US 12,008,885 B2
Washroom use determination system
Frederick J. Williams, Jr., Cumming, GA (US); Reilly Howell, Atlanta, GA (US); and Babak R. Ghazi, Smyrna, GA (US)
Assigned to Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., Neenah, WI (US)
Appl. No. 17/256,495
Filed by Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., Neenah, WI (US)
PCT Filed Jun. 26, 2019, PCT No. PCT/US2019/039164
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 28, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/006034, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 2, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/691,866, filed on Jun. 29, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0280043 A1, Sep. 9, 2021
Int. Cl. G08B 21/24 (2006.01); G01J 5/00 (2022.01); H04N 5/33 (2023.01)
CPC G08B 21/245 (2013.01) [G01J 5/0025 (2013.01); G01J 5/0066 (2013.01); H04N 5/33 (2013.01); G01J 2005/0077 (2013.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
communicating, from a hygiene dispenser in a washroom to a washroom controller, use data describing dispense events from the hygiene dispenser, wherein a dispense event defines an actuation of the hygiene dispenser, by a number of occupants that entered in the washroom, to dispense consumable product;
detecting, by a thermal sensor, thermal events proximate an entrance of the washroom;
communicating, from the thermal sensor to the washroom controller, thermal data describing the thermal events;
analyzing the use data and thermal data to determine a number of dispense events and the number of occupants that entered in the washroom, wherein the use data indicates information about expected amount of remaining consumable product after the dispense events; and
comparing the number of dispense events to the number of occupants; and
in response to determining that the number of occupants differs from the number of dispense events, including the expected amount of remaining consumable product, by a predetermined measure, providing a communication specifying that the hygiene dispenser is malfunctioning, based on that the expected amount of remaining product is less than or equal to a current amount of the remaining consumable product; wherein the predetermined measure is a statistical measure quantifying a relationship between dispenser use and occupant visits and indicating the period of time the hygiene dispenser has been malfunctioned.