IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,802,830
Granted Patent B2
US 11,802,830 · App. 17/277,859 · Granted Oct 31, 2023

Toilet seat apparatus and excrement detection apparatus

Inventors: Ryo Oi (Fukuoka, JP); Takeshi Takaki (Fukuoka, JP); Naoya Takeuchi (Fukuoka, JP); Hitoaki Higuchi (Fukuoka, JP); Masamichi Tosaki (Fukuoka, JP); Masayuki Nagaishi (Fukuoka, JP); Yuta Sakai (Fukuoka, JP); Satoko Kizuka (Fukuoka, JP)
Assignee: TOTO LTD.
G01N21/255A47K13/24G01N21/27
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,802,830
App. No.
17/277,859
Granted
Oct 31, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

A toilet seat apparatus according to an embodiment is a toilet seat apparatus to be placed on an upper part of a toilet bowl having a bowl unit that receives excrement, the toilet seat apparatus including: a toilet seat on which a user sits; a light emitting unit including one or more light emitting elements that emit light in a front direction; a light receiving unit including a light receiving element that receives light; and a housing in which the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged, in which the one or more light emitting elements are arranged in parallel with the light receiving unit or in front of the light receiving unit in a side view or a top view of the housing.

Claims (25)

1. A toilet seat apparatus to be placed on an upper part of a toilet bowl having a bowl unit that receives excrement, the toilet seat apparatus comprising:

a toilet seat on which a user sits;

a light emitting unit that emits light in a front direction; and

a light receiving unit that receives light, wherein

the light emitting unit is arranged so that a central axis of the light emitting unit is inclined in a direction approaching a central axis of the light receiving unit on a front side,

the light emitting unit includes a plurality of light emitting elements each of which emits light, and

each of the plurality of light emitting elements

is capable of emitting beams of light of different wavelengths, and

is arranged so that half-power angle regions of the beams of light emitted by the plurality of light emitting elements overlap with each other within an opening of the toilet seat in a plan view of the toilet seat.

2. The toilet seat apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the light emitting unit

emits light in a front direction toward feces discharged by the user, and

the light receiving unit receives reflected light from the feces corresponding to the light emitted by the light emitting unit.

3. The toilet seat apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the plurality of light emitting elements is arranged so that half-power angle regions of the beams of light emitted by the plurality of light emitting elements overlap each other toward a virtual falling position of feces discharged from the user.

4. The toilet seat apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the plurality of light emitting elements is arranged around the light receiving unit.

5. An excrement detection apparatus to be disposed on a toilet bowl having a bowl unit that receives excrement, the excrement detection apparatus comprising:

a light emitting unit that emits light in a front direction; and

a light receiving unit that receives light, wherein

the light emitting unit is arranged so that a central axis of the light emitting unit is inclined in a direction approaching a central axis of the light receiving unit on a front side,

the light emitting unit includes a plurality of light emitting elements each of which emits light, and

each of the plurality of light emitting elements

is capable of emitting beams of light of different wavelengths, and

is arranged so that half-power angle regions of the beams of light emitted by the plurality of light emitting elements overlap with each other within an opening of a toilet seat in a plan view of the toilet seat.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 26, 2021
From: OI, RYO; TAKAKI, TAKESHI; TAKEUCHI, NAOYA; HIGUCHI, HITOAKI; TOSAKI, MASAMICHI; NAGAISHI, MASAYUKI; SAKAI, YUTA; KIZUKA, SATOKO
To: TOTO LTD.
Reel/Frame 056038/0010 →
Priority Claims (3)
JP 2019-159104 · Aug 30, 2019 · national
JP 2019-159105 · Aug 30, 2019 · national
JP 2020-120736 · Jul 14, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220357269A1 · Nov 10, 2022
Cited By (2)
US 1,089,574 US 1,089,575