JP2008202246A - Toilet bowl flushing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem wherein power consumption required for processing Doppler signals is large because of needing to carry out arithmetic processing of a urine flow detection filter for extracting signals of a required frequency band from received data to detect Doppler signals, thereby needing to sample received data at sampling intervals corresponding to the frequency of Doppler signals. <P>SOLUTION: This toilet bowl flushing device comprises a Doppler sensor for detecting urine flow; a urine flow detection processing part for processing sensor output in a predetermined sampling cycle and detecting urine flow through the urine flow detection filter means adapted to the sampling cycle; and a control part for performing control according to urine flow presence/absence output. The toilet blow flushing device further has a frequency analyzing means for measuring frequency included in the sensor output, and a sampling cycle changing means for changing the sampling cycle according to the output of the frequency analyzing means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a toilet bowl cleaning apparatus, and more particularly to a toilet bowl cleaning apparatus that performs human body detection and urine flow detection using a Doppler sensor using a microwave or the like.

  Conventionally, in urinal cleaning, in order to automate the cleaning of the toilet body after the addition, human body detection such as an infrared sensor is installed in the toilet bowl, and when this human body detection sensor detects a user for a certain time or more, Then, after detecting that the user has left, a predetermined amount of washing water is made to flow by opening and closing a water supply valve provided in the water supply channel.

  As a human body detection sensor, an infrared sensor using infrared rays is generally used, and since this sensor is inexpensive, it is widely used. However, since this human body detection sensor uses reflection of light, the installation position of the human body detection sensor is limited to a position where there is no obstacle to light. In addition, if the window becomes dirty, the detection accuracy deteriorates. In addition, in order to widen the detection range, it is necessary to increase the light output and diffuse the light, so that it is difficult to detect a wide range.

  Therefore, in recent years, toilet cleaning devices that detect human bodies with Doppler sensors using radio waves have been proposed or provided. Since this Doppler sensor uses radio waves that can pass through resin and ceramics, it can be hidden in the body cover, looks good, and is not easily mischievous. Moreover, it is possible to detect whether a person is approaching or moving away. Furthermore, not only human body detection but also urine flow and washing water can be detected by this Doppler sensor (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The Doppler sensor includes a transmission unit that transmits a microwave, a reception unit that receives a reflected wave of a radio wave transmitted by the transmission unit, a frequency of a signal received by the reception unit, and a signal transmitted by the transmission unit. Difference detection means for obtaining a difference from the frequency and generating a signal corresponding to the difference is provided.

  And this Doppler sensor is used for the object (motion) detection by the following principle using the Doppler effect by an electromagnetic wave.

Basic formula: ΔF = FS−Fb = 2 × FS × ν / c
ΔF: Doppler frequency FS: Transmission frequency Fb: Reflection frequency ν: Moving speed of object c: Speed of light (300 × 10 ⁶ m / s)
The FS transmitted from the antenna is reflected by the object, and becomes Fb after receiving the Doppler frequency shift due to the relative motion ν. At this time, the frequency difference ΔF between the transmitted wave and the reflected wave can be extracted as an output signal.

Since the distance between the antenna and the object to be detected (human body, urine flow, etc.) is inversely proportional to the magnitude of ΔF, the frequency spectrum of ΔF is analyzed to determine whether the person is approaching or moving away. It is possible to detect whether or not there is a water flow in the toilet bowl.
International Publication No. 03/021052 Pamphlet

  By the way, in the toilet bowl cleaning device, in order to improve workability and maintainability and to save energy, a generator for generating electricity by rotating the impeller is provided in the cleaning water supply channel, and the electric power of this generator is opened and closed by a solenoid valve. There is a growing demand for a urinal cleaning device with a built-in generator that is used as a power source.

  However, although the toilet cleaning device of Patent Document 1 can detect a human body and a water flow in the toilet using the Doppler sensor, a wide frequency band signal is received from received data for detection of a wide frequency band. It is necessary to perform arithmetic processing of the urine flow detection filter to be extracted. For this purpose, the microcomputer has to sample the received data at a short sampling interval, so that the calculation process increases and the power consumption increases. For this reason, it has been difficult to apply to a urinal cleaning device of a generator built-in type that operates with low consumption.

  Therefore, in the invention described in claim 1, a toilet, a water supply valve for supplying cleaning water to the toilet, a Doppler sensor for detecting a urine flow excreted in the toilet, and a sensor output of the Doppler sensor are provided. A microcomputer for performing arithmetic processing, and a control unit for controlling the opening and closing of the water supply valve according to the output thereof, the microcomputer comprising a urine flow detection processing unit for detecting urine flow from the sensor output, The urine flow detection processing unit measures the frequency contained in the sensor output, sampling means for digitally processing the sensor output at a predetermined sampling period, urine flow detection filter means for extracting a urine flow signal from the output of the sampling means, Frequency analysis means for performing sampling and changing the sampling period according to the output of the frequency analysis means And having a changing means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the toilet bowl cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect, the frequency analysis means includes a plurality of frequency filter means corresponding to a plurality of frequency bands, and the frequency analysis means includes the sensor output. The frequency band corresponding to the maximum output of each frequency filter means is output through the plurality of frequency filter means.

  Moreover, in invention of Claim 3, in the toilet bowl washing | cleaning apparatus of Claim 1 or 2, while the said urine flow detection process part has a filter frequency change means to change the filter frequency of the said urine flow detection filter means, The filter frequency is changed according to the output of the frequency analysis means.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the toilet bowl cleaning device according to any one of the first to third aspects, when the urine flow detection processing unit outputs no urine flow, the sampling period changing means is configured to perform the sampling. The period is reset to a predetermined sampling period.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the frequency of the sensor output is initially measured at a predetermined sampling period. And when the frequency of the object is detected, the sampling period can be determined according to the frequency, so when the frequency is lower than the predetermined frequency, the sampling period can be processed at a wide interval. The microcomputer processing time during urine flow detection can be reduced and the power consumption can be reduced. For example, since the frequency of the urinary flow signal is unknown, sampling is always performed at a period of 1 msec during urinary flow detection. On the other hand, if it is found by the frequency analysis means that the frequency of urine is 90 Hz, it is sufficient to sample at a period of 3 msec to receive a 90 Hz signal, so the consumption required for sampling during urine flow detection Electricity can be reduced by a third.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the frequency analysis means is constituted by a plurality of frequency filter means, and the frequency band corresponding to the output of the frequency filter means is assumed to be the frequency. By doing so, the main frequency band of the urinary flow signal can be known only by simple processing without performing processing such as Fourier transform, and the frequency analysis means can be configured easily. If sampling is performed at a sampling period that matches the segment frequency, the frequency of the urinary flow signal can be detected with high accuracy, and power consumption can be reduced.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the toilet bowl cleaning device according to the first or second aspect, the urine flow detection processing unit has a filter frequency changing means for changing a filter frequency of the urine flow detection filter means. Therefore, the urine flow detection filter means which requires arithmetic processing can also process the sampling cycle at a wide interval when the frequency is lower than a predetermined frequency according to the output of the frequency analysis means, so that the current consumption can be further reduced. Can do.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 4, in the toilet bowl cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, when the urine flow detection processing unit outputs no urine flow, the sampling period changing means is Since the sampling period is reset to a predetermined sampling period, when it is always used for the first time, detection is performed at a predetermined sampling period for a certain period from the start of urinary flow detection, so the frequency of the urinary flow signal is detected accurately. can do.

  Next, embodiments of the invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a urinal washing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of a Doppler sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the control part which concerns on.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a urinal washing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a urinal body 2 in which an internal Doppler sensor 5 is housed, and a urinal body 2 ball connected to the urinal body 2. A water supply pipe 3 for supplying water (hereinafter referred to as “washing water”) for cleaning the internal space of the section 2a, and supply of cleaning water to the urinal body 2 disposed in the middle of the water supply pipe 3 And a water supply valve 4 that is an on-off valve for stopping the water supply, and a control unit 6 that controls the water supply valve 4 to supply and stop the cleaning water. Further, urine and washing water flowing in the ball space of the urinal body 2 are drained from a drainage channel 7 connected to the urinal body 2.

  The toilet bowl cleaning device 1 configured as described above uses the Doppler sensor 5 to perform human body detection and flowing water detection (including urine flow detection and washing water detection) by the control unit 6, and controls the water supply valve 4 to perform cleaning. Operates to supply the water and wash the toilet bowl. That is, the control unit 6 performs detection control using human body detection or running water detection as a detection target, and operates according to the detection status.

  Here, the configuration of the Doppler sensor 5 will be specifically described below with reference to FIG.

  The Doppler sensor 5 includes, for example, an oscillation circuit 8 that generates a 10.525 GHz (FS) signal, a transmission circuit 9 that is a transmission unit that transmits the signal generated by the oscillation circuit 8 as a microwave that is a radio wave, The frequency difference between the receiving circuit 10 which is a receiving means for receiving the reflected wave of the microwave transmitted by the transmitting circuit 9 and the frequency FS of the microwave transmitted by the transmitting circuit 9 and the frequency Fb of the microwave received by the receiving circuit 10 And a difference detection circuit 11 which is a difference detection means for outputting a signal of ΔF (hereinafter referred to as “difference signal”).

  Therefore, when the Doppler sensor 5 is operating, a microwave is transmitted from the transmission circuit 9, the reflected wave is received by the reception circuit 10, and a difference signal is output from the difference detection circuit 11.

  Further, the urinal cleaning device 1 of the present embodiment is configured to use the Doppler effect when radio waves are used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a Doppler sensor that uses sound waves such as ultrasonic waves may be used. Good.

Next, the configuration of the control unit of the urinal washing apparatus 1 will be specifically described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 6 of the urinal washing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment includes a microcomputer 15, an amplification unit 12 that amplifies the difference signal output from the difference detection circuit 11 of the Doppler sensor 5, and an amplification Based on the signal output from the microcomputer 15 and a high-pass filter amplifying unit 13 (hereinafter referred to as “HPF amplifying unit”) that reduces and further amplifies the low frequency component of the differential signal amplified by the unit 12. And a valve drive unit 14 for opening and closing the valve 4.

  Here, the microcomputer 15 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), storage means 21 such as ROM and RAM, an input / output port, a timer, an A / D converter, and the like. By reading the program, the standing wave detecting means 16, the human body detecting means 17, the urine flow detection processing unit 18, the frequency analyzing means 19 and the calculating means 20 of the present invention are configured to operate.

  The output signal of the amplifying unit 12 and the output signal of the HPF amplifying unit 13 are each digitally processed by the microcomputer 15, thereby analyzing the differential signal output from the Doppler sensor 5, It is configured to perform detection control such as detection of running water. Hereinafter, the operation of the digital signal processing in the control unit 6 will be specifically described.

First, after describing the standing wave detection means 16 and the human body detection means 17, the urine flow detection processing unit 18 and the frequency analysis means 19 will be described.
The standing wave detection means 16 detects a standing wave signal from the signal output from the amplifying unit 12, and includes a low-pass filter circuit (AC component removal circuit), a phase shift circuit, a full wave rectification circuit, an addition circuit, and the like. Consists of

  The output signal of the amplifying unit 12 is composed of a DC component that is a standing wave signal and an AC component that is a Doppler signal, and the standing signal is removed by removing the Doppler signal component by the low-pass filter circuit of the standing wave detecting means 16. A wave signal is extracted. That is, the AC component is removed from the output signal of the amplifying unit 12.

  The level of the standing wave signal changes depending on the distance between the Doppler sensor 5 and the detection target (human body or urine flow). That is, the voltage level of the standing wave signal increases as the distance from the Doppler sensor 5 to the detection target decreases.

  Then, when the standing wave detection means 16 generates a standing wave signal for human body detection, first, the phase of the standing wave signal output from the low-pass filter circuit of the standing wave detection means 16 is shifted. The signal is generated by a shift circuit.

  Next, the standing wave detection unit 16 performs full wave rectification on the standing wave signal whose phase is shifted in this way by the full wave rectification circuit, and also outputs the phase output from the low pass filter circuit of the standing wave detection unit 16 Full-wave rectification is performed on the unshifted standing wave signal by a full-wave rectifier circuit.

  Thereafter, the standing wave detecting means 16 adds the two standing wave signals thus full-wave rectified by an adder circuit to generate a standing wave synthesized signal, and this standing wave synthesized signal is used for human body detection. The signal is output to the human body detection means 17 as a standing wave signal.

  The human body detection means 17 detects the presence or absence of a user (human body) who uses the urinal 2 by using the standing wave signal for human body detection input from the standing wave detection means 16. It functions as a means.

  That is, since the standing wave signal generated by the standing wave detection means 16 becomes a signal having a voltage level corresponding to the distance between the Doppler sensor 5 and the human body that is the detection target, the human body detection means 17 By detecting the voltage level, the distance between the Doppler sensor 5 and the human body can be detected.

  Therefore, the human body detection means 17 performs a calculation process for comparing the voltage level of the standing wave signal input from the standing wave detection means 16 with a predetermined threshold value set in advance, and the voltage level of the standing wave signal Is larger than the set threshold value, it can be determined that the user exists.

  The HPF amplification unit 13 and the urine flow detection processing unit 18 perform signal processing so as to extract a difference signal in a frequency band of 80 to 180 Hz necessary for urine flow detection at a sampling period corresponding to the frequency band.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the urine flow detection processing unit 18 in the present embodiment includes a sampling unit 23 that samples the output signal of the HPF amplification unit 13, a frequency analysis unit 19 that analyzes the frequency of the Doppler signal, and a urine from the Doppler signal. A urine flow detection filter 25 for extracting only frequency components necessary for flow detection (here, the name of the application using a digital filter), a sampling period changing means for changing the sampling period of the sampling means 23 in accordance with the output of the frequency analyzing means 19 22. Filter frequency changing means 24 for changing the pass bandwidth of the urine flow detection filter 25 in accordance with the output of the frequency analysis means 19, and comparing the output of the urine flow detection filter 25 with a predetermined threshold to determine the presence or absence of urine flow And a flow detection threshold value comparison means 26.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the frequency analysis means 19 in this embodiment is a band-pass filter 27, 28, 29 (hereinafter referred to as “bandpass filters”) that separates the output of the sampling means 23 of the urine flow detection processing unit 18 into three frequency sections. Comparing means 30 for comparing the outputs of BPF 27, 28, and 29 and identifying the frequency band with the largest signal is provided. The operation of the signal processing of the urine flow detection processing unit 18 will be specifically described below.

  For example, it is assumed that the urine flow signal included in the output signal of the HPF amplification unit 13 is 100 Hz. First, the Doppler signal is sampled by the sampling means 23 of the urine flow detection processing unit 18. At this stage, since the frequency of the urine flow signal is unknown, it is necessary to sample all signals from 80 to 180 Hz with a sampling period that can be detected. Here, sampling is performed at a cycle of 1 ms. The output of the sampling means 23 is input to the urine flow detection filter 25. The urine flow detection filter 25 is a band-pass filter. Here, a frequency band of 80 to 180 Hz can be passed and a frequency band necessary for the urine flow test value can be obtained. The voltage level of the urinary flow signal, which is the output of the urinary flow detection filter 25, is compared with a predetermined threshold by the urine flow detection threshold comparing means 26, and if it is larger than the predetermined threshold, it is determined that there is urine flow, and urine flow detection Confirmed.

  When the urine flow detection is confirmed, the output of the sampling means 23 is frequency-analyzed by the frequency analysis means 19 for a certain time in parallel with the processing of the urine flow detection filter 25 and the urine flow detection threshold comparison means 26. BPF27 (passband width: 80-110 Hz), 28 (passband width: 110-160 Hz), 29 (passband width: 160- 180 Hz) is performed for a predetermined time, and the maximum value of those output signals is compared by the comparison means 30 to determine the main frequency band of the urine flow signal. Here, the frequency determination processing time is 1 s. Since the frequency of the urinary flow signal is 100 Hz, the maximum value of the output of BPF27 is the largest, the frequency band of the urinary flow signal is determined to be 80 to 110 Hz, and the result is changed to the sampling period changing means 22 and the filter frequency Output to means 24.

  In accordance with the frequency analysis result output from the frequency analysis means 19, the sampling period changing means 22 operates so as to delay the sampling period of the sampling means 23 within a range that does not affect the detection accuracy. For example, sampling is performed at a period of 3 ms when the frequency band of the urine flow signal is 80 to 110 Hz, at a period of 2 ms when at 110 to 160 Hz, and at a period of 1 ms at 160 to 180 Hz. In this case, the sampling period changing means 22 operates so that the sampling means 23 samples at a 3 ms period, and the sampling means 23 samples the output signal of the HPF amplifier 13 at a 3 ms period.

  A urine flow signal is extracted from the output of the sampling means 23 by passing through the urine flow detection filter 25. The urine flow detection filter 25, which is a bandpass filter, can change its pass bandwidth by the filter frequency changing means 24 according to the output of the frequency analyzing means 19, and its pass bandwidth is 80 to 110 Hz, 110 to 160 Hz. , Selected from three of 160-180Hz depending on the frequency of the urine flow signal. Here, the urine flow detection filter 25 is a band-pass filter of 80 to 110 Hz. Note that after the change of the sampling period of the sampling means 23 and the pass bandwidth of the urine flow detection filter 25 according to the frequency band, the processing of the BPFs 27, 28, 29 and the comparison means 30 is stopped.

  The voltage level of the urine flow signal, which is the output of the urine flow detection filter 25, is compared with a predetermined threshold by the urine flow detection threshold comparing means 26, and if it is greater than the predetermined threshold, it is determined that urine flow exists. In other words, the 80 to 180 Hz signal necessary for urine flow detection can be extracted at a sampling cycle according to the frequency, and the power consumption required for sampling can be reduced compared to sampling at a constant cycle at all times. Is possible.

  If the voltage level of the urinary flow signal falls below a predetermined threshold after changing the sampling period of the sampling unit 23 according to the frequency of the urinary flow signal, the sampling period 23 is changed by the sampling period changing unit 22 and the filter frequency changing unit 24. The sampling period and the pass bandwidth of the urine flow detection filter 25 are returned to the initial values (here, the sampling period is 1 ms, the filter frequency is 80 to 180 Hz), and the urine flow is stopped. When the urine flow is detected again, the processing is repeated from the frequency discrimination of the BPFs 27, 28, 29 and the comparison means 30.

  In the urinal washing apparatus configured as described above, unnecessary sampling can be reduced without affecting the urine flow detection accuracy, thereby reducing power consumption. The operation will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation timing chart of human body detection and urine flow detection in the urinal washing apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing how the sampling period is changed.

  In this urinal washing apparatus 1, the standing wave detection means 16 and the human body detection means 17 with relatively low power consumption perform human body detection that always detects the user of the urinal 2 using the standing wave signal. The urine flow detection operation by the urine flow detection processing unit 18 is not performed until the presence of the human body is detected by the human body detection means 17.

Here, with reference to FIG. 6, the state of presence / absence of a user (human body), presence / absence of detection output of urine flow, ON / OFF state of human body detection processing (standing wave signal), urine flow detection processing (Doppler signal) ) ON / OFF state change and each operation.
First, when the human body detecting means 17 detects the presence of a user, the user signal changes from “no” to “present”. In conjunction with this, the urine flow detection processing unit 18 turns on the operation of the urine flow detection processing (Doppler signal) using the Doppler signal, the sampling means 23 performs sampling at a 1 ms cycle, and the urine flow detection filter 25 performs 80 Detect urine flow signal at ~ 180Hz.

  Next, when the urine flow detection processing unit 18 detects the presence of the urine flow, the process with the urine flow is started. Then, the processing of the frequency analysis means 19 is started. Sampling is performed at a sampling period of 1 ms for 1 s after detection of urine flow, and the frequency band of the urine flow signal is determined. (Here, the detection is completed in 50 ms after the urine flow is present.) Since the urine flow detection process is in the process of detecting the urine flow, the sampling current is 3 ms and the urine flow detection filter 80 to 110 Hz reduces the current consumption. Like that. Then, the processing is continued according to the sampling period of the sampling means 23 and the pass bandwidth of the urine flow detection filter 25 according to the frequency of the urine flow signal. As shown in FIG. 7, the change of the sampling period indicates a state in which the received signal is sampled at the first 1 ms period and then at the 3 ms period.

  Thereafter, when the urine flow detection is interrupted (changes from the presence of urine flow to the absence of urine flow), the urine flow detection processing sets the sampling period of the sampling means 23 and the pass bandwidth of the urine flow detection filter 25 to the initial values (sampling period 3 ms, urine flow). The urine flow detection operation is continued until the human body detection is interrupted. When the human body detection is interrupted (changes from the presence of the user to the absence), the urine flow detection process is stopped (OFF).

  In addition, each operation will be described with reference to the operation flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  First, referring to FIG. 8, when power is turned on in the toilet bowl cleaning apparatus, the microcomputer 15 reads a program from the internal memory and starts functioning as a human body detecting means. The human body detection means includes a standing wave detection means 16 and a human body detection means 17, and uses the standing wave signal extracted from the microwave Doppler sensor 5 to perform processing for starting detection of the presence or absence of a human body. . (Step S1)

  Next, in step 2, it is determined whether or not the human body detecting means 17 has detected a human body from the standing wave signal. If the microcomputer 15 determines that a human body has been detected, the process proceeds to step S3, and no human body has been detected. If it is determined, step S2 is repeated until a human body is detected.

  Next, in step S3, the microcomputer 15 sets the sampling period of the sampling means 23 that samples the difference signal in the urine flow detection processing unit 18 to a, and the urine flow detection filter 25 that extracts the frequency component of the urine flow signal. The pass bandwidth is set to fd to fa, and then the process proceeds to step S4. Note that the sampling period a and the pass bandwidth of the urine flow detection filter must be able to detect the entire frequency range of the urine flow signal. In the above embodiment, a = 1 ms, fa = 180 Hz, and fd = 80 Hz.

  Next, in step S4, the microcomputer 15 performs a process of causing the urine flow detection processing unit 18 to start a urine flow detection operation, and thereafter moves the process to step S5.

  Next, in step S5, the microcomputer 21 determines whether or not the urine flow detection is confirmed by the urine flow detection processing unit 18 based on the Doppler signal, and if it is determined that the urine flow detection is confirmed, the processing is performed in step S6. If it is determined that the process has not been confirmed, the process proceeds to step S7.

  Next, in step S6, the microcomputer 15 performs a process of starting the urine flow detection timer, and thereafter moves the process to step S8 shown in FIG. The symbol (t) in the flowchart indicates the count value of the urine flow detection timer.

  In step S7, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not the human body detecting means 17 has detected a human body from the standing wave signal. If it is determined that the human body has been detected, the microcomputer 15 proceeds to step S5 to detect the human body. If it is determined that there is not, the process proceeds to step S2.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9, in step S8, the microcomputer 15 performs frequency discrimination processing by the frequency analysis means 19. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S9. This frequency discrimination process will be specifically described later with reference to FIG.

  Next, in step S9, the microcomputer 15 passes through the urine flow detection filter 25 for extracting the sampling frequency of the sampling means 23 for sampling the differential signal in the urine flow detection processing unit 18 and extracting the frequency component of the urine flow signal. The bandwidth is set to fy to fx, and then the process proceeds to step S10. Note that the values of the variables x, fx, and fy are determined by the frequency discrimination process in step S8.

  Next, in step S10, the microcomputer 15 determines whether the urine flow detection is determined by the urine flow detection processing unit 18 based on the Doppler signal, and if it is determined that the urine flow detection is determined, the urine flow detection is performed. The process of step S10 is repeated until it is determined not to be fixed, and when it is determined that the process is not fixed, the process proceeds to step S11.

  Next, in step S11, the microcomputer 15 performs a process of stopping the urine flow detection timer, and then proceeds to step S12.

  Next, in step S12, the microcomputer 15 passes through the urinary flow detection filter 25 for extracting the frequency component of the urinary flow signal a by sampling the sampling means 23 for sampling the differential signal in the urine flow detection processing unit 18. The bandwidth is set to fd to fa, and then the process proceeds to step S12. In the above implementation encouragement, a = 1 ms, fa = 180 Hz, and fd = 80 Hz.

  Next, in step S13, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not the human body detection means 17 has detected a human body from the standing wave signal, and if it is determined that the human body has been detected, the process proceeds to step S14 to detect the human body. If it is determined that it is not, the process proceeds to step S16.

  Next, in step S14, the microcomputer 15 determines whether the urine flow detection is confirmed by the urine flow detection processing unit 18 based on the Doppler signal, and the process is performed when it is determined that the urine flow detection is confirmed. If it is determined that the process has not been finalized, the process proceeds to step S13.

  Next, in step S15, the microcomputer 15 performs a process for restarting the urine flow detection timer, and then proceeds to step S8.

  In step S16, the microcomputer 15 performs a process of stopping the urine flow detection operation performed in the urine flow detection processing unit 18, and then moves the process to step S17.

  In step S17, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not (t) is 1 s or longer. If the microcomputer 15 determines that it is 1 s or longer, the microcomputer 15 proceeds to step S18 and determines that it is not 1 s or longer. The process moves to step S19.

  Next, in step S18, the microcomputer 15 performs a toilet flushing process for supplying flush water to the urinal 2 by causing the valve drive unit 14 to perform opening / closing control of the water supply valve 4, and then the processing step to S19. Transfer.

  Next, in step S19, the microcomputer 15 performs a process of resetting the urine flow detection timer.

  Then, the microcomputer 15 of the urinal washing apparatus 1 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S1 to S19 while the power is on.

  Next, frequency determination processing performed by the microcomputer 15 will be specifically described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  In this frequency discrimination process, the microcomputer 15 first converts the difference signal data sampled by the sampling means 23 in the BPF 27, 28, 29 of the frequency analyzing means 19 into three band pass filters 1, 2, 3 (pass bandwidth). : Fb to fa, fc to fb, fd to fc) for a predetermined time, and output the maximum value of the output signal as A, B, and C, respectively. (Step S20) In the above embodiment, fa = 180 Hz, fb = 160 Hz, fc = 110 Hz, fd = 80 Hz, and the filtering time is 1 s. When this process is completed, the process step moves to S21.

  Next, in step S21, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not A is larger than B. If it is determined that A is larger, the process proceeds to S22, and if it is not determined that A is larger, processing is performed. Move the step to S23.

  Next, in step S22, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not A is greater than C. If it is determined that A is large, the process proceeds to S24, and if not, the process step is performed. Move to S26.

  In step S23, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not B is greater than C. If it is determined that B is large, the process proceeds to S25, and if it is not determined that B is large, the process step is S26. Move to.

 In step S24, the microcomputer 15 sets a to the variable x, fa to the variable fx, and fb to the variable fy, and then shifts the processing step to S10 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, a = 1 ms, fa = 180 Hz, and fb = 160 Hz.

 In step S25, the microcomputer 15 sets b as the variable x, fb as the variable fx, and fc as the variable fy, and then moves the processing step to S10 shown in FIG. In this embodiment, b = 2 ms, fb = 160 Hz, and fb = 110 Hz.

  In step S26, the microcomputer 15 sets c as a variable x, fc as a variable fx, and fd as a variable fy, and then shifts the processing step to S10 shown in FIG. In this embodiment, c = 3 ms, fb = 110 Hz, and fb = 80 Hz.

  Thus, in steps S20 to S26, the maximum one of the maximum values A, B, and C of the outputs that have passed through the three bandpass filters 1, 2, and 3 for a certain period of time is detected, and the result is Based on this, the sampling cycle of the sampling unit 23 and the pass bandwidth of the urine flow detection filter 25 are changed by the sampling cycle changing unit 22 and the filter frequency changing unit 24, respectively.

  By performing such processing by the microcomputer 15, the urinal washing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can reduce the sampling cycle without reducing the accuracy of urine flow detection, as shown in FIG. Electric power can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the frequency band is identified by passing a plurality of bandpass filters in the frequency discrimination process. However, the frequency may be identified by FFT analysis.

The figure which shows the whole structure of the toilet bowl washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the function structure of the Doppler sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the control part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the urine flow detection process part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the frequency analysis means which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the timing chart which shows the implementation timing of the human body detection process which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and a urine flow detection process. The figure which shows the outline of the sampling period change which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the flowchart of the process which the microcomputer in the toilet bowl washing | cleaning apparatus of embodiment implements. The figure which shows the flowchart of the process which the microcomputer in the toilet bowl washing | cleaning apparatus of embodiment implements. The figure which shows the flowchart of the process which the microcomputer in the toilet bowl washing | cleaning apparatus of embodiment implements.

Explanation of symbols

Urinal washing device Urinal 2a. 2. Ball part 3. Water supply pipe 4. Water supply valve Doppler sensor 6. Control unit 7. Drainage channel 8. 8. Oscillator circuit Transmit circuit 10. Receiving circuit 11. Difference detection circuit 12. Amplifying unit 13. HPF amplifier 14. Valve drive unit 15. Microcomputer 16. Standing wave detection circuit 17. Human body detection means 18. Urine flow detection processing unit 19. Frequency analysis means 20. Calculation means 21. Storage means 22. Sampling period changing means 23. Sampling means 24. Filter frequency changing means 25. Urinary flow detection filter 26. Urine flow detection threshold variable means
BPF
30. Comparison means

Claims (4)

  A toilet, a water supply valve for supplying flush water to the toilet, a Doppler sensor for detecting a urine flow excreted in the toilet, and a microcomputer for calculating the sensor output of the Doppler sensor. And a microcomputer for controlling the opening and closing of the water supply valve. The microcomputer includes a urine flow detection processing unit for detecting urine flow from the sensor output, and the urine flow detection processing unit outputs the sensor output to a predetermined level. A sampling means for digital processing at a sampling period of time, a urine flow detection filter means for extracting a urine flow signal from the output of the sampling means, a frequency analysis means for measuring a frequency contained in the sensor output, and a frequency analysis means And sampling period changing means for changing the setting of the sampling period in accordance with the output. Toilet bowl cleaning device.   2. The toilet bowl cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the frequency analysis means includes a plurality of frequency filter means corresponding to a plurality of frequency bands, and the sensor output is passed through the plurality of frequency filter means and the maximum of each frequency filter means. A toilet cleaning device that outputs a frequency band corresponding to the output.   3. The toilet cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the urine flow detection processing unit includes a filter frequency changing unit that changes a filter frequency of the urine flow detection filter unit, and according to an output of the frequency analysis unit, A toilet cleaning device, wherein the filter frequency is changed.   4. The toilet flushing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the urine flow detection processing unit outputs no urine flow, the sampling cycle changing unit resets the sampling cycle to a predetermined sampling cycle. 5. A toilet cleaning device characterized by the above.

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