KR102111230B1 - Alarm device and method for flushing of toilet bowl - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an alarm device and an alarm method for toilet bowl flushing. In a case where a user does not flush after using a toilet bowl, the device detects the non-flushing and causes the user to flush by means of a sound and a lamp. The toilet bowl flushing alarm device according to the present invention for the detection and the flushing includes: an object detection and distance measurement unit (160) detecting a user′s sitting on a toilet bowl and standing up from and leaving the toilet bowl after toilet bowl use; a sound measurement unit (170) measuring a sound generated at the toilet bowl for a set time when the user stands up from and leaves the toilet bowl; a central processing unit (110) determining whether or not a toilet bowl flushing sound has been generated by analyzing the sound signal measured by the sound measurement unit (170); a flushing alarm unit (180) causing the user to flush the toilet bowl in a case where the central processing unit (110) determines that no flushing sound has been generated; and a power supply unit (140) supplying electric power to the toilet bowl flushing alarm device (100). According to the present invention, a user leaving a restroom without flushing after toilet bowl use is prevented.

Description

{Alarm device and method for flushing of toilet bowl}

The present invention relates to a toilet toilet flushing alarm device and an alarm method, and more specifically, a toilet toilet for guiding the flushing operation of the toilet through a sound and a lamp by detecting when the user has not flushed water after using the toilet. It relates to a flushing alarm device and its method.

A toilet seat installed in a general toilet is a Western-style flush toilet that allows a user to sit down and look at the toilet as if sitting on a chair. These toilets store a certain amount of water inside the toilet body, and when water is supplied from the water tank installed at the rear of the toilet body, it operates on the principle that the feces inside the toilet body are sucked and discharged by the siphon principle by the water pressure difference. do.

A toilet seat on which the user can sit is installed on an open upper portion of the toilet bowl main body, and a toilet seat cover is installed on the upper portion of the toilet bowl, and the toilet seat and the toilet seat cover are rotated in a vertical direction to open the upper portion of the toilet bowl body. It is installed as possible. In addition, the washing water is stored inside the water tank, and the washing water is supplied into the toilet body by the user's drain lever operation, and when the washing water is supplied into the toilet body, the waste stored in the toilet body according to the siphon principle is a drain pipe. It is discharged along.

In general, such toilets can only discharge wastes contained in the toilet body only when the user operates the drain lever. If the user forgets and forgot to leave the toilet without manipulating the drain lever, the toilet may have an unpleasant odor due to the remaining waste in the toilet body. It may remain, and other users may enter the bathroom to view the toilet, and may have a very unpleasant feeling when looking at the feces remaining in the toilet.

On the other hand, the automatic flushing urinal for men, which is commonly found in public toilets, is designed to automatically flush water after urinating, which is the body of a person approaching the urinal using a passive infrared sensor. It uses the principle that the device operates by sensing the heat generated in the. In addition, there are products that are designed to automatically flush water after seeing the toilet by applying a similar principle to the toilet. However, these automatic toilet products are not only expensive, but considering that most homes, government offices, and general public toilets are usually equipped with manual toilets, all existing manual toilets have to be replaced automatically. A complicated and expensive installation problem occurs.

Republic of Korea Registered Patent Publication No. 10-0602709 (Jun. 2006. Nov. registration)

The present invention has been proposed to solve the flushing problem of the conventional manual toilet, the object of the present invention is to determine the water flushing state after using the user's manual toilet without changing the shape of the conventional manual toilet, water is made down It is to provide a toilet toilet flushing alarm device and an alarm method that can guide the user through an alarm if not supported.

The toilet toilet flushing alarm device according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a toilet toilet flushing alarm device that detects and guides the flushing condition of a toilet toilet, and the user sits on the toilet and sees the toilet and wakes up at the toilet. An object detecting and distance measuring unit detecting an operation of leaving the toilet; When the user sits on the toilet and gets out of the toilet, an acoustic measuring unit that measures the sound generated in the toilet for a set period of time; A central processing unit that analyzes a sound signal measured through the sound measurement unit and determines whether a toilet flushing sound is generated; A flushing alarm unit for guiding the flushing operation of the toilet to the user when the flushing sound does not occur as a result of the determination of the central processing unit; It includes; a power supply for supplying power to the toilet flushing alarm device.

Here, the central processing unit analyzes the signal detected through the object detection and distance measurement unit to identify the time when the user sits on the toilet and leaves, and the time taken by the user to sit on the toilet and exit. If it exceeds, it is preferable to measure the sound signal generated in the toilet by driving the sound measuring unit for a set time from the time when the user leaves the toilet.

The object detection and distance measurement unit detects a user using any one of an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or a thermal sensor, but a frontal shape or a parabola for confining the object detection area to the upper side of the toilet. It is preferred that a form guider is installed.

In addition, the acoustic measurement unit measures sound using a microphone or a small microphone that converts audible sound into an electrical signal, but in front of the acoustic sensor, the area of the sound source to be detected is limited to the central portion of the toilet. It is preferable that a guider in the form of a parachute or a parabola is installed.

The flushing alarm unit is provided with a speaker that generates sound or a flashing LED light source.

Meanwhile, the toilet flushing device includes a power switch for turning on / off the power of the power supply unit, a reset switch for resetting the setting state to an initial state, and a volume controller for adjusting the volume of the speaker provided in the flushing alarm unit. , A setting unit including an acoustic sensitivity controller for adjusting the acoustic detection sensitivity of the acoustic measurement unit.

In addition, the power supply unit is provided with a battery capable of charging electricity using a small battery or a solar cell.

On the other hand, the toilet toilet flushing alarm method according to the present invention is a toilet toilet flushing alarm method that detects and guides the flushing condition of a toilet toilet, and after a user sits on the toilet through an object detection and distance measuring unit, after viewing the toilet. A step of detecting an operation of waking up and leaving the toilet; Measuring a sound generated in the toilet for a predetermined time through the acoustic measuring unit when the user is seated on the toilet and is detected to have strayed; Analyzing a sound signal measured by the sound measuring unit in the central processing unit, and determining whether a flushing sound of the toilet is generated; And a step of guiding the flushing operation of the toilet to the user through sound or light when the flushing sound does not occur as a result of the determination of the central processing unit.

Here, the central processing unit converts the sound signal measured through the sound measuring unit to the sound level, and then integrates the converted sound level for a few seconds to determine the sound of flushing with that level, or the situation in which the toilet is flushed. How to judge whether a new sound signal is flushed or not after learning an artificial neural network using the sound signal collected in a situation where the water is not flushed, or a characteristic frequency that persists for a few seconds immediately after flushing the toilet By analyzing the sound spectrum represented by and amplitude, the water falling sound is determined using one or more of the methods for determining the water falling sound.

In addition, the central processing unit, when the user sits on the toilet and rises and the time taken to leave the toilet exceeds the set reference time, the sound signal generated from the toilet is driven by driving the acoustic measuring unit for a set time from the time the user leaves the toilet. It is desirable to measure.

According to the toilet flushing water alarm device of the present invention, the user is installed on the water tank of a conventional manual toilet to identify the flushing state after using the toilet of the user, and when the flushing is not performed, the user is notified through a sound or a lamp. After using the toilet, there is an effect that can be prevented from leaving the toilet without flushing.

In particular, the toilet toilet flushing device according to the present invention can be applied without changing the structure and installation of the conventional manual toilet because it operates independently of the conventional manual toilet, so it is easy to install and has a low installation cost. have.

1 and 2 is an operational state diagram of the toilet flushing device according to the present invention,
Figure 3 is a toilet toilet flushing alarm device according to the present invention,
Figure 4 is a block diagram of a toilet toilet flushing alarm device according to the present invention,
5 is an example of the installation of the object detection and distance measurement unit to which the guider according to the present invention is applied,
6 is an example of the installation of a sound measuring unit to which a guider according to the present invention is applied,
7 is a flow chart showing the operation of the toilet flushing alarm device according to the present invention,
8 is an example of various sound levels that may occur in a toilet with a toilet in accordance with the present invention;
9 is an example of comparing the sound cree when flushing the toilet and closing the door without flushing the toilet according to the present invention,
10 is an example of an artificial neural network for learning the sound of falling water according to the present invention,
11 is an example of learning data and prediction data for which learning and prediction are performed through an artificial neural network according to the present invention,
12 shows an example of a sound spectrum generated by flushing toilet bowl according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 show an operation state diagram of the toilet flushing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the toilet toilet flushing alarm device 100 according to the present invention is installed on the upper or one side of the water tank of the toilet and detects the user's use of the toilet through object detection and distance measurement. . The toilet flushing alarm device 100 detects this through object detection and distance measurement when the user sees the toilet in the toilet and deviates from the toilet, and then measures whether or not a flushing sound has occurred for a set period of time. When a water dropping sound is detected, the user continues to maintain the standby state by determining that the watering operation has been normally performed. If a water dropping sound is not detected, the user can check this by generating a water dropping alarm signal through sound and LED flashing. To provide.

Accordingly, the user forgot to forget and attempts to leave the toilet without operating the drain lever of the toilet, while listening to the sound generated from the toilet flushing alarm device and the flushing alarm signal through LED flashing, operate the drain lever to operate the toilet. It is possible to perform a flushing operation.

3 is a block diagram of a toilet toilet flushing alarm device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a toilet toilet flushing alarm device.

3 and 4, the toilet toilet flushing alarm device 100 according to the present invention includes a setting unit 120 for setting an operating environment of the toilet flushing alarm device, and an operation of the toilet flushing alarm device. A power supply warning unit 130 for displaying a state, a power supply unit 140 for supplying power to each component of the toilet flushing alarm device, and a power warning for detecting the power state of the power supply unit 140 to warn it when power is insufficient. The unit 150, an object detection and distance measuring unit 160 that detects the presence or absence of a user sitting on the toilet seat for toileting, and the sound generated from the toilet for a set period of time when the user wakes up and leaves the toilet seat after toileting Acoustic measuring unit 170 to measure, and when the user's toilet is out of toilet for a set period of time, if the sound of flushing is not measured, the flushing alarm unit 180 to notify the user, and each of the spheres It includes a central processing unit 110 for controlling the operation of the sex, and a memory 190 for storing the setting state and operation information of the toilet flushing alarm device.

The setting unit 120 is an input device for setting the operating state of the toilet flushing alarm device, the setting unit 120 includes a power switch 121 and a reset switch 122 to reset the setting state to the initial state ), The volume controller 123 for adjusting the volume of the speaker 181 provided in the flush alarm unit 180, and the acoustic sensitivity controller 124 for adjusting the acoustic measurement sensitivity of the acoustic measurement unit 170, etc. It is provided. In an embodiment of the present invention, the power switch 121 and the reset switch 122 are composed of on / off type switches, and the volume regulator 123 and the acoustic sensitivity regulator 124 are provided with variable resistors. It consists of a potentiometer.

The display unit 130 is an output device for displaying the operating state of the toilet flushing alarm device, in an embodiment of the present invention this display 130 is made of an LCD or LED display power on / off state of the toilet flushing alarm device , It displays the speaker output volume setting status, the sensitivity setting status of the sound measurement unit, and the battery status.

The power supply unit 140 is a power supply unit that supplies power to each component of the toilet flushing alarm device. The power supply unit 140 may be a primary or secondary battery, and a secondary battery capable of charging and discharging is applied. When possible, it is preferable to charge the battery using a small battery, a solar cell, or external commercial electricity.

The power warning unit 150 is a device that detects the power state of the power unit 140 and notifies when the power is insufficient. The power warning unit 150 includes a battery level meter that measures the battery level of the power unit 140 In addition, an LED lamp is provided to notify when the battery level falls below a reference amount.

The object detection and distance measuring unit 160 is a device for detecting an operation of a user sitting on a toilet and watching a toilet and moving away from the toilet, and the object detecting and distance measuring unit 160 is infrared (IR: infrared) ), Ultrasonic (ultrasonic), consisting of a detection sensor such as a thermal detection (thermal detection) sensor to detect the user located in the toilet is sent to the central processing unit 110. In an embodiment of the present invention, a guider may be installed in the object detection and distance measurement unit 160 to intensively detect a user sitting on a toilet, and FIG. 5 shows an object detection and distance measurement unit to which the guider is applied. This is an example. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the guider 162 formed in a conical shape or a parabolic shape is installed toward the upper portion of the toilet in front of the detection sensor 161 of the object detection and distance measurement unit 160, thereby setting the object detection area to the top of the toilet. It is possible to more effectively detect the presence or absence of the user.

The acoustic measuring unit 170 is a device for detecting a sound signal for a few seconds set to determine whether the user has flushed water after watching the toilet in the toilet, and the acoustic measuring unit 170 is an electrical signal. It consists of an acoustic sensor, such as a microphone or a small microphone that converts, and transmits the measured sound signal to the central processing unit 110. In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a guider may be installed in the acoustic measurement unit 170 to intensively sense the falling water generated by the toilet, and FIG. 6 shows an example of the installation of the acoustic measurement unit to which the guider is applied. As illustrated in FIG. 6, a guider 172 formed in a conical shape or a parabolic shape is installed toward the central portion of the toilet in front of the acoustic sensor 171 of the acoustic measuring unit 170, thereby providing the toilet with the area of the sound source to be detected. By limiting it to the central part, it prevents noise from occurring, making it possible to measure the falling sound more effectively.

The flushing alarm unit 180 is an output device that notifies water or light under the control of the central processing unit 110 when it is determined that the user has not flushed water after viewing the toilet. In the embodiment of the present invention, the flushing alarm unit 180 is provided with a speaker 181 that generates and outputs a flushing guide sound, and an LED light source 182 that visually guides the light through flashing.

The central processing unit 110 is a central processing unit that controls the overall operation of the toilet flushing alarm device. The central processing unit 110 analyzes the user detection signal transmitted from the object detection and distance measurement unit 160 to determine the time when the user sits on the toilet and sees the stool to get out of the toilet, and is determined from the time when the user leaves the toilet. During the time, the sound measuring unit 170 is driven to collect sound signals, and if the sound signal does not include a falling sound by analyzing the collected sound signal, the water falling alarm unit 180 is operated to cause sound and LED flashing. Through this, the user will be guided through the flushing operation. In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the central processing unit 110 is a method of analyzing the sound measured through the sound measurement unit 170 to determine the sound of falling water. How to judge by using a variety of sound signals collected in the situation of flushing and non-watering, learning the artificial neural network, and then determining whether to flush or not for the new sound signal. Immediately afterwards, a sound spectrum expressed by characteristic frequency and amplitude that lasts for a few seconds is used to determine whether a falling sound has occurred.

In the memory, setting information and an operating state of the toilet flushing alarm device set through the setting unit 120 and data processed by the central processing unit 110 are stored.

Hereinafter, a process of guiding the user to the water through the toilet flushing alarm device having the above configuration will be described.

7 is a flow chart showing the operation of the toilet flushing alarm device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Step S100, S110, S120: When the power of the toilet flushing alarm device is turned on, the object detection and distance measuring unit 160 is operated to detect the presence or absence of a user located in the toilet (110). When the user sits on both sides of the toilet to view the toilet, the object detection and distance measuring unit 160 senses it and transmits the detection signal to the central processing unit 110 (S110), and the central processing unit 110 detects the time Time is measured from (S120).

Steps S130, S140: After the user located in the toilet is detected, when it is detected that the user wakes up from the toilet (S130), the central processing unit 110 calculates the time until the user is placed in the toilet and is released. , It is determined whether the time located in the toilet exceeds a preset reference time (S140). If the time the user was in the toilet is smaller than the reference time, it is judged that the user has passed the toilet for a while, rather than seeing the toilet, and ignores it, and returns to the standby state to detect the user located in the toilet. Goes.

Steps S150, S160: If the time at which the user was placed in the toilet exceeds the reference time, the central processing unit 110 determines that the user has seen the toilet in the toilet, and the acoustic measuring unit 170 is set for a predetermined period of time. By measuring the sound generated from the toilet and analyzing it (S160), it is determined whether the sound of falling water is measured (S160).

In an embodiment of the present invention, the central processing unit 110 uses any one of the following three methods or a combination of them to determine the sound of water falling.

First, a method of determining whether the sound signal is a flushing sound by converting the sound signal measured through the sound measuring unit 170 into a sound level and simply integrating the converted sound level for a few seconds. Figure 8 shows an example of a variety of sound levels that can occur in the toilet where the toilet is installed, the sound that occurs when closing and exiting the door, the sound that occurs when you turn on the shower in the bathtub, the sound that occurs when you wash your hands in the sink, and the water in the toilet. It is a measure of the sound generated when falling down for each time domain. In addition, FIG. 9 is an example of comparing the volume of sound when flushing the toilet and closing the door without flushing the toilet. Using such experimental data, it is possible to determine whether the sound is caused by flushing of the toilet or the sound caused by other causes in the bathroom without flushing through the sound level integrated (cumulative) for a set time.

Second, after learning the artificial neural network using various sound signals collected in both the flushed and non-watered situations, a method of determining whether the new sound signal is flushed or not is used. FIG. 10 shows an example of an artificial neural network for learning the sound of falling water, and FIG. 11 shows an example of learning data and prediction data for learning and prediction through the artificial neural network. 10 and 11, the artificial neural network is composed of an input layer, a hidden layer (1, 2), and an output layer. In the input layer, various sound signals collected in both the flushed and unwashed toilets are input to learn, and the newly measured sound signal is input to the learned artificial neural network to determine whether it is flushing or flushing. Instead, it is determined whether it is another sound generated in the bathroom.

Third, the method of judging the sound of water by analyzing the sound spectrum expressed by the characteristic frequency and amplitude that lasts for a few seconds immediately after flushing the toilet is used. FIG. 12 shows an example of a sound spectrum generated by flushing of a toilet, and the sound spectrum collects the sound of falling water in various environments to grasp a reference spectrum shape, and is expressed by the frequency and amplitude of newly generated sound. By analyzing the spectrum, it is determined whether it is the sound of flushing water or another sound generated in the bathroom without flushing.

Step S170: If it is determined that the sound signal measured through the sound measuring unit 170 through the above process is a water falling sound, the user normally flushes and processes the water after toileting, and then uses the toilet without taking any special measures. Return to standby to detect the user. On the other hand, if it is determined that the sound signal measured through the sound measuring unit 170 is not a flushing sound, it is determined that the user has left the toilet without flushing after toileting, and the speaker of the flushing alarm unit 180 181) and the LED light source 182, to guide the user to the flushing operation. Accordingly, the user who forgot to flush the toilet and forgot to flush the toilet can hear the guidance of the flushing alarm unit 180 and perform the flushing operation of the toilet.

Step S180: The toilet flushing and alarm process is repeatedly performed until the device is turned off.

As described above, the present invention analyzes the unique sound signal of the high-pitched sound that lasts for a few seconds, which occurs when flushing the toilet, and determines whether the water is flushed or not. By informing the person through, it induces the user to flush the toilet. In other words, if the user forgets to flush the toilet after using the toilet, it will remind the user of the flushing through an alarm, which may cause odor problems and hygiene unpleasant and unpleasant problems that may occur when toilets remain in the toilet. It is possible to prevent.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations within the technical scope of the present invention and equivalents of the claims to be described below by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains Of course this can be done.

100: toilet flushing alarm device 110: central processing unit
120: setting unit 121: power switch
122: reset switch 123: volume control
124: sound sensitivity controller 130: display
140: power supply unit 150: power warning unit
160: object detection and distance measurement unit 161: detection sensor
162: guider 170: acoustic measurement unit
171: sound sensor 172: sound guider
180: flush alarm 181: speaker
182: LED light source 190: memory

Claims (10)

An object detection and distance measuring unit 160 that detects an operation of a user sitting on a toilet and a toilet and seeing a toilet and leaving the toilet; When the user sits on the toilet and gets out of the toilet, the sound measuring unit 170 measures the sound generated in the toilet for a set time; A central processing unit 110 that analyzes a sound signal measured through the sound measurement unit 170 to determine whether a toilet flushing sound is generated; When the water is not generated as a result of the determination by the central processing unit 110, a flushing alarm unit 180 for guiding the flushing operation of the toilet to the user; A toilet toilet flushing device comprising: a power supply unit (140) for supplying power to the toilet flushing device (100);
The central processing unit 110 analyzes the signals detected through the object detection and distance measurement unit 160 to determine the point in time when the user sits on the toilet and leaves, and the time it takes for the user to sit on the toilet and leave. When this exceeds the set reference time, the toilet toilet flushing alarm device, characterized in that by driving the sound measuring unit 170 for a set time from the time the user left the toilet to measure the sound signal generated in the toilet.
delete According to claim 1,
The object detection and distance measurement unit 160
The user is detected by using any one of the infrared sensor, the ultrasonic sensor, or the thermal sensor sensor 161,
A toilet toilet flushing alarm device, characterized in that a guide or a parabolic guider 162 is provided on the front side of the detection sensor 161 to limit the object detection area to the upper side of the toilet.
According to claim 1,
The acoustic measurement unit 170
The sound is measured using a microphone or a small-sized acoustic sensor 171 that converts the audible sound into an electrical signal.
A toilet toilet flushing alarm device, characterized in that a guide or a parabolic guider 172 is installed on the front surface of the acoustic sensor 171 to limit the area of the sound source to be detected to the central portion of the toilet.
According to claim 1,
In the flushing alarm unit 180
Toilet flushing water alarm device, characterized in that the speaker 181 for generating sound or a flashing LED light source 182 is provided.
The method of claim 5,
The toilet flushing alarm device 100 is
A power switch 121 for turning on / off the power of the power supply unit 140,
A reset switch 122 that resets the set state to an initial state,
A volume controller 123 for adjusting the volume of the speaker 181 provided in the flushing alarm unit 180,
Toilet toilet flushing alarm device, characterized in that provided with a setting unit 120 comprising an acoustic sensitivity adjuster 124 for adjusting the acoustic detection sensitivity of the acoustic measuring unit 170.
According to claim 1,
The power supply 140 is
Toilet flushing water alarm device, characterized in that a battery capable of charging electricity using a small battery or a solar cell is provided.
delete As a toilet toilet flushing alarm method to detect and guide the flushing condition of the toilet,
A step (a) of detecting a movement of the user sitting on the toilet and seeing the toilet and then escaping from the toilet through the object sensing and distance measuring unit 160; If the user is seated on the toilet and is detected as being separated from the toilet, step (b) measuring the sound generated in the toilet for a set time through the acoustic measuring unit 170; A step (c) of analyzing the sound signal measured by the sound measuring unit 170 in the central processing unit 110 and determining whether a flushing sound of the toilet is generated; Including the step (d) of guiding the flushing operation of the toilet to the user through the sound or light from the flushing alarm unit 180 when the sound of the flushing does not occur as a result of the determination of the central processing unit 110,
The central processing unit 110 converts the sound signal measured through the sound measuring unit 170 into a sound level, and then integrates the converted sound level for a few seconds to determine the sound of flushing water to that level. How to judge whether a new sound signal is flushed or not after learning the artificial neural network using the sound signal collected in the watered and non-watered situations, or continue for a few seconds immediately after flushing the toilet A toilet toilet flushing alarm method, characterized by determining a flushing sound using any one or more of the methods of judging the flushing sound by analyzing the sound spectrum expressed by the characteristic frequency and amplitude.
As a toilet flushing water alarm method to detect and guide the flushing condition of the toilet,
A step (a) of detecting a movement of the user sitting on the toilet and seeing the toilet and then escaping from the toilet through the object sensing and distance measuring unit 160; If the user is seated on the toilet and is detected as being separated from the toilet, step (b) measuring the sound generated in the toilet for a set time through the acoustic measuring unit 170; A step (c) of analyzing the sound signal measured by the sound measuring unit 170 in the central processing unit 110 and determining whether a flushing sound of the toilet is generated; Including the step (d) of guiding the flushing operation of the toilet to the user through the sound or light from the flushing alarm unit 180 when the sound of the flushing does not occur as a result of the determination of the central processing unit 110,
The central processing unit 110, when the user sits on the toilet and rises and the time taken to leave the toilet exceeds the set reference time, the user operates the acoustic measuring unit 170 for a set time from the time of departure from the toilet to raise the toilet. Toilet toilet flushing alarm method, characterized in that to measure the sound signal generated from.

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