Sanitary Assembly Sensor Flush Recommendation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sanitary arrangements often consume excessive water due to users defaulting to full-volume flushing, which is not necessary for all usage scenarios, leading to inefficient water usage.
Innovation Solution
A sanitary arrangement equipped with a sensor unit that detects user characteristics and provides a flushing recommendation via a display element, allowing users to choose between full-volume or partial-volume flushing based on their usage patterns, thereby optimizing water usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users select full-volume flush by default, then flushing reliability is improved, but water consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors to detect user characteristics (standing or seated position, duration of use) and provides feedback through display elements that recommend the appropriate flush type. This feedback loop enables users to make informed decisions about flush volume based on actual usage conditions, resolving the contradiction between reliable flushing and water conservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically detects user characteristics and determines the appropriate flush type without requiring user input or decision-making. The sensor unit identifies whether the user is standing or seated and how long they have been using the facility, then the system autonomously selects the recommended flush volume, eliminating the need for users to manually choose between full or partial flush options.
2Loss of substance
If automatic flush recommendation is provided, then water consumption is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the flush function into two separate actuating elements: one for full-volume flush and one for partial-volume flush. The sensor unit and display elements are added as modular components that provide user characteristics detection and recommendation display. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple core flushing functionality while adding complexity only where needed for water conservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor unit serves multiple functions: detecting user position (standing or seated), measuring duration of use, and providing this information to the display elements. The display elements themselves serve dual purposes by both informing users of recommended flush type and potentially guiding user interaction. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity by consolidating detection and communication functions into integrated components.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3a~3c
Figure 4a~4c
AI summary
A sanitary arrangement (1) comprises a sanitary article (2), an actuating unit (3), a flushing unit (4) operatively connected to the actuating unit (3) for flushing the sanitary article (2), and a sensor unit (5) operatively connected to the actuating unit (3), wherein the sensor unit (5) has at least one detection sensor (6) for detecting a user (B) of the sanitary article (2), wherein the at least one detection sensor (6) is designed such that the user characteristics of a user (B) can be detected when using the sanitary article (2), and wherein the actuating unit (3) further comprises at least one actuating element (7, 7a, 7b) and at least one display element (8, 8a, 8b), the appearance of which changes depending on the detection of the user characteristics, such that a flushing recommendation corresponding to the user characteristics can be displayed to the user (B) by the at least one display element (8, 8a, 8b).According to which flushing recommendation the operating element (7, 7a, 7b) can be operated by the user.