WO2012044086A2

WO2012044086A2 - Nozzle position control method and apparatus, and bidet including the same

Info

Publication number: WO2012044086A2
Application number: PCT/KR2011/007186
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joung-Ho Son; In-Seok Seo; Ki-Chul Kim
Original assignee: Woongjin Coway Co Ltd
Current assignee: Coway Co Ltd
Priority date: 2010-09-30
Filing date: 2011-09-29
Publication date: 2012-04-05
Anticipated expiration: 2013-03-30
Also published as: WO2012044086A3

Abstract

A nozzle position control method and apparatus using a nozzle movement unit and a nozzle movement guide is provided. A nozzle position control method includes: performing a position resetting process to move a nozzle to one end of a nozzle movement guide by using a nozzle movement unit, and to set the corresponding position of the nozzle as a reference point; performing a movement distance setting process to calculate a movement distance from the reference point to a target position of the nozzle; and performing a nozzle moving process to move the nozzle by the calculated movement distance by using the nozzle movement unit.

Description

NOZZLE POSITION CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND BIDET INCLUDING THE SAME

The present invention relates to a nozzle position control method and apparatus using a nozzle movement unit and a nozzle movement guide.

In order to promote convenience for people in modern society, a variety of convenience products have been developed and produced through technological development and have been used in offices and at homes. In particular, the use of bidets has recent increased.

A bidet is primarily installed in a toilet bowl, and a control panel is provided at a side of a bidet body. The bidet may automatically perform anal cleaning, female genital cleaning, and massage cleaning by spraying washing water through nozzles according to a user s manipulation of the control panel.

A cleaning function refers to washing a user s anus with washing water sprayed through nozzles after bowel movement, without toilet paper. A bidet function refers to automatically washing a female user s genitals with washing water. A massage cleaning function refers to moving a bidet nozzle back and forth in a continuous and repetitive manner so as to obtain a massage effect accordingly.

In order to perform the cleaning, bidet and massage functions, a bidet nozzle is provided such that it may be moved back and forth from a bidet body. In addition, a spray opening is provided at a front end of the nozzle. Washing water from the nozzle is sprayed through the spray opening. The position of the spray opening needs to be adjusted, depending on a user s body shape.

The position of the spray opening is adjusted by moving the position of the nozzle. A nozzle position control function is performed using a stepping motor. The use of the stepping motor, however, may cause an increase in power consumption when measuring the nozzle position and operating the motor.

For this reason, the control of a bidet nozzle position using a stepping motor is widely used for bidets in which power is separately supplied. Self-powered bidets or battery-type bidets may use a DC motor to perform a bidet nozzle position control.

In controlling a nozzle position using the nozzle movement unit, it is most important to determine the nozzle position, as the nozzle position can be accurately controlled when the position of the nozzle to be driven is accurately determined.

An aspect of the present invention provides a method and apparatus for controlling a position of a nozzle by accurately measuring an initial position of the nozzle.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a nozzle position control method using a nozzle movement unit and a nozzle movement guide, including: performing a position resetting process to move the nozzle to one end of the nozzle movement guide by using the nozzle movement unit, and to set the corresponding position of the nozzle as a reference point; performing a movement distance setting process to calculate a movement distance from the reference point to a target position of the nozzle; and performing a nozzle moving process to move the nozzle by the calculated movement distance by using the nozzle movement unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a nozzle position control method for use in a bidet, including: receiving a target position of a nozzle according to an operation mode of the bidet; performing a position resetting process to move the nozzle to one end of a nozzle movement guide by using a nozzle movement unit, and to set a position of the nozzle as a reference point; performing a movement distance setting process to calculate a movement distance from the reference point to the target position of the nozzle; and performing a nozzle moving process to move the nozzle by the calculated movement distance by using the nozzle movement unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a nozzle position control apparatus including: a nozzle configured to be moved by a driving force of a nozzle movement unit; a nozzle movement guide providing a moving path to the nozzle; a nozzle movement unit applying a driving force to the nozzle according to a control signal; and a control unit outputting, to the nozzle movement unit, a reset control signal for moving the nozzle to a reference point, and a nozzle movement control signal for moving the nozzle to a target position.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a position of a nozzle can be accurately measured by forcibly moving an initial position of the nozzle to one end of a guide. Therefore, the position of the nozzle can be accurately controlled.

The above and other aspects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a nozzle device;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a nozzle position control method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a position resetting process of the nozzle position control method, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram explaining a case in which a movement distance setting process of the nozzle position control method is applied to a bidet, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a driving part, explaining a position resetting process and a nozzle moving process of the nozzle position control method, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram explaining the functions of a nozzle position control apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In describing the present invention, if a detailed explanation of a related known function or construction is considered to unnecessarily divert from the gist of the present invention, such explanation will be omitted but would be understood by those skilled in the art.

The same or equivalent elements are referred to as the same reference numerals throughout the specification.

Unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word comprise and variations thereof such as comprises or comprising, will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of other elements.

Prior to the description of a nozzle position control method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, problems occurring when controlling a nozzle position using a conventional DC servo motor will be briefly explained.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a nozzle device.

Referring to FIG. 1, the nozzle device includes a nozzle movement guide 10, a DC servo motor 20, and a nozzle 30.

The nozzle movement guide 10 guides the nozzle 30 to move in a straight line, without departing from a moving path, and the DC servo motor 20 generates a driving force to move the nozzle 30.

In the bidet, a small DC servo motor 20 is commonly used to control the position of the nozzle 30. Since the DC servo motor 20 is a cheap, mass-produced product, it may be difficult to attach a relatively expensive precise position sensor thereto. Therefore, it is not easy to precisely control the position of the nozzle 30 using the DC servo motor 20. Generally, a variable resistor or a potentiometer sensor may be used in the DC servo motor 20 in order to determine an absolute position of the nozzle 30. However, the above-mentioned sensors may have a measurement error rate of 20% or more due to errors occurring during a sensor manufacturing process. Since the nozzle device is produced and assembled on a mass production basis, an error rate of 10% or more may also occur during a process of assembling the nozzle device, leading to a further increase in the position measurement error.

If such a measurement error occurs, the position of the nozzle may not be normally controlled because the deviation of nozzle position movements may be large in individual products.

In particular, the nozzle 30 needs to be returned to the original position when the operation using the nozzle 30 is completed. However, since a measurement error of a position sensor is large, the nozzle 30 may not be returned to the exact original position. Therefore, as the position control of the nozzle 30 is repeated, the inaccuracy of the position control due to the measurement error may be accumulated.

To solve this problem, there is provided a method for accurately detecting the initial position of the nozzle 30 or accurately moving the nozzle 30 to a reference position, upon controlling the position of the nozzle 30.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a nozzle position control method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a nozzle position control method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a position resetting process S10, a movement distance setting process S20, and a nozzle moving process S30.

The nozzle position control method may be executed using a nozzle device having a nozzle movement unit and a nozzle movement guide 10. The nozzle movement unit may be a driving unit such as a DC servo motor 20.

In the position resetting process S10, the nozzle movement unit may move the nozzle 30 to one end of the nozzle movement guide 10. The end of the nozzle movement guide 10, at which the nozzle 30 is located, may be set as a reference point.

In the movement distance setting process S20, a movement distance from the reference point to a target position may be calculated.

In the nozzle moving process S30, the nozzle movement unit may move the nozzle 30 by the calculated movement distance. The nozzle moving control may be performed by a proportional, integral and differential (PID) control.

In addition, the bidet may use a proportional and differential (PD) control. To be specific, even though a slight normal-state position error occurs, there is no problem in using the bidet. Therefore, a control method of rapidly moving a nozzle to a target position, while sacrificing a position control precision to a certain extent, may be employed. Furthermore, cheap motors may not obtain a high level of position control precision, even in the case that the PID control is applied. Moreover, due to a lengthy control time, a lot of power may be wasted. Therefore, the use of the PD control may quickly correct errors and minimize overhead.

Since the nozzle position control method includes the position resetting process S10, a certain time for resetting is needed. Therefore, the rapid control may contribute to a user s convenience.

As described above, the use of the DC servo motor 20 has a problem in that it is difficult to know the initial position of the nozzle 30. This problem may be solved by moving the nozzle 30 to one end of the nozzle movement guide 10. That is, an object having a constant length may be used as a reference, in order to solve the problems of the method of measuring the position of the nozzle 30 by using the position sensor or the like.

Moreover, since the length of the nozzle movement guide 10 is fixed, the nozzle 30 may be accurately controlled by calculating a relative position of a target point from the end of the nozzle movement guide 10.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the position resetting process of the nozzle position control method, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the position resetting process S10 may include a low-power driving operation S11 and reference point setting operations S13 and S15.

In the low-power driving operation S11, the nozzle movement unit may be driven with a position determination driving force. The position determination driving force may be 60% or less of a maximum driving force of the nozzle movement unit. When the nozzle 30 arrives at one end of the nozzle movement guide 10 by operating the nozzle movement unit with low power, the nozzle 30 may not be moved any further.

When the nozzle 30 is moved with excessive power, the nozzle movement guide 10 may be damaged.

In the reference point setting operations S13 and S15, the position of the nozzle 30 may be measured using a position sensor at regular intervals, and a position variation of the nozzle 10 may be measured based on the measured position of the nozzle 30. When the position variation of the nozzle 30 is equal to or less than a reference variation (S13), it is determined that the nozzle 30 is not moved any further, and the corresponding position of the nozzle 30 may be set as a reference point (S15). That is, when it is determined that the nozzle 30 has been stopped for a predetermined time interval, it may mean that the nozzle 30 has arrived at one end of the nozzle movement guide 10. Therefore, the corresponding position of the nozzle 30 may be set as the reference point. The predetermined time interval may be 10 ms. The position sensor may be a variable resistor or a potentiometer.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram explaining a case in which a movement distance setting process of the nozzle position control method is applied to a bidet, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, in the movement distance setting process S20, the target position of the nozzle 30 may be previously set according to an operation mode of the bidet.

It may be assumed that one end of the nozzle movement guide 10 is set as a reference point P₀, and positions of a bidet 1-level P₁, a bidet 2-level P₂, a bidet 3-level or cleaning 1-level P₃, a cleaning 2-level P₄, and a cleaning 3-level P₅ are previously set.

When a user wants to operate the bidet at the cleaning 2-level P₄, the nozzle 30 is moved to the reference point P₀ through the position resetting process S10. In the movement distance setting process S20, a distance from the reference point P₀ to the cleaning 2-level P₄ is set as a movement distance.

The reference point P₀ needs to be accurate in order for the movement distance setting. Since the length of the nozzle movement guide 10 is constant, the movement distance may be set accurately.

Since the movement start point and the movement distance may be set accurately, the position of the nozzle 30 may be controlled accurately within a required error range.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a driving part, explaining a position resetting process and a nozzle moving process of the nozzle position control method, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the position resetting process S10 and the nozzle moving process S30, the DC servo motor 20 as the nozzle movement unit is driven to move the nozzle 30 in a straight line.

When the DC servo motor 20 rotates a nozzle driving gear 21, a gear groove 31 engaged with the nozzle driving gear 21 may be moved in a straight line. In addition, if a circumference value of the nozzle driving gear 21 is known, the nozzle 30 may be moved by rotating the nozzle driving gear 21 by a set movement distance of the nozzle 30.

A rotation angle control of the DC servo motor 20 may be performed by applying an appropriate voltage to the DC servo motor 20 through a pulse width modulation (PWM) control or the like.

In addition, when the movement of the nozzle 30 to the target position is completed, power may be saved by cutting off the power supplied to the DC servo motor 20. A gear ratio of the DC servo motor 20 to the nozzle driving gear 21 is high. Thus, except for a case in which the motor is supplied with power, the nozzle 30 is not moved as long as a strong force is applied to the nozzle 30 from the outside. That is, the nozzle 30 may be kept stationary without using separate power.

Referring to FIG. 6, a nozzle position control apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a nozzle movement guide 10, a nozzle movement unit 20, a nozzle 30, and a control unit 40.

Hereinafter, the nozzle position control apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

The nozzle 30 may be moved by the driving of the nozzle movement unit 20. The nozzle movement unit 20 may apply a driving force to the nozzle 30 according to a control signal. The nozzle movement unit 20 may be a driving device such as a DC servo motor.

The nozzle movement guide 10 may provide a moving path to the nozzle 30. The nozzle movement guide 10 may guide the nozzle 30 to move along the nozzle movement guide 10 over a predetermined moving path.

The control unit 40 may output a reset control signal and a nozzle movement control signal to the nozzle movement unit 20. The reset control signal is used for moving the nozzle 30 to a reference point, and the nozzle movement control signal is used for moving the nozzle 30 to a target position.

The control unit 40 may set the target position of the nozzle 30 with relative coordinates from the reference point. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the target position may be previously set on the nozzle movement guide 10. The respective target positions, such as the bidet 1-level, the bidet 2-level, the bidet 3-level, the cleaning 2-level, and so on, may be relatively set based on a distance from the reference point.

The control unit 40 may output the reset control signal to the nozzle movement unit 20, and control the nozzle movement unit 20 to move the nozzle 30 to the reference point. When the nozzle movement unit 20 receives the reset control signal, the nozzle movement unit 20 may be driven at 60% or less of the maximum driving force and move the nozzle 30. By driving the nozzle movement unit 20 with low power, the nozzle 30 may not be moved any further than when the nozzle 30 arrives at one end of the nozzle movement guide 10.

When the nozzle 30 is moved maximally to one end of the nozzle movement guide 10, the control unit 40 may set the corresponding position as the reference point.

When a position variation of the nozzle 30 is equal to or less than a reference variation, it may be determined that the nozzle 10 is not moved any more, and the corresponding position of the nozzle 30 may be set as the reference point. That is, the reference point may be set by determining whether the nozzle 30 has been kept stationary for a predetermined time interval. To detect the movement of the nozzle 30, a position sensor, such as a potentiometer, may be used. The predetermined time interval may be 10 ms.

The control unit 40 may calculate a movement distance from the reference point to the target position, and output the nozzle position control signal for controlling the nozzle movement unit 20 to move the nozzle 30 by the calculated movement distance.

The control unit 40 may have a resulting value obtained by previously calculating a distance to the target position, and may control the position of the nozzle 30 by using the resulting value.

The control unit 40 may use a PID control method to control the position of the nozzle 30. The control unit 40 may also use a PD control method. If the PD control method is used, a slight normal-state position error may occur. However, there may be no problem when the PD control method is applied to the bidet. In addition, if the PD control method is used, the nozzle 30 may be moved rapidly to target position, even though the position control precision may be slightly sacrificed. Therefore, the PD control method may be more suitable for products such as bidets.

Although not shown, a case in which the nozzle position control method according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applied to the bidet will be described below.

If a user inputs a command to operate the bidet at a cleaning 1-level, the bidet moves the nozzle to one end of the nozzle movement guide 10 by using the nozzle movement unit (for example, the DC servo motor 20) (S10). If the nozzle 30 is moved to one end of the nozzle movement guide 10, the nozzle 30 moves into a maximally advanced state.

If the nozzle 30 arrives at one end of the nozzle movement guide 10, a distance from the cleaning 1-level (P₃) position to the reference point P₀ is set as a movement distance (S20).

If the movement distance is set, the nozzle movement unit is moved through the PD control by the set movement distance (S30).

If the movement of the nozzle 30 is completed, the nozzle 30 may be fixed by cutting off power supplied to the nozzle movement unit.

Although not shown, a bidet including the nozzle position control apparatus, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, will be described below.

A bidet according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include the nozzle position control apparatus, a toilet seat, and a water supply unit.

The nozzle position control apparatus may include a nozzle, a nozzle movement guide, a nozzle movement unit, and a controller. Since the nozzle position control apparatus has been described above, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The toilet seat may have a space for the accommodation of the nozzle position control apparatus, and may allow a user to sit thereon.

A user may use the bidet while sitting on the toilet seat, and the toilet seat may provide a space for the accommodation of the nozzle position control apparatus. An interface unit allowing a user to control the operation of the bidet may be provided at one side of the toilet seat.

The water supply unit may supply washing water to the nozzle. Washing water supplied by the water supply unit may be sprayed through a spray opening formed at a front end of the nozzle. The water supply unit may change a water spray pressure according to a control signal.

While the present invention has been shown and described in connection with the exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A nozzle position control method using a nozzle movement unit and a nozzle movement guide, comprising:

performing a position resetting process to move the nozzle to one end of the nozzle movement guide by using the nozzle movement unit, and to set the corresponding position of the nozzle as a reference point;

performing a movement distance setting process to calculate a movement distance from the reference point to a target position of the nozzle; and

performing a nozzle moving process to move the nozzle by the calculated movement distance by using the nozzle movement unit.
The nozzle position control method of claim 1, wherein the position resetting process comprises:

moving the nozzle by driving the nozzle movement unit with a position determination driving force; and

measuring a position variation of the nozzle by using a position sensor, and setting the position of the nozzle as the reference point when the position variation is equal to or less than a reference variation.
The nozzle position control method of claim 2, wherein the position determination driving force is equal to or less than 60% of a maximum driving force of the nozzle movement unit.
The nozzle position control method of claim 1, wherein the target position is set according to an operation mode.
The nozzle position control method of claim 1, wherein the nozzle moving process comprises moving the nozzle by the calculated movement distance through a proportional and differential (PD) control.
A nozzle position control method for use in a bidet, comprising:

receiving a target position of a nozzle according to an operation mode of the bidet;

performing a position resetting process to move the nozzle to one end of a nozzle movement guide by using a nozzle movement unit, and to set a position of the nozzle as a reference point;

performing a movement distance setting process to calculate a movement distance from the reference point to the target position of the nozzle; and

performing a nozzle moving process to move the nozzle by the calculated movement distance by using the nozzle movement unit.
A nozzle position control apparatus comprising:

a nozzle configured to be moved by a driving force of a nozzle movement unit;

a nozzle movement guide providing a moving path to the nozzle;

the nozzle movement unit applying the driving force to the nozzle according to a control signal; and

a control unit outputting, to the nozzle movement unit, a reset control signal for moving the nozzle to a reference point, and a nozzle movement control signal for moving the nozzle to a target position.
The nozzle position control apparatus of claim 7, wherein, when the nozzle is moved maximally to one end of the nozzle movement guide, the control unit sets the corresponding position of the nozzle as the reference point.
The nozzle position control apparatus of claim 7, wherein the control unit calculates a movement distance from the reference point to the target position, and controls the nozzle movement unit to move the nozzle by the calculated movement distance.
A bidet comprising:

a nozzle position control apparatus including:

a nozzle configured to be moved by a driving force of a nozzle movement unit;

a nozzle movement guide providing a moving path to the nozzle;

the nozzle movement unit applying the driving force to the nozzle according to a control signal; and

a control unit outputting, to the nozzle movement unit, a reset control signal for moving the nozzle to a reference point, and a nozzle movement control signal for moving the nozzle to a target position;

a toilet seat having a space for the accommodation of the nozzle position control apparatus and allowing a user to sit thereon; and

a water supply unit supplying washing water to the nozzle.