IP Library Patent Application 17763175
Patent Application
App. No. 17/763,175

TOILET SEAT DEVICE

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Patent No.
US None
App. No.
17/763,175
Abstract

A toilet device includes a toilet seat disposed on an upper side of a toilet; an image sensor provided on a back surface of the toilet seat and configured to image an inner space of a toilet bowl at time of excretion; an open-close acquiring device configured to acquire open-close information of the toilet seat; and an imaging controller configured to determine whether or not to image by the image sensor according to the open-close information of the toilet seat acquired by the open-close acquiring device.

Claims (38)

1 . A toilet device, comprising:

a toilet seat disposed on an upper side of a toilet;

an image sensor provided on a back surface of the toilet seat and configured to image an inner space of a toilet bowl at time of excretion;

an open-close acquiring device configured to acquire open-close information of the toilet seat; and

an imaging controller configured to determine whether or not to image by the image sensor according to the open-close information of the toilet seat acquired by the open-close acquiring unit.

2 . A toilet device, comprising:

a toilet seat disposed on an upper side of a toilet;

an image sensor provided individually from the toilet seat and on a lower side of the toilet seat, the image sensor being configured to image an inner space of a toilet bowl at the time of excretion;

an open-close acquiring device configured to acquire open-close information of the toilet seat; and

an imaging controller configured to determine whether or not to image by the image sensor according to the open-close information of the toilet seat acquired by the open-close acquiring device.

3 . The toilet device of claim 1 , wherein the imaging controller is configured to:

stop imaging of the internal space of the toilet bowl by the image sensor when the toilet seat is determined to be in an open state according to the open-close information acquired by the open-close acquiring device, and

delete a captured image when the toilet seat is determined to be in the open state.

4 . The toilet device of claim 1 ,

wherein the open-close acquiring device is a sitting sensor configured to detect that a user has sat on the toilet seat, and

the imaging controller is configured to control to image the internal space of the toilet bowl by the image sensor when sitting information is detected by the sitting sensor.

5 . The toilet device of claim 1 ,

wherein the image sensor is disposed to direct to a direction facing an opening of a drainage channel so as to be able to image an internal direction of the drainage channel to which stool is discharged from a pooled water portion of the toilet.

6 . The toilet device of claim 5 , further comprising an illuminator configured to illuminate a deep side of a bottom surface of the pooled water portion of the toilet.

7 . The toilet device of claim 1 ,

wherein the image sensor is disposed at a position where a human body is not photobombed in a view field of the image sensor.

8 . The toilet device of claim 1 ,

wherein the image sensor is disposed at a position separated from a back surface of the toilet seat in a direction toward the toilet bowl.

9 . The toilet device of claim 1 ,

wherein the image sensor is adjustable to a brightness corresponding to an illuminance at an inner side of the toilet bowl.

10 . The toilet device of claim 1 ,

wherein a shield is disposed in a range of a view angle of the image sensor, the range being between the image sensor and the toilet bowl.

11 . The toilet device of claim 1 ,

wherein a thickness of the toilet seat is set such that buttocks and thighs of the human sitting on the toilet seat do not fall below the back surface of the toilet seat.

12 . The toilet device of claim 1 ,

wherein an opening of the toilet seat is set to a shape such that the buttocks and the thighs of the human sitting on the toilet seat do not fall below the back surface of the toilet seat.

13 . The toilet device of claim 1 , further comprising an image processor configured to perform image processing on a target image acquired by the image sensor,

wherein the image processor is configured to perform the image processing of masking a region of the target image in which the human body is photobombed.

14 . The toilet device of claim 13 ,

wherein the image processor includes functions of detecting a dirt on a camera lens of the image sensor from the image captured by the image sensor and outputting a cleaning-requirement signal.

15 . The toilet device of claim 1 , further comprising a supporter configured to project from the back surface of the toilet seat to abut on an upper surface of the toilet bowl in a state in which the toilet seat is closed,

wherein the image sensor is disposed to be non-contact with the upper surface of the toilet bowl.

16 . The toilet device of claim 1 , wherein the image sensor is disposed such that a center of the view field of the image sensor is directed toward a distal side from the half of the pooled water surface in the toilet bowl in a direction of viewing a pooled water surface inside the toilet bowl from the position of the image sensor.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF ADDRESS FOR ASSIGNEE Recorded Feb 8, 2023
From: LIXIL CORPORATION
To: LIXIL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 062682/0228 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 12, 2022
From: SHIMAZU, TOSHIAKI; UEDA, EMI; TANAKA, KENTA; TAKI, NOBUHIRO; NISHIGAKI, HIROSHI; NAGATA, MASAAKI
To: LIXIL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 061398/0052 →