Connected bathroom components
AssigneeKohler Co.
InventorsLuncheak Tan, Chinghua Chen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A camera system that includes a camera having a main body having a front surface and a back surface; a lens disposed within the main body and configured to view objects in front of the front surface; a magnet coupled to the back surface, wherein the magnet is configured to removably couple the camera to a ferromagnetic material; a shutter adjustably coupled to the main body, so that the shutter is moveable relative to the lens between a closed position and an open position; and a controller disposed within the main body and configured to control operation of the camera.
Claims19
An intelligent mirror system comprising:
- a mirrored surface;
- a control system including a user interface that is configured to receive user input, wherein the user interface is coupled to the mirrored surface and includes a display;
- and
- a camera comprising a main body including a front surface and a back surface, a lens disposed in the main body, a magnet coupled to the back surface of the main body, and a shutter disposed outside of the main body and adjustably coupled to the front surface of the main body, so that the shutter is movable relative to the lens between a closed position and an open position, wherein the magnet is configured to removably couple the camera to a ferromagnetic material at varying locations along the mirrored surface, wherein the control system is communicably coupled to the camera and is configured to receive information from the camera,
- wherein the control system communicates with at least one automated bathroom device based on at least one of the user input received at the user interface of the intelligent mirror system or the information received from the camera of the intelligent mirror system,
- wherein the camera further includes the lens disposed within the main body and configured to view objects in front of the front surface, wherein the shutter obstructs the view of the lens in the closed position, and the lens is at least partially unobstructed by the shutter in the open position, and
- wherein the camera further comprises a rotation bar coupled to the shutter, the rotation bar extending beyond the shutter in a radial direction and in a forward direction and configured to receive a force directly applied by a user for rotating the shutter between the open position and the closed position.
A method comprising:
- receiving user input at a user interface of an intelligent mirror;
- receiving camera information from a camera comprising a main body including a front surface and a back surface, a lens disposed in the main body, a magnet coupled to the back surface, and a shutter disposed outside of the main body and adjustably coupled to the front surface, wherein the magnet is configured to removably couple the camera to a ferromagnetic material at varying locations along the intelligent mirror;
- and
- determining data for at least one automated bathroom device in response to the user input or camera information,
- wherein the camera further comprises a rotation bar coupled to the shutter, the rotation bar extending beyond the shutter in a forward direction and configured to receive a force directly applied by a user for rotating the shutter between an open position and a closed position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.