Smart Toilet Safety Monitoring System with Fall Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current safety monitoring systems for the elderly, such as those using smart toilets, face challenges in accurately detecting potential dangers and determining health status based solely on toilet usage time or activity patterns, leading to poor accuracy and user inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
A safety monitoring system comprising a smart toilet, cloud server, and mobile terminal that detects toilet time, generates prompt or alarm information based on a user's toilet data model, and sends alerts to the user or their family, incorporating pressure and contact sensors to determine toilet usage and a camera for fall detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If safety monitoring is based solely on toilet usage time or activity patterns, then the system is simple to implement, but the accuracy of health status monitoring is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple detection functions (toilet usage time detection, fall detection, health status monitoring) into an integrated smart toilet system. The controller merges data from pressure sensors, contact sensors, and cameras to comprehensively assess user health status, resolving the contradiction by combining multiple simple detection methods into a unified accurate system.
Solution Approach 2:
The smart toilet system performs multiple functions: monitoring toilet usage time, detecting falls through camera and sensor integration, analyzing health status, and sending alerts. This multi-functional approach allows the system to achieve high monitoring accuracy while maintaining reasonable complexity through shared hardware and unified control logic.
2Measurement precision
If the system uses multiple sensors and cameras for accurate detection, then monitoring accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges fall detection capabilities into the existing smart toilet system by integrating camera and sensor data with toilet usage monitoring. The controller combines pressure sensor data, contact sensor data, and camera images to detect falls, achieving high accuracy without requiring a separate standalone fall detection system.
Solution Approach 2:
The smart toilet system uses its own existing sensors and camera for dual purposes: both monitoring toilet usage patterns and detecting falls. This self-service approach allows the system to perform multiple functions using already-deployed components, improving fall detection accuracy without proportionally increasing system complexity.
3Reliability
If the system provides detailed health monitoring and alerts, then user safety is improved, but user convenience decreases due to frequent notifications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different alert strategies for different health conditions: gentle reminders for minor issues (such as prolonged toilet usage) and urgent alerts for serious conditions (such as detected falls). The controller analyzes the specific situation and provides appropriately weighted notifications, improving user safety while maintaining convenience by avoiding unnecessary frequent alerts.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback through alerts and notifications that inform users and caregivers about health status. By analyzing toilet usage patterns and fall detection data, the system generates targeted feedback rather than continuous notifications, improving safety through meaningful information while maintaining user convenience through selective alerting.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the accuracy of health status monitoring and alerts, allowing timely preventive measures and reducing the risk of injury from falls by providing clear and timely notifications to caregivers.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure sensor (1) configured to detect pressure applied by the user to the toilet seat (a) when going to the toilet
Implementation Method 2
a contact sensor (2) configured to detect whether the skin contacts the toilet seat (a)
Implementation Method 3
a camera (4) disposed on the toilet lid (b), wherein the smart toilet (100) detects the behavioral posture of the user through an image of the user captured by the camera (4)
Data Source
AI summary
A safety monitoring system based on a smart toilet and a smart toilet are provided. The monitoring system includes a smart toilet, and a cloud server. The smart toilet is configured to detect toilet usage time of a user, and transmit the toilet usage time to the cloud server. The cloud server generates first prompt information, and transmits the first prompt information to the smart toilet. The smart toilet is further configured to prompt, according to the first prompt information, a user when the first prompt information is received.