Determining restroom occupancy

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12554014-B2
Application number	US-202217858620-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 6, 2022
Priority date	Jul 6, 2021
Publication date	Feb 17, 2026
Grant date	Feb 17, 2026

Abstract

Techniques for determining bathroom occupancy are disclosed herein. In this regard, one or more sensors may determine whether a plumbing fixture is in use. When a plumbing fixture is in use, the one or more sensors may trigger a visual cue that indicates that the plumbing fixture is in use. Additionally, the one or more sensors may send (e.g., transmit) information indicating that the plumbing fixture is in use to one or more computing devices. The information may include a start time of the fixture's usage, an end time of the fixture's usage, a duration of the fixture's usage, etc. The computing device may analyze the information from a plurality of fixtures associated with a location and present the analysis to a user, for example, via a dashboard.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A method comprising:
identifying, by one or more thermal sensor arrays of a restroom occupancy system and using a short-range wireless protocol, a plurality of sensors, wherein each of the plurality of sensors is associated with a plumbing fixture and at least one of the plurality of sensors comprises a time-of-flight sensor, associated with a first plumbing fixture, configured to detect an object and a direction of travel of the object by projecting one or more beams of light to form a coverage area; determining, using the one or more thermal sensor arrays and the plurality of sensors, a layout of a restroom; determining, using the one or more thermal sensor arrays, one or more occupants in the restroom; determining, using the one or more thermal sensor arrays and the plurality of sensors, a location for each of the one or more occupants based on the layout of the restroom; determining, based on the location for each of the one or more occupants, whether one or more plumbing fixtures, a plurality of plumbing fixtures, are currently being used; determining, based on data from the time-of-flight sensor and based on data from the one or more thermal sensor arrays, a first occupant's intent at the first plumbing fixture; tracking, using the one or more thermal sensor arrays, the first occupant from the first plumbing fixture through the restroom; activating, based on a determination of the first occupant's intent at the first plumbing fixture and based on tracking the first occupant from the first plumbing fixture through the restroom, a second plumbing fixture; determining, based on detecting the one or more occupants, based on a determination that a predetermined number of the plurality of plumbing fixtures are being used, and based on one or more actions of the first occupant, an occupancy of the restroom; and causing, by the restroom occupancy system, an indication of the occupancy to be displayed.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the layout of the restroom comprises:
generating the layout of the restroom using a robotic unit configured to map a floorplan of the restroom.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the layout of the restroom comprises:
identifying, using the one or more sensor arrays and the plurality of sensors, a location for each of the plurality of plumbing fixtures.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the layout of the restroom comprises:
receiving a location for each of the plurality of plumbing fixtures from a user device.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
based on a determination that the first plumbing fixture is currently being used, causing an indication that the first plumbing fixture is being used to be displayed.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
based on a determination that the first plumbing fixture is no longer being used, causing a second indication that the first plumbing fixture is available to be displayed.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the occupancy of the restroom is based on predictive modeling.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the indication of the occupancy to be displayed further comprises displaying the indication of the occupancy on a display device located outside of the restroom.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the indication of the occupancy to be displayed further comprises displaying the indication of the occupancy via a dashboard accessible by one or more user devices.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the restroom occupancy system, an occupancy of the restroom throughout a predetermined period of time; determining, using the occupancy of the restroom throughout the predetermined period of time, an average peak usage time for the restroom; and scheduling maintenance, service, or repairs for the restroom during an off-peak time.

11 . A restroom occupancy system comprising:
one or more processors; one or more thermal sensor arrays centrally-located within a restroom; a plurality of sensors, wherein:
each of the plurality of sensors is associated with a plumbing fixture of a plurality of plumbing fixtures; and
at least a portion of the plurality of sensors comprises time-of-flight sensors, wherein a first time-of-flight sensor, associated with a first plumbing fixture, is configured to detect an object and a direction of travel of the object by projecting one or more beams of light to form a coverage area; and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the restroom occupancy system to:
identify, by the one or more thermal sensor arrays and using a short-range wireless protocol, the plurality of sensors;
determine, using the one or more sensor arrays and the plurality of sensors, a layout of a restroom;
detect one or more occupants in the restroom;
determine, using at least one of the one or more thermal sensor arrays and the plurality of sensors, a location for each of the one or more occupants based on the layout of the restroom;
determine, based on the location for each of the one or more occupants, whether one or more plumbing fixtures are currently being used;
determine, based on data from the first time-of-flight sensor and based on data from the one or more thermal sensors, a first occupant's intent at the first plumbing fixture;
track, using the one or more thermal sensors, the first occupant from the first plumbing fixture through the restroom;
activate, based on a determination of the first occupant's intent at the first plumbing fixture and based on tracking the first occupant from the first plumbing fixture through the restroom, a second plumbing fixture;
determine, based on detecting the one or more occupants, based on a determination that a predetermined number of the plurality of plumbing fixtures are being used, and based on one or more actions of the first occupant, an occupancy of the restroom; and
cause an indication of the occupancy to be displayed.

12 . The restroom occupancy system of claim 11 , further comprising:
a display configured to display the indication of the occupancy.

13 . The restroom occupancy system of claim 11 , further comprising:
a dashboard, accessible by one or more user devices, configured to display the indication of the occupancy.

14 . The restroom occupancy system of claim 11 , wherein a first time-of-flight sensor comprises an indicator to show a status of a first plumbing fixture.

15 . The restroom occupancy system of claim 14 , wherein the status indicates whether the first plumbing fixture is currently in-use.

16 . The restroom occupancy system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the restroom occupancy system to determine the occupancy of the restroom using predictive modeling.

17 . The restroom occupancy system of claim 11 , further comprising:
a robotic unit configured to map a floorplan of the restroom as part of a determination of the layout of the restroom.

18 . The restroom occupancy system of claim 11 , wherein the first time-of-flight sensor comprises at least one of:
a sensor located above an entryway to the restroom; or a sensor located above a doorway to a water closet.

19 . The restroom occupancy system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of plumbing fixtures comprises at least one of:
a toilet; a urinal; a faucet; a paper towel dispenser; a hand dryer; a hand sani

Assignees

• Sloan Valve Co

Inventors

• Mo Xiaoxiong
• Deng Sheng
• Mo Charles

Classifications

• G01S7/4815

  using multiple transmitters · CPC title

• G08B5/22

  using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission · CPC title

• G08B21/22

  responsive to presence or absence of persons · CPC title

• G06F3/14

  Digital output to display device {; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units} · CPC title

• G06Q10/20 Primary

  Administration of product repair or maintenance · CPC title