Toilet with personalized lifting system
A toilet comprising a frame; a bowl supported by the frame; a seat also supported by the frame; a shroud for covering the frame; at least one lift mechanism supported by the frame for adjusting the position of the bowl or seat; at least one sensor for capturing at least one property of a user; and a processor adapted to analyze the at least one property to determine a characteristic of the user is disclosed.
1. A toilet comprising:
a frame;
a bowl supported by the frame;
a seat also supported by the frame;
a shroud for covering the frame;
at least one lift mechanism supported by the frame for adjusting the position of the bowl or seat;
at least one sensor for capturing at least one property of a user; and
a processor adapted to analyze the at least one property to determine a characteristic of the user;
wherein the processor controls the at least one lift mechanism to adjust the position of the bowl based on the characteristic of the user.
2. The toilet of claim 1 wherein the characteristic is the identity of the user.
3. The toilet of claim 2 wherein the processor controls the at least one lift mechanism to adjust the position of the bowl based on the user's selected preferences.
4. The toilet of claim 1 wherein the characteristic is a physical attribute of the user.
5. The toilet of claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor is an imaging sensor, and the property of the user is an image.
6. The toilet of claim 5 wherein the imaging sensor is a 3D camera.
7. The toilet of claim 6 wherein the 3D camera captures at least one image that is used by the processor to determine physical characteristics of the user.
8. The toilet of claim 5 wherein the processor analyzes the image to determine physical attributes including one or more of height, leg length, lower leg length, and upper leg length.
9. The toilet of claim 8 wherein the processor controls the at least one lift mechanism to adjust the position of the seat based on physical attributes of the user.
10. The toilet of claim 5 wherein the at least one imaging sensor captures at least one image of the user's face, hand, or foot.
11. The toilet of claim 10 wherein the at least one image is used by the processor to identify the user.
12. The toilet of claim 1 wherein the at least one lift mechanism comprises:
a bowl lift mechanism supported by the frame for adjusting the position of the bowl; and
a seat lift mechanism supported by the frame for adjusting the position of the seat.
13. The toilet of claim 12 wherein the bowl lift mechanism comprises at least one actuator and the seat lift mechanism comprises at least one actuator.
14. The toilet of claim 13 wherein the actuators are one or more of a screw, piston, linear, and hydraulic actuator.
15. The toilet of claim 1 wherein the shroud comprises an elastic material that adapts as the configuration of the toilet is altered by adjusting the position of the bowl and/or seat.
16. The toilet of claim 1 further comprising sensors for detecting health and wellness data from the user supported by the frame.
17. The toilet of claim 16 wherein the health assessment devices are selected from the group consisting of imagine cameras, spectrometers, volume measurement devices, weight sensors, temperature gauges, chromatographs, and gas analyzers.
18. The toilet of claim 1 further comprising handles for the user to grasp for support during lifting or lowering.
19. The toilet of claim 18 wherein the handles further comprise sensors for detecting health and wellness data from the user.
20. The toilet of claim 18 wherein the handles further comprise sensors for detecting the gripping force of the user's hands on the handle.