CN117042660A

CN117042660A - Improvements in or relating to hand drying systems

Info

Publication number: CN117042660A
Application number: CN202280017226.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: O·杨; K·西蒙兹; J·布拉克肯-洛布
Original assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd
Current assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-26
Filing date: 2022-02-17
Publication date: 2023-11-10
Also published as: CN116896999A; GB202102775D0; GB2604162A

Abstract

A system comprising a hand dryer including an electronic control system and a filter. The electronic control system is configured to monitor a filter load parameter indicative of a load level of the filter; based on the monitored filter load parameters, a plurality of filter load messages are generated over time, indicating a progressive load of the filter, the communication module is activated to connect to the telecommunications network, and the generated filter load messages are sent from the communication module to the telecommunications network.

Description

Improvements in or relating to hand drying systems

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a hand dryer that may be installed, for example, in a washroom in a business location, and to an information or communication system that includes one or more such hand dryers.

Background

As a hygienic measure, commercial venues often provide a blow-down hand dryer system in a toilet so that users of the toilet can dry their hands. From an environmental point of view, blow dryer are generally popular because they eliminate the waste of paper towels and the laundry requirements inherent in providing a fabric towel.

Some blow-dry hand systems also include hand washing functions such as "airside Tap" supplied by dyson limited.

Whatever the form taken, the blow-dry hand system needs to be included in a suitable facility management program in order to be able to perform maintenance in a suitable manner. For example, all blow-dry hand systems require periodic cleaning, and many require periodic filter replacement. Furthermore, if malfunctions occur, they will need to be repaired or replaced. Currently, such facility management activities tend to be driven primarily by personnel, including by staff checking hand dryers, proper cleaning, recording malfunctions, and the like. Such procedures are often inefficient and prone to error.

Some examples in the art aim to improve the management of hand dryer systems by providing internet-supported appliances that can communicate with a central computer system to share performance and configuration data, and also provide a graphical user interface that attracts users in some way, for example by providing targeted advertising content. Examples include US2016/0028838, WO2014/033427 and US2016/0256021. Despite recent efforts to improve the manner in which hand drying systems operate, there are many opportunities to optimize their functionality. It is in this context that examples of the invention were devised.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a system comprising a hand dryer apparatus comprising an electronic control system. The electronic control system is configured to generate an appliance data record, wherein the appliance data record is loaded with one or more appliance-specific data items including appliance identification data items, activate the communication module to connect to the telecommunications network, and transmit the appliance data record from the communication module.

It is therefore advantageous in the system of the invention that the hand dryer appliance is able to itself generate a data record by which it can register its installation with its manufacturer or operator by sending the generated data record over a communications network such as the internet. This provides a technically more powerful product that does not require user intervention to perform the product registration process. Furthermore, by transmitting the generated data records to the manufacturer of the appliance, the manufacturer can more reliably and completely understand where their products are distributed and where maintenance resources may be needed.

Although in principle the data record may be generated and transmitted at any time, in one embodiment the electronic control system is configured to generate the appliance data record when external power is first applied to the hand dryer appliance after installation. This may be the case when the hand dryer has been secured to its stand, electrically connected to the mains power supply and activated, which may trigger the product registration process.

In a sense, the hand dryer may provide information about its identity and other inherent properties, which will help its operator/manufacturer to record its presence for future use. However, in the enhanced method, the electronic control system is configured to request a user data input at the user interface, wherein the user data input provides one or more user-generated data items, and to load the user-generated data items into the appliance data record. Thus, in this example, the electronic control system incorporates two types of data: appliance specific data, which may be stored in a memory of the appliance ready to be uploaded to the generated appliance data record, and user specific data, which may be entered by an installation or maintenance engineer, for example, via a suitable user interface, which may be integrated with the electronic control device, or remote from but in communication with the electronic control device. Such measurements may provide a more complete data record for the appliance.

The one or more appliance-specific data items may include one or more of: appliance serial number; the time of the initial power-up cycle; an IP address, and the one or more user-generated data items may include a geographic location identifier of the appliance; a building identifier; there is also a toilet identification code.

The generated appliance data record may be transmitted by the communication module to one or both of the OEM computer system and the facility management computer system.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a system comprising a hand dryer that includes an electronic control system. The electronic control system is configured to monitor one or more performance metrics associated with the hand dryer, identify that a component of the hand dryer needs to be replaced based on the one or more monitored performance metrics, and in response, generate an electronic maintenance record comprising an indication that the component needs to be replaced; activating a communication module to connect to a telecommunications network; and transmitting the appliance data record from the communication module to the telecommunications network.

Advantageously, this aspect of the invention supports a predictive maintenance method for hand dryers, which means that parts are ordered and replaced before they fail, which increases the efficiency of the process and avoids machine downtime.

Examples of components that can be monitored by the system are the motor and air filter of the blower unit of the hand dryer appliance.

In the case where the component to be replaced is a filter, the electronic control system may be configured to monitor the progressive load of the filter to determine if the filter needs replacement. This may be achieved by monitoring the air pressure at a point upstream of the filter or the air pressure at a point downstream of the filter. This objective may also be achieved by identifying when the operating motor speed and/or motor current consumption is not within the expected operating parameter range.

In the case where the component to be replaced is an air flow motor, the electronic control system may be configured to identify that the air flow motor needs to be replaced when it detects that the motor current consumption is not within the expected operating parameters.

In another aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a system comprising a hand dryer that includes an electronic control system and a filter. The electronic control system is configured to monitor a filter load parameter indicative of a load level of the filter; based on the monitored filter load parameters, a plurality of filter load messages are generated over time, indicating a progressive load of the filter, the communication module is activated to connect to the telecommunications network, and the generated filter load messages are sent from the communication module to the telecommunications network.

Advantageously, this functionality provides improved visibility to the manufacturer of the hand drying apparatus and/or the operator of the toilet in which the hand drying apparatus is installed, i.e. when each hand drying apparatus in the house needs to be fitted with a replacement filter. This may result in the restroom operator prematurely replacing the filter when the filter is not loaded to a critical level, which may affect performance or completely stop the machine.

Thus, in one embodiment, the system further comprises a facility management computer system configured to receive the filter load message and generate a maintenance request when a particular alarm filter load level has been exceeded. The system may be further configured to generate trend information based on the filter load message and provide predictive data indicating when a preset load level will be exceeded, and then generate a filter order message based on the predictive trend information.

In another aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a system including a hand dryer implement having an electronic control system. The electronic control system is configured to determine a downtime period during which the hand dryer has been inoperable since a previous period of operation.

The determined downtime period may be used to notify various actions of the electronic control system. The trend of extended downtime may indicate that the machine is less popular, possibly due to its location. Thus, this information can be used to flag lower maintenance requirements to the facility management computer as part of the appliance management regime.

In another embodiment, the electronic control system can be configured to generate an alarm message in response to a downtime period exceeding a predetermined downtime threshold, activate the communication module to connect to the telecommunications network, and send the generated alarm message from the communication module to the telecommunications network.

Advantageously, the above strategy provides a more comprehensive method of providing maintenance for hand drying equipment. The potential technical problem can be found early and can be solved by simple self-checking. Furthermore, maintenance requests may be automatically recorded and access by maintenance engineers may be scheduled accordingly, which means that the restroom assets of the enterprise are managed more effectively. In addition, the manufacturer of the hand dryer is also advantageous in that it can also obtain usage data, so it can gradually build up a more comprehensive picture of how its product is used.

One option for the electronic control system is to perform a self-test by operating the blower module of the appliance for a short period of time to check whether the appliance is operating properly. The self-test may be triggered by the appliance itself or may be triggered in response to a self-test command received by the appliance.

The self-test command may be sent to the appliance by the OEM computer system or the facility management computer system in response to an alert message sent by the electronic control system.

In another aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a system comprising at least one hand dryer implement and an electronic control system. The electronic control system is configured to determine a set of parameters associated with the hand dryer, the set of parameters indicating a cost measure of the hand dryer, request user data associated with the replacement hand dryer, wherein the user data indicates a comparable cost measure of the replacement hand dryer, generate a usage model of the hand dryer based on the determined set of parameters and the requested user data, the usage model determine an operational cost measure of the hand dryer and an operational cost measure of the replacement hand dryer, and generate predictive data based on the generated usage model, the predictive data indicating a point in time when the operational cost measure of the hand dryer is lower than the comparable cost measure of the replacement hand dryer.

Advantageously, the enhanced data collection capability of the hand dryer is used to calculate when the cost of purchasing and operating the hand dryer is lower than the cost of operating a similar hand dryer solution such as a paper towel or an alternative blow dryer. This is advantageous for enterprises that invest in such hand drying equipment, as they can determine in real time when their investment in the equipment is achieved. This would not be possible without the data collection function of the hand dryer of the present invention.

In real time, this means that data concerning the use of the hand dryer appliance is collected by the electronic control system and used to immediately calculate cost predictions and provide these predictions to the relevant party, e.g. the owner/operator of the appliance.

In this aspect of the invention, the parameter set may include a power consumption value associated with the hand dryer and an energy cost value associated with the hand dryer.

In other aspects, the technical capabilities of the hand dryer apparatus of the present invention are used to provide a degree of "situational awareness" thereto, which is beneficial in detecting vandalism or even attempted theft. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention provide a system including a hand dryer implement having an electronic control system. The electronic control system is configured to detect attempted theft by determining a parameter set comprising one or more appliance parameters indicative of the appliance experiencing an unauthorized removal condition, and monitoring the parameter set and generating an alarm message when the parameter set identifies the unauthorized removal condition. Similarly, the electronic control system is configured to detect potential tampering of the hand dryer implement by determining a parameter set comprising one or more implement parameters indicative of the implement experiencing a tampering condition, monitoring the parameter set, and generating an alarm message when the parameter set identifies the tampering condition.

In either case, if an alert message is generated, the electronic control system is further configured to activate the communication module to connect to the telecommunications network and transmit the generated alert message from the communication module to the telecommunications network.

With these embodiments of the invention, the hand dryer has a degree of self awareness, so that relatively gentle nudge and background vibrations can be distinguished, as well as more severe vibrations that may indicate that the machine is damaged or attempting to remove the machine from its installation. The ability of the hand dryer to monitor its integrity and "send back" alarm information to the base in this manner is a particular benefit in unattended washrooms, remote locations for occasional inspection, or washrooms without closed-circuit television coverage.

Various parameters may be monitored to achieve this goal. For example, acceleration values of the implement in one or more axes will provide useful data regarding the motion of the implement and the severity of the motion, which can be analyzed to identify abnormal vibration events indicative of the implement being damaged. Similarly, gyroscopic sensors may be used to infer a change in the pose/orientation of the hand dryer appliance, which may indicate that the appliance has been detached from its installed position. Furthermore, the integrity between the appliance and its mounting may be monitored by a suitable sensor, such as a reed switch.

In any of the above cases, the alert message may contain one or more data items including: appliance serial number, appliance street address location, appliance GPS coordinates, attack severity indicator.

In addition to the generated alert message, the electronic control system may be configured to generate an audible or visual alert indicator. This may be achieved by sound or alarm sounds, flashing lights, audible warning messages or a combination of these measures. Another option is for the electronic control system to trigger operation of the blower unit of the hand dryer implement, either as a single pulse or as a repetitive pulse. The noise of operation may act as an audible warning.

The various aspects of the invention described above illustrate various methods of how a hand dryer apparatus may operate to monitor and report its own performance. However, due to the sensing and processing capabilities of the hand dryer, it can provide useful technical data regarding other aspects of the toilet setting. In this regard, in another aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a system including a hand dryer having an electronic control system configured to determine an occurrence of a hand washing operation in the vicinity of the hand dryer and a duration of the hand washing operation, generate a hand washing data record based on an identification of the hand washing operation in the vicinity of the hand dryer, generate a report message including at least information related to the identified hand washing operation, activate a communication module to connect to a telecommunications network, and transmit the generated report message from the communication module to the telecommunications network.

Advantageously, this method provides operators of hand drying appliances with useful data to monitor hygiene in the toilet. In the case of installing a toilet in an enterprise such as an office or restaurant kitchen, the hand dryer of this aspect of the present invention can provide not only data on a hand drying operation but also data on a hand washing operation. This can help the restroom operators meet reporting requirements and ensure compliance with hygiene practices.

Determining that a hand washing operation has occurred may include identifying when a hand washing operation has begun in the vicinity of the hand dryer; and identifying when the hand washing operation is terminated. The occurrence and duration of the hand washing operation may be determined in various ways.

For example, in one embodiment, the hand dryer is equipped with a microphone that is capable of monitoring ambient noise in the toilet via the microphone. The microphone may be directional and thus may be aimed at a nearby hand washing implement. Thus, using the microphone, the step of determining the occurrence of the hand washing operation may include monitoring for ambient noise and detecting the occurrence of the hand washing operation based on the monitored ambient noise. The noise may be processed to extract a noise profile and match or correspond to a predetermined noise profile indicative of a hand washing operation. In this regard, the match need not be a complete match of frequency content or other aspects in order to identify a hand washing operation.

Another option is to use visual means, such as optical sensors, e.g. cameras, to collect visual data and analyze the visual data to determine that a hand washing operation is being performed. For example, a camera associated with a hand dryer may be configured to focus on the area where water flow will flow from the hand dryer. The electronic control system will then be configured to identify the presence of water flow in the visual data, thereby identifying that a hand washing operation is in progress.

Alternatively, the hand dryer may be configured to monitor the operational status of a water valve associated with the hand washing appliance. By knowing the position of the valve (i.e., open or closed), the occurrence of a hand washing operation can be reliably determined.

Although the hand washing appliance may be separate from the hand dryer, in some embodiments the two devices may be integrated with each other into a common unit.

It should also be noted that in the above aspect, the system as described above comprises at least a hand dryer, and thus also applies to the hand dryer itself. Accordingly, the appended claims also apply to the hand dryer apparatus comprised in the system.

Within the scope of the present application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, claims and/or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken separately or in any combination. That is, it should be noted that the various features of each aspect of the application described above may be combined with features of other aspects of the application unless such features are clearly incompatible. Applicant reserves the right to alter any initially filed claim or correspondingly filed any new claim, including modifying any initially filed claim to rely on and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim, although not initially filed in this manner.

Drawings

The above and other aspects of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of a system including one or more hand drying tools according to one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a toilet facility including one or more hand drying apparatus according to one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a hand dryer according to one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a representation of an implement data record generated by the electronic control system of the hand dryer implement;

FIG. 5 is a representation of maintenance data records generated by an electronic control system of a hand dryer;

FIG. 6 is a representation of a hand dryer integrated with a hand washing implement;

FIG. 7 is a representation of an operational report record generated by the electronic control system of the hand dryer; and

fig. 8 shows the cost index of the alternative dry hand solution during operation.

Note that the same or similar features in different drawings are denoted by similar reference characters.

Detailed Description

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described in which many features will be discussed in detail in order to provide a thorough understanding of the inventive concepts defined in the claims. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details, and in some cases, well known methods, techniques, and structures have not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscure the present invention.

In general, the present invention provides an attached hand dryer system having the improved technical functions heretofore observed in the art. From a broad perspective, connected hand dryer systems include a network of hand dryers, or even a single "connected" hand dryer, configured to be in electronic communication with one or more computer systems having the function of managing the use of such hand dryers. The first computer system may be associated with or part of an enterprise, such as a chain restaurant or service station, that owns and/or runs the facility in which the one or more hand dryers are located. Such enterprises, i.e. facility management enterprises or operator enterprises, may be interested in how to use aspects of the hand dryer under their control; such as their usage, how to maintain, whether there are any malfunctions and any consumable levels (if relevant). Thus, the computer system associated with the enterprise will now be referred to as a facility management or "carrier" computer system.

The second computer system may be associated with or part of an enterprise that manufactures the hand dryer. From now on, such an enterprise will be referred to as an appliance OEM, as it is the original equipment manufacturer of the appliance. Thus, the computer system associated with the appliance OEM will be referred to as an appliance OEM computer system. Such enterprises may be interested in how to use and operate the hand dryer, such as analyzing various performance metrics that may guide how to perform design improvement work. Such enterprises may also provide maintenance contracts for operators of hand dryers, so usage data is important to allow manufacturers to fulfill their responsibilities.

Further features and advantages will become apparent from the discussion that follows.

Fig. 1 shows the main components in a system 2 according to an embodiment of the invention from a broad perspective. In general, the system 2 includes one or more hand dryer appliances 4, an appliance OEM computer system 6, and an appliance operator computer system 8.

The one or more hand dryer appliances 4, appliance OEM computer system 6 and appliance operator computer system 8 are geographically separated from each other but interconnected by a suitable telecommunications system 10, which telecommunications system 10 may be the internet or another type of private network. Thus, each connected system is configured to communicate with each other via a suitable telecommunication protocol (e.g., TCP/IP), the choice of which is within the purview of the skilled artisan.

The OEM computer system 6 is shown schematically here, but it should be understood that this is not intended to impose limitations on how the computer system will be implemented. For example, OEM computer system 6 may be implemented by a general purpose computer or suitable server machine at an appliance manufacturer's site, such as at a headquarter or affiliated office. In this regard, the OEM computer system 6 may be considered to provide suitable computing resources, such as processors, memory, and suitable computer programs, to support an operating system and suitable software that provide the necessary functionality discussed herein. Likewise, OEM computer system 6 may be embodied by suitable computing resources provided in a distributed manner, such as in a "cloud". These and similar options should be considered to fall within the definition of OEM computer systems, as it refers to a set of appropriate computing resources and functions that are operated or controlled by the manufacturer of the appliance in question.

Similar considerations apply to the facility management computer system 8. Here, it is presented schematically, but it should be considered to represent a computing system with appropriate hardware and software resources to perform the processing requirements included in this discussion.

The hand dryer 4 is also shown in schematic form in fig. 1. In principle, the hand dryer 4 may be any suitable machine that uses blown air to dry the hands of a user. For example, the hand dryer may be implemented by a dyson airside (RTM) dryer, a dyson airside (RTM) faucet dryer, or a dyson airside (RTM) V dryer. However, whichever form the hand dryer 4 takes, the key difference is that it is provided with appropriate computing and connection resources for communication over the telecommunications network 10. For this purpose, therefore, the hand dryer apparatus 4 should be considered as a "connected" device, which is equipped with a suitable hardware architecture to allow it to connect to the network 10 and to send and receive data through the network 10. Although a single hand dryer 4 is shown in fig. 1, it should be understood that more than one hand dryer is contemplated. Indeed, it is in the context of a "team" of such hand drying appliances that the present invention is of particular advantage.

Fig. 2 shows a possible configuration of a "connected toilet" 20 in which a hand dryer implement 4 according to an embodiment of the invention may be incorporated. Here, a pair of hand dryers 4 are provided in the washroom 20 at positions opposite to the entrance 22 of the washroom 20. The toilet 20 further includes four compartments 24, each of which is provided with an associated paper towel dispenser 26. Facing the compartment 24 is a row of four sinks 28, each sink 28 having an associated faucet or tap 30. All of the above-described appliances may be equipped with suitable computing functions to provide information to one or both of the OEM computer system 6 and the operator computer system 8 regarding their use and performance as part of a connected set of functions to supplement the supply of connected hand dryer appliances 4. A set of motion sensors 32 are distributed around the toilet 20. Motion sensor 32 provides enhanced information regarding the use of toilet 20 and makes it possible to track how the individual uses the toilet.

Considering the dimensions of a toilet, it will be appreciated that it will be suitable for use in a commercial environment, such as a department store, station, airport or restaurant.

Turning now to fig. 3, a suitable arrangement for a hand dryer 4 is shown. In general, the hand dryer apparatus 4 includes an electronic control system or controller 40, a user interface 42, a sensor suite 44, a power source 46, a blower unit 48, and a communication module 50.

The controller 40 provides a command and control system for the hand dryer 4 and includes suitable hardware resources such as a central processing unit 52, memory 54 and I/O modules 56. These items will be within the purview of a skilled artisan in a suitable system configuration.

The user interface 42 is a means by which a user interacts with the hand dryer 4. In its most basic form, the user interface 42 may be implemented by a switch or proximity sensor for a user to trigger the hand dryer implement into a hand drying operation. The duration of the dry hand operation may be determined by a preset time limit, or the user may terminate the operation by pressing a switch or removing their hand from the proximity sensor. Typically, hand dryers are started and stopped based on proximity sensor control to avoid direct physical contact with the user, thereby improving hygiene.

The user interface 42 may also provide additional functionality for simple on/off control. For example, the user interface 42 may be embodied at least in part as a display screen that may provide any relevant information to the user. For example, the screen may be used to communicate advertising information, or it may provide useful information such as air temperature, elapsed drying time, etc.

The user interface 42 may also be used as a means for installation and maintenance personnel to access and configure the hand dryer apparatus 4. As an example, consider the installation process of the hand dryer 4, which would require the hand dryer to be connected to the telecommunications network 10. This may include configuring the hand dryer appliance 4 so that it connects to a local area network managed by the company that installs the appliance. To this end, the installation engineer may need to access the system settings of the hand dryer appliance 4 in order to set the correct network credentials to enable internet access. Thus, the user interface 42 may provide the necessary interface means, such as a touch screen, to allow for the input of the required data. In addition, the user interface 42 may provide useful information to a maintenance engineer to evaluate the performance of the hand dryer apparatus 4, whether any maintenance is required, and whether any fault indications have been identified. In this regard, the user interface 42 may be implemented at least in part by a mobile device (not shown) that may be configured to communicate with the electronic control system 40, but that is remote from the electronic control system 40. Such a mobile device may be a suitable notebook computer, a cell phone/mobile phone or a personal digital assistant, as is well understood by the skilled person.

The sensor suite 44 provides the hand dryer with the necessary data to analyze its performance and evaluate its "situational awareness". For example, the sensor suite 44 may include:

an airflow sensor for measuring airflow generated by the appliance;

an air temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the generated air flow;

air pressure sensors for measuring the pressure of the air flow generated at various locations within the machine, such as at locations upstream and downstream of blower unit 48, and at locations upstream and downstream of one or more air flow filters of the appliance;

acceleration sensors are used to measure various indicators related to how the appliance is operating, such as vibrations generated by the blower unit, and more intense movements caused by external disturbances, such as attempted theft or vandalism.

Other suitable sensors may be visual sensors, such as cameras and proximity sensors, and audio sensors, such as microphones, as will become apparent in this discussion.

The power source 46 provides power to the hand dryer 44 required to operate the blower unit 48 and its electronics. Accordingly, the power supply 48 may be suitably configured to provide a relatively high voltage AC, such as 120V (united states) or 240V (united kingdom), to power the motor associated with the blower unit 48, but also a relatively low voltage, such as 5V DC, to power the various printed circuit boards implementing the appliance hardware. The power supply 46 is shown in fig. 3 as being connected to the electronic control system 40, but it should be understood that the electronic control system 40 also controls the distribution of power to other components of the system. Direct power connections between the power source 46 and other components may also be provided.

The blower unit 48 provides the required airflow generation for the hand dryer implement 4 and thus includes at least a motor to drive a fan, and optionally an airflow heater, such as a wire heating element or a ceramic heating element. Blower unit 48 is responsive to user on/off commands via user interface 42 and electronic control system 40, but may also be triggered to operate without user input, as will be discussed later.

The communication module 50 provides the hand dryer 4 with the necessary hardware, software and firmware to connect to other electronic devices directly or via a network such as the internet. Thus, the communication module 50 may provide direct device-to-device communication via bluetooth (RTM) and NFC technology, and may provide internet connectivity via a suitable WIFI (RTM) adapter, as is well understood by the skilled person. It is envisaged that many locations where the hand dryer appliance 4 will be installed will be covered by a wireless communications network through which the appliance may be connected to the internet. However, in locations where such a connection is not possible, the communication module 50 may also provide mobile communication technologies conforming to the GSM (RTM) standard, such as the 3G, 4G and 5G standards, as will also be well understood by those familiar with devices and appliances compatible with the "internet of things" principle.

It should be noted at this point that the separation of functions shown in fig. 3 should not be considered as requiring physical separation of hardware modules. For example, the connectivity functions provided by the communication module 50 may be embodied in a chip including sensors such as a tri-axial accelerometer, gyroscope, humidity sensor, and the like. In fact, the entire set of functions as shown in FIG. 3 may be provided in a system-on-chip design to improve efficiency and robustness.

In addition to the association with the OEM computer system 6 and the operator computer system 8, the hand dryer 4 as described above may be configured to implement certain types of functions to produce a connected hand dryer 4 that is enhanced in technology by which the operator of the hand dryer 4 may conduct state and performance monitoring of the hand dryer to improve its functionality and diagnose and remedy identified problems. Similarly, the OEM computer system 6 may be configured to interact with the hand dryer 4 in such a way as to receive and collect usage data from it and other similarly configured hand dryers so that an enterprise operating the OEM computer system may make decisions to improve design and development, and also provide technically useful diagnostic capabilities that may not be possible or available to an operator of the hand dryer.

An example of such a function will now be described.

Product registration

To identify the hand dryer implement 4 as "live" by the OEM computer system 6 and the carrier computer system 8, the electronic control system 40 is operable to automatically perform a product registration process. The process of product registration may include informing the OEM computer system 6 and optionally the operator computer system 8 of various data items by the hand dryer appliance 4. These data items should be sufficient to enable the OEM computer system 6 to identify which hand dryer appliance has been installed, and preferably also to identify the location of the hand dryer appliance 4, the business operating the hand dryer appliance, to name a few examples.

To this end, the electronic control system 4 is configured to generate an appliance data record loaded with one or more appliance specific data items. Fig. 4 shows an example of an appliance data record 60.

The appliance-specific data items may include at least one appliance identification data item, such as an OEM serial number of the appliance, a geographic location that may be provided by the communication module 50, an IP address of the OEM computer system, and a date and time of the electrical connection. These represent examples of appliance-specific data items, and other data items are also possible. These appliance specific data items, indicated as "62" in the appliance data record 60 shown in fig. 4, may be stored in a suitable non-volatile area of the on-board memory 54, which on-board memory 54 will be configured with the necessary data at the time of manufacture, ready for the automated product registration process.

Once the electronic control system 40 has generated the appliance data record 60, it can activate the communication module 50 to connect to the telecommunications network 10. To this end, electronic control system 40 may require the installation engineer to provide appropriate connection information to appliance 4 so that it may register with the local WiFi network and then with the wider network 10. However, the communication module 50 may instead establish a direct link to the OEM computer system 6 via GSM functionality. Once a connection to network 10 is established, electronic control system 40 may transmit the appliance data record to OEM computer system 6.

Usefully, by initiating the automatic product registration process, the OEM computer system 6 can gather information about where its products are distributed. This may help the appliance manufacturer better understand where maintenance resources are needed, thereby more effectively managing its products. Furthermore, the automatic registration process means that the operator of the hand dryer appliance 4 does not have to take specific steps to register the appliance with the manufacturer, as this is done automatically by the appliance 4.

While electronic control system 40 may automatically generate appliance data record 60 and also automatically populate the data record, it may also enhance the richness of the data in data record 60 by requesting user-generated data items to supplement appliance-specific data items.

To this end, electronic control system 40 may be configured to request one or more user-generated data items, which it may then load into appliance data records 60 ready for transmission to network 10. One way in which the electronic control system 40 may do this is to provide a display prompt on the user interface 42 to request the user, in this case an engineer responsible for installing and setting the hand dryer apparatus 4 for use.

The user-generated data item (an example of which is indicated as "64" in fig. 4) may be any data specific to the operator of the hand dryer apparatus 4. For example, such data items may include: appliance operator identification, which may be a customer ID number associated with the operator, and identifies the operator, building location, such as a ZIP code or ZIP code, street address, or even a map reference or a What3words (RTM) codeword, to the manufacturer; and building sub-locations, such as floor and/or room locations for hand dryers, e.g., identification of a restroom, e.g., "floor male restroom". These are merely examples of user-generated data items, and it is understood that other data items are possible.

As another feature of functionality, electronic control system 40 may be configured to transmit appliance data record 60 to facility management computer system 8 as well. In this way, it is convenient for the hand dryer appliance 4 to provide registration details not only to the manufacturer/OEM, but also to the facility management enterprise responsible for maintaining and repairing the appliance in the event of a fault.

The transmission of the appliance data record 60 may be at any suitable time, but is preferably shortly after the hand dryer appliance has been installed. As an option, the electronic control system 40 may be configured to initiate an automatic product registration sequence when power is first supplied to the hand dryer 4 during installation. This may be fully automated or may include a confirmation step during which the installation engineer needs to confirm whether the product registration step should continue. Thus, a timestamp associated with the time and date the appliance was first powered may be included in appliance data record 60.

Ordering replacement parts

For large enterprises, monitoring and maintaining a large number of hand drying tools is a significant task, which is prone to inefficiency and resulting in increased costs. Although hand dryers are often reliable machines, occasional malfunctions and/or consumable depletion may occur, and it is therefore important for the operator/owner of these hand dryers to identify these situations in time and to remedy them within a reasonable time frame.

In this regard, the electronic control system 40 of the hand dryer apparatus of the present invention may be configured to monitor its own performance and diagnose whether replacement parts are required. After such identification, the electronic control system 40 may be configured to send a request for replacement parts. The request may be sent to the OEM computer system 6 so that the manufacturer may take appropriate action to send the spare part, or the request may be sent to a facility management computer 8 capable of taking appropriate action.

To identify a part or component that needs to be replaced, the electronic control system 40 is configured to monitor one or more performance metrics associated with the hand dryer tool that indicate that the part needs to be replaced. The performance metric may take various forms and may involve a single parameter exceeding a predetermined threshold or expected operating range, or a mixture of parameters that when combined together, such as when processed by a suitable model or algorithm, indicate that the component needs replacement. Such a monitoring procedure facilitates predictive maintenance of the hand dryer 4, which means that parts are ordered and replaced before actual failure, which improves the efficiency of the process and avoids machine downtime.

The following are non-limiting examples of suitable performance metrics to illustrate the concepts described above. First, the airflow rate through the hand dryer may be monitored by a suitable airflow sensor provided in the sensor suite 44. A drop in the airflow rate from the nozzles of the hand dryer 4 may indicate that the filter is unacceptably clogged, or that the motor is prone to failure. Second, motor temperature, motor speed, and motor current consumption may be monitored as two other metrics that generally indicate motor health. Thus, if the motor temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold, and/or the motor speed drops below a predetermined threshold, it may be the case that the motor needs to be replaced. More simply, if the motor is not consuming current or is consuming insufficient current, the system may infer that the motor needs to be replaced. In addition to identifying parameters that exceed a predetermined threshold, the system may infer a replacement condition from when the monitored parameters do not fall within a predetermined or expected range, and the term "threshold" should be construed in this context.

Such performance metrics may also be indicative of filter loading. For example, the electronic control system 40 may be configured to monitor the air flow velocity or air pressure upstream and/or downstream of an air filter installed in the hand dryer apparatus 4. The need for replacement of the filter may be indicated by a decrease in airflow velocity downstream of the filter and an increase in pressure differential across the filter. Instead of a differential pressure measurement, the measurement of interest may be the air pressure upstream of the filter, an increase of which may also indicate an increase of the filter load. Conversely, a decrease in air pressure downstream of the filter is indicative of filter load.

By monitoring these parameters, the electronic control system 40 can identify the need to replace the filter. The electronic control system 40 may also be adapted to monitor the progressive loading of the filter, which may relate to the rate of increase of the pressure differential across the filter. Such filter health performance metrics may then be used to trigger maintenance operations by automatically ordering replacement filters.

Once the need for replacement parts is determined, electronic control system 40 may responsively generate an electronic maintenance record, an example of which is shown in FIG. 5 as "66". Such a record indicates at least the part that needs to be replaced, but may also indicate other factors such as an emergency or a "time to replace" parameter.

Once the maintenance record 66 is generated, the electronic control system 40 is configured to transmit it to one or both of the OEM computer system 6 and the facility management computer system 8 so that the appropriate replacement parts may be ordered and sent to the appropriate address so that maintenance may be performed.

Progressive filter loading

As an enhancement to the above functionality, the electronic control system 40 may also be configured to monitor the progressive filter load and report the load level, as an alternative or in addition to alerting that the filter needs replacement.

One way that this may be accomplished is by the electronic control system 40 generating a maintenance record 66 with appropriate data regarding the filter load level. Notably, the maintenance data record 66 in FIG. 5 has many fields, and it should be understood that one or more of these fields may be populated in the maintenance data record. Thus, it may be the case that the electronic control system 40 only needs to report the filter load level, in which case it will generate a maintenance data record 66, with only the filter load level data entry/field 68 populated in the record. In this regard, the maintenance data record 66 may be considered a dedicated filter load message sent by the electronic control system to one or both of the OEM computer system 6 and the facility management computer system 8 over the network 10.

In performing the above-described functions, the electronic control system 40 is configured to monitor one or more parameters associated with filter load performance. As one example of this, the electronic control system 40 may be configured to monitor motor speed during prolonged use. Motor speed is a useful indicator of filter load because a gradual increase in motor speed reflects a gradual increase in filter load because the motor must draw air through the filter harder to maintain an acceptable air flow rate level.

During monitoring of the filter load parameters, the electronic control system 40 is configured to send a plurality of filter load messages to the OEM computer system 6 and/or the facility management computer system 8. Multiple filter load messages may be sent based on different methods. One approach is for the electronic control system 40 to send a separate message each time the monitored filter load parameter exceeds a predetermined threshold. For example, a separate message may be sent each time the monitored parameter exceeds 10% load, 20% load, 30% load, etc.

The second method is for the electronic control system 40 to send separate filter load messages at predetermined time intervals. For example, the time interval may be weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly. It will be within the purview of the skilled artisan to determine the appropriate time interval for sending the filter load message. The time intervals between messages may not be equal. For example, the time interval may be reduced based on the level of filter load or the rate of increase of filter load. Thus, as the filter load increases, more data about the filter load level will be sent. This has the advantage that the OEM computer system 6 and/or the facility management computer system 8 will be provided with more data when the filter load level rises to a more critical level.

OEM computer system 6 and/or facility management computer system 8 may act on the filter load information to perform a predicted maintenance scheme. For example, when a filter load level is received, the associated computer system 6/8 may generate trend information to predict when the filter needs to be replaced. Trend information may be refined based on more data received.

Advantageously, this functionality provides improved visibility to the manufacturer of the hand drying apparatus 4 via the OEM computer system 6 and to the restroom operator via the facility management computer system 8 as to when each hand drying apparatus 4 in the house needs to be installed with a replacement filter. This may result in the restroom operator replacing the filter in advance when the filter is not loaded to a critical level, which may affect performance or stop the machine altogether. Thus, based on the predicted trend information, the facility management computer system 8 may generate and transmit a filter order message to the OEM computer system 6 to place an order for replacement filters. A better level of understanding of how the filter is loaded under real world conditions is provided to the manufacturer of the hand dryer 4, which is difficult to test correctly before the product is released. It also allows the manufacturer to understand the need for filters and evaluate future needs for filters and adjust production accordingly.

Hand dryer downtime

As an enhancement to the various aspects of performance monitoring discussed above, the hand dryer 4 according to embodiments of the present invention may advantageously be configured to trigger a fault report to the manufacturer or restroom operator by monitoring the amount of time the hand dryer 4 is not operated, i.e., its "downtime". This is based on the fact that if the hand dryer is not operated for a long period of time, this may indicate a malfunction. For example, it may be that the machine is electrically malfunctioning such that the motor is not operational, or that the user interface 42 may be corrupted such that it cannot send an activation signal to the controller to energize the blower unit 48.

For this reason, in the present embodiment, the electronic control unit 40 is configured to determine a downtime period representing an amount of time the hand dryer 4 has not been operated since a previous operation period. The term "operational period" may be considered to refer to a period of time during which the motor of blower unit 48 draws power from the appliance and generates an airflow. Thus, the shutdown period may be considered a period of time since the last power down of the motor of the blower unit 48.

The determination of the downtime period may be used by the electronic control system 40 in different ways. As one example of this, the electronic control system 40 may be configured to generate an alert message in response to the downtime period exceeding a predetermined threshold (see reference numeral 69 in fig. 5). The threshold value may in principle be any length of time and may be configured by the restroom operator, for example via the facility management computer system 8, to a time period suitable for the environment. A suitable time period may be in the range of 24 hours, as it is unusual for the hand dryer to not be used at least once during such a time period.

In response to the generation of the alert message, a self-test event or command may be generated. The result of the self-test command is to trigger operation of the dryer for a short period of time to test whether the dryer is operating properly.

The self-test command may be generated by a subroutine in the electronic control system 40, in which case the electronic control system 40 will react by activating the blower unit 48 itself.

Alternatively, the self-test command may be generated externally and received by the electronic control unit 40 via the communication module 50. In this case, in response to the electronic control system 40 generating and sending an alarm message to the facility management computer system 8, a self-test command may be sent by the facility management computer system 8 to the hand dryer appliance via the network 10.

Instead of or in addition to generating the self-test event, the electronic control system 40 may be configured to generate a maintenance request message 70 that is sent to the facility management computer system 8. Such a message may be included in a suitably generated maintenance data record 66 in fig. 5. In response, the facility management computer system 8 may be configured to schedule maintenance checks of the hand dryer apparatus 4 to ensure that it is operational.

It should be noted that the electronic control system 40 may be configured to send the downtime alarm message 69 and the maintenance request message 70 to the OEM computer system 6 in addition to or in lieu of sending these messages to the facility management computer system 8.

Use cost prediction

Hand dryers represent an investment for enterprises, and the choice of hand drying solutions is affected by several different factors. The sales price is a factor, but other factors are also important, such as the energy efficiency and reliability of such machines, as these factors can affect the overall life costs of installing and operating the appliance. The relative costs of purchasing and operating one hand-drying solution with another hand-drying solution may be compared prior to purchase, but such comparisons tend to be theoretical and based on data provided by the manufacturer or supplier of each hand-drying solution. A more complete and efficient method of determining the comparative cost of operating a hands-free solution would be advantageous to the operator because it would provide reliable data about the comparative energy efficiency of competing solutions, provide comparative financial information, and further enable the operator to evaluate competing solutions from a technical perspective to meet the energy efficiency goals of the enterprise.

To this end, the hand dryer 4 of the present invention provides a solution to this need by virtue of its enhanced data collection capability. As such, the electronic control system 40 is configured to determine a set of parameters associated with the hand dryer 4 that are indicative of a cost measure of the hand dryer.

The parameter set may comprise one or more parameters that provide a useful representation of the cost of the operating appliance. For example, one option is to use the energy consumption parameters of the machine. This parameter may be measured directly by the electronic control system 40, as it has access to operational data such as the operating voltage of the system and the current drawn from the main power supply. The electronic control system 40 is also configured to determine the cost of the energy. The energy cost metric may be pre-installed into the memory 54 of the electronic control system 40 or may be obtained by other means. For example, the energy cost metric may be provided as a data input from the installation engineer via the user interface 42. It may also be provided remotely via the OEM computer system 6 or the facility management computer system 8 via a remote update.

Once the electronic control system 40 has obtained the energy consumption and the cost per unit energy (normally penny/cents per kilowatt-hour) of the hand dryer 4, it can track its operating costs by determining the cost in terms of energy of operating the hand dryer.

Thus, through the above steps, the electronic control system 40 may be considered to determine a usage model of the hand dryer appliance, as it may obtain the energy cost and power consumption of the appliance, and thus it may calculate an operational cost measure when using the hand dryer appliance 4.

Electronic control system 40 is also configured to request user data associated with the alternate hand-drying apparatus, wherein the user data is indicative of a comparable cost metric for the alternate hand-drying apparatus. For example, when prompted, the maintenance engineer may enter a cost metric for one of a plurality of alternative dry hand solutions or devices in the user interface 42. For example, if the hand dryer 4 is replacing a towel dispenser, the user may input the average cost of towels to be used by the dispenser for a predetermined period of time, such as a day, week, month or longer.

Since the electronic control system 40 may also obtain a comparable cost measure for the replacement hand drying apparatus, such as the paper towel solution described above, the electronic control system 40 is able to predict the cost change over time of using the hand drying apparatus 4 compared to the cost of the replacement hand dryer solution. This prediction becomes more accurate when using the hand dryer 4, as the electronic control system 40 is able to collect more data about its average power consumption. Thus, based on the generated usage model, and knowing the purchase price of the hand dryer 4, the electronic control system 40 may generate predictive data indicating a point in time when the operational cost metric of the hand dryer falls below a comparable cost metric of the replacement hand dryer.

In other words, the electronic control system 40 is configured to calculate when the cost of purchasing and operating the hand dryer 4 is lower than the cost value of operating a similar hand drying solution (e.g., a paper towel or an alternative blow dryer).

The above-described process is shown in fig. 8. It can be seen that the operating costs of the hand dryer appliance start from the purchase price "P" and then gradually increase over time due to the relatively efficient operating costs. Instead, the alternative hand drying apparatus, in this case a towel, costs from the origin of the drawing representing zero cost, because towel is a previously installed solution, and therefore does not require capital expenditure. However, the running cost of the towel is relatively high, and therefore over time the cost increases faster than a comparable cost measure of the hand dryer 4. At the point in time marked "ROI", the two curves intersect, which means that the cost of purchasing and operating the hand dryer 4 is already lower than a comparable cost of maintaining a paper towel solution, thus representing the point at which the owner/operator of the hand dryer is doing Return On Investment (ROI).

It should be noted that while the two lines in fig. 8 are straight in this illustrated example, this is for illustration purposes only and is not required in practice, as the average usage may vary between days and weeks of the year, reflecting fluctuating traffic cycles.

The electronic control system 40 may make a similar comparison for an alternative blow dryer instead of a paper towel. In this case, the electronic control system 40 will request a power consumption rate of the replacement hand drying apparatus, so a cost measure of the replacement solution can be determined based on how long the hand drying apparatus is running.

Vandalism and theft monitoring

The hand dryer is generally installed in public toilets and is thus easily damaged. Furthermore, they are often expensive devices and thus may be an attractive option for thieves, especially if the appliances are installed in public places without monitoring the closed circuit television system.

The enhanced data processing and monitoring functions of the hand dryer 4 according to embodiments of the present invention enable the hand dryer 4 to have a degree of "self awareness". It is not only able to monitor its own performance and report performance related data to the manufacturer (OEM computer system 6) and its owners/operators (facility management computer system 8), but it is also able to use its sensors to infer information about its installation integrity. This may be particularly applicable to vandalism and theft, where the hand dryer 4 may analyze selected parameters indicative of a vandalism condition that may be occurring, or a complete or attempted theft of the hand dryer 4.

First, consider the case where the hand dryer 4 is damaged. This may be the case when the hand dryer appliance 4 is impacted by an object, possibly in an attempt to damage the appliance or remove the appliance from its mounting.

The electronic control system 40 of the hand dryer appliance 4 can monitor for the occurrence of this by being configured to determine a parameter set comprising one or more appliance parameters indicative of the condition experiencing the breach.

One option for these parameters is the acceleration level to which the hand dryer 4 is subjected. Accordingly, the sensor package 44 may be equipped with one or more accelerometers to monitor the vibration of the appliance.

The one or more accelerometers may be located anywhere in or on the hand dryer where acceleration may be optimally detected. One option is for the electronic control system 40 to use an accelerometer provided by a "system on a chip" architecture, which may be implemented by a commercially available unit such as an Arduino Nano 33 IOT. These types of chip structures are capable of providing inertial sensing units, including accelerometers and gyroscopic sensors, sometimes through MEMS devices, well suited to this task. Thus, such acceleration sensing may be provided without the need for increased hardware requirements as required by a separate hardwired accelerometer.

Suitable acceleration/vibration thresholds may be determined based on experimental data of acceleration levels that will be experienced under various failure conditions. In normal use, the vibration level is expected to remain within the expected operating range, as vibrations will be experienced by operation of blower unit 48, by the user inadvertently striking their hand against the implement, and by accidental striking by a walking person. Thus, in use, once such predetermined expected range and threshold are exceeded, thereby identifying a breach condition, the electronic control system 40 may be configured to generate a breach alert message, shown as "70" in fig. 5. After generating the destruction alarm message, the electronic control system 4 may connect to the network via the communication module 50 and send the generated alarm message to the network 10. The generated alert message may be sent to OEM computer system 6 or facility management computer system 8 based on the configuration of the electronic control system at installation time.

It should be appreciated that more than one vibration level may be used to establish the corresponding threshold. For example, relatively low levels of vibration may still be recorded by the electronic control system 4 and, where appropriate, reported via an alarm message. A higher vibration level may trigger the generation of alarm information immediately. Conversely, if a relatively low vibration level is detected with an extended duration, for example, exceeding a few seconds, the relatively low vibration level may trigger an alarm message, which may indicate a consistent attempt to break the hand dryer implement, rather than an isolated (and possibly unexpected) impact.

As part of the vandalism condition, it will be appreciated that vandalism may become an attempt to steal the hand dryer implement 4. This can generally be identified as an increase in the severity of the vibrations experienced by the hand dryer 4. Thus, the appropriate vibration threshold may be determined by the electronic control system 40, which electronic control system 40 indicates the level of physical attack required to loosen or remove the hand dryer appliance from its installation on an adjacent wall surface. While the increased vibration level may be one indication of theft, other indications may be a change in the direction or "tilt" angle of the hand dryer implement 4, as the implement is typically fixed to a wall and is not movable. Another indication may be provided by a proximity sensing function between the hand dryer implement and the adjacent mounting surface. For example, a magnetic switch, such as a reed switch, may be provided that is coupled between the hand dryer implement and the wall. Dislocation of the hand dryer from its mounting may trigger a magnetic switch and indicate an attempted theft.

In such a case, the electronic control system 40 may be configured to monitor selected parameters indicative of the appliance experiencing an unauthorized removal condition and generate a theft alarm message 72 when the parameter set identifies the unauthorized removal condition.

Once an unauthorized removal condition is identified, the electronic control system 40 may be configured to activate the communication module to connect to the telecommunications network; and the generated alert message is sent from the communication module to the telecommunications network for continued receipt by one or both of the OEM computer system 6 and the facility management computer system 8.

As an enhancement to the generation of the breach alert message and the theft alert message, the electronic control system 4 may also be configured to issue a visual and/or audible alert. This may be successful in immediately blocking the attack or at least drawing attention to the situation. In this case, the electronic control system 40 may implement an audible alarm such that the blower unit 48 is turned on without external input, possibly repeatedly turned on and off.

Hand washing time monitoring

The above discussion has covered various examples of how the hand dryer apparatus 4 is configured to monitor various aspects of its own performance and infer certain courses of action that may be required. The enhanced sensing capabilities of the hand dryer 4 may also be used in a wider environment to provide the hand dryer with how other appliances in its vicinity are used.

For example, in the toilet environment shown in fig. 2, the hand dryer 4 shares a room with a sink equipped with a faucet/tap. In some embodiments, hand dryer 4 may be integrated with a hand washing system, such as in a commercially available airside faucet. As will be described, in this embodiment, the hand dryer 4 is configured to monitor the operation of nearby hand washing fixtures and derive useful data.

To this end, in this embodiment of the invention, the electronic control system 40 of the hand dryer 4 is configured to determine that a hand washing operation has occurred in the vicinity of the hand dryer. In addition to determining the occurrence of a hand washing operation, electronic control system 40 is configured to determine the duration of the hand washing operation.

The occurrence and duration of the hand washing operation may be determined in various ways. For example, in one embodiment, the hand dryer 4 is equipped with a microphone via which the hand dryer 4 is able to monitor the ambient noise in the toilet. The microphone may be included in a sensor kit 44 of the hand dryer.

Thus, electronic control system 40 may be configured to match a predetermined noise profile of a typical hand washing operation with a noise profile extracted from ambient noise in the hand washing. For example, electronic control system 40 may be configured to take a rolling "snapshot" of ambient noise and apply suitable signal processing techniques, such as fourier transform analysis, to isolate frequency content indicative of hand washing operations. It is expected that hand washing operations will typically involve relatively high frequency noise that is suitable for isolation by signal processing. Once a hand washing operation is identified as occurring, the electronic control system may monitor the hand washing operation to determine when it is terminated. Based on this information, control system 40 may determine the duration of the hand washing operation.

The hand dryer 40 may be suitably configured to optimize its use for capturing ambient noise. For example, hand dryer 4 may be positioned adjacent to or opposite the hand washing implement such that the physical separation is not so great as to make the hand washing operation inaudible. In addition, a directional microphone may be used and configured to aim at the hand cleaner.

In the alternative, the hand dryer 4 may be paired with or otherwise associated with a hand washing appliance for monitoring purposes. For example, the hand dryer 4 may be mounted directly adjacent to the hand washing appliance so as to have a clear line of sight. In this example, although the hand dryer 4 may monitor the ambient noise generated by the hand washing appliance, other sensing options are possible.

In one such embodiment, the sensing kit 44 may include an optical sensor, such as a camera 80 mounted to a hand washing implement 82, the hand washing implement 82 being associated with a hand drying implement 84. Such an embodiment would be particularly suitable for appliances in which the hand washing and drying functions are integrated into a single appliance, and is shown in fig. 6, where it will be appreciated that the two appliances are integrated into a dyson airbridge faucet (RTM).

Here, camera 80 is oriented such that its field of view intersects water flow 85 exiting nozzle 86 of hand washing implement 82. Thus, the camera 80 is effectively positioned to observe the water flow and feed visual data back to the electronic control system 40.

As an alternative to monitoring the operation of the hand washing implement 84, the electronic control system 40 may be configured to monitor the operation of the water valve 88. As shown herein, the water valve 80 provides a direct input to the electronic control system 40 regarding its operating position, which is either open or closed. Thus, electronic control system 40 is able to accurately measure when hand washing operations begin and when they stop.

Once electronic control system 40 detects the occurrence of a hand washing operation and the duration of the hand washing operation, it is configured to generate an operation report record or message 90, an example of which is shown in fig. 7.

As shown in fig. 7, the operation report log 90 may include appropriate data to enable the hand washing operation to be properly identified and logged. Thus, as shown herein, the data entry may include a data/timestamp of the hand washing operation, a serial number of the appliance that detected the hand washing operation, a flag that the hand washing event has been identified, and a time value of the hand washing duration.

Once the operation report record is generated, the electronic control system is configured to establish a link to the network 10 and send an operation report message 90 to the network 10 suitable for transmission to the OEM computer system 6 and/or the facility management computer system 8.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a hand dryer including an electronic control system and a filter;

wherein the electronic control system is configured to:

monitoring a filter load parameter indicative of a load level of the filter;

generating a plurality of filter load messages over time based on the monitored filter load parameters, the filter load messages indicating a progressive loading of the filter,

activating a communication module to connect to a telecommunications network;

the generated filter load message is sent from the communication module to a telecommunications network.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a facility management computer system configured to receive a filter load message and generate a maintenance request when a particular alarm filter load level has been exceeded.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the facility management computer system is configured to generate trend information based on the filter load message and provide predictive data indicating when a preset load level will be exceeded.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the facility management computer system is configured to generate a filter order message based on the predicted trend information.

5. The system of any of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of filter load messages comprise data items comprising: filter load level, time stamp, motor current consumption.