet paper is not necessarily folded, and is only cut to a predetermined length.
Note that the automatic paper supply unit 5 is not necessarily used and may be detached and, e.g., an opening or a paper feeding roller for manually placing the paper on the pressing unit 4a may be provided at a location at which the automatic paper supply unit 5 is supposed to be provided. With this structure, the buttocks wiping device 1 can be provided, which is configured to manually place the paper on the pressing unit 4a.
The opening/closing unit 6 is a device configured to open/close an opening provided at the raised portion 2. For example, a shutter to be driven up and down, back and forth, etc. by a motor, an electromagnetic solenoid, a piston, etc. can be used. However, the present invention is not limited to such a device as long as the device can open/close the opening. Moreover, the opening/closing unit 6 is not necessarily driven by the motor etc., and may be an opening/closing unit using a hinge and a spring. The wiping arm may push, upon exposure thereof, down through the opening/closing unit, and the opening/closing unit may be automatically closed by spring force upon retraction of the wiping arm. Alternatively, a structure may be made such that a user manually opens/closes the opening/closing unit 6 up and down, back and forth, etc. Any well-known mechanisms can be employed as an opening/closing mechanism. Note that in description of the present specification, a front side (a side opposite to the warm-water cleansing device 15) of the toilet seat 7 indicates a forward direction, the side close to the warm-water cleansing device 15 indicates a backward direction, a lower side in the vertical direction indicates a downward direction, an upper side in the vertical direction indicates an upward direction, a right side when facing the toilet seat 7 indicates a right direction, and a left side when facing the toilet seat 7 indicates a left direction.
By the automatic paper supply unit 5 (or manually), the paper is placed on the pressing unit 4a. The exposure motor 9 rotates such that the wiping arm 4 moves on the rail unit 10 together with the upper-to-lower motor 8, and then, the pressing unit 4a is exposed after having moved toward a hole 7a of the toilet seat 7. When the pressing unit 4a is exposed, the upper-to-lower motor 8 rotates such that the wiping arm 4 swings upward to incline to the upward direction. This allows wiping of the moisture etc. on the buttocks with the paper. After wiping, the upper-to-lower motor 8 rotates such that the wiping arm 4 swings downward to incline to the downward direction. The paper naturally drops. Note that the mechanism of the wiping arm drive unit 3 as described herein can be used in the second technique of separately moving the paper and the wiping arm. The same applies to other embodiments below. That is, the mechanism of the wiping arm drive unit 3 used in the first technique and the mechanism of the wiping arm drive unit 3 used in the second technique can be used in either technique without noting in each case.
The pressing unit 4a is made of a material having a surface exhibiting a certain level of friction that the paper does not drop even upon movement of the wiping arm 4. Thus, when the wiping arm 4 is exposed, the pressing unit 4a can be, as described above, exposed through the hole 7a without holding or insertion of the paper. As long as dropping of the paper is avoided by friction, various materials of the pressing unit 4a are conceivable. For example, various materials including silicon resin, rubber, resin or metal having a non-slip surface, resin or metal having a textured surface, and the pressing unit 4a to which a non-slip tape is bonded are conceivable. The specific way to avoid dropping of the paper by friction is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention is characterized in that the pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm 4 is, without the paper being held by the pressing unit 4a, exposed with the paper being placed on the pressing unit 4a upon movement of the wiping arm 4 by friction caused between the pressing unit 4a and the paper.
As illustrated in
Note that as described later, a disposable arm or a disposable pressing unit using a water-soluble material exhibiting water solubility, water degradability, etc. may be used for the pressing unit 4a. A structure in which a shaft is a rigid base material portion and a wiping portion is a water absorbing portion is conceivable as an example of the disposable arm. On this point, the same applies to other embodiments than the first embodiment.
Operation of the buttocks wiping device 1 of the first embodiment will be described below in detail with reference to
As illustrated in
The buttocks wiping device 1 includes a paper loading detection sensor 12e configured to detect whether or not the paper is placed on the pressing unit 4a. The paper loading detection sensor 12e can be implemented by, e.g., an optical sensor or a color identification sensor configured to determine the presence or absence of paper, and is typically attached to the pressing unit 4a. However, the paper loading detection sensor 12e may be other sensors as long as the paper loading detection sensor 12e can detect the presence or absence of paper placed on the pressing unit 4a, and is not intended to limit the present invention.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Operation of the buttocks wiping device 1 will be described below with reference to a correspondence between the flowchart shown in
At S102, the control unit 13 checks, using the remaining paper amount sensor 12d, whether or not the paper is run out. In a case where the paper is run out, the control unit 13 prompts, by sound, a displayed message, etc., the user to refill the toilet paper 11 without proceeding to subsequent operation. In a case where the paper is not run out, the control unit 13 proceeds to operation of S103.
At S103, the control unit 13 controls the opening/closing unit 6 to open the opening of the raised portion 2.
Subsequently, the control unit 13 checks, based on a signal from the opening/closing checking sensor 6a, whether or not the opening is normally opened (S104). When the opening is not normally opened, the control unit 13 re-controls the opening/closing unit 6 to attempt opening/closing of the opening. In a case where the opening is not still opened, the control unit 13 uses, without proceeding to subsequent operation, sound, a displayed message, etc. to notify the user that an abnormality is caused. In a case where the opening is normally opened, the control unit 13 proceeds to operation of S105. Note that in the case of using a simple hinge-type opening/closing unit, no such control is made.
At S105, the control unit 13 actuates the automatic paper supply unit 5 to deliver the toilet paper 11 by the paper feeding rollers 5c as illustrated in
Subsequently, the control unit 13 turns on the paper loading detection sensor 12e, thereby transitioning to the mode for constantly detecting whether or not the paper 11a is normally placed on the pressing unit 4a (S106). Such a mode is continued until dropping of the paper 11a (S110). If the paper is accidentally dropped during the mode, the control unit 13 stops wiping operation, and drives the wiping arm drive unit 3 such that the wiping arm 4 returns to the retracted position.
At S107, the control unit 13 actuates the exposure motor 9 to expose the wiping arm 4 through the hole 7a (S107).
After exposure, the control unit 13 rotates the upper-to-lower motor 8 to incline the wiping arm 4 to the upward direction (S109).
The motor detection unit 8a is a device configured to detect the number of rotations of the motor, the motor rotation angle, the motor torque, etc. The motor detection unit 8a can be implemented by a shunt resistor, a potentiometer, a tacho generator, a resolver, a rotary encoder, a hall element, etc., but the present invention is not limited to above.
For example, a variable resistor may be, as a simple structure, used as the motor detection unit 8a such that rotation of the rotary shaft of the upper-to-lower motor 8 is transmitted to a rotary shaft of the variable resistor. With a resistance value of the variable resistor, the control unit 13 can detect the rotation angle or the number of rotations, thereby detecting the inclination angle of the wiping arm 4.
For detecting the push-up strength of the pressing unit 4a, the shunt resistor may be, as a simple structure, connected in series with the motor, and the value of current flowing through a circuit may be, using a voltage value of the shunt resistor, detected for detection of the motor torque. In this manner, the control unit 13 can control the push-up strength of the upper-to-lower motor 8. Alternatively, a pressure sensor as the motor detection unit 8a may be provided at the pressing unit 4a to measure a pressure on the buttocks, and in this manner, the motor torque may be recognized. The wiping arm drive unit 3 performs such torque control (or torque limitation) for the motor for driving the wiping arm 4, and in this manner, controls the pressing unit 4a not to contact the buttocks with equal to or higher than a predetermined force. The torque control described herein indicates that the torque generated at the motor reaches a predetermined value, and the torque limitation described herein indicates that a predetermined torque or higher is not generated at the motor. When a servomotor is used as the motor, the torque control or the torque limitation can be performed after torque information feedback. When the servomotor is not used as the motor, the value of current flowing through the motor may be, as described above, detected for detection of the torque generated at the motor. A detection result may be fed back to the control unit 13, and then, the control unit 13 may control rotation of the motor.
Note that a servomotor including a built-in encoder can be used as the motor disclosed in the present specification, but it is only a difference in whether or not the encoder is embedded. A functional block similar to that of
Based on a signal from the motor detection unit 8a, the control unit 13 controls rotation of the upper-to-lower motor 8 to cause the pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm 4 to contact the buttocks with a desired strength at a desired speed. In this manner, wiping of the moisture etc. is executed. In this state, the upper-to-lower motor 8 may perform slight forward-reverse repeat rotation to attach the paper 11a to the anus and detach the paper 11a from the anus, thereby wiping the moisture etc. Determination on whether or not wiping has been completed is typically made based on a time for which the pressing unit 4a contacts the buttocks. For example, after the pressing unit 4a has contacted the buttocks for 10 seconds, such a state is taken as completion of wiping, and the control unit 13 proceeds to subsequent operation S110. Note that determination on whether or not wiping has been completed is not limited to above, and various methods such as a method in which a color identification sensor is used to determine whether or not the moisture etc. are actually removed may be employed.
Upon completion of wiping, the control unit 13 rotates the upper-to-lower motor 8 to incline the wiping arm 4 to the downward direction (S110).
At S111, the control unit 13 actuates the upper-to-lower motor 8, thereby returning the wiping arm 4 to a horizontal position. Thereafter, the control unit 13 actuates the exposure motor 9 to retract the wiping arm 4 into the raised portion 2 (S112). When the retracted position sensor 12a detects retraction of the wiping arm 4 to the retracted position (S113), the control unit 13 actuates the opening/closing unit 6 to close the opening of the raised portion 2 (S114). When the opening/closing checking sensor 6a confirms that the opening is normally closed (S115), the control unit 13 is brought into a standby state, and waits for a subsequent wiping instruction. When it is, at S115, detected that the opening is not normally closed, the control unit 13 uses sound, a displayed message, etc. to notify the user that an abnormality is caused. Note that in a case where the opening/closing unit 6 is the simple hinge-type opening/closing unit, operation of S114, S115 is not necessary.
As described above, according to the first embodiment, the pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm 4 is, as in the first technique described in the beginning, movable without the paper 11a being held by the pressing unit 4a and with the paper 11a being placed on the pressing unit 4a through use of friction of the pressing unit 4a. Moreover, the tip end of the pressing unit 4a is in the curved shape raised along the shape of the buttocks. Thus, the paper 11a is less dropped, and the pressing unit 4a is movable with the paper 11a being placed on the pressing unit 4a. As described above, the wiping arm 4 has the mechanism configured not to hold the paper 11a, and therefore, the structure of the wiping arm drive unit 3 can be simplified. Specifically, in the first embodiment, the wiping arm 4 may be merely exposed by the exposure motor 9, and may be merely moved up and down by the upper-to-lower motor 8. Since the wiping arm drive unit 3 with the simple structure can be used, part of the mechanism, i.e., the pulley 1c, the rail 10, and the belt 10d in this embodiment, can be housed in the raised portion as in the third technique described in the beginning. This can avoid, as much as possible, consumption of a space at the side of the toilet bowl, and the size of the buttocks wiping device 1 can be reduced.
Note that the raised portion 2 and the toilet seat 7 are provided as separate members. However, for integration of the raised portion 2 and the toilet seat 7, the thickness of the toilet seat 7 may be increased to provide, at the toilet seat 7, a cavity in which the wiping arm 4 and the wiping arm drive unit 3 can be partially housed, and an opening of the toilet seat 7 may be opened/closed by the opening/closing unit 6. With this structure, part of the mechanism of the wiping arm drive unit 3 can be provided inside the thick toilet seat. The same applies not only to the first embodiment, but also to all of the embodiments described below.
In the figures, the pressing unit 4a is in a quadrangular prism shape. However, as in the first embodiment, the pressing unit 4a has a curved shape along the shape of the buttocks in the vicinity of the anus, and is made of a material having a surface exhibiting a certain level of friction that the paper does not drop even upon movement of the wiping arm 4. Note that the pressing unit 4a may have a recessed-raised shape, and may have such a shape that the paper 11a is less dropped upon movement of the wiping arm 4.
Operation of the buttocks wiping device 1 of the second embodiment will be described below in detail with reference to
The pulley 10f is attached to a rotary shaft of the exposure motor 9. The pulleys 10f, 10c are coupled together through the belt 10d such that rotation of the exposure motor 9 is transmitted. The upper-to-lower motor 8 is fixed to the pulley 10c. One end of the wiping arm 4 is fixed to a rotary shaft of the upper-to-lower motor 8. With this transmission mechanism, the upper-to-lower motor 8 rotates upon rotation of the exposure motor 9. Accordingly, the wiping arm 4 rotates, and then, is exposed through a hole 7a of a toilet seat 7 (
In the case of manually supplying the paper 11a as illustrated in
Upon wiping, the control unit 13 uses, at S109, the upper-to-lower motor 8 to incline the wiping arm 4 to the upward direction, as well as performing forward-reverse repeat rotation of the exposure motor 9. In this manner, wiping operation is executed such that the pressing unit 4a moves back and forth in the vicinity of the anus (S202). With this structure, the moisture etc. can be, as in the first embodiment, more reliably wiped across a wider area as compared to a case where the pressing unit 4a merely contacts the vicinity of the anus.
After paper drops (
As illustrated in
As described above, according to the second embodiment, the pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm 4 is, as in the first technique described in the beginning, movable without the paper being held by the pressing unit 4a and with the paper 11a being placed on the pressing unit 4a through use of friction of the pressing unit 4a. Moreover, the shape of the pressing unit 4a is in the curved shape along the vicinity of the anus of the buttocks, and is in such a shape that the paper 11a is less dropped. With this structure, the pressing unit 4a is movable with the paper 11a being placed on the pressing unit 4a. As described above, the wiping arm 4 has the mechanism configured not to hold the paper 11a, and therefore, the structure of the wiping arm drive unit 3 can be simplified. Specifically, in the second embodiment, the wiping arm 4 may be merely exposed by the exposure motor 9, and may be merely moved up and down by the upper-to-lower motor 8. Since the wiping arm drive unit 3 with the simple structure can be used, part of the mechanism can be housed in the raised portion as in the third technique described in the beginning. This can avoid, as much as possible, consumption of a space at the side of a toilet bowl, and the size of the buttocks wiping device 1 can be reduced. Further, in the second embodiment, the exposure motor 9 performs angular movement of the wiping arm 4 about a certain supporting point, thereby exposing the wiping arm 4. By forward-reverse repeat rotation of the exposure motor 9, the pressing unit 4a can be moved back and form in the vicinity of the anus. With this structure, the big structure of moving the wiping arm itself back and forth on the rail as in the fourth technique described in the beginning can be omitted. Consequently, significant size reduction can be realized.
Note that the upper-to-lower motor 8 may be placed below a warm-water cleansing device 15. Note that when rotation movement of the exposure motor 9 is transmitted to the upper-to-lower motor 8 by means of a gear box, a bevel gear, a worm gear, etc., the exposure motor 9 can be housed in the raised portion 2 without use of the transmission mechanism using the belt 10d.
In the second embodiment, the paper is manually placed on the pressing unit 4a, or the automatic paper supply unit 5 is used to place the paper on the pressing unit 4a. The automatic paper supply unit 5 can be implemented using a commercially-available electric toilet roll. However, a certain cost is caused for such an automatic paper supply unit 5 itself, and the structure of the buttocks wiping device 1 is also complicated. Needless to say, there is a probability that failure is caused at the automatic paper supply unit 5 itself, leading to a difficulty in maintenance. On the other hand, mere loading of the paper on the pressing unit 4a might lead, depending on the way to place the paper 11a by the user, to catching of the paper 11a by the raised portion 2 upon movement of the wiping arm 4, for example. This cannot deny the probability of not properly exposing the paper 11a. For this reason, in a third embodiment, a variation is made to the second embodiment, and a paper supply unit mechanism for delivering paper 11a onto a pressing unit 4a to properly place the paper 11a on the pressing unit 4a will be described.
As illustrated in
Note that the paper supply unit 14 of the third embodiment can be employed not only in the second embodiment, but also in other embodiments.
Note that a paper supply unit 5 such as an electric toilet roll may be placed on the paper supply unit 14, and the folded and cut paper 11a may be placed at the paper injection port 14a and be automatically delivered into the caterpillar tracks 14b, 14c.
With the above-described structure of using the paper supply unit 14 to deliver the paper 11a to the pressing unit 4a, the paper 11a is more properly placed on the pressing unit 4a as compared to a case where a user merely places the paper on the pressing unit 4a. As a result, it can be expected to reliably proceed to wiping operation.
Note that the above-described technique of delivering the paper onto the pressing unit 4a by the paper supply unit 14 can be employed not only for the folded paper 11a, but also for the case of using about a single piece of special paper with a certain thickness.
The paper supply unit described in the third embodiment can be, needless to say, used not only for the second embodiment, but also for other embodiments.
Note that in the first to third embodiments, the pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm 4 has the surface made of the high-friction material such that the paper 11a does not drop upon exposure. However, in addition to the high-friction material, the shape of the pressing unit 4a can be designed such that the paper does not drop. Alternatively, paper dropping upon movement can be avoided in such a manner that a hole for generation of a negative pressure is provided at the pressing unit 4a to communicate with a separately-provided negative pressure generation device and the paper is sucked through such a hole.
As another alternative, the technique of attaching less-droppable paper to the pressing unit 4a is conceivable.
In the fourth embodiment, the buttocks are wiped using the special paper 11b. The special paper 11b is thick paper exhibiting water absorbability, and is made of a water-soluble material which can be flushed down a toilet. The special paper 11b may be in such a quadrangular shape that multiple pieces of toilet paper are stacked on each other and are joined together at end sides thereof. The special paper 11b may be cut into the quadrangular shape in advance, and may be supplied to a user in the form of a stack. Note that the special paper 11b is not limited to the quadrangular shape. The special paper 11b may be in a triangular shape, a pentagonal shape, or a circular shape as long as the special paper 11b is cut into a predetermined shape in advance. As viewed in the plane, the special paper 11b is larger than the pressing unit 4a. Moreover, the special paper 11b can be provided in the form of the stack of multiple pieces of paper joined together in the upper-to-lower direction. For joining, multiple pieces of paper may be pressure-bonded in the upper-to-lower direction by a mold with a recessed-raised portion, or may be bonded in the upper-to-lower direction by a water-soluble adhesive. The joined position is not limited to the end side as long as the special paper 11b is partially joined for avoiding detachment thereof.
Moreover, the following technique may be employed: a stack of multiple pieces of toilet paper are joined together at end sides thereof, and a roll of such toilet paper having a perforation at every predetermined length is supplied to the user: and the user may cut, by the user oneself, the toilet paper at the perforation, thereby forming the special paper 11b before wiping.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The paper supply unit 14 includes a paper injection port 14a, a paper feeding motor 14d, a sensor 14e, a sensor 14f, an upper roller 14g, a guide 14h, a lower roller 14i, and a table 14j. The paper injection port 14a is made of a material having a slippery low-friction surface. The special paper 11b injected through the opening 14k slides down on the paper injection port 14a, and then, enters a detection area of the sensor 14e (S300 of
When the exposure motor 9 rotates to move the wiping arm 4 forward, the hanging special paper 11b is pulled out of the table 14j by friction of the pressing unit 4a, and the pressing unit 4a is exposed through the opened opening/closing unit 6 (
Upon wiping, the upper-to-lower motor 8 rotates to incline the wiping arm 4 to the upward direction as illustrated in
Upon completion of wiping, the upper-to-lower motor 8 rotates to return the wiping arm 4 to the horizontal direction, and the electromagnet 4c is magnetized in the direction of bending the wiping arm 4 to naturally drop the special paper 11b, as illustrated in
Note that in the fourth embodiment, determination on whether or not the paper is placed on the pressing unit 4a is made after actuation of the exposure motor 9. Thus, in the flowchart shown in
As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, movement can be, as in the first technique described in the beginning, made without the paper being held and with the special paper 11b being kept placed through use of friction. Moreover, a tip end of the pressing unit 4a is in a raised shape. Thus, the special paper 11b is less dropped, and movement can be made with the special paper 11b being kept placed. As described above, the wiping arm 4 has the mechanism configured not to hold the special paper 11b, and therefore, the structure of the wiping arm drive unit 3 can be simplified. Specifically, in the fourth embodiment, the wiping arm 4 may be merely exposed by the exposure motor 9, and the wiping arm 4 may be merely moved up and down by the upper-to-lower motor 8. Since the wiping arm drive unit 3 with the simple structure can be used, part of the mechanism can be housed in the raised portion as in the third technique described in the beginning. This can avoid, as much as possible, consumption of a space at the side of a toilet bowl, and the size of the buttocks wiping device 1 can be reduced.
With use of the special paper 11b as in the fourth embodiment, the paper supply unit 14 with a simple structure merely using paper feeding rollers can be used to place the paper on the pressing unit 4a. With proper arrangement of the paper supply unit 14 and the wiping arm drive unit 4, the size of the buttocks wiping device 1 can be reduced.
With the structure in which the pressing unit 4a is held horizontal by, e.g., the hinge mechanism upon contact with the anus, the feeling of wiping can be improved, and the moisture etc. can be reliably wiped.
A fifth embodiment describes a buttocks wiping device 1 in a case where an automatic paper supply unit 5 is optionally attached to the fourth embodiment.
Paper lie used for the automatic paper supply unit 5 is a roll of the thick special paper 11b. The automatic paper supply unit 5 is configured to cut the rolled paper 11e into a predetermined length. Such a predetermined length is the length of the special paper 11b used in the fourth embodiment, but is determined according to the length of a pressing unit 4a.
As described above, in the fifth embodiment, the special paper 11b can be automatically supplied using the special rolled paper 11e, and therefore, convenience is further improved.
Note that the automatic paper supply unit 5 as described in the first embodiment may be placed on the opening 14k such that rolled toilet paper is delivered, folded, and cut into a predetermined length, and in this manner, the paper may be delivered to the pressing unit through the opening 14k.
(Variations of Embodiments)
Some specific variations of the embodiments described so far will be described below. In the second embodiment, the paper 11a supplied from the automatic paper supply unit 5 is placed on the pressing unit 4a, but may be manually placed on the pressing unit. Moreover, the exposure motor 9 may be provided in the raised portion 2.
A further variation of
Further, a still further variation of
As illustrated in
As described above, various mechanisms for exposing the wiping arm 4 are conceivable, but are not intended to limit the present invention. The sliding mechanism using the ball screw is a well-know n mechanism in practical use, and there is much technical information on such a mechanism. In practical use of the buttocks wiping device 1, employment of such a mechanism can be considered.
The replacement wiping arm 4 is configured to be placeable on a movement path of the attachment unit. As illustrated in
As described above, the wiping arm 4 is replaceable.
The variations described above are also applicable to other embodiments than the first to fourth embodiments.
In a sixth embodiment, a buttocks wiping device 1 including a wiping arm 4 equipped with an extendable mechanism will be described. The buttocks wiping device 1 of the sixth embodiment is configured such that the wiping arm 4 has the extendable structure.
A pin 4j protrudes from the wiping arm 4. The pin 4j is inserted into a groove 2a provided at a raised portion 2. The pin 4j allows the wiping arm 4 to slide without inclination. The structures of a pressing unit 4a, a hinge portion 4b, and a coupling portion 4d are similar to those described with reference to
Rolled paper 11e used for an automatic paper supply unit 5 is a roll of paper having a certain thickness. The rolled paper 11e is rotatably attached to a holder 5e of the automatic paper supply unit 5, and is placed on a table 5f. An end of the rolled paper 11e is supplied to upper and lower paper feeding rollers 15c. Although not shown in the figure, a sensor is provided for the paper feeding rollers 15c. When the rolled paper 11e is supplied, the paper feeding rollers 15c are rotated by a not-shown motor. The paper delivered by the paper feeding rollers 5c advances in a cutting unit 5b, and then, is placed on a table 14j. Then, the paper comes into contact with the guide 14h, and hangs down from the table 14j. In this manner, a predetermined length of rolled paper 11e is delivered and cut. Determination on whether or not the paper reaches the predetermined length can be made by detection of the number of rotations of each paper feeding roller 15c by the sensor. When the predetermined length of rolled paper 11e is delivered, the paper feeding rollers 15c are stopped, and then, the cutting unit 5b configured to cut the paper by upper and lower blades is actuated to cut the rolled paper 11e. As described above, a single piece of special paper 11b having a thickness resistant to wiping is set on the table 14j (
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Note that because of the presence of the hinge portion 4b, the pressing unit 4a can be inclined by, e.g., a piston. Thus, the paper may be dropped in such a manner that the pressing unit 4a is inclined by, e.g., the piston.
In the fifth embodiment, the raised portion does not include an electric mechanism configured to drive the arm, and therefore, a wiping arm drive unit 3 can be kept out of water. In addition, when the extendable arm can be used, protrusion toward the side of a toilet seat can be suppressed minimum, and therefore, the size of the buttocks wiping device 1 can be reduced.
An opening/closing motor 6d used for an opening/closing unit 6 can be, by covering, kept out of water, and therefore, the entirety of the device can be waterproofed.
A lid is provided at the raised portion 2 for a paper jam and various types of sanitation, and therefore, the lid is opened so that the paper jam etc. can be easily cleared even by a user and that the pressing unit 4a can be held in a sanitary manner. Moreover, the wiping arm drive unit 3 is provided below the automatic paper supply unit 5 so that a complicated mechanism can be hidden from the user. The pressing unit 4a does not include an electric mechanism and a complicated start-up mechanism, and therefore, sanitation of the pressing unit 4a can be easily provided even by the user. Further, the pressing unit 4a can be easily detached by the coupling portion 4d, and therefore, the sanitary pressing unit 4a can be easily provided.
(One Example of Structure of Opening/Closing Unit 6)
Note that an example of the specific structure of the opening/closing unit 6 will be described herein. The shape of the opening/closing unit 6 will be described below as a flat shape, and needless to say, may be curved to fit the shape of a toilet bowl, a toilet seat 7, or the raised portion 2. The shape of the raised portion 2 is not necessarily curved to fit the shape of the toilet seat 7. Specifically, the size of the buttocks wiping device 1 disclosed in the present specification can be reduced. Thus, a portion of the raised portion 2 where the wiping arm 4 is exposed does not open in a curved shape, but may open in a linear planar shape. On this point, the raised portion 2 in a linear shape as illustrated in
A seventh embodiment describes a variation of the embodiment illustrated in
The screw shaft 10j passes through a screw hole provided at the seat 4a. When the exposure motor 9 rotates, the screw shaft 10j rotates to slide the seat 4a, and then, the wiping arm 4 is exposed. A view when reached an exposed position is illustrated in
Note that in this example, the bevel gears 4m, 4l are used to move the wiping arm 4 up and down. However, as long as a transmission mechanism configured to convert rotation movement of the shaft 10k into movement perpendicular to the shaft 10k is provided, the present invention is not limited to the structure using the bevel gears 4m, 4l. For example, as illustrated in a lower left enlarged view of
It can be considered that these structures include a gear for moving the wiping arm 4 up and down at the stage at which the wiping arm 4 has reached the exposed position. With this structure, the upper-to-lower motor 8 can be disposed apart from the vicinity of the opening/closing unit 6 even upon exposure, and therefore, the upper-to-lower motor 8 can be waterproofed.
Note that
Note that after the seat 10a has been moved forward to the exposed position by the exposure motor 9, the bevel gear 4m may be pushed down by the clutch mechanism, and then, may be coupled to the bevel gear 4l, for example. Note that the bevel gear 4m and the bevel gear 4l may constantly engage with each other, the shaft 10k may have an extendable structure, and the bevel gear 4m and the bevel gear 4l may slide together during extension/contraction of the shaft 10k. Note that the upper-to-lower motor 8 and/or the exposure motor 9 may be lowered using, e.g., a gear.
As described above, in the seventh embodiment, the mechanism (e.g., the bevel gears 4m, 4l or the worm 4o and the worm wheel 4n) configured to convert rotation in the direction perpendicular to the shaft 10k of the upper-to-lower motor 8 is provided, and the wiping arm 4 is coupled to such a mechanism to move up and down. With this structure, the upper-to-lower motor 8 can be disposed at a location apart from a toilet seat opening, and therefore, the effect of waterproofing the upper-to-lower motor 8 is enhanced.
When rotation of the shaft 10k and rotation of the screw shaft 10j are switched using an electromagnetic clutch, the upper-to-lower motor 8 and the exposure motor 9 can be implemented by a single motor. That is, a wiping arm drive unit 3 includes the mechanism (e.g., the bevel gears 4m, 4l or the worm 4o and the worm wheel 4n) configured to convert rotation in the direction perpendicular to a rotary shaft (e.g., the screw shaft 10j) of the exposure motor 9, and therefore, the single common motor can be shared as the upper-to-lower motor 8 and the exposure motor 9 to switch, by the electromagnetic clutch etc., rotation of the rotary shaft used for exposure movement and rotation of the rotary shaft used for upper-to-lower movement. With this structure, the number of motors can be reduced, leading to cost and size reduction of the buttocks wiping device.
In an eighth embodiment, a buttocks wiping device 1 employing the second technique, i.e., the technique of wiping the buttocks in such a manner that paper is exposed below the buttocks separately from a wiping arm and a pressing unit of the wiping arm pushes up the exposed paper from below, will be described.
The buttocks wiping device 1 is provided below the toilet seat 7. The buttocks wiping device 1 includes, in a housing portion 2b provided at the raised portion 2, a wiping arm 4 and a wiping arm drive unit 3. The wiping arm drive unit 3 includes an upper-to-lower motor 8, an exposure motor 9, and a gear, a shaft, a bearing, etc. (not shown) for transmitting power of these motors to the wiping arm 4. Moreover, the buttocks wiping device 1 includes a paper supply unit 17 for supplying the special paper 11b. The paper supply unit 17 is partially housed in the housing portion 2b provided at the raised portion 2. Note that the thickness of the toilet seat 7 may be increased such that the structure of the buttocks wiping device 1 is in the toilet seat 7 (the same applies to other embodiments).
The wiping arm 4 has, at one end thereof, a pressing unit 4a. Note that the pressing unit 4a may be configured to be held horizontal upon contact with the anus by a hinge mechanism provided at the wiping arm 4. The other end of the wiping arm 4 is fixed to a rotary shaft of the upper-to-lower motor 8. When the upper-to-lower motor 8 rotates, the wiping arm 4 moves up and down accordingly. As a result, the pressing unit 4a moves up and down. The upper-to-lower motor 8 is fixed to a rotary shaft of the exposure motor 9. When the exposure motor 9 rotates, the upper-to-lower motor 8 angularly moves and rotates about the rotary shaft of the exposure motor 9 as a supporting point, and the wiping arm 4 also rotates together. Then, the wiping arm 4 is exposed through a hole 7a of the toilet seat 7 from the housing portion 2b. After exposure, the upper-to-lower motor 8 rotates so that the pressing unit 4a can move up and down.
The paper supply unit 17 includes a paper injection port 17a, paper supply rollers 17b, a paper loading guide 17c, a push-out portion 17d, and a paper supply motor 17e. The push-out portion 17d has a nested structure. A not-shown gear (pinion) is attached to a rotary shaft of the paper supply motor 17e. A rack-and-pinion structure is made such that the gear and the push-out portion 17d (a rack) engage with each other. When the paper supply motor 17e rotates, an inner insert member of the push-out portion 17d moves forward. After the inner insert member has moved forward, the pinion and the rack engage with each other such that an outer insert member moves forward. Specifically, there is a protrusion at a back end of the inner insert member. After the inner insert has been moved forward by the paper supply motor 17e, the protrusion is caught by the inside of the outer insert, and therefore, the outer insert begins moving forward. Such a caught portion is configured such that the inner insert also moves forward together with forward movement of the outer insert.
When the paper supply motor 17e rotates reversely, the push-out portion 17 contracts by backward movement. Specifically, the outer insert (the rack) moves backward after having engaged with the pinion attached to the paper supply motor 17e. When the outer insert moves backward to a tail end, the pinion engages with the inner insert as the rack. Then, the above-described caught portion is released, and the inner insert is retracted by backward movement.
The paper loading guide 17c is attached onto the push-out portion 17d. In association with movement of the push-out portion 17d, the paper loading guide 17c also moves forward or backward. The paper supply rollers 17b has such a structure that the special paper 11b is sandwiched by the rollers in the upper-to-lower direction. The paper supply rollers 17b rotate by rotation of a not-shown motor.
When the special paper 11b is injected into the paper injection port 17a, a paper supply sensor 17g attached to the vicinity of an inlet of the paper supply rollers 17b detects such injection, and the paper supply rollers 17b are rotated. Thus, the special paper 11b moves on the inside of the paper supply rollers 17b. The special paper 11b is placed on the paper loading guide 17c. When the special paper 11b has been delivered, a paper delivery sensor 17h attached to the vicinity of an outlet of the paper supply rollers 17b detects that the special paper 11b has been discharged, and the paper supply rollers 17b are stopped. As described above, the special paper 11b is placed on the paper loading guide 17c. The paper supply sensor 17g and the paper delivery sensor 17h may be sensors configured to perform non-contact detection of the presence or absence of paper by a photo sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, etc., but are not limited.
The paper loading guide 17c has such a shape that the pressing unit 4a can upwardly pass through the paper loading guide 17c from below and that the special paper 11b does not drop. The shape of the paper loading guide 17c is merely an example, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The paper loading guide 17c is provided with a paper loading guide sensor 17i, and therefore, it can be detected whether or not the special paper 11b has been properly placed on the paper loading guide 17c. Various sensors such as a photo sensor may be used as the paper loading guide sensor 17i. As described above, the special paper 11b is placed on the paper loading guide 17c as illustrated in
When the special paper 11b is placed on the paper loading guide 17c, the paper supply motor 17e rotates to move the paper loading guide 17c forward. Thus, the paper loading guide 17c is exposed from the raised portion 2. Note that although not shown in the figure, a groove etc. for restricting the track of the paper loading guide 17c are provided at the raised portion 2 such that the paper loading guide 17c is exposed straight from the raised portion 2. After the paper loading guide 17c has been exposed, the wiping arm 4 is angularly moved by rotation of the exposure motor 9. Thus, the wiping arm 4 is exposed, and is inclined to the upward direction by the upper-to-lower motor 8. Thus, as illustrated in
Right before wiping, the paper loading guide 17c is exposed below the buttocks, and the wiping arm 4 is positioned below the paper loading guide 17c. A clearance between the buttocks of a user seated on the toilet seat 7 and the wiping arm 4 is about several centimeters. When the pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm 4 moves upward, the special paper 11b is lifted, and comes into contact with the buttocks. In this state, the paper supply motor 17e moves the paper loading guide 17c backward. The wiping arm 4 is slightly moved up and down, back and forth, right to left, etc. by the wiping arm drive unit 3, and therefore, the moisture etc. are reliably absorbed by the special paper 11b. In this manner, wiping is executed.
Upon completion of wiping, the upper-to-lower motor 8 inclines the wiping arm 4 to the downward direction. The special paper 11b loses, due to its own weight, a balance at the pressing unit 4a, and therefore, naturally drops. Note that when the wiping arm drive unit 3 drives the wiping arm 4 to slightly vibrate, the special paper 11b is reliably dropped. When the paper loading detection sensor 12e provided at the pressing unit 4a detects paper dropping, the wiping arm drive unit 3 retracts the wiping arm into the housing portion 2b.
As illustrated in
There is a probability that the paper loading guide 17c contacts the buttocks. In such a case, the motor detection unit 17m generates a torque of equal to or greater than a predetermined torque at the paper supply motor 17e. Thus, a current value detected by the motor detection unit 17m is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. In this case, the control unit 13 stops or reversely rotates the paper supply motor 17e, thereby controlling the paper loading guide 17c not to contact the user. As described above, the paper supply motor 17e may be subjected to torque limitation or torque control. In addition, a simple structure is conceivable, in which a sensor or a switch is provided at a tip end of the paper loading guide 17c, and in a case where the paper loading guide 17c contacts the user, detects such contact so that the control unit 13 can stop or reversely rotate the paper supply motor 17e. As described above, the paper supply unit 17 may detect whether or not the paper loading guide 17c has contacted the user, and when detected, stop or backwardly move the paper loading guide 17c.
Although not shown in the figure, an opening/closing unit 6 is also provided in the eighth embodiment.
Operation of the buttocks wiping device 1 will be described below in detail with reference to
After a wiping instruction (S100), it is checked whether or not cleansing has been completed (S101). Then, the paper supply sensor 17g of the paper supply unit 17 detects whether or not the special paper 11b is injected (S400). If not, the control unit 13 displays a message for prompting the user to inject the special paper 11b, for example. When the special paper 11b is injected, the control unit 13 rotates the paper supply rollers 17b to deliver the special paper 11b (S401). Suppose that the paper delivery sensor 17h has detected that the special paper 11b has been delivered (S402). Note that in a case where it is, even after a lapse of a predetermined time, not detected that the special paper 11b has been delivered. i.e., a case where the paper delivery sensor 17h detects the presence of the paper even after a lapse of the predetermined time, there is a probability that the paper is jammed. For this reason, the control unit 13 determines that an error is caused, and displays a message for notifying the user that a paper jam is caused, for example.
When it is detected that the paper has been delivered, the control unit 13 turns on the paper loading guide sensor 17i (S403). That is, the paper loading guide sensor 17i is ON until the wiping arm 4 inclines upward. In the meantime, if the paper loading guide sensor 17i detects that the paper is not placed, there is a probability that the special paper 11b has been dropped in the middle. When such detection is made, the control unit 13 displays a message for prompting the user to provide the wiping instruction again, for example. In addition, the control unit 13 returns the paper loading guide 17c and the wiping arm 4 to original positions, and starts wiping operation from the beginning.
After processing of S403, the control unit 13 opens/closes the opening/closing unit 6 at S103 and S104, and then, proceeds to operation of S404. At S404, the control unit 13 actuates the paper supply motor 17e to expose the paper loading guide 17c. The exposed position of the paper loading guide 17c is detected by a not-shown detection unit such as a contact switch, a non-contact switch, a photo sensor, or a magnetic sensor. When the paper loading guide 17c is exposed at the exposed position, the control unit 13 stops the paper supply motor 17e (S405).
Subsequently, the control unit 13 rotates the exposure motor 9 to angularly move the upper-to-lower motor 8, thereby exposing the wiping arm 4 (S406). The exposed position of the wiping arm 4 is detected from, e.g., the rotation angle detected by the motor detection unit 9a. When the wiping arm 4 is exposed at the exposed position, the control unit 13 stops the exposure motor 9 (S407). Then, the control unit 13 rotates the upper-to-lower motor 8 to incline the wiping arm 4 to the upward direction (S408).
When the wiping arm 4 inclines to the upward direction, the pressing unit 4a lifts the special paper 11b, and then, the special paper 11b comes into contact with the vicinity of the anus. The control unit 13 detects lifting of the special paper 11b in such a manner that the paper loading guide sensor 17i detects whether or not the special paper 11b is no longer placed or it is, based on, e.g., the rotation angle of the upper-to-lower motor 8 detected by the motor detection unit 8a, detected whether or not the pressing unit 4a has reached a wiping position (S409).
After detection at S409, the control unit 13 moves the paper supply motor 17e backward, thereby retracting the paper loading guide 17c into the housing portion 2b (S410).
Thereafter, the control unit 13 turns on the paper loading detection sensor 12e as in the first embodiment (S106), and executes the wiping operation while detecting whether or not the paper is dropped in the course of wiping (S412). Upon wiping, the control unit 13 slightly rotates the exposure motor 9 and the upper-to-lower motor 8 while pressing the special paper 11b up and down or moving the special paper 11b right to left and back and forth. In this manner, wiping is executed. As in the first embodiment, the control unit 13 subsequently executes operation after paper dropping and before closing of the opening/closing unit 6 (S110 to S115), and returns to a standby state for a subsequent wiping instruction.
As described above, in the eighth embodiment, the special paper 11b is exposed below the buttocks separately from the wiping arm 4, and the pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm 4 pushes up the exposed special paper 11b from below. In this manner, the buttocks are wiped. Thus, the structure for holding the special paper 11b is not necessary. Consequently, the structure of the buttocks wiping device can be simplified, leading to cost reduction. The paper supply unit 17 can be also implemented by a simple reliable structure for delivering the special paper 11b by the paper supply rollers 17b and exposing the special paper 11b on the paper loading guide 17c. In the first technique, there is a probability that the placed paper drops upon exposure of the pressing unit 4a. However, in the second technique, there is an extremely-low probability that the paper drops in the middle. Thus, in addition to the simple structure and cost reduction, reliable wiping can be realized. Only clean paper is placed on the paper loading guide 17c, and therefore, there is an extremely-low probability that the paper loading guide 17c gets dirty. The pressing unit 4a contacts the anus with the special paper 11b being interposed therebetween, and therefore, there is a probability that the moisture etc. adhere to the pressing unit 4a. However, because of the simple structure, the user can easily wipe or cleanse the pressing unit 4a. Thus, the buttocks wiping device of the seventh embodiment is sanitary and easily usable, and maintenance of such a buttocks wiping device is facilitated.
Further, in the eighth embodiment, part of the mechanism of the wiping arm drive unit for driving the wiping arm is provided in the raised portion provided at the clearance between the toilet bowl and the toilet seat or in the thick toilet seat. Not only right and left spaces but also a space below the warm-water cleansing device can be used as the inside of the raised portion or the thick toilet seat. This structure avoids, as much as possible, consumption of a space at the side of the toilet bowl.
Note that various structures for pushing out the push-out portion 17d are conceivable, and are not intended to limit the present invention. For example, a belt may be winded around the rotary shaft of the paper supply motor 17e, and may be coupled to the nested structure of the push-out portion 17d. In association with winding and unwinding of the belt, the push-out portion 17d may extend/contract. A pinion may be provided at the rotary shaft of the paper supply motor 17e, and instead of the belt, a flexible rack may be winded around the pinion. The rack may be coupled to the nested structure of the push-out portion 17d so that the push-out portion 17d can extend/contract.
Note that for multiple pieces of special paper 11b stacked on each other in the upper-to-lower direction, a mechanism of an automatic document feeder (ADF) used for a copying machine etc. is disposed in front of the paper injection port, and the mechanism of the automatic document feeder delivers each piece of special paper 11b to the paper injection port 17a such that the paper supply rollers 17b place such a piece of special paper 11b on the paper loading guide 17c. With this structure, the paper can be automatically supplied. Alternatively, the long special paper 11b may be injected into the paper supply rollers 17b, and may be cut by a cutting unit at predetermined intervals such that a single piece of special paper 11b is placed on the paper loading guide 17c.
The wiping arm 4 and the paper supply unit 17 are separately provided as in the present embodiment. Thus, only the mechanism of the wiping arm 4 or the mechanism of the paper supply unit 17 can be developed. That is, the mechanism of the wiping arm 4 and the mechanism of the paper supply unit 17 can be separately developed. The pressing unit 4a does not directly hold the paper. Thus, the pressing unit 4a can be developed such that the shape of the pressing unit 4a fits the shape of the vicinity of the anus, or can be developed while various materials such as hard resin, silicon resin, rubber, soft resin, and metal are tested by actual application to a human. Consequently, a proper design can be made in terms of ergonomics.
Note that in the above-described embodiments, an arm portion of the wiping arm 4 is in a linear shape, but may be bent. The wiping arm 4 mainly includes the pressing unit 4a provided at the tip end portion, and the arm portion as a strut portion for coupling the pressing unit 4a to the drive unit. With the arm portion bent in advance, the pressing unit 4a can be moved to a high position as described below.
Thus, when the base portion is inclined to the upward direction upon wiping, the pressing unit 4a can be moved to a higher position as compared to the case of the linear arm portion. Consequently, in a case where the pressing unit 4a needs to be provided at a higher position, it is effective to bend the wiping arm 4. Further, movement of the pressing unit 4a to a higher position means that the pressing unit 4a can be more firmly pressed against the buttocks. Thus, in a case where it is desired to more firmly press the pressing unit 4a against the buttocks, the wiping arm 4 may be bent. In the case of using the second technique, the paper and the wiping arm 4 are separately exposed, and therefore, the heights of the wiping arm 4 and the pressing unit upon retraction are less restricted. Thus, retraction can be performed even when the arm is bent.
Note that when the arm portion (a portion other than the pressing unit 4a) of the wiping arm 4 is made of a bendable flexible material, contact of the pressing unit 4a with the buttocks with force more than necessary can be prevented while the feeling of wiping can be improved.
A ninth embodiment is an embodiment employing the first technique.
The buttocks wiping device 1 includes a raised portion 2, an upper-to-lower motor 8, an exposure motor 9, and the wiping arm 4. A pressing unit 4a is provided at a tip end of the wiping arm 4. The pressing unit 4a is provided at an eccentric position shifted from the center axis of the wiping arm 4, and through a hinge, is attached to an end bent in an L-shape as illustrated in
The upper-to-lower motor 8 is rotatably fixed to a rotary shaft of the exposure motor 9. That is, when the exposure motor 9 rotates, the upper-to-lower motor 8 rotates by angular movement, and accordingly, the wiping arm 4 is exposed.
A state when paper is placed on the pressing unit 4a will be described with reference to
When a not-shown sensor detects that the special paper 11b has been placed on the delivery unit 14l, the delivery unit 14l begins sliding as illustrated in
As described above, the paper supply unit 14 of the ninth embodiment is configured such that the paper is delivered by the upper and lower rollers 14g, 14i as paper feeding rollers and that the delivery unit 14l moves in association with rotation of the paper feeding rollers to place the paper 11b on the pressing unit 4a. Such a mechanism of the paper supply unit 14 can be also utilized in other embodiments employing the first technique than the ninth embodiment.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
After paper dropping, the wiping arm 4 rotates counterclockwise about the axial center thereof on the plane of paper as illustrated in
As described above, in the ninth embodiment, the pressing unit 4a is provided eccentric with respect to the rotation center of the wiping arm 4. Thus, the pressing unit 4a can be moved upward by rotation of the wiping arm 4 about the axial center thereof.
Note that
As described above, in the ninth embodiment, structure simplification, cost reduction, sanitation, usability, and easy maintenance of the buttocks wiping device can be realized using the first technique.
(Variations of Pressing Unit 4a)
Some variations of the pressing unit 4a will be described.
Note that the rising mechanisms illustrated in
In a tenth embodiment, a buttocks wiping device 1 employing the second technique, i.e., the technique of wiping the buttocks in such a manner that paper is exposed below the buttocks separately from a wiping arm and a pressing unit of the wiping arm pushes up the exposed paper from below, will be described.
In the buttocks wiping device 1 of the eighth embodiment, the paper supply unit 17 and the wiping arm drive unit 3 are provided on the same side in the right-to-left direction when facing the toilet seat 7. However, in the buttocks wiping device 1 of the tenth embodiment, a paper supply unit 17 and a wiping arm drive unit 3 are provided facing each other on opposite sides in the right-to-left direction when facing the toilet seat 7. That is, the wiping arm 4 is provided on the side opposite to the position of the paper supply unit 17 in the right-to-left direction. In the tenth embodiment, the paper supply unit 17 is housed in a housing portion 2c, and the wiping arm 4 is retracted into a housing portion 2b. In the eighth embodiment, the exposure motor 9 and the upper-to-lower motor 8 are used as the mechanism for exposing and upwardly moving the wiping arm 4. However, in the buttocks wiping device 1 of the tenth embodiment, exposure and upper-to-lower movement are realized using a single exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18. Note that in the tenth embodiment, an exposure motor 9 and an upper-to-lower motor 8 may be used to expose the wiping arm 4 and move the wiping arm 4 up and down as in the eighth embodiment.
As illustrated in
The buttocks wiping device 1 is provided below the toilet seat 7 and the not-shown warm-water cleansing device. The buttocks wiping device 1 includes the wiping arm 4 and the wiping arm drive unit 3 in the housing portion 2b provided at the raised portion 2. Moreover, the buttocks wiping device 1 includes the paper supply unit 17 in the housing portion 2c provided at the raised portion 2. The wiping arm drive unit 3 includes the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18, an arm coupling portion 18a, a screw shaft 18b, a gear 18c, a first stopping portion 18d, a second stopping portion 18e, and a third stopping portion 18f. As in the eight embodiment, the wiping arm 4 has the pressing unit 4a coupled through a hinge mechanism.
The buttocks wiping device 1 includes an arm-side opening/closing unit 19b for opening/closing the housing portion 2d, and a paper-supply-side opening/closing unit 19a for opening/closing the housing portion 2c. Although specific structures of the arm-side opening/closing unit 19b and the paper-supply-side opening/closing unit 19a will not be described and not be shown in the figures, the arm-side opening/closing unit 19b and the paper-supply-side opening/closing unit 19a can be implemented by, e.g., a shutter configured to open/close an opening of each housing portion 2d, 2c by means of a motor or a lid having a hinge mechanism on one side to open/close in the upper-to-lower direction, such as an openable lid of a CD-ROM drive. Opening/closing checking sensors 19d, 19c for detecting whether or not opening/closing is normally performed are provided respectively at the arm-side opening/closing unit 19b and the paper-supply-side opening/closing unit 19a.
The first stopping portion 18d and the second stopping portion 18e are each fixed to upper and lower portions of the raised portion 2. Meanwhile, the third stopping portion 18f is fixed only to an upper surface of the raised portion 2, and there is a space below the third stopping portion 18f. When the wiping arm 4 is exposed by rotation of the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18, the wiping arm 4 passes below the third stopping portion 18f, and moves until contacting the second stopping portion 18e. The control unit 13 detects, based on the number of rotations detected by a motor detection unit 18g, that the wiping arm 4 has reached an exposed position (S501). Note that the control unit 13 may use other detection units than the motor detection unit 18a to detect that the wiping arm 4 has reached the exposed position. A specific example of the motor detection unit 18g is similar to the motor detection unit 8b.
The wiping arm 4 is brought into a state in which the wiping arm 4 contacts the second stopping portion 18e. Thus, when the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18 further rotates, movement of the wiping arm 4 is restricted, and the coupling portion 18a moves upward along the screw shaft 18b (S502). When the wiping arm 4 moves upward to the maximum height, such a position is detected by the motor detection unit 18g based on the number of rotations, and rotation of the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18 is stopped (S503).
In the case of retracting the wiping arm 4 after completion of wiping, the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18 rotates opposite to that upon exposure, thereby causing the wiping arm 4 to contact the third stopping portion 18f.
Based on the number of rotations detected by the motor detection unit 18g, the control unit 13 detects that the wiping arm 4 has returned to the housing portion 2d (S507). In such a state, the control unit 13 causes the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18 to rotate a predetermined number of times, thereby lowering the wiping arm 4. Then, the wiping arm 4 returns to a retracted position before start of wiping operation. Subsequently, operation of S114 and S115 is performed to bring a standby state for subsequent wiping.
As described above, the second technique is employed in the tenth embodiment, and therefore, advantageous effects similar to those of the eighth embodiment are provided. Moreover, exposure and upper-to-lower movement of the wiping arm 4 are performed by the single motor, leading to cost reduction.
Note that the shape of the raised portion 2 may be designed such that the special first to third stopping portions 18d, 18e, 18f are not necessarily provided. Moreover, entering of water into the housing portion 2d can be prevented. Further, a structure can be employed, which allows sterilization/cleansing for maintaining the pressing unit 4a in a sanitary manner.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
(Variations of Tenth Embodiment)
Variations of the tenth embodiment will be collectively described below.
For sliding in a guide groove 20a provided at the raised portion 2, the opening/closing unit 6, 19a, 19b is attached to an arm portion 20b to rotate about a rotary shaft 20g. A magnet 20c is attached to one end of the arm portion 20b. A spring 20d is further attached to such an end, and is fixed to the raised portion 2. The arm portion 20b is rotatable about a supporting point 20e. The supporting point 20e is fixed to the raised portion 2. The spring 20d constantly applies force in the direction of closing the opening/closing unit 6, 19a, 19b. Such a mechanism may be provided at each end of the opening/closing unit 6, 19a, 19b. Until receiving an opening instruction from the control unit 13, an electromagnet is in a detached state.
Upon opening, the control unit 13 magnetizes the electromagnet 20f When the electromagnet 20f is magnetized, the magnet 20c and the electromagnet 20f are joined together. The opening/closing unit 6, 19a, 19b lowers about the supporting point 20e along the guide groove 20a. Upon closing, the control unit 13 detaches the electromagnet 20f. When the electromagnet 20f is detached, the magnet 20c is lowered by force of the spring 20d. This lifts the opening/closing unit 6, 19a. 19b. When the opening/closing unit is implemented by such an opening/closing mechanism using the electromagnet, cost reduction can be realized.
Note that a relationship between the electromagnet and the permanent magnet as illustrated in
Note that in the case of using the mechanism of
As illustrated in
The sterilization solution or the cleansing solution to be diluted is contained in the tank 23f. For example, sodium hypochlorite or quatemary ammonium salt is contained. In the case of using a strong sterilization solution such as sodium hypochlorite, there is a probability that the pressing unit 4a is corroded. For this reason, the water pipe 23b and the cleansing/sterilization solution pipe 23c are combined together so that only water cleansing is performed after sterilization cleansing, but the present invention is not limited to above. Note that the type of cleansing/sterilization solution is not specifically limited.
The plane including the opening 18j for housing the wiping arm 4 is in the planar shape as illustrated in
Note that when the wiping arm drive unit 3 can repeatedly swing, before retraction of the pressing unit 4a, the wiping arm 4 right to left, the paper can naturally drop due to such vibration. When the pressing unit 4a can be made of metal or a water-repellent material to reduce friction and enhance water-repellent properties, the feeling of wiping can be improved while the paper can be easily dropped.
First, a mechanism and operation of a paper supply unit 17 in the eleventh embodiment will be described. The paper supply unit 17 has such a mechanism that rotation of a paper supply motor 21a is transmitted to electromagnetic clutches 21b, 21c through a belt 21f. A paper loading guide 17c has such a mechanism that the paper loading guide 17c is moved back and forth by rotation of a rail drive wheel 21j. For example, a back surface of the paper loading guide 17c may serve as a rack, and the rail drive wheel 21j may serve as a pinion. The rail drive wheel 21j is coupled to a pulley 21h through a rotary shaft. The pulley 21h is connected to a pulley 21g through a belt 21i. The pulley 21g is coupled to the electromagnetic clutch 21c through a shaft. Thus, when the electromagnetic clutch 21c is ON, if the paper supply motor 21a rotates, the pulley 21g rotates, and the belt 21i rotates. Then, the pulley 21h rotates, and the rail drive wheel 21j rotates. Accordingly, the paper loading guide 17c moves forward (or moves backward). The electromagnetic clutch 21b is coupled to paper supply rollers 17b through a shaft. When the electromagnetic clutch 21b is ON, if the paper supply motor 21a rotates, the paper supply rollers 17b rotate.
When special paper 11b is inserted into a paper injection port 17a, a paper supply sensor 17g detects such insertion. Then, a control unit 13 turns on the electromagnetic clutch 21b, and turns off the electromagnetic clutch 21c. In this manner, the special paper 11b is delivered. When the paper delivery sensor 17h finishes detecting delivery of the special paper 11b, the control unit 13 turns on the electromagnetic clutch 21c to move the paper loading guide 17c forward. The paper loading guide 17c is provided with a paper loading guide sensor 17i, and it can be detected whether or not the paper is properly placed. Such a detection method is the same as that described in the eighth embodiment.
Next, a mechanism and operation of a wiping arm drive unit 3 will be described. The wiping arm drive unit 3 is provided with an exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18. Although not shown in
A motor detection unit 18a is provided so that, e.g., the number of rotations of the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18 can be detected. A motor detection unit 25a is provided so that, e.g., the number of rotations of the restriction rod motor 25 can be detected. Specific examples of the motor detection units 18a, 25a are similar to the motor detection unit 8a described in the first embodiment.
The wiping arm 4 is, at a retracted position thereof, positioned at the lowest position. An arm coupling portion 24f is fixed to a base of the wiping arm 4. The arm coupling portion 24f is fitted onto the screw shaft 24g. As illustrated in
When the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18 continuously rotates, the wiping arm 4 moves upward (the state of the wiping arm 4 as shown in S502 of
Upon completion of wiping, the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18 reversely rotates. By rotation of the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 18, the screw shaft 24g rotates, and the arm coupling portion 24f lowers. Accordingly, the wiping arm 4 also lowers (S505 of
As described above, according to the structure described in the eleventh embodiment, the wiping arm 4 can be also exposed and moved up and down and back and forth.
Note that in the eleventh embodiment, the wiping arm 4 is bent, but the height of the raised portion 2 is changeable when the wiping arm 4 can be rotatable at a bending position 26.
Note that when it can be configured such that upon selection of a cleaning mode, the wiping arm 4 further moves to the right as viewed in
Note that the mechanism of the wiping arm drive unit 3 for the second technique can be also used for the first technique. That is, in a case where the wiping arm drive unit 3 used in the second technique is used for the first technique, the paper may be, needless to say, placed on the pressing unit 4a by a hand or a paper supply unit, and then, the anus may be wiped by movement with the paper being placed on the pressing unit 4a.
(Embodiment for Sterilization/Cleansing)
The embodiment for sterilization and cleansing will be described.
Note that any well-known sections can be utilized as the spraying units 23d, 23j. For example, the spraying unit for sterilization/cleansing solution may be a nozzle configured to spray the sterilization/cleansing solution in a mist form, and the spraying unit for tap water may be a unit configured to spray water across a wide area, such as a shower head.
(Special Paper 11b)
As described above, according to the twelfth embodiment, the wiping arm 4 can be driven using a mechanism with a high technical reliability, such as a bevel gear or a gear box. Moreover, right-to-left shifting of the top of the pressing unit 4a can be prevented using the link mechanism. Thus, even with an individual difference in the height of the anus, the top 29 can contact the anus. Consequently, the feeling of wiping is improved.
Note that it is assumed that a user sits at a proper position upon warm-water cleansing, leading to an assumption that the position of the anus does not significantly shift.
(Automatic Paper Supply Mechanism of Special Paper)
The mechanism for automatically supplying special paper 11b will be described with reference to
In a case where a single piece of special paper 11b is taken out of the paper stocker portion 30, the drive unit 30d drives the holding unit 30f to approach the paper side. When the tip ends of the holding unit 30f come into contact with the special paper 11b, it is recognized, by reaction of a sensor or a current value change, that the tip ends contact the special paper 11b. When the tip ends contact the special paper 11b, the holding unit 30f closes the tip ends thereof to hold the special paper 11b. With the optimized shape of each tip end, the holding unit 30f can hold only a single piece of paper. When the special paper 11b is held, the drive unit 30d drives the holding unit 30f to move reversely. With this structure, only the single piece of special paper 11b is taken out of the paper stocker portion 30 as in
(Embodiment for Portable Toilet)
The buttocks wiping device is used for a toilet bowl. A so-called portable toilet used in a room is also surely the toilet bowl. Thus, the buttocks wiping device used for the portable toilet is, needless to say, also included in the present invention.
First, terms to be used will be described. A portable toilet function is the function of accumulating excrement in, e.g., a container and disposing the excrement to the outside of the room after excretion as in a typical portable toilet. A warm-water cleansing function is the function of cleansing the buttocks with water after excretion. For use in any installation locations, water is often supplied from a water tank, and the present invention is not limited to above. The wiping function is the function of wiping, with paper, moisture on the buttocks after water cleansing. A raised portion is provided at a clearance between a toilet seat and the toilet bowl, and part or entirety of the wiping arm and a drive unit thereof is housed in the raised portion. Note that instead of the raised portion, the thickness of the toilet seat may be increased such that part or entirety of the wiping arm and the wiping arm drive unit is provided in the toilet seat. The wiping arm is configured to use the paper supplied from a paper supply function, thereby wiping the buttocks. A head at a tip end of the wiping arm has a shape fitting the anus. The paper supply function is the function of supplying the paper to the wiping arm.
In the portable toilet 31 illustrated in
A paper disposing function is the function of dropping the special paper 11b from the wiping arm 4 after wiping. The special paper 11b is naturally dropped in such a manner that the wiping arm 4 slightly moves right to left and up and down, or is dropped by a protrusion etc. for dropping the special paper 11b when the wiping arm 4 returns to the raised portion 2. Rectangular paper is used as the special paper 11b, the rectangular paper being formed in such a manner that a stack of multiple pieces of toilet paper are, for example, pressure-bonded together to such an extent that moisture can be sufficiently absorbed. The special paper 11b is injected into the paper injection port 17a provided at the paper supply unit 17, and then, is supplied. A nursing target injects the special paper 11b into the paper injection port 17a, and then, causes the portable toilet 31 illustrated in
The raised portion 2 is provided with a housing portion 32 for housing the wiping arm 4 and the wiping arm drive unit 3 and a paper loading guide opening 33 for housing the paper loading guide 17c of the paper supply unit 17. For preventing water from entering the housing portion 32 and the paper loading guide opening 33 through hollow-out portions thereof upon water washing, shutter functions (39, 34) are provided respectively on both of a wiping arm side and a paper feeding unit side.
A malfunction prevention function is the function of performing wiping by the wiping arm 4 after determination on whether or not the buttocks have been cleansed. In a case where the buttocks have not been cleansed, wiping is not performed for preventing malfunction. An automatic paper supply function is an automatic paper supply function provided as an optional function for a nursing target who is difficult to manually inject the special paper 11b into the paper injection port 17a of the paper supply unit 17, the automatic paper supply function being the function of housing a stack of multiple pieces of special paper 11b in a paper stocker portion 38 and injecting, one by one, the special paper 11b into the paper injection port from the paper stocker portion 38.
Sterilization Function: in the portable toilet 31 illustrated in
Maintenance Function: a lid portion is openably provided at the raised portion 2 so that the pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm and the paper loading guide 17c can be sterilized, cleansed, etc., and in this manner, these elements can be directly sterilized, cleansed, etc. Moreover, when a cleaning mode is selected, the wiping arm 4 or the paper loading guide 17c is exposed for sterilization, cleansing, etc.
Antibacterial Processing: the pressing unit 4a and the paper loading guide 17c are made of an antibacterial material such that no bacteria propagation is caused.
Odor Elimination Function: an odor elimination device 50 configured to eliminate odor in the toilet bowl in a state in which the toilet bowl is closed to prevent excrement odor from spreading across the room is provided as an optional function.
Restriction Conditions on Usage Environment and Necessity of Installation Environment Improvement: with a home power supply, the portable toilet 31 illustrated in
Preparation and Cleaning Up in Daily Use: the special paper 11b needs to be separately purchased.
In the case of using the automatic paper supply function, the paper stocker portion 38 needs to be refilled with the special paper 11b.
The wiping arm 4 and the paper loading guide 17c may be regularly cleaned.
Continuous Available Time: under a normal usage condition, it is not necessary to take a continuous available time into consideration.
Maintenance Management System: a paper jam is assumed as a trouble caused under the normal usage condition. Because of a simple structure, such a paper jam is cleared in such a manner that the user merely removes the special paper 11b through the opened raised portion 2.
Connection to Other Types of Equipment: cooperation with a warm-water cleansing device 15 is necessary, and the buttocks are wiped under a condition where warm-water cleansing has been completed.
Cooperation with the odor elimination device 50 is optionally available, and the excrement odor in the toilet bowl can be eliminated by the odor elimination device 50.
Shape of Raised Portion 2: for preventing a finger from being caught upon opening/closing of a toilet seat 7, the raised portion 2 for housing various functions is in a shape fitting the shapes of the portable toilet 31, a toilet bowl portion 36, and the warm-water cleansing device 15.
Moreover, for housing various functions, the raised portion 2 is provided with some holes and hollows in the mechanism. In a normal state, all of these holes and hollows are closed. This prevents a finger from being caught.
Fixing of Raised Portion 2: the raised portion 2 is fixed to the portable toilet 31, thereby not dropping from the portable toilet 31. Although slightly protruding from the raised portion 2, the paper supply unit 17, the paper stocker portion 38, etc. are firmly fixed to the raised portion 2, thereby not dropping.
Wiping Arm 4: it is necessary that the wiping arm 4 does not press the buttocks with force more than necessary.
(1) The height of a ceiling portion of the raised portion 2 is limited such that the wiping arm 4 does not move upward to a height more than necessary.
(2) A motor configured not to generate a torque more than necessary is used for the wiping arm drive unit 3.
(3) A sensor or a current value detection unit is provided at the wiping arm drive unit 3 such that when a torque equal to or greater than a predetermined torque is generated due to pressing of the wiping arm 4 against the buttocks, the motor weakens wiping operation to reduce the torque to less than the predetermined torque. With this structure, torque control or torque limitation is performed.
Paper Delivery: it is necessary that the paper loading guide 17c is configured not to contact the buttocks.
(1) The height of an opening through which the paper loading guide 17c is exposed is determined from the raised portion 2, and the paper loading guide 17c is originally configured not to contact the buttocks.
(2) A motor configured not to generate a torque more than necessary is used for the paper supply unit 17.
(3) For stopping or reversely rotating the motor when a torque equal to or greater than a predetermined torque is generated due to contact of the paper loading guide 17c with the buttocks, a sensor or a current value detection unit is provided at the paper supply unit 17, or a sensor or a switch is provided at the paper loading guide 17c. With this structure, the paper loading guide 17c stops or reversely rotates when contacting the user.
There is a probability that the user directly sits on the raised portion 2 with the toilet seat 7 being lifted. For this reason, a sensor or a switch is, as a countermeasure against direct sitting on the raised portion 2, provided such that the wiping arm drive unit 3 and the paper supply unit 17 do not operate when the toilet seat 7 is not lowered.
A sensor configured to detect completion of warm-water cleansing is provided as a countermeasure against operation after completion of warm-water cleansing. When warm-water cleansing has not been completed yet, the wiping arm drive unit 3 and the paper supply unit 17 do not operate.
Countermeasure against Electric Leakage: it is designed no to cause electric leakage.
Power Blackout: in the case of power blackout during operation, a motor configured to manually return the wiping arm 4 and the paper loading guide 17c to original positions is utilized (a proper holding torque is used). Note that an auxiliary battery can be employed depending on a cost.
Excretion after Water Washing: a countermeasure considering the probability of excretion after water washing is necessary. The shape of the paper loading guide 17c is designed to merely drop down the special paper 11b even after excretion. Moreover, the shape of the paper loading guide 17c is designed such that no breakdown is caused due to dropping force of excrement. Preparing for the case of excrement dropped on the wiping arm 4, a sensor detects dirt on the pressing unit 4a. In a case where dirt is on the pressing unit 4a, warning is provided.
Wiping Arm 4: in a case where the wiping arm 4 is not in an operable state due to motor breakdown, even when an operation switch is pressed, the wiping arm 4 does not move to a predetermined location within a predetermined time. For this reason, a sensor is provided at such a predetermined location, thereby performing self-diagnosis for determining whether or not the wiping arm 4 has moved to such a location. If the wiping arm 4 does not move within the predetermined time, such a state is taken as occurrence of an abnormality, and warning is provided.
Paper loading guide 17c: in a case where the paper loading guide 17c is not in an operable state due to motor breakdown, even when an operation switch is pressed, the paper loading guide 17c does not move to a predetermined location within a predetermined time. For this reason, a sensor is provided at such a predetermined location, thereby performing self-diagnosis for determining whether or not the paper loading guide 17c has moved to such a location. If the paper loading guide 17c does not move within the predetermined time, such a state is taken as occurrence of an abnormality, and warning is provided.
Automatic Paper Supply Function: the presence or absence of paper stocked in the paper stocker portion 38 is detected. When there is no paper, warning is provided to prompt the user to refill the paper stocker portion 38 with paper.
Outer Appearance: an outer size is a width of 460 mm×a depth of 645 mm×a height of 680 mm, and has been obtained from existing portable toilets and warm-water cleansing devices. The wiping device itself is small.
Weight: about 30 Kg. The weight of an existing portable toilet with a warm-water cleansing device is about 20 Kg. and therefore, the above-described weight has been obtained by addition of a weight of about 10 Kg for realizing the wiping function etc.
Driving is performed with an AC of 100 V/50-60 Hz. Power supply can be performed from the home power supply.
The wiping arm drive unit 3 includes the following actuators:
Upper-to-Lower Motor 8: a single geared DC motor for moving the wiping arm 4 up and down by the upper-to-lower motor 8: and
Exposure Motor 9: a single geared DC motor for exposing/retracting the wiping arm 4 by the exposure motor 9.
By these motors, the wiping arm 4 can be moved up and down and back and forth upon wiping.
Each motor may generate such a torque that the pressing unit 4a is pressed against the buttocks by movement of the pressing unit 4a and the wiping arm 4.
The paper supply unit 17 includes the following actuator:
Paper supply motor 21a: a single geared DC motor utilizing electromagnetic clutches 21b, 21c and a belt 21f for sharing a common drive motor for driving the paper supply rollers 17b and a rail drive wheel 21j. Such a motor may generate such a torque that the paper loading guide is moved.
An arm opening/closing unit 39 includes the following actuator:
Geared DC Motor 39a: note that using a lever, a shutter can be opened/closed only by attachment/detachment of an electromagnet.
A paper loading guide opening/closing unit 34 includes the following actuator:
Geared DC Motor 34a: note that using a lever, a shutter can be opened/closed only by attachment/detachment of an electromagnet.
The paper stocker portion 38 includes the following actuators:
a single geared DC motor (not shown) for holding a stack of pieces of special paper 11b: and
a single geared DC motor (not shown) for injecting the held paper into the paper injection port.
In addition, the following structure is conceivable.
The special paper 11b and the wiping arm 4 are separately positioned below the buttocks. However, there is a probability that when the pressing unit 4a moves from below the special paper 11b, the special paper 11b cannot closely contact the buttocks well. In this case, suction of the paper to the pressing unit 4a is necessary. For this reason, a hole for negative pressure generation is provided at the pressing unit 4a, and the special paper 11b is sucked to the pressing unit 4a in such a manner that the negative pressure is generated by a negative pressure generation device upon contact with the buttocks. On the other hand, for detaching the special paper 11b, the special paper 11b is dropped from the pressing unit 4a in such a manner that the negative pressure is released or that a positive pressure is generated. In the case of employing such a structure, a compressor is necessary for negative/position pressure generation.
An outline of operation of the portable toilet 31 with the wiping function is as follows.
1. Start of Wiping
When a wiping switch of an operation unit 35 is pressed by the user, each opening/closing unit 34, 39 is opened. Moreover, the paper supply unit 17 is actuated to place the special paper 11b on the paper loading guide 17c, and the paper loading guide 17c moves forward to expose the special paper 11b below the buttocks. In association with such operation, the wiping arm 4 is exposed below the buttocks.
2. During Wiping
The pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm 4 moves upward from below the special paper 11b placed on the paper loading guide 17c, and pushes up the special paper 11b such that the special paper 11b closely contacts the vicinity of the anus.
Then, the paper loading guide 17c moves backward and returns to the original position.
By gentle front-to-back and upper-to-lower movement of the wiping arm 4, moisture etc. on the buttocks are absorbed by the special paper.
3. After Completion of Wiping
Upon completion of wiping, the pressing unit 4a is lowered. When the pressing unit 4a is lowered, the special paper 11b moves apart from the buttocks due to its own weight. This is because the special paper 11b has a certain thickness. In such a state, the wiping arm 4 slightly moves back and forth and up and down to shake off the special paper 11b.
Finally, the wiping arm 4 returns to the original position, and each opening/closing unit 34, 39 is closed.
Note that the moving speeds of the wiping arm 4 and the paper loading guide 17c are about 5 cm/second, for example.
A user interface is as follows.
1. Wiping Switch
A wiping button is provided at the operation unit 35 in a recognizable manner so that operation can be performed even by the nursing target.
2. Button for Cleaning Mode
A cleaning button is provided so that the pressing unit 4a and the paper loading guide 17c can be cleansed etc. When the cleaning button is pressed, the wiping arm 4 and the paper loading guide 17c are exposed.
A sensor etc. are as follows.
1. Position Detection of Wiping Arm 4
Sensors (four sensors in total) are provided respectively at an upper limit position, a lower limit position, a left limit position, and a right limit position of the wiping arm 4, thereby detecting the position of the wiping arm 4. Such a position is utilized for control of the upper-to-lower motor 8 and the exposure motor 9. Note that, e.g., the upper limit position, the lower limit position, the left limit position, and the right limit position may be detected by motor detection units 8a, 9a configured to detect, e.g., the number of rotations of each of the upper-to-lower motor 8 and the exposure motor 9.
2. Position Detection of Paper Loading Guide 17c
Sensors (two sensors in total) are provided respectively at a left limit position and a right limit position of the paper loading guide 17c, thereby detecting the position of the paper loading guide 17c. Such a position is utilized for control of the paper supply motor 21a. Note that, e.g., the left limit position and the right limit position may be detected by a motor detection unit configured to detect, e.g., the number of rotations of the paper supply motor 21a.
3. Detection of Completion of Warm-Water Cleansing
By detection on whether or not an operation button for warm-water cleansing has been pressed, it is determined whether or not warm-water cleansing has been completed. Note that a sound sensor may detect whether or not water is coming out of a nozzle of the warm-water cleansing device 15, thereby determining whether or not warm-water cleansing has been completed.
The switch or the sensor is provided at the raised portion 2 such that operation is not made in the case where the toilet seat is not lowered.
Operation and a structure will be described below in detail with reference to
Note that in the case of manually supplying the paper, the paper stocker portion 38 is not provided.
The wiping arm 4, the pressing unit 4a, and the wiping arm drive unit 3 are housed in the housing portion 32 provided at the raised portion 2. The housing portion 32 is closed by a lid 32a.
For closing the opening of the housing portion 32, the arm opening/closing unit 39 to be driven by the motor 39a is provided. Note that for moving the arm opening/closing unit 39 up and down, other mechanisms than the motor 39a can be used.
The internal mechanism 40 of the paper supply unit 17 includes the paper supply motor 21a, the paper supply rollers 17b, the paper loading guide 17c, and the rail drive wheel 21j. When the user manually injects the special paper 11b into the paper injection port 17a of the paper supply unit 17 or the special paper 11b is injected from the paper stocker portion 38 into the paper injection port 17a of the paper supply unit 17, the paper supply motor 21a rotates to rotate the paper supply rollers 17b. When the paper supply rollers 17b rotate, the special paper 11b is placed on the paper loading guide 17c. When the special paper 11b is placed on the paper loading guide 17c, the electromagnetic clutch 21c connected to the paper supply motor 21a is actuated to rotate the rail drive wheel 21j. By rotation of the rail drive wheel 21j, the paper loading guide 17c is exposed with the special paper 11b being placed on the paper loading guide 17c.
For closing the paper loading guide opening 33, the paper loading guide opening/closing unit 34 to be driven by the motor 34a is provided. Note that for moving the paper loading guide opening/closing unit 34 up and down, other simple mechanisms than the motor 34a can be used.
As described above, the buttocks are wiped using the second technique in the portable toilet 31.
(Manufacturing of Special Paper 11b)
Subsequently, the rolled paper subjected to folding and cutting is pressure-bonded by, e.g., a pressing machine (S603). A device having raised and recessed portions configured to sandwich paper folded in the upper-to-lower direction and to fit pressure-bonded portions (e.g., paper ends) each other in the upper-to-lower direction may be used as the pressing machine. Alternatively, a device configured to use upper and lower rollers to sandwich paper and having raised and recessed portions configured to fit pressure-bonding target portions each other in the upper-to-lower direction may be used.
Using, e.g., a punching blade of a Thomson die, extra end portions of a peripheral edge portion of the pressure-bonded paper are cut off. As a result, the special paper 11b with a predetermined size is formed (S604). Note that the step of cutting off the peripheral edge portion is not necessary as long as the paper can be folded with a high accuracy.
Note that each piece of toilet paper may be cut to a predetermined size in advance, and a stack of multiple pieces of cut toilet paper are joined together by, e.g., pressure bonding. In this manner, the special paper 11b may be manufactured. In this case, e.g., a cutting structure using the Thomson die may be provided for the purpose of further cutting off end portions for reshaping after bonding.
(First Aspect of Embodiment for Portable Toilet)
A first aspect of the embodiment for the portable toilet 31 with the wiping function will be described with reference to
In
In
With the structure using the exposure motor 9, the bevel gears 27a. 27b, and the center shaft 27g, the wiping arm 4 can be exposed by angular movement, and can be moved up and down by the upper-to-lower motor 8. Detailed operation by the upper-to-lower motor 8 and the exposure motor 9 is similar to that by the mechanism illustrated in
The present embodiment is characterized by operation of the paper supply unit 205. Thus, operation of the paper supply unit 205 will be described below with reference to
As illustrated in
A plate on which the special paper 11b is placed is provided on the ball screw 205a, and a paper remaining amount detection unit 206b configured to detect whether or not the special paper 11b is placed on the plate is provided. A paper feeding detection unit 206c configured to detect the presence or absence of the special paper 11b is provided before the paper feeding drive roller 205g.
The user places a stack of multiple pieces of special paper 11b in the paper stocker 205b. The paper stocker 205b can be refilled with the special paper 11b from the side by a drawable portion 205p.
Subsequently, the control unit 13 rotates the ball screw motor 205m such that the ball screw 205a is moved upward by a single piece of paper (S701). The control unit 13 recognizes such a rotation amount from a signal from a motor detection unit 205l. Thus, the uppermost special paper 11b comes into contact with the free roller 205f and the paper feeding roller 205e. In this state, the control unit 13 rotates the paper feeding motor 205c (S702). When the paper feeding motor 205c rotates, rotation force is transmitted to the paper feeding roller 205e through the pulley 205d and the belt 205j. Then, only the uppermost piece of special paper 11b is delivered.
The delivered piece of special paper 11b is inserted between the paper feeding drive roller 205g and the paper feeding roller 205h. The control unit 13 detects, using the paper feeding detection unit 206c, that the special paper 11b is delivered to the paper feeding drive roller 205g (S703). Then, the control unit 13 continuously drives the paper feeding motor 205c until the paper feeding detection unit 206c no longer detects the special paper 11b (S703). Meanwhile, the control unit 13 also rotates the paper feeding drive roller 205g, thereby delivering the special paper 11b onto the slide 205i. The special paper 11b slides down the slide 205i, and then, is placed on the paper loading table 205k. Then, the paper loading table detection unit 206a (or the paper loading detection sensor 12e provided at the pressing unit 4a) detects that the paper has been placed on the pressing unit 4a (S704). In this manner, preparation for the wiping operation is completed. Thus, the control unit 13 exposes the wiping arm 4, and then, executes wiping of the buttocks by upper-to-lower movement of the wiping arm 4. After wiping, the paper is discarded, and the control unit 13 executes the operation of returning the wiping arm 4 to the original retracted position (S705).
As described above, in the present embodiment, the portable toilet 31 can be provided, which utilizes friction force or the shape of the pressing unit of the wiping arm and utilizes the first technique of wiping the buttocks by movement of the wiping arm with the paper being placed on the pressing unit.
Note that in the present embodiment, the base portion of the wiping arm 4 serves as the nested extendable portion 29b, and the rotary shaft of the upper-to-lower motor 8 and a base portion of the extendable portion 29b are coupled together through the link mechanism 27e. The detailed structure of the link mechanism is similar to that of
Note that the structure of the paper supply unit 205 as described in the present embodiment can be, needless to say, also used for other ordinary toilets than the portable toilet.
(Second Aspect of Embodiment for Portable Toilet)
In the first aspect of the embodiment for the portable toilet, the first technique is used. A second aspect of the embodiment for the portable toilet when the second technique using the paper loading guide is used will be described below.
First, the structure and operation of the paper supply unit 17 will be described. A motor frame 70, movable frames 70a, 70b, and movable beams 70c. 70d form an entire frame of the paper supply unit 17. A paper supply motor 17e and a coupling 17f are fixed to the motor frame 70. The movable beams 70c, 70d fix the movable frames 70a, 70b such that the movable frames 70a. 70b face each other. A rotary shaft (hereinafter referred to as a “lower rotary shaft”) 73e and a rotary shaft (hereinafter referred to as an “upper rotary shaft”) 74e are rotatably attached to the movable frames 70a, 70b. The lower rotary shaft 73e is coupled to a rotary shaft of the paper supply motor 17e through the coupling 17f. A pulley (hereinafter referred to as a “lower pulley”) 73f is attached to one end of the lower rotary shaft 73e. Pinions (hereinafter referred to as “lower pinions”) 73c, 73d are attached respectively to both ends of the lower rotary shaft 73e. With this structure, when the lower rotary shaft 73e rotates, the lower pulley 73f, the lower pinion 73c, and the lower pinion 73d rotate.
A pulley (hereinafter referred to as an “upper pulley”) 74f is attached to one end of the upper rotary shaft 74e. Pinions (hereinafter referred to as “upper pinions”) 74c, 74d are attached respectively to both ends of the upper rotary shaft 74e. A belt 75 extends between the upper pulley 74f and the lower pulley 73f, and therefore, rotation operation of the lower pulley 73f is transmitted to the upper pulley 74f. With this structure, when the lower pulley 73f rotates, the upper pulley 74f rotates. Accordingly, the upper rotary shaft 74e rotates, and the upper pinion 74c and the upper pinion 74d rotate.
Rail portions (hereinafter referred to as “lower rail portions”) 71a, 71b are fixed to the raised portion 2. Moreover, racks (hereinafter referred to as “lower racks”) 73a. 73b are fixed to the raised portion 2 by a fixing table 71e. The lower racks 73a, 73b engage respectively with the lower pinions 73c, 73d. The lower pinions 73c, 73d are fixed respectively to sliding tables 71c, 71d, thereby sliding on the lower rail portions 71a, 71b.
Rail portions (hereinafter referred to as “upper rail portions”) 72a, 72b are fixed to the movable beams 70c, 70d. The paper loading guide 17c is attached by fixing portions 72c, 72d, thereby sliding on the upper rail portions 72a, 72b. Racks (hereinafter referred to as “upper racks”) 74a, 74b are fixed respectively to both sides of the paper loading guide 17c. The upper racks 74a, 74b engage respectively with the upper pinions 74c, 74d.
When the lower pinions 73c. 73d are rotated by rotation of the paper supply motor 17e, the lower pinions 73c, 73d move along the lower rail portions 71a, 71b while engaging respectively with the lower racks 73a, 73b. Thus, in association with movement of the lower pinions 73c, 73d, the entire frame including the motor frame 70, the movable frames 70a, 70b, and the movable beams 70c, 70d moves together with the exposure motor 17e, the coupling 17f, the lower pulley 73f, the belt 75, the upper pulley 74f, the sliding tables 71c, 71d, the lower pinions 73c, 73d, the lower rotary shaft 73e, the upper pinions 74c, 74d, the upper rail portions 72a. 72d, the upper racks 74a. 74b, the upper rotary shaft 74e, the fixing portions 72c. 72d, the paper loading guide 17c, etc.
Further, when the paper supply motor 17e rotates, rotation is transmitted by the belt 75. Then, when the pulley 74f rotates, the upper pinions 74c. 74d rotate. Since the upper pinions 74c, 74d engage respectively with the upper racks 74a, 74b, the upper racks 74a, 74b move along the upper rail portions 72a, 72d upon rotation of the upper pinions 74c, 74d. With such a structure, the paper loading guide 17c in the state of
The summary of the mechanism of the paper supply unit 17 used herein is as follows. The paper supply unit 17 has, as a first movement mechanism for the paper loading guide 17c, the upper racks 74a, 74b and the upper pinions 74c, 74d. The paper supply unit 17 has, as a second movement mechanism configured to move the first movement mechanism itself, the lower pinions 73, 73d fixed to the raised portion 2 and the lower racks 73a. 73b configured to move together with the first movement mechanism. The first mechanism has the paper supply motor 17e using the upper racks 74a. 74b and the upper pinions 74c, 74d to move the paper loading guide 17c. The paper supply motor 17e is coupled to the upper pinions 74c, 74d such that rotation movement thereof is transmitted to the second movement mechanism, and the first movement mechanism moves in association with rotation movement of the paper supply motor 17e.
That is, the paper supply unit 17 includes the first movement mechanism configured to move the paper loading guide 17c, and the second movement mechanism configured to move the first movement mechanism itself. Moreover, the first movement mechanism is configured to move the paper loading guide 17c by the rack-and-pinion mechanism. The second movement mechanism is configured to move the first movement mechanism by the rack-and-pinion mechanism. The first movement mechanism includes the paper supply motor 17e for driving the rack-and-pinion mechanism. The second movement mechanism moves the first movement mechanism by the rack-and-pinion mechanism in association with rotation movement of the paper supply motor 17e.
Note that the upper rack-and-pinion and the lower rack-and-pinion may be provided in a vertically-symmetrical pattern.
Note that in this example, the user inserts the paper through the paper injection port 17a, and places the special paper 11b on the paper loading guide 17c. However, as in the embodiments described above, the paper supply rollers 17b may be used to place the special paper 11b on the paper loading guide 17c. Needless to say, there are cases where the above-described method for retracting the paper loading guide 17c is not necessarily used depending on the width of the toilet bowl. For example, the upper pinions 74c. 74d may merely engage respectively with the upper racks 74a, 74b without use of the lower pinions 73c. 73d and the lower racks 73a. 73b. Moreover, the paper loading guide 17c may be slidably attached to the upper rail portions 72a. 72b such that the paper loading guide 17c fixed to the upper racks 74a, 74b is exposed by rotation of the upper pinions 74c, 74d in association with rotation of the paper supply motor 17e.
Conversely, the lower pinions 73c, 73d may merely engage respectively with the lower racks 73a, 73b without use of the upper pinions 74c, 74d and the upper racks 74a, 74b. Moreover, the paper loading guide 17c may be fixed to the lower pinions 73c, 73d, and the paper supply motor 17e, the lower pinions 73c, 73d, and the paper loading guide 17c may be moved along the lower rail portions 71a. 71b in association with rotation of the paper supply motor 17e. In this manner, the paper loading guide 17c may be exposed.
Next, the structure and operation of the wiping arm drive unit 3 will be described. The wiping arm drive unit 3 includes the exposure motor 9 and the upper-to-lower motor 8. The exposure motor 9 is fixed to the raised portion 2 through an exposure motor fixing portion 93. A worm 91 is attached to the rotary shaft of the exposure motor 9. A worm wheel 92 is rotatably attached to the raised portion 2 and a shaft holding plate 94 to be engaged with the worm 91. The raised portion 2 and the shaft holding plate 94 are fixed by struts 94a, 95b. When the rotary shaft of the exposure motor 9 rotates, the worm 91 rotates, and accordingly, the worm wheel 92 rotates. A rotary table 81 is attached to a rotary shaft of the worm wheel 92. The rotary table 81 is bent in an L-shape. The upper-to-lower motor 8 and two opposing guide brackets 84 are fixed to the rotary table 81. With this structure, the rotary table 81 rotates, by angular movement, about the rotary shaft of the worm wheel 92 in association with rotation of the worm wheel 92, and the upper-to-lower motor 8 and the guide brackets 84 rotate together.
A link plate 83 is fixed to a motor rotary shaft 82 of the upper-to-lower motor 8. The link plate 83 is provided with first grooves 83a. A first free end 86a provided at one end of the extendable portion 29b is slidably inserted into the first groove 83a. The wiping arm 4 is extendably attached to the extendable portion 29b. Second grooves 84a are horizontally formed at the guide brackets 84, and a third groove 84b cut in an upper left diagonal direction is formed in the vicinity of the middle of each second groove 84a. Further, a fourth groove 84c cut in the upper left diagonal direction is formed at a left end of each second groove 84a. The fourth groove 84c is longer than the third groove 84b. The extendable portion 29b is a member with a nested structure at one end of the wiping arm 4. The first free end 86a is also inserted into the second, third, and fourth grooves 84a, 84b, 84c formed at the guide bracket 84. A second free end 86b is provided at one end of the wiping arm 4 on a side on which the extendable portion 29b is inserted. The first free end 86a is inserted into the second, third, and fourth grooves 84a, 84b, 84c formed at the guide bracket 84.
The wiping arm drive unit 3 has transmission portions 92a, 92b for transmitting rotation of the worm wheel 92, such as gears. Rotation of the transmission portions 92a, 92b is transmitted to a motor detection unit 9a so that the motor detection unit 9a can detect the number of rotations and the rotating speed of the exposure motor 9. Note that the motor detection unit 9a may be separately provided for detecting a current (i.e., a torque) flowing through the exposure motor 9. Moreover, the wiping arm drive unit 3 has a transmission portion 85 for transmitting rotation of the upper-to-lower motor rotary shaft 82, such as a gear. Rotation of the transmission portion 85 is transmitted to a motor detection unit 8a so that the motor detection unit 8a can detect the number of rotations and the rotating speed of the upper-to-lower motor 8. Note that the motor detection unit 8a may be separately provided for detecting a current (i.e., a torque) flowing through the upper-to-lower motor. Note that each motor detection unit may be small so that the motor detection unit can be directly attached to the rotary shaft of the corresponding motor, or may be built in the corresponding motor. Moreover, a pressure sensor attached to the pressing unit 4a may be used for torque detection.
The hinge mechanism 29c is provided at the other end of the wiping arm 4. Specifically, the hinge mechanism 29c is in the T-shape, and is rotatable in the pressing unit 4a. The pressing unit 4a includes two divided overlapping portions, the pressing unit 4a being configured such that an upper half thereof is a raised portion fitting the shape of the anus and that a lower half thereof rotatably attaches the T-shaped hinge mechanism 29c with the hinge mechanism 29c being interposed between the upper and lower halves. Since the T-shaped hinge mechanism 29c are sandwiched between the two overlapping portions including the raised upper half and the lower half, the pressing unit 4a is rotatable. The overlapping portions constantly hold the pressing unit 4a horizontal even when the wiping arm 4 inclines.
The link mechanism will be described with reference to
Further, the link mechanism of the present embodiment has the second purpose for moving, upon upward movement, the pressing unit 4a straight up without right-to-left shifting of the top portion of the pressing unit 4a. This will be described with reference to
Next, a paper-supply-side opening/closing unit 19a and an arm-side opening/closing unit 19b will be described. As illustrated in
Next, the flow of operation of the portable toilet 31 will be described. After a wiping instruction (S100), it is checked whether or not cleansing has been completed (S101). Then, the control unit 13 detects, using a paper loading guide sensor 17i, whether or not the special paper 11b is placed on the paper loading guide 17c, and then, keeps the paper loading guide sensor 17i in an ON state (S800). ON of the sensor 17i is continued until S806 described later. Meanwhile, in a case where the sensor 17i detects that the special paper 11b is not placed on the paper loading guide 17c, such a state indicates that the special paper 11b cannot be placed due to some kind of error. Thus, the control unit 13 notifies the user of such a state by, e.g., a sign.
After S800, the control unit 13 actuates the paper-supply-side opening/closing unit 19a to open the opening of the raised portion 2 on the side close to the paper supply unit 17 (S801). The control unit 13 uses an opening/closing checking sensor 19c to determine whether or not the opening on the side close to the paper supply unit 17 is opened. In a case where the opening is not normally opened, the control unit 13 notifies the user of such a state by, e.g., a sign.
Subsequently, the control unit 13 actuates the paper supply motor 17e to expose the paper loading guide 17c (S802). In a case where a not-shown detection unit detects the exposed position of the paper loading guide 17c, the control unit 13 stops actuation of the paper supply motor 17e (S803).
Subsequently, the control unit 13 actuates the arm-side opening/closing unit 19b to open the opening of the raised portion 2 on the side close to the wiping arm 4 (S804). The control unit 13 uses an opening/closing checking sensor 19d to determine whether or not the opening on the side close to the wiping arm 4 is opened. In a case where the opening is not normally opened, the control unit 13 notifies the user of such a state by, e.g., a sign.
Subsequently, the control unit 13 actuates the exposure motor 9 to expose the wiping arm 4 through a hole of the toilet seat 7 (S805). In a case where the motor detection unit 9a detects the exposed position of the wiping arm 4, the control unit 13 stops actuation of the exposure motor 9 (S806).
Subsequently, the control unit 13 actuates the upper-to-lower motor to move the pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm 4 upward (S807). In this state, the control unit 13 turns on the paper loading detection sensor 12e configured to determine whether or not the special paper 11b is placed on the pressing unit 4a (S808). The ON state of the paper loading detection sensor 12e is continued until S811 for performing paper discharging operation. Meanwhile, if the paper loading detection sensor 12e detects that the special paper 11b is not placed, such a state indicates that the special paper 11b has dropped from the pressing unit 4a. Thus, the control unit 13 drives the wiping arm drive unit 3 to return the wiping arm 4 to the retracted position, and notifies the user of such a state by, e.g., a sign.
By operation of S807, the pressing unit 4a moves upward, and therefore, the special paper 11b comes into contact with the anus. Then, the moisture etc. are wiped by the special paper 11b. When upward movement of the pressing unit 4a begins, the control unit 13 reversely rotates the paper supply motor 17e, thereby performing the operation of returning the paper loading guide 17c to the retracted position and closing the paper-supply-side opening/closing unit 19a (S809). Subsequently, the control unit 13 drives the wiping arm drive unit 3 to drive the pressing unit 4a back and forth or up and down as necessary. In this manner, the wiping operation is executed (S810).
After wiping, the control unit 13 performs the operation of reversely rotating the upper-to-lower motor 8 to process the pressing unit 4a and repeatedly performing slight movement of the exposure motor 9 to drop the special paper 11b until the paper loading detection sensor 12e no longer detects loading of the special paper 11b. In this manner, the paper is discharged (S811). After completion of paper discharging, the control unit 13 rotates the upper-to-lower motor 8 and the exposure motor 9 to return the wiping arm 4 to the retracted position, thereby retracting the wiping arm 4. Moreover, the control unit 13 closes the arm-side opening/closing unit 19b (S812). Then, the control unit 13 is brought into the standby state for subsequent wiping.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, wiping of the moisture etc. is executed using the second technique of disposing, below the anus, the special paper 11b from the paper supply unit 17 and pushing up, using the pressing unit 4a of the wiping arm 4, the special paper 11b from below by the wiping arm drive unit 3.
(Variation of Method for Supplying Special Paper 11b)
In the embodiments described so far, the structure in which when the special paper 11b is placed on the paper loading guide 17c, the special paper 11b manufactured in the rectangular shape in advance is supplied to the paper loading guide 17c by the user or the stack of multiple pieces of special paper 11b is automatically supplied to the paper loading guide 17c has been mainly described. However, the method for supplying the special paper 11b is not limited to above.
For example, continuous multiple pieces of special paper 11b may be formed in a roll shape, and the rolled special paper 11b may be automatically cut to a predetermined length by means of an electric toilet roll structure. Then, the cut special paper 11b may be placed on the paper loading guide 17c.
Note that the special paper 11b has a certain thickness such that water absorbing power is provided to the special paper 11b. For this reason, when the multiple pieces of special paper 11b are formed in the roll shape, there is a probability that the roll itself becomes thick. This might lead to a difficulty in use. Thus, a technique in which multiple pieces of special paper are folded at a predetermined length and the folded special paper is cut to a predetermined length will be described with reference to
Since the above-described technique of using the continuous special paper 11k cut at predetermined intervals and placing such paper 11k on the paper loading guide 17c is used, it is not necessary to supply the special paper 11b one by one. Thus, wiping of the buttocks can be automatically executed even by a user with impairment in a hand.
Note that the automatic paper supply mechanism described herein can be utilized for the first technique. That is, the special paper 11b supplied through the cutting unit 96 and the paper feeding rollers 96c may be placed on the pressing unit 4a instead of being placed on the paper loading guide.
(Embodiment for Arrangement of Wiping Arm Drive Unit Below Warm-Water Cleansing Device)
A structure in which the wiping arm drive unit is disposed below the warm-water cleansing device will be described below. The embodiment using disposable arms 109, 110 for wiping of the buttocks will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
The buttocks wiping device 100 includes an operation unit 117, a control unit 119, a cover unit 116, an imaging unit 115, the wiping arm drive unit 118, and a disposable arm supply unit 112. The disposable arm 109 is an arm for wiping, and therefore, can be regarded as a wiping arm. The wiping arm drive unit 118 is a device for moving the disposable arm 109. Thus, the drive unit 118 can be referred to as the “wiping arm drive unit 118.”
The operation unit 117 is an input device configured for user's instruction for wiping. The control unit 119 is a device for controlling operation of the buttocks wiping device 100. The cover unit 116 is a device for covering a clearance generated between the toilet bowl and the toilet seat 114, thereby preventing moisture from entering the buttocks wiping device 100. As in
The imaging unit 115 is disposed at such a position that an image of the vicinity of the anus can be acquired. The control unit 119 is configured to determine a moisture adhering region based on the image acquired by the imaging unit 115, thereby controlling the wiping arm drive unit 118 such that the disposable arm contacts such a region. Moreover, the control unit 119 can determine whether or not dirt adheres to the buttocks, and when adhered, can cause the warm-water cleansing device 113 to execute cleansing before wiping of the buttocks. Needless to say, the imaging unit 115 is waterproofed.
The wiping arm drive unit 118 includes right-to-left rails 102, a right-to-left rail drive motor 103, a front-to-back rail drive motor 104, front-to-back rails 105, an upper-to-lower motor 106, a holding unit 107, and the holding pressing unit 108.
The right-to-left rails 102 are attached to a lower portion of the warm-water cleansing device 113. As illustrated in
The front-to-back rails 105 are placed respectively on the right-to-left rails 102. By rotation of the front-to-back rail drive motor 104, the front-to-back rails 105 can move, back and forth, a member placed on the rails.
The upper-to-lower motor 106 is placed on the front-to-back rails. The holding unit 107 is attached to the upper-to-lower motor 106. By rotation of the upper-to-lower motor 106, the holding unit 107 can move up and down about a rotation axis thereof.
The holding unit 107 may be a parallel hand or a fulcrum hand, but is not specifically limited. The holding unit 107 allows the holding pressing unit 108 to hold a base material portion of the disposable arm 109, the holding pressing unit 108 having been processed into a shape easily holding the base material portion. With such a mechanism, the disposable arm 109 can be moved right to left, back and forth, and up and down.
Note that the rail, the motor, and the hand have been described herein as the specific mechanism for moving the disposable arm 109, but have been set forth merely as an example. As long as the mechanism can perform right-to-left, front-to-back, and upper-to-lower movement and holding, such a mechanism is not limited to the motor, the rail, and the hand. That is, the wiping arm drive unit 118 may only include a right-to-left drive unit for moving the disposable arm right to left, a front-to-back drive unit for moving the disposable arm back and forth, an upper-to-lower drive unit for moving the disposable arm up and down, and a holding unit for holding the disposable arm. Moreover, the front-to-back drive unit is provided for improvement of the feeling of wiping, but is not essential in the case of not performing front-to-back wiping.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Subsequently, the upper-to-lower motor 106 is driven to move the disposable arm 109 upward as illustrated in
The disposable arm supply unit 112 is disposed on the right when facing the toilet bowl in
Subsequently, the holding unit 107 uses the holding pressing unit 108 to hold one end of the base material portion of the disposable arm 109 (step 902). Subsequently, the right-to-left rail drive motor 103 moves the front-to-back rails 105 etc. to the left (the right in the case of the horizontally-symmetrical structure) on the right-to-left rails 102 (step S903). After movement to the center portion, the front-to-back rail drive motor 104 moves the upper-to-lower motor 106 etc. in the forward direction on the front-to-back rails 105 (step S904). Note that
After forward movement to a predetermined position, the upper-to-lower motor 106 moves the holding unit 107 to the upward direction (step S905). In this state, when the disposable arm 109 moves suddenly, e.g., the vicinity of the anus is damaged. For this reason, the disposable arm 109 may be moved slowly. When moved to the predetermined position, the disposable arm 109 comes into contact with the buttocks, and therefore, wiping can be performed.
At this point of time, the right-to-left rail drive motor 103, the front-to-back rail drive motor 104, and the upper-to-lower motor 106 cooperate with each other while the disposable arm 109 slightly moves up and down, back and forth, and right to left. In this manner, moisture is wiped (step S906). Although operation at the step S906 will be described later in detail with reference to
Upon completion of wiping, the control unit 119 controls the holding unit 107 such that the disposable arm 109 gripped by the holding pressing unit 108 is released (step S907). This allows the disposable arm 109 to naturally drop. Subsequently, the control unit 119 instructs, e.g., each motor of the wiping arm drive unit 118 to return to an initial standby state, thereby returning each motor to the standby state (step S908). The standby state is a state at such a position that a subsequent disposable arm 109 can be held immediately, for example. Finally, the control unit 119 moves and closes the cover unit 116 (step S909).
Operation for wiping may be patterned according to the water droplet position, and the control unit 119 may control the wiping arm drive unit 118 based on the stored patterns. Specifically, the control unit 119 stores the patterns for wiping operation according to the water droplet position. The wiping operation is an operation pattern for the degree of front-to-back, right-to-left, and upper-to-lower movement. The control unit 119 determines a stored pattern closest to a recognized pattern, and causes the wiping arm drive unit 118 to execute the wiping operation in the closest pattern. For example, a method may be employed, in which determination is made in advance such that driving is made in an A pattern in a case where moisture is present more at the front and that driving is made in a B pattern in a case where moisture is present more in the right direction. Note that on a case-by-case basis, the control unit 119 may calculate a position relationship to move the disposable arm 109 to a proper position. Considering the case of utilization by a female, the control unit 119 first causes, in a case where a female mode has been selected, the disposable arm 109 to gently contact the vicinity of the urethra, and then, causes the disposable arm 109 to wipe water droplets in the vicinity of the anus. Note that wiping can be performed without use of the imaging unit 115. In the case of not using the imaging unit 115, the control unit 119 may control operation such that the wiping arm drive unit 118 moves as determined in advance. Note that the image acquired by the imaging unit 115 cannot be output to the outside, considering protection of privacy.
At the step S1003, when initially-scheduled wiping is completed, the control unit 119 again recognizes the image acquired by the imaging unit 115, and determines whether or not water droplets are no longer present (step S1004). In a case where the water droplets are still present, the processing returns to operation of S1003 again, thereby executing wiping. In a case where the water droplets are no longer present, the control unit 119 proceeds to the operation of releasing the gripped disposable arm 109.
Note that the mechanism for disposing the drive unit below the warm-water cleansing device as illustrated in
The buttocks wiping device 120 of the type using the wiping arm includes a wiping arm drive unit 118a for driving the wiping arm 4, a control unit 119a configured to control the wiping arm drive unit 118a, a paper supply unit 123, and the wiping arm 4. The wiping arm drive unit 118a can move the wiping arm 4 right to left, back and forth, and up and down according to an instruction from the control unit 119a. The paper supply unit 123 is a device configured to fold rolled toilet paper 125 and cut the toilet paper 125 by a cutting unit 124 while delivering the toilet paper 125, thereby placing the cut toilet paper on a pressing unit 4a at a tip end of the wiping arm 4. Note that the paper may be manually placed on the pressing unit 4a, and in this case, the paper supply unit 123 is not necessary.
As illustrated in
After exposure, the wiping arm drive unit 118a moves the wiping arm 4 back and forth, up and down, and right to left, thereby wiping the buttocks. In this state, the control unit 11a controls operation of the wiping arm drive unit 11a based on an image from an imaging unit 115, thereby carefully wiping moisture on the buttocks. Upon completion of wiping, the paper is dropped from the pressing unit 4a. In this manner, wiping is completed, and the wiping arm 4 returns to a standby position.
As described above, part or entirety of the wiping arm drive unit is disposed below the warm-water cleansing device, and therefore, downsizing of an entire size can be expected.
Next, another embodiment (a thirteenth embodiment) in the case of using the second technique will be described. The embodiment described herein relates to a buttocks wiping device configured such that part or entirety of a mechanism of a wiping arm drive unit 3 is disposed below a warm-water cleansing device and the buttocks can be wiped from the back.
The movable portion 606 is provided with a screw hole, and the screw shaft 202 penetrates the screw hole. For example, the screw hole may include balls such that the screw hole and the screw shaft 202 form a ball screw, but the present invention is not limited to above. Although not shown in the figure, the side of the screw shaft 202 close to the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204 is attached to, e.g., a not-shown bearing coupled to the raised portion 2, and one end of the screw shaft 202 on the opposite side is rotatably attached to the raised portion 2 through, e.g., a bearing. The screw shaft 202 is attached to the electromagnetic clutch 606b with the pulley. A structure is made, in which when the electromagnetic clutch 606b with the pulley rotates, the screw shaft 202 rotates, and accordingly, the movable portion 606 slides. Note that as illustrated in
The movable portion 606 is in a U-shape, and a recessed portion of the U-shape includes the rotatable portion 208. The movable portion 606 and the rotatable portion 208 are provided with holes so that the rotary shaft 203 can penetrate the holes. The side of the rotary shaft 203 close to the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204 is attached to, e.g., a not-shown bearing coupled to the raised portion 2, and one end of the rotary shaft 203 opposite to the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204 is rotatably attached to the raised portion 2 through. e.g., a bearing. For the sake of easy understanding of the figure, the rotary shaft 203 is in a semi-cylindrical shape in this example, but may be in an elliptic cylindrical shape or a polygonal columnar shape. Moreover, a spline shaft (spline jiku in Japanese) or a ball spline is applicable as a mechanical element of the rotary shaft 203. The spline shaft is, e.g., a sliding shaft having a gear-shaped cross section or a sliding shaft having a cross section with a cutout. A bearing (a spline bearing, a spline nut) used for the spline shaft has, on the inside thereof, a raised portion formed in a gear shape to engage with the spline shaft or engage with the cutout.
Thus, when the spline shaft rotates, the bearing also rotates. The wiping arm 4 may be fixed to the bearing. The ball spline is a bearing for a ball spline including balls and a sliding shaft having a cross section with a cutout. The wiping arm 4 may be fixed to the bearing of the ball spline. Note that it is not essential whether or not the balls are included.
The hole formed at the movable portion 606 for penetration of the rotary shaft 203 is in a cylindrical shape. In contrast, the hole formed at the rotatable portion 208 for penetration of the rotary shaft 203 is the same semi-cylindrical shape as that of the rotary shaft 203. Note that when the rotary shaft 203 is in the elliptic cylindrical shape, the hole formed at the rotatable portion 208 for penetration of the rotary shaft 203 is also in the elliptic cylindrical shape. When the rotary shaft 203 is in the polygonal columnar shape, the hole formed at the rotatable portion 208 for penetration of the rotary shaft 203 is also in the polygonal columnar shape. When the rotary shaft 203 is the spline shaft or the ball spline, the bearing of such an element forms part of the rotatable portion 208. In addition, the end portion processing for the rotary shaft 203 can be performed using other well-known procedures. The rotary shaft 203 and the rotatable portion 208 are not fixed to each other. The rotatable portion 208 is slidable along the rotary shaft 203. Thus, in association with sliding of the movable portion 606 along the screw shaft 202, the rotatable portion 208 is also slidable along the rotary shaft 203.
The electromagnetic clutch 606c with the pulley is attached to the rotary shaft 203. When the electromagnetic clutch 606c with the pulley rotates, the rotary shaft 203 rotates. The hole formed at the rotatable portion 208 is in the same shape as that of the rotary shaft 203, and therefore, the rotatable portion 208 rotates in association with rotation of the rotary shaft 203. Optimal shapes can be, as necessary, selected as the shapes of the holes of the rotary shaft 203 and the rotatable portion 208 suitable for sliding of the rotatable portion 208 and rotation of the rotatable portion 208 in association with rotation of the rotary shaft 203, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Note that the shape of the rotatable portion 208 is the cylindrical shape in this example, but the present invention is not limited to above. The shape of the rotatable portion 208 may be the polygonal columnar shape.
The wiping arm drive unit 3 described herein includes the slidable movable portion 606, the sliding mechanism (in this example, the screw shaft 202, the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204, and various pulleys, electromagnetic clutches, and belts) for sliding the movable portion 606, the rotatable portion 208 configured to slide in association with sliding of the movable portion 606, and the rotation mechanism (in this example, the rotary shaft 203, the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204, and various pulleys, electromagnetic clutches, and belts: may be referred to as a “swinging mechanism,” but referred to as the “rotation mechanism” for the sake of legibility) for rotating the rotatable portion 208.
Since the wiping arm 4 is fixed to the rotatable portion 208, the wiping arm 4 can be moved up and down in association with rotation of the rotatable portion 208.
When a user instructs wiping, it is determined whether or not warm-water cleansing has been completed, and then, special paper 11b is supplied to below the anus by the paper supply unit 17. In this state, various types of detection such as detection of paper loading, opening/closing of the opening/closing unit, etc. as described so far can be also used for all of the embodiments, and therefore, description thereof will not be repeated below.
For exposing the wiping arm 4 upon wiping, a not-shown control unit actuates the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204. In this state, the control unit turns on the electromagnetic clutch 606b, and turns off the electromagnetic clutch 606c. Thus, only the screw shaft 202 is rotated by rotation of the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204. Consequently, the movable portion 606 moves to an exposure side. In association with movement of the movable portion 606 toward the exposure side, the rotatable portion 208 moves together, and therefore, the wiping arm 4 is exposed at an exposed position below the anus. The exposed position can be detected by, e.g., a motor detection unit attached to the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204 or a contact sensor provided at the exposed position.
Upon completion of wiping, the control unit reversely rotates the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204, thereby inclining the wiping arm 4 to the horizontal direction or the downward direction. Accordingly, the special paper 11b is dropped. Note that the control unit may provide, as necessary, vibration to the special paper 11b by slight right-to-left movement of the movable portion 606 or slight upper-to-lower movement of the wiping arm 4, thereby dropping the special paper 11b.
When a paper loading detection sensor 12e (not shown) detects that the special paper 11b has been dropped, the control unit turns on the electromagnetic clutch 606c, and actuates the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204 to move the wiping arm 4 to horizontal. Subsequently, the electromagnetic clutch 606c is turned off, and the electromagnetic clutch 606b is turned on. Accordingly, the screw shaft 202 reversely rotates to return the movable portion 606 to the original position illustrated in
As described above, the second technique is used while the wiping arm 4 is disposed below the warm-water cleansing device 15. With this structure, a more compact buttocks wiping device can be provided. Further, in the wiping arm drive unit described herein, exposure of the wiping arm 4 and upper-to-lower movement of the pressing unit 4a can be realized by a single motor. This can realize downsizing, as well as realizing cost reduction.
Note that in the present embodiment, rotation of the screw shaft is used as the method for sliding the movable body, but the present invention is not limited to above. The mechanism for sliding the movable table may be various mechanisms including a mechanism in which a movable table placed on rails is slid on the rails by a mechanism including a belt, a pulley, etc., a mechanism in which a movable table is slid by movement of drive wheels on rails, and a mechanism in which a movable table is slid by a mechanism such as a rack-and-pinion.
Note that motors for exposure and upper-to-lower movement may be separately provided. That is, the exposure motor may be used for the screw shaft 202, and the upper-to-lower motor may be used for the rotary shaft 203.
Note that in
(Arrangement Positions in the Case of Using First and Second Techniques)
In the embodiments described so far, various methods for moving the wiping arm 4 by the wiping arm drive unit 3 have been described. However, variations of the method for moving the wiping arm 4 are conceivable. Thus, these methods for moving the wiping arm 4 will be collectively described herein.
In the case of using the first technique, the wiping arm 4 moves with the paper being placed on the pressing unit 4a. In the case of using the second technique, the paper is exposed on the paper loading guide 17c, and wiping is performed in such a manner that the pressing unit 4a moves upward from below the paper. In any techniques, a similar movement path of the wiping arm 4 is conceivable. Note that in addition to the embodiments (exposure from a toilet seat side) described in the present specification, a movement path of the paper loading guide 17c may be exposure from the back or front of the toilet seat, and is not limited to above. Note that in each figure illustrated in
As described above, various methods for moving the wiping arm by the wiping arm drive unit in the case of using the first and second techniques are conceivable, and other patterns than above are also conceivable. In any of biaxial movement and triaxial movement, all types of wiping arm drive units are included in the present invention as long as the wiping arm drive unit can move the wiping arm to the exposed position below the buttocks and can wipe the buttocks with the paper placed on the pressing unit of the wiping arm.
(Opening/Closing Unit)
The opening/closing unit with a simple structure will be described herein.
In transition to a state upon start of movement as illustrated in
For closing, the movable frame 70b and the raised portion 19e contacting each other are separated from each other, and then, the raised portion 19e and the paper loading guide 17c come into contact with each other. In this manner, the paper-supply-side opening/closing unit 19a is closed.
With the raised portion 19e, smooth opening/closing can be performed even when the shape of a lower portion of the paper supply unit 17 is complicated. Note that the raised portion 19e is not essential as long as the paper loading guide 17c can push through the paper-supply-side opening/closing unit 19a.
Upon retraction of the wiping arm 4, the raised portion 19f contacts the arm portion, and then, contacts the lower portion of the pressing unit 4a. In this manner, the arm-side opening/closing unit 19b is closed.
With the raised portion 19f, smooth opening/closing can be performed even when the shape of a lower portion of the wiping arm 4 is complicated. Note that the raised portion 19f is not essential as long as the wiping arm 4 can push through the arm-side opening/closing unit 19b.
By opening/closing using such a simple opening/closing unit, a cost for the buttocks wiping device can be reduced.
Such an opening/closing unit rotatable at one side by the hinge portion is applicable to all of the embodiments described in the present specification.
(Variation of Thirteenth Embodiment)
Note that the wiping arm drive unit 3 illustrated in
(Variation of Drive Mechanism of Paper Loading Guide 17c)
When the paper supply motor 17e rotates, the screw shaft 210 rotates, and the paper loading guide 17c moves forward along the screw shaft 210 and the not-shown sliding rod (
As described above, the paper loading guide 17c may be moved by the sliding mechanism using rotation of the screw shaft.
(Variation of Wiping Arm Drive Unit 3)
The screw shaft 202 and the rotary shaft 203 penetrate the movable portion 606. The screw hole for the screw shaft 202 forms a ball screw, for example. In contrast, the rotary shaft 203 is, e.g., a spline shaft, and the hole for penetration of the rotary shaft 203 is in a cylindrical shape. The rotatable portion 208 is rotatably attached to the movable portion 606. A worm wheel 213 is attached to one side of the rotatable portion 208. A worm 212 is provided with a hole to be engaged with the spline shaft, and the rotary shaft 203 penetrates the worm 212 such that the worm 212 engages with the worm wheel 213. Note that the rotary shaft 203 and the worm wheel 213 are not limited to above as long as similar advantageous effects can be provided.
The electromagnetic clutch 606c with the pulley is attached to the screw shaft 202. The electromagnetic clutch 606c with the pulley is attached to the rotary shaft 203. Rotation of the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204 is transmitted to the screw shaft 202 and the rotary shaft 203 through the belt 207 and the pulley 606a.
Upon exposure, the electromagnetic clutch 606b is turned on, and the electromagnetic clutch 606c is turned off. When the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204 rotates, the screw shaft 202 rotates. Thus, the movable portion 606 moves in the forward direction. After exposure, the electromagnetic clutch 606c is turned on, and the electromagnetic clutch 606b is turned off. Thus, when the worm 212 rotates, the worm wheel 213 rotates. Consequently, the wiping arm 4 inclines upward.
After wiping, the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204 reversely rotates to move the wiping arm 4 downward, thereby dropping the special paper 11b. Subsequently, the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204 rotates to move the wiping arm 4 to horizontal. Subsequently, the electromagnetic clutch 606b is turned on, and the electromagnetic clutch 606c is turned off. Then, the exposure/upper-to-lower motor 204 reversely rotates to return the movable portion 606 to the original position.
The wiping arm drive unit 3 illustrated in
As described above, the common motor can be shared as the upper-to-lower motor and the exposure motor.
Note that when two motors are utilized, the exposure motor may be attached to the screw shaft 202, and the upper-to-lower motor may be attached to the rotary shaft 203.
In the embodiments using the second technique as described so far the paper loading guide 17c is exposed from the side of the toilet seat 7. However, the paper loading guide 17c may be exposed from the back of the toilet seat 7. In the case of exposing the paper loading guide 17c from the back of the toilet seat 7, the paper loading guide 17c may be exposed by the technique of the paper supply unit 17 as described so far. However, the mechanism of the paper supply unit 17 described so far is not always a suitable mechanism for exposure from the back of the toilet seat. For this reason, in a fourteenth embodiment, a suitable mechanism for the case of exposing a paper loading guide 17c from the back of a toilet seat will be described. Further, a mechanism will be also described, in which a common motor is shared as an exposure motor 9, an upper-to-lower motor 8, and a paper supply motor 17e so that exposure and upper-to-lower movement of a wiping arm 4 and exposure of the paper loading guide 17c can be performed by the single motor.
As illustrated in
When the movable portion 606 is slid by the drive motor 300, the paper loading guide 17c is exposed together with the movable portion 606 as illustrated in
For this reason, the special paper 11b needs to be dropped. A protrusion (not shown) is provided at an opening of the raised portion 2. When the movable portion 606 returns to a retracted position, the protrusion protrudes using, e.g., an electromagnetic solenoid, thereby contacting the special paper 11b. In this manner, the special paper 11b is dropped. Moreover, the shape of the paper loading guide 17c may be a shape easily dropping the special paper 11b. For example, the paper loading guide 17c may be in a double rod shape extending on both sides of the pressing unit 4a such that the special paper 11b is less dropped when exposed, but loses its balance when returned after wiping.
As illustrated in
As described above, in the fourteenth embodiment, all of exposure of the paper loading guide 17c, exposure of the wiping arm 4, and upper-to-lower movement of the wiping arm 4 can be realized by the single motor, and a significant cost reduction effect can be expected.
Note that the motor for exposure of the wiping arm 4 and the motor for upper-to-lower movement of the wiping arm 4 may be, needless to say, separately provided. In this case, the common motor for exposure of the wiping arm 4 can be shared for exposure of the paper loading guide 17c, and therefore, the cost reduction effect can be expected.
Note that the not-shown protrusion is used for dropping the paper as described above, but a dropping method is not limited to above.
The requirements for the second technique will be considered by understanding of the fourteenth embodiment in relation to the second technique. With structural understanding of the fourteenth embodiment, the paper loading guide 17c functions as a paper supply unit for exposing the paper below the buttocks, and the mechanism for driving the paper supply unit includes the drive motor 300, the screw shaft 202, and the movable portion 606. Thus, the paper supply unit for exposing the paper below the buttocks is included in the fourteenth embodiment. Note that unlike the embodiments corresponding to the second technique as described so far, the paper loading guide 17c of the fourteenth embodiment moves together with the wiping arm 4. It can be understood that the paper supply unit for exposing the paper below the buttocks can be or cannot be provided separately from the wiping arm 4, supposing that the fourteenth embodiment is categorized into the second technique. In the fourteenth embodiment, the drive motor 300, the screw shaft 202, the movable portion 606, the rotatable portion 208, and the rotary shaft 203 function as the wiping arm drive unit 3. However, the drive motor 300, the screw shaft 202, and the movable portion 606 form the mechanism for exposing the wiping arm, and all of these elements are also used as the paper supply unit. Moreover, the drive motor 300, the screw shaft 202, the movable portion 606, the rotatable portion 208, and the rotary shaft 203 form the mechanism for wiping the buttocks by the wiping arm (wiping by upper-to-lower and right-to-left movement), but some of these elements are also used as the paper supply unit. As described above, the mechanism for moving (exposure and wiping operation) the wiping arm 4 by the wiping arm drive unit 3 and the mechanism for exposing a wiping material by the paper supply unit are partially or entirely shared. That is, it can understood that a drive unit for the paper supply unit and a drive unit for the wiping arm are not necessarily provided as separate units. Conceptual understanding of the second technique from the above-described consideration leads to the following conclusion.
The wiping arm has the pressing unit for pressing the wiping material against the buttocks, and the paper supply unit is configured to expose the wiping material below the buttocks. The buttocks are wiped in such a manner that the pressing unit pushes up the wiping material from below with the wiping material being exposed. The mechanism for driving the wiping arm and the mechanism for driving the paper supply unit are not necessarily separated from each other, and may be entirely or partially shared.
The fourteenth embodiment can be understood as described above, and as a result, fifteenth and sixteenth embodiments described below can be proposed as embodiments for implementing the second technique.
First, the structure of the buttocks wiping device 1 will be described. Note that the same reference numerals as those of the thirteenth embodiment, the variations thereof, and the fourteenth embodiment are used to represent similar elements in the fifteenth embodiment, and description thereof will not be repeated.
As illustrated in
In the fourteenth embodiment, the paper loading guide 17c is fixed to the movable portion 606. However, in the fifteenth embodiment, the paper loading guide 17c is not fixed to a movable portion 606, and is movable alone. Specifically, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
The paper loading guide 17c and the movable portion 606 are separated from each other as separate bodies. Thus, the movable portion 606 is also slidable separately from sliding of the paper loading guide 17c as described in the thirteenth embodiment. For sliding the paper loading guide 17c, the electromagnetic clutch 606d is turned on, and electromagnetic clutches 606b, 606c are turned off. For sliding the movable portion 606, the electromagnetic clutch 606b is turned on, and the electromagnetic clutches 606c, 606d are turned off. For rotating a rotatable portion 208, the electromagnetic clutch 606c is turned on, and the electromagnetic clutches 606b, 606d are turned off.
Operation of the buttocks wiping device 1 will be described below with reference to
Subsequently, the control unit 13 detects, using a paper loading guide sensor 17i, whether or not the special paper 11b is placed on the paper loading guide 17c (S1102). In a case where the paper is not placed on the paper loading guide 17c, the control unit 13 prompts, through the not-shown output unit, the user to place the special paper 11b.
When it is, at S1101 and S1102, detected that it is ready for wiping, the control unit 13 turns on the electromagnetic clutches 606b. 606d, and turns off the electromagnetic clutch 606c (S1103). Subsequently, the control unit 13 actuates the drive motor 300 (S1104). In this manner, the paper loading guide 17c and the wiping arm 4 are moved and exposed.
An exposed position sensor 12b (e.g., a contact switch or a non-contact sensor) is provided at exposed positions of the paper loading guide 17c and the movable portion 606. When the paper loading guide 17c and the movable portion 606 reach the exposed positions, the control unit 13 uses the exposed position sensor 12b to detect the exposed positions, thereby stopping the drive motor 300 (51105). Such a state is illustrated in
Subsequently, the control unit 13 turns off the electromagnetic clutches 606b, 606d, and turns on the electromagnetic clutch 606c (S1106). The control unit 13 actuates the drive motor 300 to rotate the rotary shaft 203, thereby inclining the wiping arm 4 upward (S1107). At such timing, the control unit 13 turns on the paper loading detection sensor 12e (S1108). While the paper loading detection sensor 12e is ON, if paper loading on the pressing unit 4a is no longer detected due to dropping of the special paper 11b, such a state indicates that the special paper 11b is unexpectedly dropped in the middle. In the case of such dropping in the middle, the control unit 13 stops all types of operation, and returns the wiping arm 4 to a horizontal position. Then, the paper loading guide 17c is returned to a retracted position, and the wiping arm 4 is returned to a retracted position. Operation upon such an error will be described later with reference to
After S1108, the control unit 13 turns off the paper loading guide sensor 17i (S1109). This is because the special paper 11b is no longer present on the paper loading guide 17c at this timing, and therefore, detection by the paper loading guide sensor 17i is no longer needed.
Suppose that the wiping arm 4 inclines upward without any errors. In this state, the control unit 13 detects the inclination angle of the wiping arm 4 from a signal from a motor detection unit 300a. When the wiping arm 4 inclines to a predetermined inclination angle, the control unit 13 detects that the wiping arm 4 reaches a wiping position (S1110). Note that a specific example of the motor detection unit 300a is similar to that described in the first embodiment. Note that arrangement of the motor detection unit 300a and various other sensors is not shown in the structural drawings.
Moreover, the control unit 13 detects a torque (the magnitude of wiping pressure) on the drive motor 300 from the signal from the motor detection unit 300a. In a case where the motor detection unit 300a detects not only the rotation angle but also the torque, two or more motor detection units 300a may be provided, needless to say. A specific example of torque detection has been already described, and therefore, description thereof will not be repeated. The control unit 13 recognizes a current torque from the signal from the motor detection unit 300a, thereby performing torque limitation. In this manner, the control unit 13 controls such that the pressing unit 4a is pressed against the buttocks with force more than necessary (S1111). For example, in the case of performing the torque limitation, when a torque equal to or greater than a predetermined torque is applied, the control unit 13 stops the drive motor 300 at this point. The position of the buttocks of the user is substantially fixed while the user is seating. When the pressing unit 4a contacts the buttocks with a certain level of force, such a state is taken as a state in which the pressing unit 4a and the buttocks closely contact each other. In the case of using a geared motor as the drive motor 300, the wiping arm 4 is held at a lifted position as long as a torque equal to or greater than a holding torque is not applied from the buttocks in a reverse direction. Thus, the drive motor 300 may be stopped at the stage of generating the torque equal to or greater than the predetermined torque. Such a state is illustrated in
After the drive motor 300 has been stopped, the control unit 13 turns on the electromagnetic clutch 606d, and turns off the electromagnetic clutches 606b, 606c (S1112). The control unit 13 actuates and reversely rotates the drive motor 300, thereby returning the paper loading guide 17c to the retracted position (S1113). Such a state is illustrated in
Subsequently, the control unit 13 turns off the electromagnetic clutches 606b, 606d, and turns on the electromagnetic clutch 606c (S1115). In this state, the control unit 13 performs torque control (S1116). That is, the torque detected by the motor detection unit 300a is recognized by the control unit 13. When the torque reaches equal to or greater than the predetermined torque, the control unit 13 performs reverse rotation of the drive motor 300. When the torque reaches equal to or less than the predetermined torque, the control unit 13 performs forward rotation of the drive motor 300. In this manner, the state of pressing the pressing unit 4a against the buttocks by the torque within a certain range is constantly brought. Alternately with torque control, the control unit 13 turns off the electromagnetic clutches 606c, 606d, and turns on the electromagnetic clutch 606b (S1115). Then, by forward-reverse repeat rotation of the drive motor 300, the control of slightly moving the pressing unit 4a right to left is performed (S1116). After such wiping operation has been performed only in a predetermined pattern, the control unit 13 proceeds to S1117.
Note that in the fifteenth embodiment, the single drive motor 300 is provided, and therefore, the electromagnetic clutches are switched while operation of the paper loading guide 17c and the wiping arm 4 is being controlled. With two or more motors, switching of the electromagnetic clutches can be reduced, and therefore, a feedback control response time can be shortened. Moreover, when a servomotor can be provided as the drive motor 300 for high-accuracy control, the response time can be shortened. Further, almost all of moisture etc. are wiped at the stage of S1111 even without performing the wiping operation with the above-described level of fineness, and therefore, one or both of torque control or slight right-to-left movement may be omitted. That is, operation of S1116 is not essential.
At S1117, the control unit 13 turns off the electromagnetic clutches 606b, 606d, and turns on the electromagnetic clutch 606c (S1117). Then, the control unit 13 reversely rotates the drive motor 300, thereby inclining the wiping arm 4 downward (S1118). When detected a lowered position based on the signal from the motor detection unit 300a (S1119), the control unit 13 stops the drive motor 300 (S1120). At this timing, the special paper 11b is dropped, and therefore, the control unit 13 turns off the paper loading detection sensor 12e (S1121). Note that a hinge structure including the pressing unit 4a and the wiping arm 4 is provided, and the pressing unit 4a also inclines in the case of inclining the wiping arm 4 downward. When the pressing unit 4a illustrated in, e.g.,
Subsequently, the control unit 13 performs forward rotation of the drive motor 300, thereby moving, based on the signal from the motor detection unit 300a, the wiping arm 4 to the horizontal position (S1122). Subsequently, the control unit 13 turns on the electromagnetic clutch 606b, and turns off the electromagnetic clutches 606c, 606d (S1124). Then, the control unit 13 performs reverse rotation of the drive motor 300 until the retracted positions are detected by sliding of the movable portion 606 and the wiping arm 4 (S1125), and then, stops the drive motor 300 (S1126). The control unit 13 is brought into a standby state for a subsequent wiping instruction.
As described above, in the fifteenth embodiment, movement of the paper loading guide 17c is realized by, e.g., the screw shaft 301, the electromagnetic clutch 606d, and the drive motor 300. Moreover, movement of the wiping arm 4 is realized by, e.g., the screw shaft 202, the electromagnetic clutch 606b, and the drive motor 300. Thus, the mechanism for moving the wiping arm 4 by the wiping arm drive unit 3 and the mechanism for exposing the special paper 11b by the paper loading guide 17c are partially shared. Such drive unit sharing leads to cost reduction.
Further, the paper loading guide 17c and the movable portion 606 are separately movable. Thus, the common drive unit can be shared while the paper loading guide 17c can be returned to the retracted position upon wiping. Thus, there is no interference of the paper loading guide 17c upon dropping of the special paper 11b, and therefore, the special paper 11b is smoothly dropped.
Again, a plurality of motors may be, needless to say, provided so that the screw shaft 301, the screw shaft 202, and the rotary shaft 203 can be rotated by the separate motors. Thus, the fifteenth embodiment is characterized in that the wiping arm drive unit 3 includes the slidable movable portion 606, the sliding mechanism for sliding the movable portion 606, the rotatable portion 208 configured to slide in association with sliding of the movable portion 606 and fixed to the wiping arm 4, and the rotation mechanism (the swinging mechanism) for rotating the rotatable portion 208 and that the paper supply unit is implemented by the paper loading guide 17c configured to slide separately from the movable portion 606. Specifically, the fifteenth embodiment is, in addition, characterized in that the common drive unit is shared such that the paper loading guide 17c slides separately from the movable portion 606 while being moved by the sliding mechanism for the movable portion 606.
When the horizontal position is detected, the control unit 13 turns on the electromagnetic clutches 606b, 606d, and turns off the electromagnetic clutch 606c (S1203). Thus, the control unit 13 actuates the drive motor 300 until the retracted position sensor 12a detects the retracted position (S1204), and therefore, the wiping arm 4 and the paper loading guide 17c are returned to the retracted state before start of wiping.
Note that in other embodiments, when detected that no paper is placed on the paper loading guide 17c, the control unit 13 may return the paper loading guide 17c to the retracted position. Moreover, when detected that no paper is placed on the pressing unit 4a, the control unit 13 may return the wiping arm 4 to the retracted position.
Note that
A sixteenth embodiment has such a mechanism that a simple opening/closing unit is provided for the fifteenth embodiment. In this embodiment, the characteristics of the opening/closing unit will be described. Note that in the sixteenth embodiment, a sliding rod 310 is, for stable sliding of a movable portion 606 in a wiping arm drive unit 3, attached to a raised portion 2 and a bearing portion 220, and penetrates a hole punched at the movable portion 606. Moreover, the structure of the movable portion 606 is slightly changed for placement of a press-down portion 307 as described later.
In
As described above, in the sixteenth embodiment, the hinge-type opening/closing unit 305 configured to slide together with movement of the movable portion 606 to open/close the opening of the raised portion is used so that the opening can be opened/closed without use of, e.g., a drive motor or an electromagnet. Further, opening/closing can be reliably performed with a simple structure, and therefore, a waterproofing effect is improved in addition to cost reduction. In the case of the sixteenth embodiment, the hinge-type opening/closing unit 305 uses the press-down portion 307 to allow retraction of the paper loading guide 17c upon backward movement thereof even in the case of a simple single door structure (an opening way by turning over only to one side). Needless to say, a self-standing opening/closing unit with a double door structure (an opening way by turning over to both sides) can be implemented, but there is a probability that the mechanism of the hinge portion is complicated. Thus, a great effect of the press-down portion 307 allowing not only exposure but also retraction of the paper loading guide 17c even in the case of the single door structure is provided. As a result, the sixteenth embodiment describes a simplified structure including an opening/closing mechanism, and is an embodiment extremely effective for cost reduction.
Note that in this embodiment, the slide-type opening/closing unit 304 is made of the flexible material, but is not necessarily made of the flexible material as long as the slide-type opening/closing unit 304 is opened straight to the right. In this case, the groove 306 is provided straight to the right. In a case where the slide-type opening/closing unit 304 protrudes from the raised portion 2 when opened, a cover may be provided.
Note that in the case of using paper supply rollers, the special paper 11b can be placed on the paper loading guide 17c by the paper supply rollers, and therefore, the wiping arm drive unit 3 and the paper loading guide 17c can be retraced into the raised portion. With this structure, a portion exposed at the side of a toilet bowl can be reduced as much as possible.
Note that when the press-down portion 307 is taken as part of the movable portion 606, the movable portion 606 pushes through the hinge-type opening/closing unit 305 as described above, but the paper loading guide 17c may push through the hinge-type opening/closing unit 305.
Note that arrangement may be horizontally symmetrical, needless to say.
Note that the sixteenth embodiment has been described as arrangement at the back of a toilet seat, but may be similarly implemented as arrangement at the side of the toilet seat. In this case, the paper loading guide 17c is disposed below a warm-water cleansing device, and therefore, it is difficult to manually place the paper. However, the paper supply rollers may be used to deliver the paper, thereby placing the paper on the paper loading guide 17c.
Note that the opening/closing mechanism described in the sixteenth embodiment is also applicable to the thirteenth and fourteenth embodiments. That is, opening/closing can be performed with a similar structure when the hinge-type opening/closing unit 305 can be provided with the slide-type opening/closing unit 304 being provided at the right end of the movable portion 606 and the press-down portion 307 being provided at a left end of the movable portion 606 in
(Opening/Closing Unit)
(Variation of Type for Wiping from Back)
The thirteenth to sixteenth embodiments disclose the embodiments for wiping the buttocks from the back of the toilet seat. For these embodiments, a ball screw spline 401 realizing linear movement and rotation movement can be utilized. The ball screw spline has, at a shaft, a spiral ball screw groove 401 and a linear spline groove 402. The ball screw spline includes the type of overlapping a ball screw portion and a spline shaft portion each other, and the type of separating a ball screw portion and a spline shaft portion from each other.
The wiping arm drive unit 3 includes, for the ball screw spline 401, a ball screw nut 404, a pulley 404b, a belt 404a, a spline nut 405, a pulley 405b, a belt 405a, a motor (not shown) configured to rotate the pulley 404b, and a motor (not shown) configured to rotate the pulley 405b. Note that for sharing, each motor may be switchable by an electromagnetic clutch. The wiping arm 4 is attached to one end of the ball screw spline 401. Preparing for breakdown, a coupling portion between the wiping arm 4 and the ball screw spline 401 is detachable using a bolt etc. Note that the ball screw spline 401 is rotatably/slidably attached to the raised portion 2 by a not-shown table etc.
As illustrated in
As described above, wiping of the buttocks from the back of the toilet seat can be also realized by means of the ball screw spline.
(Variation of Method for Sliding Paper Loading Guide 17c)
The paper loading guide 17c can be exposed by rotation of the screw shaft of the trapezoidal screw (the sliding screw), the ball screw, etc. However,
(Swinging of Paper Loading Guide 17c)
(Structural Torque Limitation of Wiping Arm 4)
(Installation in Toilet Bowl)
In the thirteenth to sixteenth embodiments, the wiping arm drive unit 3 is disposed below the warm-water cleansing device, and therefore, there is the probability of causing a problem on fixing of the buttocks wiping device and the toilet bowl.
Note that in the present invention, other elements than the fixing hole may be used for fixing of the toilet bowl and the buttocks wiping device. In a case where alignment with fixing holes of the toilet bowl cannot be made well, the thickness of the raised portion 2 may be increased, or an intermediate member may be interposed between the toilet bowl and the raised portion 2, as necessary. In this manner, the toilet bowl, the intermediate member, the raised portion, and the warm-water cleansing device may be fixed in this order. A fixing method is not intended to limit the present invention.
Note that the base portion of the wiping arm 4 may be of a screw type so that the strut portion of the wiping arm 4 can be detached, for example.
(Shape of Pressing Unit 4a)
The shape of the pressing unit 4a is a matter to be designed as necessary to fit the shape of the vicinity of the anus, and the flexible material of the pressing unit 4a may allow deformation upon contact with the buttocks. In the case of using the first technique, the pressing unit 4a formed as large as possible can prevent unexpected dropping of the paper when the paper is placed on the pressing unit 4a. Thus, a shape illustrated in
As illustrated in
Note that as illustrated in
Note that needless to say, the side portions 413 exhibit flexibility.
The shape described herein has been set forth merely as an example of the shape reducing paper dropping and easily fitting the vicinity of the anus, and is not intended to limit the present invention.
(Variation of Opening/Closing Unit)
For the opening/closing unit provided at the raised portion, a well-known mechanism can be used to implement opening/closing on both of the wiping arm side and the paper supply unit side. Some variations are conceivable, but it is impossible to describe all of the variations. Thus, an opening/closing mechanism utilizing an electromagnetic solenoid will be described herein.
Upon pushing, the openable lid 417 is lifted and brought into a closed state by a hinge mechanism between the arm portion 418 and the iron core 419 and a relationship between a groove 417a provided at the openable lid 417 and the arm portion 418, as illustrated in
As described above, the opening/closing unit can be also configured by the structure using the solenoid.
In addition, the following variation of the opening/closing unit is also available: a shutter is inserted into upper and lower grooves provided at the raised portion 2, and is opened/closed right to left by pushing/pulling using a solenoid. In this case, the stroke of the solenoid is insufficient. For this reason, when the stroke can be increased by a lever, the shutter can slide right to left along the upper and lower grooves of the raised portion 2. In this case, a groove (the groove as in 306 of
Opening/closing can be also performed in the following manner: a flexible rack is attached to a lower or upper surface of a flexible plate-shaped member to form a shutter, the shutter is inserted into upper and lower grooves of the raised portion 2, and a pinion engaging with the flexible rack is rotated to move the shutter. In this case, a groove (the groove as in 306 of
(Embodiment for Exposure of Paper Loading Guide 17c by Angular Movement)
(Case of Implementing Wiping Arm Drive Unit 3 by Ball Screw Spline)
The overlapping-type ball screw spline 401 illustrated in
After wiping, the ball screw nut 404 and the spline nut 405 are reversely rotated such that the wiping arm drive unit 3 retracts the wiping arm 4. Note that the protrusion (not shown) for dropping the paper may be provided at the raised portion 2, thereby naturally dropping the paper right before retraction.
As described above, the wiping arm drive unit 3 includes, about a single shaft, the mechanism for angularly moving the wiping arm 4 and the mechanism for moving the wiping arm 4 up and down, and the ball screw spline 401 can be used as the single shaft for angular movement and upper-to-lower movement of the wiping arm 4. The ball screw spline is an established technology, and therefore, designing of the buttocks wiping device is facilitated.
Note that when the spline shaft can be moved up and down by a piston, the member provided only with the spline shaft groove can be utilized without formation of the ball screw groove.
The wiping arm drive unit 3 is similar to that of
The seventeenth embodiment discloses not only the mechanism for exposing a paper loading guide 17c by angular movement, but also the mechanism for adjusting the height of the paper loading guide 17c by upper-to-lower movement thereof. As illustrated in
For adjusting the height of the paper loading guide 17c, the ball screw nut 404 is rotated so that the height of the paper loading guide 17c can be adjusted by upper-to-lower movement of the ball screw spline 401. The ball screw nut 404 may have a large radius or may be attached to a lever so that manual rotation of the ball screw nut 404 can be performed. Note that the lower limit of the pressing unit 4a is predetermined, and for this reason, the method for cutting a screw groove at the ball screw spline 401 may be adjusted such that the paper loading guide 17c does not move lower than the lower limit. Alternatively, a stopper may be provided such that the ball screw spline 401 does not move lower than the lower limit.
As described above, in the seventeenth embodiment, the height of the paper loading guide 17c can be adjusted by the mechanism for moving the ball screw spline 401 up and down. In the case of a user with buttock muscles sagging from the toilet seat 7, there is a probability that the paper loading guide 17c contacts the buttocks. For this reason, the height of the paper loading guide 17c can be adjusted such that the paper loading guide 17c does not contact the buttocks even with an individual difference.
Note that in the case of not using a height adjustment function or adjusting the height by another section, the paper loading guide 17c may be angularly moved utilizing only a spline shaft and a spline nut instead of the ball screw spline 401.
(Embodiment of Paper Supply Unit 17)
The mechanism for exposing the paper loading guide 17c by means of the screw shaft has been described with reference to
In
Shaft tables 504a, 504b stand on the table 500. A screw shaft 505 and a sliding shaft 506 penetrate the shaft tables 504a. 504b in parallel to each other. Tip ends of the screw shaft 505 and the sliding shaft 506 are attached to a movable portion 507 in a fixed manner. The screw shaft 505 penetrates a nut 508 between the shaft table 504a and the shaft table 504b. The nut 508 communicates with a pulley 510 through a belt 509. The pulley 510 is coupled to the paper supply motor 17e. With this structure, the nut 508 rotates forward upon forward rotation of the paper supply motor 17e, and therefore, the movable portion 507 slidably moves forward along the screw shaft 505 and the sliding shaft 506. The nut 508 reversely rotates upon reverse rotation of the paper supply motor 17e, and therefore, the movable portion 507 slidably moves backward along the screw shaft 505 and the sliding shaft 506.
The paper loading guide 17c has grooves 507b on both sides. Guides 507a are inserted respectively into the grooves 507b. With this structure, the user can slide the paper loading guide 17c on the movable portion 507.
With the above-described structure of pulling out the paper loading guide 17c and placing the paper on the paper loading guide 17c by the user in addition to the mechanism for exposing the paper supply unit 17 by the screw shaft 505, the paper supply unit 17 can be downsized with a simple structure even in a case where the stroke of the screw shaft 505 cannot be ensured.
Such a simple height adjustment mechanism using the screw shaft is also applicable to the paper supply units 17 described in other embodiments. For example, in the case of the paper supply units 17 of the eighth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth embodiments and the embodiment of
Moreover, the structure of pulling out the paper loading guide 17c is also applicable to the paper supply units 17 described in other embodiments. For example, in the case of the paper supply unit 17 of the embodiment of
In the case of the paper supply unit 17 illustrated in
Note that instead of using the height adjustment nut 503, a screw hole may be formed at the table 500 so that the height of the table 500 can be adjusted by rotation of the screw shaft 502. In this case, for rotation of the screw shaft 502, a handle may be attached to a lower end of the screw shaft 502.
Note that adjustment of the height of the paper loading guide 17c of the paper supply unit 17 is not limited to adjustment using the screw shaft, and the height of the paper loading guide 17c upon exposure can be adjusted by adjustment of inclination of the paper supply unit 17. That is, the height of the paper loading guide 17c can be decreased by downward inclination of the paper supply unit 17, and can be increased by upward inclination of the paper supply unit 17. Alternatively, the structure of sandwiching a spacer between the paper supply unit 17 and the raised portion 2 may be employed. In this case, the table 500 may be configured liftable, and the height of the paper loading guide 17c may be adjusted by the height of the spacer interposed between the raised portion 2 and the table 500. Other mechanism for height adjustment are not limited in the present invention.
For the embodiments of the thirteenth to sixteenth embodiments, the mechanism can be also mounted on the table for height adjustment, and height adjustment can be performed by other methods.
(Position Relationship Between Wiping Arm 4 and Paper Loading Guide 17c)
As described above, the wiping arm drive unit 3 exposes the wiping arm 4 in a downwardly-inclined state upon exposure of the wiping arm 4, and therefore, the paper loading guide 17c can be positioned lower. Collision among the buttocks muscles and the paper loading guide 17c can be avoided.
(Variation of Paper Supply Unit 17)
Any other well-known mechanisms can be utilized as the mechanism for exposing the paper loading guide 17c. For example, a mechanism used in a CD-ROM drive is useful, and the mechanism utilized for exposing the paper loading guide 17c is not intended to limit the present invention.
(Buttocks Wiping Tool)
A rotary plate 609 is, as a wiping arm movement section for moving the wiping arm 4, provided on the raised portion 2, and a hinge portion 608 is fixed to the rotary plate 609. By movement of a lever 607, the wiping arm can be rotated and exposed, and can be moved up and down. After the paper has been attached to the pressing unit 4a, the lever 607 is used to expose the wiping arm 4 and incline the wiping arm 4 diagonally upward, thereby wiping the buttocks. The user may perform, as necessary, wiping by front-to-back movement of the wiping arm 4.
As described above, the buttocks can be wiped by means of a simple buttocks wiping tool. Note that the structure described herein has been set forth merely as an example, and any mechanisms may be employed as long as the mechanism can expose the wiping arm and move the wiping arm up and down. The buttocks wiping tool may be provided with a pliers-like mechanism for holding the paper on the pressing unit 4a or a mechanism for holding the paper in such a manner that two separated pressing units slide to contact each other by grabbing.
Note that the wiping arm drive unit described in the present specification may be used for a buttocks wiping device configured to wipe the buttocks in such a manner that a wiping material is attached by holding or insertion of the wiping material by a wiping portion of a wiping arm. That is, in the case of focusing only on the drive mechanism of the wiping arm drive unit, the invention is established without any limitations on whether or not the wiping arm is held.
Note that an electromagnetic solenoid may be, as a simple mechanism for paper attachment, used to close one of two separated pressing units. Alternatively, a section configured to open/close at a bottom surface of a pressing unit may be provided such that paper is attached with the paper being pinched by the opening/closing section. A pressing unit may be made of, e.g., flexible resin, a cutout may be formed at the resin, and paper may be attached to the pressing unit such that the paper is inserted into the cutout.
Note that various paper dropping methods are conceivable in the fourteenth to sixteenth embodiments.
Moreover, although described in the beginning, the aspects described in the present specification can be combined together, and the present invention is not limited only to the combination examples described above.
The present invention has been described above in detail. However, such description has been merely an example of the present invention in every respect, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Needless to say, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
The present invention relates to a buttocks wiping device, and is industrially applicable.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-060198 | Mar 2015 | JP | national |
| 2015-064975 | Mar 2015 | JP | national |
| 2015-069624 | Mar 2015 | JP | national |
| 2015-081214 | Apr 2015 | JP | national |
| 2015-082594 | Apr 2015 | JP | national |
| 2015-086230 | Apr 2015 | JP | national |
| 2015-088738 | Apr 2015 | JP | national |
| 2015-091844 | Apr 2015 | JP | national |
| 2015-116159 | Jun 2015 | JP | national |
| 2015-130340 | Jun 2015 | JP | national |
| 2015-176082 | Sep 2015 | JP | national |
| 2015-176160 | Sep 2015 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2016/059058 | 3/22/2016 | WO | 00 |
