Wireless Communication for Hygiene Dispenser Systems

• US 20120329438A1
• Filed: 09/10/2012
• Published: 12/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: UltraClenz LLC (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: UltraClenz LLC (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Inventors: Snodgrass, David L.
• Application Number:
  US13/608,686
• Publication Number:
  US 20120329438A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/245 Reminder of hygiene compliance policies, e.g. of washing hands
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A communication system for handwash compliance monitoring, comprises a plurality of handwash monitoring sensors for collecting handwash compliance data at a respective plurality of handwash stations, at least one hub which wirelessly receives handwash compliance data transmitted from said plurality of handwash monitoring stations, a gateway which wirelessly receives handwash compliance data transmitted from the hub, and a wireless cellular telephone link for transmitting the handwash compliance data from the gateway to a central monitoring station.

Claims

1-22. -22. (canceled)

23. A communication system for hygiene compliance monitoring comprising:

a plurality of hygiene monitoring sensors for collecting hygiene compliance data at a respective plurality of hygiene stations; and

a wireless link for transmitting the hygiene compliance data over a cellular telephone network to a central monitoring station, wherein the hygiene compliance data includes dispenser hygiene station activation counts and unique identifiers for each hygiene station.

24. The communication system according to claim 23, wherein the plurality of hygiene monitoring sensors transmit hygiene compliance data to a central hub before transmission over the cellular telephone network.

25. The communication system according to claim 23, wherein the wireless link comprises a gateway which wirelessly receives the hygiene compliance data from a plurality of hygiene monitoring sensors before transmission over the cellular telephone network.

26. The communication system according to claim 23, comprising a plurality of hubs which wirelessly communicate to a gateway before transmission over the cellular network.

27. The communication system of claim 23, further including a remote server and database store at the central monitoring station.

28. The communication system of claim 27, further including an internet connection at the central station to enable internet access to the remote server and database store.

29. The communication system of claim 23, including a plurality of hubs, wherein at least one hub of the plurality can receive hygiene compliance data transmitted from another hub, and retransmit the data.

30. The communication system of claim 23, wherein the wireless link transmits data at a frequency which is one of 433 MHz, 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz.

31. A method for communicating hygiene compliance data, comprising:

collecting hygiene compliance data from a plurality of hygiene stations having monitoring sensors; and

transmitting the collected hygiene compliance data wirelessly over a cellular telephone network to a central monitoring station, wherein the hygiene compliance data includes dispenser hygiene station activation counts and unique identifiers for each hygiene station.

32. The method of claim 31, including the step of wirelessly transmitting the hygiene compliance data from the hygiene stations to a central hub, before transmitting the data wirelessly over the cellular network.

33. The method of claim 31, including using a gateway which wirelessly receives the hygiene compliance data from a plurality of hygiene monitoring sensors before transmission over the cellular telephone network.

34. The method of claim 31, including transmitting the data wirelessly over a plurality of hubs to a gateway before transmission over the cellular network.

35. The method of claim 31, including providing a remote server and database store at the central monitoring station.

36. The method of claim 31, including providing an internet connection at the central station to enable internet access to the remote server and database store.

37. The method of claim 31, including providing a plurality of hubs, wherein at least one hub of the plurality receives the hygiene compliance data transmitted from another hub, and retransmits the data.

38. The method of claim 31, wherein the step of transmitting is done over a frequency which is one of 433 MHz, 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz.

39. A method for communicating hygiene compliance data comprising:

collecting hygiene compliance data from a plurality of hygiene stations having monitoring stations;

said hygiene compliance data including hygiene station activation counts and the hygiene stations unique identifier (address) and transmitting the hygiene compliance data to a central hub or gateway using a wireless link, wherein the data is transmitted at one of 433 MHz, 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz.