JP7605425B2 - Toilet system and toilet management method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a toilet system and a toilet management method.

A system has been proposed for use in highway parking areas, where a sensor installed on the ceiling of a private toilet detects the silhouette of a person or object, and determines whether an item has been left behind in conjunction with the door opening/closing signal (Non-Patent Document 1).

JP 2019-113958 A

Central Nippon Expressway Co., Ltd. and Central Nippon Highway Engineering Nagoya Co., Ltd., "Full-scale introduction of sensors to quickly detect customers who have left items in restrooms or who have suddenly fallen ill - Improved accuracy of identification using AI -", [online], February 27, 2020, news release, [Retrieved June 1, 2020], Internet <URL: https://www.c-nexco.co.jp/corporate/pressroom/news_release/4746.html>

In conventional systems, when an item was detected to have been left behind in a toilet cubicle (also called a toilet booth), a message to that effect was output from a speaker installed in the toilet booth. In such cases, the user who left the item behind would have already opened the toilet booth door and was preparing to leave, so their attention would be directed outside the toilet booth and they would leave without noticing the message inside the booth. In particular, the toilet is often in the process of being flushed when a user leaves the toilet, and the sound of flushing water overlaps with the message to the effect that an item has been left behind, making it difficult to hear the message.

The present invention aims to provide a technology that, when it is detected that an item has been left behind in a toilet booth, notifies a user who has left the toilet booth that the item has been left behind.

In order to solve the above problems, the toilet system according to the present invention comprises:
an exit detection unit that detects when a user leaves the toilet booth;
a lost property detection unit that detects an object other than toilet booth fixtures in the toilet booth as a lost property when the exit of the user is detected;
a notification unit that is provided outside the toilet booth and that notifies the user of the fact that the item has been left behind when the item has been detected;
a notification control unit that changes a form of the notification by the notification unit according to an elapsed time from when it is detected that the user has left the room and/or location information of the user;
A toilet system comprising:

The toilet system comprises:
The notification unit issues the notification by sound,
The notification control unit may change a form of the notification in accordance with the elapsed time such that a sound of the notification becomes louder as the elapsed time becomes longer.

The toilet system comprises:
An identification unit is further provided for determining a type of the detected left behind item,
The notification control unit may change the form of the notification by the notification unit depending on the type of the lost item.

The toilet system comprises:
The notification unit is installed at a plurality of positions within the facility in which the toilet booth is provided,
The notification control unit may cause the notification to be made from the notification unit installed at a location corresponding to the location where the user is located, depending on the user's location information, and may change the form of the notification in accordance with the user's movement.

In order to solve the above problems, the toilet management method according to the present invention comprises the steps of:
Detecting that a user is leaving the toilet booth;
When detecting the exit of the user, detecting an object other than the toilet booth fixtures in the toilet booth as a left behind item;
When the left-behind property is detected, a notification unit provided outside the toilet booth is controlled to notify the user that the left-behind property has occurred;
changing a form of the notification by the notification unit according to an elapsed time since the user left the toilet booth and/or location information of the user;
may be executed by the control unit.

The present invention may also be a toilet management program for causing a computer to execute the above toilet management method. Furthermore, this toilet management program may be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium.

Here, a computer-readable storage medium refers to a storage medium that can store information such as data and programs non-temporarily through electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical action and can be read by a computer. Examples of such storage media that can be removed from a computer include flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-R/Ws, DVDs (registered trademark), DATs, 8mm tapes, and memory cards. Additionally, examples of storage media that are fixed to a computer include hard disks and ROMs (read-only memories).

The present invention provides a technology that, when it is detected that an item has been left behind in a toilet booth, notifies a user who has left the toilet booth that the item has been left behind.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a toilet system according to a first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a toilet facility. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a toilet booth equipped with a toilet bowl. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the toilet booth with the door closed. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the toilet booth with the door open. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display unit. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a control device. FIG. 1 shows a toilet booth equipped with toilet facilities such as a urinal for men. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the processing of a toilet management method executed by a control device. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the processing of a toilet management method according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a top view of a toilet booth and a hanging-support type sliding door device in a third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a toilet booth and a hanging-support type sliding door device in a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a drive unit and a notification unit in a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a toilet facility according to a fourth embodiment. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a detection method by a position detection unit. FIG. A diagram showing the processing of a toilet management method according to the fourth embodiment.

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the configuration of the present invention is not limited to the following example.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the toilet system according to this embodiment. The toilet system 100 according to this embodiment has notification units 12 and 20, an entry/exit sensor 30, an object detection unit 40, and a control device 50, which are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network N. When an item is left behind in a toilet booth, the toilet system 100 notifies the user who has left the toilet booth of the item by sound or light. At this time, the user leaves the toilet booth and moves away from the toilet booth, so the toilet system 100 changes the form of the notification according to the user's behavior after leaving the booth, such as gradually increasing the volume of the notification sound. In this way, the toilet system 100 according to this embodiment can reliably notify the user who has left the toilet booth of the item being left behind. The form of notification refers to the state of the notification sound or light, and specifically includes the volume, sound quality, pitch of the sound, content of the voice message, light intensity, color of the light, blinking pattern, display content, etc.

The toilet facility 10 is a public toilet used by an unspecified number of users (public) at, for example, a service area on a highway, a train station, an airport, etc. The toilet facility 10 of this embodiment has multiple toilet booths 14.

2 is a diagram showing an example of a toilet facility 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the toilet facility 10 is surrounded by a wall 105 except for an entrance 104. That is, a user who uses the toilet facility 10 enters and exits the toilet facility 10 through the entrance 104. The entrance 104 may be provided in multiple locations, not limited to one location. In FIG. 2, the toilet facility 10 has a right area on the right side of the entrance 104 as viewed from the entrance 104, and a left area on the left side as viewed from the entrance 104 .... The toilet facility 10 may have a toilet booth 141 (multipurpose toilet) 143 equipped with ostomate equipment and a baby bed. The toilet facility 10 may have a toilet booth 141 (multipurpose toilet) equipped with ostomate equipment and a baby bed. There may be multiple multi-purpose toilets 143, and one each in the men's area and the women's area.

As described above, the toilet facility 10 of the present embodiment has, as the toilet booths 14, a toilet booth 141 provided with a toilet bowl 41, a toilet booth 142 provided with a urinal 49, and a multi-purpose toilet 143. Here, the toilet booth 14 is a space (room) surrounded by a door, a wall, etc., in which toilet equipment such as the toilet bowls 41, 49 are provided, usually for one person to relieve themselves at the same time. Note that the toilet booth is not strictly limited to being used by one person, and may be one in which a caregiver or an infant can enter at the same time as the user. Also, the toilet booth may be a space that is not completely enclosed, such as a space provided with a child toilet or a urinal 49.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a toilet booth 141 equipped with a toilet bowl 41, Figure 4 is a front view showing the toilet booth 141 with the door 9 closed, and Figure 5 is a front view showing the toilet booth 141 with the door 9 open. The toilet booth 141 is surrounded on three sides by a pair of left and right side walls 14L, 14R and a rear wall 14B, and has a front wall 14M including the door 9 at the front. The toilet bowl 41 is installed in the toilet booth 141 surrounded by these side walls 14L, 14R, rear wall 14B, and front wall 14M. The walls 14L, 14R, 14B and front wall 14M surrounding the toilet booth 14 may be at a height reaching from the floor 14F to the ceiling 14C, but in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, a space is provided between the left and right side walls 14L, 14R, and the front wall 14M and the ceiling 14C to allow air to circulate. A part of the front wall 14M is a wall M1 fixed to one of the side walls 14L, 14R (side wall 14R in the example of FIG. 3), and an opening between the wall M1 and the side walls 14L, 14R forms the entrance 4. A door 9 is attached to the entrance 4 so that it can be opened and closed by a hinge (not shown), and the wall M1 and the door 9 form the front wall 14M. The side walls 14L, 14R of adjacent toilet booths 141 may be shared, for example, the left side wall 14L of one toilet booth 141 may be the right side wall of the adjacent toilet booth 141 on the left side.

Here, left and right refer to the left and right sides when facing the entrance 4 from outside the toilet booth 141, and front and back refer to the direction from the toilet 41 to the entrance (forward) and the direction opposite the entrance from the toilet 41 (rear). Additionally, the ceiling 14C side is referred to as the top, and the installation surface (floor) 14F side of the toilet 41 is referred to as the bottom. These directions, particularly the front and back and left and right, are for the convenience of explaining this embodiment and may be changed as appropriate.

A lock 91 is provided on the inner wall surface of the wall M1 near the center in the vertical direction on the door side, and can be locked and unlocked by the user in the toilet booth. When locked, the lock 91 engages with a receiving device (not shown) of the door 9 to prevent the door from being opened. The lock 91 is not limited to being provided on the wall M1 side, but may be provided on the door 9 and engage with a receiving device of the wall M1 to prevent the door from being opened. The lock 91 may have any configuration as long as it closes the door 9 while the toilet booth 141 is in use, and may be provided on the floor 14F or ceiling 14C, for example. Note that the lock 91 may be omitted if it is provided with a mechanism for driving the door 9 to open and close in response to the operation of an opening/closing switch by the user, and the door 9 is kept closed until the user operates the door to open. The door 9 is also provided with an opening/closing sensor 92 that detects whether the lock 91 is locked or not, or whether the door 9 is closed or not.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the toilet booth 141 is equipped with toilet equipment 1, including a toilet bowl 41, a toilet seat device 42, a display unit 43, and an object detection unit 40.

The toilet seat device 42 is provided on the Western-style toilet 41 and has a function of heating the seat surface on which the user sits and a washing function of discharging warm water to wash the user's anus and private parts. The toilet seat device 42 also has a seating sensor 42A that detects whether the user is seated or not, and controls whether or not to discharge the warm water based on the detection result of the seating sensor 42A so that when the user is seated and a hot water discharge button (not shown) is pressed, the hot water is discharged, and when the user is not seated and the hot water discharge button (not shown) is pressed, the hot water is not discharged. The toilet seat device 42 also has a function of controlling the opening and closing of a flush valve, and when the user's seating is no longer detected after the detection result of the seating sensor 42A, it is determined that the user has used the toilet and left the seat surface, and the flush valve is opened for a predetermined time to discharge washing water. The toilet 41 is not limited to a Western-style toilet and may be a Japanese-style toilet, and when a Japanese-style toilet 41 is provided, the toilet seat device 42 may be omitted. Furthermore, when a Japanese-style toilet 41 is provided, a device having a function of controlling opening and closing of a flush valve based on the presence or absence of a user may be provided instead of the toilet seat device 42. For example, a human presence sensor detects whether or not a user is present in a position to defecate, that is, a position to use the toilet 41 (hereinafter also referred to as a usage position) while squatting on the Japanese-style toilet 41 (also simply referred to as sitting), and if the user's seating is no longer detected after it has been detected that the user is seated, it is determined that the user has used the toilet and left the usage position, and the flush valve is opened for a predetermined period of time to release cleaning water.

The display unit 43 is provided on the wall surrounding the toilet bowl 41, in this example, on the left wall 14L, and as shown in FIG. 6, has an operation panel 431 for performing operations such as setting the temperature of the toilet seat device 42 and setting the flush position. The display unit 43 also has a display section 432, a speaker 433, and a flush button 434.

The display unit 432 displays the set temperature of the toilet seat, the temperature of the hot water for washing, the washing position, and other information received from the control device 50.

The speaker 433 outputs sounds such as operation sounds when the operation panel 431 is operated, sounds such as voice messages described below, and sounds that mimic the sound of flushing water flowing to flush the toilet.

The flush button 434 is an operation button that is operated by the user when flushing water is to be released into the toilet bowl 41. When the display unit 43 detects that the flush button 434 has been pressed, it opens the flush valve (not shown) of the toilet bowl 41 to release the flushing water.

The object detection unit 40 is a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an object in the toilet booth. The object detection unit 40 is an active sensor (e.g., a TOF sensor) that transmits a transmission wave such as infrared rays, radio waves, or ultrasonic waves to a measurement position, and detects whether an object is present at the measurement position by capturing the change caused by the transmission wave being blocked or reflected by an object with a receiver. The object detection unit 40 may be a passive sensor (e.g., an image sensor) that detects the presence of an object by receiving light from an object illuminated by ambient light such as sunlight or lighting. The object detection unit 40 may also be a three-dimensional scanner that irradiates a laser beam to an area in the toilet booth to be measured, performs optical scanning, calculates the distance to each position based on the time it takes to receive the reflected light from each optically scanned position, and calculates the three-dimensional coordinates of each position from the distance and the irradiation position of the laser beam.

The control device 50 is electrically connected to other toilet equipment 1 such as the display unit 43, the toilet seat device 42, the object detection unit 40, the opening/closing sensor 92, etc., and issues a notification of a forgotten item from the notification unit 20 based on information acquired by the object detection unit 40 and the opening/closing sensor 92. The control device 50 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51, a main memory device 52, an auxiliary memory device 53, a communication IF (Interface) 54, an input/output IF (Interface) 55, and a communication bus 56, as shown in FIG.

The CPU 51 is a means for controlling the control device 50 and devices electrically connected to the control device 50. The CPU 51 may be a control means called a controller or a micro-processing unit (MPU), etc.

The main memory device 52 and the auxiliary memory device 53 are means for storing information. The main memory device 52 is used as a working area for the CPU, such as for caching program instructions and data read by the CPU 51. Specifically, the main memory device 52 is a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc.

The auxiliary storage device 53 stores programs executed by the CPU 51, setting information used in the present embodiment, etc. Specifically, the auxiliary storage device 53 is an HDD, an SSD (Solid State Drive), a flash memory, or the like.

The communication IF 54 transmits and receives data to and from other computer devices. Specifically, the communication IF 54 is a wired or wireless network card or the like. The input/output IF 55 is connected to an input/output device, and receives input from a computer user and outputs information to the user. In this embodiment, the input/output IF 55 is connected to the display unit 43 as an input/output device, and receives input from the operation panel 431, outputs display to the display unit 432, and outputs sound to the speaker. The above-mentioned components are connected by a communication bus 56. Note that a plurality of these components may be provided, or some components may not be provided.

The CPU 51 executes a program to perform the processes described in this embodiment. For example, the CPU 51 provides the functions of an entry/exit detection unit 501, a lost item detection unit 502, and a notification control unit 503.

The entry/exit detection unit 501 obtains the detection result by the entry/exit sensor 30 at a predetermined timing, and detects the entry of a user into the toilet booth 14 and the exit of a user from the toilet booth 14. In this embodiment, the object detection unit 40, the opening/closing sensor 92, the seating sensor 42A, etc. are used as the entry/exit sensor 30. For example, since the lock 91 is locked and the door 9 is opened and closed inside the toilet booth, when the opening/closing sensor 92 detects that the lock 91 is locked or the door 9 is closed, the entry/exit detection unit 501 detects that a user has entered the toilet booth. Then, when the lock 91 is switched from a locked state to an unlocked state, or when the door 9 is changed from a closed state to an open state, it detects that the user has left. Not limited to this, the entry/exit detection unit 501 may detect the entry of a user when the user sits down by a seating sensor such as the toilet seat device 42, and detect the exit of the user when the user no longer detects the user sitting down.

In addition, if a human presence sensor is provided in the toilet booth, the entry/exit detection unit 501 may detect that a user has entered the booth when the human presence sensor detects a user, and detect that a user has left the booth when the human presence sensor no longer detects the user. Similarly, the entry/exit detection unit 501 may detect that a user has entered the booth when the object detection unit 40 detects a user, and detect that a user has left the booth when the object detection unit 40 no longer detects the user.

Furthermore, the entry/exit detection unit 501 may detect entry and exit based on the detection results of multiple sensors. For example, entry may be detected when a human presence sensor and a seating sensor detect a user, and exit may be detected when the human presence sensor and seating sensor no longer detect the user. Entry and exit may also be detected based on different types of sensors, such as detecting entry when a human presence sensor detects a user, and detecting exit when the seating sensor switches from detecting a user seated to no longer detecting the user.

The entry/exit detection unit 501 may detect the user's exit at two stages: immediately before the user exits through the entrance/exit 4, and at the time when the user has exited through the entrance/exit 4. For example, when the entry/exit detection unit 501 detects an action performed by the user immediately before exiting, such as the user starting to move toward the entrance/exit 4, the user placing a hand on the door 9, or the detection result of the opening/closing sensor 92 changing from closed to open due to the user's operation, the entry/exit detection unit 501 detects that the user is immediately before exiting through the entrance/exit 4. Furthermore, when the entry/exit detection unit 501 detects an action performed by the user at the moment of passing through the entrance/exit 4, such as the user passing through the entrance/exit 4 and at least a part of the user's body exiting the toilet booth, or the user's body completely exiting the toilet booth, the entry/exit detection unit 501 detects that the user has exited through the entrance/exit 4.
When entry/exit detection unit 501 detects the exit of a user, lost property detection unit 502 detects an object in the toilet booth other than toilet booth fixtures 14 as a lost property. For example, lost property detection unit 502 detects an object detected in toilet booth 14 by object detection unit 40 before the user enters as toilet booth fixtures 14, and when it detects the user's exit, detects an object other than the fixtures detected in toilet booth 14 by object detection unit 40 as a lost property.

The notification control unit 503 changes the form of notification by the notification unit (notification unit) 20 according to the elapsed time after detecting that the user has left the room. The notification unit 20 of this embodiment includes a light-emitting unit 21 that emits light in any color using an LED or a light bulb, and a speaker 22 that outputs sound. In addition to the notification unit 20 provided on the outer wall of each toilet booth 14, a notification unit 12 may be provided on a wall or ceiling inside the toilet facility 10. The notification unit 12 includes a light-emitting unit 21 and a speaker 22, similar to the notification unit 20 in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, and is controlled by the control device 50 via the network N to perform notification. The notification control unit 503 starts outputting light from the light-emitting unit 21 and sound from the speaker 22 at the moment the user leaves the toilet booth, and changes the light-emitting pattern and sound according to the elapsed time. For example, the longer the elapsed time, the louder the sound of the notification is made and the faster the blinking speed of the light-emitting unit 21 is made.

In addition, while Figures 3 and 4 show a toilet booth 141 equipped with toilet equipment 1 such as a toilet bowl 41, the multi-purpose toilet 143 is also equipped with toilet equipment 1 such as a toilet bowl 41, and detects the occurrence of forgotten items and the exit of users based on the detection results of the object detection unit 40 and the opening/closing sensor 92, and similarly notifies users of the forgotten items.
In addition to the notification from the notification unit 20, the notification control unit 503 may notify an external device, such as the management server 2 of the center managing the toilet facility 10 or the terminal of the person in charge managing the toilet facility 10, of the lost item by email or the like. In this case, the timing of the notification may be different between the notification unit 20 and the external device. For example, the notification may be sent to the external device when the user does not return to retrieve the lost item after the notification to the notification unit 20 and the lost item is detected. The notification to the external device may include, for example, identification information of the toilet facility 10 or toilet booth 14 where the lost item occurred, the time when the lost item was detected, information indicating the shape of the lost item, the type of the lost item, etc.

8 is a diagram showing a toilet booth 142 equipped with toilet equipment 1 such as a male urinal 49. The toilet booth 142 is vertically partitioned by a ceiling 14C and a floor 14F, and horizontally surrounded on three sides by a pair of left and right partitions 24L, 24R and the installation surface (wall) 105 of the urinal 49. In other words, the toilet booth 142 does not have a wall in front of the urinal 49, and is not a completely enclosed space. However, when using the toilet booth 142, the user stands in front of the urinal 49, and the user's back and the partitions 24L, 24R block the view of others from the space. Therefore, in this embodiment, the space surrounded by the pair of left and right partitions 24L, 24R and the wall 105 is the toilet booth 142. 8, left and right refer to the left and right sides when facing the urinal 49 when standing in front of the urinal 49, front and rear refer to the side where the user stands when urinating based on the toilet 41, and rear refers to the side of the surface attached to the wall 105, and up and down refer to the ceiling 14C side and the installation surface (floor) 14F side of the toilet 41. If there is an adjacent toilet booth 142, the partition board (left wall) 24L also serves as the partition board (right wall) 24R of another toilet booth 142 located to the left, and the partition board 24R also serves as the partition board 24L of another toilet booth 142 located to the right. The partitions 24L and 24R may be omitted. In that case, the toilet booth 142 is defined as a predetermined area including the urinal 49, for example, the area around the urinal 49 with the midpoint between adjacent urinals 49 as the boundary, and the area including toilet facilities such as the shelf 145 used when urinating and the umbrella rack 151.

The toilet booth 142 is provided with toilet equipment 1, such as a urinal 49, a control device 50, a display unit 43, an object detection unit 40, and a notification unit 20.
The wall 105 facing the toilet booth 142 is a double wall having a space inside at least at the lower part, and a water supply pipe and a drain pipe (not shown) are arranged in this space.

The urinal 49 is attached to the wall 105 and is connected to a water supply pipe and a drain pipe inside the wall 105. Since the toilet booth 142 does not have a toilet seat device 42, the display unit 43 in FIG. 8 omits the operation panel 431. The display unit 43 also has a human presence sensor 44.

The human presence sensor (object detection unit) 44 detects whether a user is present in the toilet booth 142 based on whether it receives infrared rays from a user standing in front of the urinal 49.

The object detection unit 40 of the toilet booth 142 detects objects such as fixtures, users, and items left behind within the toilet booth 142. The object detection unit 40 in FIG. 8 is installed, for example, on the surface of the ceiling 14C in front of the urinal 49, with the interior of the toilet booth 142 as its symmetrical range, from a position behind a user standing in front of the urinal 49 to urinate. This allows the object detection unit 40 to detect, for example, objects placed on the shelf 145 or umbrellas hung on the umbrella rack 151.

The control device 50 is provided in the wall 105, and is electrically connected to the other toilet equipment 1, such as the display unit 43, the object detection unit 40, and the notification unit. Based on the detection result of the human presence sensor 44, the control device 50 determines that a user has entered the toilet booth 142 when a state in which infrared rays are not received from the user changes to a state in which infrared rays are received, and detects that the user has completed defecation and left the booth when infrared rays are no longer received from the user. In addition, when the control device 50 detects that the user has left the booth, it may control the opening of a flush valve (not shown) connected to the urinal 49 and the supply of cleaning water from a water supply pipe to clean the inside of the urinal 49.

<Toilet management method>
Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the processing of the toilet management method executed according to a program by the control device 50 of each toilet booth 14. The control device 50 starts the processing of Fig. 9 periodically or at a predetermined timing.

In step S10, the control device 50 determines whether or not a user has entered the toilet booth based on the detection result of the entrance/exit sensor 30. If the determination in step S10 is negative, the control device 50 proceeds to step S20, detects an object in the toilet booth 14 using the object detection unit 40, and obtains and stores the state of the equipment when no user is present (also referred to as the pre-entry state).

On the other hand, if the determination in step S10 is positive, the control device 50 proceeds to step S30 and determines whether the user is about to exit, i.e., whether a pre-exit action has been performed. For example, pre-exit actions are detected as a user who was in the usage position leaving the usage position, or the detection result of the opening/closing sensor 92 changing from closed to open.

If the determination in step S30 is negative, the user is continuing to use the device, and the control device 50 repeats the determination in step S30 at predetermined time intervals. Note that if the user exits before arriving at the usage position or before closing the lock 91, the process in FIG. 9 may be terminated as an exception process (not shown) rather than repeating step S30.

If the determination in step S30 is positive, the control device 50 proceeds to step S40, where the object detection unit 40 detects objects in the toilet booth 14 and performs a process of detecting items left behind. For example, the control device 50 detects the increased number of objects as items left behind, in comparison with the state before entry stored in step S20. In this case, the user may be identified, and the increased number of objects other than those by the user may be detected as items left behind.

In step S50, the control device 50 determines whether or not a lost item has been detected, i.e., whether or not an item has been left behind. If the determination in step S50 is negative, the control device 50 proceeds to step S20 and ends the process in FIG. 9, and if the determination in step S50 is positive, the control device 50 proceeds to step S60.

In step S60, the control device 50 determines whether or not the user has reached outside the toilet booth (time of exit). For example, the control device 50 detects the time when part of the user's body has left the toilet booth using the object detection unit 40. If the determination in step S50 is negative, the control device 50 repeats the determination in step S50 at a predetermined interval until a positive determination is made, and if a positive determination is made, the control device 50 proceeds to step S70.

In step S70, the control device 50 controls the notification unit 20 to start the notification. For example, when no lost property is detected (normal), the control device 50 controls the light-emitting unit 21 of the notification unit 20 to be turned off, and when a lost property is detected (when a lost property occurs), the control device 50 controls the light-emitting unit 21 to be turned on or blinking in a predetermined color (e.g., red). When a lost property occurs, the control device 50 outputs a voice message such as "You have left something behind" from the speaker 22 together with a warning sound. Furthermore, information indicating the position of each toilet booth (position information) may be set in advance, and a voice message including the position information may be output, such as "You have left something behind in the second toilet booth from the back." In addition, information indicating the light-emitting state, such as the color or blinking pattern of the light emitted from the light-emitting unit 21, may be included in the voice message, and the toilet booth where the lost property occurred may be indicated by the light-emitting state, such as "You have left something behind in the toilet booth that is lit red" or "You have left something behind in the toilet booth that is blinking green."

In step S80, the control device 50 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the user was detected to leave the room. For example, the control device 50 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed each time a predetermined time has elapsed, such as 5 seconds, 10 seconds, or 15 seconds after the user leaves the room. If the determination is negative in step S80, the control device 50 proceeds to step S and controls the notification unit 20 to change the notification form. For example, the control device 50 changes the notification form so that the longer the elapsed time, the louder the sound of the warning sound or voice message output from the speaker 22 becomes. In addition, the control device 50 changes the notification form so that the longer the elapsed time, the faster the blinking speed of the light-emitting unit 21 becomes, or the stronger the light emitted becomes. In addition, the control device 50 may switch the notification unit 20 that outputs the sound to another notification unit 12 in the toilet facility 10 or to a notification unit 20 in another toilet booth 14 according to the elapsed time. For example, if a user leaves the toilet booth 14 and walks toward the entrance/exit 104, a notification may be sent from the notification unit 12, 20 closest to the location where the user is estimated to arrive after a predetermined time.

In step S100, the control device 50 judges whether or not to end the notification. For example, when a predetermined end condition is met, such as the user returning to retrieve a forgotten item and the user being detected in the toilet booth 14, the forgotten item being no longer detected, or the time when the user is estimated to have left the toilet facility 10 has passed, the control device 50 judges to end the notification. In step S100, if the judgment is positive, the control device 50 ends the process of FIG. 9, and if the judgment is negative, the control device 50 returns to step S80.

Effects of the embodiment
As described above, in the toilet system 100 of this embodiment, if a user forgets something, the user is notified of the forgotten item when the user leaves the toilet booth 14, and the notification can be made at an appropriate timing that makes it easy for the user to notice. For example, by notifying the user the moment the user reaches the outside of the toilet booth, the user can know that a problem has occurred by leaving the toilet booth (the user has left something behind), and by notifying the user from the notification unit 20 that is placed in a position close to the user leaving the toilet booth 14, the user can intuitively know that the notification is directed to that user.

In addition, since a user who leaves the toilet booth 14 will move away from the toilet booth 14 over time, the toilet system of this embodiment changes the form of the notification, such as increasing the volume of the notification sound or speeding up the blinking of the notification light depending on the amount of time that has passed, to ensure that the user is notified appropriately.

In addition, if an attempt is made to install dangerous objects such as bombs or hidden cameras in a toilet booth, these can be detected as lost items and a notification is sent, thereby preventing the installation of dangerous objects or hidden cameras. Even if the person who installed the dangerous objects or hidden cameras (user) ignores the notification and runs away, the installation of these objects or hidden cameras can be notified to people nearby. Furthermore, if a user does not return to retrieve their lost items, the toilet system 100 notifies the center or the like that manages the toilet facility 10, so that items left in the toilet booth 14 can be dealt with quickly. Therefore, even if dangerous objects such as bombs or hidden cameras are installed, a quick response can be made and safety can be ensured.

Second Embodiment
In this embodiment, when a lost item is detected, the type of the lost item is identified and a notification is sent in a form corresponding to the type of the lost item. Since the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control device 50 according to the second embodiment. As shown in Figure 10, the control device 50 of this embodiment includes an identification unit 504 in addition to the configuration shown in the first embodiment.

The identification unit 504 determines the type of the detected lost item based on information such as the outline and external shape detected by the object detection unit 40. Here, examples of the types of lost item include a mobile phone, smartphone, glasses, hat, wallet, coin purse, bag (pouch, bag, backpack, suitcase), umbrella, handkerchief, walking stick, gloves, scarf, etc.

One method for determining the type of lost item is, for example, to store a pattern of the outline or shape of the lost item for each type in advance, compare the outline or shape of the detected lost item with the stored pattern, and identify the type based on which pattern the outline or shape of the detected lost item matches, in a so-called pattern matching method. Alternatively, the system may be configured to use machine learning to learn the relationship between the information on the outline or shape of the lost item and the type of the lost item, create a mathematical model, and use the mathematical model to identify the type that corresponds to the outline or shape of the detected lost item, in a so-called AI-based identification method.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing the process of the toilet management method according to this embodiment. Note that the process from the start of the process to step S50 is the same as the process shown in Figure 9 described above.

If the determination in step S50 is positive, the control device 50 proceeds to step S52 and determines the type of the lost item based on information such as the outline and shape detected by the object detection unit 40.

In step S54, the control device 50 judges whether the type found in step S52 is a type that is determined to be a type for which a notification is to be sent, such as a wallet or a smartphone. If the judgment in step S54 is negative, the control device 50 proceeds to step S20 and ends the process in Fig. 11. For example, if the object detected as a lost item is a toilet paper roll or a piece of paper that does not require notification (noise), the process in Fig. 11 ends to avoid sending a useless notification.

On the other hand, if the determination in step S54 is positive, the process proceeds to step S56, where a notification according to the type is determined. For example, a voice message including information indicating the type of lost item may be defined, such as "You have left your umbrella behind," or "You have left your smartphone behind." In other words, the voice message (notification form) may be changed for each type of lost item. Furthermore, instead of being limited to voice messages, the light emission pattern of the light-emitting unit 21 may be changed for each type of lost item. Note that the process from step S56 onwards is the same as the process in FIG. 9 described above.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to appropriately notify the user of lost items depending on the type of lost item.

Third Embodiment
In this embodiment, the toilet booth door is a circular arc-shaped hanging support type sliding door device. Since the other configurations are the same as those of the first or second embodiment described above, the same elements are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

Figure 12 is a top view of the toilet booth 141 and the suspended sliding door device 190 in this embodiment. Figure 13 is a perspective view of the toilet booth 141 and the suspended sliding door device 190 in this embodiment.

The suspended sliding door device 190 includes a door body 93 for opening and closing the entrance 4, a guide rail 90 that suspends and supports the door body 93 so that it can slide freely, and a drive unit 94 that drives the door body 93. The guide rail 90 has an arc shape that curves convexly toward the front outside of the toilet booth 141, and is suspended across the top of the entrance 4.

As shown in FIG. 14, the drive unit 94 is provided to protrude outside the toilet booth 141 through a hole 90d provided in the front wall 90a of the guide rail 90 and a hole M11 provided in the front wall M1. A notification unit 420 is attached to the end of the drive unit 94 located outside the toilet booth 141. The notification unit 420 has a cup-shaped cover body 421 that covers the part of the drive unit 94 that protrudes outward from the wall, a screw 422 that fixes the cover body 421, a light-emitting unit 423, and a speaker 424.

The cover body 421 is made of a translucent resin material and is fixed to the rear end of the drive unit 94 by a screw 422. A light-emitting unit 423 and a speaker 424 are provided on the inner wall surface of the cover body 421.

When a user operates the operating unit 6 to perform an opening or closing operation, the control device 50 operates the drive unit 94 in response to this operation, causing the door body 93 to open or close along the guide rail 90.

The control device 50 detects the lost item and notifies the user using the light-emitting unit 423 and speaker 424 of the notification unit 420, as in the first or second embodiment described above.

As described above, according to this embodiment, like the first or second embodiment described above, it is possible to appropriately notify the user of forgotten items, and in the suspended sliding door device 190, the exterior part that covers the drive unit 94 that protrudes outside the toilet booth 141 can be effectively used as a notification unit.

Fourth embodiment
In the above-mentioned embodiment, the notification form was changed according to the elapsed time, but in this embodiment, the movement of the user is tracked, and the notification units 12, 20 that notify are switched according to the user's current location. Note that other configurations are the same as those in the above-mentioned first to third embodiments, so that the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

Figure 15 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control device 50 according to this embodiment. In addition to the configuration described above, the control device 50 of this modified example includes a position detection unit 505.

The position detection unit 505 detects the current position of the user who has left the toilet booth. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the toilet facility 10 according to this embodiment. The toilet facility 10 is equipped with multiple photoelectric sensors (position sensors) 510. FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a detection method using the position detection unit 505. The photoelectric sensor 510 has a light projecting unit 511 that irradiates a signal light such as a laser light in a linear manner and a light receiving unit 512 that receives the signal light. In this modified example, as shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. 18, the signal light is irradiated horizontally, and multiple photoelectric sensors 510 are arranged at predetermined intervals so that the signal light is in a mesh shape. The interval at which the photoelectric sensors are arranged may be set arbitrarily as long as the movement of the user can be detected, and is, for example, 10 mm to 1000 mm, preferably 20 mm to 500 mm, and more preferably 30 mm to 150 mm or 100 mm to 200 mm. Note that Figures 16 and 17 are schematic illustrations, and the spacing and positions of the photoelectric sensors 510 differ from the spacing they are actually placed at.

In the example of FIG. 17, the photoelectric sensor 510 is arranged so that the signal lights sx0 to sx4 and the signal lights sy0 to sy6 are orthogonal to each other in a mesh pattern, and the user UE shown by the solid line is blocking the signal lights sx1, sx2, sy2 to sy4. In this case, it is detected that the user is at the intersection of the signal lights sx1 and sx2 and the signal lights sy2 to sy4. Then, when the user UE moves to the position of the two-dot chain line, the signal lights sx2, sx3, sy1 to sy3 are blocked, and the signal lights sx1 and sy4 are no longer blocked. Therefore, based on the detection result of the photoelectric sensor 510, the position detection unit 505 can detect that the user UE has moved to the intersection of the signal lights sx2, sx3, sy1 to sy3, and by repeating this, it is possible to track the user. In this way, the movement of the user is detected based on the signal light blocked by the user UE. The sensor for detecting the position of the user UE is not limited to a sensor that detects the user UE when the signal light is blocked, but may receive the reflected light of the signal light reflected by an object at a receiving unit, and may detect the presence of the user UE when the signal light is reflected at a distance shorter than the reference distance based on the distance when the user UE is not present. The position sensor for detecting the user UE may be a matrix of sensors arranged on the ceiling of the toilet facility 10, detect whether the user UE is present directly below each sensor, and detect the position of the user UE according to the position of the sensor that detects the presence of the user. Furthermore, the position sensor for detecting the user UE is not limited to the photoelectric sensor 510, but may be a three-dimensional scanner that detects the position of the user by optically scanning the toilet facility 10 with a laser light and detects the movement of the user based on the change in the user's position with each optical scan.

A camera (position sensor) may also be installed within the toilet facility to capture an image of the path the user takes as they leave each toilet booth 14 and move toward the entrance/exit 104, and the position detection unit 505 may then perform image analysis of the captured image to detect the user's current position. In this case, the position detection unit 505 may, for example, compare the captured image with a background image captured when the user is not present, take the difference between these images to extract an image of the user, and periodically repeat this process to continuously record changes in the user's position, thereby tracking the user.

Figure 18 is a diagram showing the process of the toilet management method according to this embodiment. Note that the process from the start of the process to step S80 is the same as the process shown in Figure 11 described above.

If the determination in step S80 is positive, the control device 50 proceeds to step S85 and determines the user's current location based on the detection results of the position sensor.

In step S84, the control device 50 notifies the user from the notification unit 12, 20 according to the current location of the user. For example, the notification is made from the notification unit 12, 20 installed at the position closest to the user, and when the user moves, the notification is made by switching the notification unit 12, 20 so as to follow the user. That is, the position of the notification unit 12, 20 that notifies is changed. At this time, the notification unit 12, 20 that notifies is not limited to one, and may be multiple, such as the one closest to the user and the one installed in the direction of travel. In addition, if multiple notification units 12, 20 notify the user with the same sound to both ears of the user, the user feels that the notification is resonating in his head, so that the user's attention can be attracted and the user can be reliably notified of the forgotten item. Furthermore, the notification may be made to the user so that a sound image is formed at a specific position by giving a phase difference to the sound notifying the left and right ears of the user. For example, a sound image is formed in a position close to the user (for example, within the personal space) in the direction of the toilet booth 14 that detected the forgotten item. Specifically, if a user is walking with their back to the toilet booth 14 where they left something behind, a notification is issued to form a sound image directly behind the user. As a result, if the user senses a sound within their personal space and turns around in alarm, they will see that the notification unit 20 of the toilet booth 14 they used is flashing red, making it easier for them to realize that something is wrong, i.e., that they have left something behind.

In this way, according to this embodiment, the location of the notification can be changed depending on the user's location, and a moving user can be accurately notified that they have left something behind.

<others>
The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned illustrated examples, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1: Toilet equipment 2: Management server 4: Entrance/exit 6: Operation unit 9: Door 10: Toilet facility 12: Notification unit 14: Toilet booth 14B: Wall 14C: Ceiling 14F: Floor 14L: Left side wall 14M: Front wall 14R: Right side wall 20: Notification unit 21: Light emitting unit 22: Speaker 24L: Partition plate 24R: Partition plate 30: Entry/exit sensor 40: Object detection unit 41: Toilet bowl 42: Toilet seat device 42A: Sitting sensor 43: Display unit 44: Human presence sensor 49: Urinal 50: Control device 51: CPU
52: Main memory device 53: Auxiliary memory device 56: Communication bus

Claims (9)

an exit detection unit that detects when a user leaves the toilet booth;
a lost property detection unit that detects an object other than toilet booth fixtures in the toilet booth as a lost property when the exit of the user is detected;
a plurality of notification units provided outside the toilet booth, which notify the user of the fact that the item has been left behind when the item has been detected;
a notification control unit that notifies the user of the fact that the item has been left behind from a notification unit that is closest to the user among the plurality of notification units according to the location information of the user;
A toilet system comprising: The notification unit issues the notification by sound,
The toilet system according to claim 1 , wherein the notification control unit changes the form of the notification depending on the elapsed time since detecting that the user has left the toilet , so that the sound of the notification becomes louder as the elapsed time becomes longer. An identification unit is further provided for determining a type of the detected left behind item,
The toilet system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the notification control unit changes a form of the notification by the notification unit depending on a type of the left behind item. The notification unit is installed at a plurality of positions within the facility in which the toilet booth is provided,
The toilet system of claim 1, wherein the notification control unit causes the notification to be made from the notification unit installed at a position corresponding to the location where the user is present, in accordance with the user's location information, and changes the form of the notification in accordance with the user's movement. The toilet system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising, in addition to the notification unit closest to the user, a notification unit that issues a notification to both ears of the user with the same sound. The toilet system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the notification control unit imparts a phase difference to the sounds notified to the left and right ears of the user, and notifies the user to form a sound image at a specific position. Detecting that a user is leaving the toilet booth;
When detecting the exit of the user, detecting an object other than the toilet booth fixtures in the toilet booth as a left behind item;
When the left-behind property is detected, a plurality of notification units provided outside the toilet booth are controlled to notify the user that the left-behind property has occurred;
notifying the user of the fact that the item has been left behind from a notification unit that is closest to the user among a plurality of notification units according to location information of the user ;
The control unit executes the toilet management method. The toilet system according to claim 7 , wherein the notification unit closest to the user and the other notification unit notify the user with the same sound to both ears of the user. The toilet system according to claim 7, wherein a phase difference is imparted to the sounds notified to the left and right ears of the user, and the user is notified to form a sound image at a specific position.

Images