What is the ideal toilet created by the research of Panasonic "Dr. Poop"? I was surprised to see it at the factory.

A few minutes after passing Toyohashi Station on the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo, you can see the Panasonic factory from the E seat on the mountain side. This is the Kota factory, which makes non-contact faucets that are familiar in washbasins and public toilets, and the toilet "Arauno". [See another image about this article] Some people may say, "I don't know the name of such a toilet bowl!" But have you ever encountered a toilet that automatically opens the lid when you enter a private room and automatically rises to the toilet seat when you press a button? Moreover, there is usually no water tank on the back, so it looks very simple and fashionable. Many of the toilets can be called Panasonic's "Arauno". Many experienced people should be surprised that when the toilet lid is opened, a fine foam film covers the entire surface. Furthermore, as the name "Arauno" suggests, this toilet is equipped with various mechanisms to wash itself each time it is used. This time, we interviewed the factory exclusively to find out the secret. What I learned there was more research on pee and poop than making a toilet bowl! ■ [Reading notice] It actually existed! Ultra-realistic research I heard from Panasonic's "Dr. Poop" Please be careful if you are eating or are not good at it. Generally, in order to develop something, various experiments are conducted to identify problems and solve them. It's the same with the toilet. However, unlike ordinary home appliances, it is necessary to study not only the result of using a measuring instrument but also the shape and function of the toilet, which is hard to stick by flushing urine and poop. What should I do? There is a way to have a monitor person experiment, but the number of times you can experiment in a day is limited, and the condition of what you get depends on the day. You may be healthy or you may be hungry. Experiments are conducted under the same conditions as much as possible, and the optimum solution is obtained by repeating the experiment by changing only one such as the amount and shape of water. In other words, in order to develop a toilet, artificial pee and poop for experiments are indispensable. Therefore, in parallel with the development of the toilet, the development of an experimental poop will also begin. Five "simulated stools" were created by trial and error, such as the difference in viscosity depending on the temperature and the oil content. Depending on the condition, there are types that float on water due to digestive disorders, from when the stomach is sick to when it is healthy. These were developed by Panasonic's Hayataka Kawamoto. He has the nickname "Dr. Poop". And this wasn't the end of Dr. Poop's research. Uncertainties that could not be excluded were the position, momentum, and quantity when the work was added. Therefore, the "simulated stool discharge device" was developed. By pushing in the piston containing the simulated stool with an actuator (extruding device), it can be dropped to the same pressure, the same time, and the same position each time. Moreover, it is possible to distinguish by color after flushing so that you can tell whether the part attached to the toilet is water-soluble or oil. According to Dr. Poop, it is a "fake beyond the real thing." Furthermore, "the theory that men should sit down and pee" is still a hot topic. In recent years, more than half of the people "sit men", but some survey results show that 40% are still standing. The problem is the so-called "change" stains. To solve this problem, "Arauno" automatically opens the lid and at the same time puts a fine foam film with dishwashing detergent on the entire toilet bowl. Then, even if you stand up and add something, the change is guarded by bubbles and does not scatter around. Dr. Poop reappears here! Not to mention the pseudo-pee, but the height, momentum, when you're in a hurry and when you're relaxing, of course, the target location varies from person to person. Moreover, pee does not flow in "lines" like water services, but falls in "continuous points". The "simulated urine discharge device" completely reproduces this. Suguremono that can aim at a certain place for a certain time with a certain amount each time. All of these are patents owned by Panasonic, and when I looked up the database of the Japan Patent Office, they really existed! In the realization of Panasonic's toilets that "can be washed automatically every time they are flushed", Mr. Hayataka Kawamoto, "Dr. Punch", is exactly the driving force behind the shadow. It can be said that. ■ Water-saving toilets such as the secret "Arauno" that flows at once without a water tank are becoming more popular now. A general toilet requires about 13L of water for one flush and 8L of water for a small one. However, if it is a water-saving toilet, it is about 5L at a time. If it is small, it will be about 3L. If you have a family, you will be flushed dozens of times a day, so if you convert it to an annual water bill, it will be about 15,000 yen cheaper. Here, I would like to introduce the structure of the toilet for a moment. The fact that a little water always collects in the toilet also has the role of reducing the odor and dirt when you add it, but as you can see from the photo of the cut model, it is called an S-shaped "trap". By storing water there, the odor of sewage does not flow back. For the same reason, the drain pipes of sinks and washbasins are S-shaped. In a general toilet, the water tank on the back is flushed at once, and the things accumulated in this S-shape are flushed with that pressure. Toilet paper etc. must be flushed together, and a certain amount of pressure is required to flush it, resulting in the use of 10 L or more of water. However, Arauno can flush water without a water tank on his back. Moreover, the required water is about 5L and about 1/3. This is because Panasonic's patented water-saving "turn trap" is used. As you can see from the photo of the turn trap, the L-shaped pipe is usually facing up, so the toilet is filled with water. Moreover, this L-shaped mechanism is sealed so that the odor of sewage does not leak from the turn trap. When flowing, just turn this L-shape downward with the built-in motor. In addition, rinse with a little less than 5L of water so that it does not stop at the sewer pipe in the house. It is a reason that water can be saved because it is not necessary to overcome the S shape with pressure like a general trap. So, I'm worried that Kang is a good person, "Is it possible to run the trap in the event of a power outage because it is driven by a motor?" But don't worry! In an emergency, you can back up with a battery. As anyone who has experienced the Great Hanshin Earthquake or the Great East Japan Earthquake knows, "Batteries are not available in an emergency!" But did you know that there is a loophole? Certainly, the cylindrical AAA batteries disappeared from the store in an instant, but there was a square 006P battery (9V battery) left in the corner. Arauno uses this battery, which can be relatively easy to obtain even in the event of a disaster. Also, when water is cut off, you can supply water with a bucket, just like a normal toilet. In addition, it is not necessary to flush the water all at once, and the water is flushed in a swirling manner from the outside, so it can be washed evenly. Even after the water has been flushed, a foam film is created by applying a special detergent or dishwashing detergent, so the toilet flushes itself every time the water is flushed. This is the reason why the product name is "Arauno". ■ If you aim for "no leakage and no sauce", you might think of a toilet made of special resin instead of pottery as "pottery". However, "Arauno" is made of resin. To be precise, it is a new material that is coated with organic glass and does not easily get dirty. For those who say, "It's pottery by all means," see the photos at the factory. A resin rib (structural support) is fitted in an iron frame, and a new organic glass material covers the inside and outside of the toilet. If you see "Arauno" somewhere, knock on the side of the toilet and you'll know that the sound isn't pottery. So why didn't you make it from ordinary pottery? The answer is that you couldn't make a toilet that was so "no sauce, no leak" with pottery. As you know, pottery is made by filling a mold with clay, compressing it tightly, and baking it in a kiln. Since the wet clay is baked, the baking shrinks, and strictly speaking, there is a variation in each piece, that is, an error occurs. Panasonic wanted to make a toilet with a 3mm edge on the base under the toilet seat so that if the pee falls on the edge, it will not sag outside. However, according to the company, it was difficult to obtain accuracy with pottery. It is also difficult to make a slight slope. I also wanted to narrow the gap between the toilet seat and the base as much as possible to prevent pee from leaking to the outside. It is said that organic glass-based materials are advantageous for closing the gap in millimeters. Organic glass-based materials can achieve the same accuracy as plastic resin, so even a 3 mm edge can close gaps smaller than that, and there is no individual variation. In this way, it is possible to create a toilet that does not sag or leak from the gap between the toilet seat and the main body. Moreover, the pottery toilet weighs 50 to 70 kg, and it is difficult to carry in and out and replace it. On the other hand, Arauno weighs about 20 kg and can be carried in by one person, so it is very popular with contractors. The price varies depending on the model, but it is around 200,000 yen including the replacement work construction cost (according to the author's research). In other words, if you are currently using a tank-type toilet, you can replace it with an Arauno and get a water bill of 15,000 yen a year, and if you use it for 13 years, you will be able to pay for it. ■ I changed the idea that "every toilet is the same"! I built his house about 20 years ago. Since it was a custom-built house that could be customized, I had to think about the location of the outlet, the wallpaper, and the lighting of the room. I remember. As a result, it was a toilet with plenty of water flowing, and the author of the lord later purchased a shower toilet and constructed it himself. I want to repent of the fact that I wasn't using the toilet after visiting the factory of Arauno this time! It's a calculation that if you use a water-saving toilet for a little over 10 years, you can get the money back. It will not be done. It's easy to clean, and it's good. There seems to be no need for plumbing work, and I think I can live for another 20 years, so I'm thinking of replacing it with "Arauno". What I learned the most from this interview was the surprising fact that "replacement of a toilet was as easy as changing an air conditioner in the living room!"

Home Appliance Watch, Tetsuto Fujiyama