TOILET MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND TECHNIQUES

• US 20120154169A1
• Filed: 12/13/2011
• Published: 06/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Edo Vincent Hoekstra
• Original Assignee: Edo Vincent Hoekstra
• Inventors: Hoekstra, Edo Vincent
• Granted Patent: US 8,970,391 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/870.01
• CPC Class Codes: E03D 5/105 touchless, e.g. using sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/18 for washing or drying persons
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/001 Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/009 User recognition or proximity detection
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

Toilet management systems, methods, and techniques are disclosed to provide information about toilet units to visitors and maintainers of toilets.

Claims

1. A toilet management system comprising:

a toilet monitoring component for monitoring toilet unit usage information for one or more toilet units; and

a reporting component for reporting the toilet unit usage information to a toilet unit user or toilet unit maintainer.

2. The toilet management system of claim 1, wherein the reporting component combines and consolidates the toilet unit usage information from multiple toilet units and generates a recommendation to future toilet unit visitors regarding which toilet unit to use.

3. The toilet management system of claim 1, wherein the reporting component provides the toilet unit usage information to a maintainer of the one or more toilet units.

4. The toilet management system of claim 1 further comprising an optimization component to provide to optimization solutions for toilet unit usage or maintenance based on measured usage patterns derived from the toilet unit usage information.

5. The toilet management system of claim 1, wherein the reporting component derives an expected toilet occupancy based on the toilet unit usage information and recommends cleaning, maintenance, toilet unit availability, toilet unit desirability, or male-female distributions of toilet units based on the expected toilet occupancy.

6. The toilet management system of claim 1, wherein the reporting component is configured to accept feedback information from a toilet unit visitor and to provide the feedback information to the toilet unit maintainer.

7. The toilet management system of claim 1 further comprising a reservation component configured to accept a request from a future toilet unit visitor to reserve one of the toilet units.

8. A toilet management method, comprising:

deploying one or more measuring devices to determine toilet unit usage information for one or more toilet units; and

remotely monitoring the toilet unit usage information measured by the one more measuring devices.

9. The toilet management method of claim 8, further comprising:

combining and consolidating the toilet unit usage information patterns from multiple toilet units, and

providing a report regarding the toilet unit usage information.

10. The toilet management method of claim 9, wherein providing a report regarding toilet unit usage information includes providing a recommendation to a future toilet unit visitor regarding which toilet unit to select for use.

11. The toilet management method of claim 9, wherein providing a report regarding toilet unit usage information comprises providing toilet unit usage information to a maintainer of the one or more toilet units.

12. The toilet management method of claim 8, further comprising providing optimization solutions for toilet unit usage or maintenance based on measured usage patterns derived from the toilet unit usage information.

13. The toilet management method of claim 8, further comprising deriving an expected toilet occupancy based on the toilet unit usage information and recommending cleaning, maintenance, toilet unit availability, toilet unit desirability, or male-female distributions of toilet units based on the expected toilet occupancy.

14. The toilet management method of claim 8, further comprising accepting feedback information from a toilet unit visitor and providing the feedback information to the toilet unit maintainer.

15. The toilet management method of claim 8, further comprising accepting a request from a future toilet unit visitor to reserve one of the toilet units.

16. A computer implemented toilet management method comprising:

remotely monitoring toilet unit usage information measured by one more measuring devices associated with one or more toilet units; and

providing a report regarding the toilet unit usage information.

17. The computer implemented toilet management method of claim 16, wherein providing a report regarding toilet unit usage information includes providing a recommendation to a future toilet unit visitor regarding which toilet unit to select for use.

18. The computer implemented toilet management method of claim 16, wherein providing a report regarding toilet unit usage information comprises providing toilet unit usage information to a maintainer of the one or more toilet units.

19. The computer implemented toilet management method of claim 16, further comprising providing optimization solutions for toilet unit usage or maintenance based on measured usage patterns derived from the toilet unit usage information.

20. The computer implemented toilet management method of claim 16, further comprising deriving an expected toilet occupancy based on the toilet unit usage information and recommending cleaning, maintenance, toilet unit availability, toilet unit desirability, or male-female distributions of toilet units based on the expected toilet occupancy.

21. The computer implemented toilet management method of claim 16, further comprising accepting feedback information from a toilet unit visitor and providing the feedback information to the toilet unit maintainer.

22. The computer implemented toilet management method of claim 16, further comprising accepting a request from a future toilet unit visitor to reserve one of the toilet units.