JP4436147B2 - Toilet seat lifting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toilet seat lifting and lowering device for lifting and lowering a toilet seat of a Western-style toilet.

In a Western-style toilet, the toilet seat and toilet lid rotate around the back, resulting in a prone posture and a standing posture. For this reason, even if it is going to clean the back of the upper surface of a toilet bowl main body, only a very narrow clearance is left between the toilet bowl main body and the toilet seat, and even if it wants to clean the part, a hand will not enter. In view of this, a toilet seat lifting and lowering device has been devised that allows the toilet seat unit to be manually lifted from the toilet body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-8-177104

  However, in the configuration in which the toilet seat unit is manually raised and lowered as in the conventional toilet seat lifting device, the operation of raising and lowering the toilet seat unit by a human hand in a narrow space called a toilet must be performed in an unnatural posture. It is a hard work.

  In view of the above problems, the problem of the present invention is that the load can be reduced by raising or lowering the toilet seat unit electrically, and a low-output motor can be used as a drive source for performing electricity. Another object of the present invention is to provide a toilet seat lifting / lowering device that is not likely to be damaged by an overload when the drive mechanism raises or lowers the toilet seat unit.

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a toilet seat having a fixed member fixed to the toilet body side of a western toilet, a movable member to which a toilet seat unit is attached, and a guide mechanism for guiding the movable member in the vertical direction. The elevating device has a drive mechanism capable of electrically raising or lowering the movable member with respect to the fixed member, and the drive mechanism includes a motor capable of driving the movable member, and the motor and the movable member. A torque limiter disposed in between, the motor is a stepping motor, and rotates in a step-out state due to an overload that causes the motor to step out by acting in an upward or downward direction with respect to the movable member, the torque limiter after the movable member is stopped, by allowing rotation of the motor that rotates step-out due to the inertial force, the movable portion of the motor Characterized by interrupting the inertial forces transmitted to.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the idling torque in the downward direction to which the overload of the torque limiter is applied is larger than the step-out torque of the motor when the movable member is driven in the upward direction . If comprised in this way, since a load can be transmitted until a motor steps out, the transmission capability of a motor can be fully utilized. Therefore, a low output motor can be used.

  In the present invention, the torque limiter shuts off an inertial force transmitted to the movable member of the motor that rotates out of step due to an overload that causes the motor to step out by moving downward with respect to the movable member. Is preferred. With this configuration, when an excessive force is applied to the toilet seat unit while it is raised or lowered, it is driven against the inertial force of the motor that is stepped out and rotated by this force. Damage to the mechanism can be prevented.

In the present invention, the frequency of the driving pulse of the stepping motor when the movable member is driven in the descending direction where the overload is applied is the same as the frequency of the driving pulse of the stepping motor when the movable member is driven in the upward direction . It is preferable to make it larger than the frequency. In the case of a stepping motor, the step-out torque due to overload is generally determined when the motor is driven in the direction in which the overload is applied and in the direction opposite to the direction in which the overload is applied. Is much larger when driving in the direction of overload. Therefore, the strength of the drive mechanism is designed so as to withstand this larger load, so that the drive mechanism is excessively strong if it is driven in a direction opposite to the direction in which the overload is applied. If comprised like this invention, the step-out torque of a motor at the time of driving to the direction (downward direction) to which an overload is applied can be reduced. Therefore, since the strength of the drive mechanism can be reduced by an amount corresponding to the decrease in the step-out torque, the drive mechanism can be reduced in size by reducing the thickness of the parts.

In the present invention, the idling torque in the downward direction where the overload of the torque limiter is applied is made smaller than the step- out torque of the motor when the movable member is driven in the downward direction where the overload is applied. preferable. If configured in this way, the torque limiter functions before the motor steps out of operation when the motor is driven in the downward direction , and the connection between the motor and the movable member can be cut off. it can. Therefore, the difference between the step-out torque and the idling torque and the strength of the drive mechanism can be reduced without changing the frequency of the drive pulse as described above.

In the present invention, the torque limiter preferably makes the idling torque in the upward direction of the torque limiter smaller than the idling torque in the descending direction to which the overload is applied . In this case, for example, a ratchet mechanism is preferable. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toilet seat lifting / lowering device having a fixed member fixed to a toilet body side of a western toilet, a movable member to which a toilet seat unit is attached, and a guide mechanism for guiding the movable member in the vertical direction. A drive mechanism capable of electrically raising or lowering the movable member with respect to the fixed member, the drive mechanism including a motor capable of driving the movable member, and the motor and the movable member. A torque limiter disposed on the motor, the torque limiter acting on the movable member in an upward or downward direction to cause the motor to step out and turn out of rotation to the movable member of the motor. The inertial force to be transmitted is cut off, and the idling torque in the upward direction of the torque limiter is smaller than the idling torque in the descending direction to which the overload is applied. If comprised in this way, since the impact concerning a drive mechanism by the inertia of a motor can be suppressed small, damage to a drive mechanism can be prevented.

In the present invention, a drive mechanism is configured to electrically lift or lower the movable member to which the toilet seat unit is attached. Therefore, when cleaning the back of the toilet body or the lower surface of the toilet seat, the toilet seat unit is lifted or pushed down by hand. There is no need. Therefore, the burden at the time of cleaning a western style toilet can be reduced. Moreover, the load concerning a movable member can be driven until a motor steps out. Therefore, since the transmission capability of the motor can be fully utilized, a low output motor can be used. In addition, since the motor and the movable member are disconnected by the torque limiter against the inertia force of the motor that is rotated out of step due to overload, the drive mechanism can be prevented from being damaged by the inertia of the motor.

  Hereinafter, an example of a toilet seat lifting / lowering apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Composition of toilet unit)
1 (a) and 1 (b) are explanatory views showing a state in which the toilet seat is lowered and a state in which the toilet seat is lifted from the toilet body in the western toilet unit using the toilet seat lifting / lowering device to which the present invention is applied. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (a), a Western-style toilet unit of this embodiment includes a Western-style toilet body 11, a toilet seat 12 that is opened and closed on the toilet body 11, and a toilet lid 13 that is opened and closed on the toilet seat 12. The toilet seat 12 and the toilet lid 13 are rotated around the back to assume a prone posture and a standing posture. Here, the toilet seat 12 and the toilet lid 13 are integrated as a toilet seat unit 10, and the toilet seat unit 10 relaxes the speed when the toilet seat 12 and the toilet lid 13 are flattened by their own weight as necessary. There is a case in which an electric device for electrically opening and closing the damper device and the toilet lid is incorporated.

  In any of these cases, the western toilet unit of this embodiment has the toilet seat 12 (toilet seat unit 10) lifted from the toilet body 11 as shown in FIG. An electric toilet seat lifting / lowering device 1 that can be cleaned is configured.

(Configuration of toilet seat lifting device)
2 (a), (b), (c) and (d) are a plan view and a front view of a toilet seat lifting / lowering device to which the present invention is applied, and a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA 'in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB ′ in FIG. 3A and 3B are a front view showing a state in which the movable plate and the left slider are removed from the toilet seat lifting apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line CC ′ of FIG. is there.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (d) and FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 1 of the present embodiment is a fixed surface to the upper surface portion of the toilet body 11 (see FIG. 1). A fixed plate 2 (fixed member) 21, an inverted L-shaped stopper plate 3 fixed to the upper end portion of the vertical surface 22 bent upward at the rear end of the fixed plate 2, and the horizontal direction of the stopper plate 3. A cylindrical right guide shaft 41 and a left guide shaft 42 (guide mechanism) are provided between the portion 31 and the fixed surface 21 of the fixed plate 2.

  The left and right guide shafts 41 and 42 support a right slider 51 and a left slider 52 that can slide up and down along the guide shafts 41 and 42, respectively. A movable plate 6 (movable member) is attached so as to cover. The right slider 51 and the left slider 52 have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and have bearing portions 511 and 521 into which the guide shafts 41 and 42 are inserted, respectively.

  Here, the toilet seat unit 10 is fixed to the upper surface 60 of the movable plate 6. For this reason, when the left and right sliders 51 and 52 move up and down along the guide shafts 41 and 42, the toilet seat unit 10 fixed to the movable plate 6 also moves up and down integrally.

  In the toilet seat lifting / lowering apparatus 1 of this embodiment, an electric drive mechanism 5 that drives the right slider 51 in the vertical direction is configured with respect to the right slider 51, and the right slider 51 is moved up and down by the drive mechanism 5. When driven, the left slider 52, the movable plate 6, and the toilet seat unit 10 also move up and down.

  As such a drive mechanism 5, in this embodiment, first, a rack 53 is formed on the left surface of the right slider 51 over the entire range in the vertical direction.

  In this embodiment, in the space between the left and right guide shafts 41, 42, a stepping motor 7 that can be rotated in both forward and reverse directions as a drive source of the drive mechanism 5, and the driving force of the stepping motor 7 Is arranged, and the output pinion 80 of this reduction gear train meshes with the rack 53 of the right slider 51. The stepping motor 7 is disposed directly below the stopper plate 3, and the output pinion 80 is disposed at a substantially central position in the height direction of the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 1.

  The stepping motor 7 is a so-called PM type stepping motor, and as shown in FIG. 3B, the outer surface of the rotor 76 and the outer surface of the magnet 75a including a ring-shaped magnet 75a whose outer peripheral surface is multipolarly magnetized in the circumferential direction. Is provided with a stator 77 opposite to the stator 77. The stator 77 has two drive coils arranged along the optical axis direction. Each drive coil is sandwiched between the outer stator core and the inner stator core from both sides in the optical axis direction, and the outer stator core and the inner stator core are formed with a plurality of pole teeth arranged alternately along the inner peripheral surface of the drive coil. Yes.

  In general, in the stepping motor 7, a step-out torque (hereinafter referred to as a reverse step-out torque) when a motor overload that steps out the stepping motor 7 in the direction opposite to the driving direction is applied. This is different from the step-out torque (hereinafter referred to as forward step-out torque) when a motor overload is applied to step out the stepping motor 7 in the direction. That is, the forward step-out torque is much larger than the reverse step-out torque.

  The reduction gear train 70 includes a first gear 71 that includes a large-diameter gear that meshes with a pinion 74 a included in the rotor 76, and a second reduction gear 72 that includes a large-diameter gear that meshes with the first gear 71. A third reduction gear 73 having a large diameter gear meshing with the small diameter gear of the second reduction gear 72, and an output gear 8 having a large diameter gear 81 meshing with the small diameter gear of the third reduction gear 73; An output pinion 80 is formed at one end of the output gear 8, and the output pinion 80 meshes with the rack 53 of the right slider 51. As the right slider 51 moves up and down, the left slider 52 and the movable plate 6 attached to cover the front and upper surfaces of the left slider 52 and the right slider 51 are driven.

(Configuration of toilet seat unit position detection means)
As shown in FIG. 3B, the output gear 8 has a small-diameter gear 82 at the end opposite to the output pinion 80 with a large-diameter gear 81 interposed therebetween. The sensor gear 15 that meshes with the small-diameter gear 82 is disposed. The end of the rotation shaft 105 of the sensor gear 15 protrudes from the vertical surface 22 of the fixed plate 2 to the back side. The protruding end portion has a D-shaped cross-section, and a D-shaped hole in the rotary portion of the potentiometer 14 is fitted therein. For this reason, when the rotating shaft 105 of the sensor gear 15 rotates, the rotary portion of the potentiometer 14 rotates integrally.

  Here, while the output pinion 80 drives the entire range of the rack 53 of the right slider 51, the sensor gear 15 is configured with the number of teeth so that the rotation is accommodated in less than one rotation. For this reason, the potentiometer 14 outputs a signal corresponding to the angular position of the rotation shaft (rotary part) of the sensor gear 15, so that the vertical position of the right slider 51, that is, the lift position of the toilet seat unit 5 can be detected. it can.

(Configuration of stopper)
As shown in FIGS. 2 (c) and 2 (d), square holes 55 are opened on the back sides of the left and right sliders 51, 52 at portions facing the vertical surface 22 of the fixed plate 2. In each of the square holes 55, an engagement member 95 is disposed so as to be able to advance and retract in the horizontal direction, and in the back thereof, a spring 96 that biases the engagement member 95 toward the vertical surface 22 of the fixed plate 2. Is arranged. On the other hand, on the vertical surface 22 of the fixed plate 2, the tip of the engaging member 95 is positioned below the line through which the engaging member 95 passes when the left and right sliders 51 and 52 are moved up and down. The lower concave portion 97 that enters is formed on the left and right, while the upper concave portion 98 into which the distal end portion of the engaging member 95 enters is formed on the left and right.

  For this reason, the engagement members 95 and the springs 96 on the left and right sliders 51 and 52 side, and the lower recess 97 on the vertical surface 22 side of the fixed plate 2 are left and right when the toilet seat 12 (toilet seat unit) is lowered. It functions as a first stopper 91 that defines the holding position of the sliders 51 and 52. Further, the left and right sliders 51, 52 side engaging member 95 and spring 96, and the upper recess 98 on the vertical surface 22 side of the fixed plate 2 are the left and right sliders 51 when the toilet seat 12 (toilet seat unit) is raised. , 52 functions as a second stopper 92 that defines the holding position. In both the first stopper 91 and the second stopper 92, a click feeling is generated when the engaging member 95 is engaged with the lower concave portion 97 and the upper concave portion 98.

(Configuration of rotor)
4A and 4B are a plan view showing a rotor of a stepping motor used in the toilet seat lifting apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line DD 'in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the rotor 76 includes a magnet 75a, a magnet rotating body 75 that is rotatably supported by a fixed shaft 78, and a pinion that is rotatably supported by the magnet rotating body 75 and includes a pinion 74a. The rotating body 74 is constituted.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the magnet rotating body 75 includes an outer cylindrical portion 75b having a magnet 75a fixed to the outer wall and an uneven tooth portion 75e formed on the inner wall, and an inner side of the outer cylindrical portion 75b. And an inner cylindrical portion 75c whose inner wall slides with the fixed shaft 78 (see FIG. 3B), and a connecting portion 75d that integrally connects the inner cylindrical portion 75c and the outer cylindrical portion 75b. It is configured.

  On the other hand, the pinion rotating body 74 has a cylindrical portion 74b whose inner wall slides with the outer wall of the inner cylindrical portion 75c of the magnet rotating body 75. The pinion 74a is formed on the upper side of the outer wall of the cylindrical portion 74b, and From the side, a ratchet arm 74c extending so as to curve along the outer wall is formed so as to protrude in the W direction in FIG. A tip end of the ratchet arm 74c is a claw portion 74d that engages with an uneven tooth portion 75e formed on the inner wall of the outer cylinder portion 75b of the magnet rotating body 75. Accordingly, the claw portion 74d is in contact with the tooth portion 75e while being urged in the radial direction by the ratchet arm 74c. That is, in this embodiment, the ratchet mechanism 79 as a torque limiter is constituted by the ratchet arm 74c and the tooth portion 75e. In this embodiment, the ratchet mechanism 79 is used as the torque limiter. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the ratchet mechanism 79, and various torque limiters can be used.

  In the ratchet mechanism 79 of the present embodiment, when the toilet seat unit 10 is driven in the upward direction, for example, when an excessive load in the downward direction such as accidentally sitting on the toilet seat unit 10 is applied to the toilet seat unit 10, stepping is performed. The motor 7 is configured to step out. That is, when an excessive load is applied in the downward direction of the toilet seat unit 10, the idling torque of the ratchet mechanism 79 (hereinafter referred to as “downward idling torque”) is larger than the reverse step-out torque of the stepping motor 7. It is configured. Therefore, in this case, the stepping motor 7 steps out while the engagement between the claw portion 74d and the wall portion 75f of the tooth portion 75e is maintained, and the rotor 76 of the stepping motor 7 rotates at a high speed in the W direction. It is like that.

  On the other hand, in the ratchet mechanism 79 of the present embodiment, when the toilet seat unit 10 is driven in the downward direction, for example, when an excessive load in the downward direction, such as accidentally sitting on the toilet seat unit 10, is applied to the toilet seat unit 10. The pinion rotating body 74 is configured to idle with respect to the magnet rotating body 75. That is, the downward idling torque is configured to be smaller than the forward step-out torque of the stepping motor 7. Therefore, in this case, before the stepping motor 7 steps out, the engagement between the claw portion 74d and the wall portion 75f of the tooth portion 75e is released.

  It should be noted that the stepping motor 7 steps out, the toilet seat unit 10 is lowered while the magnet rotating body 75 of the stepping motor 7 is rotated at a high speed in the W direction, and the ratchet mechanism 79 in the case where the toilet seat unit 10 reaches the lowest position. The idling torque (hereinafter referred to as “upward idling torque”) is configured to be smaller than the down idling torque. Since the upward idling torque is set so that the drive mechanism 5 such as the speed reduction wheel train 70 and the slider 51 is not damaged, even when the toilet seat unit 10 is stopped, the speed reduction wheel train 70, the slider 51, etc. The drive mechanism 5 is not excessively loaded, and the drive mechanism can be prevented from being damaged.

(Explanation of toilet seat lifting and lowering)
5 (a) and 5 (b) are an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the movable member on which the toilet seat unit is mounted is in the lowest position and an explanatory diagram in which the movable member is in the uppermost position in the toilet seat lifting / lowering apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is. 5A and 5B correspond to a cross section taken along the line AA ′ in FIG.

  The toilet seat lifting / lowering device 1 of this embodiment is used in a state where the fixed plate 2 is fixed to the upper surface portion of the toilet body 11 (see FIG. 1), while the toilet seat unit 10 is attached to the upper surface 60 of the movable plate 6.

  Before starting cleaning or the like, as shown in FIG. 5A, the toilet seat 12 is on the upper surface of the toilet body 11, and the toilet seat unit 10 and the movable plate 6 are in the lowest position. In this state, the distal end portion of the engaging member 95 engages with the lower concave portion 97 of the vertical surface 22 of the fixed plate 2 and functions as the first stopper 91. Therefore, in this lowest position, the toilet seat unit 10 does not rise carelessly due to the engaging force of the first stopper 91, the detent torque of the stepping motor 7, and the dead weight of the toilet seat unit 10. In this state, the potentiometer 14 outputs that the toilet seat unit 10 is at the lowest position.

  From this state, when the toilet seat unit 10 is to be lifted to start cleaning, when a predetermined switch operation is performed, the stepping motor 7 rotates in the positive direction for a predetermined number of steps or for a predetermined time. As a result, the rotational kinetic force of the stepping motor 7 is transmitted to the output pinion 80 via the speed reduction wheel train 70, and the output pinion 80 ascends the right slider 51 via the rack 53 as shown in FIG. Let Accordingly, the engagement with the first stopper 91 is released, and the left slider 52, the movable plate 6, and the toilet seat unit 10 are raised integrally with the right slider 51.

  Then, until the toilet seat unit 10 is raised until the engagement with the second stopper 92 is performed, the stepping motor 7 stops. In the meantime, the small gear 82 of the output gear 8 rotates the sensor gear 15 and the output of the potentiometer 14 changes, so that it can be detected from the output that the toilet seat unit 10 has been raised to a predetermined position. Further, the fact that the toilet seat unit 10 has been raised to a predetermined position can be notified by a click sound generated by the second stopper 92. Furthermore, when the toilet seat unit 10 is stopped at the uppermost position, the toilet seat unit 10 does not fall by its own weight due to the engaging force of the second stopper 92 and the detent torque of the stepping motor 7.

  On the other hand, when cleaning is completed and the toilet seat unit 10 is to be lowered, if the predetermined switch operation is performed in the state shown in FIG. 5B, the stepping motor 7 reverses the predetermined number of steps or for a predetermined time. Rotate in the direction. As a result, the rotational kinetic force of the stepping motor 7 is transmitted to the output pinion 80 via the reduction gear train 70, and the output pinion 80 moves the right slider 51 via the rack 53 as shown in FIG. Lower. Therefore, the engagement with the second stopper 92 is released, and the left slider 52, the movable plate 6, and the toilet seat unit 10 are lowered integrally with the right slider 51.

  Then, until the toilet seat unit 10 is lowered until the engagement with the first stopper 91 is performed, the stepping motor 7 stops. In the meantime, the small gear 82 of the output gear 8 reversely rotates the sensor gear 15 and the output of the potentiometer 14 changes, so that it can be detected from the output that the toilet seat unit 10 has been lowered to a predetermined position. . Further, the fact that the toilet seat unit 10 has been lowered to a predetermined position can be notified by a click sound generated by the first stopper 91.

(Ratchet mechanism operation explanation)
In this embodiment, when the toilet seat unit 10 is floated, the magnet rotating body 75 rotates in the V direction shown in FIG. Accordingly, the claw portion 74d of the pinion rotating body 74 abuts on the circumferential wall portion 75f side of the tooth portion 75e, and the pinion rotating body 74 rotates following the magnet rotating body 75. Here, when an excessive load in the downward direction is applied to the toilet seat unit 10, as described above, since the downward idling torque of the ratchet mechanism 79 is larger than the reverse step-out torque of the stepping motor 7, the rotor steps out. Rotate at high speed in the W direction.

  Further, even when the toilet seat unit 10 that is stopped in a floating state is accidentally seated, the detent torque of the stepping motor 7 is smaller than the reverse step-out torque. It can be rotated at high speed in the direction.

  In this way, if the seat is accidentally seated while the toilet seat unit 10 is being driven to float, or if the seat is erroneously seated on the toilet seat unit 10 that has been suspended, the rotor 76 will step out. The toilet seat unit 10 descends to the toilet body 11 while rotating at high speed in the W direction.

  Eventually, when the toilet seat unit 10 reaches the lowest position, it stops on the upper surface of the toilet body 11. Accordingly, the ratchet rotating body 74 also stops. On the other hand, since the inertia force in the W direction due to the high speed rotation is applied to the magnet rotating body 75, as a result of the magnet rotating body 75 rotating in the W direction, as shown in FIG. It abuts against the wall 75g side of 75e.

  When the inertia of the magnet rotating body 75 further acts with the claw portion 74d in contact with the wall portion 75g and the torque based on the inertia force becomes larger than the upward idling torque of the ratchet mechanism 79, the magnet rotating body 75 is idling. Begin. That is, the ratchet arm 74c is bent inward, and the claw portion 74d gets over the wall portion 75g, so that the rotation of the magnet rotating body 75 is allowed.

  On the other hand, when the toilet seat unit 10 is lowered, the magnet rotating body 75 rotates in the W direction shown in FIG. Accordingly, the claw portion 74d of the pinion rotating body 74 abuts on the circumferential wall portion 75g side of the tooth portion 75e, and the pinion rotating body 74 rotates following the magnet rotating body 75. Here, when an excessive load in the downward direction is applied to the toilet seat unit 10, since the downward idling torque of the ratchet mechanism 79 is smaller than the forward step-out torque of the stepping motor 7 as described above, the stepping motor 7 is stepped out. Before the engagement, the engagement between the claw portion 74d and the wall portion 75f of the tooth portion 75e is released. Therefore, the toilet seat unit 10 continues to descend while the pinion rotator 74 is idle with respect to the magnet rotator 75 and stops when it reaches the lowest position.

(Effect of this embodiment)
As described above, in the toilet seat lifting / lowering device 1 according to this embodiment, the drive mechanism 5 is configured to electrically lift and lower the movable plate 6 to which the toilet seat unit 10 is attached. When cleaning the back, there is no need to lift or depress the toilet seat unit 10 by hand. Therefore, the burden at the time of cleaning a western style toilet can be reduced.

Further, since the downward idling torque of the ratchet mechanism 79 is configured to be larger than the reverse step-out torque of the stepping motor 7, the magnet rotating body 75 rotates out of step due to overload. Therefore, since the load in the direction of raising the toilet seat unit 10 can be transmitted until the magnet rotating body 75 steps out, the transmission capability of the stepping motor 7 can be fully utilized. Therefore, the stepping motor 7 having a low output is used, and the stepping motor 7 can be downsized. In addition, since the ratchet mechanism 79 blocks the connection between the stepping motor 7 and the toilet seat unit 10 against the inertial force of the magnet rotating body 75 that is rotated out of step due to overload, the drive mechanism 5 can be prevented from being damaged. .

  Further, since the downward idling torque of the ratchet mechanism 79 is configured to be smaller than the forward step-out torque, the magnet rotation is applied to an overload when the magnet rotating body 75 is driven in the direction in which the toilet seat unit 10 is lowered. The ratchet mechanism 79 functions before the body 75 steps out, and the connection between the stepping motor 7 and the toilet seat unit 10 can be cut off. Therefore, since the difference between the forward step-out torque and the downward idling torque and the strength of the drive mechanism 5 can be reduced, the drive mechanism can be reduced in size by reducing the thickness of the parts.

(Other embodiments)
In the case of the above embodiment, the downward idling torque of the ratchet mechanism 79 is configured to be smaller than the forward step out torque, but conversely, the downward idling torque of the ratchet mechanism 79 is larger than the forward out step torque. It may be configured. In this case, the engagement between the claw portion 74d and the wall portion 75f is maintained until the magnet rotating body 75 steps out. Accordingly, after the magnet rotating body 75 has stepped out, the magnet rotating body 75 is rotated at a high speed in the W direction. However, the ratchet mechanism 79 blocks the connection between the stepping motor 7 and the toilet seat unit 10 against the inertial force of the magnet rotating body 75. Therefore, damage to the drive mechanism 5 can be prevented.

  In addition, the ratchet mechanism 79 of the above embodiment transmits inertia to the toilet seat unit 10 of the stepping motor 7 that rotates out of step due to an overload that works in the downward direction with respect to the toilet seat unit 10 and causes the stepping motor 7 to step out. To the toilet seat unit 10 of the stepping motor 7 that rotates out of step by an overload that works in the upward direction with respect to the toilet seat unit 10 to step out of the stepping motor 7. You may comprise so that the inertial force to transmit may be interrupted | blocked.

  At this time, as in the above-described embodiment, when an overload is applied in the direction in which the toilet seat unit 10 is lowered, the ratchet arm 74c is configured as shown in FIG. Contrary to a), it may be formed by protruding in the V direction. With this configuration, when an excessive force is applied to lift the toilet seat 12 by mistake while the toilet seat unit 10 is being driven in the downward direction, the rotor 76 rotating in the W direction will step out. After that, it is rotated at high speed in the V direction. When the toilet seat unit 10 is stopped, the pinion rotating body 74 is stopped, and when the inertia force of the magnet rotating body 75 is applied to the claw portion 74d against the wall portion 75f, the ratchet arm 74c is bent inward, and the claw portion 74d is The rotor 76 is allowed to rotate over the wall 75f. Therefore, when the toilet seat unit 10 is stopped, the driving mechanism 5 such as the speed reduction wheel train 70 and the slider 51 is not overloaded and can be prevented from being damaged.

  Furthermore, although the ratchet mechanism 79 is used as the torque limiter in the above embodiment, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the ratchet mechanism 79. That is, a two-way clutch 79 'as shown in FIG. 6 having the same idling torque in both directions may be used. In the two-way clutch 79 ′ of the present embodiment, portions having the same functions as those of the ratchet mechanism 79 of the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of common portions is omitted.

  In the pinion rotating body 74 of the rotor 76 shown in this embodiment, a pinion 74a is formed on the upper side of the outer wall of the cylindrical portion 74b, and the lower side is a ring shape surrounding the outer wall as shown in FIG. 6 (a). Connecting beams 74e connected to the ring portion 74c ′ are formed at two locations in the circumferential direction. On the outer wall of the ring portion 74c ′, claw portions 74d ′ that engage with the concave and convex tooth portions 75e ′ formed on the inner wall of the outer cylindrical portion 75b of the magnet rotating body 75 are formed to protrude at two locations in the circumferential direction. Has been. Further, a metal C-ring 83 is fitted to the inner wall of the ring portion 74c 'in a state where the diameter is reduced by an external force. Therefore, the C ring 83 causes the claw portion 74d 'to abut the tooth portion 75e' in a state in which the C ring 83 is always biased in an attempt to expand the diameter. Note that the idling torque of the two-way clutch 79 ′ of this embodiment is set between the reverse direction step-out torque and the forward direction step-out torque.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the frequency of the driving pulse of the stepping motor 7 is not mentioned, but can be set as appropriate. For example, the frequency of the drive pulse when driving the toilet seat unit 10 in the downward direction may be set larger than the frequency of the drive pulse when driving the toilet seat unit 10 in the upward direction. If comprised in this way, when an overload is applied in the direction which lowers the toilet seat unit 10, the forward step-out torque of the rotor 76 when driving in the direction in which the toilet seat unit 10 is lowered can be reduced. Therefore, the forward step-out torque can be made equal to the reverse step-out torque. Accordingly, the strength of the drive mechanism can be reduced by an amount corresponding to the decrease in the forward step-out torque, so that the drive mechanism can be reduced in size by reducing the thickness of the parts.

(A), (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the state which raised the toilet seat, and the state which raised the toilet seat from the toilet body main body in the western style toilet unit using the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus to which this invention is applied, respectively. . (A), (b), (c), (d) is a plan view, a front view, a schematic sectional view taken along line AA ′ of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing in the BB 'line of 2 (a). (A), (b) is the front view of the state which removed the movable plate and the left side slider from the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus to which this invention is applied, and the schematic sectional drawing in the C-C 'line | wire of Fig.3 (a). (A), (b) is a top view which shows the rotor of the stepping motor used for the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus to which this invention is applied, and a schematic sectional drawing in the D-D 'line | wire of Fig.4 (a). (A), (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which the movable member which mounted the toilet seat unit is in the lowest position, and explanatory drawing which has a movable member in the highest position in the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus to which this invention is applied. . (A), (b) is a top view which shows the modification of the rotor of the stepping motor used for the toilet seat raising / lowering apparatus to which this invention is applied, and a schematic sectional drawing in the DD 'line of Fig.4 (a). .

Explanation of symbols

1 Toilet seat elevating device 2 Fixing plate (fixing member)
3 Stopper plate 5 Drive mechanism 6 Movable plate (movable member)
7 Stepping motor (motor)
8 Output gear 10 Toilet seat unit 11 Toilet bowl body 12 Toilet seat 41, 42 Guide shaft (guide mechanism)
51 Right slider 52 Left slider 53 Rack 70 Reduction gear train 71, 72, 73 Reduction gear 74 Pinion rotating body 74a Pinion 75 Magnet rotating body 75a Magnet 76 Rotor 77 Stator 78 Fixed shaft 79 Ratchet mechanism (torque limiter)
80 output pinion 91 first stopper 92 second stopper

Claims (8)

In a toilet seat lifting apparatus having a fixed member fixed to the toilet body side of a Western-style toilet, a movable member to which a toilet seat unit is attached, and a guide mechanism for guiding the movable member in the vertical direction,
A drive mechanism capable of raising or lowering the movable member electrically with respect to the fixed member;
The drive mechanism includes a motor capable of driving the movable member, and a torque limiter disposed between the motor and the movable member,
The motor is a stepping motor, which rotates in an out-of-step condition by acting on the movable member in an upward direction or a downward direction to step out the motor,
The torque limiter after the movable member is stopped, by allowing rotation of the motor that rotates step-out due to the inertial force, characterized by blocking the inertial forces transmitted to the movable member of the motor Toilet seat lifting device. 2. The toilet seat according to claim 1, wherein an idling torque in a descending direction to which the overload of the torque limiter is applied is larger than a step-out torque of the motor when the movable member is driven in an ascending direction . lift device. According to claim 1 or 2, wherein the torque limiter, the inertial force transmitted to the movable member of the motor which rotates step-out due to an overload to step out of the motor working downward direction relative to the movable member Toilet seat elevating device, characterized in that 4. The frequency of the drive pulse of the stepping motor when the movable member is driven in the descending direction where the overload is applied , according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the movable member is driven in the upward direction . A toilet seat lifting and lowering device characterized in that it is larger than the frequency of the driving pulse of the stepping motor. 4. The step-out of the motor when the movable member is driven in the downward direction in which the overload is applied in the downward direction in which the overload of the torque limiter is applied in the downward direction in which the overload is applied. A toilet seat lifting device characterized by being smaller than torque. 6. The toilet seat lifting / lowering device according to claim 1, wherein the torque limiter is configured such that an idling torque in an ascending direction is smaller than an idling torque in a descending direction to which the overload is applied .   7. The toilet seat lifting / lowering device according to claim 6, wherein the torque limiter is constituted by a ratchet mechanism. In a toilet seat lifting apparatus having a fixed member fixed to the toilet body side of a Western-style toilet, a movable member to which a toilet seat unit is attached, and a guide mechanism for guiding the movable member in the vertical direction,
A drive mechanism capable of electrically raising or lowering the movable member with respect to the fixed member;
The drive mechanism includes a motor capable of driving the movable member, and a torque limiter disposed between the motor and the movable member,
The torque limiter cuts off an inertial force transmitted to the movable member of the motor that rotates out of step by an overload that causes the motor to step out by moving upward or downward with respect to the movable member;
The toilet seat lifting / lowering device according to claim 1, wherein an idling torque in an upward direction of the torque limiter is smaller than an idling torque in a descending direction to which the overload is applied.

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