Sanitary washing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9328497-B2
Application number	US-201113162681-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 17, 2011
Priority date	Jun 18, 2010
Publication date	May 3, 2016
Grant date	May 3, 2016

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a sanitary washing apparatus includes: a nozzle including a jetting port and configured to squirt water from the jetting port to wash a user's body; a flow channel configured to guide water supplied from a water supply source to the jetting port; an electrolytic cell provided midway along the flow channel and being operable to produce sterilizing water; a heating device provided on the flow channel on upstream side of the electrolytic cell; a nozzle cleaning device configured to clean or sterilize the nozzle with the water heated by the heating device or the sterilizing water produced by the electrolytic cell; and a controller configured to perform control for stopping energization of the heating device or reducing an amount of energization of the heating device when energizing the electrolytic cell.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sanitary washing apparatus comprising:
a nozzle including a jetting port and configured to squirt water from the jetting port to wash a user's body;
a flow channel configured to guide water supplied from a water supply source to the jetting port;
an electrolytic cell provided midway along the flow channel and being operable to electrolyze the water to produce sterilizing water;
a heating device provided on the flow channel on upstream side of the electrolytic cell;
a nozzle cleaning device configured to clean and sterilize the nozzle with the water heated by the heating device and the sterilizing water produced by the electrolytic cell;
a flow channel switching valve provided on the flow channel on downstream side of the electrolytic cell and configured to switch the sterilizing water supply to the nozzle and the nozzle cleaning device; and
a controller configured to perform control for stopping energization of the electrolytic cell when energizing the heating device,
the flow channel on which the heating device is provided being the same as the flow channel on which the electrolytic cell is provided, and
the channel switching valve being located in a portion of the flow channel connecting the electrolytic cell to the nozzle.

2. The sanitary washing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when energizing the electrolytic cell, if water heated by the heating device exists in the electrolytic cell, the controller stops energizing of the heating device, and the controller starts energizing the electrolytic cell after the heated water in the electrolytic cell is replaced by unheated water.

3. The sanitary washing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a human body sensing device configured to sense utilization by the user,
wherein the controller causes the electrolytic cell to be energized and the nozzle to be sterilized with the sterilizing water after the human body sensing device comes to sense no utilization by the user.

4. The sanitary washing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the controller causes the electrolytic cell to be energized and the nozzle to be sterilized with the sterilizing water after a prescribed time after the human body sensing device comes to sense no utilization by the user.

5. The sanitary washing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the sterilizing water is water containing hypochlorous acid.

6. The sanitary washing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a sterilizing water jetting nozzle provided on the flow channel on downstream side of the electrolytic cell and configured to jet the sterilizing water to a surface of a bowl of a toilet stool.

7. The sanitary washing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the sterilizing water selectively supplied to the nozzle cleans or sterilizes the nozzle from inside of the nozzle and the sterilizing water selectively supplied to the nozzle cleaning device cleans or sterilize the nozzle from outside of the nozzle.

8. The sanitary washing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the nozzle cleaning device is configured to clean or sterilize the nozzle from outside of the nozzle.

9. The sanitary washing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the nozzle cleaning device comprises a nozzle cleaning chamber and a jetting portion, and the jetting port of the nozzle is configured to be substantially housed in the nozzle cleaning chamber in a housed state so that the jetting portion of the nozzle cleaning device can sterilize the jetting port and outer peripheral surface of the nozzle by squirting the water heated by the heating device or the sterilizing water produced by the electrolytic cell to the jetting port and outer peripheral surface of the nozzle.

Assignees

• Morotomi Yo
• Matsushita Koichiro
• Matsumoto Satoru
• Ishii Katsunori
• Yano Yukiko
• Toto Ltd

Inventors

• Morotomi Yo
• Matsushita Koichiro
• Matsumoto Satoru
• Ishii Katsunori
• Yano Yukiko

Classifications

• E03D9/08 Primary

  Devices in the bowl producing upwardly-directed sprays; Modifications of the bowl for use with such devices (showers A47K3/28; bathing devices for special therapeutic or hygienic purposes A61H33/00, for specific parts of the body A61H35/00 ){; Bidets; Combinations of bowls with urinals or bidets; Hot-air or other devices mounted in or on the bowl, urinal or bidet for cleaning or disinfecting} · CPC title

• E03D5/10

  operated electrically (E03D5/01, E03D5/12 take precedence), {e.g. by a photo-cell; also combined with devices for opening or closing shutters in the bowl outlet and/or with devices for raising/or lowering seat and cover and/or for swiveling the bowl} · CPC title