Dispensing – Processes of dispensing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-13
2001-03-27
Shaver, Kevin (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
Processes of dispensing
C222S052000, C222S135000, C222S638000, C222S144500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06206238
ABSTRACT:
SCOPE OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to dispensers for dispensing metered amounts of materials onto a user's hands and, more particularly, to automated dispensers of hand cleaners which permit controlled monitoring of use.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Automatic soap dispensers are known. These dispensers automatically dispense soap when activated as by operation of an electric motor. Known automatic soap dispensers can be activated by a person pushing a button with a user's hand. Other systems sense a user's hand as by with a photosensor and can dispense without the user touching the dispensers as, for example, illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,384 to Pilolla et al issued Jul. 3, 1990, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,482 to Ophardt et al, issued Nov. 17, 1998.
Washing a person's hands is becoming very important in the food and health industries. In some food industries, there is a legal requirement that workers wash their hands every 20 minutes. There is also a legal requirement that the persons wash their hands after every break or upon entering a clean room as in an operating room in a hospital. These legal requirements give rise to the disadvantage that employers should monitor that people are properly washing their hands to comply with health regulations and proper safety procedures, and to be able to provide evidence of compliance with such regulations and procedures. Presently known systems suffer the disadvantage that it is difficult to monitor hand washing and there is no reliable tracking procedure as to who does or does not wash.
Systems are known where a person punches his ID code into a key pad to operate the soap dispenser. Other systems are known where magnetic cards monitor the entry of persons into clean rooms and alert the user by a warning if that person does not then use the soap dispenser. However, the present applicant has appreciated that these systems suffer the disadvantage that persons can fool these systems by activating the soap dispenser yet merely permitting the dispenser to dispense soap without the soap having to come onto the person's hands and without the person washing their hands.
Fingerprint identification systems are known. For example, as a security system for computers, a fingerprint reader is known to be provided on a computer and the computer can, for example, only be accessed when an authorized fingerprint is read.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To at least partially overcome these disadvantages of previously known devices, the present invention provides a dispenser to dispense material onto a person's hand which is activated to dispense material when a person's finger is located such that the material dispensed engages the user's hand. Preferably, the material is dispensed only after a fingerprint has been read. Preferably, a sensor mechanism checks to ensure a user's hand is maintained in position to be engaged by the material dispensed while the material is dispensed. Preferably, information is recorded regarding the fingerprint read and/or whether a hand is maintained in position while the material is dispensed will be recorded.
An object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser to dispense material which monitors the person to whom material is dispensed as well as whether the material is dispensed in a desired manner.
Another object is to provide a material dispenser activated by reading a user's fingerprint.
Another object is to provide a method of monitoring and/or controlling dispensing of materials to persons.
Another object is to provide a hand soap dispenser which provides signals to users directing their use.
Another object is to provide a soap dispenser with a fingerprint reader which minimizes the likelihood of passing contamination between successive users' fingers being read.
Another object is to provide a dispenser with a fingerprint reader which cleans the reader after each fingerprint is read.
Another object is to provide a dispensing device which can customize different materials to be dispensed and/or their relative proportions.
Accordingly, in one aspect the present invention provides a dispenser to dispense material onto a person's hand, comprising:
a dispensing device to dispense material from an outlet when the dispensing device is activated,
a fingerprint reader adapted to read a fingerprint of a user's finger when located proximate thereon,
a control system to activate the dispensing device to dispense material from the outlet when a user's finger is proximate the reader,
the outlet and the reader positioned relative each other such that when a user's finger is located proximate the reader material dispensed from the outlet engages a user's hand.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a dispenser to dispense material onto a person's hand, comprising:
a dispensing device to dispense material from an outlet when the dispensing device is activated,
a fingerprint reader having a finger bed, the reader adapted to read a fingerprint of a user when located on the bed,
a sensing mechanism to sense the location of a finger on the bed,
a control system to activate the dispensing device to dispense material after the sensing mechanism has sensed the location of the finger on the bed,
wherein the sensing mechanism senses whether the finger is on the bed while the dispensing device dispenses the material,
a recording system to maintain a record of a fingerprint read and whether its respective finger was on the bed while the dispensing device dispensed material.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of dispensing material onto a person's hand, comprising:
placing a user's hand such that a fingertip of a finger to be read is on or proximate a fingerprint reader,
reading a fingerprint of the user's finger placed on or proximate the fingerprint reader,
after reading the fingerprint maintaining the user's hand within a control space proximate the reader for a period of time,
during said period of time, dispensing material into the control space in a manner that the material engages the user's hand within the control space.
The present invention is applicable to all manners of dispensers. Preferred dispensers are those for which some material is dispensed onto a user's hand carrying the finger whose print is read. Materials useful to be dispensed include cleaning materials, hand washes, disinfectants and the like as particularly useful in washing, cleaning and/or preparing a user's hands. In such dispensers, the dispensing outlet is preferably located such that with a person's hand proximate the fingerprint reader, the material necessarily engages the hand. However, the dispenser can be useful to dispense other materials. For example, after a person's fingerprint is read, the device could mark the back of the user's hand with selected entry stamps visible under normal or ultraviolet light as an indicator that the person has or has not been cleared for entry/security. A person whose fingerprint has been read could be automatically given an injection of, for example, a daily insulin shot, a flu shot or vaccine or other medication. The shot could be injected into, for example, the forearm or other portion of the body necessarily placed in a desired position and, preferably, sensed by the dispenser to be appropriately located.
The present invention in a broader sense could be utilized such that while the person's fingerprint is read which necessitates a person's finger on or proximate to the reader, other portions of the user's body are necessarily in certain juxtaposition to operative devices to interact with the user's body, and without another's body to be substituted. For example, while positioned to have a fingerprint read, the user could be forced to stand on a platform which measures the user's weight. The user's weight could be a cross-check of the user's identity. As a further example, on reading a user's f
Cartagena Melvin A.
Riches, McKenzie & Herbert
Shaver Kevin
LandOfFree
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