Voice-Controlled Faucet with Offline Echo Elimination

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing faucets face challenges in bacterial contamination and recontamination due to manual adjustment of water control valves, and there is a need for improved convenience and cost-effectiveness in water usage control.

Innovation Solution

A voice-controlled electronic faucet assembly with an electronic mixing valve, a spout, and a control module that includes a sound receiving component, echo elimination unit, and processing unit for offline voice recognition, allowing users to control water temperature, flow rate, and discharge type through voice commands without networking functions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If manual water control valve adjustment is used, then the faucet structure is simple, but bacterial contact and recontamination occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebacterial contaminationVSAvoidfaucet structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the manual mechanical water control valve with an electronic mixing valve controlled by voice commands. The voice-controlled electronic faucet assembly includes a sound receiving component, echo elimination unit, processing unit, and electronic mixing valve that works with cold and hot water sources to provide contactless operation, thereby eliminating bacterial contamination while managing system complexity through integrated electronic control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Ease of manufacture

If offline voice recognition is implemented, then networking costs are reduced, but processing capability requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetworking costVSAvoidprocessing capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements offline voice recognition by pre-loading voice recognition databases and models into the processing unit of the faucet assembly. This allows the system to perform voice recognition locally without requiring continuous network connectivity, thereby reducing networking costs while maintaining adequate processing capability through embedded artificial intelligence algorithms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Measurement precision

If echo elimination processing is added, then voice recognition accuracy is improved, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevoice recognition accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements real-time echo elimination processing through the echo elimination unit that continuously processes audio signals received from the sound receiving component. The system performs echo elimination concurrently with voice recognition processing, ensuring continuous accurate operation without significant delays by optimizing the processing pipeline and using efficient algorithms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

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

The solution enhances installation and usage convenience while reducing costs by enabling offline voice recognition and echo elimination, improving recognition success and accuracy rates, and allowing for precise control of water parameters without manual intervention.

Implementation Method 1

The sound receiving component receives a sound

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAcoustic energy conversion: Sound

Implementation Method 2

The echo elimination unit is coupled to the sound receiving component and processes an echo elimination to the sound

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectEcho elimination: Echo

Data Source

PatentUS11795670B2Voice-controlled electronic faucet, voice-controlled electronic faucet assembly, and voice-controlled electronic faucet module

Publication Date: 2023.10.24 NCIP INC

AI summary

A voice-controlled electronic faucet assembly includes an electronic mixing valve fluidly connected to a cold water source and a hot water source; a spout; and a control module. The spout is fluidly connected to the electronic mixing valve. The control module without networking function includes a sound receiving component, an echo elimination unit and a processing unit. The sound receiving component receives a sound. The echo elimination unit is coupled to the sound receiving component and processes an echo elimination on the sound. The processing unit is coupled to the echo elimination unit and receives an audio signal after processing with the echo elimination, and performs an offline voice recognition on the audio signal based on a database and generates a comparison result, and outputs a control signal for controlling the electronic mixing valve to perform a corresponding action according to the comparison result.