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The context here is toilets specifically designed for disabled people. Some disabilities make it very hard to operate latches or levers, and in that context pus

The context here is toilets specifically designed for disabled people. Some disabilities make it very hard to operate latches or levers, and in that context pushing a button is considered the more accessible control option.

Kwpolska 3y ago
How common are those disabilities, compared to people confused by the buttons? Is turning the lock really that different to pushing a button?
- lucb1e 3y ago
  > Is turning the lock really that different to pushing a button? I don't know what type of hypothetical disability the person above means, but I know the problem of round doorknobs and gloves so I suppose something like that? But a horizontal sliding lock as seen on many types of bathroom stalls already should be similar enough that anyone who can push a button in the right direction can also push these in the right direction However, does a mechanical lock glow and look fancy when you can sell your electronic high-tech locking system to the train manufacturer??
- PeterisP 3y ago
  They are rare, but if you build a specific toilet targeted for people with disabilities (next to ordinary, simpler, smaller toilets) then you generally try to make it as accessible as you reasonably can and target a wide variety of different disabilities. Such toilets tend to have many adaptations e.g. different controls for faucets on the sink, different handling of toilet paper, different dimensions and spacing, etc.; and yes, for some people a button instead of a knob that needs to be turned is all the difference in the world, as they simply can't turn a knob. For a trivial (but not nearly the only) scenario imagine a person with prosthetic hands, or extremely limited grip strength caused by e.g. some cases of cerebral palsy.
- yanellena 3y ago
  There are other benefits to this too. With an electronic lock you can display the state of the toilet to other passengers on digital signage screens onboard the train. You could do this with physical locks but it would likely be more costly.
  - lucb1e 3y ago
    Putting a simple contact sensor on the deep end of a mechanical lock (costs about as much as a button since it can be the same hardware, except it needs to neither be big nor have controllable lights around it) is more expensive than designing a whole bunch of electronic circuitry and state machines and figuring out the best text you can write to make (young and old) people understand the state machine?! The doors are also slow as heck, both because they slide a large distance at the speed of a snail in a hairpin turn and because half the people don't get the system. I'd be surprised if these electronic systems merely halve a toilet's hourly capacity compared to it being fully mechanical besides that 10-pence "occupied" sensor in the frame/wall side of the lock

Kwpolska 3y ago

How common are those disabilities, compared to people confused by the buttons? Is turning the lock really that different to pushing a button?

lucb1e 3y ago
> Is turning the lock really that different to pushing a button? I don't know what type of hypothetical disability the person above means, but I know the problem of round doorknobs and gloves so I suppose something like that? But a horizontal sliding lock as seen on many types of bathroom stalls already should be similar enough that anyone who can push a button in the right direction can also push these in the right direction However, does a mechanical lock glow and look fancy when you can sell your electronic high-tech locking system to the train manufacturer??
PeterisP 3y ago
They are rare, but if you build a specific toilet targeted for people with disabilities (next to ordinary, simpler, smaller toilets) then you generally try to make it as accessible as you reasonably can and target a wide variety of different disabilities. Such toilets tend to have many adaptations e.g. different controls for faucets on the sink, different handling of toilet paper, different dimensions and spacing, etc.; and yes, for some people a button instead of a knob that needs to be turned is all the difference in the world, as they simply can't turn a knob. For a trivial (but not nearly the only) scenario imagine a person with prosthetic hands, or extremely limited grip strength caused by e.g. some cases of cerebral palsy.
yanellena 3y ago
There are other benefits to this too. With an electronic lock you can display the state of the toilet to other passengers on digital signage screens onboard the train. You could do this with physical locks but it would likely be more costly.
- lucb1e 3y ago
  Putting a simple contact sensor on the deep end of a mechanical lock (costs about as much as a button since it can be the same hardware, except it needs to neither be big nor have controllable lights around it) is more expensive than designing a whole bunch of electronic circuitry and state machines and figuring out the best text you can write to make (young and old) people understand the state machine?! The doors are also slow as heck, both because they slide a large distance at the speed of a snail in a hairpin turn and because half the people don't get the system. I'd be surprised if these electronic systems merely halve a toilet's hourly capacity compared to it being fully mechanical besides that 10-pence "occupied" sensor in the frame/wall side of the lock