Automatic hygienic toilet seat with wireless proximity sensor and controller

Abstract

A system that can include at least one wireless proximity sensor, at least one wireless seat controller, and at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat. The at least one wireless proximity sensor can be configured to detect an object within a predetermined proximity to the infrared sensor and to emit a signal to the wireless seat controller. The at least one wireless seat controller can be configured to receive a signal from the at least one wireless proximity sensor and to activate a motor assembly of the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat to dispense a sanitary tubular material to cover the seat portion of the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An automatic hygienic toilet seat system comprising:
 at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat assembly,   at least one wireless proximity sensor, and   at least one wireless seat controller;   the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat assembly comprising:
 a toilet seat, 
 a motor assembly, and 
 a housing, enclosing the toilet seat and the motor assembly, 
 wherein the motor assembly is configured to dispense a supply of sanitary tubular material around the toilet seat; 
   the at least one wireless proximity sensor comprising:
 an infrared sensor comprising an infrared light emitting diode and an infrared detector, 
 a first microcomputer controller, and 
 a radio receiver-emitter; 
 the first microcomputer controller comprising a processor configured to communicate with and to control the infrared sensor and the radio receiver-emitter; 
   wherein the at least one wireless proximity sensor is configured to detect an object within a predetermined proximity to the infrared sensor and to emit a signal to the wireless seat controller;   the at least one wireless seat controller comprising:
 a motor interface, 
 a second microcomputer controller, and 
 a radio receiver-emitter; 
 the second microcomputer controller comprising a processor configured to communicate with and to control the motor interface; 
   wherein the at least one wireless seat controller is configured to receive a signal from the at least one wireless proximity sensor and to activate the motor assembly of the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat assembly to dispense the sanitary tubular material to cover the toilet seat.   
     
     
         2 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wireless proximity sensor further comprises a battery to provide power thereto. 
     
     
         3 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wireless seat controller further comprises a battery to provide power thereto. 
     
     
         4 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 1 , wherein each wireless seat controller is paired to a single wireless proximity sensor. 
     
     
         5 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 1 , wherein the first microcomputer controller is configured to put the at least one wireless sensor into a sleep state, and wherein while in the sleep state, the at least one wireless proximity sensor has an average current consumption of approximately 30 μA. 
     
     
         6 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 1 , wherein the second microcomputer controller is configured to put the at least one wireless seat controller into a sleep state, and wherein while in sleep the at least one wireless seat controller has an average current consumption of approximately 1 mA. 
     
     
         7 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wireless proximity sensor further comprises a water-resistant cover, and wherein the water-resistant cover houses all components of the at least one wireless proximity sensor. 
     
     
         8 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 7 , wherein the water-resistant cover comprises a clear lens disposed adjacently to the infrared sensor. 
     
     
         9 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wireless seat controller further comprises a water-resistant cover, and wherein the water-resistant cover houses all electronic components of the wireless seat controller. 
     
     
         10 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing of the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat assembly is water-resistant. 
     
     
         11 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wireless proximity sensor, and the at least one wireless seat controller establish a bidirectional data link with each other to transmit data. 
     
     
         12 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least one visual indicator, and wherein the automatic hygienic toilet seat system is configured to prompt the at least one visual indicator to display an indication of the operational status of one selected from the group consisting of the at least one wireless proximity sensor, the at least one wireless seat controller, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 12 , wherein the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat assembly further comprises a backup activation button configured to activate the motor assembly of the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat assembly to dispense the sanitary tubular material to cover the toilet seat, whereby a user can selectively activate the motor assembly through the backup activation button in response to viewing the operational status indication on the at least one visual indicator. 
     
     
         14 . An automatic hygienic toilet seat system comprising:
 at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat assembly,   at least one wireless proximity sensor,   at least one wireless seat controller, and   a wireless access point;   the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat assembly comprising:
 a toilet seat, 
 a motor assembly, and 
 a housing, enclosing the toilet seat and the motor assembly, 
 wherein the motor assembly is configured to dispense a supply of sanitary tubular material around the toilet seat; 
   the at least one wireless proximity sensor comprising:
 an infrared sensor comprising an infrared light emitting diode and an infrared detector, 
 a first microcomputer controller, and 
 a radio receiver-emitter; 
 the first microcomputer controller comprising a processor configured to communicate with and to control the infrared sensor and the radio receiver-emitter; 
   wherein the at least one wireless proximity sensor is configured to detect an object within a predetermined proximity to the infrared sensor and to emit a signal to the wireless seat controller via the wireless access point;   the at least one wireless seat controller comprising:
 a motor interface, 
 a second microcomputer controller, and 
 a radio receiver-emitter; 
 the second microcomputer controller comprising a processor configured to communicate with and to control the motor interface; 
   wherein the at least one wireless seat controller is configured to receive a signal from the at least one wireless proximity sensor via the wireless access point and to activate the motor assembly of the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat assembly to dispense the sanitary tubular material to cover the toilet seat.   
     
     
         15 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 14 , wherein each wireless proximity sensor is paired to the wireless access point, and wherein each wireless seat controller is paired to the wireless access point. 
     
     
         16 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 14 , wherein each wireless proximity sensor is paired only to the wireless access point, and wherein each wireless seat controller is paired only to the wireless access point. 
     
     
         17 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 14 , wherein the wireless access point is connected to the internet, and wherein the system further comprises at least one end user device adapted to access the wireless access point via the internet. 
     
     
         18 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 17 , wherein the wireless access point automatically sends an alert message to the at least one end user device upon occurrence of at least one predetermined criterion, wherein the alert message comprises an indication of a current state of one selected from the group consisting of the at least one wireless proximity sensor, the at least one wireless seat controller, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 18 , wherein the at least one predetermined criterion is selected from the group consisting of a proximity of the at least one end user device to the wireless access point, an occurrence of an error condition in the at least one wireless proximity sensor, an occurrence of an error condition in the at least one seat controller, and a termination of a predetermined time period. 
     
     
         20 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 19 , wherein the error condition in the at least one wireless proximity sensor is a low battery condition. 
     
     
         21 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 19 , wherein the error condition in the at least one seat controller is selected from the group consisting of a low battery condition, a low remaining amount of the sanitary tubular material, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         22 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 14 , wherein the wireless access point is configured to send a message to a plurality of wireless seat controllers to which it is paired to prompt each of the plurality of wireless seat controllers to activate the motor assembly of the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat to dispense the sanitary tubular material to cover the seat portion of the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat. 
     
     
         24 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 14 , further comprising at least one visual indicator, and wherein the automatic hygienic toilet seat system is configured to prompt the at least one visual indicator to display an indication of the operational status of one selected from the group consisting of the wireless access point, the at least one wireless proximity sensor, the at least one wireless seat controller, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         25 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 14 , wherein upon a failure of either the at least one wireless proximity sensor or the at least one wireless seat controller to establish a connection with the wireless access point, the at least one wireless proximity sensor and the at least one wireless seat controller establish a bidirectional data link with each other to transmit data. 
     
     
         26 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 12 , wherein the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat assembly further comprises a backup activation button configured to activate the motor assembly of the at least one automatic hygienic toilet seat assembly to dispense the sanitary tubular material to cover the toilet seat. 
     
     
         27 . An automatic hygienic toilet seat system comprising:
 a plurality of automatic hygienic toilet seat assemblies,   a plurality of wireless proximity sensors, and   a plurality of wireless seat controllers;   wherein one of the plurality of wireless proximity sensors, one of the plurality of wireless seat controllers, and one of the plurality of automatic hygienic toilet seats are disposed in a plurality of adjacent restroom stalls;   wherein each of the plurality of automatic hygienic toilet seat assemblies comprises:
 a toilet seat, 
 a motor assembly, and 
 a housing, enclosing the toilet seat and the motor assembly, 
 wherein the motor assembly is configured to dispense a supply of sanitary tubular material around the toilet seat; 
   wherein each of the plurality of wireless proximity sensors comprises:
 an infrared sensor comprising an infrared light emitting diode and an infrared detector, 
 a first microcomputer controller, and 
 a radio receiver-emitter; 
 the first microcomputer controller comprising a processor configured to communicate with and to control the infrared sensor and the radio receiver-emitter; 
   wherein each of the plurality of wireless proximity sensors is configured to detect an object within a predetermined proximity to the infrared sensor and to emit a signal to one of the plurality of wireless seat controllers;   wherein each of the plurality of wireless seat controllers comprises:
 a motor interface, 
 a second microcomputer controller, and 
 a radio receiver-emitter; 
 the second microcomputer controller comprising a processor configured to communicate with and to control the motor interface; 
   wherein each of the plurality of wireless seat controllers is configured to receive a signal from one of the plurality of wireless proximity sensors and to activate a motor assembly of one of the plurality of automatic hygienic toilet seats to dispense a sanitary tubular material to cover a seat portion of the one automatic hygienic toilet seat,   wherein each of the plurality of wireless seat controllers is paired to a single one of the plurality of wireless proximity sensors.   
     
     
         28 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 27 , wherein each of the plurality of wireless proximity sensors further comprises a battery to provide power thereto. 
     
     
         29 . The automatic hygienic toilet seat system according to  claim 27 , wherein each of the wireless seat controllers further comprises a battery to provide power thereto.