JP2023159657A - Faucet device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a faucet device capable of rationally performing wireless power supply and wireless communication between a faucet body and a water discharge head.SOLUTION: A faucet device 1 includes a palm sensor 7 provided on a water discharge head 4 that can be removed from a water discharge pipe 3 of a faucet body 2. Between the faucet body 2 and the water discharge head 4, a power supply communication part 8 is provided that is capable of transmitting power for driving the palm sensor 7 by wireless power supply, and also capable of returning a detection signal detected by the palm sensor 7 to a control part 12 on the faucet body 2 side through electromagnetic induction associated with modulation of a carrier wave.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a faucet device. Specifically, the present invention relates to a faucet device having a faucet body and a water discharge head that is detachably attached to the faucet body.

Patent Document 1 discloses a faucet device in which a water discharging head can be pulled out from a faucet body and used. In this faucet device, a water discharge flow path that connects a faucet main body and a water discharge head is constituted by a flexible hose. The flexible hose is connected to the water spouting head through the inside of the faucet body, and is configured to be pulled out from the faucet body as the water spouting head is pulled out.

A power supply unit capable of wirelessly supplying power between the water discharging head and the faucet body by electromagnetic induction is provided between the water discharging head and the faucet body. This power supply unit makes it possible to wirelessly supply power to the water discharging head, which is pulled out from the faucet body and used, without connecting them with wires.

Patent No. 4351616

In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, wirelessly supplied power is used to operate a hand sensor provided in the water discharging head, and a detection signal from the hand sensor is transmitted from the water discharging head to another control unit by wireless communication. I'm starting to do things like that. However, since a dedicated infrared sensor is separately used for this wireless communication, there is a problem that the number of parts and the installation space increase. Therefore, the present invention provides a faucet device that can rationally perform wireless power supply and wireless communication between a faucet main body and a water discharging head.

In order to solve the above problems, the faucet device of the present invention takes the following measures.

That is, a first aspect of the present invention is a faucet device having a faucet main body and a water discharging head that is detachably provided to the faucet main body, the faucet device being provided on the water discharging head and configured to allow the user to an operation detection unit capable of detecting an operation to change the water spouting state by a power transmission unit; When attached to the faucet body, the power transmitting coil and the power receiving coil are electromagnetically coupled to each other, and power for driving the power receiving unit and the operation detection section is transmitted from the power transmitting coil to the power receiving coil by electromagnetic induction. The faucet device also includes a power supply communication unit that transmits a detection signal detected by the operation detection unit from the power reception coil to the power transmission coil by electromagnetic induction accompanied by modulation of a carrier wave.

According to the first invention, the power transmitting coil and the power receiving coil of the power supply communication section are electromagnetically coupled to each other by attaching the water discharging head to the faucet main body. Thereby, it becomes possible to wirelessly supply power from the power transmission unit to the power reception unit and the operation detection section, and also to transmit a detection signal from the operation detection section to the power transmission unit. With the configuration using such a power supply communication unit, it becomes possible to rationally perform wireless power supply and wireless communication between the faucet main body and the water discharging head.

A second aspect of the present invention is that in the first aspect, the power supply communication section is configured such that the electromagnetic coupling is canceled when the water spouting head is removed from the faucet main body, and the operation detection section However, based on a detection signal that detects the user's hand being extended, there is a non-function device for performing water spouting control that switches the water spouting state between continuous water spouting, which continues spouting water even when the user's hand is withdrawn, and water stop, each time the user's hand is held out. This is a faucet device that uses a contact-type hand-held sensor.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the user can easily perform the water spouting/water shutoff operation without directly touching the operation detection section with his/her hand. In addition, when the user grabs the water spouting head with his/her hand and removes it from the faucet body, the detection of the hand held out by the hand sensor is disabled, which prevents the user from accidentally switching between water spouting and water stoppage when the water spouting head is pulled out. Detection can be prevented.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a faucet device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which the water discharging head is pulled out from the faucet main body. FIG. 2 is a system diagram schematically showing the circuit configuration of the faucet device.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated using drawing.

《First embodiment》
(About the schematic configuration of faucet device 1)
First, the configuration of a faucet device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 1 to 3. In the following description, when directions such as front, back, top, bottom, left, right, etc. are indicated, they refer to the respective directions shown in each figure. The directions shown in each figure are the directions seen from the user standing in front of the faucet device 1, respectively. In the following description, when a specific reference figure is not shown or a reference figure does not have a corresponding numeral, any of the figures in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be referred to as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 1, the faucet device 1 according to the present embodiment is configured as a so-called stand-type single-lever mixing faucet that is installed on the top plate on the back side of the sink of a kitchen counter (not shown). . This faucet device 1 has a function of internally mixing hot water and water supplied from below the top plate of a kitchen counter and discharging the water into a sink.

Specifically, the faucet device 1 includes a temperature control function capable of internally adjusting the mixing ratio of hot water and water supplied from below the top plate. Furthermore, the faucet device 1 has a water discharge/stop switching function capable of switching between spouting/stopping of mixed hot water. Further, the faucet device 1 includes a water spouting amount adjustment function that can adjust the amount of hot water to be spouted.

The above-mentioned mixing ratio of hot water and water discharge can be adjusted by operating one lever handle 5 attached to the upper part of the faucet body 2. The lever handle 5 is connected at its base to the upper part of the faucet body 2 so that it can swing vertically and horizontally. The lever handle 5 has a grip extending from its base that is grasped by the user and moved vertically and horizontally to operate a hot water mixing cartridge C built into the faucet body 2.

Specifically, the user operates the cartridge C by moving the grip part of the lever handle 5 in the left-right direction, thereby adjusting the opening degree of each intake port for hot water to be taken into the interior of the faucet body 2. change. As a result, the mixing ratio of hot water and water introduced into the faucet main body 2 is adjusted to a set temperature corresponding to the operating position of the lever handle 5.

In addition, when the user moves the grip portion of the lever handle 5 in the vertical direction, the user operates the cartridge C and changes the degree of opening of the discharge port for discharging hot water from inside the faucet body 2. Thereby, the amount of hot water discharged from the inside of the faucet body 2 is adjusted so as to correspond to the operating position of the lever handle 5.

Specifically, the discharge port is operated so that its opening degree is gradually opened as the lever handle 5 is pulled up, and is operated so that its opening degree is gradually closed as the lever handle 5 is pushed down. . Note that the basic configuration related to the adjustment of the mixing ratio of hot water and water discharge amount by the cartridge C is the same as the known configuration disclosed in documents such as Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2020-46067. Therefore, a description of the specific structure of the cartridge C will be omitted.

In addition, the above-mentioned switching between spouting and shutting off hot water is performed by touching the hand sensor 7 on the front side of the water spouting head 4 attached to the tip of the water spout 3 extending upward from the faucet body 2 toward the front in the figure. This can be done by presenting the The hand-holding sensor 7 is a reflective photoelectric sensor (infrared sensor) that can detect the hand of the user in a non-contact manner when the user's hand is held out in front of it. Here, the hand-holding sensor 7 corresponds to the "operation detection section" of the present invention.

The hand-holding sensor 7 sends its detection signal to a control unit 12 provided at the bottom of the faucet body 2 through a power supply communication unit 8 provided across the water discharge pipe 3 and the water discharge head 4 of the faucet body 2, which will be described later. The configuration is configured to be sent. The control unit 12 determines whether or not the user's hand is extended to the hand sensor 7 based on the detection signal of the amount of received light transmitted from the hand sensor 7 . When the control unit 12 determines that the user's hand has been extended to the hand sensor 7, the control unit 12 connects the flexible hose 6, which will be described later, and which forms the water discharging path of the faucet device 1. A control signal is sent to a solenoid valve (not shown), and the solenoid valve is switched between opening and closing.

After the control unit 12 determines water discharge based on the detection signal received from the hand-holding sensor 7 and opens the solenoid valve, the control unit 12 closes the solenoid valve until it determines that water is shut off based on the detection signal. Leave the valve open. Therefore, by the user placing his or her hand over the hand-holding sensor 7, the hot water spouting state can be switched from the initial water-stop state to the continuous water spouting state.

"Continuous water spouting" is a form of water spouting that continues without stopping even if the user withdraws his or her hand from the hand sensor 7. Note that if a detection signal for determining water stoppage is not input even after a long period of time such as 30 minutes or 1 hour has passed after switching the water spouting state to continuous water spouting, the control unit 12 causes the solenoid valve to close. It may be configured to perform water stop control such as transmitting a control signal to automatically stop water.

The control unit 12 switches the water discharging state from a water stop state, that is, a state in which the solenoid valve is closed, to continuous water discharging when the user places his or her hand over the hand holding sensor 7 . Further, the control unit 12 switches the water discharging state from continuous water discharging, that is, a state in which the electromagnetic valve is open, to a water stop state when the user places his/her hand over the hand holding sensor 7 .

The control for switching between water spouting and water stopping every time a hand is extended to the hand sensor 7 as described above is a switching control using a control flag indicating the open/closed state of the electromagnetic valve in the control unit 12. This is possible by doing the following.

The water discharging head 4 is attached to the distal end of the water discharging pipe 3 on the near side in the figure by fitting the discharging pipe 3 into a concave and convex manner so as to be detachable in the axial direction of the water discharging pipe 3 . The water discharging head 4 is attached to the distal end of the water discharging pipe 3 shown in FIG. 1, and when the user grasps its outer circumference with his/her hand and pulls it toward the front in the figure, the water discharging head 4 is attached to the distal end of the water discharging pipe 3 as shown in FIG. is removed from the fitted state with the tip of the The water discharge pipe 3 is configured as a part of the faucet body 2 that integrally extends from the faucet body 2 .

The water discharge head 4 has a flow path connected to a discharge port of the cartridge C inside the faucet main body 2 described above via a flexible hose 6 connected to an end on the rear side in the figure. The flexible hose 6 is once drawn from the rear end of the water discharge head 4 through the interior of the water discharge pipe 3 to the lower side of the above-mentioned top plate, and is then bent back upwards to form the above-mentioned faucet main body. It is connected to the discharge port of the cartridge C inside the cartridge C.

With the above connection, hot water discharged from the discharge port of the cartridge C inside the faucet main body 2 passes through the inside of the flexible hose 6 passed through the inside of the water discharge pipe 3 and is formed on the bottom surface of the water discharge head 4. Water is spouted from the spout 4A. The flexible hose 6 is pulled out from the distal end of the water discharging pipe 3 as the water discharging head 4 is removed from the distal end of the discharging pipe 3 toward the front in the drawing. Further, the flexible hose 6 is drawn into the water spouting pipe 3 as the water spouting head 4 is fitted into the distal end of the water spouting pipe 3 from the front side in the figure (see FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 1, the power supply communication unit 8 is provided across the water discharge pipe 3 and the water discharge head 4 of the faucet main body 2. The power supply communication unit 8 is configured to be able to perform wireless power supply between these devices by electromagnetic induction. In addition, the power supply communication unit 8 transmits the detection signal detected by the hand-holding sensor 7 provided on the water discharging head 4 to the control unit 12 provided on the faucet main body 2 side by wireless communication by electromagnetic induction accompanied by carrier wave modulation. The configuration is such that it is possible to do so.

(Power supply communication section 8)
The specific configuration of the power supply communication section 8 will be described below. The power supply communication unit 8 includes a power transmission unit 10 that includes a power transmission coil 11 built in the tip of the water discharge pipe 3 of the faucet body 2, and a power reception coil 21 that is built in the rear end of the water discharge head 4 in the drawing. It has a power receiving unit 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the power transmission unit 10 includes, in addition to the power transmission coil 11, a control section 12 installed at the bottom of the faucet body 2, and a power source connected to a commercial power source (not shown) via a power plug 13A. It has a section 13. The control unit 12 includes a CPU (not shown) as an arithmetic processing unit, a ROM that stores a program executed by the CPU, a RAM that serves as a temporary data storage unit, and functional units such as a timer. The power supply unit 13 is composed of a so-called AC/DC converter, and converts AC power supplied from a commercial power source (not shown) into DC power, and supplies the DC power to the control unit 12 .

In addition to the power receiving coil 21, the power receiving unit 20 includes a control section 22 built into the water discharging head 4, and a load modulation 23 that modulates a carrier wave by changing the impedance of the power receiving coil 21. The control unit 22 includes a CPU (not shown) as an arithmetic processing unit, a ROM that stores a program executed by the CPU, a RAM that serves as a temporary data storage unit, and functional units such as a timer. The power receiving unit 20 has a configuration that does not include a power supply unit such as a battery.

The power transmitting coil 11 and the power receiving coil 21 are arranged to face each other in the pipe axis direction of the water discharge pipe 3 (see FIG. 1). Specifically, the power transmitting coil 11 and the power receiving coil 21 are each arranged in a coiled manner so as to surround the flexible hose 6 that passes through the interior of the water spouting pipe 3 and is connected to the water spouting head 4. There is.

With the above arrangement, the power transmitting coil 11 and the power receiving coil 21 are arranged close to each other so as to be electromagnetically coupled to each other by attaching the water discharging head 4 to the tip of the water discharging pipe 3, as shown in FIG. It is said that Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the power transmitting coil 11 and the power receiving coil 21 are configured such that their mutual electromagnetic coupling is eliminated by removing the water discharging head 4 from the tip of the water discharging pipe 3 toward the front in the figure. Ru.

The power transmission unit 10 wirelessly supplies power from the power transmission coil 11 to the power reception coil 21 by wireless power transmission based on the Qi standard or the PMA standard. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the power transmission unit 10 causes a high-frequency alternating current to flow from the control unit 12 to the power transmission coil 11, which is the primary coil, to cause the power transmission coil 11, which is the secondary coil, to become a secondary coil by electromagnetic induction. An induced current is generated in the receiving coil 21. Thereby, power is supplied to the control section 22 of the power receiving unit 20 connected to the power receiving coil 21.

The control section 22 of the power receiving unit 20 is activated by being supplied with electric power of a predetermined value or more, and supplies power to the hand-held sensor 7 electrically connected to the control section 22, and also receives a reply from the hand-held sensor 7. Receives a detection signal of the amount of received light. Then, the control unit 22 modulates the carrier wave of the received detection signal from the hand holding sensor 7 by controlling the load modulation 23 connected in series with the power receiving coil 21, and then transfers the signal from the power receiving coil 21 to the power transmitting coil by electromagnetic induction. 11 and then to the control section 12 of the power transmission unit 10.

Therefore, wireless power supply and wireless communication as described above can be performed without providing a power supply unit such as a battery or a signal transmission device separate from power supply to the water discharging head 4, which has a narrow installation space. In addition, in order to improve the efficiency of power transmission and information transmission as described above, the power supply communication unit 8 connects the power transmission unit 10 and the power reception unit 20 with capacitors (not shown) connected in series with the power transmission coil 11 and the power reception coil 21, respectively. It may also be configured as an LC resonant circuit connected to. Thereby, wireless power supply and wireless communication can be performed more efficiently between the power transmission unit 10 and the power reception unit 20 by electromagnetic induction accompanied by magnetic field resonance.

To summarize the above, the faucet device 1 according to the first embodiment has the following configuration. Note that the reference numerals given in parentheses below are the reference numerals corresponding to the respective configurations shown in the above embodiments.

That is, the faucet device (1) includes a faucet main body (2) and a water discharging head (4) that is detachably attached to the faucet main body (2). The faucet device (1) further includes an operation detection unit (7) provided in the water discharging head (4) and capable of detecting a user's operation to change the water discharging state, and a power transmission coil provided in the faucet body (2). (11); and a power feeding communication unit (8) including a power receiving unit (20) including a power receiving coil (21) provided in the water discharging head (4).

In the power feeding communication unit (8), the power transmitting coil (11) and the power receiving coil (21) are electromagnetically coupled to each other as the water discharging head (4) is attached to the faucet body (2), and the power is transmitted from the power transmitting coil (11). The power for driving the power receiving unit (20) and the operation detection section (7) is transmitted to the power reception coil (21) by electromagnetic induction, and the detection signal detected by the operation detection section (7) is modulated with a carrier wave. The power is transmitted from the power receiving coil (21) to the power transmitting coil (11) by electromagnetic induction.

According to the above configuration, the power transmitting coil (11) and the power receiving coil (21) of the power supply communication unit (8) are electromagnetically coupled to each other by attaching the water discharging head (4) to the faucet body (2). This enables wireless power supply from the power transmission unit (10) to the power reception unit (20) and the operation detection unit (7), and also enables transmission of the detection signal from the operation detection unit (7) to the power transmission unit (10). It becomes possible. With the configuration using such a power supply communication unit (8), it becomes possible to rationally perform wireless power supply and wireless communication between the faucet main body (2) and the water discharging head (4).

Further, the power supply communication unit (8) is configured such that the electromagnetic coupling described above is canceled when the water discharging head (4) is removed from the faucet body (2). Water spouting control in which the operation detection unit (7) switches the water spouting state between continuous water spouting, which continues spouting water even when the user's hand is withdrawn, and water stop, each time the user's hand is held out, based on a detection signal that detects the hand being held out by the user. This is a non-contact type hand-holding sensor (7) for carrying out.

According to the above configuration, the user can easily perform the water spouting/water shutoff switching operation without directly touching the operation detection section (7) with his/her hand. Furthermore, when the user grasps the water spouting head (4) with his/her hand and removes it from the faucet body (2), the detection of the hand held out by the hand sensor (7) is disabled and the water spouting head (4) is pulled out. It is possible to prevent erroneous detection in which water discharge/water stop is switched unintentionally at times.

《Other embodiments》
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above using one embodiment, the present invention can be implemented in various forms shown below in addition to the above embodiment.

1. The faucet device of the present invention may be configured as an automatic faucet without a lever handle for adjusting the amount of water spouted or the temperature. Further, the faucet device may be configured as a mixed faucet that spews out hot water or a single faucet that spouts only water. Further, the faucet device may be installed in a washbasin or bathroom in addition to the kitchen.

2. In the embodiment described above, a configuration is exemplified in which the water discharging state is switched between continuous water discharging and water stoppage based on the detection signal of the operation detection unit. However, switching the water spouting state based on the detection signal of the operation detection unit changes the water spouting state to any two or more of straight water, shower water, foamy water that contains air bubbles that is difficult to repel, and purified water. It may be possible to switch to.

Moreover, the switching of the water spouting state based on the detection signal of the operation detection unit may be such that the amount of water spouted or the temperature of the water spouted is switched in stages. As a specific example of a configuration that can step-by-step switch the amount of water spouted water and the temperature of water spouted water, there is a cartridge for mixing hot water and water built into the faucet body (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2020-46067). (see literatures such as et al.) is electrically operated by pulse control using a stepping motor.

In other words, the control rod of the cartridge for mixing hot water and water (a rotary control rod for adjusting the mixing ratio of hot water and water and the amount of water discharged) is operated by rotating it in fixed angle increments by pulse control using a stepping motor. By controlling it, it becomes possible to perform the stepwise switching operation as described above.

3. The operation detection unit capable of detecting a user's operation to change the water discharge state may include a contact-type operation switch such as a push button type or a slide operation type, in addition to a hand-holding sensor.

The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the description of the embodiments described above, and it is intended that all changes within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are included.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Faucet device, 2... Faucet main body, 3... Water discharge pipe, 4... Water discharge head, 4A... Water spout, 5... Lever handle, 6... Flexible hose, 7... Hand holding sensor (operation detection part), 8... Power supply communication unit, 10...Power transmission unit, 11...Power transmission coil, 12...Control unit, 13...Power supply unit, 13A...Power plug, 20...Power receiving unit, 21...Power receiving coil, 22...Control unit, 23...Load modulation, C …cartridge

Claims (2)

A faucet device comprising a faucet body and a water discharging head detachably attached to the faucet body,
an operation detection unit provided in the water spouting head and capable of detecting a user's operation to change the water spouting state;
A power transmission unit including a power transmission coil provided on the faucet body; and a power reception unit including a power reception coil provided on the water spouting head, and the power transmission coil and the power reception coil are provided when the water spouting head is attached to the faucet body. are electromagnetically coupled to each other, and transmit power for driving the power receiving unit and the operation detecting section from the power transmitting coil to the power receiving coil by electromagnetic induction, and transmit a detection signal detected by the operation detecting section to a carrier wave. A faucet device comprising: a power supply communication unit that transmits power from the power receiving coil to the power transmitting coil by electromagnetic induction with modulation. The faucet device according to claim 1,
The power supply communication unit is configured such that the electromagnetic coupling is canceled when the water discharging head is removed from the faucet main body,
The operation detection unit controls water spouting to switch the water spouting state between continuous water spouting, which continues spouting water even when the user's hand is withdrawn, and water stop, each time the user holds out his/her hand, based on a detection signal that detects the hand being held out by the user. A faucet device that uses a non-contact hand-holding sensor to perform this function.

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