Toilet Occupancy Detection System for Usage Phase and Vacancy Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional toilet systems can only determine if a toilet is 'used' or 'vacant', lacking the ability to provide detailed information on the duration of toilet usage, making it unclear when a toilet will be available again.
Innovation Solution
A toilet system that includes detection units such as door lock sensors, seating sensors, and toilet washing switches to determine the usage state, identifying whether the toilet is in the state immediately after the start of use, immediately before the end of use, and outputting signals to indicate when the toilet will be vacant soon.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional detection units (camera or ultrasonic sensor) are used to determine toilet use state, then the system can determine whether the toilet is being used or not being used, but it cannot provide detailed information about the duration of toilet usage or when the toilet will be vacant again
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the toilet usage state into multiple distinct phases: vacant state, state immediately after start of use, and state immediately before end of use. This segmentation is achieved by detecting specific events (door closing, seat lowering, toilet flushing) and transitioning between corresponding states (S1, S2, S3). Each state represents a specific phase of usage, providing detailed information about usage duration and vacancy timing without requiring complex continuous monitoring systems.
2Loss of time
If the system only determines two states (vacant and used), then the system is simple to operate, but it is unclear whether the toilet will be vacant soon or will take a long time to be vacant
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of usage start events (door closing, seat lowering) and transitions to a state immediately after start of use (S2). This preliminary action allows the system to anticipate future vacancy by detecting the beginning of usage, providing users with information about when the toilet will be available again without requiring complex real-time monitoring throughout the entire usage duration.
3Measurement precision
If multiple detection events are monitored to determine detailed usage states, then the system can provide accurate vacancy prediction, but the detection and measurement becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a multi-functional detection system where a single control unit handles multiple detection functions: detecting door closing events, seat positioning events, toilet flushing events, and transitioning between usage states. This universal approach allows accurate usage state determination through multiple detection events while avoiding the need for separate specialized sensors for each function, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a toilet system that can provide more detailed information about a use state of a toilet.The toilet system includes: a detection unit (a door lock sensor, a seating sensor, a rotation sensor, a toilet washing switch, etc.) which detects a situation inside a toilet stall; and a control unit which determines, based on a detection result of the detection unit, that the toilet stall is in a vacant state or in an used state, and further makes at least one of a determination that the toilet stall in the used state is in a state immediately after a start of use and a determination that the toilet stall in the used state is in a state immediately before an end of use, and outputs a signal including determination results.