Automated dispenser with sensor arrangement
AssigneeSCA Hygiene Products AB
InventorsKin Lun Mok, King Lun Mok, Hong Ng
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AssigneeSCA Hygiene Products AB
InventorsKin Lun Mok, King Lun Mok, Hong Ng
Estimating the term…
An automatic electrically powered dispenser for dispensing a product stored in the dispenser includes an active IR sensor system for detecting a user. The IR sensor system includes at least one IR emitter and at least one IR receiver. The IR sensing system is arranged to scan for the presence of a possible user at a certain scanning rate. A sensor control system supplies the active IR emitter(s) with a first current which is constant during one or more single scans and is altered to a different, second current for further scanning. The first and second currents are determined on the basis of a signal strength of the average received IR which is received by the IR receiver(s) during a number of previous single scans. In a simplified system, the average value of the most recently received IR values may be compared to a standard value set in the control system to alter the current supplied to the IR emitter(s).
A dispenser for automatically dispensing a product stored in a product supply of said dispenser, said dispenser comprising an electric power supply and an active IR sensing system, said IR sensor system including at least one IR emitter and at least one IR receiver, wherein said IR sensing system is arranged to scan for the presence of a possible user at least at a first scanning rate, and wherein a sensor control system is provided such that said active IR emitter is supplied with a first current which is substantially constant during one or more single scans but which can be altered to a different, second substantially constant current for further scanning, said first and second currents being determined on the basis of a signal strength of the average received IR which is received by said at least one IR receiver during a predetermined number of previous single scans, wherein said dispenser is a paper towel dispenser, and the sensor control system is arranged to detect a maximum threshold value of average received IR, upon which said sensor control system switches a dispensing mode of said dispenser from a user sensing mode to a hanging towel mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.