US 11,886,213 B2
Connected sanitaryware systems and methods
Behnam Heydari, Ridgewood, NJ (US); Eric B. Soberano, Barnegat, NJ (US); Robert M. Jensen, East Brunswick, NJ (US); Verne Myers, Fort Wayne, IN (US); Christopher Helmstetter, Langhorne, PA (US); Mahendra Gunawardena, Hillsborough, NJ (US); Claudia Marcela Jovel, Jamesburg, NJ (US); Ki Bok Song, Plainview, NY (US); Soonjae Kwon, Astoria, NY (US); and Stanmir Stoynov, Westfield, NJ (US)
Assigned to AS America, Inc., Piscataway, NJ (US)
Appl. No. 17/263,388
Filed by AS America, Inc., Piscataway, NJ (US)
PCT Filed Aug. 2, 2019, PCT No. PCT/US2019/044894
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jan. 26, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/028798, PCT Pub. Date Feb. 6, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/714,299, filed on Aug. 3, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0157340 A1, May 27, 2021
Int. Cl. G05D 7/06 (2006.01); G05B 15/02 (2006.01); E03D 3/12 (2006.01); E03D 11/00 (2006.01); E03D 5/10 (2006.01)
CPC G05D 7/0617 (2013.01) [E03D 3/12 (2013.01); E03D 5/10 (2013.01); E03D 5/105 (2013.01); E03D 11/00 (2013.01); G05B 15/02 (2013.01); E03D 2201/00 (2013.01)] 24 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A connected sanitaryware system, comprising
a plurality of sanitaryware fixtures;
one or more sensors coupled to each of the fixtures; and
a control system comprising one or more controllers in electrical communication with a computing device and with the one or more sensors,
wherein
the one or more controllers are configured to communicate with the computing device directly and/or via a gateway,
the control system is configured to collect data from the one or more sensors,
the control system is configured to determine a status of the sanitaryware fixtures based on the data,
the plurality of sanitaryware fixtures comprises a plurality of toilets,
the plurality of toilets comprise an ultrasonic sensor located on an exterior of a bowl of each toilet, the ultrasonic sensor configured to detect bowl contents,
the plurality of toilets comprise an infrared sensor located on a flush valve assembly of each toilet, the infrared sensor configured to detect a usage time of each toilet,
the control system is configured to collect bowl contents data from the ultrasonic sensor, and to collect usage time data from the infrared sensor, and
the control system is configured to instruct a high volume flush or a low volume flush based on both the bowl contents data and the usage time data.