Hand washing unit
AssigneeH.M.S.I. Limited
InventorFrank Foster
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A handwash station comprises a wall mounted cabinet which contains soap and water dispensing means, a proximity sensor and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry controls the dispensing of soap and water in response to signals from the proximity sensor. A count of valid handwashes is incremented only if a user's hand is detected by the proximity sensor at certain key points. The key points comprise at least the start of a last soap dispensing step and the start of a last rinsing water dispensing step. Differential valid handwash count values are stored periodically by the processing circuitry and can be downloaded to a central station for analysis.
Claims29
A hand washing and rinsing unit for a wash basin comprising:
- a water dispenser;
- a liquid soap dispenser;
- a proximity sensor for detecting a user's hand or hands in a position to receive soap and/or water from the water and soap dispensers and outputting a hands present signal indicative thereof;
- and
- a controller configured so as to cause the unit to operate in a waiting mode and in an active mode,
- wherein, when the unit is in said waiting mode, the controller is continuously in a state in which it is responsive to the occurrence of a hands present signal to cause:
- (a) the water dispenser to dispense a quantity of water onto a user's hand or hands for wetting thereof, and
- (b) enter the unit into said active mode, and,
- when the unit is in said active mode, the controller:
- (a) establishes a last soap test window after said dispensing of a quantity of water, and
- (b) is responsive to the occurrence of a hands present signal in said last soap test window, to cause the soap dispenser to dispense soap onto the user's hand or hands and record a valid handwash event.
A handwashing system including:
- a hand washing and rinsing unit for a wash basin comprising:
- a water dispenser;
- a liquid soap dispenser;
- a proximity sensor for detecting a user's hand or hands in a position to receive soap and/or water from the water and soap dispensers and outputting a hands present signal indicative thereof;
- electronic input means for enabling a user to enter a user ID code;
- and
- a controller configured so as to cause the unit to operate in a waiting mode and in an active mode,
- wherein, when the unit is in said waiting mode, the controller is continuously in a state in which it is responsive to the occurrence of a hands present signal to cause;
- (a) the water dispenser to dispense a quantity of water onto a user's hand or hands for wetting thereof, and
- (b) enter the unit into said active mode, and, when the unit is in said active mode, the controller:
- (a) establishes a last soap test window after said dispensing of a quantity of water and
- (b) is responsive to the occurrence of a hands present signal in said last soap test window, to cause the soap dispenser to dispense soap onto the user's hand or hands and record a valid handwash event,
- a remote computer, and
- a communications link between the unit and the remote computer,
- wherein input user ID codes are communicated to the remote computer form the unit via the communications link together with information regarding whether the user completed a valid hand wash event.
A hand washing and rinsing system including:
- a hand washing and rinsing unit for a wash basin comprising:
- a water dispenser;
- a liquid soap dispenser;
- a memory;
- and
- a controller configured to control the dispensing of water and soap by said dispensers,
- wherein the controller is configured to:
- record valid hand wash events,
- establish a plurality of sequential monitoring periods of equal length, and
- store the number of handwash events recorded in each said monitoring period in said memory.
A handwash station comprising:
- a controllable soap dispenser;
- a controllable water dispenser;
- a counter for counting handwashes;
- a sensor for detecting a hand in using relation to the station;
- and
- a controller responsive to said sensor and operable to control the soap and water dispensers according to a predetermined cycle, said cycle including at least a soap dispensing step and a rinsing water dispensing step, and to establish a test window at the start of each soap and water dispensing step of said cycle,
- wherein the controller is configured such that the counter is incremented by the controller only if the sensor outputs a signal indicating the presence of a hand during each of said test windows.
A hand washing and rinsing unit for mounting to a wall comprising:
- a housing having a back wall;
- a water dispenser in the housing;
- a liquid soap dispenser in the housing;
- and
- at least one mounting arm projecting rearwards from said back wall.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.