Toilet seat apparatus and toilet bowl apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017016221-A1
Application number	US-201415102285-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 9, 2014
Priority date	Dec 13, 2013
Publication date	Jan 19, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

An objective would be to propose a toilet seat apparatus capable of detecting accurately various motions of a human body such as entering and leaving a restroom, sitting on and rising from a toilet seat. A human body detector ( 5 ) includes a frequency analyzer ( 52 c ), a recognizer ( 52 e ), and a database device ( 52 i ) storing sample data. The frequency analyzer ( 52 c ) converts a sensor signal into a frequency domain signal, and extracts signals of individual filter banks with different frequency bands. The recognizer ( 52 e ) has functions of detecting a human body entering a space where at least a toilet bowl ( 11 ) is installed and a human body of a person sitting on a toilet seat ( 12 b ) based on comparison between the sample data and detection data containing a frequency distribution of signals based on the signals of the individual filter banks ( 5 a ).

First claim

1 . A toilet seat apparatus comprising:
a body to be placed on a toilet bowl; a toilet seat attached to the body so as to be movable between an up-position and a down-position; and a human body detector configured to detect a human body as an object to be detected, the human body detector including
a sensor configured to send a wireless signal and receive the wireless signal reflected by an object to output a sensor signal corresponding to motion of the object,
a frequency analyzer configured to convert the sensor signal into a frequency domain signal, and extract, by use of a group of individual filter banks with different frequency bands, signals of the individual filter banks from the frequency domain signal,
a recognizer configured to perform a recognition process of detecting predetermined motion of the human body based on detection data containing at least one of a frequency distribution of signals based on the signals of the individual filter banks and a component ratio of signal intensities based on the signals of the individual filter banks, and
a database device configured to store sample data containing at least one of a frequency distribution corresponding to the predetermined motion of the human body and a component ratio of signal intensities corresponding to the predetermined motion of the human body, and
the recognizer including
a first detection function of detecting, by performing the recognition process based on comparison between the detection data and the sample data, the human body of a person entering a space in which at least the toilet bowl is installed, and
a second detection function of detecting, by performing the recognition process based on comparison between the detection data and the sample data, the human body of a person sitting on the toilet seat.

2 . The toilet seat apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the sample data including first sample data and second sample data different from the first sample data; and the recognizer is configured to use the first sample data when performing the first detection function, and use the second sample data when performing the second detection function.

3 . The toilet seat apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the recognizer is configured to, when a sum of intensities of the signals of the individual filter banks is equal to or larger than a threshold value, perform the recognition process or treat a result of the recognition process as being valid; the threshold value includes a first threshold value and a second threshold value different from the first threshold value; and the recognizer is configured to use the first threshold value as the threshold value when performing the first detection function, and use the second threshold value as the threshold value when performing the second detection function.

4 . The toilet seat apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a background signal remover configured to remove background signals from signals individually passing through the individual filter banks.

5 . The toilet seat apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a distance meter configured to measure a distance to the human body based on the sensor signal,
the recognizer being configured to perform the recognition process in combination with a measurement result of the distance meter.

6 . The toilet seat apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a direction detector configured to detect a moving direction of the human body, based on the sensor signal,
the recognizer being configured to perform the recognition process in combination with a detection result of the direction detector.

7 . The toilet seat apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a respiration detector configured to determine a condition of respiration of the human body of a person sitting on the toilet seat, based on the sensor signal.

8 . The toilet seat apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the sensor is provided to face a back of the human body of a person sitting on the toilet seat.

9 . The toilet seat apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a normalizer configured to normalize intensities of the signals individually passing through the individual filter banks by a sum of the signals extracted by the frequency analyzer or a sum of intensities of signals individually passing through predetermined filter banks selected from the individual filter banks to obtain normalized intensities, and output the normalized intensities,
the recognizer being configured to perform the recognition process of detecting the predetermined motion of the human body based on at least one of a frequency distribution and a component ratio of the normalized intensities which are calculated from the normalized intensities of the individual filter banks outputted from the normalizer.

10 . A toilet bowl apparatus comprising:
the toilet seat apparatus of claim 1 ; and the toilet bowl on which the body of the toilet seat apparatus is placed.

11 . The toilet bowl apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising a controller configured to control operation of a water supply device for supplying water into the toilet bowl based on a detection result of the human body detector.

12 . The toilet bowl apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising a flush tank for storing water to be supplied into the toilet bowl, the flush tank being to face a back of the human body of a person sitting on the toilet seat, and
the sensor is provided to the flush tank.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yamamoto Yasuko
• Sugino Satoshi

Classifications

• E03D5/105 Primary

  touchless, e.g. using sensors · CPC title

• A47K13/24

  Parts or details not covered in, or of interest apart from, groups A47K13/02 - A47K13/22 · CPC title

• G01S13/56

  for presence detection {(presence detection using near field arrangements G01V3/00, e.g. G01V3/08, G01V3/12; burglar, theft or intruder alarms with electrical actuation G08B13/22 - G08B13/26)} · CPC title

• E03D9/08

  Devices in the bowl producing upwardly-directed sprays; Modifications of the bowl for use with such devices (showers A47K3/28; bathing devices for special therapeutic or hygienic purposes A61H33/00, for specific parts of the body A61H35/00 ){; Bidets; Combinations of bowls with urinals or bidets; Hot-air or other devices mounted in or on the bowl, urinal or bidet for cleaning or disinfecting} · CPC title

• G01S13/343

  using sawtooth modulation · CPC title