Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02770704 2012-03-06
Title
DISPENSERS WITH SOUND GENERATORS
Scope of the Invention
[0001] This invention relates to dispensers particularly hand cleaning
fluid dispensers
and particularly to apparatus and methods for compliance monitoring of the use
of such
dispensers.
Background of the Invention
[0002] The present inventors have appreciated that proper compliance
monitoring of
hand washing requires monitoring of all hand cleaning fluid dispensers within
any particular
facility or environment to be monitored. The present inventors have also
appreciated that for
practical compliance monitoring, the delivery of data regarding the usage of
individual
dispensers preferably is automatically communicated to a central computer
system.
Previously known dispensers which are useful for automatic compliance
monitoring require a
source of electric power to drive an electronic apparatus which can be used to
generate
signals and/or data regarding the operation of the dispenser and communicate
the same such
that the data may be received by a computer system.
[0003] The present inventors have appreciated the disadvantage that many
previously
known fluid dispensers in use do not have any electrical power source or
electronic
componentry which permits the dispensers to record or communicate usage data
about that
dispenser.
[0004] The present inventors have appreciated the disadvantage that most
known hand
washing compliance monitoring systems do not monitor all dispensers in a
facility.
Summary of the Invention
[0005] To at least partially overcome these disadvantages of previously
known devices,
the present invention provides a fluid dispenser with a sound generator which
generates a
sound when the fluid dispenser is activated by a user and, as well, the
present invention
provides in combination with such a fluid dispenser, a sound sensing mechanism
separate
from and spaced from the fluid dispenser which senses the sound generated by
the sound
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generator with the sound sensing mechanism including a communications system
for relay of
data representing sound sensed by the sound generator.
[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispenser
including a
sound generator which generates a sound when the fluid dispenser is activated.
[0007] Another object is to provide a combination of a fluid dispenser for
dispensing
fluid which generates a sound when fluid is dispensed from the dispenser and a
sound
sensing mechanism remote from the fluid dispenser to sense a sound generated
by the sound
generator.
[0008] Another object is to provide an apparatus and method for compliance
monitoring
of fluid dispensers by sensing sound generated from fluid dispensers when
fluid is dispensed.
[0009] According to one aspect, the present invention provides in
combination a fluid
dispenser for dispensing fluid and a sound sensing mechanism remote from the
fluid
dispenser,
the fluid dispenser dispensing fluid when activated,
the fluid dispenser including a sound generator which generates a sound when
the
fluid dispenser is activated,
the sound sensing mechanism separate from and spaced from the fluid dispenser,
the sound sensing mechanism including a sound sensor to sense the sound
generated by the sound generator,
the sound sensing mechanism including a communication system to transmit data
representative of the sound sensed by the sound generator.
[0010] According to another aspect, the present invention provides a method
of
compliance monitoring of hand washing within a facility comprising producing a
sound each
time a dispenser is activate,
remotely monitoring the sounds produced by one or more sound sensors
positioned to receive sounds,
ttransmitting data representative of the sounds sensed by the sound sensors to
a
central computer.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
[0011] Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent
from the following description taken together with the accompanying drawings
in which:
[0012] Figure 1 is a schematic view of a compliance monitoring apparatus in
accordance
with a first embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] Figure 2 is a schematic pictorial view of a combination of the one
exemplary
sound generating fluid dispenser, the one exemplary sound sensing mechanism
and the one
exemplary router shown in Figure 1;
[0014] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart showing one configuration of
components of a
compliance monitoring apparatus in accordance with the first embodiment of the
invention as
shown in Figure 1, however, including multiple sound generating fluid
dispensers, sound
sensing mechanisms and routers;
[0015] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart showing a compliance monitoring
apparatus in
accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] Figure 5 is plan view of a health care facility having an array of
dispensers in a
compliance monitoring apparatus in accordance with the second embodiment of
the present
invention;
[0017] Figure 6 is a collage showing pictorial views of seven different
exemplary sound
generating dispensers which may be used in accordance with the present
invention;
[0018] Figure 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a first piston pump
assembly for
use with the dispenser shown in Figure 1 including a whistle;
[0019] Figure 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a second piston pump
assembly
for use with one of the dispensers shown in Figure 3 including a whistle;
[0020] Figure 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a third piston pump
assembly for
one of the dispensers shown in Figure 3 including a whistle;
[0021] Figure 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a fourth piston
pump assembly
for use with the dispenser shown in Figure 1 including a sound producing
clicker mechanism,
and
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[0022] Figure 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view along section line A-
A' in Figure
10.
Detailed Description of the Drawings
[0023] Reference is made to Figure 1 which schematically illustrates a
simplified version
of a compliance monitoring apparatus 10 in accordance with the present
invention which
includes one sound producing fluid dispenser 12 herein often referred to as a
sounding
dispenser 12, one sound sensing mechanism 14, and one wireless router 16. The
wireless
router 16 is shown as being connected to the Internet 18 and via the Internet
18 to a
computing system 20.
[0024] As seen in the schematic flowchart in Figure 2, the sounding
dispenser 12
includes a fluid reservoir 22, a pump mechanism 24 to dispense fluid from the
reservoir 22,
an activator 28 to activate the pump mechanism 24 and a sound generator 26 to
generate
sound 30 when the sounding dispenser 12 is activated or fluid is dispensed by
the sounding
dispenser 12.
[0025] The sound sensing mechanism 14 includes a sound sensor 32, an
electrically
powered controller 34 to control the operation of the sound sensing mechanism,
an electrical
power source 36 and a communications mechanism 38. The sound sensor 32 senses
the
sound 30 and provides input to the controller 34 which assesses the input and
appropriately
develops data or output which is communicated by the communication mechanism
38 as
wireless signals 40 to the wireless router 16.
[0026] For ease of illustration in the assembly 10 of Figure 1 only one
sounding
dispenser 12, one sound sensing mechanism 14, and one wireless router 16 are
shown
however a plurality of each may preferably be provided. Figure 3 illustrates a
simplified
version of a compliance monitoring apparatus 10 in accordance with the first
embodiment of
the present invention which is the same as that of Figure 1 but which includes
four sounding
dispensers 12 indicated as 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d, three sound sensing
mechanisms 14
indicated as 14a, 14b and 14c, and two wireless routers 16 indicated as 16a
and 16b. The
number of each of the sounding dispensers 12, sound sensing mechanisms 14 and
wireless
routers 16 is not limited. Each of the sounding dispensers 12 is adapted to
generate a sound
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30 when the fluid dispenser 12 is activated to dispense fluid or fluid is
dispensed. The sound
30 generated by each sounding dispenser 12 is schematically illustrated as
moving from the
respective sounding dispenser 12 to one or more of the sound sensing
mechanisms 14. Each
sound sensing mechanism 14 has the capability to sense the sound 30 and to
communicate
data representative of the sound 30 sensed as signals 40 to one or more of the
wireless routers
16.
100271 Figure 3 shows the sound 30 from sounding dispenser 12b being
received by both
sound sensing mechanism 14a and sound sensing mechanism 14b. The apparatus 10
is
provided with a mechanism for determining when sound 30 representative of a
single
activation of one sounding dispenser 12 may be sensed by multiple sound
sensing
mechanisms 14. Preferably, the controller 34 in each sound sensing mechanism
14 will have
a real time clock which will permit the output 40 representative of each
duplicated sound
sensing to be identified at least by time such that the computing system 20
may recognize
duplicate sensing of sound 30 from a single activation of one sounding
dispenser 12 by
multiple of the sound sensing mechanisms 14.
[0028] In accordance with the present invention, the compliance monitoring
apparatus 10
preferably provides monitoring for each and every hand cleaning fluid
dispenser within an a
specified location or a facility, preferably with information about the
operation about every
fluid dispenser communicated to the computing system 20. The specified
location or a
facility may be, for example, a hospital or food preparation facility or any
designated area
within such a location or facility. Dispensers within the compliance
monitoring apparatus 10
can include not only sounding dispensers 12 as, for example, shown in Figures
1 to 3, but
also other non-sounding dispensers which do not produce sounds when fluid is
dispensed and
are connected to the computing system 20 by a different mechanism.
[0029] Reference is made to Figure 4 which shows a modification of the
apparatus of
Figure 3 to show a second embodiment of the apparatus 10 including one non-
sounding
dispenser 41. This non-sounding dispenser 41 shown in Figure 4 is provided
with a
capability to wirelessly transmit information about its operation via wireless
signals 43
directly to one of the wireless routers 16b. Such a non-sounding dispenser 41
is known and
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preferably includes electronic componentry similar to that in the sound
sensing mechanism
14, that is, analogous to the sound sensor 32, the non-sounding dispenser 41
has some form
of sensor to sense activation of the pump or dispensing of fluid, a
controller, a power source
and a communicating mechanism. The non-sounding dispenser 41, for example, may
be
automatically operated touch free with dispensing on the presence of a user's
hand being
sensed and by an electrically controlled pump as, for example, disclosed in
U.S. Patent
8,071,933 to Ophardt et al, issued December 6, 2011, the disclosure of which
is incorporated
herein by reference. The non-sounding dispenser 41 could also be, for example,
manually
operated with manual power to operate the pump but with electronic componentry
to transmit
data wirelessly such as is disclosed in the U.S. Patent Publication US
2010/0288788 to
Ophardt, published November 18, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated
herein by
reference. There is no limit as to the nature of the non-sounding dispenser 41
other than that
suitable data about its operation is communicated to the computing system 20.
One or more
non-sounding dispensers 41 can be incorporated into the compliance monitoring
apparatus 10
in accordance with the present invention, preferably with information about
the operation of
these non-sounding dispensers 41 communicated to the computing system 20 at
some time
and by some manner that information from all the monitored dispensers whether
sounding
dispensers 12 or non-sounding dispensers 41 can preferably be consolidated.
While Figure 4
shows an apparatus 10 with but one non-sounding dispenser 41, one or more of
such non-
sounding dispensers 41 may be included in the apparatus 10.
[0030] One or more of the sound sensing mechanisms 14 may carry out
functions other
than the sensing of the sound 30 and providing output signals 40. For example,
as seen in the
apparatus 10 of Figure 4, a hybrid sensor dispenser 45 is provided which is a
combination of,
and provides the capabilities of, both a sound sensing mechanism 14b and a non-
sounding
dispenser 41, such that the sound sensing mechanism 14b senses the sound 30
from sounding
dispensers 12a and 12b and the hybrid sensor dispenser 45 transmits as its
wireless signal 40
not only information about the operation of sounding dispensers 12a and 12b
but also
information about the operation of dispensing of fluid by a pump in the hybrid
sensor
dispenser 45.
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100311 Reference is made to Figure 5 which shows a plan view of a
compliance
monitoring apparatus 10 in accordance with the present invention installed in
a health care
facility 100. The facility 100 has a number of areas and rooms indicated as
101 to 108 with
passage there between permitted by doors 109. Figure 5 shows a plurality of
different
sounding dispensers 12, sound sensing mechanisms 14, and wireless routers 16
located at
different locations within the facility 100, as well as two non-sounding
dispensers 41 and two
hybrid sensor dispensers 45. These communicating dispensers whether sounding
dispensers
12, non-sounding dispensers 41 or hybrid sensor dispensers 45, are located at
various
different locations including those near the entry or exit of most doors 109,
and within the
rooms. These communicating dispensers may be carried by personnel, mounted to
the walls,
on freestanding supports or supported on desktops, countertops, and movable
carts, and the
like without limitation. Multiple of these communicating dispensers may be in
any room as,
for example, in a washroom with multiple toilets or sinks or wash stations,
not shown or in a
room for a plurality of patients with at least one dispenser per patient. By
example, each
room is shown to have at least one sounding dispenser 12. By example, each
room other than
room 103 has either a sound sensing mechanism 14 or a hybrid sensor dispenser
45 to sense
sound from the sounding dispensers 12 in the same room. The room 104, which
acts as a
hallway, has two sound sensing mechanisms 14, and two wireless routers 16. One
sound
sensing mechanism 14 is located in the hallway room 104 proximate to the
doorway 109 into
room 103 to sense sound from the sounding dispenser 12 in room 103. Another
sound
sensing mechanism 14 is in the hallway room 104 proximate to the doorway 109
at the upper
end of the hallway room 104 to sense sound from the sounding dispenser 12
outside of the
rooms near the doorway 109 at the upper end of the hallway room 104.
100321 The nature of the sound 30 produced by a particular dispenser 12,
the sensitivity
of any sound sensing mechanism 14 or hybrid sensor dispenser 45 to the sound
30, the
location of walls, doors, curtains and other physical elements in a facility,
the ability of the
sound 30 to pass through air, as well as, for example, through walls, doors,
curtains and other
physical elements in a facility will have a bearing on where the sounding
dispensers 12 and
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the sound sensing mechanism 14 or hybrid sensor dispenser 45 are placed in a
facility to
ensure that the sound 30 from every sounding dispensers 12 is sensed.
[0033] The particular nature of the sound generator 26 to be provided in
each sounding
dispenser 12 is not limited.
[0034] The sound generator 26 is to generate the sound 30 which is adapted
to be sensed
by one or more of the sound sensing mechanisms 14. The sound 30 is preferably
transmitted
through the air within the facility as within one or more air connected rooms
in a facility,
however, the sound 30 may also pass through curtains, walls, doors and other
barriers within
a facility as, for example, to be received by sound sensing mechanisms 14 in
other rooms and
other than by merely transmission through air in the facility.
[0035] The sound 30 may be of any frequency or magnitude. Preferably, the
sound 30
may be of frequencies which are not heard by the human ear. The human ear
typically may
hear sound with frequencies in the range of about 20 Hz to about 20k Hz.
Preferably, the
sound 30 is ultrasonic sound as with frequencies above 20k Hz, preferably,
above 50k Hz, an
approximate upper range for the hearing of dogs. A preferred range of
ultrasonic
frequencies is about 18k Hz to 100k Hz, more preferably about 18k Hz to 22k Hz
or 50k Hz
to 60k Hz. Infrasound frequencies may be utilized, being sounds with
frequencies below 20
Hz, as can human audible sounds in the range of about 20 Hz to 20k Hz.
[0036] The particular nature of dispensers which are useful as sounding
dispensers 12 is
not limited provided they dispense fluid and generate the sound 30. Figure 6
shows a collage
of known fluid dispensers which are modified to be sounding dispensers 12e to
12k in
accordance with the present invention.
[0037] The sounding dispensers schematically illustrated as dispensers 12e
and 12f in
Figure 3 are upstanding manually operated bottle dispensers that can be moved
and placed at
different positions within a facility and can be manually moved and placed
upon supports
proximate to sinks and wash stations, on countertops, on wall mounted stands
and supports,
on wheeled trolleys which are moved about a facility and the like without
limitation.
Sounding dispenser 12e illustrates a non-collapsible bottle 50 which carries
in an upwardly
opening neck 51 a piston pump mechanism 53 which dispenses fluid and includes
a suitable
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sound generator. The sounding dispenser 12f illustrates a similar bottle
dispenser, however,
provided with a rigid shroud 813 which supports a collapsible bottle 50
therein in a manner
as disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication US 2009/0114679, published May 7, 2009
to Ophardt
et al, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0038] The sounding dispenser 12g is a wall mounted manually operated
dispenser
similar to that disclosed in U.S. Patent 8,074,844 to Ophardt et al, issued
December 11,
2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference but
including a sound
generator. In sounding dispenser 12g, a bottle 50 is mounted within a housing
and adapted to
dispense fluid from the top of the bottle with a pump mechanism 53 operated by
a manual
lever activator 28.
[0039] The sounding dispensers 12h and 12i are each a wall mounted
dispenser with an
inverted fluid containing reservoir 50 from which fluid is dispensed
downwardly. Sounding
dispenser 12h is manually operated to dispense fluid by a user moving lever
actuator 28 as in
a manner similar to that disclosed in U.S. Patent 7,367,477 to Ophardt et al,
issued May 6,
2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference but
including a sound
generator. Sounding dispenser 12i is a touchless electrical dispenser similar
to the dispenser
disclosed in U.S. Patent 8,071,933 to Ophardt et al, issued December 6, 2011,
the disclosure
of which is incorporated herein by reference but including a sound generator.
Sounding
dispensers 12j and 12k is each a personal fluid dispenser which is adapted to
be carried on
the body of a user, for example, a doctor or a nurse within a hospital
facility and which can
be operated by the user for dispensing hand cleaning fluid. Sounding dispenser
12k is a
manually operated dispenser which has no electrical power source and is merely
operated
manually. Dispenser 12k is preferably similar to the dispenser taught by U.S.
Patent
7,984,831 to Kanfer et al, issued July 26, 2011, the disclosure of which is
incorporated
herein by reference, but modified to include a sound generator. Sounding
dispenser 12k is a
dispenser with a battery powered electric pump to dispense fluid similar to
that disclosed in
U.S. Patent Publication US 2010/047836 to Momen et al, published May 13, 2010,
the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, but modified to
include a sound
generator.
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[0040] Another sensing dispenser in accordance with the present invention
which can be
worn and carried by an individual is a dispenser as disclosed in U.S. Patent
5,927,548 to
Villaveces, issued July 27, 1999 modified to include a sound generator.
[0041] The sounding dispensers 12 preferably comprise manually operated
dispensers
without any electronic componentry such as sounding dispensers 12e, 12f, 12g,
12h and 12k
and without any need for electrical power for operation. However, sounding
dispensers
which have electrical power such as sounding dispensers 12i and 12j are also
useful.
[0042] The particular nature of the sound generators 26 to be provided in
the sounding
dispensers 12 is not limited. Preferred sound generators 26 include air driven
whistles,
mechanical clickers, and electrically powered speakers of sound chips.
[0043] Reference is made to Figure 7 which schematically illustrates in a
schematic
partial side view portions of the sounding dispenser 12 in Figure 1 and 12e in
Figure 3 in
accordance with the present invention. The sounding dispenser 12e has a bottle
50 with an
upwardly opening threaded neck 51 about an opening 52. A pump mechanism 53 is
provided
secured to the bottle 50 engaged about the neck 51 and providing a plunger 54
which, when
manually moved downwardly against the bias of a spring 56, discharges fluid
from the bottle
50 out of a discharge outlet 57. The sounding dispenser 12e is thus manually
operated and is
portable and mobile adapted to be supported by a bottom 58 of the bottle 50
being supported
on a support surface in a similar manner to that shown with sounding dispenser
12f in Figure
5. The pump mechanism 53 includes a liquid pump 59 for dispensing the liquid
and a sound
generator comprising a combination of an air pump 60 and an air whistle 61.
Manual
movement of the plunger 54 against the bias of the spring 56 compresses air
within the air
pump 60 and passes air outwardly through the air whistle 61 to generate the
sound. Thus,
simultaneously with dispensing fluid from the discharge outlet 57, sound is
produced by the
air whistle 61. The liquid pump 59 has a construction similar to that
disclosed in the
applicant's U.S. Patent 5,165,577 to Ophardt et al, issued May 20, 1991, the
disclosure of
which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0044] The pump mechanism 53 is formed by a piston chamber-forming body 62
and a
piston-forming element 63 coaxially slidable relative to the piston chamber-
forming body in
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a cycle of operation. The piston chamber-forming body 62 is stepped forming an
inner liquid
chamber 64 having an inner end 65 and an outer end 66 which opens into an
enlarged
diameter air chamber 67. The liquid chamber 64 and air chamber 67 are formed
concentrically within a stepped outer side wall 68. A radially outwardly
extending flange 69
extends outwardly from the side wall 68 then axially downwardly as a
cylindrical wall 70
which is threaded on its inside as for engagement with threads carried on the
neck 51 of the
bottle 50. An opening 71 through the annular flange 69 permits unrestricted
air flow between
the atmosphere and the inside of the bottle 50. The inner end 65 of the liquid
chamber 64 has
a dip tube 72 secured thereto which dip tube 72 extends downwardly to the
bottom of the
bottle 50 where the dip tube 72 opens into the bottle providing an inlet for
liquid. A one-way
valve 73 is provided across an inlet 74 to the liquid chamber 64 to permit
fluid flow
outwardly therepast but to prevent fluid flow inwardly.
[0045] The piston-forming element 63 includes a hollow stem 75 with a
central liquid
passageway 76 extending from a closed inner end 77 outwardly. Three discs are
provided on
the piston stem 75, an inner first disc 78, a second disc 79 and a third disc
80. The inner disc
78 extends radially outwardly to engage the inner wall 68 of the liquid
chamber 64 and is
resiliently deflectable so as to permit fluid flow outwardly therepast yet to
prevent fluid flow
inwardly therepast. The second disc 79 is located axially outwardly of the
inner disc 78 and
engages the side wall 68 of the fluid chamber 64 so as to prevent fluid flow
either inwardly
or outwardly therepast. In between the first disc 78 and the second disc 79
there are provided
radially extending inlets 81 through the stem 75 providing fluid flow from
between the first
disc 78 and the second disc 79 into the liquid passageway 76. The axially
outer end of the
fluid passageway 76 is closed by a presser cap 82, however, a fluid discharge
tube 83 extends
radially into the piston-forming element 63 in communication with the liquid
passageway 76.
With reciprocal movement of the piston-forming element 63 within the piston
chamber-
forming body 62, fluid from the bottle 50 is drawn up through the dip tube 72
past the one-
way valve 73 and is discharged past the inner disc 78 into the liquid
passageway 76 to be
discharged out the liquid discharge tube 83 and hence out the discharge outlet
57.
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10046] The piston-forming element 64 carries the third disc 80 which
extends radially
outward to engage the side wall 68 of the air chamber 67. Axially outwardly
from the third
disc 80, the stem 75 is provided with an outer tube 85 coaxially about the
stem 75. Between
the outer tube 85 and the stem 75, there is provided an annular air chamber 86
closed at an
outer end by the presser cap 82. Communication is provided between the air
chamber 67 and
the annular air chamber 86 via an air portal 87 axially through the third disc
80. An air
whistle 61 is provided extending radially from the piston-forming element 63
having an inlet
end 87 opening into the annular air chamber 86. The air whistle 61 is shown to
extend
radially outwardly relative to the piston-forming element 63. The air whistle
61 has
resonance tube 84 closed at an outer end 88 and with an axial passageway 89
therethrough
opening into the annual air chamber 86. An air splitting triangular notch 90
is positioned on
a side of the resonance tube 84 in communication with the passageway 89 so
that the
passageway 89 is open to the outside through the notch 90. The air pump 60
effectively
comprises a stepped pump in which with inward movement of the piston-forming
element
63, air is compressed within the air chamber 67 and discharged via the air
portal 87 to the
annular air chamber 86 and out to atmosphere through the air whistle 61
producing sound. In
a return stroke, air enters the air chamber 67 through the air whistle 61 and
the air portal 87.
100471 A lid 91 is shown as fixedly secured to the outer end of the piston
chamber-
forming body 62 at the inner end of the air chamber 67 to prevent the piston-
forming element
63 from being withdrawn from the piston chamber-forming body 62. The coil
spring 56 is
shown disposed axially about the stem 75 between the piston chamber-forming
body 62 and
the third disc 80 so as to bias the piston-forming element 63 outwardly
relative to the piston
chamber-forming body 62. In a cycle of operation, with the piston-forming
element 63
biased to an outward position as shown in Figure 7, a user applies axially
directed pressure to
the presser cap 82 and moves the piston-forming element 63 inwardly. In such
movement,
fluid from the bottle 50 is dispensed out the discharge outlet 57 onto a
user's hand which
may be disposed below the outlet 57. Simultaneously, air is discharged through
the whistle
61 producing sound. In a return stroke on the piston-forming element 63 being
moved from
a retracted position to an extended position under the bias of the spring 92,
liquid is drawn by
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the dip tube 72 up into the liquid chamber 64 while air is drawn into the air
chamber 67 from
atmosphere. A vacuum is not developed within the bottle 50 since air is free
to flow via the
opening 70 to prevent a vacuum from being produced in the bottle 50.
100481 The pump mechanism 53 illustrated in Figure 7 is thus adapted for
use with
bottles which are not to collapse during use. However, such a pump mechanism
53 without
the opening 71 may be used with or without the dip tube 72 with collapsible
bottles with a
vacuum created within the bottle to collapse the bottle with dispensing of
fluid. For example,
in a sounding dispenser 12f shown in Figure 5, a collapsible bottle 50 may be
supported
standing in a shroud 813.
[0049] Reference is made to Figure 8 which schematically illustrates a pump
mechanism
53 incorporating a liquid pump 59 and a whistle 61 adapted to be engaged to
the neck 51 of
an inverted bottle 50 for dispensing fluid downwardly as, for example, for use
in a sounding
dispenser 12h or 12i in Figure 6. The pump mechanism 53 in Figure 8 has a
construction
analogous in many respects to the construction of the pump in Figure 7 and
similar reference
numerals refer to similar elements. The pump mechanism 53 includes an inlet 74
for
communication of fluid from inside the bottle 50 to a liquid chamber 64 with a
one-way
valve 73 permitting flow outwardly but preventing flow inwardly. The piston
chamber-
forming body 62 forms the liquid chamber 64 and an air chamber 67. The piston-
forming
element 63 has three discs being an inner first disc 78, a second disc 79 and
a third disc 80
with an operation as in the embodiment of Figure 7 such that moving the piston-
forming
element 63 inwardly discharges fluid past the inner disc 78 via inlet 81 to a
liquid
passageway 76 and hence out the discharge outlet 57. In Figure 8, a whistle 61
is shown as
secured to the third disc 80 in an opening 99 in the third disc 80 via which
air compressed in
the air chamber 67 may be passed outwardly through the whistle 61 to produce
sound. The
piston-forming element 63 is shown as carrying an engagement flange 100 as is
known for
coupling of the piston-forming element 63 as to an actuator, not shown.
100501 Each of the pump mechanisms illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 are
adapted for, on
one hand, dispensing liquid from a discharge outlet 57 and, on the other hand,
dispensing air
through an air whistle 61 to produce sound. Reference is made to Figure 9
which shows a
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pump mechanism 53 adapted to discharge foam from a discharge outlet 57 and air
through
the air whistle 61. The pump mechanism 53 shown in Figure 9 is similar to a
pump
illustrated in U.S. Patent 7,708,166 to Ophardt, issued May 4, 2010, the
disclosure of which
is incorporated herein by reference. The pump mechanism 53 in Figure 9
dispenses liquid
mixed with air from the discharge outlet 57 as taught by U.S. Patent 7,708,166
and has in
addition an additional air chamber 67 and a third disc 80 provided for
discharging air through
an air whistle 61. In Figure 9, three chambers are provided shown as a first
chamber 64, a
second chamber 98 and a third air chamber 67. The piston-forming element 63
carries three
discs, a first inner disc 78, a second disc 79 and a third disc 80. In a known
manner as
illustrated in Figure 18 of U.S. Patent 7,708,166, liquid from the bottle 50
and air from the
atmosphere is mixed in the second chamber 98 and discharged via the inlet 81
to the stem
passageway 76 passing through a foam generator 97 disposed within the stem
passageway
76. The first disc 78 and second disc 79 effectively form a stepped pump for
discharge of
liquid mixed with air as foam. The third disc 80 is disposed in the air
chamber 67 forming a
stepped air pump which discharges air out the whistle 61 in the same manner
illustrated in
Figure 8.
[0051] Various pumps are known which are adapted to dispense foam and
provide a
liquid pump for dispensing liquid and an air pump for dispensing air with the
liquid and air to
be mixed and generate foam. In accordance with the present invention, such
foaming pumps
may be modified so as to provide pumps which produce sound by directing some
or all of the
air from the air pump through a sound producing generator. For example, the
sounding
dispenser 12h illustrated in Figure 5 may comprise a hand-held dispenser for
personal use as
disclosed in U.S. Patent 7,984,831 which includes both a liquid pump and an
air pump and
in which some or all of the air from the air pump can be directed through a
sound producing
mechanism such as a whistle.
[0052] As to the particular nature of the whistle 61, many different types
of whistles may
be used as known in the art. For example, ultrasonic whistles may be provided
as taught in
U.S. Patent 6,698,377 to Topman et al, issued March 2, 2004. Another example
of an air
whistle construction which could be modified for use in accordance with the
present
14
CA 02770704 2012-03-06
invention is disclosed in U.S. Patent 5,816,186 to Shepherd, issued October 6,
1998. The
whistles 61 in the preferred embodiments have been shown as separate whistle
inserts
secured to components of the pump as, for example, to extend axially or
radially. The nature
of the air whistle is not limited and while whistles with resonating chambers
have been
shown, various other devices can be utilized which produce sound by the
passage of air such
as vibrating reeds. While the preferred embodiments show sound creation by
passing air
through a whistle with the air being air pressurized in an air pump that the
passing air can
also be provided by creating a vacuum in a pump and by drawing air in through
a sound
producing device such as a whistle.
[0053] Reference is made to Figures 10 and 11 which illustrate a pump
mechanism
which is similar to the pump illustrated in Figure 7 in having an essentially
identical liquid
pump 59 but in which the air chamber 60 and whistle 61 of Figure 7 are
eliminated and a
sound generator is provided in the form of a clicker mechanism analogous to
the clicker
mechanism disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,538,637 to Smith, issued November 10,
1970, the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. As seen in Figure 10,
the presser cap
82 is adapted to be manually moved downwardly to dispense fluid from the
bottle 50 out the
discharge outlet 57. For ease of illustration, a spring to bias the piston-
forming element 63
outwardly is not shown. Mounted to one side of the lid 91 as best seen in top
view in Figure
is a sound generator in the form of a clicker mechanism 102 which extends
radially and
includes a base 104, a flexible reed 106, a sound arm 108 and a stop member
109. The
flexible reed 106 is fixedly secured at one end 110 to the base 104 and
extends to a freely
suspended distal end 111 which is in the shape of a cylinder. The presser cap
82 carries at its
lower end a similar contact cam 112 also in the shape of a cylinder parallel
to the cylinder on
the distal end 111 of the reed 106. The stop member 109 is fixed to the base
104 and has a
distal end in the shape of a cylinder parallel the cylinder of distal end 111.
On movement of
the presser cap 82 downwardly, the contact cam 112 engages the distal end 111
of the reed
106 deflecting the reed 106 to move it downwardly with the reed 106 to become
deflected
and engaged about the stop member 109 and to be biased to a lower position
illustrated in
dashed lines in Figure 9 in which the contact cam 112 of the presser cap 82
may move
CA 02770704 2012-03-06
downwardly past the reed 106 at which time the reed 106 due to its inherent
resiliency will
snap upwardly into engagement with the sound arm 108 snapping against the
sound arm 108
to make a clicking noise. The clicker 102 may be configured such that on
return of the
contact cam 112 of the presser cap 82 upwardly past the reed 106, a second
clicking noise is
created although this is not necessary.
[0054] While the embodiment of Figures 9 and 10 illustrates one mechanism
of
producing a clicking sound with a mechanical clicker arrangement on movement
of a piston
pump axially in a cycle of operation, various other mechanical clicker devices
may be used.
For example, clicker devices of the type illustrated in U.S. Patent 724,545 to
Conklin, issued
April 7, 1903 or the type illustrated in U.S. Patent 8,033,201 to Cutler,
issued October 11,
2011 may be adapted or incorporated in various different configurations. For
example, as the
sounding dispenser 12k illustrated on Figure 5, a hand-held dispenser as
disclosed in U.S.
Patent 7,984,831 could be incorporated so as to adopt a clicker mechanism as a
sound
generator providing a sound on manual movement of a pump actuator and maintain
that
dispenser as useful, for example, for dispensing fluid and air mixed as foam.
[0055] As another form of a sound generator for use in the present
invention, the sound
generator may comprise an electrically driven electronic sound producing
element or a
speaker. For example, in sounding dispensers illustrated as 12i and 12j in
Figure 6 which
have a source of electrical power, the electrical power may be used to
generate sound when
the dispenser is activated or fluid dispensed. The sound generator 26 thus
could be a simple
electrically powered speaker or digital sound chip such as a piezoelectric
transducer. Thus,
for example, in electrically powered dispensers, such a sounding dispenser as
12i or 12j
shown in Figure 6, on activating the dispenser to dispense fluid, the
electrically powered
sound generator may be activated to produce sound.
[0056] The sound generator 26 and the sound sensor 32 as shown, for
example, in Figure
2, are adapted to be compatible such that the sound sensor 32 will sense sound
generated by
the sound generator 26. Preferably, the sound produced by the sound generator
26 is at
selected frequencies so as to be readily discernible and distinguishable from
sound generated
within the working environment. The sound generator may be selected to have a
particular
16
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profile which can assist the sound sensor 32 in recognizing the sound as
emanating from a
sounding dispenser 12. For example, the sound 30 which is produced may have a
variance in
amplitude or frequency which can be characteristic of a signature for
particular sounding
dispensers. For example, an air whistle 61 may have a particular sound
characteristic over
time which can be recognized by the sound sensor 32 to distinguish the sound
30 from the
whistle 61 from ambient sounds. Additionally, the whistle 61 may be adapted to
produce
sound in both an inward stroke and an outward stroke of movement of a piston
which can be
recognized by the sound sensor 32 and assist in distinguishing over sounds in
the
environment. Similarly, the sound 30 from a clicker mechanism such as shown in
Figures 9
and 10 may click both on an instroke and an outstroke to assist in
distinguishing a sound
made from the clicker from sound in the environment. Similarly, insofar as
sound is
produced electronically in a sounding dispenser, the sound produced
electronically may have
a particular profile of frequency, or amplitude over time or emit a number of
sounds.
[0057] In developing suitable air whistles along the lines of those
disclosed in Figures 7
to 9, the timing and manner in which the air can be delivered to an air
whistle can be selected
so as to provide for advantageous operation of the air whistle. For example,
insofar as
pressurized air is desired to be delivered from an air chamber 67 to the
whistle 61, a time
delay valving arrangement may be provided between the air chamber 67 and the
whistle 61
so as to not open until air within the air chamber 67 has reached a certain
pressure and then
on reaching that pressure, the air is then permitted to discharge through the
air whistle
resulting in a higher velocity discharge of air through the air whistle. The
pressurizing of air
and the ease of passage of air from atmosphere to flow back through the
whistle into the air
chamber can be accommodated by various valving mechanisms and, amongst other
things,
avoid a significant increase in the pressures required to move the piston-
forming element 63.
[0058] Each of the illustrated pump mechanisms in Figures 7 to 10 show
piston pump
mechanisms, however, any manner of pump mechanisms may be used to dispense
fluid and,
if desired, to pass air through a whistle.
[0059] In the preferred embodiments illustrated, as seen in Figure 1, the
sound sensing
mechanism 14 is shown to communicate wirelessly with a wireless router 16 and
the wireless
17
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router 16 is shown to communicate with the Internet 18 via which there is
communication
with the computing system 20. However, such communication from the sound
sensing
mechanism 14 need not be wireless. For example, while not believed to be
preferred, the
sound sensing mechanism 14 could be hardwired to a router or to the Internet
or to the
computing system 20. Similarly, wireless routers 16 are preferably wireless
routers for
communication as through a local area network or wide area network with the
Internet 18,
however, non-wireless routers could be substituted which such routers being
hardwired as to
the Internet 18 or to the computing system 20. Preferably, the sound sensing
mechanism 14
for convenience and easy location of a plurality of sound sensing mechanisms
14 within a
facility, communicates wirelessly to a router 16 or to the Internet 18 or to
the computing
system 20, however, while it is preferred that wireless routers 16 are used,
the manner of
receiving signals from the sound sensing mechanisms 14 and providing them to
the
computing system 20 is not limited to being through routers or the Internet or
to being wired
and may be hardwired. For example, in Figure 1, arrow 113 indicates that a
sound
mechanism 14 could communicate directly with the Internet or the computing
system 20. The
communication between the sound sensing mechanism 14 may be one way for
transmission
of data to the computing system 20 or could be two way as, for example, to run
diagnostic
checks on the sound sensing mechanism or to request and retrieve information
from the
sound sensing mechanism 14 or to confirm safe data receipt. The controller 34
of the sound
sensing mechanism 14 may include data storage capabilities to store data for
some time and
deliver the data in packets to the computing system.
100601 The computing system 20 has been schematically illustrated in Figure
1 as but a
single user at a single computer. However, the computing system 20 may, as is
well known
in the art, comprise various structures such as preferably a system with data
producing
modules which may comprise a web tier of servers that communicate with a data
tier of
servers. A web tier of servers could deliver information through web pages,
receive user
information to be processed, provide web service for multiplexer use and for
reporting to
facility managers, to generate alerts and notification. A data tier server can
provide central
data storage. The computing system may include a facility manager such as an
individual
18
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person at a computer. The facility manager preferably is able to communicate
with the data
producing web tier and the data tier as by the Internet. The facility manager
preferably has
the capability of reviewing reports and managing all master data. Preferably,
the computer
has the capability of communicating with a facility database which may include
various
information from a facility such as, for example, in the case of a hospital,
data regarding
operations, occupancy, disease and infection incidence, and the like. Thus, in
accordance
with the present invention, data gathered regarding the usage of fluid
dispensers at a facility
or different areas within a facility can be correlated, as for example, to
occupancy of the
facility or different parts of a facility to measure the relative use of hand
cleaning sounding
dispensers within the facility.
[0061] The invention provides not only an apparatus for monitoring of
dispensers but
also a method of monitoring dispensers comprising a method of compliance
monitoring of
hand washing within a facility comprising producing a sound each time a
dispenser is
activate, remotely monitoring the sounds produced by one or more sound sensors
positioned
to receive sounds and transmitting data representative of the sounds sensed by
the sound
sensors to a central computer.
[0062] While the invention has been described with reference particularly
to monitoring
dispensers for hand cleaning fluids, the invention is not so limited and can
be used to monitor
usage of dispensers of almost any type of product.
[0063] While the invention has been described with reference to preferred
embodiments,
many modifications and variations will now occur to persons skilled in the
art. For a
definition of the invention, reference is made to the following claims.
19
