JP2003010073A - Toilet seat device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toilet seat device for accurately measuring a body weight value without providing a different medium between a toilet and a toilet seat. SOLUTION: The toilet seat device for the toilet is provided with a seat body 3 having a hollow shape formed of an elastic material, a pressure chamber constituting body 7 formed of the elastic material and abutted to the internal surface of the seat body 3, a pressure detection means 6 communicating to the pressure chamber constituting body 7 and a controller detecting that a user sits on the seat body 3 as the output signal of the pressure detection means 6. Since the pressure chamber constituting body 7 is provided with an air release hole (7-a) opened to the atmosphere, highly accurate body weight measurement or detection of sitting on the toilet seat is enabled without the need of a highly rigid pressure detection means like that resistant to a high pressure and without the need of a special medium other than the toilet and the toilet seat.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toilet seat device, and more particularly to a technique for incorporating a sensing device into a toilet seat, which is suitable for constructing a body weight and other biological information measuring means for a toilet having a simple structure and high reliability. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the one seen in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 40371/1992 is formed on the bottom surface of a toilet seat, and a pressure detecting means is arranged in the vicinity of a cushion portion which abuts on a rim surface of a toilet bowl. It is intended to measure the weight value when sitting on a surface. In addition, as another mode in which the weight is detected by the toilet seat device, there is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
There is also an invention such as the one seen in No. 206622 in which a pressure chamber for pressure detection is arranged inside the toilet seat.

[0003]

In the conventional toilet seat device,
The user can measure the weight just by sitting on the toilet seat,
You can measure your weight in the toilet, which is likely to be used once a day, and you do not need to pay attention to the storage space because the weight scale itself is integrated with the toilet seat device. However, the toilet seat is generally made of a resin molded product with high dimensional accuracy, while the toilet bowl is a pottery, so the dimensional accuracy is low. As a result, a plurality of cushion parts, generally about four, are arranged on the toilet seat. And the rim part of the toilet bowl cannot receive the load evenly, and when trying to measure the weight accurately,
It is necessary to sandwich another medium having high rigidity and high flatness between the toilet seat cushion portion and the toilet rim surface, and as a result, the device itself becomes expensive and heavy. This may cause a situation in which dirt is apt to enter between the media, which is not suitable for toilet use.

Further, in a case where a closed pressure chamber for pressure detection is arranged inside the toilet seat, the pressure transmitted by the elastic deformation of the toilet seat itself is entirely applied to the pressure detection means, so that the pressure detection means has a high breaking pressure. It is necessary to have resistance, and as a result, the pressure detection means becomes expensive and causes the accuracy of weight measurement to deteriorate.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toilet seat device for accurately measuring a weight value without forming another medium between the toilet bowl and the toilet seat. Especially.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the first aspect of the present invention is to provide a seat body having a hollow shape formed of an elastic material and an abutting inner surface of the seat body with the elastic material. For a toilet having a formed pressure chamber structure, pressure detection means communicating with the pressure chamber structure, and a control device for detecting that a user is seated on the seat body as an output signal of the pressure detection means In the toilet seat device of the above, since the pressure chamber structure is provided with an air escape hole open to the atmosphere, there is no need for a highly rigid pressure detection means having resistance to high pressure, and It is possible to measure the weight with high accuracy or to detect the seating on the toilet seat without requiring a special medium other than the toilet bowl and the toilet seat.

In order to achieve the above object, the second aspect is characterized in that the weight measurement is performed by the output rise differential coefficient of the pressure detecting means, so that the time required for the weight measurement can be shortened. it can.

In order to achieve the above object, the third aspect is characterized in that the weight is measured by the output peak value of the pressure detecting means, so that the reproducibility of the weight measurement can be made high. .

In order to achieve the above object, the fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the output signal of the pressure detecting means is transmitted wirelessly, so that the toilet seat device itself does not show an overview of a biological information measuring device. The user can carry out continuous measurement without causing the psychological burden of the existence of the ecological information measuring device.

[0010]

1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the toilet of the present invention is attached. The toilet seat device 2 is fixed to the rim surface 1-a that constitutes the upper surface of the toilet bowl 1 by a fixing mechanism (not shown). The toilet seat device 2 may be a cleaning device incorporating a cleaning / drying function for the anus or the like after toilet, or a function of warming the toilet seat part in addition to the user sitting. A power cord 4 for supplying power to a toilet seat heater 3-c, which will be described later, is fixed to the toilet seat 3. In addition, the toilet bowl 1 may be equipped with a biological information measuring device 5 that performs quantitative analysis of, for example, the urine sugar value contained in human excrement.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the inside of the toilet seat 3 of the present invention. The toilet seat body 3-a and the toilet seat bottom plate 3-b are fixed to each other by a method called ultrasonic welding or vibration welding, and have a structure having a hollow shape inside. The toilet seat heater 3-c is fixed to the toilet seat body 3-a so that the temperature of the upper surface of the toilet seat body is substantially the same as the body temperature of the user so that the toilet seat heater does not feel cold. Although not described in this example, the heater and the toilet seat body 3-b may be fixed to each other via a thin metal foil in order to make the temperature uniform. The toilet seat 3 has a hollow structure, and a pressure chamber forming body 7 having a size that abuts on the inner circumference of the toilet seat 3 is arranged inside. When the user sits on the toilet seat 3, the toilet seat body 3-a is elastically deformed, and the amount of deformation is transmitted to the abutting pressure chamber constructing body 7. The toilet seat 3 is generally formed of a resin, such as polypropylene, that is elastically deformed with respect to the weight load of the user, and the toilet seat body 3-a is deformed by the weight of the user, and the seat seat 3 receives the deformation. Toilet seat body 3-a
The pressure chamber constructing body 7 in contact with the inside of the chamber deforms, and the pressure detecting means 6 described later detects a pressure change in the pressure chamber constructing body 7 and outputs a signal.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which the toilet seat of the present invention is incorporated. The pressure detecting means 6 is provided with a pressure chamber constructing body 7 which is hollow and arranged in a certain occupancy range in the circumferential direction of the toilet seat 3. When the user sits on the toilet seat 3, the deformation of the toilet seat body 3-a due to the weight of the user is
It is transmitted to the pressure detection means 6 via the deformation of the pressure chamber structure 7. Since the toilet bowl 1 is made of pottery and the toilet seat 3 is made of resin, the cushion portion of the toilet seat 3 not shown is the toilet bowl 1
It is difficult to make uniform contact with, but since the deformation of the entire toilet seat 3 can be detected by the long pressure chamber constructing body 7, the deformation caused by the user is hardly affected by the manufacturing variation. Alternatively, the vibration can be measured by the pressure detecting means 6. More specifically, the deformation of the toilet seat body 3-a due to the weight of the user indicates the weight, and the frequency at which the user vibrates due to respiration
The pulsatile deformation of the heart indicates each state of the heartbeat.
If the signal generated by the pressure detection means 6 is separated at a predetermined frequency by a low-pass filter or a band-pass filter relating to the frequency stored in the control mechanism 8, both the respiratory and heartbeat states can be measured. For the vibration detected by the pressure detection means 6, a frequency of 1 Hz
When the following low pass filter is applied, generally 12 times /
Minute respiratory waveform can be accurately separated and frequency 1H
When a bandpass filter of z to 20 Hz is applied, generally, a heartbeat waveform of about 60 times / minute can be accurately separated. The measurement value obtained through each filter in this way may be disclosed to the user by the toilet seat device itself, but it is attached to the toilet bowl 1 separately, for example, to the biological information measuring device 5 that performs component analysis of excrement. You may send it. In this example, each filter is added to the sensor signal and then transmitted, but the signal processing may be performed after reception. If the biological information measuring device 5 is a urine sugar level measuring device, considering that the urine sugar level is an index for improving lifestyle habits, by considering the states of the urine sugar level and the body weight level, it is possible to obtain more detailed information. It can be expected to disclose such life guidance to users. Since the toilet seat 3 and the biological information measuring device 5 are separate devices in appearance, if the state of the toilet seat 3 can be wirelessly transmitted to the biological information measuring device 5, a psychological burden of having multiple measuring devices is given to the user. It will be difficult to give. The signal transmission method does not need to be specified, and radio waves or infrared rays may be used.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the pressure detecting mechanism of the present invention. A pressure chamber structure 7 having a hollow interior and capable of detecting deformation of the toilet seat body 2-a over a long length is fixed to the pressure detection means 6. The deformation or vibration of the pressure chamber forming body 7 made of an elastic member is detected by the pressure detecting means 6. The detection mechanism of the pressure detection means 6 is not particularly specified, and various pressure detection mechanisms to which a semiconductor pressure detection means or a microphone is applied may be used. A small hole 7-a is provided in a part of the pressure chamber structure 7. When the small hole 7-a is not provided in a part of the pressure chamber structure body 7, the pressure detection means 6 causes the deformation of the toilet seat 3 caused by the assumed upper limit value of the weight of the user, which causes the pressure chamber structure body 7 to deform. It is necessary to have resistance to the maximum internal pressure of, but since it has a small hole 7-a, when a large amount of pressure is applied to the pressure chamber structure 7 and a predetermined air pressure is reached, air escapes from the small hole, and It is designed to prevent rising. Therefore, the pressure value in the pressure chamber constructing body 7 does not rise above a certain value, and the pressure detecting means 6 having small rigidity and high reliability can be adopted, and as a result, deformation or vibration can be accurately measured. Become. Of course, when the user leaves the toilet seat 3, the pressure chamber forming body 7 returns to its original shape, and the air that has escaped at that time is replenished.

FIG. 5 is a system block diagram showing the operating mechanism of the present invention. The power supplied to the toilet seat is the toilet seat body 3
It is branched into a heat retention mechanism of -a and a deformation or vibration sensing mechanism. It is shown that the deformation or vibration of the toilet seat itself is wirelessly transmitted to the control / display mechanism of the main body via the transmitting means. The signal received at the body will be displayed via the control mechanism. As the display contents,
In addition to the weight, respiration rate, and heart rate measured as a result of the deformation or vibration of the toilet seat, a stress value calculated in consideration of the above measurement values may be used.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between respiration and heartbeat measured by the present invention. By detecting the body motion and separating it by frequency, it can be seen that the situations of both are accurately detected. In this example, 5 to 6 heartbeats are represented for one breath. 10 waveforms are respiratory states, 1
The waveform of 1 represents the heartbeat state.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the weight measurement states measured by the present invention. The measurement value of the pressure detection means 6 rises as the user sits down. Since the inside of the pressure chamber structure 7 is opened to the atmosphere through the small hole 7-a provided in a part of the pressure chamber structure 7, the internal pressure does not continue to rise. The pressure value changes depending on the weight of the user, but as a measuring method, a method using an output rise differential coefficient 12 of the pressure detecting means or an output peak value 13 of the pressure detecting means can be considered. Each has a characteristic that the time required for measuring the weight can be shortened or the reproducibility of the weight measurement can be made high. In this chart, vibration caused by respiration and heartbeat whose amplitude is smaller than deformation due to weight and whose frequency is high does not appear in the diagram.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a toilet seat device of the present invention is attached to a toilet.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the toilet seat device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the inside of the toilet seat device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a pressure detection mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a system block diagram showing an operating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between respiration and heartbeat measured in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a weight measurement state measured by the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 toilet bowl 1-a Rim surface 2 toilet seat device 3 toilet seat 3-a Toilet seat body 3-b Toilet seat bottom plate 3-c toilet seat heater 4 power cord 5 Biological information measuring device 6 Pressure detection means 7 Pressure chamber structure 7-a small hole 8 control mechanism 9 Transmission mechanism 10 breathing state 11 Heart rate 12 Rising derivative

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A seat body having a hollow shape made of an elastic material, a pressure chamber structure body made of an elastic material, which is in contact with an inner surface of the seat body, and a pressure communicating with the pressure chamber structure body. In a toilet seat device for a toilet having a detection device and a control device that detects that a user is seated on the seat as an output signal of the pressure detection device, in the pressure chamber structure,
A toilet seat device having an air escape hole open to the atmosphere. 2. The body weight is measured by an output rise differential coefficient of the pressure detecting means.
The toilet seat device described in. 3. The toilet seat device according to claim 1, wherein the weight is measured based on an output peak value of the pressure detecting means. 4. The toilet seat device according to claim 1, wherein the output signal of the pressure detecting means is transmitted wirelessly.