Patent ID: 11873633
Assignee: AS AMERICA, INC.
Field: Civil engineering (Other fields)
Classification: CPC E  G  Y | IPC E  G

Claim 18:
19. A system for mounting on a water-flush toilet comprising
an ultrasonic sensor configured to be located at an exterior surface of a toilet bowl, and having a transmitter and a receiver;
a secondary sensor;
a microcontroller electrically connected to the ultrasonic sensor and to the secondary sensor; and
a flush valve electrically connected to the microcontroller,
wherein
the system is configured to perform a monitoring cycle to determine a bowl status,
the microcontroller is configured to instruct the flush valve to open, to close, or to remain in a current state based on the bowl status, and
the monitoring cycle comprises transmitting an ultrasonic signal towards a bowl contents of the toilet bowl, receiving the ultrasonic signal, determining a Time of Flight (ToF) measurement of the ultrasonic signal, electrically conveying the ToF measurement to the microcontroller, and determining the bowl status corresponding to the ToF measurement,
the secondary sensor is configured to detect a presence of a user on or in proximity of the toilet bowl, and
the microcontroller determines the bowl status by comparing the ToF measurement to a normal bowl water level ToF measurement.