WO2018037556A1 - Hand dryer and hygiene management system - Google Patents

Abstract

This hand dryer (20) includes: a casing (21) having a hand receiving compartment (1) into which a hand can be inserted; a high pressure air flow generator (10) that is provided in the casing (21) and generates a high pressure air flow; nozzles (2a, 2b) which are provided on walls (1a, 1b) of the hand receiving compartment (1) and blow the high pressure air flow toward the inside of the hand receiving compartment (1); and electrodes (7a, 7b) which are provided on the walls (1a, 1b) of the hand receiving compartment (1) and detect capacitance. The hand dryer (20) also includes a determination unit which determines that a hand is inserted in the hand receiving compartment (1) on the basis of comparison between a first threshold and the capacitance, and determines that the hand has contacted the walls (1a, 1b) of the hand receiving compartment (1) on the basis of comparison between a second threshold that is different from the first threshold and the capacitance.

Description

Hand dryer and hygiene management system

The present invention relates to a hand dryer for drying wet hands after washing and a hygiene management system using the same.

¡To maintain the hand in a hygienic state, it is necessary to perform a hygienic drying process after washing as well as the hand washing process. Therefore, instead of wiping the wet hands after washing with a towel or handkerchief, a hand dryer that sprays high-speed airflow onto the hands inserted into the hand insertion section and blows away the water attached to the hands to dry the hands. Is used.

In the hand drying device that blows away water adhering to the hand and dries the hand, it is important for the hand to hygienically dry that the hand does not touch the wall surface of the hand insertion part. This is because there is a possibility that substances that can contaminate the hand including human sebum in addition to the water splashed from the hand are attached to the wall surface of the hand insertion section, and these are in contact with the wall surface. It is because it may adhere to. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, in order to avoid the user's hand inserted into the hand insertion portion from coming into contact with the wall surface, a hand provided with means for detecting that the hand has approached the wall surface and notification means. A drying apparatus is disclosed.

JP 2012-125375 A

The hand drying device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes an optical proximity sensor that detects the approach of a hand, and a notification unit that includes a buzzer or an electric display device, and indicates that the hand is approaching the wall surface. Alternatively, the user is notified with an electric display device. That is, in the hand drying device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the user who recognizes that the hand is approaching the wall surface by notification is made to make sure that the hand does not touch the wall surface. It prevents the hand from becoming unsanitary.

However, the hand may already be in contact with the wall before recognizing that the hand is approaching the wall by notification and correcting the position of the hand. Further, even when the user attempts to correct the position of the hand, the hand may be pressed against the wall surface against the user's intention by being pushed by the high-pressure air flow ejected from the nozzle. . Depending on the accuracy of the optical proximity sensor, the distance between the wall surface and the hand cannot be measured accurately, and the hand may already be in contact with the wall surface at the time of notification. Thus, even if it is notified that a hand has approached the wall surface, it may not be possible to prevent the hand from contacting the wall surface.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and informs the user that the hand has come into contact with the wall surface of the hand insertion portion, and restores the hand to a sanitary state by washing the hand again or the like. An object of the present invention is to obtain a hand-drying device capable of prompting

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a hand drying device according to the present invention is provided with a case in which a hand insertion portion into which a hand can be inserted and removed is formed, and the case is provided with a high-pressure air flow. A high pressure air flow generating device, a nozzle provided on the wall surface of the manual insertion portion to eject the high pressure air flow toward the inside of the manual insertion portion, and an electrode provided on the wall surface of the manual insertion portion to detect capacitance And comprising. Further, based on the comparison between the first threshold value and the capacitance, it is determined that the hand is inserted in the hand insertion portion, and based on the comparison between the second threshold value and the capacitance different from the first threshold value. The determination part which determines with the hand contacting the wall surface of the hand insertion part is provided.

The hand drying apparatus according to the present invention can notify the user that the hand has come into contact with the wall surface of the hand insertion portion, and can prompt the user to restore the hand to a sanitary state by washing the hand again. There is an effect.

Sectional drawing which looked at the hand-drying apparatus concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention from the side The figure which shows the change of the electrostatic capacitance which an electrode detects in the hand dryer concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a control unit in the first embodiment. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the control part in Embodiment 1. The figure which shows schematic structure of the sanitation management system using the hand-drying apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG.

Hereinafter, a hand dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention and a hygiene management system using the same will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a hand drying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention as seen from the side. In FIG. 1, hatching is omitted. Further, the left side of the drawing is the front side of the hand dryer 20, and the right side of the drawing is the back side of the hand dryer 20.

The hand dryer 20 includes a housing 21 having a hand insertion portion 1 configured as a concave space at the top. The housing 21 is formed with a suction port 21a at the bottom. In the housing 21, a nozzle 2 a is formed on the wall surface 1 a on the front surface side of the hand insertion portion 1, and a nozzle 2 b is formed on the wall surface 1 b on the back surface side of the hand insertion portion 1. An air passage 22 that connects the suction port 21a and the nozzles 2a and 2b is formed inside the housing 21.

The air passage 22 incorporates a high-pressure airflow generator 10 that generates a high-pressure airflow. The high-pressure airflow generator 10 includes a motor 11 and a turbo fan 12 that is rotated by the motor. The motor 11 is, for example, a DC (Direct Current) brushless motor.

When the high-pressure airflow generator 10 operates, an airflow from the suction port 21a toward the nozzles 2a and 2b is generated in the air passage 22. The upstream air passage 22a is the upstream air passage 22a and the downstream air passage 22b is the downstream air passage 22b. When the high-pressure airflow generator 10 operates, air is sucked into the upstream air passage 22a through the suction port 21a. The air sucked from the suction port 21a is blown out from the high pressure air flow generator 10 to the downstream air passage 22b as a high pressure air flow. The high-pressure airflow blown from the high-pressure airflow generator 10 is guided to the nozzles 2a and 2b through the downstream air passage 22b and is ejected from the nozzles 2a and 2b toward the manual insertion portion 1.

By spraying the high-speed airflow ejected from the nozzles 2a and 2b onto the hand inserted into the hand insertion portion 1, moisture attached to the hand inserted into the hand insertion portion 1 is blown off. Moisture blown off from the hand is led to the drain tank 5 from a drain port provided in the water receiving portion 4 below the hand insertion portion 1 and stored therein.

The casing 21 is provided with an electrode 7a in close contact with the wall surface 1a of the manual insertion portion 1. The housing 21 is provided with an electrode 7b in close contact with the wall surface 1b of the manual insertion portion 1. The electrodes 7a and 7b function as a capacitance sensor that detects the capacitance. The electrodes 7a and 7b may be provided integrally with the wall surfaces 1a and 1b.

Inside the casing 21, the control unit 6 is provided at a position avoiding the air passage 22. Based on the capacitance detected by the electrodes 7a and 7b, the control unit 6 determines that a hand has been inserted into the hand insertion unit 1 and determines that the hand has touched the wall surfaces 1a and 1b. The detection method of the capacitance sensor configured by the electrodes 7a and 7b includes two methods, a self-capacitance method and a mutual capacitance method. Either method is suitable for determining whether or not a hand touches the wall surfaces 1a and 1b because the amount of change in capacitance when the human body comes into contact is large. In the first embodiment, an example in which the capacitance is detected by the mutual capacitance method will be described. However, similar detection can be performed even when the self-capacitance method is used.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a change in capacitance detected by the electrodes 7a and 7b in the hand dryer 20 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the capacitance detected by the electrodes 7 a and 7 b varies depending on the insertion of a hand into the hand insertion portion 1 or the like. In FIG. 2, the hand is not inserted into the hand insertion part 1 in the section a, the hand is inserted into the hand insertion part 1 in the section b, and the hand is in contact with the wall surfaces 1a and 1b in the section c.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the control unit 6 according to the first embodiment. The control unit 6 includes a storage unit 31, a determination unit 32, an operation control unit 33, and a transmission unit 34.

The storage unit 31 stores a first threshold value of capacitance for determining that a hand has been inserted into the hand insertion unit 1. The first threshold is indicated by line A in FIG. In addition, the storage unit 31 stores a second threshold value for determining that a hand has contacted the wall surfaces 1 a and 1 b of the hand insertion unit 1. The second threshold is indicated by line B in FIG.

Based on the capacitance detected by the electrodes 7 a and 7 b and the first threshold value and the second threshold value stored in the storage unit 31, the determination unit 32 inserts the hand into the hand insertion unit 1 and the wall surface. It is determined that there is a hand contact with 1a and 1b.

2, the determination unit 32 determines that no hand is inserted in the hand insertion unit 1 because the capacitance exceeds the first threshold indicated by the line A in the section a illustrated in FIG. In this section a, the capacitance shows a stable numerical value although there is fluctuation due to noise.

Thereafter, when a hand is inserted into the hand insertion portion 1, the capacitance detected by the electrodes 7a and 7b is reduced to be smaller than the first threshold indicated by the line A. The determination unit 32 determines that a hand is inserted into the hand insertion unit 1 in the interval b in which the capacitance is smaller than the first threshold value. When it is determined that a hand is inserted into the hand insertion unit 1, the determination unit 32 transmits a hand insertion determination signal indicating that a hand is inserted into the hand insertion unit 1 to the operation control unit 33.

When the hand is in contact with the wall surfaces 1a and 1b from the state in which the hand is inserted into the hand insertion portion 1, the capacitance detected by the electrodes 7a and 7b is further reduced to be smaller than the second threshold value indicated by the line B. Become. The determination unit 32 determines that the hand inserted into the hand insertion unit 1 has contacted the wall surfaces 1a and 1b in the section c where the capacitance is smaller than the second threshold value. When the determination unit 32 determines that the hand has contacted the wall surfaces 1a and 1b, the determination unit 32 sends a contact signal, which is a detection signal indicating that the hand has contacted the wall surfaces 1a and 1b, to the transmission unit 34 and the notification unit 23 described later. Send. In addition, the determination unit 32 performs the first operation when the hand is pulled out from the hand insertion unit 1 without detecting the contact of the hand with the wall surfaces 1a and 1b, that is, while the capacitance does not become smaller than the second threshold value. When the threshold value is exceeded, a completion signal indicating that the hand has been normally dried is transmitted to the transmission unit 34 and the notification unit 23 described later.

The operation control unit 33 operates the high-pressure airflow generator 10 when receiving the manual insertion determination signal. As a result, a high-pressure air flow is ejected from the nozzles 2a and 2b, and moisture attached to the hand inserted into the hand insertion portion 1 is blown away. The operation control unit 33 stops the high-pressure airflow generator 10 when the manual insertion determination signal is not received.

When the transmission unit 34 receives the contact signal or the completion signal, the transmission unit 34 transmits the contact signal or the completion signal to the outside of the hand dryer 20.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the control unit 6 according to the first embodiment. The control unit 6 is realized by, for example, a microcomputer 40 on which a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 41 and a memory 42 are mounted. In the microcomputer 40, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 41 functions as a determination unit 32, an operation control unit 33, and a transmission unit 34 by executing a program. Further, a memory 42 such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) functions as the storage unit 31. The program executed by the CPU 41 may be stored in the storage unit 31 or may be stored in another storage medium.

The hand dryer 20 is provided with a notification unit 23. The notification unit 23 notifies that the user's hand has come into contact with the wall surfaces 1 a and 1 b of the hand insertion unit 1. The notification unit 23 is provided at a place where a user who has inserted a hand into the hand insertion unit 1 can easily grasp, for example, the top surface of the housing 21. When receiving the contact signal, the notification unit 23 notifies that the user's hand has touched the wall surfaces 1a and 1b. The notification method is not particularly limited. For example, the notification unit 23 may be turned on, or character information such as “Please hand wash again because the hand touched the wall surface” is displayed. Also good. Thus, by notifying the user that the hand may have been contaminated due to the hand touching the wall surfaces 1a, 1b, the hand can be restored to a sanitary state by washing the hand again. Can be encouraged. Moreover, when the notification unit 23 receives the completion signal, the notification unit 23 may notify information indicating that the hand has been dried hygienically. For example, a place different from the place where the hand is turned on when the hand touches the wall surface 1a, 1b may be turned on, or character information such as “sanitary hand drying has been completed” is displayed. There may be.

In the section b shown in FIG. 2, the user moves the hand inserted into the hand insertion unit 1 to dry the hand, so that the detected capacitance is not stable, and the first threshold value indicated by the line A is set. If it exceeds, it will occur in the short term. However, by providing a delay in the time from when hand removal is detected until the high-pressure airflow generator 10 stops, the high-pressure airflow generator when the capacitance exceeds the first threshold in the short term. 10 is prevented from stopping, and a stable operation is realized.

Since the electrodes 7a and 7b are formed in close contact with the wall surfaces 1a and 1b of the hand insertion portion 1 or are integrally formed, when the user's hand contacts the wall surfaces 1a and 1b, the section c in FIG. The capacitance changes greatly compared to the amount of change in capacitance when a hand is inserted. In particular, when the capacitance is detected by the mutual capacitance method, the behavior is the same as when the electrodes 7a and 7b are grounded, so that the capacitance is hardly detected. Therefore, it is easy to ensure a sufficient width between the first threshold value and the second threshold value, and becomes smaller than the second threshold value due to a change in capacitance when the hand is inserted into the hand insertion portion 1. Is less likely to occur. Thereby, it can be made hard to detect erroneously that the hand contacted the wall surfaces 1a and 1b.

In addition, by setting the first threshold value and the second threshold value, an electrode for determining that a hand has been inserted into the hand insertion portion 1 and a determination that the hand has touched the wall surfaces 1a and 1b. These electrodes can be shared. Thereby, the number of parts can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sanitary management system using the hand dryer 20 according to the first embodiment. The hand dryer 20 is installed in a space where the door 50 is provided. The door 50 is an automatic door that automatically opens when a person approaches. Opening and closing of the door 50 is controlled by a door control unit 51. The door control part 51 will control that a door opens, if the contact signal transmitted from the transmission part 34 of the hand dryer 20 is received. At the same time, the door control unit 51 may cause the door notification unit 52 provided on the side of the door 50 to display “Please wash your hands again and dry”.

In addition, when the door control unit 51 receives a completion signal transmitted from the transmission unit 34 of the hand dryer 20, the door control unit 51 permits the door to open. Therefore, the user of the hand drying apparatus 20 cannot move to another space through the door 50 unless hygienic hand drying is completed. Note that when the completion signal is received, the door control unit 51 may cause the door notification unit 52 to display “sanitary hand drying has been completed”.

According to the hygiene management system described above, the user's hand of the hand dryer 20 is restricted from moving from the space where the hand dryer 20 is provided to another space in a state where there is a possibility of contamination. Can do. Thereby, it can prevent that another space ahead of the door 50 is contaminated by a user's hand. For example, if this hygiene management system is applied to a food factory or the like that requires strict hygiene management, it is possible to prevent an operator from entering the workplace with unsanitary hands.

In the first embodiment, an example using a mutual capacitance type capacitive sensor has been described, but there is no problem even if the self-capacitance method is adopted. In the case of the mutual capacitance method, the capacitance becomes a small value when the user's hand touches the wall surfaces 1a and 1b. However, in the case of the self-capacitance method, if the user's hand contacts the wall surfaces 1a and 1b, The contact of the hand can be detected by the large capacitance. Therefore, when detecting capacitance by the self-capacitance method, the magnitude relationship between the first threshold value and the second threshold value is opposite to the example shown in the first embodiment.

In consideration of manufacturing costs, a sensor for detecting insertion of the hand into the hand insertion portion 1 and an electrode for detecting contact of the hand with the wall surfaces 1a and 1b may be provided separately. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which transmits a contact signal or a completion signal to the exterior, without providing the alerting | reporting part 23 in the hand dryer 20.

The configuration described in the above embodiment shows an example of the contents of the present invention, and can be combined with another known technique, and can be combined with other configurations without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is also possible to omit or change the part.

1 hand insertion part, 1a, 1b wall surface, 2a, 2b nozzle, 4 water receiving part, 5 drain tank, 6 control part, 7a, 7b electrode, 10 high pressure air flow generator, 11 motor, 12 turbo fan, 20 hand drying Device, 21 housing, 21a inlet, 22 air passage, 22a upstream air passage, 22b downstream air passage, 23 notification section, 31 storage section, 32 determination section, 33 operation control section, 34 transmission section, 40 microcomputer, 41 CPU, 42 memory, 50 doors, 51 door control unit, 52 door notification unit.

Claims (5)

A housing in which a hand insertion part capable of inserting and removing a hand is formed;
A high-pressure airflow generator provided in the housing for generating a high-pressure airflow;
A nozzle that is provided on a wall surface of the manual insertion portion and jets the high-pressure airflow toward the inside of the manual insertion portion;
An electrode that is provided on the wall surface of the manual insertion portion and detects capacitance;
Based on the comparison between the first threshold value and the capacitance, it is determined that a hand is inserted in the hand insertion unit, and the second threshold value different from the first threshold value is compared with the capacitance value. And a determination unit that determines that a hand has come into contact with the wall surface of the hand insertion unit. The hand drying device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies that the determination unit determines that a hand has come into contact with the wall surface of the hand insertion unit. The hand drying device according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission unit that transmits a contact signal indicating that the determination unit determines that a hand has contacted the wall surface of the hand insertion unit. When the determination unit determines that a hand has been inserted into the hand insertion unit and then determines that a hand has touched the wall surface, and determines that a hand has been removed from the hand insertion unit, It is judged that hand drying is completed hygienically,
4. The hand drying apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transmission unit transmits a completion signal to the outside when the determination unit determines that hand drying has been completed in a sanitary manner. A hand dryer according to claim 3;
A door provided in a space where the hand dryer is installed;
A door control unit that controls opening and closing of the door and is capable of receiving the contact signal;
The said door control part controls the opening of the said door when the said contact signal is received, The hygiene management system characterized by the above-mentioned.

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