Milestone-Proposal:First Electronic Lavatory Basin "Washlet", 1980
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Docket #:2022-06
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To the proposer’s knowledge, is this achievement subject to litigation? No
Is the achievement you are proposing more than 25 years old? Yes
Is the achievement you are proposing within IEEE’s designated fields as defined by IEEE Bylaw I-104.11, namely: Engineering, Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Physical Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences, Mathematics, Technical Communications, Education, Management, and Law and Policy. Yes
Did the achievement provide a meaningful benefit for humanity? Yes
Was it of at least regional importance? Yes
Has an IEEE Organizational Unit agreed to pay for the milestone plaque(s)? Yes
Has an IEEE Organizational Unit agreed to arrange the dedication ceremony? Yes
Has the IEEE Section in which the milestone is located agreed to take responsibility for the plaque after it is dedicated? Yes
Has the owner of the site agreed to have it designated as an IEEE Milestone? Yes
Year or range of years in which the achievement occurred:
1980
Title of the proposed milestone:
First Electronic Lavatory Basin "Washlet", 1980
Plaque citation summarizing the achievement and its significance:
‘Washlet’ is a registered trademark of the Japanese housing equipment manufacturer TOTO Ltd., used for its business of marketing electronic lavatory basins with water spray feature. Released in June 1980, a total of more than 50 million washlets had been sold by 2019. Furthermore, the electronic lavatory basins including washlets were installed in 80.2% of Japanese households as of March 2020.
200-250 word abstract describing the significance of the technical achievement being proposed, the person(s) involved, historical context, humanitarian and social impact, as well as any possible controversies the advocate might need to review.
IEEE technical societies and technical councils within whose fields of interest the Milestone proposal resides.
In what IEEE section(s) does it reside?
Fukuoka Section
IEEE Organizational Unit(s) which have agreed to sponsor the Milestone:
IEEE Organizational Unit(s) paying for milestone plaque(s):
Unit: Fukuoka Section
Senior Officer Name: Masahito Shoyama
IEEE Organizational Unit(s) arranging the dedication ceremony:
Unit: Fukuoka Section
Senior Officer Name: Masahito Shoyama
IEEE section(s) monitoring the plaque(s):
IEEE Section: Fukuoka Section
IEEE Section Chair name: Masahito Shoyama
Milestone proposer(s):
Proposer name: Isao Shirakawa
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public
Please note: your email address and contact information will be masked on the website for privacy reasons. Only IEEE History Center Staff will be able to view the email address.
Street address(es) and GPS coordinates in decimal form of the intended milestone plaque site(s):
Address: TOTO Museum, 2-1-1 Nakashima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, 802-8601 Japan; GPS: N 33.87491, E 130.87273
Describe briefly the intended site(s) of the milestone plaque(s). The intended site(s) must have a direct connection with the achievement (e.g. where developed, invented, tested, demonstrated, installed, or operated, etc.). A museum where a device or example of the technology is displayed, or the university where the inventor studied, are not, in themselves, sufficient connection for a milestone plaque.
Please give the address(es) of the plaque site(s) (GPS coordinates if you have them). Also please give the details of the mounting, i.e. on the outside of the building, in the ground floor entrance hall, on a plinth on the grounds, etc. If visitors to the plaque site will need to go through security, or make an appointment, please give the contact information visitors will need. TOTO Museum of TOTO Ltd.
Are the original buildings extant?
The original building is extant.
Details of the plaque mounting:
The plaque will be displayed in the cabinet placed in TOTO Museum.
How is the site protected/secured, and in what ways is it accessible to the public?
The plaque site is protected by the head office of TOTO Ltd. and is accessible to the public by permission.
Who is the present owner of the site(s)?
Mr. Noriaki Kiyota, President of TOTO Ltd.
What is the historical significance of the work (its technological, scientific, or social importance)? If personal names are included in citation, include justification here. (see section 6 of Milestone Guidelines)
The historical significance of TOTO’s commercialization of ‘washlets’ is briefed in what follows.
1. Historical Background of Commercializing ‘Washlets’.
The business model of TOTO Ltd. in the 1960s was to import American ‘wash air seats’ for domestic sales, which were mainly supplied to hospitals for medical purposes. TOTO began domestic production in 1969, but ‘wash air seats’ were initially very expensive and sometimes caused scalding injuries because of poor regulation of water temperature. Thus, TOTO had to continue its own research and development, surveying 300 male and female employees to determine the appropriate spray positions, because there were no biometric statics available [1,2].
2. TOTO’s Commercialization of ‘Washlets’
Banking on the prospect that ‘wash air seats’ would be widely spread in Japan, TOTO began to sell its own improved products in 1980 by the brand name of ‘washlets’, for which there were two models of ‘G series (“Gorgeous”)’ and ‘S series (“Standard”)’. The former could store warm water and had a bidet and a dryer function as well as a basin warming facility, while the latter instantly turned cold water into warm water and was equipped with a bidet and a basin warmer function. These two series have remained the basic product models until now, along with a compact series introduced in 1993. The models initially included a regular size and an elongated size, depending on the configuration of the toilet to which washlets were attached, but were replaced by single-sized types in February 2012 with a few exceptions such as products for hotel usage [1,2].
Recognizing its pioneering role, in Jury 2012 the initial model of ‘G series’ was certified as item number 55 of Mechanical Engineering Heritage by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers [1,2]. Furthermore, the accumulated total of producing ‘washlets’ till 2019 exceeded such a great amount of 50 million products that the unit cost decreased enough to enable mass production. Thus, the Japanese household penetration rate of electronic lavatory basins including washlets exceeded 80 % as of March 2020 [1].
What obstacles (technical, political, geographic) needed to be overcome?
In the early commercialization phase, the ‘washlets’ encountered several obstacles, which were overcome as outlined below.
(1) There once occurred an unexpected case in which some washlets activated regardless of whether the user was seated or not. To avoid such a case, TOTO has embedded into each washlet a sensor that detects whether the user is seated or not, throughout the product lineup.
(2) There are numerous features with which washlets are furnished, such as blow dryer, seat warming, massage options, water jet adjustments, automatic lid opening, automatic flushing, wireless control panel, room heating, and air conditioning for the room, etc. These features can be accessed by a wireless control panel attached to the lavatory basin or mounted on a nearby wall.
(3) Most high-tech lavatory basins allow water temperature and water pressure to be adjusted to match the preferences of the user. On the former subject of water temperature, researchers in Japan have found that most users prefer a water temperature slightly above body temperature, with 38 C degree regarded as optimal, while on the latter subject of water pressure, the nozzle position can also be manually adjusted forward or afterward.
(4) As for antibacterial and antifouling purposes, the nozzle should be designed at such an angle that the water does not splash back on the inside of the lavatory basin, and the nozzle itself is washed with warm water when it is stowed away or before use. In addition, some models feature deodorizers and dryers for the user’s convenience.
What features set this work apart from similar achievements?
‘Washlets’ have distinctive features as outlined in what follows.
1. TOTO’s Start to Diffuse Lavatory Basins
The age of the high-tech lavatory basins in Japan started in 1980 with the introduction of the ‘Washlet G Series’ by TOTO Ltd., and since then the product name 'washlet' has been used to refer to all types of Japanese high-tech lavatory basins At present, a number of lavatory basins in Japan are more elaborate than those commonly found in other developed nations. European countries often have a lavatory basin and a bidet separate, while Japan combines an electronic bidet with a lavatory basin. The current state of the art for western-style lavatory basins in Japan is the lavatory basin with bidet feature [1-3].
2. Basic Features of Lavatory Basins
There are numerous features with which washlets are furnished, such as blow dryer, seat warming, water jet adjustments, automatic lid opening, automatic flushing, wireless control panel, and air conditioning for the room, etc. The most basic feature is the integrated bidet with a nozzle that comes out from underneath the lavatory basin and squirts water. As already stated, these features can be accessed by a wireless control panel attached to the lavatory basin or mounted on a nearby wall [3].
3. Adjustment of Water Temperature and Water Pressure
Most high-tech lavatory basins strongly require water temperature and water pressure to be adjusted to match the preferences of the user. As already stated, as for the water temperature, many researchers in Japan have found that most users prefer a water temperature slightly above body temperature, with 38 C degree considered optimal, while as for the water pressure, the nozzle position can also often be manually adjusted forward or afterward.
Supporting texts and citations to establish the dates, location, and importance of the achievement: Minimum of five (5), but as many as needed to support the milestone, such as patents, contemporary newspaper articles, journal articles, or chapters in scholarly books. 'Scholarly' is defined as peer-reviewed, with references, and published. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. At least one of the references must be from a scholarly book or journal article. All supporting materials must be in English, or accompanied by an English translation.
References
[1] ‘Washlet’; http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washlet (in Japanese). [2] ‘Washlet’; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washlet. [3] ‘Toilets in Japan’; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilets_in_Japan.
Appendix
Reference [1] was written in Japanese, for which English abstracts are provided in what follows: This article picked up contents of reference [2]. that is, this article briefly provided an overview of several topics of TOTO’s commercialization of washlets, as outlined below:
1) Overview, 2) Brief history of TOTO’s commercialization of washlets, 3) Functions of washlets, and 4) References.
Supporting materials (supported formats: GIF, JPEG, PNG, PDF, DOC): All supporting materials must be in English, or if not in English, accompanied by an English translation. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. For documents that are copyright-encumbered, or which you do not have rights to post, email the documents themselves to ieee-history@ieee.org. Please see the Milestone Program Guidelines for more information.
Please email a jpeg or PDF a letter in English, or with English translation, from the site owner(s) giving permission to place IEEE milestone plaque on the property, and a letter (or forwarded email) from the appropriate Section Chair supporting the Milestone application to ieee-history@ieee.org with the subject line "Attention: Milestone Administrator." Note that there are multiple texts of the letter depending on whether an IEEE organizational unit other than the section will be paying for the plaque(s).
Please recommend reviewers by emailing their names and email addresses to ieee-history@ieee.org. Please include the docket number and brief title of your proposal in the subject line of all emails.
