METHOD AND DEVICE FOR INDICATING FUTURE NEED FOR PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OF RANDOM-USE DISPENSING
First Claim
1. A method for indicating when to replace material in a dispenser:
- setting an activation count to a number representative of the amount of dispenses remaining;
setting a service interval for the dispenser over a number of units of time;
decrementing said activation count upon each activation of the dispenser;
calculating a running average of material usage representative of one unit of time;
comparing said activation count with the product of said running average and said service interval; and
indicating the dispenser requires refilling when said product is greater than said activation count.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and device for indicating whether a dispensable product will require refilling prior to the next scheduled service interval includes tracking the amount of use over a first interval, and calculating a frequency based from the use over the first interval. The quantity remaining is compared with the required amount, which is the product of the number of weeks in the service interval and the calculated frequency. Thus, when the quantity remaining is less that the required amount, a warning will be provided to indicate that the dispensing product should be replaced, as it will be empty before the next service interval.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method for indicating when to replace material in a dispenser:
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setting an activation count to a number representative of the amount of dispenses remaining; setting a service interval for the dispenser over a number of units of time; decrementing said activation count upon each activation of the dispenser; calculating a running average of material usage representative of one unit of time; comparing said activation count with the product of said running average and said service interval; and indicating the dispenser requires refilling when said product is greater than said activation count. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A dispenser for dispensing product, comprising:
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an activation count setting means for setting an activation count; a means for setting a service interval for allowing entry of a service interval representative of the number of units of time before next service; a dispensing mechanism; an indication means; a controller; and a switch associated with said dispensing mechanism that generates a voltage received by said controller that decrements an activation count associated with the number of dispenses of material, wherein said controller compares said activation count with the product of said service interval and average of material usage representative of one unit of time, said controller sending a signal to said indication means when said product is greater than said activation count. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A dispenser to dispense material from a refill container, comprising:
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a controller maintaining an initial quantity value defining the amount of material carried by the refill container; an actuator coupled to said controller; a pump adapted to be operatively coupled to the refill container, said pump also coupled to said controller, wherein when said actuator is engaged, said pump dispenses an amount of said material from the refill container according to a shot size value maintained by said controller, said controller updating a cumulative usage value maintained thereby by said shot size value, and generating a current quantity value based on the difference between said initial quantity value and said cumulative usage value; a timer associated with said controller to update a timed count value, said timer initiated when said refill container is coupled to said pump; and an indicator coupled to said controller; wherein said controller generates an average usage value based on said cumulative usage value and said timed count value, whereupon said controller generates a service interval value based on said current quantity value and said average usage value, said service interval value displayed by said indicator. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A dispenser, comprising:
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a refill container carrying an initial amount of material; a controller configured to maintain an initial quantity value defined by said initial amount of material maintained by said refill container; an actuator coupled to said controller; a pump coupled to said controller and to said refill container, wherein when said actuator is engaged, said pump dispenses an amount of said material from said refill container according to a shot size value maintained by said controller, said controller updating a cumulative usage value maintained thereby by said shot size value, and generating a current quantity value based on the difference between said initial quantity value and said cumulative usage value; a timer coupled to said controller to update a timed count value, said timer initiated when said refill container is coupled to said pump; and an indicator coupled to said controller; wherein said controller generates an average usage value based on said cumulative usage value and said timed count value, whereupon said controller generates a service interval value based on said current quantity value and said average usage value, said service interval value displayed by said indicator. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of determining the remaining service interval of a refill container, comprising:
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providing a dispenser to dispense material from a refill container, said refill container having an initial amount of said material; providing an indicator maintained by said dispenser; dispensing material from said refill container in a predetermined shot size; monitoring the total dispensement of said material from said initial amount; generating an average usage value based on the total dispensement of said material over a period of time; generating a service interval value indicating the remaining durational operating life of said refill container based on the remaining quantity of said material and said average usage value; and indicating said service interval value via said indicator.
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25. A dispenser to dispense material from a refill container, comprising:
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a controller maintaining an initial quantity value defining the amount of material carried by the refill container, said controller including a timer that maintains a timed count value that is updated at a predetermined interval; an indicator coupled to said controller; an actuator coupled to said controller; a pump coupled to said controller and adapted to be operatively coupled to the refill container, said controller initiating said timer when the refill container is coupled to said pump, such that when said actuator is engaged, said pump dispenses an amount of material from the refill container according to a predetermined shot size value and said controller updates a cumulative usage value maintained thereby by said shot size value; wherein said controller calculates an average usage value from the division of said cumulative usage value and said timed count value, said controller calculating a service interval from the division of said average usage value and said timed count value that is communicated via said indicator. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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29. A dispenser, comprising:
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a refill container carrying an initial amount of material; a controller configured to maintain an initial quantity value defined by said initial amount of material maintained by the refill container, said controller including a timer that maintains a timed count value that is updated at a predetermined interval; an indicator coupled to said controller; an actuator coupled to said controller; a pump coupled to said controller and adapted to be operatively coupled to the refill container, said controller initiating said timer when the refill container is coupled to said pump, such that when said actuator is engaged, said pump dispenses an amount of material from the refill container according to a predetermined shot size value and said controller updates a cumulative usage value maintained thereby by said shot size value; wherein said controller calculates an average usage value from the division of said cumulative usage value and said timed count value, said controller calculating a service interval from the division of said initial quantity value by said average usage value that is communicated via said indicator. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of determining the remaining service interval of a refill container, comprising:
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providing a dispenser to dispense material from a refill container, said refill container having an initial amount of said material; providing an indicator maintained by said dispenser; dispensing material from said refill container; monitoring the total dispensement of said material; generating an average usage value based on the total dispensement of said material over a period of time; generating a service interval value indicating the remaining durational operating life of said refill container based on the initial quantity of said material divided by said average usage value; and indicating said service interval value via said indicator.
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Specification