US20130307669A1

US20130307669A1 - Systems and methods for pairing a wireless transceiver unit for sanitary ware

Info

Publication number: US20130307669A1
Application number: US13/896,697
Authority: US
Inventors: Jun Lu; Zhongmin Chen; Pengcheng Gao
Original assignee: Shanghai Kohler Electronics Ltd
Current assignee: Shanghai Kohler Electronics Ltd
Priority date: 2012-05-18
Filing date: 2013-05-17
Publication date: 2013-11-21
Also published as: CN102710276A

Abstract

Systems and methods for pairing a wireless transceiver unit for sanitary ware are provided. An exemplary pairing method includes emitting a pairing instruction signal from a wireless sender of the wireless transceiver unit, receiving the emitted pairing instruction signal at one or more wireless receivers, and detecting a signal intensity of the pairing instruction signal received at each of the one or more wireless receivers. The method further includes returning a pairing response from each of the one or more wireless receivers to the wireless sender. The pairing response includes an ID of the wireless receiver and an indication of the signal intensity detected at the wireless receiver. The method further includes selecting the pairing response indicating the highest detected signal intensity and storing the ID of the wireless receiver included in the selected pairing response.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of and priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201210158047.1, filed May 18, 2012, under 35 U.S.C. §119. The entirety of Chinese Patent Application No. 201210158047.1 is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to wireless communication in the field of sanitary ware. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for pairing a wireless transceiver unit for sanitary ware.
Wireless communication is often used in the field of sanitary ware. For example, in some toilets, a controller for automatically flushing the toilet may be located in the toilet seat whereas a device for performing the actual flushing (i.e., a flushing performer) may be located in the water tank. The flushing controller and flushing performer may communicate with each other in a wireless manner. To facilitate wireless communication between components, the flushing controller and the flushing performer are often paired before they leave the factory. In particular, a wireless sender and a wireless receiver can be paired.
Typically, the pairing between the wireless sender and wireless receiver is accomplished using hardware switches. For example, continuing with the toilet example, coded switches or wires can be provided in the flushing controller and flushing performer. During manufacturing, the paired flushing controller and flushing performer can be configured with identically coded switches or wires and subsequently provided with a waterproof structure. The waterproof structure may be used to avoid water from contacting the electrical components and potentially causing a short circuit. The paired flushing controller and flushing performer are typically provided with identically coded switches or wires, which correspond to a shared ID. During normal communication, both the flushing controller and flushing performer would read the same ID (e.g., the ID to which the coded switches or wires correspond) and each frame in the communication between such components would use the shared ID. This method establishes a “one to one” communication between the flushing controller and the flushing performer.
However, this method of pairing the wireless sender and the wireless receiver has several defects. First, because the pairing is completed before the wireless sender and wireless receiver leave the factory, a particular wireless sender is pre-associated with a particular wireless receiver. This association must be maintained and care must be taken to ensure that paired devices are distributed together. If one of the devices is separated from the device with which it is paired, neither of the devices will function properly. Mismatched devices typically must be returned to the factory for processing, thereby causing inconvenience for the user.
Second, using hardware switches to pair wireless devices is complicated and can greatly increase the cost of pairing a large quantity of devices. Furthermore, the number of possible unique combinations of coded switches or wires is limited, which may result in the same ID being used more than once. When the same ID is used for multiple pairs of devices, care must be taken to ensure that the discrete pairs are physically separated (e.g., to avoid signal confusion). Therefore, the number of products which can concurrently be used in a single area is often limited.

SUMMARY

One embodiment of the present disclosure is a method for pairing a wireless transceiver for sanitary ware. Advantageously, the pairing method can be performed after initial distribution (e.g., at an installation site, in the field, etc.) and can be performed between any wireless sender and any wireless receiver. The method comprises sending, from a wireless sender, a pairing instruction to nearby wireless receivers. The wireless receivers may be preconfigured with a stored ID. The method further comprises detecting, by a wireless receiver, a signal intensity and returning the detected signal intensity and the stored ID of the wireless receiver to the wireless sender in response to receiving the pairing instruction from the wireless sender. The method further includes selecting, by the wireless sender, the receiver having the highest signal intensity as a matched receiver, storing the ID of the matched receiver in a memory of the wireless sender, and sending a pairing determination including the stored ID of the matched receiver to any of the nearby receivers.
In some embodiments, after detecting the signal intensity, the receiver calculates a time to delay the pairing response based on the detected signal intensity. Upon expiration of the time to delay, the receiver returns the detected signal intensity and its own pre-stored ID to the sender through a pairing response.
In some embodiments, the signal intensity ranges from −20 dBm to 2 dBm and the time to delay the pairing response ranges from 5 ms to 115 ms. Calculating the time to delay the pairing response may include starting with a delay time of 5 ms and increasing the delay time by 5 ms when the signal intensity is decreased by 1 dBm. In some embodiments, if the signal intensity is below the minimum of the useful range of the signal intensity, the delayed time corresponds to the maximum of the delayed time range or the corresponding receiver simply abandons the pairing instruction. In some embodiments, when the signal intensity is higher than the maximum of the useful range of the signal intensity, the delayed time corresponds to the minimum of the delayed time range.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises pre-storing an sender ID in a memory of the sender. The sender may send its own ID as part of the pairing determination to any of the nearby receivers.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises, after receiving the pairing determination, determining, by a receiver, whether the pairing determination includes the pre-stored ID of the wireless receiver. If the pairing determination includes the ID of the receiver, then the receiver may store the ID of the sender included in the pairing determination. Otherwise, the receiver may abandon the pairing determination.
In some embodiments, when the sender and receivers are in communication, the sender sends an operating instruction including its own ID and the ID of the matched receiver to nearby receivers. The receivers may then respectively judge whether the ID of the receiver and the ID of the sender in the operating instruction correspond to the ID of themselves and the stored ID of the sender. If the IDs match, the corresponding receiver may then perform the instructed operation. Otherwise, the corresponding receiver may abandon the instruction.
In some embodiments, the sender is a flushing controller that has a wireless transceiver circuit located in a toilet seat and the receiver is a flushing performer that has a wireless transceiver circuit located in a water tank. In some embodiments, the toilet seat is provided with a seat position sensor and a sitting pressure sensor, both sensors being connected with the flushing controller. The seat position sensor and the sitting pressure sensor may trigger the connected flushing controller to send a pairing instruction and/or an operating instruction via a wireless transceiver circuit in response to a detected state of the toilet seat (e.g., up, down, open, closed, etc.) and/or a detected force exerted externally on the seat (e.g., a sitting pressure).
In some embodiments, when the seat position sensor senses that the seat is in open state and the sitting pressure sensor senses an external pressure, the flushing controller is triggered to send the pairing instruction through its wireless transceiver circuit. In some embodiments, the pairing instruction is sent when the sitting pressure sensor senses an external pressure having a predetermined value within a first predetermined time period. When the seat position sensor senses that the seat is in the down state, and the sitting pressure sensor senses that someone is sitting on the seat, the flushing controller may be triggered to send an operating instruction through its wireless transceiver circuit in response to a determination that a user is no longer sitting on the seat for a second predetermined time period.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining whether the seat has been opened for a third predetermined time period and subsequently closed. In response to a positive determination, the flushing controller may be triggered to send an operating instruction through its wireless transceiver circuit.
From the above technical solution, it can be seen that, the disclosed pairing method for the wireless transceiver unit of the sanitary ware can be performed on an ad-hoc basis (e.g., after the products leave the factory) because the sender can select the matched receiver according to the signal intensity in the pairing response from the receiver and is not limited to a preconfigured ID stored using hardware switches.
Additionally, the present invention can determine the pairing relationship by storing the ID of the receiver. In principle, the number of unique IDs can be unlimited, thereby allowing any number of products to operate in the same area without having multiple devices using the same ID.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The FIGURE is a flowchart of a pairing and communication process, shown according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring generally to the FIGURE, a method for pairing a wireless transceiver unit (e.g., a wireless sender and one or more wireless receivers) for sanitary ware is shown, according to an exemplary embodiment. With this method, the pairing can be performed between any wireless sender and any wireless receiver after the products have left the factory (e.g., at the site of installation, on an ad-hoc basis, etc.).
The invention will be explained in detail with reference to an exemplary pairing between a flushing controller and a device for performing the actual physical flushing (i.e., the “flushing performer”) of a toilet. The flushing controller may be located in a seat for the toilet and the flushing performer may be located in a water tank for the toilet. In some embodiments, both the flushing controller and the flushing performer have a wireless transceiver circuit.
In some embodiments, the toilet seat is provided with a seat position sensor and a sitting pressure sensor. The seat position sensor may be configured to detect a position of the toilet seat (e.g., open, closed, up, down, etc.). The sitting pressure sensor may be configured to detect a pressure exerted on the toilet seat (e.g., by a user sitting on the seat). Both the seat position sensor and the sitting pressure sensor may be connected with the flushing controller. The flushing controller may receive a first detection signal from the seat position sensor according to the positional state of the toilet seat. The flushing controller may receive a second detection signal from the sitting pressure sensor according to the external force exerted on the toilet seat. The flushing controller may send a pairing instruction and/or an operating instruction (e.g., wirelessly via the included wireless transceiver circuit) in response to the first detection signal and/or the second detection signal. The seat position sensor and the sitting pressure sensor may be connected with the flushing controller in a conventional manner as may be known in the art.
Still referring to the FIGURE, a sender 1, a receiver 2, and a receiver 3 are shown. Sender 1 may be the flushing controller. In some embodiments, sender 1 is located in the toilet seat and includes a seat position sensor and sitting pressure sensor as previously described. Receiver 2 and/or receiver 3 may be the flushing performer and may be located in the water tank for the toilet. In some embodiments, receiver 2 may be located within the water tank of the same toilet for which sender 1 is located in the toilet seat. Receiver 3 may be a separate receiver located in another toilet or other wireless sanitary ware. Sender 1, receiver 2, and receiver 3 may each have a pre-stored ID. In some embodiments, each of the pre-stored IDs may be unique.
In some embodiments, receiver 2 and receiver 3 are located in the water tanks for two discrete toilets. Prior to performing the pairing method illustrated in the FIGURE, the two water tanks may be assembled with two respective toilet seats. After supplying power (e.g., electric current, voltage, etc.) to sender 1, receiver 2, and receiver 3, the pairing method can be performed.
Still referring to the FIGURE, a flow chart of a process 100 for pairing a wireless transceiver unit is shown, according to an exemplary embodiment. Process 100 may be used to pair sender 1 with one or more of receiver 2 and receiver 3.
Process 100 is shown to include sending a pairing instruction (step 101). The pairing instruction may be sent from a wireless sender (e.g., sender 1) to one or more wireless receivers (e.g., receiver 2 and receiver 3). In some embodiments, step 101 may be performed in response to a signal from a seat position and/or a sitting pressure sensor connected with the sender 1. For example, to initiate process 100, a user may trigger a sitting pressure sensor by manually pressing down on the toilet seat (e.g., to imitate a person sitting on the seat). The sitting pressure sensor may detect the pressure exerted on the toilet seat and trigger the connected flushing controller. The flushing controller may then send a pairing instruction to its wireless transceiver circuit in response to the trigger.
Process 100 is further shown to include detecting a signal intensity (steps 102 and 103). Step 102 may be performed by a first wireless receiver (e.g., receiver 2) and step 103 may be performed by a second wireless receiver (e.g., receiver 3). Steps 102 and 103 may be performed by receiver 2 and receiver 3 respectively in response to receiving the pairing instruction (e.g., via a connected wireless transceiver circuit) from sender 1. Receiver 2 and receiver 3 may obtain a detection result (e.g., a measurement of signal intensity) as a product of steps 102 and 103. In some embodiments, the signal intensity is the intensity of the signal from sender 1 (e.g., the signal including the pairing instruction). In other words, receivers 2 and 3 may receive a pairing instruction, detect a signal intensity in response to receiving the pairing instruction, and obtain a detection result indicative of the signal intensity.
Process 100 is further shown to include returning a pairing response (steps 104 and 105). Step 104 may be performed by a first wireless receiver (e.g., receiver 2) and step 105 may be performed by a second wireless receiver (e.g., receiver 3). The pairing responses may include the detection result indicative of the signal intensity as well as the ID of the receiver from which the pairing response is sent. The ID of receiver 2 may be pre-stored in receiver 2 and the ID of receiver 3 may be pre-stored in receiver 3. Step 104 may include combining the detection result produced by receiver 2 and the ID of receiver 2 into a first pairing response and sending the first pairing response to sender 1. Step 105 may include combining the detection result produced by receiver 3 and the ID of receiver 3 into a second pairing response and sending the second pairing response to sender 1.
In some embodiments, to avoid signal interference that may be caused by multiple receivers returning the pairing responses simultaneously, the pairing response may be returned after waiting for a “delay time.” In some embodiments, the delay time may be based on the signal intensity (e.g., the detection result indicative of the signal intensity). For example, after receivers 2 and 3 have detected the signal intensity, receivers 2 and 3 may calculate the delay time according to the detected signal intensity. Receivers 2 and 3 may wait for the calculated delay time before returning the pairing response to sender 1. When the delay time has expired, receivers 2 and 3 may return the pairing response including the detected signal intensity and the ID of the receiver to sender 1.
In some embodiments, the detected signal intensity may exist within a domain from −20 dBm to 2 dBm. A signal intensity of 2 dBm may define a maximum useful signal intensity and a signal intensity of −20 dBm may define a minimum useful signal intensity. The delay time associated with this signal intensity domain may range from 5 ms to 115 ms. In some embodiments, a stronger signal intensity may correspond to a lower delay time. For example, a signal intensity of 2 dBm may correspond to a delay time of approximately 5 ms. The method for calculating the delayed time may be defined as follows: starting with a delay time of 5 ms and a signal intensity of 2 dBm, add 5 ms to the delay time for every 1 dBm decrease in the signal intensity. For example, if the signal intensity is detected to be 1 dBm (e.g., 1 dBm less than 2 dBm), the delay time may be increased to 10 ms (e.g., 5 ms more than 5 ms).
A formula expressing the above relationship is given as follows:
$t_{delay} = 5 ms + 5 \frac{ms}{dB m} \times (2 - P) d B m$
where t_delayis the calculated delay time and P is the detected signal intensity measured in dBm. As shown, a detected signal intensity of 2 dBm may correspond to a delay time of 5 ms (e.g.,
$t_{delay} = 5 ms + 5 \frac{ms}{dB m} \times (2 d B m - 2 d B m) = 5 m s) .$
A detected signal intensity of −20 dBm may correspond to a delay time of 115 ms (e.g.,
$t_{delay} = 5 m s + 5 \frac{ms}{dB m} \times (2 dB m + 2 d B m) = 115 m s) .$
In some embodiments, if the detected signal intensity is below the minimum useful signal intensity (e.g., below −20 dBm), a maximum delay time (e.g., 115 ms) may be used. In other embodiments, if the detected signal intensity is below the minimum useful signal intensity, the receiver may abandon the pairing instruction. If the detected signal intensity is greater than the maximum useful signal intensity (e.g., 2 dBm), a minimum delay time (e.g., 5 ms) may be used.
The relationship between the signal intensity P and the delay time t_delaymay be given by the following table, Table 1.

TABLE 1

P	−20	−19	−18	−17	−16	−15	−14	−13	−12	−11	−10	−9
t_delay	115	110	105	100	95	90	85	80	75	70	65	60
P	−8	−7	−6	−5	−4	−3	−2	−1	0	1	2
t_delay	55	50	45	40	35	30	25	20	15	10	5

In Table 1, the unit of the delay time t_delayis milliseconds (i.e., ms) and the unit of the detected signal intensity P is in dBm.

Still referring to the FIGURE, process 100 is further shown to include selecting the receiver having the highest intensity as the matched receiver (step 106). Step 106 may be performed by sender 1 in response to receiving the pairing responses from receiver 2 and receiver 3. The pairing responses may include the detection result indicative of the signal intensity as well as the ID of the receiver from which the pairing response is sent. Sender 1 may select the receiver which returns the pairing response having the highest signal intensity as the match receiver. Sender 1 may then store the ID of the matched receiver (e.g., in a local memory of sender 1). For example, assuming that receiver 2 is nearest to sender 1 and that the signal intensity detected by receiver 2 is stronger than the signal intensity detected by receiver 3, sender 1 may determine that receiver 2 is the matched receiver and may store the ID of receiver 2.
In some embodiments, if no pairing responses are received within a predetermined threshold time, a sound and/or light alarm may be activated. The sound and/or light alarm may indicate to a user that the pairing was unsuccessful and prompt the user to restart the pairing process. The predetermined threshold time may be determined according to the distance between sender 1 and receivers 2 and 3 and/or a signal intensity corresponding to such distance. Generally, the distance between the toilet seat and the water tank is fixed. The fixed distance may allow the signal intensity to be estimated. Using the relationship between signal intensity and delay time given above, the estimated signal intensity may be used to predict a time within which the pairing response is expected to be returned. The predetermined time may be one second or several seconds longer than the predicted time within which the pairing response is expected to be returned.
Still referring to the FIGURE, process 100 is shown to further include returning a paring determination including the ID of the sender and the ID of the receiver (step 107). Step 107 may be performed by sender 1 after selecting the receiver having the highest signal intensity as the matched receiver. The pairing determination returned by sender 1 may include the ID of sender 1 as well as the ID of the matched receiver (e.g., the receiver having the highest detected signal intensity).
In some embodiments, sender 1 and receivers 2 and 3 are configured to include their own pre-stored IDs. For example, sender 1 may include the pre-stored ID of sender 1, receiver 2 may include the pre-stored ID of receiver 2, and receiver 3 may include the pre-stored ID of receiver 3. The pre-storing of IDs in the devices may improve the accuracy of the data transmission. In other embodiments, only receivers 2 and 3 store their own IDs. Sender 1 may not store its own ID. When sender 1 communicates with receiver 2 or receiver 3, the pairing between components may be determined only through the ID of the receiver.
Still referring to the FIGURE, process 100 is shown to further include judging whether their ID is the ID in the pairing determination (steps 108 and 109). Step 108 may be performed by receiver 2 in response to receiving the pairing determination from sender 1. Step 109 may be performed by receiver 3 in response to receiving the pairing determination from sender 1. The term “their ID” may refer to the ID of the receiver making the determination. For example, receiver 2 may judge whether receiver 2's ID is included in the pairing determination and receiver 3 may judge whether receiver 3's ID is included in the pairing determination. If the ID of the receiver performing step 108 or 109 is included in the pairing determination, the receiver may store the ID of the sender. Otherwise, if the ID of the receiver performing step 108 or 109 is not included in the pairing determination, the receiver may abandon or ignore the pairing determination. For example, assuming that the pairing determination includes the ID of receiver 2 (and not the ID of receiver 3), receiver 2 may store the ID of sender 1 and receiver 3 may abandon or ignore the pairing determination. In this way, receiver 2 may judge that it has been paired with sender 1 whereas receiver 3 may judge that it has not been paired with sender 1.
Upon completion of steps 108 and 109, the pairing between the sender and the receiver may be complete. The pairing between the sender and the receiver may then be used to wirelessly transmit operating instructions from the sender to the paired (e.g., matched, linked, associated) receiver.
Still referring to the FIGURE, process 100 is shown to further include sending an operating instruction including the ID of the sender and the ID of the matched receiver (step 110). Step 110 may be performed by sender 1 in response to an input received from a seat position sensor and/or a sitting pressure sensor. The operating instruction may be sent wirelessly to all nearby receivers. The ID of the sender and the ID of the matched receiver may identify a particular receiver (e.g., the paired or matched receiver) for which the operating instruction is intended. In some embodiments, the operating instruction includes the ID of the receiver and not the ID of the sender (e.g., for embodiments in which the sender does not store its own ID).
Process 100 is further shown to include judging whether the ID of the receiver and the ID of the sender in the operating instruction correspond to the pre-stored ID of the receiver and the stored ID of the sender (steps 111 and 112). Step 111 may be performed by receiver 2 in response to receiving an operating instruction from sender 1. Step 112 may be performed by receiver 3 in response to receiving an operating instruction from sender 1. The stored ID of the sender may be the ID of the sender returned in the pairing determination (e.g., step 107). In some embodiments, the pairing determination and operating instruction may not include a sender ID and steps 111 and 112 are performed using only the ID of the receiver.
Receivers 2 and 3 may determine whether the receiver ID (and optionally the ID of the sender) included in the operating instruction matches the receiver's own pre-stored ID (and optionally the stored sender ID). If the ID(s) included in the operating instruction match the stored ID(s), the receiver may perform the operating instruction. Otherwise, if the ID(s) included in the operating instruction do not match the stored ID(s), the receiver may abandon or ignore the operating instruction. For example, assuming that the operating instruction includes the ID of receiver 2 (and not the ID of receiver 3), receiver 2 may perform the operating instruction and receiver 3 may abandon or ignore the operating instruction.
In operation, various techniques may be employed to avoid accidentally triggering the pairing instruction or the operating instructions. Although unintentionally triggering the pairing instruction would not affect operation of the sanitary ware, an unnecessary pairing would nonetheless merely consume some energy. Accordingly, the techniques to avoid accidental triggering may improve the energy efficiency of the sanitary ware. The following description is addressed to specific techniques for triggering the pairing instruction and the operating instruction.
The pairing instruction may be triggered in at least two ways. In some embodiments, the pairing instruction may be triggered when the seat position sensor senses that the seat is in an open state (e.g., when the seat is open, raised, upright, etc.), and the sitting pressure sensor senses an external pressure. For example, a user may manually apply pressure to the sitting pressure sensor to imitate a person sitting on the seat. When this combination of inputs is received (e.g., open seat position and sitting pressure detected) the flushing controller may be triggered to send the pairing instruction through its wireless transceiver circuit.
In other embodiments, the pairing instruction may be triggered when the sitting pressure sensor senses an external pressure applied to the seat for a predetermined number times within a first predetermined time period. Triggering the pairing instruction is usually performed before formal use of the sanitary ware. Triggering the pairing instruction may be performed by applying pressure to the seat for the predetermined number of times (e.g., by manually pressing down on the seat, by users actually sitting down and standing up, etc). When this series of inputs is received, the flushing controller may be triggered to send the pairing instruction through its wireless transceiver circuit.
The operating instruction may also be triggered in multiple ways. In some embodiments, when the seat position sensor senses that the seat is in the down state and the sitting pressure sensor senses that someone is sitting on the seat, the flushing controller may determine that the toilet is in use. When the external pressure is subsequently absent from the sitting pressure sensor for a second predetermined time period, the flushing controller may send the operating instruction through its wireless transceiver circuit.
In some embodiments, the operating instruction may be triggered in response to the seat position sensor detecting that the seat is closed after having been open for a third predetermined time period. The flushing controller may wait for a few seconds after the seat is closed after being open for the third predetermined time period and then proceed to send a performing instruction through its wireless transceiver. This flushing trigger may correspond to a standing use of the toilet (e.g., in which the seat is raised but no pressure is applied to the sitting pressure sensor).
In some embodiments, the above first predetermined time period, second predetermined time period, and third predetermined time period can be set according to experimental results, statistical results obtained through experiment, stored thresholds, or actual use of the sanitary ware.
Any embodiment of the wireless pairing method described above has several distinct advantages over traditional pairing methods. The described pairing method for the wireless transceiver unit of the sanitary ware can be performed “on site” (e.g., at a site of installation, on an ad-hoc basis, etc.) after the products leave the factory. Because the wireless sender (e.g., sender 1) selects the matched receiver (e.g., receiver 2, receiver 3, etc.) according to the signal intensity in the pairing response from the receiver, the described pairing method can match any sender with any receiver. This interchangeability provides significant advantages when compared with traditional pairing methods which use hardware switches.
Additionally, the present invention determines the pairing relationship by storing the ID of the receiver. In principle, the number of potential receiver IDs can be unlimited such that no single area includes two receivers having the same ID. Therefore, the number of wireless products operating in a single area is also potentially unlimited.
Furthermore, because the described pairing method does not rely on hardware switches, it us unnecessary to perform complicated manufacturing processes involving arranging the hardware switches or arranging a waterproof structure to protect the hardware switches. Avoiding the use of hardware switches may advantageously simplify the manufacturing process, structure of the devices, and reduce the overall cost of production.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method for pairing a wireless transceiver unit for sanitary ware, the method comprising:

emitting a pairing instruction signal from a wireless sender of the wireless transceiver unit;

receiving the emitted pairing instruction signal at one or more wireless receivers and detecting a signal intensity of the pairing instruction signal received at each of the one or more wireless receivers;

returning a pairing response from each of the one or more wireless receivers to the wireless sender, wherein the pairing response returned by a wireless receiver includes an ID of the wireless receiver and an indication of the signal intensity detected at the wireless receiver;

selecting, by the wireless sender, the pairing response indicating the highest detected signal intensity among the pairing responses returned by the one or more wireless receivers; and

storing the ID of the wireless receiver included in the selected pairing response in a local memory of the wireless sender.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless sender is located in a seat of a toilet and at least one of the wireless receivers is located in a water tank of the toilet.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

emitting a pairing determination signal from the wireless sender, the pairing determination signal including the ID of the wireless receiver included in the selected pairing response;

receiving the emitted pairing determination signal at the one or more wireless receivers; and

determining, by each of the one or more wireless receivers, whether the ID of the wireless receiver included in the pairing determination signal matches the ID of the wireless receiver making the determination.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the pairing determination signal further includes an ID of the wireless sender, the method further comprising:

storing the ID of the wireless sender in a local memory of a wireless receiver in response to a positive determination by the wireless receiver that the ID of the wireless receiver included in the pairing determination signal matches the ID of the wireless receiver making the determination.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

calculating, by each of the one or more wireless receivers, a delay time, wherein the delay time calculated by a wireless receiver is based on the detected signal intensity of the pairing instruction signal received at the wireless receiver,

wherein a wireless receiver waits for the delay time calculated by the wireless receiver before returning the pairing response.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein calculating the delay time includes:

receiving a minimum useful signal intensity, a maximum useful signal intensity, a minimum delay time, and a maximum delay time;

comparing the detected signal intensity with the minimum useful signal intensity and the maximum useful signal intensity;

using the minimum delay time as the calculated delay time if a result of the comparison reveals that the detected signal intensity is greater than maximum useful signal intensity; and

using the maximum delay time as the calculated delay time if a result of the comparison reveals that the detected signal intensity is less than the minimum useful signal intensity.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein calculating the delay time includes:

receiving a minimum useful signal intensity, a maximum useful signal intensity, and a minimum delay time;

comparing the detected signal intensity with the minimum useful signal intensity and the maximum useful signal intensity; and

increasing the calculated delay time from the minimum delay time if a result of the comparison reveals that the detected signal intensity is between the minimum useful signal intensity and the maximum useful signal intensity, wherein the calculated delay time is increased by an amount proportional to a difference between the detected signal intensity and the maximum useful signal intensity.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

emitting an operating instruction signal from the wireless sender, the operating instruction signal including the ID of the wireless receiver included in the selected pairing response;

receiving the emitted operating instruction signal at the one or more wireless receivers;

determining, by each of the one or more wireless receivers, whether the ID of the wireless receiver included in the operating instruction signal matches the ID of the wireless receiver making the determination; and

performing, by a wireless receiver, an action instructed by the operating instruction signal in response to a positive determination by the wireless receiver that the ID of the wireless receiver included in the operating instruction signal matches the ID of the wireless receiver making the determination.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the pairing instruction signal and the operating instruction signal is emitted by the wireless sender in response to receiving a control signal from a flushing controller,

wherein the flushing controller generates the control signal based on inputs received from at least one of: a seat position sensor and a sitting pressure sensor.

10. A system for pairing a wireless transceiver unit for sanitary ware, the system comprising:

a wireless sender configured to emit a pairing instruction signal;

one or more wireless receivers configured to receive the emitted pairing instruction signal and detect a signal intensity of the pairing instruction signal received at each of the one or more wireless receivers;

wherein each of the one or more wireless receivers is configured to return a pairing response to the wireless sender, wherein the pairing response returned by a wireless receiver includes an ID of the wireless receiver and an indication of the signal intensity detected at the wireless receiver;

wherein the wireless sender is configured to select the pairing response indicating the highest detected signal intensity among the pairing responses returned by the one or more wireless receivers and store the ID of the wireless receiver included in the selected pairing response in a local memory of the wireless sender.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the wireless sender is located in a seat of a toilet and at least one of the wireless receivers is located in a water tank of the toilet.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the wireless sender is further configured to emit a pairing determination signal including the ID of the wireless receiver included in the selected pairing response;

wherein the one or more wireless receivers are configured to receive the emitted pairing determination signal and determine whether the ID of the wireless receiver included in the pairing determination signal matches the ID of the wireless receiver making the determination.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the pairing determination signal further includes an ID of the wireless sender,

wherein the one or more wireless receivers are configured to store the ID of the wireless sender, wherein a wireless receiver stores the ID of the wireless sender in response to a positive determination by the wireless receiver that the ID of the wireless receiver included in the pairing determination signal matches the ID of the wireless receiver making the determination.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more wireless receivers are configured to calculate a delay time, wherein the delay time calculated by a wireless receiver is based on the detected signal intensity of the pairing instruction signal received at the wireless receiver;

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more wireless receivers are configured to calculate the delay time by comparing the detected signal intensity with a minimum useful signal intensity and a maximum useful signal intensity; and

increase the calculated delay time from a minimum delay time if a result of the comparison reveals that the detected signal intensity is between the minimum useful signal intensity and the maximum useful signal intensity, wherein the calculated delay time is increased by an amount proportional to a difference between the detected signal intensity and the maximum useful signal intensity.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the wireless sender is configured to emit an operating instruction signal including the ID of the wireless receiver included in the selected pairing response;

wherein the one or more wireless receivers are configured to receive the emitted operating instruction signal and determine whether the ID of the wireless receiver included in the operating instruction signal matches the ID of the wireless receiver making the determination; and

wherein the one or more wireless receivers are configured to perform an action instructed by the operating instruction signal, wherein a wireless receiver performs the action in response to a positive determination by the wireless receiver that the ID of the wireless receiver included in the operating instruction signal matches the ID of the wireless receiver making the determination.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

a seat position sensor configured to measure a position of a toilet seat;

a sitting pressure sensor configured to measure an external pressure applied to the toilet seat; and

a flushing controller configured to generate a control signal based on inputs received from at least one of: the seat position sensor and the sitting pressure sensor;

wherein the flushing controller provides the control signal to the wireless sender and wherein the wireless sender is configured to emit at least one of the pairing instruction signal and the operating instruction signal in response to receiving the control signal from the flushing controller.

18. A method for triggering an instruction signal for a wireless transceiver unit for sanitary ware, the method comprising:

receiving, at a flushing controller, a first input signal from a seat position sensor and a second input signal from a sitting pressure sensor, wherein the first input signal is based on a position of a toilet seat and the second input signal is based on an external pressure applied to the toilet seat;

generating, by the flushing controller, a control signal based on at least one of the first input signal and the second input signal;

receiving, at a wireless sender, the control signal generated by the flushing controller and emitting at least one of a pairing instruction signal and an operating instruction signal in response to receiving the control signal; and

receiving the emitted instruction signal at one or more wireless receivers and determining, by each of the one or more wireless receivers, whether the instruction signal is a pairing instruction signal or an operating instruction signal;

wherein the one or more wireless receivers are configured to use the instruction signal to generate and return a pairing response to the wireless sender in response to a determination that the instruction signal is a pairing instruction signal; and

wherein the one or more wireless receivers are configured to use the instruction signal to actuate flushing of the toilet in response to a determination that the instruction signal is an operating instruction signal.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein generating the control signal includes:

using the first input signal from the seat position sensor to determine a position of the toilet seat;

using the second input signal from the sitting pressure sensor to determine an external pressure applied to the toilet seat; and

generating a control signal instructing the wireless sender to emit a pairing instruction signal in response to a determination, by the flushing controller, that the seat is in an open position and that an external pressure has been applied to the toilet seat a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time period.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein generating the control signal includes:

generating a control signal instructing the wireless sender to emit an operating instruction signal in response to a determination, by the flushing controller, that the seat is in a closed position and that an external pressure has been absent from the toilet seat for a predetermined time period after having been previously applied to the toilet seat.