Hands Free, Controlled Autofill for a Dispenser
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsKevin M. CHASE, Brian P. JANKE, Farhad ASHRAFZADEH, Shreecharan KANCHANAVALLY, James KERNER
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dispensing system includes one or more digital image capture devices for capturing images in a dispenser well and a digital image analyzer operatively coupled to the digital image capture device(s) for analyzing the images for use in regulating a dispensing operation. The digital image analyzer evaluates digital images captured by the digital image capture device(s) to determine various characteristics of a container placed in the dispensing well, such as the height and position of the container.
Claims20
A method of performing a dispensing operation, the method comprising:
- capturing at least one image of a container with at least one digital image capture device;
- and
- regulating the dispensing operation based on the at least one image.
A dispenser assembly for selectively performing a dispensing operation, the dispenser assembly comprising:
- at least one digital image capture device configured to capture at least one image of a container, wherein the dispenser assembly is configured to regulate the dispensing operation based on the at least one image.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.